HTF Challenge: Best Picture Winners

I won't be taking on this challenge regularly (see my sig to see why, too many challenges as it is) just yet, but I will post here as well where my viewings overlap with this list--such as today.

The Life of Emile Zola -
Best Picture winner 1937 - 10 nominations
other awards: Joseph Shildkraut - Supporting Actor; Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg - Screenplay
In competition with: The Awful Truth, Captains Courageous, Dead End, The Good Earth, In Old Chicago, Lost Horizon, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star is Born

I've seen six of the ten films nominated for 'outstanding production' and I would personally choose Stage Door over the others (Good Earth is a close second however). 1937 was a pretty good year, and like many Academy Awards, The LIfe of Emile Zola is neither the best nor the worst of the films released that year--it represents a compromise, like most winners (note that the excreable Stella Dallas was nominated several times!).

The Life of Emile Zola is a wholely satisfying film, for audiences of the 1930s. a film savvy modern audience is much more likely to be extremely skeptical of the Hollywood story arc this historical biopic so easily falls into. I"m not familiar with the real events of what happened, but it struck me as extremely unlikely that there was such an abrupt turn around in the french government. Throughout the film they were shown to protect their own not just vigorously but obstinately to the degree of ancient landed aristocracy. such an abrupt turn around by the appointment of a new war minister seems ludicrous, especially daunting is the question of where this new minister came from. I think appointments would be made from within the rank and file general staff that have stood by each other so obstinately. All this is brought into even more question by the extremely odd disclaimer at the films opening that is usually reserved for works of fiction at the end of the credits "no such resemblance is real or inferred to actual persons or events" what the devil is that supposed to make us think about this 'factual' biopic?

In the 1930s thread I described this as Paths of Glory 'lite' and I think that is as good a description as any, because this could very well be the film Paths of Glory would have become in the studio system had Kirk Douglas not saved it.

Don't get me wrong, this is a very well executed and fairly enjoyable film to watch. Paul Muni's performance, as well as that of the supporting cast is especially riveting! however I think a jaded modern audience might have some problems with the neat 'classic' hollywood package this film presents. It is a solid movie, good enough to be considered great amongst other films from the 30s (and hence my rating), but it doesn't quite age as well for modern audiences.

Adam

My ratings system:
**** - great film
***½ - just shy of perfection
*** - Highly recommended
**½ - Recommended, with reservations
** - solid movie
*½ - major problems/flaws with the film
* - has some redeeming feature
½ - one redeeming feature
0 - patently offensive, or a waste of celluloid

1. I've seen:
2. All Quiet on the Western Front --
3. Grand Hotel ---------------------
4. It Happened one Night -----------
5. Mutiny on the Bounty ------------
6. You Can't take it with you ------
7. Gone with the Wind -------------- ½
8. How Green was my Valley ---------
9. Casablanca ----------------------
10. All About Eve -------------------
11. On the Waterfront ---------------
12. Bridge on the River Kwai --------
13. Ben-Hur -------------------------
14. The Apartment -------------------
15. Lawrence of Arabia --------------
16. My Fair Lady --------------------
17. The Sound of Music --------------
18. A Man for All Seasons -----------
19. Midnight Cowboy ----------------- ½
20. Patton --------------------------
21. The Godfather -------------------
22. The Godfather Part II -----------
23. One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - ½
24. Rocky ---------------------------
25. Annie Hall ----------------------
26. The Deer Hunter -----------------
27. Chariots of Fire ---------------- ½
28. Amadeus ------------------------- ½
29. Platoon -------------------------
30. Rain Man ------------------------
31. Dances with Wolves --------------
32. The Silence of the Lambs --------
33. Unforgiven ----------------------
34. Schindler's List ----------------
35. Forrest Gump --------------------
36. Braveheart ----------------------
37. American Beauty ----------------- ½
38. Gladiator -----------------------
39. A Beautiful Mind ----------------
40. Chicago ------------------------- ½
    
    Newly seen:
41. The Life of Emile Zola ----------
42. Sunrise -------------------------
43. Best Years of Our Lives ---------
44. An American in Paris ------------ ½
45. From Here to Eternity -----------
46. West Side Story -----------------
47. The French Connection ----------- ½
48. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King -
49. Gentleman's Agreement - ½
    

Okay, I'll jump in here with a review of Grand Hotel (taken from my post in the Revisits thread).


Grand Hotel (1932)

Directed by Edmund Goulding.

Hollywood filmmaking at its finest - that's what we have in Grand Hotel. A cast that can't be beat plays a disparate group of characters interacting in the titular establishment, a luxurious Berlin hangout for the rich and famous.

Greta Garbo is Grusinskaya, the tired ballet star who can no longer stomach the pressure of her fame. Yep, this is where she utters the famous line "I vant to be alone!" One night she discovers a strange man in her room...

John Barrymore is Baron Felix von Geigern. He's kind and friendly to all, a real gentleman. He's also mad for the ladies and flat broke. What lengths will he go to for money?

Lionel Barrymore is Otto Kringelein. He's an old man, terminally ill and determined to spend his last days and life savings living it up at the Grand Hotel. He's also become good friends with the Baron...

Wallace Beery is Preysing the buisness magnate. He's cold-hearted, elitist, and desperate for a company-saving merger. He also has a crush on his stenographer...

Lovely Joan Crawford is Flaemmchen the stenographer. Both coquettish and demure, she's also poor and hungry. What she needs is a man to take care of her. Will she submit to Preysing's advances? Well, she'd much rather have the Baron, but he is in love with Grusinskaya...

Over it all watches Dr. Otternschlag, resident physician. His face horribly scarred by wounds suffered in the first world war, he sips his drinks and observes the goings-on with an air of detachment. "People come, people go. Nothing ever happens."

Oh, but it does!

One of these characters will die. One will be arrested for murder. Two will start new lives. The last will simply move on. Their places will be taken by new arrivals, more stories yet to be told...

Some of the greatest stars of all time came together in Grand Hotel and what a great ensemble they made - it's hard to imagine a like cast being assembled today. To top it off, they're surrounded by lush art deco production design and a selection of great classical music.




Regarding Wings and Sunrise: it's been years since I've seen the former, and I've only seen parts of the latter. I'm getting ready to send out for my copy of Sunrise and I'll chime in on it when I can.

Guess I could throw out a few more thoughts on Grand Hotel.

Did it deserve Best Picture? I think so - it is quite simply a very entertaining film, well-made, with a stellar cast.

Does it hold up? For the most part. It's a tad creaky here and there, but the story structure is still a popular convention (can you say The Love Boat?) and the themes of loneliness and longing hold universal appeal.

There's one major problem with IMDB's list, they base their list on the date the oscar was handed out, rather than the production year in competition. Gone with the Wind won for 1939 but it was of course awarded in 1940, if you use the oscar.org database, you'll get the right production year (starting with 1927/28 which would make it 75 years [27-02] rather than the 1929 currently up).

http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/amp...=1067806068581

Well technically I’ve seen all of these, but in keeping with my efforts on the other challenges, I’ll count only those from September of last year. Even though this does mean that I’ll have to see Cimarron one more time.

Just to kick things off, here are my ratings for the first 25% of the winners. Guess I’ll have to get a copy of Sunrise in order to comment.

All About Eve
All Quiet on the Western Front
American in Paris, An
Apartment, The
Ben-Hur
Best Years of Our Lives, The
Bridge on the River Kwai, The
Casablanca
From Here to Eternity
Gigi
Gone with the Wind
Grand Hotel
It Happened One Night
Lawrence of Arabia
Life of Emile Zola, The
Muitny on the Bounty
On the WaterFront
Rebecca
You Can't Take It with You

My reasoning for ratings is close to Adam’s but I don’t bother with half stars.

Steve I normally am in close (within a star) agreement with your ratings, but in Grand Hotel we differ. I checked my comments in the 30s challenge and sure enough what I wrote is pretty much how I see this movie: a star turn for a bunch of MGM stars.

Lew, I was wondering about that two-star rating. While I recognize that Grand Hotel isn't perfect, I still find it very entertaining in a grand (sorry), old-fashioned kind of way, hence the high marks.

Oh I enjoy it well enough Steve—I probably watch it every few years.

To be sure for all the quotable dialogue in Grand Hotel, I like the twist to Garbo’s line in Ninotchka much better.


Do you want to be alone, comrade?

No

I enjoy Ninotchka quite a bit as well - caught it again when it ran on TCM a while back. Garbo, along with Carole Lombard, is one of my favorite actresses of yesteryear.

Wow.. the only review in here that surprised me was ONE STAR for Ben Hur? We're all entitled to our opinions but.. wow, OK..

All Quiet on the Western Front remains one of my favorite films of all time, so I would of course, rate it very highly; and even watching it when I was a teen, I found the film to be captivating. Hmm. I may have to revise this post with some star rankings for the 1930s (I've seen all)

My comments in the AFI thread. I will wait to comment further when a discussion begins on the film.

Well I consider Sunrise one of the greatest films ever made. It's a perfect blend of artistic experimentation and Hollywood narrative and one of the best examples of German Expressionism in use. Murnau was one of the greatest directors of all time and this film is his highest achievement.


However, I will not fault the Acadmey for splitting the Best Pix votes that first year when they clearly attempted to recognize both classical narrative and high art as unique endeavors, something they have struggled to keep clear in the public's mind ever since (thus the reason why both cinephiles and the general public think the Oscars suck, yet for opposite reasons - too safe/bland, too arty).


Wings is what I call the GOOD version of Pearl Harbor. Throw in the splashy modern CGI/FX and Wings is 10 times the film PH was using basically a very similar storyline. As a person who has become comfortable with silent era styles, Wings to me is a great Hollywood romp and quite enjoyable. No it does not hit the depths of All Quiet on the Western Front but it still a great film.

The year or two just before sound became the standard was silent film hitting its peak, thus many filmmakers saw sound films as a real step backward. And they were too since so many studios began forcing sound in as a gimmick rather than focusing on an understanding of how to use sound in film, not unlike the problems encountered as color began to make its way into film. But unlike color, sound was forced in almost all at once while B&W cinematography continued to be recognized with a separate Oscar into the 60's.

That's one reason why I think the first Oscars were the best Oscars for several years.

Yup I'm constantly surprised how little affinity I have with many members of the HTF, we're all film fans, we have that much in common, but some opinions are completely alien to mine. Should I respect opinions that are totally out of whack with my own?
I don't know.

The hotter the better.

Oh, you mean the movie. :b


It's been so long since I've seen it that I remember little about it. Sorry.

Warner is releasing a slew of Best Picture winners in February:

Gaslight
Grand Hotel
The Great Ziegfield
Mrs. Miniver
Mutiny on the Bounty
My Fair Lady

Perhaps things will pick up then...

Sorry for the silence Dome, but its been too long since I’ve seen Sunrise to be able to say anything other than, ‘I pretty much agree with Seth’. And I could not rustle up a copy in time to join in.

Oh well, I may have some comments about Wings—but I need to watch that film again as well. Right now my review would not be that kind, but I don’t remember the film well enough to defend my comments, so I’ll stay on the sidelines until I see it again.

But if you changed George’s sig to ‘since 1928’ you would get some idea of my view of this film.

I'm gonna'try to work this into my weekend schedule.

Moderaters, change the thread title. This should be "HTF Challenge: all the Best Picture winners".

The current thread title indicates it's a discussion of the upcoming AAs.

FYI YMMV

Well I've seen them all, though I may not remember them all very well.

I have a much lower opinion of Sunrise than most others, finding it mostly a melodramatic soap opera, which, for me, is never a good thing.

Wings is the one film on this list that I have so little recollection of, I hesitate to say anything at all about it.

I'll post my overall view of the list a bit later.

Just got my copy of Sunrise; I'll post my thoughts on it as soon as I get a chance to screen it.

Because you said "please".

Cees

The following would be my list of the best 25 films to win the Oscar for Best Picture (not necessarily the most deserving - for example, Ben-Hur was not the best film of 1959, a great year for movies):

1The Apartment
2The Godfather
3Casablanca
4The Godfather, Part 2
5The Sting
6The Bridge on the River Kwai
7The Sound of Music
8West Side Story
9Ben-Hur
10Rebecca
11My Fair Lady
12It Happened One Night
13The Silence of the Lambs
14Unforgiven
15Patton
16You Can't Take it With You
17Rocky
18Forrest Gump
19The French Connection
20In the Heat of the Night
21Schindler's List
22Going My Way
23Rain Man
24Braveheart
25Marty

I’ll play George—especially as I did not manage to get Wings on my schedule and it has been too many years since I’ve seen it comment. Best 25:

·Sunrise
·All Quiet on the Western Front
·It Happened One Night
·Casablanca
·You Can’t Take It with You
·Gone with the Wind
·Rebecca
·The Lost Weekend
·The Best Years of Our Lives
·All About Eve
·On the Waterfront
·Bridge on the River Kwai
·The Apartment
·West Side Story
·Lawrence of Arabia
·My Fair Lady
·Patton
·The French Connection
·The Godfather
·The Godfather, Part II
·Amadeus
·The Silence of the Lambs
·Unforgiven
·The English Patient
·American Beauty

This was harder than I thought it would be. I presumed that I’d have no trouble in keeping the number down to 25. But this list still does not constitute 25 great films. That is another list.