Oscar Movies year wrap-up (1927-28) (1 Viewer)

[battlebeast]

I have now seen and reviewed all six films up for the so-called "Best Picture" catagories: Wings, The Racket, 7th Heaven, Chang, Sunrise and The Crowd.


The Academy considers the Category "Best Picture, Production" the official "Best Picture" Category, and "Unique and Artistic Production" is more of a "art house" category.


Of all six films, my favorite is still Wings, but here are my choices for the top categories (Picture, Director, Writing, Actor, Actress).


Best Picture

Wings


Best Director

William Wellman, Wings


Writing

7th Heaven


Actor

Charles Rogers, WIngs


Actress

Janet Gaynor, 7th Heaven


There is a destinction between "favorite" and "best". Wings may be one of my all time favorite films, but I still think it is the best film from 1927-28. Having studied it extensively, I know what went in to getting it filmed and produced. Wild Bill Wellman was a man ahead of his time. His directorial decisions were incredible. He made many decisions while filming Wings that revolutionized films. He made a star out of Gary Cooper; invented the dollying technique; insisted on perfect weather conditions to get amazing ariel shots that are still some of the best ever filmed and filmed one hell of an epic war battle at the end of the picture.If studio politics weren't involved, I know he would have won Best Director.


Wings had some very interesting visual effects, and the cinematography was amazing. Everything on Wings clicked to make it a darn good film.


I thought Charles "Buddy" Rogers gave the best actor performance. Some may say the acting in Wings was stiff or wooden, but I dissagree. (Gary Cooper was very good in his small role.) If they can give an Oscar to Mary Pickford for Coquette, Buddy Rogers should have got one. I loved his performance.


Janet Gaynor was definatly the best Actress. Never mind Clara Bow. She may have had "It" but Gaynor gave two very good performances in 7th Heaven and Sunrise. There is no comparison. Of these two performances, I liked her better in 7th Heaven.


And as for Writing, it was close, between WIngs and 7th Heaven, but I did like the latter more. I felt it had snappier titles.and more powerful dialogue.


SINS OF OMISSION


Best Picture

The Jazz Singer, Metropolis


Best Director

William Wellman - Wings


Best Actor

Buddy Rogers - Wings


Best Cinematography

Wings




So those are my thoughts, wrapping up 1927-28, the first year of the Oscars.

 

[Robert Harris]

Unaware that Mr. Wellman invented the dolly shot.

Are you certain?

RAH

 

[battlebeast]

According to all my research, he helped invent it for a scene in WINGS. Nom one had used such a technique before.

 

[SeanAx]

According to all my research, he helped invent it for a scene in WINGS. Nom one had used such a technique before.

Traveling shots had been around 1912 or so, most notably in Griffith shorts, but Peter Bogdanovich claims that the first true "dolly shot" - that is, dollying the camera parallel to a moving actor, rather than traveling in front or behind an actor with a moving camera - was done by Allan Dwan in "David Harum" in 1915. The next year, he engineered the first crane shot of D.W. Griffith in "Intolerance."