Art Direction Oscar winners

The scene of the rush out west for cheap land with hundreds of extras in wagons, on horse back, and on foot is an amazing epic scene. The rest of the movie I thought was awful. Over the top performances and the lead actor going way too heavy on the makeup make this another embarrassing early talky.

nominated for best picture oscar

nominated for best picture at the oscars

nominated for best picture at the oscars

The use of color and the grandness of scale of this movie, particularly in filming the lavish interiors, is still amazing. I can hardly imagine what the original audiences must have thought in '39. I have heard some people say they do not like the main characters, so they cannot enjoy the movie. The main characters are flawed, but I found them intriguing to watch and still very much enjoyed the movie.

nominated for best picture at the oscars

Lansbury and Cotten in supporting roles are wonderful. The tension is built carefully. The gas powered lights around the home Bergman and Boyer have moved into flicker with suspense. In this case, I think this version of the same basic story as Hitchcock's Suspicion, from three years earlier, is the more fulfilling thriller.

nominated for best picture by NBR

nominated for best picture at the oscars

nominated for best picture by NBR

Vivid colors and camera work. Deserved the art direction and cinematography Oscars. Kind of disturbing how the mother superior assigned Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) to go with Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) despite Clodagh's accurate assessment of Ruth's personality. Interesting setting with the old palace up on the cliff being converted into a hospital/school by the nuns. The acting style of the old woman who takes care of the palace was not pleasant to watch. This native woman and Jean Simmons as a young native girl (both British), Sabu as a young prince and the murals on the palace walls (having the flavor of India), while the other native people who are briefly seen have a different ethnic look (whatever Asian extras the filmmakers could use) may lead to some cultural confusion.

The nuns are human. They have backgrounds. The movie is about finding moderation between two extremes. Mr. Dean (Farrar) has lived in the region for many years as a British representative and has given himself fully to leisure and pleasure, but that sounds too one dimensional. He does offer to work by helping make repairs to the palace and even though he does not believe in Catholicism he seems to think it is worth a try to have the nuns take care of the troublesome local girl (Simmons). A holy man sits on a hill nearby meditating 24/7. Locals bring food and gifts out of reverence, but the holy man never speaks, he has totally withdrawn from the world. Should the sisters devote their lives exclusively to worshiping Jesus and Mother Mary while completely ignoring any human passions? No, not really. They are charged with working hard and serving those who are less fortunate. That is a stressful job. They react differently. The mountain air causes daydreaming in Sister Clodagh. Since they are so isolated, planting pretty flowers instead of sustaining vegetables can be a problem. Clodagh and Ruth are reminded that they are or once were sexual romantic women. The different ways that they deal with this leads to a creepy and life threatening scene. What kind of strength or stubbornness is really required to live a religious life of service? Where is the line between understanding the needs of the human body and denying those passions or enjoying the pleasures?

nominated for best picture by NBR

Most people don't seem to realize that movies in the early 50's (or even before) dealt with such tough topics. Another reason I love William Holden. Gloria Swanson's character is so memorable too including her impersonation of Chaplin.

nominated for best picture at the oscars and best foreign film by NBR

want to see this because it won best picture with the NBR and was nominated for best picture at the oscars

want to see this because it won best drama picture at the golden globes, was nominated for best picture by NBR, and was nominated for best picture at the oscars

nominated for best picture by NBR

nominated for best picture by NBR and at the oscars

Early in the movie when Rocky is running around with a street gang, including Sal Mineo and Steve McQueen, you can see why Robert Wise was later given the job of directing West Side Story. I recently read an informative biography about Paul Newman. I didn't realize that he came out of the Actor's Studio, the same method school as Brando, Dean and many others. Newman observed the real Rocky Graziano, saw the neighborhoods where he lived, trained in the gym where he trained. Incidentally, Brando based his manner and voice for Stanley and Terry on Rocky too. Newman embodies a character who seems so different from the ones I've seen him play a later in life. He is excellent. I don't think I've seen any other movies in which Pier Angeli plays a role. Her role here is not the normal doting girlfriend/wife who fades into the background of the story. True she is doting on Rocky, but she shows a strength and a vulnerability that is usually not explored in a supporting part in a biopic like this. The circle of friends and family who surround Rocky through his life are played by a great cast of character actors. Parts of this movie were filmed on location in New York, when that was still a fairly new practice. So it has a realistic feel that doesn't often shrink from the tougher issues in Rocky's life. The big boxing match near the end must have been an inspiration to Scorsese and De Niro for Raging Bull. The movies of course share black and white cinematography. While Scorsese played with the camera speed more, here Wise keeps things at realistic speeds. The makeup work done on Newman as he gets pummeled and swollen looks quite similar to De Niro's makeup. This is a lifelike biopic that covers many years in Rocky Graziano life. The worst part about it is Perry Como's rendition of the title song over both sets of credits.

Fast Eddie Felson keeps making "Contracts of Degradation." Fast Eddie is young, talented, cocky, has the mind of a hustler, but doesn't know when to stop, a taste for booze, and lacks Character because of all of this. Minnesota Fats is experienced, talented, graceful, clean and well dressed, has endurance, and has Character. Bert Gordon buys Fast Eddie's soul with the promise to give him Character and make him a winner. I noticed there are two characters who are literally crippled. One is the man who helps Fats keep clean and well dressed. The other is Sarah, Fast Eddie's new girl. As Sarah points out, it is allegorical that every other character wears a mask and underneath they are figuratively crippled, perverted, and twisted. Fast Eddie learns too late, but finally has gained Character so he is able to beat Fats. In the end there is the hint that Bert Gordon owns Fats in the same way he owned Eddie and it occurred to me like a lightbulb over my head that FATS and FAST are nearly the same now.

A movie I watched in school. Atticus deserves the AFI #1 movie hero honor. A great example of a classic book being translated well into a classic film.

nominated for best picture at the golden globes and at the oscars

nominated for best picture at the golden globes and at the oscars

nominated for best picture by NBR

Beautiful epic movie! The sweeping scenery, time line, and emotions are not to be missed.

nominated for best picture at the golden globes

nominated for best picture at the golden globes and at the oscars

nominated for best picture by NBR and at the oscars

This movie version is a little psychedelic at times, but the music is good and the themes are important to understanding how Naziism came to power in Germany during this time.

Fun movie! The Scott Joplin music makes it bounce right along causing the ending to be even more surprising.

want to see this because it won best picture with the NBR and was nominated for best picture at the golden globes and oscars

The word phantasmagoria in the synopsis here is a good description of this odd picture. Not an autobiography, but Scheider plays a thinly veiled version of Fosse himself. I couldn't really identify or connect with anybody or anything in this strange movie. The music and dance wasn't all that impressive and I couldn't find any solid meaning to hook me to the story.

want to see this because it won best foreign-language film at the golden globes and was nominated for best picture by NBR and at the oscars

want to see this because it won best foreign film with the NBR, at the oscars, with the NYFC, at the golden globes, and with the LAFC

Another movie I first watched in school. The style and production values are mesmerizing. Who would have thought the guy from Animal House and with that annoying laugh would pull off such a historical music genious.

A Merchant/Ivory production based on a novel from earlier in E.M. Forster's career, the common themes of Forster's writings are clear. A young woman accompanied by an older woman in British society before either of the world wars, encounters something exotic and wants to burst out of the stuffy tight collared restraint that polite society of the time required. In this case Florence Italy is the hot-blooded location where the British characters vacation. The young woman meets a young man who discovers the bohemian code in the Italian countryside. She is wisked away home to an arranged engagement with a very unpleasant man who does not appreciate life. The main difference between the young men is that one KNOWS how to kiss, the other does NOT. Again because the young woman has been taught not to give in to impulses she tries for awhile to avoid the feelings that unleash her. It is the slowly paced style of these type of productions that bore some audiences. Ironically this tight lipped proper culture is what the main characters rebel against, and what audiences who do not like it or do not see it rebel against too. I LOVE Forster's themes but was bored by this one more than A Passage to India.

First, let me recommend the Director's Cut though it is 3 hours and 20 minutes. There is so much historical and political content that I found a second viewing helpful too. The costumes, sets, cinematography, and music are all sumptuous.

The movie covers almost 60 years of Chinese history from the perspective of one person. The last emperor, Pu Yi, lived through so much history during the first half of the 20th century. I don't know how much of the story is completely historically accurate, but the changes of the decades and major historical events seem to be presented authentically. The story reminded me at certain points of the movie and book, The Good Earth. While that story shows some of the cultural changes in Chinese history from the perspective of peasants out in the fields, this story is told mainly from within the walls of the Forbidden City or the walls of a Communist re-education camp. There is a strong imprisonment theme! The story is told in flashbacks, and I thought this device was well crafted with interesting parallels.

Pu Yi's life is incredibly tragic and yet I found all the drama enthralling. He becomes Emperor at 3 years old and so hasn't formed any ideas for himself. Even later in his life you can't really say that he ever gained much experience as a leader. Earlier in China's history this might have worked out better to have a leader start so young without much conflict, but with all the changes preparing to take place in the 20th century it is inevitable that Pu Yi would become a tragic figure. He becomes spoiled because every want and need is taken care of for him. He's a puppet controlled by many others through his life. Early in his life China becomes a Republic and he no longer has any real power, but traditions stay the same inside the Forbidden City. Just before WWI O'Toole arrives as a Western tutor and Pu Yi begins to learn about the modern world. Eventually he tries to reform the traditions of imperial China, but he still takes a wife and a consort (a second wife). China then becomes a Communist country and some people turn against the Manchurian part of northern China. Since Manchurian is the Emperor's heritage, he and his remaining staff are kicked out of the Forbidden City. He ends up being welcomed by Japan in the early 30's before WWII and they feed him some misinformation. At this point he still craves the power of being Emperor and there is a lot of political intrigue as Manchuria becomes independent (but, Japan is really pulling the strings). He has relationship issues with his wife and consort, one feeling like a third wheel in the more westernized Japan and the other becoming addicted to opium. After WWII the Communist powers in China change a bit and in 1950 we catch up to the "current" events where Pu Yi and all the other imperial supporters are being re-educated. Ying gives an impressive performance and human face to the "Governor" of the camp. It is an amazing, in depth, dramatic conflict from the American audience perspective when you realize that Pu Yi was working with the Japanese, one of the Axis powers of WWII, and the Communists are trying to turn him into a comrade. Between a rock and a hard place. There's a good portion of Americans that wouldn't see either side of this conflict as worth cheering for. But still I found it very engaging to watch John Lone portray the struggle.

One of my favorite quotes: The Governor- "You are responsible for what you do! All your life you thought you were better than everyone else. Now you think you're the worst of all!" There's also a quote about how all the new generals and changes in the communist regime are just like the battling war lords of tribal society. There's a sense that the differences between the old and young in society will lead to history repeating itself, and in fact power keeps on shifting but nothing in history really changes.

Re-watched this after The Dark Knight. Good movie, but for the first modern movie adaptation it doesn't really explore much of Bruce Wayne's personality besides the brief recurring memory of losing his parents. He's nothing more than the strong silent type. This Joker's extracurricular activities include chemistry and art, but Nicholson is always his charming self. The Joker dancing around to Prince songs was really odd, I didn't remember that. And the dialog is so basic, corny sometimes, like I said the movie doesn't delve into much motivation. Batman just does what your garden variety good guy needs to do, the Joker just mildly frightens people, the newspaper reporters (a newspaper, what's that?!) don't have much information, and the cops and DA are essentially useless. Burton does infuse the movie with a dark Gothic mash-up of 40's and 50's style with 80's tech like some of the new comic books since the 1980's bring to the character.

want to see this because it won best picture with the LAFC and at the golden globes, and was nominated for best picture by NBR and the oscars

Another Merchant and Ivory production of an E.M. Forster novel. But, oh, don''t forget the third less well known partner in this film making team, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who wrote most of Merchant and Ivory's screenplays. So, it's England in the 1910's again and a story about the division between the social classes.

Howards End is a house, a mansion, an estate. In a special feature it was described that Forster meant the property to represent England, the country. The Schlegels, Helen, Margaret, and their quieter brother Tibby had been born at Howards End. Their family later had financial difficulties and lost the house. It was bought by the Wilcox family. Anthony Hopkins as Henry Wilcox, who is in the highest of the upper classes will not give the property to the slightly lower Schlegels. In fact, he refuses to let any of his family live there. He would rather let it sit and go to waste. Now all grown up, Emma Thompson as Margaret seems passive-aggressive (much more on the passive side) in her plan to get Howards End back in her family's name. I kept expecting her to use a surprise double-cross move in order to tear down the Wilcox family and grab the estate out of their hands, but she is the image of kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness. It is through befriending the dying Ruth Wilcox (Redgrave) and marrying Henry that she keeps her family close enough to the estate for it to fall in her lap when the Wilcox family self-destructs in their own snobbery and hypocrisy.

The other main storyline involves Helena Bonham Carter as Helen Schlegel who is very impulsive. By chance, she causes Leonard Bast (West) to come into their lives. Bast is a man of much lower social class who has tried to work his way up. The Schlegel sisters come to care for him and try to help him, though fate and the status quo prevent them. Helen begins to have deeper feelings for the married Bast. She becomes pregnant with his illegitimate child, which of course is a huge scandal in high society. Anyways, the times are a-changin and it's more the downfall of the corrupt rich than the meager efforts of the poor that lead to things turning around in the end.

Gut-wrenching! Inspiring!!

nominated for best picture by NBR

Michael Ondaatje, who wrote the novel, took a real life person named Almasy and wove this fictional story out of the historical background and his own romantic ideas. WHO IS Almasy, the English patient? A hint- he is not really English. He has been labeled by several nationalities. Socially and morally, what type of person is he? He has been committed to nothing but his work and a passionate affair with a married woman.

Anthony Minghella has said that he wanted the picture to move. The novel's story was loosely structured with different poems, letters, dialogue, and historical descriptions. The movie's plot follows Almasy's life just as WWII is ending and flashes back often to the 1930's and the years leading up to WWII. The jumps in time and place are quite abrupt. This is what Minghella meant by having the picture move. You often don't know when a cut has taken you back or forward in time and for that matter you don't know if you can trust most of the characters. Fiennes as Almasy is shot down in a biplane and burned very early in the movie. His whole body is scarred, he has trouble breathing, and he claims he doesn't remember who he is. His only possession is Herodotus' histories in which he has slipped photos and letters from his life. He is transported through Italy by the Allies. Juliette Binoche is a nurse who takes special interest in making his last days comfortable. She has lost many friends in the war. Willem Dafoe mysteriously shows up at the abandoned church where they are staying and starts pushing Almasy to remember his past. Naveen Andrews is an Indian bomb expert serving the Allied forces by defusing bombs the Germans have planted. He and Binoche's character begin a sweet little romance. As the back story on Almasy is gradually revealed, we see that he was an archeologist working in Egypt during a time when men of many different nationalities worked together on uncovering ancient cultural artifacts in the desert. On one expedition he meets Mr. and Mrs. Clifton played by Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas. What starts off as annoyance that a woman would get in the way of the expedition eventually turns into a passionate love affair with Katharine. After several ups and downs in their relationship, Colin Firth's character becoming suspicious, and national lines being drawn as WWII appears on the horizon, the life and death quotient rises. Through one part of the story the audience wonders if the patient will survive long enough to tell his story. Dafoe's character and not knowing if the war is over are also threats. But of course, he must. Through the flashback parts of the story the main suspense comes from seeing how Almasy ends up in the situation we see in the opening scenes. I was kept interested by the last segment of the movie especially as it rapidly spun more and more tragic set backs to Almasy's love for Katharine.

There was so much hype about this when it first came out. Seems like everyone had seen it, maybe multiple times. I once felt compelled to lie, in high school Spanish class, that I had seen it rather than reveal myself to be the one loser who had missed this PG-13 romantic event movie. Two or three years later when I began my Oscar list I knew I would get around to this one eventually. Now nearly fourteen years later I have finally seen Cameron's massive epic.

I was given a new appreciation for this story after reading The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Vogler. Cameron has crafted a story, which uses the symbolism and structure of the hero's journey to moving effect. Having seen seventy years of Oscar winning movies, I must confess that I enjoy the sort of movies that traditionally attract the Academy. The acting, characters, period detail, effects, themes and epic scale of this movie all impressed. The romantic moments, the scenes that DeCaprio and Winslet shared alone, were at times the most difficult parts to believe. They were lit and scored and written with such over-heightened sugariness that I couldn't wait for some other character to break in and bring the scene back to earth (um, I mean, to the deck of the ship). Like I said though this was only the case at times. Sometimes the cultural divide between Jack and Rose and being faced with the imminent disaster kept their scenes very truthful. With its longer run time and variety of characters Titanic really puts you in touch with life in 1912. And with Gloria Stuart and the modern day explorers as bookends, you get a realistic feel for the cultural fever that existed concerning uncovering details about that point in history.

Good performances. Catchy numbers. Eye popping design and choreography. I enjoyed escaping with Roxie Hart into her imagination! The way her fellow inmates, her lawyer, her husband, the female warden, and all the other supporting characters become performers with varying levels of celebrity was amusing. A unique way to look at the idea of "All the world's a stage." A surprisingly deep theme about chasing fame is encased in this flashy musical.

want to see this because it won best drama picture at the golden globes and best picture with the BAFTA

want to see this because it won best picture with the NSFC and won best Foreign film from BAFTA

I'm not in love with Burton or his whole style. Depp sings well and Rickman gives a good performance, but the story and songs just don't move me that much. I guess I'm saying I don't expect to like the stage production much either, which isn't the fault of the filmmakers, but the grand scale and Gothic colors of the production doesn't improve the original idea much.

It's a beautiful movie to look at moving through 80 or more years of time with certain portions made to look like different film stock. And the mostly New Orleans landscape is wonderful too.

I realized that, when you really think about it, it doesn't matter that Benjamin Button ages backwards. Not at all! Plot point by plot point just think of Brad Pitt's character aging normally. It was a fun movie. I enjoyed that it covered such a wide span of history, that it showed a full life being lived. Not the most exciting life, just a nice guy who stays pretty close to home, but still one that experiences love and loss and nearing death with every minute lived just like the rest of us.

Worthington portrays a nice character arch as his human paraplegic body loses the definition of a fit marine and his Na'vi body becomes a warrior. Saldana is caring when helping Jake find his way and protectively vicious when need be. Weaver is tough as a diplomatic scientist standing up to Ribisi, the corporate man, and Lang, the military man, but is soft and gentle in her Avatar body. Her Avatar looks a bit more plastic than most of the others for some reason. My pick for the tough as nails female character in this Cameron picture goes to Michelle Rodriquez though. I can see the connections to movies like Dances with Wolves. I like that type of story where an outsider becomes immersed in another culture. I really appreciated the Native American, one with nature, interconnected web of existence, style of spirituality that the Na'vi have.

The movie is visually a spectacle!! The spectacular luminous, glow in the dark vegetation, and tree top or cliff edge world of Pandora is thrilling. It is the type of big epic movie for which 3D technology was invented. I like that this is not only a science fiction movie OR a fantasy movie. I love the mixture of mythical fantasy elements and the high tech robotic suits and digital virtual touch screens.

Puzzling! I think that is a word Lewis Carroll would be proud to have describe his stories, but I don't intend it in a totally positive manner. I'm unsure why Burton and Disney made some of these changes to the original stories.

The original book is filled with childish curiosity, nightmarish occurrences, and nonsense riddles and games. Then Alice does return to Wonderland a second time to meet new characters and similar obstacles. I can't help compare these books and this movie to various stories in The Wizard of Oz series too. On one hand Judy Garland was too old to play Dorothy in the famous MGM musical, but there was still plenty of childish curiosity. Then the lesser known Return to Oz presents Fairuza Balk as Dorothy at the right age revisiting Oz to find it rundown and controlled by evil figures. That movie was a mashup of a couple books from the Oz series itself. But of course, in the Oz books Dorothy makes several return trips to Oz before settling down to live there permanently at a still fairly young age. Why does this Alice in Wonderland (with no subtitle to suggest it is different) give us an older Alice who runs away from getting engaged and seems so much more cynical of the adventure she falls into in "Underland"? Mainly I think the changes have been made to pull the focus from Alice and make this a star vehicle for Burton's closest colleagues, Depp and Carter.

I liked the subtler parallels between the people in Alice's real life and the characters she "dreams," meaning they're not the same actors in and out of fantasy makeup. I appreciated the cleverness of the battle between the Red Queen's deck of cards army and the White Queen's chess pieces army. Visually the 3D effects made the CGI world pop. I liked the digitally created fish, monkeys, and frogs that serve in the Red Queen's court as well as Fry as the Cheshire Cat and Spall as Bayard the hound dog. However, this movie is not quite successful in making Alice grow up.

I can't say I have loved any of the other Scorsese pictures I've seen, but I highly respect the work he does for film preservation. It was a pleasure to see this fantastic story (in 3D) about an orphaned boy in a 20's/30's Paris train station that comes around to dealing with the theme of film preservation.

Asa Butterfield as Hugo is a mechanically gifted young man who cares for the clocks in the train station and has a secret mission to repair an automaton found and left by his father. He must avoid Sacha Baron Cohen as the station Inspector as well as his doberman. Baron Cohen and the dog are used for the sort of 3D (and comedic) effects you usually see in amusement parks. I'm not a fan of those cheap tricks, but appreciate the subtle third dimension added to the environment in which the characters find themselves. Constantly having to sneak about through the grates and between the walls of the station makes Hugo always suspicious. You see it in Asa's expressive face. I couldn't help but notice that he has the most expressive nose I've ever seen, the nostrils flare and it twitches constantly. Hugo tries to steal parts for his robot from a toy shop in the station, but is punished by the owner played by Ben Kingsley. Hugo must appeal to the toy-maker's goddaughter Isabelle. Chloe Grace Moretz is the bookish but outgoing Isabelle. They make a great innocent pair for the coming adventure. Hugo was pulled out of school and so never finished learning to read, so Isabelle introduces him to the wealth of stories in the overflowing train station library. While Isabelle has been sheltered from motion pictures, so Hugo recommends the comedies of Harold Lloyd and other silent shorts he remembers from the good days with his father. Many adventure story characters are name dropped. Many iconic images from silent films are referenced. This is literacy presented in an exciting way!

After a little detective work, called research in a library, a film historian named Rene Tabard, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, helps the kids realize that Isabelle's godfather Georges is more than he appears to be. Seeing the flashbacks of Georges Melies' early career, the reverence for that amazing technology that is film and the motion picture film camera, Melies' fall from popularity and later recognition through an AWESOME montage of colorful clips from his groundbreaking fantasy work is stunningly brilliant and dazzlingly gorgeous to this film buff. With the coincidence that Hugo's family is connected to Melies' family in ways no one was aware we are happily reminded of Hugo's philosophy that everyone has a purpose in this world like every mechanical part of a machine has a purpose that keeps the machine going.