Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 9: There Will Be Blood

The first DVD I watch to give me a complete view of a 1930s cinematic experience is the one for Captain Blood. This one has a lot of elements that were similar to The Adventures of Robin Hood, director Michael Curtiz and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland and Basil Rathbone. However Captain Blood was made three years previously to Robin Hood, sees Flynn in his first leading role and his first of six screen collaborations with De Havilland. The main problem I had with Captain Blood is that we have to buy the fact that Flynn is a doctor at least for the first part of the movie. After treating a man involved in the rebellions against James II Flynn is forced into slavery and whilst in the Caribbean commandeers a pirate ship that has rocked up to pillage the governor's land. Meanwhile Blood has fallen for the niece of a wealthy landlord who has designs on being governor but double crosses her for a life of piracy. From here it is usual Errol Flynn territory swashbuckling and a sword fight plus a quick appearance from Rathbone as a French pirate who wants to have De Havilland's character for himself. The finale is a high octane fight as the British fight the French for supremacy as Blood is happy that William of Orange is now in the throne. This is a very much us and them film as the aristocracy are portrayed as fancy clothes wearing cowards and the rebels are portrayed as hardworking, loyal and brave. Flynn is a captivating lead even in his early films and his chemistry with De Havilland is winning and it is easy to see why he was paired with her time and time again. As previously mentioned the DVD comes with a newsreel and a cartoon and gives the idea that this kind of cinema was pure escapism for the American depression era as the crowds would get to cheer on Flynn and boo the villains.

In terms of Oscar success this was nominated in the 1936 ceremony, I don't think it is as accomplished as the other film I have already watched from that year - Top Hat but it is still a pretty well made film. In fact it was nominated for five Oscars - Curtiz's direction of course is one of them as is picture alongside script (a bit dubious) and sound recording and music the former sounds ropey by today's standards but obviously was advanced at the time and the latter was a brilliant accompaniment to the swashbuckling adventures of Flynn and co. Despite being nominated it won nothing which is a shame as this was obviously the early forerunner to the big screen action blockbuster that we know today.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 8: The First to Five

So far I have watched quite a few iconic films on this list but in terms of Oscar history, It Happened One Night is possibly one of the most important. The film was one of the only three to win the Big Five awards (Picture, Actor, Actress, Screenplay and Director), I also have to admit that it is one I haven't seen but I have wanted to see for a while so this project was really ideal for an excuse to finally see what I was missing. What first struck me was the whole simplicity of the story - a rich girl runs away from her overprotective to father to be with her new husband but on the way meets a handsome journalist who helps her on her travels, unlike a lot of films that I have previously watched this film is timeless and could easily be made today. The knockabout humour of the stars and the road movie aspect made me think of the Rob Reiner films The Sure Thing and When Harry met Sally both films see mismatched couples meet on the road and survive together only to find that they actually love each other. However I'm wondering if a film like this was made today with the calibre of stars and script, if it would be nominated for an Oscar. Romantic comedies are very much seen as passé and to be fair a lot of them are awful but if someone made a really good one I think the snobbery of the Oscars would still prevent it from being nominated. But It Happened One Night kept me interested from beginning to end with its light script and its themes of oppression, money and journalism.

Clark Gable thoroughly deserved his Oscar for his charming portrayal of the journalist who turns his attention to Colbert's character after he realises who she is, but his declaration of love near the end of the film is brilliant. It's nice to see such a positive female lead, unlike Luise Rainer two years later, Claudette Colbert deserved her Oscar she was feisty and also naive more than holding her own against Gable. I have to say it's the first time since I started this that I felt that the female lead was a strong as the man despite some very famous actresses already passing my eyes (Olivia De Havilland, Ginger Rogers) I have to say that Colbert was glamorous and entertaining and a darn fine actress. Meanwhile Frank Capra's direction and Robert Riskin's adapted script were also more than deserving of their awards. From watching Clint Eastwood's Changeling I also learnt that this film wasn't expected to win a thing at it was Cecil B DeMille's Cleopatra (also starring Colbert) which was expected to sweep the board. Today it would be hard for a romantic comedy to top a historical epic but not so in 1935 when things were a lot simpler

It's also odd that this is the second film I've watched about 'newspaper men' (the first being The Front Page) and the second time that I've found some more of my Oscar films on YouTube. Out of my 1920s/1930s period of Oscar films I'm now only missing 22 out of a possible 86 titles. The one I mostly looking for is Cavalcade (1933) winner of the 1934 Best Picture Oscar, it is the only Best Picture winner from this era that I'm still hunting for so if anyone could tell me a place to find it that would be great. Be back soon with more Oscar movies.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 7: Good Golly Miss Folly

It's a weekend of winners in my next two films that I receive from LoveFilm. The first to arrive is the winner of the 1937 prize, The Great Ziegfeld. It is also the first film that I can compare to another from that year, that being Three Smart Girls. And if it was a two horse race I would have to put my money on Ziegfeld all the way. I have to put my hands up and admit that I didn't really know much about this film coming into it other than I had heard of the Ziegfeld Follies. But I have to say that this is a towering epic coming in at just under three hours, the DVD version also gave you a feel of those early days of cinema by playing the film's overture and interval music. The film is set over forty years and is partly based on the true life of Florence Ziegfeld Jr. the son of a respected music professor who wants to break into showbusiness from promoting a strongman at the Chicago's World Fair to having his own show on Broadway. Some of the best parts of the film for me were the opening hustle and bustle that were depicted in the World Fair scenes also a joy were the scenes of bickering between Ziegfeld and his long-time rival and later friend Billings. For me I feel that this relationship is the one that underpins the film and lasts a lot longer than any that Ziegfeld has with his leading ladies. The film started to slip for me when Ziegfeld hired and later married Anna Held. I felt that Luise Rainer failed to hold the screen and captivate in a way that others did. I found it completely surprising then that she won the Best Actress picture over Norma Shearer, Irene Dunne and Carole Lombarde. As this was at the height of MGM's Fame it isn't unusual that their big picture would get such awards glory but there was a rumour that Louis B Mayer bought the Oscar.

The film got going a bit later on with the introduction of Myrna Loy as Ziegfeld's second wife Billie Burke. Meanwhile there were some great cameo appearances from Ray Bolger and Fanny Brice as themselves, Brice particularly lit up the stage in her handful of scenes. The whole thing was an array of musical numbers and this added to the showbiz feel of the whole thing but at times I thought this ran a bit overlong. All in all a great spectacle with some wonderful musical numbers and an overlooked lead performance from William Powell (not even nominated for Best Actor) it also shed a light on the growing trends in the entertainment industry. In the latter parts of the film Ziegfeld is seen as losing his touch as stars from the stage rush to Hollywood he tries to rebuild his reputation but ends up losing all his money in The Wall Street Crash of 1929. I found parts of the film touching and emotional, others grandiose and a few moments of sheer boredom, Ziegfeld certainly was inconsistent but you can't argue with the glamour and stage production of the Follies numbers. There may've been a better film in the 1937 Oscar Best Picture list but I doubt there was one as grand as this.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 6: A Little Bit of Variety

Even before my YouTube discovery yesterday I had already come to the conclusion that I wouldn't get to watch all of The Hollywood Revue of 1929. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the second academy awards, the first of two ceremonies to be held in 1930. This is probably the oddest film on the list as it is simply a variety show featuring a ton of performers under contract for MGM in 1929. As this was a variety show a lot of the segments from it were up on YouTube even though the film as a whole is nowhere to be found on the internet. The most famous stars involved would have to be Joan Crawford, Buster Keaton, Nomra Shearer, Laurel and Hardy and Jack Benny who acted as compere. In terms of being nominated for an Oscar I'm a little bemused by the whole thing if truth be told. Apparently at that ceremony no official nominees had been announced so it seems The Hollywood Revue may've just got lucky. Even for a variety show its very patchy, I think the lack of an audience didn't help matters if there'd been somewhere there to laugh at Jack Benny's gags or Laurel and Hardy's magician routine then I may've enjoyed it more but as it is only a couple of the musical numbers made me smirk.

At the same time this film is of some historical value. For one thing it was the first itme a lot of these stars had been heard on screen, many of them were stars of the silent era. It was the first time that Stan and Ollie's voices were heard on screen and it seemed to add an extra element to their performance. Similarly a musical Romeo and Juliet segment (which I wasn't able to find) featured Norma Shearer (she would later feature in the 1936 film version) and Jack Gilbert. Gilbert had been a swashbuckling star of the silent era but after hearing his pleasant singing voice he lost a lot of the charm that he'd portrayed in those silent films. The film is also the first time we ever hear Singin' in the Rain on celluloid this is done mid-way through the performance and also as the finale appearing in two strip-technicolour again something that seems ancient know but very modern at the time. So although as a film it makes no sense, The Hollywood Revue of 1929 deserves a place a hisotrical film but not an Oscar film.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 5: A Good Journalist Never Reveals His Sources

With no LoveFilm DVDs present I turn to the one film available in their 'Watch Now' selection - The Front Page. Adapted from a play of the same name this apparently is considered a Screwball Comedy but frankly I didn't find many laughs until the final scene. I could tell it was a play adaptation straight away as the action was very insular, it being almost entirely set in a small and stuffy newsroom at the court building overlooking the gallows at the county jail. The whole thing is given a sinister edge straight away by the theme of hangings almost being mentioned every five minutes. Public executions it seems were pretty commonplace at the time and the crime in particular in this film is that a man is accused of killing a black policeman. Top reporter Hildy Johnson is about to move to New York with his new wife but his plans change when he is forced to help Earl Williams, the man who is about to be hanged, to escape. With its themes of race relations and political espionage the film could've been a top class thriller but for me it just feels pretty dated. Part of the reason may have been that the film hasn't been particularly well kept and the print was pretty dodgy. But another reason is that this was the era in which sound was first introduced and it seemed that a lot of the actors were still getting used to that phenomenon, The Front Page was definitely what you would call a talkie, one of the first films to appear following the advent of sound at the films. That's not to say there's not much to like in The Front Page, all the performances and the banter between the reporters is very good indeed as are the film's basic plot structure.

I think that if I'd have watched it in 1931 I would've been impressed but in 2010 I would have to give it a must try harder. The film has been remade twice since once under its original title in a version starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon and one where the story was slightly tweaked so that the character of Hildy Johnson became a woman and was played by Rosalind Russell acting alongside Cary Grant as the newspaper editor the film was the classic, His Girl Friday. In terms of its Oscar success it was nominated for three awards - Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Adolphe Menju who played the newspaper's editor, a role today that I would consider more supporting than lead. However it did not win a single one of these awards and Best Picture that year went to Cimarron. I would have to say though, in terms of Oscar nominations, I think it did well to recieve all three.

Later on in the day, trying to find more of these films on google videos etc. I stumble across a YouTube page where the user in question has loads of these Oscar nominated films uploaded. I think a lot of these I would never have been able to find without the help of this certain user, but at the same time I'm never one to play nark and reveal the name of this certain user or indeed the films I have obtained from YouTube but suffice to say its a great relief to say that I will be able to watch more films than I first intended.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 4: Smarty-Pants

Up to now all of the films I have watched I have known as either being classics (Robin Hood, Top Hat) or just by reputation (Wings). But for the first time I didn't know what to expect from Three Smart Girls, the latest film in my list and a nominee from 1937. That year's Best Picture Oscar went to The Great Ziegfeld and the only other film I recognise on the list from that year is Mr Deeds Goes to Town. Three Smart Girls is a knockabout film about three sisters who try to stop their father from marrying a gold-digging socialite with a manipulative mother. But really it was the launching pad for Deanna Durbin who, by the age of 14, was the biggest paid star in Hollywood at the time but I have never heard of her. Here she plays youngest sister Penny Craig the one who seems to be able to solve all the problems but is also a lot more precocious then her two older sisters. Durbin was also a recording artists and one of the things that really irked me about the film was the need for her to burst into song every so often I felt that these sequences really slowed the film down. Of course this being a basic farce the main joke is mistaken identity as their father's business associate arranges for a penniless Hungarian count to romance the gold-digger but they end up mistaking him for an Anglo-Australian lord who in turn falls for middle sister Kay. In the end though everything works out as Penny runs away their father realises his mistake in marrying the gold-digger and eventually reunites with their mother. The two older sisters find love with the business associate and the lord respectively and the gold-digger and the mother end up on a ferry journey with the Hungarian count. The film was so succesful that it spawned a sequel however Barbara Reed who played Kay did not return for the sequel. Meanwhile Durbin only lasted for about fifteen years in Hollywood ending her film career in the late 1940s and never giving an interview after 1948, while the other actresses who played the girls also had short-lived careers.

I have to say that this is the first film that I didn't really care for. Part of the reason is Deanna Durbin who I would describe as the Shirley Temple of her time, certainly in this film at least. Nan Grey has little to do as eldest sister Joan and Barbara Reed was the only one of the girls that I found particularly likeable. Another problem I had was that their was a massive age gap between Kay and the Lord (played by Ray Milland, the only actor in the film I recognised) but this was never really bought up and was accepted as the norm. There was a bit of fun to be had with the Hungarian count and the manipulative mother as well as the girl's father who was a very weak and harrassed man. At the end of the day it was all very twee and I'm guessing as it was made during the depression in America that people needed cheering up and listening to Durbin's songs and watching all the happy romantic ramblings of The Three Smart Girls. But I for one didn't care for it and didn't think it should've been nominated for an Oscar

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 3: Back in the Hood

As previously stated the first part of this project is looking at films that were nominated for Best Picture in the Oscar ceremonies held from 1929 to 1939 and made in the years between 1927 and 1938. The last film I watched was 1929 winner, Wings made in 1927 which as I previously discussed was a silent film made in black and white. Fastforward just over 10 years and the next film I watch is The Adventures of Robin Hood made in 1939 and what a difference those years made.Now the film is available in technicolour, with a terrific score and fantastic sound as well as great ensemble cast. I think I may have seen this when I was very young but since I have developed my love of films I haven't tried to watch it again. It has become famous because of Errol Flynn's lead performance, Flynn was of course heralded for his swashbuckling nature and was one of the stars of the era. In fact the most famous scenes involve his sword battles and various action stunts but thing that wowed me was the use of colour. Its the first film I've watched on this challenge that is filmed in colour and it certainly makes use of this new phenomenon. Every piece of clothing is incredibly colourful and striking from Robin's green tunic to Guy of Gisbourne and Prince John's finery and Maid Marion's dress. The sets are also brilliantly designed and one of the three Oscars that the film won was for the art direction. The score also won an Oscar and sound plays a big part in the film and adds to the mood of the action. 

 

The story itself is very traditional and is possibly the big screen version of Robin Hood that sticks most notably to the actual legend of Robin Hood it is much about the wars between Normans and Saxons as it is between The Merry Men and Prince John and the rest of them. Usually in filmic versions of Robin Hood it is The Sherrif of Nottingham who is the main villain but in this film he has been made into a comic henchman instead it is the snivelling Prince John in charge and Guy of Gisbourne who does all his handiwork, meanwhile the Maid Marian character is quite strong but at the same time quite cold for most of the film. The film is very theatrical and has big performances, its no surprising that Flynn was one of the stars of the time as he is a commanding presence and plays a very good hero while Basil Rathbone, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes, exceeds as Guy. Olivia De Havilland is a perfect leading lady glamourous and able to hold her own with the men while Casablanca's Claude Rains is perfectly suited to the role of Prince John. The film flits from comedy to action to romance and is probably akin to today's blockbusters this technicolour spectacular having the same effect on 1930s cinemagoers as Avatar had on us last year. 

 

However just like Avatar, Adventures of Robin Hood only picked up minor awards for Editing, Art Direction and Score. What surprised me was that no performances were nominated from the film as I thought the acting was great. Again though I cannot judge whether this was the best film in the category until I've seen the other nine films that accompanied it including that year's winner You Can't Take it With You. What I do know though is that I thoroughly enjoyed Flynn and co's retelling of the classic Nottingham-based adventure.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 2: The Project Takes Wings

On my first mission to find out how many of these Oscar films I could get on DVD, I was dejected to learn that the DVD was not available. Luckily YouTube came to my aid and I found out that someone had posted the film in 14 parts. At over two hours long this silent film was a bit much to handle at first as I wasn't accustomed to the formula of the pictures followed by the dialogue putting up on the screen. Of course I've seen films like Nosferatu and Metropolis, but those are more of the neo-realism era this is a full on U.S.A.-OK film. The story deals with Jack and David two men who enrol in the Air Force while Jack's girl next door would-be love interest Mary also signs up to the Motor Corps. I thought, seeing as it was 1927, the flying sequences are particularly impressive and the music that accompanies the picture is also well judged.

However the film is archaic in its views and some of the scenes seem laughable. Men training by boxing each other and an odd scene in a Paris nightclub are two examples of where Wings goes wrong. Another probelm is the film's patriotic nature by telling us that the Americans were responsible for winning World War I and the British are portrayed as jolly men who are along for the ride. The performances are impressive especially from starlet of the time Clara Bow as Mary who's expressions made her perfect for the silent era. At the end of the day though this looks at the effects on war both on those fighting and those they've left behind. In 2010 The Hurt Locker won Best Picture but despite its superior effects and scripts it shares a lot of similarities with Wings. Whether Wings deserved to win Best Picture needs to be seen I have to watch its two competitor films but for now its a clear favourite.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 1: Putting on My Top Hat

A somewhat succesful hunt means that I have found the first two winners of Best Picture: Wings and The Broadway Melody which will be watched in due course.

But for now today I sat down and watched Top Hat.

The film was one of 10 nominated in the 1936 awards ceremony and is possibly one of the most famous musicals of all time. But yes I have never seen it until today. I don't know why but I think I had an aversion to the Fred and Ginger movies for some strange reason but I have to say I really enjoyed it.You can see why the film was considered one of the best of its year. In a time where films were just coming into the age of sound this one already had it effortlessly implanted into the film the music from the very start was toe-tapping joy. Of course some of the songs are still implanted in the culture from 'Cheek to Cheek/I'm in Heaven' to 'Putting on my Top Hat' and the whole musical aspect is very well done without being overdone. Some of the slapstick comedy and farcical nature of the film does seem archane by today's standards but its still quite funny in some places especially from Eric Blore as Bates the manservant while Fred and Ginger's chemistry is always winning and here is no different.

Overall I would say that this is a fine early sound feature with some brilliant musical numbers and a rightly Oscar-nominated set design. As the rest of these films roll in I will have to judge which one of the 1936 films was the best but Top Hat though nominated for four Oscars went home empty handed, Best Picture that year went to the original Mutiny on the Bounty. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to watch another Oscar picture and possibly a winner.

Big Oscar Challenge - The Journey Begins

As I watch this year's Oscars I'm impressed by how many films I have seen that are in the running for the awards. However during the overlong ad breaks I find myself glimpsing back into Oscar's past and there's a LOAD of Films I haven't seen.

So here's the challenge:

To watch or in some cases re-watch every film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar before next year Oscars. But first here's some research I did.

There have been 458 films nominated for Best Picture. As not all this year's have been released over here yet I'm looking at the 448 previous Best Picture nominees.

Of those I own just 65.

As I am member of LoveFilm I am able to order another 274 of them.

That means I have to find 109 of them by other means.

I will be taking my mission decade to decade starting in the 1920s and 1930s segment. There was only one ceremony in the 1920s and the 1929 event only had three best picture contenders. From there there were two Oscars in 1930 both with five nominees and one in 1931 again with five nominees. With the exception of 1933 where there was no awards show every year the contest had ten nominees meaning that this period in total has a total of 88 films for me to watch and as you can imagine this is the time where a lot of these films are hard to come by.

I start by adding the ones I can to my LoveFilm account and the rest I will have to find by other means. And as I type my Big Oscar challenge will be starting tomorrow as my first film 1936 contender - Top Hat will be my first film to watch.