Thursday 30 January 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 245: Little Devils
As I've previously discussed in other posts, comedy was a genre that was being sparsely represented at the Oscars in the 1970s. One genre that has rarely had a look in during any of the decades is that of horror which has hardly featured in the last 85 years. In fact it took over forty years for a horror film to garner a nod at the Academy Awards but the film that was given the nomination certainly deserved it.
That film in question was The Exorcist, William Friedkin's version of William Peter Blatty's story. The Exorcist is one of those films that I don't really want to write a plot summary for as I feel a lot of people already know it. But the main bulk of the film is based around actress Chris MacNeill who gets increasingly worried about the behaviour of her twelve year old daughter Reagan. She believes that Reagan's mood swings and uncharacteristic behaviour is due to psychological problems. But in fact her daughter has become possessed by an evil spirit which found its way into their house. Although Reagan's possession and the famous exorcism scenes are what made the film well-known, I feel that this The Exorcist is more about the journey of young priest Damien Karras. The priest and psychiatrist struggles with his faith throughout the course of the film and this story comes to a head following the death of his mother. It's his idea to go through with the exorcism and he ultimately becomes the hero of the tale. Perhaps the film's more memorable priest is Lankester Merrin, who is the exorcist of the title, but he only appears briefly at the start and finish of the movie.
Indeed one of the great things about The Exorcist is the way in which the tension and horror are built up so all of the pivotal characters are involved in the final exorcism scene. Friedkin brilliantly builds up the tension throughout the film, making you question for ages what the problem with Reagan actually is. The interconnecting stories featuring the MacNeils and Damien then come to a head in possibly one of the most famous horror sequences of all time. From the lighting to Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' sequence every part of the film process is used to full effect and I'm personally still freaked out by certain scenes every time I watch The Exorcist. The four central cast members are all fantastic most notably Jason Miller and Max Von Sydow as Karras and Merrin. Doing my research for this post it turned out that the original casting plans could have seen Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando take on the roles. I do feel this would have been a mistake and The Exorcist actually benefited from having a lack of familiar faces. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair meanwhile are fantastic as the down-to-earth family who are inflicted by an evil demon. Blair in particular should be praised for her Oscar-nominated performance and I do feel she should have won the award. Though The Exorcist was nominated for ten awards, it only won for Sound Editing and its excellent screenplay. However, I do feel that a Best Picture award could have possibly been warranted if only for all the good work that The Exorcist did in promoting the horror genre as a whole.
Sunday 26 January 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 244: History Repeating Itself
A lot of the Oscar-nominated films that I've already watched have been based around real-life events, primarily historical stories. For example the plot of how Henry VIII met and married Anne Boleyn has already been told in two films - the Private Life of Henry VIII and A Man for All Seasons. But those films tell the story form the perspectives of King Henry and Thomas More and not from that of the woman who would be Queen. Thankfully, we now have Anne of the Thousand Days which shows us everything from Anne's first meeting with Henry to her eventual execution.
The film commences with Henry signing the document condemning Anne to death, before flashing back to the first time they met. Throughout the film Anne is presented as quite a strong-willed woman who outright refuses to become the King's latest lover, partly due to his prior relationship with his sister Mary. Part of Henry's attraction to Anne is the fact that he treats her as if he weren't the king, but this charm soon wares off as she begins to irritate him. However, she still refuses to let him have his wicked way with her until he makes her his Queen. She does this by undermining the power that Cardinal Wolsey possesses and showing Henry that he doesn't need the church. Anne's words also bring power to Thomas Cromwell who helps him set up a new church that lets Henry divorce his wife Catherine and marry Anne. But Anne's life as the Queen isn't all rosy as she isn't accepted by the people of England and when she gives birth to a daughter, Henry starts to tire of her. But Anne lets the power go to her head and she tries to prevent Henry from starting an affair with the younger and prettier Jane Seymour. As the arguments start to fly between the two, Henry puts pressure on Cromwell to find a way out of his marriage to Anne. Cromwell's scheming ultimately results in Anne's death and the end of her thousand days with Henry.
There's no denying that Anne of The Thousand Days is incredibly melodramatic, a fact which is bolstered by a scenery chewing performance by Richard Burton. Indeed, Burton's King Henry VIII is so cartoonish that occasionally you feel you like you're watching a pantomime. As somebody who has quite a bit of knowledge of this time in history, Anne of the Thousand Days feels like a bit of a potted guide to the whole reign of Anne Boleyn. To me it has none of the class that A Man For All Seasons possessed and instead is over-the-top in every way. That's not to say it doesn't have its positives primarily all of the ascetic detail from the art direction through to the Oscar-winning costumes. Geneviève Bujold's performance as Anne was equally impressive as we saw her transform the young Queen from a strong-willed innocent into a manipulative game-player. To me Bujold was the star of the show and she made this into Anne's story, even when she wasn't on screen. There were a couple of supporting players who briefly shone namely Irene Papas as the dignified Queen Catherine and William Squire's brief appearances as a wise Sir Thomas More. But, alongside Burton, all of the other cast members were overplaying their roles too much for me to enjoy them. Though Anne of a Thousand Days scooped a massive ten nominations at the Oscars, it only won the costumes prize and it seems as if the makers of the film curried favour with the Academy by serving a champagne dinner after every screening. Thankfully, those who in charge of the Oscars today are a lot less bribeable and instead watch every film before coming to an informed decision on the year's best films. That's what happens isn't it?
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 242-243: Robert De Niro's Waiting
As you've seen so far in this blog, a lot of stars came into their own in the 1970s. One of them was definitely Robert De Niro, who we've already seen in Oscar-winning form when he appeared in The Godfather Part Two. However, it was only later in the decade that De Niro became a leading man and this was partly thanks to his association with director Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese and De Niro's first Oscar-nominated collaboration came in the form of Taxi Driver. The film saw De Niro playing Travis Bickle, a former marine turned cabbie whose insomnia meant that he often trawled the streets of New York late at night. The episodic structure of Taxi Driver saw Travis struggle to comprehend the stresses of modern day life as we quickly learnt that he was a fairly unhinged young man. The first half of the film sees Travis attempt to woo young campaigner Betsy but their relationship is cut short after he takes her to see a fairly explicit Swedish film. Betsy's rejection sends Travis further down a dark street as he get himself into tip top condition and buys a gun which he later uses to stop an armed robbery at a convenience store. The final half of the film watches Travis' plan to assassinate presidential candidate Charles Palantine which is ultimately quashed when he is spotted by secret service guards. Instead, Travis sees it as his mission to prevent young prostitute Iris from being corrupted by her pimp Sport. The relationship between Travis and Iris is an interesting one as he attempts to be a positive influence on this young soul. As the film reaches its violent and bloody conclusion, the once incredibly isolated Travis finds himself becoming something of a hero.
From the first strains of Bernard Hermann's haunting score, I was completely entranced by Taxi Driver. Though I have seen the film before, I think that I appreciate it a lot more than I did when I first saw it ten years ago. I personally feel that this was the film that put Scorsese on the map and showed what an interesting film-maker he could be. Oddly, he wasn't nominated for Best Director and there was no love either for Paul Schrader's brilliantly dark screenplay. I have to say Schrader's script perfectly constructs one of film's most memorable anti-heroes and he and Scorsese do a brilliant job of making us identify with someone who is as mentally unstable as Bickle. But I believe that the primary reason that we want to follow Travis is because of De Niro's Oscar-nominated performance. I feel that he makes you understand Bickle's mind and the reasons he has behind all of his ideas from taking Betsy to the adult cinema to attempting to rescue Iris from Sport. De Niro is ably supported by Jodie Foster, the only other cast member to be nominated for an Oscar, who is absolutely brilliant as the aforementioned Iris. Foster plays Iris as someone who has plenty of experience beyond her years but you can see behind her eyes that she's just a frightened little girl. Cybil Shepherd is equally great as the stuck-up Betsy while Harvey Keitel is fairly frightening as Iris' pimp. As with a lot of Scorsese's films, Taxi Driver is an ode to New York, a city which is captured here by Michael Chapman's superb cinematography which lets us see the area through the eyes of Travis. Not always an easy watch, Taxi Driver isn't as violent as I remembered and instead Scorsese really makes you anticipate the violence by building up the tension. I'm personally not sure if the ending makes sense after what has come before, but ultimately I feel that Taxi Driver is one of the best films of the 1970s and the fact that it didn't win one Oscar is a literal travesty.
Another De Niro starring feature that did a lot better at the Oscars was The Deer Hunter, which won the Best Picture prize at the 1979 ceremony. Set over three acts; The Deer Hunter tells the story of a group of smalltown steel workers who go to war in Vietnam and are later unable to shake the horrors of the conflict following the fighting. De Niro plays the de facto leader of the group, Michael Vronsky, a strong silent man who loves to hunt deer but isn't great with talking about his emotions. The first act sees Michael and his friends celebrate the impending wedding of their friend Steve before the pair journey to Vietnam alongside Steve's best man Nick. The scenes before and during the wedding appear to be there to set up the relationships between the characters namely the fact that Michael has a crush on Nick's girlfriend Linda. This almost hour-long act concludes with the characters going on the first of two infamous deer hunts. The second act is definitely the film's most powerful; as we see the trio put in a Prisoner of War camp and forced into playing Russian Roulette. Though Michael engineers their escape, the resulting rescue sees Steve lose his legs and Nick being mentally scarred by their actions. Michael later returns home alone and can't seem to fit into the life that he once had. He attempts to start a relationship with Linda but feels he must return to Saigon, if only to find out what happened to Nick.
The Deer Hunter is often held up as one of the best films of all time, and according to the Academy it was the best film released in 1978, but I have to say I was a little unimpressed. Firstly the positives, Vilmos Zsigmond's brilliant cinematography which brought the entire film to life and put the viewer firmly in the middle of the action. Zsigmond was able to shoot everything to perfection whether it be an incredibly bloody scene in Vietnam or a simple bowling came back in America. The performances were incredibly involving throughout with De Niro underplaying his role as Michael. Unlike the characters he's previously played; Michael really is a man of action and so De Niro really had to tone down his usually animated expressions. I feel that he pulled this off, even if it did mean he was outshone by several members of the supporting cast. Christopher Walken in particular was the stand-out here, and the only member of the cast to win an Oscar, as Steve who goes on a dark journey after his time in Vietnam. Walken was absolutely spellbinding in the final Russian Roulette scenes and he more than deserved his Best Supporting Actor award. Another performer who became a big name thanks to The Deer Hunter was Meryl Streep, who garnered her first of many Oscar nominations. As Linda, Streep really added an emotional core to the film as she sort of let us know how the war had affected those in America. The Deer Hunter sadly marked the end of the career of John Cazale, who died of cancer before the film was completed. In fact Cazale's role of Stanley was almost re-cast before his real-life girlfriend Streep threatened to walk out if this was done. As he has done throughout all of the films we've seen him appear in, Cazale adds a nervous energy to the role of Stanley. Just like with Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter has a similarly memorable score and I do feel that composer Stanley Myers deserved at least a nomination for the film's music.
To me the biggest negative about The Deer Hunter is that it feels a little over-indulgent, primarily due to its almost three-hour running time. I do feel that Michael Cimino really needed to edit down some of the scenes, especially those in the first act, as a lot of them don't seem particularly necessary. While I understand the importance of letting us get to know the characters, some of the scenes at Stanley's wedding added nothing to the overall story of the film. The film's screenplay was similarly baggy and some of the dialogue felt a little clunky and uneven. The final scene in particular was a little too patriotic for my liking as we see the surviving characters spontaneously break out into a chorus of 'God Bless America'. That's not to say The Deer Hunter was a poor film, it just needed to have been cut down a little bit more as the pace was poor at best. The ironic thing is that a film that needed serious editing down actually won the Oscar for Best Editing.
Next time we have a right royal film which features a well-told story.
Scorsese and De Niro's first Oscar-nominated collaboration came in the form of Taxi Driver. The film saw De Niro playing Travis Bickle, a former marine turned cabbie whose insomnia meant that he often trawled the streets of New York late at night. The episodic structure of Taxi Driver saw Travis struggle to comprehend the stresses of modern day life as we quickly learnt that he was a fairly unhinged young man. The first half of the film sees Travis attempt to woo young campaigner Betsy but their relationship is cut short after he takes her to see a fairly explicit Swedish film. Betsy's rejection sends Travis further down a dark street as he get himself into tip top condition and buys a gun which he later uses to stop an armed robbery at a convenience store. The final half of the film watches Travis' plan to assassinate presidential candidate Charles Palantine which is ultimately quashed when he is spotted by secret service guards. Instead, Travis sees it as his mission to prevent young prostitute Iris from being corrupted by her pimp Sport. The relationship between Travis and Iris is an interesting one as he attempts to be a positive influence on this young soul. As the film reaches its violent and bloody conclusion, the once incredibly isolated Travis finds himself becoming something of a hero.
From the first strains of Bernard Hermann's haunting score, I was completely entranced by Taxi Driver. Though I have seen the film before, I think that I appreciate it a lot more than I did when I first saw it ten years ago. I personally feel that this was the film that put Scorsese on the map and showed what an interesting film-maker he could be. Oddly, he wasn't nominated for Best Director and there was no love either for Paul Schrader's brilliantly dark screenplay. I have to say Schrader's script perfectly constructs one of film's most memorable anti-heroes and he and Scorsese do a brilliant job of making us identify with someone who is as mentally unstable as Bickle. But I believe that the primary reason that we want to follow Travis is because of De Niro's Oscar-nominated performance. I feel that he makes you understand Bickle's mind and the reasons he has behind all of his ideas from taking Betsy to the adult cinema to attempting to rescue Iris from Sport. De Niro is ably supported by Jodie Foster, the only other cast member to be nominated for an Oscar, who is absolutely brilliant as the aforementioned Iris. Foster plays Iris as someone who has plenty of experience beyond her years but you can see behind her eyes that she's just a frightened little girl. Cybil Shepherd is equally great as the stuck-up Betsy while Harvey Keitel is fairly frightening as Iris' pimp. As with a lot of Scorsese's films, Taxi Driver is an ode to New York, a city which is captured here by Michael Chapman's superb cinematography which lets us see the area through the eyes of Travis. Not always an easy watch, Taxi Driver isn't as violent as I remembered and instead Scorsese really makes you anticipate the violence by building up the tension. I'm personally not sure if the ending makes sense after what has come before, but ultimately I feel that Taxi Driver is one of the best films of the 1970s and the fact that it didn't win one Oscar is a literal travesty.
Another De Niro starring feature that did a lot better at the Oscars was The Deer Hunter, which won the Best Picture prize at the 1979 ceremony. Set over three acts; The Deer Hunter tells the story of a group of smalltown steel workers who go to war in Vietnam and are later unable to shake the horrors of the conflict following the fighting. De Niro plays the de facto leader of the group, Michael Vronsky, a strong silent man who loves to hunt deer but isn't great with talking about his emotions. The first act sees Michael and his friends celebrate the impending wedding of their friend Steve before the pair journey to Vietnam alongside Steve's best man Nick. The scenes before and during the wedding appear to be there to set up the relationships between the characters namely the fact that Michael has a crush on Nick's girlfriend Linda. This almost hour-long act concludes with the characters going on the first of two infamous deer hunts. The second act is definitely the film's most powerful; as we see the trio put in a Prisoner of War camp and forced into playing Russian Roulette. Though Michael engineers their escape, the resulting rescue sees Steve lose his legs and Nick being mentally scarred by their actions. Michael later returns home alone and can't seem to fit into the life that he once had. He attempts to start a relationship with Linda but feels he must return to Saigon, if only to find out what happened to Nick.
The Deer Hunter is often held up as one of the best films of all time, and according to the Academy it was the best film released in 1978, but I have to say I was a little unimpressed. Firstly the positives, Vilmos Zsigmond's brilliant cinematography which brought the entire film to life and put the viewer firmly in the middle of the action. Zsigmond was able to shoot everything to perfection whether it be an incredibly bloody scene in Vietnam or a simple bowling came back in America. The performances were incredibly involving throughout with De Niro underplaying his role as Michael. Unlike the characters he's previously played; Michael really is a man of action and so De Niro really had to tone down his usually animated expressions. I feel that he pulled this off, even if it did mean he was outshone by several members of the supporting cast. Christopher Walken in particular was the stand-out here, and the only member of the cast to win an Oscar, as Steve who goes on a dark journey after his time in Vietnam. Walken was absolutely spellbinding in the final Russian Roulette scenes and he more than deserved his Best Supporting Actor award. Another performer who became a big name thanks to The Deer Hunter was Meryl Streep, who garnered her first of many Oscar nominations. As Linda, Streep really added an emotional core to the film as she sort of let us know how the war had affected those in America. The Deer Hunter sadly marked the end of the career of John Cazale, who died of cancer before the film was completed. In fact Cazale's role of Stanley was almost re-cast before his real-life girlfriend Streep threatened to walk out if this was done. As he has done throughout all of the films we've seen him appear in, Cazale adds a nervous energy to the role of Stanley. Just like with Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter has a similarly memorable score and I do feel that composer Stanley Myers deserved at least a nomination for the film's music.
To me the biggest negative about The Deer Hunter is that it feels a little over-indulgent, primarily due to its almost three-hour running time. I do feel that Michael Cimino really needed to edit down some of the scenes, especially those in the first act, as a lot of them don't seem particularly necessary. While I understand the importance of letting us get to know the characters, some of the scenes at Stanley's wedding added nothing to the overall story of the film. The film's screenplay was similarly baggy and some of the dialogue felt a little clunky and uneven. The final scene in particular was a little too patriotic for my liking as we see the surviving characters spontaneously break out into a chorus of 'God Bless America'. That's not to say The Deer Hunter was a poor film, it just needed to have been cut down a little bit more as the pace was poor at best. The ironic thing is that a film that needed serious editing down actually won the Oscar for Best Editing.
Next time we have a right royal film which features a well-told story.
Saturday 18 January 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 241: Does Exactly What it Says on the Tin
Film titles are obviously used to draw people in by either enticing them with a character's name or intriguing them with a piece of dialogue taken from the film. But, in the case of the next nominee on the list, the film is nothing more than a description of the plot itself. Love Story tells the tale of Oliver Barrett IV and Jenny Cavalleri who meet whilst they are both students at Harvard. Oliver is initially presented as a privileged jock who plays in the university's hockey team and whose father wants him to attend law school. Meanwhile, quick-witted Jenny is a musical maestro but is from a much poorer background and is the daughter of a widower baker. After several spats, Jenny and Oliver fall in love and the pair decides to get married, primarily to spite his parents. Oliver is eventually accepted to law school but is cut off by his father after he marries Jenny against his wishes. Realising that she needs to support her new husband, Jenny begins teaching and puts off her future until he can get a job. Screenwriter Erich Seagal expertly ties in big story points with more well-observed banter between the couple as they continue their life together. As somebody who was already aware of the way the film pans out, the big reveal in the final act didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was how quickly the romance finally ended between the pair and I have to say that I wasn't particularly moved by Jenny and Oliver's final scene together. In fact I was more taken by the scene between Oliver and his father as the latter attempts to reconcile with the former. The ambiguous nature of the way this relationship ends provides an interesting conclusion to an otherwise fairly predictable film.
Not that there's anything wrong with being predictable, indeed I found myself rather enjoying Love Story even though it's fairly cheesy by today's standards. I think one of the problems watching these films retrospectively is that I'm influenced by all of the films that I've already seen which in some way take their inspiration from Love Story. I do feel that if I'd watched the film at the time I'd probably have enjoyed it more and been a lot less cynical about its plot. At just over ninety minutes, I found the film to be incredibly well-paced and we didn't have to wait too long until Oliver and Jenny fell in love. For the majority of the film, Seagal's dialogue feels genuine as he combines the couple's early banter with some real emotional clout in the later scenes. Arthur Hiller's direction really focused on the two central characters and he really tried hard for us to get to know them and really care about their ultimate destinies. Hiller was lucky with the fact that leads Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal had winning chemistry and made a believable couple from the minute their characters laid their eyes on each other. Both MacGraw and O'Neal were nominated for acting awards and I feel this is more than deserved because without them the film would fall apart. Despite seven nominations Love Story only picked up one Oscar with Francis Lai winning for his memorable score which was highlighted by the movie's famous theme. I do feel that your enjoyment of Love Story hinges on whether or not you're willing to buy into the romance at the heart of the film. Though I didn't whole-heartedly become immersed in Oliver and Jenny's relationship, I loved the characters so much that I was swept up in their whirlwind romance. Overall, Love Story proved that sometimes a simple title is best and, in terms of this film, it really reflected the ultimate tone of the narrative.
Next time we have a double bill from an actor who really came into his own during the 1970s
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 240: Banged Up Abroad
So far during this 1970s portion of the Oscar Challenge, a lot of films have felt that they dwell on quite bleak subjects. A case in point is 1979 nominee Midnight Express which was adapted from the book by Billy Hayes by a young Oliver Stone, who went on to win an Oscar for the film's screenplay. The story involves Hayes' arrest in Turkey for possession of two hasish blocks and his eventual incarceration for the crime. Along the way Billy is promised to stay in the prison for only a few years before his case is overturned and he is forced to stay in the prison for at least thirty years. Director Alan Parker presents the prison as a harsh and desolate place where even children are beaten on a daily basis. The Turkish guards essentially come off as sadistic and have no compassion for those who have been locked up. Billy is initially kept sane thanks to his friendship with a number of Western prisoners namely heroin addict Max and loudmouth American Jimmy. As time passes, the group attempt to escape but are gradually worn down by the brutal regime that is enforced within the prison. Eventually Billy loses his sanity and is only revived by a visit from his girlfriend who pleads with him to escape the confines of the institution before he loses himself completely. The final scenes of the film that play out apparently have little to do with what actually happened to Hayes himself, and that has definitely been a bone of contention ever since.
Despite this being an excellently directed Alan Parker film, to me Midnight Express has all the hallmarks of a Stone movie. The incredibly graphic scenes of violence and sexual activity coupled with a sense of despair would be go-to storytelling devices for Stone in his later films. Indeed, after reading the disparity between the film and Hayes' actual journey, it appears as if Stone had to liven up the ending to the story as what really happened was fairly dull. I have to say, at certain points, the film was pretty heavy-going especially in the latter scenes of the film. Thankfully there were several elements of the movie that worked quite well namely the set pieces, which provided the films major highlights. The opening scene in particular, from Billy's strapping the drugs to his chest to his eventual arrest, was well-orchestrated and vividly filmed. Despite being heavily fictionalised, the scenes in the prison's mental wing were similarly well-written and completely harrowing. The film was also boosted by an excellent and stark score courtesy of Oscar winner Giorgio Moroder which really complemented the awkward nature of the plot. I was personally surprised that Brad Davis didn't receive a nomination for Best Actor as he perfectly anchored the film as Billy Hayes. In fact the only acting nod the film garnered was in the Supporting Actor category as John Hurt was nominated for his turn as the drug addict Max. Hurt's scenes were indeed memorable, but I personally wanted to see more of him and especially his cat. Ultimately, I don't think you can really enjoy a film like Midnight Express but you can certainly admire it, as I did, for its bleak narrative and stark visuals.
Next time we leave the hate behind and concentrate on the love.
Sunday 12 January 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 238-239: Coming of Age
As someone who grew up on a diet of 1980s Brat Pack classics, I always felt that John Hughes blazed the trail as far as classic high school films went. However the coming of age film can be traced back a decade earlier as the 1970s Oscar nominees provide two teen classics. Both feature young men on their way out of high school as they look forward to the next chapter in their life. The two are similar as they look back at prior decades, focus on small town life and have endings that can't exactly be described as happy.
The first of these two films is Peter Boganovich's The Last Picture Show which turns the clock back twenty years to 1951. Striking itself out visually, the film is shot entirely in black and white and focuses on the small town of Anarene in Texas. Anarene is portrayed as a character in and of itself with the protagonists mainly congregating in the town's pool hall, diner and titular picture show. All of these businesses are owned by the fatherly Sam the Lion, a sort of surrogate parent to the town's youths, who is the guiding light in the lives of our two central characters. These characters are high-school seniors Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson who over the course of the film, fall in and out of love with both ladies and each other. Duane is going steady with Jacy Farrow, a popular and classy young lady whose parents see Duane as a class below their daughter. Throughout the film, Jacy is portrayed as quite manipulative and does several things simply to get attention. Meanwhile, Sonny is initially dating a fairly unlikeable girl who he later dumps as he dreams of getting with Jacy. Eventually he finds himself attracted to the wife of his basketball coach Ruth Popper, but their affair is tinged with sadness as she realises he'll soon leave her for someone his own age. At times the story gets quite bleak with death affecting Sonny and Duane in different ways and by the end they realise that the Anarene at the end of the film isn't the Anarene they knew growing up.
Though utterly bleak at times, I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Picture Show from start to finish. It does have a fairly episodic tone but at its heart is the friendship between two men on the verge of adulthood. Boganovich's decision to shoot the film in black and white gives it a timeless quality and makes it feel more of its time than it would've done had it been shot in colour. One of the film's major strengths is its sense of place and I really felt I knew the layout of the town by the time the film finished. With four acting nominations in the supporting categories, I knew that The Last Picture Show would be well acted from the get-go. A young Jeff Bridges is incredibly captivating as the brash and hot-headed Duane who is motivated by his love of Jacy. Meanwhile, in her first major role, Cybil Shepherd portrays Jacy as a girl who craves attention and doesn't care who she hurts to get it. For their roles as Sam the Lion and Ruth respectively, Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman were awarded the Supporting Oscars at the 1972 ceremony. While both delivered scene-stealing performances, I feel that these awards should possibly have gone to Bridges and Shepherd instead. One cast member who didn't receive any attention at the awards was Timothy Bottoms who, as Sonny, really anchors the film. His facial expressions tell the story beautifully and he really made me feel for Sonny throughout the course of the film. While it did drag from time to time, The Last Picture Show did make a positive impression on me and by the film's final scenes I was incredibly taken with this poignant story of the end of adolescence. In addition I was surprised by how influential the film was as its roots are arguably in every high school movie that has come since.
A case in point is a film that came two years later and was directed by an upstart director by the name of George Lucas. American Graffiti similarly focuses on two recent graduates who are spending their last night in their home town before journeying to the same college the morning after. Steve Bolander and Curt Henderson have different opinions about the next stage of their lives. Steve is ready to go to college and wants to embark on an open relationship with his girlfriend, and Curt's sister, Laurie. Laurie isn't so pleased with this suggestion and throughout the film they argue and break-up before making up again. Meanwhile scholarship student Curt is unsure about whether he should spend another year in his home town of Modesto before going off to college. His night involves being inducted into greaser gang 'The Pharoahs' and attempting to track down a mysterious blonde who appeared to mouth 'I Love You' when he was gazing out of a car window. The film sees Curt question the next stage of his life and he receives advice from several mentor figures before plotting his ultimate destiny. American Graffiti's subplots involve Curt and Steve's friends John and Terry 'The Toad' both of whom attempt to pick up women with very different results. Cool and cocky John ends up spending the night with the bratty sister of one of his classmates but by the end of their journey together he appears to have grown fond of her. Meanwhile nerdy Terry finds new confidence after being given Steve's car and shockingly finds a new lady friend with the slightly ditzy Debbie. After their eventful night both Steve and Curt make their way to the airport, but for different reasons, and we the audience learn where they are now.
Though not going as far back in time as The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti's action all takes place in 1962 and is primarily based on George Lucas' own formative years. Despite being only his second feature, I found that Lucas was a confident director here and perfectly balanced all the various stories from the screenplay he co-wrote. Part of the charm of American Graffiti was its nostalgic elements as we got to see our characters hang out at the drive-in and attend a hop at their former high school. But the biggest benefit of setting the film in the past was that the soundtrack could contain classic hits from the 1950s and 1960s. I have to personally say that the music was a particular highlight of mine and that at least half a dozen songs from the soundtrack were stuck in my head the day after I watched it. America Graffiti's other strong element is the central performance from Richard Dreyfuss as the indecisive and thoroughly likeable Curt. Dreyfuss plays the part perfectly throughout and I was always upset when we left Curt to concentrate on the other characters. I feel that I've sort of watched Dreyfuss' career in reverse; starting with his Oscar winning turn in The Goodbye Girl and finishing here with his breakthrough turn in American Graffiti. I have to say I'm surprised that he wasn't nominated for an Oscar and the only acting nod the film received was for Candy Clark as the airhead Debbie. American Graffiti does suffer from an episodic story structure where some plots were stronger than others but all of the characters felt well-drawn which isn't surprising as they were mostly inspired by real people. Just like The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti has been incredibly influential throughout the years and I found particular parallels between it and Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. Though it was a little lighter than The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti had a lot going for it primarily thanks to a great performance from Dreyfuss and a brilliantly catchy soundtrack
Next time we get bleak with the sort of trip to the Mediterranean that nobody would ever want to experience.
Though utterly bleak at times, I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Picture Show from start to finish. It does have a fairly episodic tone but at its heart is the friendship between two men on the verge of adulthood. Boganovich's decision to shoot the film in black and white gives it a timeless quality and makes it feel more of its time than it would've done had it been shot in colour. One of the film's major strengths is its sense of place and I really felt I knew the layout of the town by the time the film finished. With four acting nominations in the supporting categories, I knew that The Last Picture Show would be well acted from the get-go. A young Jeff Bridges is incredibly captivating as the brash and hot-headed Duane who is motivated by his love of Jacy. Meanwhile, in her first major role, Cybil Shepherd portrays Jacy as a girl who craves attention and doesn't care who she hurts to get it. For their roles as Sam the Lion and Ruth respectively, Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman were awarded the Supporting Oscars at the 1972 ceremony. While both delivered scene-stealing performances, I feel that these awards should possibly have gone to Bridges and Shepherd instead. One cast member who didn't receive any attention at the awards was Timothy Bottoms who, as Sonny, really anchors the film. His facial expressions tell the story beautifully and he really made me feel for Sonny throughout the course of the film. While it did drag from time to time, The Last Picture Show did make a positive impression on me and by the film's final scenes I was incredibly taken with this poignant story of the end of adolescence. In addition I was surprised by how influential the film was as its roots are arguably in every high school movie that has come since.
A case in point is a film that came two years later and was directed by an upstart director by the name of George Lucas. American Graffiti similarly focuses on two recent graduates who are spending their last night in their home town before journeying to the same college the morning after. Steve Bolander and Curt Henderson have different opinions about the next stage of their lives. Steve is ready to go to college and wants to embark on an open relationship with his girlfriend, and Curt's sister, Laurie. Laurie isn't so pleased with this suggestion and throughout the film they argue and break-up before making up again. Meanwhile scholarship student Curt is unsure about whether he should spend another year in his home town of Modesto before going off to college. His night involves being inducted into greaser gang 'The Pharoahs' and attempting to track down a mysterious blonde who appeared to mouth 'I Love You' when he was gazing out of a car window. The film sees Curt question the next stage of his life and he receives advice from several mentor figures before plotting his ultimate destiny. American Graffiti's subplots involve Curt and Steve's friends John and Terry 'The Toad' both of whom attempt to pick up women with very different results. Cool and cocky John ends up spending the night with the bratty sister of one of his classmates but by the end of their journey together he appears to have grown fond of her. Meanwhile nerdy Terry finds new confidence after being given Steve's car and shockingly finds a new lady friend with the slightly ditzy Debbie. After their eventful night both Steve and Curt make their way to the airport, but for different reasons, and we the audience learn where they are now.
Though not going as far back in time as The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti's action all takes place in 1962 and is primarily based on George Lucas' own formative years. Despite being only his second feature, I found that Lucas was a confident director here and perfectly balanced all the various stories from the screenplay he co-wrote. Part of the charm of American Graffiti was its nostalgic elements as we got to see our characters hang out at the drive-in and attend a hop at their former high school. But the biggest benefit of setting the film in the past was that the soundtrack could contain classic hits from the 1950s and 1960s. I have to personally say that the music was a particular highlight of mine and that at least half a dozen songs from the soundtrack were stuck in my head the day after I watched it. America Graffiti's other strong element is the central performance from Richard Dreyfuss as the indecisive and thoroughly likeable Curt. Dreyfuss plays the part perfectly throughout and I was always upset when we left Curt to concentrate on the other characters. I feel that I've sort of watched Dreyfuss' career in reverse; starting with his Oscar winning turn in The Goodbye Girl and finishing here with his breakthrough turn in American Graffiti. I have to say I'm surprised that he wasn't nominated for an Oscar and the only acting nod the film received was for Candy Clark as the airhead Debbie. American Graffiti does suffer from an episodic story structure where some plots were stronger than others but all of the characters felt well-drawn which isn't surprising as they were mostly inspired by real people. Just like The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti has been incredibly influential throughout the years and I found particular parallels between it and Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. Though it was a little lighter than The Last Picture Show, American Graffiti had a lot going for it primarily thanks to a great performance from Dreyfuss and a brilliantly catchy soundtrack
Next time we get bleak with the sort of trip to the Mediterranean that nobody would ever want to experience.
Tuesday 7 January 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 237: The Last Laughs
In the last couple of posts I've discussed the dying days of comedies being nominated for Oscars and in this year's nominations I'll be surprised to see at least one broad comedy. Comedies now have to either have an indie vibe to them or be some sort of riotous romp in the fashion of this year's American Hustle. It's sad that in an era where we know exactly what an 'Oscar Film' is there's very little room for the comedy. In fact the last time a comedy film won the Best Picture was over thirty-five years ago.
That film was Woody Allen's Annie Hall, a film that I've previously watched on a number of occasions, which also won a Best Actress Award for Diane Keaton's portrayal of the titular protagonist. The majority of the film centres round the relationship between Annie and Allen's stand-up comedian Alvy Singer. The narrative structure of the film is such that it starts midway through the relationship before taking us back to the time when Alvy and Annie first met. As Annie Hall is a proper romantic comedy it explores the differences between the uptight Alvy and the more free and easy Annie. He overthinks everything while she'd rather go with the flow and this obviously puts a strain on their relationship. Alvy's comic asides also looks back at the character's past whether it be stealing a kiss as a child or his previous marriage everything is put under the microscope. Inevitably, the relationship begins to crumble as Annie begins to look elsewhere for love and finds it briefly with Paul Simon's record producer Tony Lacey. Though this comedy doesn't have a traditional happy ending, it does give you hope for the two characters, that you are more than invested in thanks to Allen's brilliant script.
Annie Hall is often held up as Woody Allen's masterpiece, but in my opinion he's made better films. Obviously part of the reason for the film's success lies with Allen's semi-autobiographical script which oozes with honesty throughout. Despite him creating a fictional character for himself, smarter audience members obviously can draw parallels between Alvy and Allen. Similarly, Diane Keaton has claimed that Annie Hall is incredibly similar to her own personality that Woody got to know on previous films that they worked together on. Due to this fact both Allen and Keaton are superb throughout and add an awkward chemistry to their relationship which makes it utterly realistic. In addition there are some fantastic supporting roles most notably from Tony Roberts as Alvy's friend Rob and then unknown Christopher Walken as Annie's brother Duane. Annie Hall is the perfect length for a comedy film as it's only just over ninety minutes long and the story fits perfectly into this time frame. With most of the character being instantly identifiable, the script being full of pithy one-liners and the cast being unanimously brilliant there's no denying that Annie Hall is a great film. Even though I do think some comedy films since 1977 have possibly deserved the Best Picture award, I'd be happy if Annie Hall got to held up the legacy for what a great comedy film should be.
Next time we look at two nostalgic films that deal with the dying days of adolescence
That film was Woody Allen's Annie Hall, a film that I've previously watched on a number of occasions, which also won a Best Actress Award for Diane Keaton's portrayal of the titular protagonist. The majority of the film centres round the relationship between Annie and Allen's stand-up comedian Alvy Singer. The narrative structure of the film is such that it starts midway through the relationship before taking us back to the time when Alvy and Annie first met. As Annie Hall is a proper romantic comedy it explores the differences between the uptight Alvy and the more free and easy Annie. He overthinks everything while she'd rather go with the flow and this obviously puts a strain on their relationship. Alvy's comic asides also looks back at the character's past whether it be stealing a kiss as a child or his previous marriage everything is put under the microscope. Inevitably, the relationship begins to crumble as Annie begins to look elsewhere for love and finds it briefly with Paul Simon's record producer Tony Lacey. Though this comedy doesn't have a traditional happy ending, it does give you hope for the two characters, that you are more than invested in thanks to Allen's brilliant script.
Annie Hall is often held up as Woody Allen's masterpiece, but in my opinion he's made better films. Obviously part of the reason for the film's success lies with Allen's semi-autobiographical script which oozes with honesty throughout. Despite him creating a fictional character for himself, smarter audience members obviously can draw parallels between Alvy and Allen. Similarly, Diane Keaton has claimed that Annie Hall is incredibly similar to her own personality that Woody got to know on previous films that they worked together on. Due to this fact both Allen and Keaton are superb throughout and add an awkward chemistry to their relationship which makes it utterly realistic. In addition there are some fantastic supporting roles most notably from Tony Roberts as Alvy's friend Rob and then unknown Christopher Walken as Annie's brother Duane. Annie Hall is the perfect length for a comedy film as it's only just over ninety minutes long and the story fits perfectly into this time frame. With most of the character being instantly identifiable, the script being full of pithy one-liners and the cast being unanimously brilliant there's no denying that Annie Hall is a great film. Even though I do think some comedy films since 1977 have possibly deserved the Best Picture award, I'd be happy if Annie Hall got to held up the legacy for what a great comedy film should be.
Next time we look at two nostalgic films that deal with the dying days of adolescence
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 235-236: Altman's All-Stars
As regular readers of the Oscar Challenge blog will now, I often put together films from the same director that have been nominated in the same decade. This time it's the turn of Robert Altman whose movies M*A*S*H and Nashville were give nods in the 1970s. Both very different in tone, they are similar in the way that Altman employs his ensemble casts and the sprawling nature of the plot.
In the early 1970s, Altman had his first breakthrough with M*A*S*H, a film loosely based on Richard Hooker's original novel about medical personnel stationed at an army hospital during the Korean War. The main plot of the film sees three new surgeons arrive at camp and instantly stir things up. The first two of these troublemakers are 'Hawkeye' Pierce and 'Duke' Forest who regularly steal, drink and cause chaos. They instantly rub their new cam pmates up the wrong way especially Robert Duvall's religious Frank Burns who they're able to get rid of due to his inferior surgical abilities. Senior nurse Margaret Houlihan is similarly outraged by their sexist behaviour and their insistence on referring to her as 'Hotlips'. Joining their number soon after is 'Trapper' McIntyre another surgeon who is as insubordinate as Hawkeye and Duke. The film then becomes quite episodic in nature but does see Trapper and Hawkeye become medical heroes after saving the lives of a congressman's son. Despite seemingly uninterested in their work, our central duo are always concerned with doing the right thing, even if they have to resort to blackmail to do it. This theme about the working man sticking up for the people who can't defend themselves, spoke to the audiences of the 1970s who were experiencing political unrest at the time.
Altman quickly marked himself out as a maverick director by using very little of the original source novel for his book while in addition encouraging the actors to improvise in certain scenes. However, when the film was made in 1970, Altman hadn't earned the reputation yet to work in such a reckless way. This led to the film's leads Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland to try and get Altman sacked on numerous occasions. Obviously, the film today is hailed as a classic and went to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes as well as the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Altman's gambles all paid off here as I thoroughly enjoyed M*A*S*H and thought it was one of the best Oscar-nominated comedies of all time. As Hawkeye and Trapper; Sutherland and Gould were fantastic and they shared great on-screen chemistry throughout. Altman's script was packed full of great lines but there was plenty of social commentary hidden behind the laughs. Despite having quite a sporadic structure, M*A*S*H was held together thanks to the strength of its characters and the solid narrative that Altman provided throughout. This film fully put Altman on the map and, after watching it, it's not hard to see exactly why.
Five years later, Altman returned to the Best Picture list with another film that has a sprawling narrative - Nashville. Set in the musical city of Tennessee; Nashville follows twenty-four characters during five days which lead up to a political rally for vice-presidential candidate Hal Philip Walker. The film basically focuses on the country music scene and the measures some will go to to enhance their careers. There's the legendary Haven Hamilton, who has political aspirations of his home and whose fame is fading fast. Barbara Jean is one of the most popular country singers around but suffers from exhaustion and spends most of the film in hospital. As the country music business is a fickle one, Barbara Jean's manager eventually replaces her at several events with the inferior but beautiful Connie White. We also meet Tom Frank, a womanising member of a country music trio who attempts to break out on his own throughout the course of the film. Then there's Sueleen Gay, another aspiring country singer who has no talent what to speak of and gets exploited in one of the film's most memorable scenes. The film's climax brings the majority of the characters together at the aforementioned rally and sees one of the characters attempt to shoot two of Nashville's biggest stars. Despite this tragedy occurring Winifred, another aspiring country singer, takes to the stage and finally gets her big break.
Having enjoyed the sprawling, episodic narrative throughout M*A*S*H, I was dismayed that I didn't enjoy the same structure so much with Nashville. I believe part of the reason for that is due to the fact that it's a drama rather than a comedy so can't get away with being as fragmented as Altman's previous film. One of the other issues the film had is that there's far too many characters and interconnected plots for the film to work. At over two and a half hours, I felt the film dragged too much despite the fact that almost half of it was musical performances by various members of the cast. That being said some of these musical performances were incredibly entertaining and really gave Nashville a sense of place. In fact one of its more positive features is how it immerses the viewer in the culture and style of Nashville; including the religious nature of all of its inhabitants seen in the scenes set at various church services. There were some brilliant performances amongst the ensemble most notably from Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakely and Henry Gibson. Throughout this voyage I have questioned why a few of these films are held up as classics and I'm afraid I'll have to add Nashville to this ever-growing list. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy parts of it, but as a whole it was overlong and incredibly dull in places.
Next time we have yet another comedy, the last of the genre to win the Best Picture Award.
In the early 1970s, Altman had his first breakthrough with M*A*S*H, a film loosely based on Richard Hooker's original novel about medical personnel stationed at an army hospital during the Korean War. The main plot of the film sees three new surgeons arrive at camp and instantly stir things up. The first two of these troublemakers are 'Hawkeye' Pierce and 'Duke' Forest who regularly steal, drink and cause chaos. They instantly rub their new cam pmates up the wrong way especially Robert Duvall's religious Frank Burns who they're able to get rid of due to his inferior surgical abilities. Senior nurse Margaret Houlihan is similarly outraged by their sexist behaviour and their insistence on referring to her as 'Hotlips'. Joining their number soon after is 'Trapper' McIntyre another surgeon who is as insubordinate as Hawkeye and Duke. The film then becomes quite episodic in nature but does see Trapper and Hawkeye become medical heroes after saving the lives of a congressman's son. Despite seemingly uninterested in their work, our central duo are always concerned with doing the right thing, even if they have to resort to blackmail to do it. This theme about the working man sticking up for the people who can't defend themselves, spoke to the audiences of the 1970s who were experiencing political unrest at the time.
Altman quickly marked himself out as a maverick director by using very little of the original source novel for his book while in addition encouraging the actors to improvise in certain scenes. However, when the film was made in 1970, Altman hadn't earned the reputation yet to work in such a reckless way. This led to the film's leads Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland to try and get Altman sacked on numerous occasions. Obviously, the film today is hailed as a classic and went to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes as well as the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Altman's gambles all paid off here as I thoroughly enjoyed M*A*S*H and thought it was one of the best Oscar-nominated comedies of all time. As Hawkeye and Trapper; Sutherland and Gould were fantastic and they shared great on-screen chemistry throughout. Altman's script was packed full of great lines but there was plenty of social commentary hidden behind the laughs. Despite having quite a sporadic structure, M*A*S*H was held together thanks to the strength of its characters and the solid narrative that Altman provided throughout. This film fully put Altman on the map and, after watching it, it's not hard to see exactly why.
Five years later, Altman returned to the Best Picture list with another film that has a sprawling narrative - Nashville. Set in the musical city of Tennessee; Nashville follows twenty-four characters during five days which lead up to a political rally for vice-presidential candidate Hal Philip Walker. The film basically focuses on the country music scene and the measures some will go to to enhance their careers. There's the legendary Haven Hamilton, who has political aspirations of his home and whose fame is fading fast. Barbara Jean is one of the most popular country singers around but suffers from exhaustion and spends most of the film in hospital. As the country music business is a fickle one, Barbara Jean's manager eventually replaces her at several events with the inferior but beautiful Connie White. We also meet Tom Frank, a womanising member of a country music trio who attempts to break out on his own throughout the course of the film. Then there's Sueleen Gay, another aspiring country singer who has no talent what to speak of and gets exploited in one of the film's most memorable scenes. The film's climax brings the majority of the characters together at the aforementioned rally and sees one of the characters attempt to shoot two of Nashville's biggest stars. Despite this tragedy occurring Winifred, another aspiring country singer, takes to the stage and finally gets her big break.
Having enjoyed the sprawling, episodic narrative throughout M*A*S*H, I was dismayed that I didn't enjoy the same structure so much with Nashville. I believe part of the reason for that is due to the fact that it's a drama rather than a comedy so can't get away with being as fragmented as Altman's previous film. One of the other issues the film had is that there's far too many characters and interconnected plots for the film to work. At over two and a half hours, I felt the film dragged too much despite the fact that almost half of it was musical performances by various members of the cast. That being said some of these musical performances were incredibly entertaining and really gave Nashville a sense of place. In fact one of its more positive features is how it immerses the viewer in the culture and style of Nashville; including the religious nature of all of its inhabitants seen in the scenes set at various church services. There were some brilliant performances amongst the ensemble most notably from Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakely and Henry Gibson. Throughout this voyage I have questioned why a few of these films are held up as classics and I'm afraid I'll have to add Nashville to this ever-growing list. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy parts of it, but as a whole it was overlong and incredibly dull in places.
Next time we have yet another comedy, the last of the genre to win the Best Picture Award.
Sunday 5 January 2014
Matts' Big Oscar Challenge Day 234: There's No Beating Beatty
It's been a while but I'm back on the Oscar trail and determined to at least get to the end of the 1980s by the end of the year. The next four reviews are going to be hazy recollections as I watched them last autumn and stupidly didn't write anything down about them at the time.
The first of the four is Heaven Can Wait a remake, not of the 1940s film Heaven Can Wait, but rather then 1940s film Here Comes Mr Jordan both of which have previously been reviewed on this site. This remake sees Robert Montgomery's baseball player being replaced by Warren Beatty's quaterback Joe Pendleton whose motorcycle ends up colliding with a truck with the result being him taken up to heaven by an over-zealous Guardian Angel. As with the original 1940s film Mr Jordan, here played by James Mason, finds a new body for Joe in the form of billionaire Leo Farnsworth. Joe, as Farnsworth, surprises the current Mrs Farnsworth and the old man's business manager as the pair had recently finished killing him off. But Farnsworth's revival results in them ultimately being rumbled for the crime. Elsewhere Joe falls for environmentalist Betty Logan who has come to Farnsworth industries to complain about their unscrupulous activities. Despite the age difference, Betty soon falls for Farsnworth also buys Joe's old team and tries to make himself quarterback. Obviously, anybody who's seen one of the three versions of the film knows exactly how it will end, but I'm not going to spoil it for you here.
It's very rare in this day and age that a comedy makes its way into the Best Picture line-up and it was in the 1970s that the genre began to disappear altogether from the Academy Awards nominations. I personally feel that Heaven Can Wait got into the Best Picture list due to its star power rather than its comic ability. Alongside Beatty, who was actually pretty good throughout, the all-star cast included Julie Christie, James Mason and Charles Grodin. I do feel that Christie in particular was given little to do aside from standing around and playing the love interest. Though there were some changes made to the characters from the original film version, the pivotal parts of the plot remained the same. The question then has to be why remake it in the first place? The only reason I can possibly offer is that cinematic effects had moved on quite significantly since the early 1940s and, to be fair, the supernatural elements of the plot were more visually spectacular than they had been thirty years ago. The film received a shocking ten nominations at the awards as a whole but only picked up one, a slightly deserving nod for the grandiose art direction. Overall Heaven Can Wait is a decent enough comedy, but to me really didn't feel like one of the best five films from any year.
Next up we have two offerings from a director who is known for his sharp wit and ensemble casts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)