Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 342-343: Calling the Shots

An actor directing themselves on screen has become an increasingly common occurrence in recent years. This blog has seen this trend develop over time and in the past few posts alone we've had Kevin Costner starring and directing in Dances With Wolves as well as Quentin Tarantino featuring in his own Pulp Fiction. This post looks at two more such examples of movie stars directing themselves in Best Picture nominated films.

Barbara Streisand is a star we haven't seen in this project since Hello Dolly! but that doesn't mean she's been hiding in the shadows. Throughout the 1970s, Streisand became one of the biggest Box Office stars and in 1983 directed herself in Yentl. Her second film as director was released in the early 1990s and Streisand herself starred as a Jewish psychologist who finds love in the most unlikely of places. The Prince of Tides saw Streisand star alongside Nick Nolte who played emotionally damaged football coach Tom Wingo. The pair collide when Tom journeys from South Carolina to New York to be by the side of his sister who has just committed suicide. Streisand's Dr. Lowenstein is her psychiatrist who takes Tom on as almost a surrogate patient so he can reveal some of his family's deep dark secrets. Lowenstein takes a shine to Tom and enlists him as a football coach to her son who secretly enjoys the sport. Inevitably Lowenstein and Tom take a shine to each other and their union is made easier when its revealed that both of their spouses have been involved with other people. Pat Conroy adapted his own book for the screenplay but several of the elements were changed drastically, primarily so Streisand had more to do. Apparently the book focuses much more on the Wingo family history and its effects on Tom and his sister Savannah whilst the Lowenstein/Tom romance is more of a subplot. But the film's flashback scenes are few and far between meaning that The Prince of Tide feels more like a melodramatic romance than anything else. But at the end of the day I suppose that Streisand was the big name attached to the film and audiences wouldn't have flocked to see it if she were in a supporting role.

The Prince of Tides was nominated for seven Oscars but Streisand was neither nominated for her role as Lead Actress nor that of Director. Streisand's directorial style was hardly striking or particularly memorable with the only scenes that felt different being the Wingo family flashbacks. The way these flashbacks were shot and framed distinguished them from the rest of the film's narrative and meant that they had a suitably eerie tone. Meanwhile Streisand's performance wasn't exactly spellbinding and didn't match the turns we've seen her give previously in two other nominated films. The Prince of Tides is definitely more Nick Nolte's film than it is Streisand's as this is definitely Tom's story. Nolte gave a solid turn as a man trying to come to terms with his past and simultaneously learning what the future held. He was comfortable with both Tom's humorous side and was also compelling in the film's more dramatic moments. For his performance he got a Best Actor nomination with his fellow cast member Kate Nelligan being give a Supporting Actress nod for playing Tom's highly strung mother Lila. Nolte shared great chemistry with both Streisand and Blythe Danner as his philandering wife who was nonetheless a lot better suited for him than Lowenstein was. My personal favourite turn among the supporting cast was comedian George Carlin who put in a memorable showing as Savannah's gay neighbour Eddie. I knew very little about The Prince of Tides before I started watching and therefore everything that happened on screen was new to me. That being said nothing particularly surprising happened over the two hours and I believe the film's story trailed off once Tom and Lowenstein gave into their attraction for one another. That's not to say The Prince of Tides was a particularly bad film as it flowed quite nicely and was easy-to-follow but I just wasn't bowled over by it. Meanwhile Streisand would go on to direct one more film, The Mirror Has Two Faces, which itself was nominated for several Oscars.

Whilst Streisand did take on one of the leading roles in The Prince of Tides I don't think she ever dominated the screen but the same can't be said for our next actor/director. By the mid-1990s Mel Gibson was already a big name having starred in both the Mad Max series and the Lethal Weapon franchise. Known primarily as a star of big budget action films, Gibson changed tack with his second film as director; Braveheart. Set during the Scottish War of Independence of the late 1200s, Gibson played William Wallace a warrior who featured prominently in an epic poem by Blind Harry. Gibson's initial portrayal of Wallace is that of a free-love spouting Scot and its only when he loses that he's ready to fight against the dreaded English. With a non-Brit behind the camera, the English are inevitably presented as either despicable, sex-mad, weak or devious. The film's main villain is Edward Longshanks, who spends most of the film badmouthing Scotland or loudly coughing which indicates that he's not long for the world. Wallace's intelligence makes him a match for the bloodthirsty English army and he's able to win some early battles. But his lack of political awareness means that he's soon double-crossed by several nobles who are planning to put Robert the Bruce on the throne. Although Gibson was inspired by historical epics of the 1950s and 1960s, the final third of the film is much more like a revenge film in the style of Death Wish. Most of the aforementioned epics would conclude with a large battle scene but in Braveheart's case the last ten minutes are devoted to Wallace's execution. I found this quite troubling as it presented Gibson's character as a God-like figure, something I'm sure the actor/director was more than happy to go along with.

A few years ago, Braveheart topped an Empire list of the worst Best Picture winners but I don't for one minute agree with that assertion. I've definitely watched plenty of Best Picture winners that have been worse than Braveheart, which I found to be an interestingly shot historical epic. Aside from the gratuitous closing scenes, Gibson provided plenty of action but also some character development along the way. He certainly excelled more as a director than an actor here which suggests that he may have been overstretched somewhat. The two key battle scenes were particularly well-shot with each major incident being well-captured by John Toll's excellent cinematography. There's no denying that Braveheart is too long but I still thought that Randall Wallace did a satisfactory job with the screenplay. Many have complained that Braveheart is one of the most factually inaccurate films of modern times, but that didn't bother me too much. Wallace appears to have sacrificed facts in order to create an entertaining film and I feel that he succeeded to a large extent. By the end of the film I felt like I knew all of the characters and their individual motives, which is more than I can say for a lot of the previous Best Picture winners. The exterior locations, which were filmed in both Scotland and Ireland, are exquisite and really add a historical perspective to the film. Meanwhile James Horner's haunting score conjures up images of a vast highland which is exactly what the film needed. Where I think the film falls down is in the hammy performances that are given by the majority of the cast. The only things I really knew about Braveheart going in were Mel Gibson's iconic line about freedom and his blue and white facepaint. Gibson's performance of Wallace is a little over-the-top for my liking and at times I think he went too far in his portrayal. Patrick McGoohan made Longshanks feel like a pantomime villain whilst Sophie Marceau's French princess could've been a character from 'Allo 'Allo. The performance of the film came from Angus Macfayden as the morally conflicted Robert the Bruce. Macfayden's turn was so good I found Bruce's story to be a lot more compelling than Wallace's.

Ultimately I think a lot of people have given Bravheart a bad rap and I reckon that's got something to do with Gibson's personal problems in recent years. Whilst it's not a masterpiece, and may not have deserved to win Best Picture, it's certainly not as bad as I was led to believe. Though hammy performances and a tortuous final ten minutes let it down, Braveheart is a historical epic that has a few contemporary action sequences thrown in. After winning both Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars, Gibson would jump in front and behind the camera with increasing frequency. Directing such diverse films as The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, Gibson found more success behind the scenes as he did as a star. But I think the Braveheart will be the film that he's best remembered for but I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not.

Next time we look at a film that has its origins on the small screen.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 212-214: Sounds of the Seventies

Throughout each decade of Oscar-winning films, there have always been a handful of musicals that have done particularly well. The majority of these have been glossy big-budget spectaculars that have had fairly light storylines. But, as we approach the 1970s, the themes of the musicals are getting a lot darker and one in particular contains a handful of songs that are incredibly sinister rather than being particularly uplifting.

We start though with a film musical that feels incredibly old-fashioned and has a comic element which lends itself to the screwball films of the 1930s and 1940s. That film is Hello Dolly!, which was nominated for Best Picture at the 1970 ceremony, and stars Barbara Streisand as widowed matchmaker Dolly Levi. Dolly arrives in Yonkers supposedly to meet up with wealthy store-owner Horace Vandergelder who is to travel to New York in order to meet up with and marry hat-store clerk Irene Malloy. However, instead of matching the pair, Dolly seemingly wants Horace for herself so arranges for his two clerks to hook up with Irene and her assistant Minnie. On arrival in the city the clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby, pretend to be wealthy gentlemen in order to ensnare Irene and Minnie. Meanwhile, Horace's niece Ermengrade has also travelled to New York in order to prove to her uncle that artist Ambrose is a good enough match for her. In New York, Dolly arranges a number of deceptions in order to keep all the parts of her plan a secret until she is able to put the offer of a proposal on the table at one of her favourite restaurants. Obviously the obstinate Horace wants everything to stay the way it was but eventually comes around to everything that Dolly has set up.

I don't think it's insulting to say that Hello Dolly! is definitely an old school musical by late 1960s/early 1970s standards. The whole thing feels very staged with a lot of the action fairly static and confined to a certain set. In fact, a lot of it put me in mind of The Music Man, which was made seven years earlier, as both have that old school feel to them. At the same time, there's no denying that Hello Dolly! is an incredibly enjoyable musical and I have to say that I got fairly swept up in it. Gene Kelly sits behind the director's chair and you can see his stamp all over the well-choreographed set pieces. Indeed, the two scenes that stay in the memory are the extravagantly filmed parade, which is accompanied by the iconic 'When the Parade Passes By' and the culmination of all the plots in the restaurant scene. The restaurant scene is also the place in which we hear the film's title track and the famous duet between Streisand and Louis Armstrong. Talking of Streisand she's perfectly cast as the interfering widow who is full of life but at the same time is struggling to move on from her first husband. Walter Matthau is the ideal foil for her schemes as he perfects his grumpy old man character while Frank Spencer himself - Michael Crawford plays the idiotic Cornelius with great aplomb. In addition to the signing and performances, Hello Dolly! is beautifully designed with some brilliant costumes to boot. While it's never going to win any awards for subtlety, when it comes to an all-singing all-musical visual spectacular they don't come much better than this film.

Two years later, the next musical film arrived with Fiddler on the Roof - which documents the lives of one Jewish family living in Tsarist Russia in the early 20th century. Our narrator throughout the film is Tevye, played by Chaim Topol, a simple man who often bemoans the fact that God has given him five daughters. One of the film's unique narrative devices is the fact that Tevye regularly breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly. Tevye tells us about the small Jewish community that lives constantly in fear of the larger Christian community that neighbours the village. The Jews and the Christians live in peace but we get the impression that our characters are constantly under threat from attack. The bulk of the film's story sees Tevye's three eldest daughters all find love and marry someone they love, rather than someone who has been chosen for them by the town's matchmaker. Eldest daughter Tzeitel wishes to marry her poor childhood sweetheart Motel while second daughter Anatevka later accepts a proposal from idealistic Ukrainian scholar Perhick. Though Teyve's wife Golde disapproves, he manages to talk her around while at the same time the younger generation prepare to change the way things are done. However, the second half of the film gets bleaker as Teyve's community is moved from their homes by the Christians, while he also disowns third daughter Chava after she secretly marries one of the Christian boys. Though ultimately the entire community is moved from their homes there is a sense that things will only get better.

Of the three musical films I'm writing about, I would say that Fiddler on the Roof is definitely the least memorable. Indeed, probably the strongest element of the entire film is Topol's lead performances as he really makes a connection with the audience right from the beginning of the picture. His warmth and passion for the character really makes you believe in Tevye's motivations and you feel for his plight throughout his story. There are only a few songs that are truly memorable with 'If I were a Rich Man' and 'Matchmaker' being the two prime examples. In addition, there are a number of interesting set pieces most notably the scene at Tzeitel and Motel's wedding where Perhick encourages the men and women to dance together. However, at almost three hours in length, the film really started to drag and I felt the bleak aspect of the final third of the movie really added to this fatigue. While Fiddler on the Roof isn't a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, it wasn't one that I truly connected with in the way that I did with the final musical on the list.

That musical, released a year after Fiddler on the Roof, is Cabaret a film that is loosely based on the Broadway production of the same name. I say loosely as director Bob Fosse discarded many of the songs from that film and got lyricists Kander and Ebb to write new songs. In addition to the song changes, Fosse scrapped many characters and brought in some new ones to freshen up the tale. He also changed the lead character of Sally Bowles to an aspiring English movie star who couldn't really sing to an aspiring American movie star with an amazing voice. In the film, Sally meets young Englishman Brian Roberts who has come to Berlin to teach English. Sally, who is a lead attraction at the seedy Kit Kat Club, builds an attraction to Brian as both rent rooms in the same rundown apartment block. Though the pair begin a relationship, Sally's head is soon turned by rich baron Maximilian who can offer her the finer things in life. Eventually all three spend a weekend at the baron's family home where both end up having sexual encounters with the rich German. The film's backdrop is the rise of the Nazi movement in Berlin in the early 1930s as the Jews are attacked and a subplot involving a friend of Brian's explores religion and love. Meanwhile, Sally discovers she's pregnant and wonders whether or not to keep the baby.

As opposed to the other two musical films on the list, all of the songs in Cabaret are performed rather than used as an alternative to dialogue. The vast majority of these songs are performed in The Kit Kat Club by either Sally or the shadowy Emcee, the film's narrator and host at the club. The character of Emcee is an interesting one as he doesn't interact with any of the characters apart from Sally and that's only through the method of song. Though Emcee's songs do reflect the plot of the film, we see that they are all being performed to a club full of punters. Instead of being particularly uplifting, these songs are often sinister in nature talking about money-grabbing, sharing sexual partners and being unlucky in love. The tone of the film is perfectly exemplified in one scene in which Emcee and his backing group perform a dance routine that mocks the Nazi regime. To me, the film is one of the best examples of the screen musical as every song adds to the plot rather than detracting from it. From the opening bars of Willkommen to Sally Bowes' glorious love song 'Maybe This Time' to the final bursts of its title track, Cabaret's musical score is extraordinary. The film was incredibly successful at the 1973 Oscar ceremony, winning eight awards and earning the distinction of being the most-rewarded movie at the Oscars not to win Best Picture. Among the award-winners were Liza Minnelli who was absolutely captivating as the lovelorn and eccentric Sally Bowes. Meanwhile Joel Grey also picked up a supporting actor statuette for his role as the sinister yet entertaining Emcee. Bob Fosse's outstanding direction was also honoured as were the film's stunning cinematography, score, sound, art direction and editing. As you can tell I really enjoyed Cabaret and, in any normal year, it would've won Best Picture but it did come up against one hell of a contender.

Next time we'll look at the rise of the epic disaster movie with two Oscar nominated examples of the genre.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 168: It's a Little Bit Funny

So this bank holiday has yielded two films that are on my 1960s list for this Oscar Project with the first being Funny Girl the biographical musical of theatre star Fanny Brice which incidentally was briefly covered in 1930s Best Picture winner The Great Ziegfeld with Brice playing herself. Here Brice is played by Barbara Streisand in her debut film performance, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar, as we see her journey from awkward teenager to star of the Ziegfeld Follies. The story starts with Brice trying to get a part in the chorus but realising that instead she should be a headliner due to her comedy timing and great voice. When she finally makes it she falls in love with Omar Sharrif's Nicky Arnestein with whom she runs off abandoning the Follies. Once he has won lots of money playing cards they return to a big mansion and she returns to the Follies however things take a turn for the worst with Nick's business ventures falling through. After the pair move into an apartment Nick feels that he has to be the man despite Fanny earning more than him so agrees to go through with a shady deal and gets arrested for embezzlement. Fanny and Nick reunite briefly but at the end of the day separate mainly so she can go off and make the sequel.

One of about eight musicals that I have to watch during the next fifty films Funny Girl at least had some bite to it and some very familiar songs. I already knew that Don't Rain on My Parade featured prominently and indeed in the scene in which Fanny decides to abandon the Follies to be with Nick her performance is great as it is on People and all of the other songs featured. The star of the show though is undoubtedly Streisand who is on the ball with all her timing and really convinces as the girl who has a great stage presence but lacks maturity when it comes to her personal life. Omar Sharif is always good as the dashing love interest/caddish villain and in this he plays a version of the two a man who feels like his other half is the one wearing the trousers. The Follies productions are also greatly reconstructed although they don't feel as genuine as in the story of Ziegfeld himself here played by veteran actor Walter Pidgeon. While not everything works and I did find myself a trifle board during some of Nick's card games this was an entertaining musical biopic with a stunning debut performance from its lead actress that was more than worthy of the Oscar she won for it.