Category Archives: Oscar Vault Monday
Oscar Vault Monday – The Hustler, 1961 (dir. Robert Rossen)
This is one of those films that sucks you into its world and doesn’t let up for a moment until it’s over. Then afterwards you realize you’ve forgotten to breathe for two and a half hours. This is definitely one of Paul Newman’s best performances, though pretty much all of Paul Newman’s performances are his best because, like Jack Lemmon, Newman is always good. The Hustler was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two: Best B&W Art Direction (won), Best B&W Cinematography (won), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor Jackie Gleason, Best Supporting Actor George C. Scott, Best Actress Piper Laurie, Best Actor Paul Newman, Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, Judgement at Nuremberg and winner West Side Story.
Oscar Vault Monday – Elmer Gantry, 1960 (dir. Richard Brooks)
This is an interesting film. It’s a satire, for sure. But I can’t help but think its satirical tone was probably lost on many a person when it first came out (and anyone who’s watched it since). That or it made them uncomfortable because it’s satirical about religion, but not in a Monty Python kind of way. Regardless, I thought it was fantastic. I think Richard Brooks is one of the great underrated directors of the transitional period from Old Hollywood to New Hollywood. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning three: Best Score (Comedy or Drama), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Supporting Actress Shirley Jones (won), Best Actor Burt Lancaster (won), Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were The Alamo, Sons and Lovers, The Sundowners and winner The Apartment.
Oscar Vault Monday – Mildred Pierce, 1945 (dir. Michael Curtiz)
This is one of my favorite films from the “film noir” era of classical Hollywood (although, you could argue it’s pre-noir, since a lot of scholars place 1946 as the first year of that era; but that’s neither here nor there). Joan Crawford gives one of the greatest performances of her long and diverse career and director Michael Curtiz (whose most famous film is probably Casablanca) hits all the right notes. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning one: Best B&W Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress Ann Blyth, Best Supporting Actress Eve Arden, Best Actress Joan Crawford (won) and Best Picture. The other films nominated that year were Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Spellbound and winner The Lost Weekend.
Oscar Vault Monday – Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, 1964 (dir. Stanley Kubrick)
I love this film. It is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. It’s also one of the most clever satires ever filmed. Simply put, I think this film is brilliant. Along with Citizen Kane, this film not winning Best Picture is one of the biggest “what?!?” moments in Oscar’s past. Though, I will say the biggest travesty of 1964 is Peter Sellers not winning Best Actor. Rex Harrison is my least favorite aspect of My Fair Lady and the fact that he beat not only Sellers from this film, but Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton from Becket for Best Actor in 1964 just makes me so very angry. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was nominated for four Academy Awards, though it failed to win any: Best Actor Peter Sellers, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. The other films up for Best Picture that year were Becket, Mary Poppins, Zorba The Greek and winner My Fair Lady.
Oscar Vault Monday – Three Coins In The Fountain, 1954 (dir. Jean Negulesco)
I simply adore this movie. It is Old Hollywood charm at its best. But it also slyly dances around certain taboo subjects (promiscuity, etc.) in quite a remarkable way, though not quite as blatantly as Otto Preminger’s 1953 film The Moon Is Blue (also starring Maggie McNamara). Three Coins In The Fountain contains some truly breathtaking color cinematography by Milton R. Krasner of Italy – and in Cinemascope, too! I would just love to see this film on the big screen. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning two: Best Color Cinematography (won), Best Original Song (won) and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were The Cain Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and winner On The Waterfront.
Oscar Vault Monday – Network, 1976 (dir. Sidney Lumet)
The first time I saw this film I was completely blown away. It’s eerie how a satirical film about television made 35 years ago can be so accurate within today’s world of television. I rewatched it recently and am just as in awe of it as ever. Network was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning four: Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Supporting Actor Ned Beatty, Best Supporting Actress Beatrice Straight (won), Best Actress Faye Dunaway (won), Best Actor William Holden, Best Actor Peter Finch (won), Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were All The President’s Men, Bound For Glory, Taxi Driver and winner Rocky.
Oscar Vault Monday – The Aviator, 2004 (dir. Martin Scorsese)
The Aviator is one of my favorites of director Martin Scorsese’s films (picking just one is just too hard, but if I were forced to choose I’d go with After Hours). It’s both a stirring biopic and a colorful look at Old Hollywood, an era Scorsese clearly respects and adores. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning five: Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design (won), Best Art Direction (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Editing (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor Alan Alda, Best Supporting Actress Cate Blanchett (won), Best Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Director and Best Picture. With its eleven nominations and five wins, The Aviator had both more nominations and more wins than the Best Picture winner (Million Dollar Baby, which had seven nominations and four wins). The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways and winner Million Dollar Baby. I’m not going to say whether I think one film should have won over the other because I think both The Aviator and Million Dollar Baby have their merits and their detractors. I’m just glad Sideways didn’t win.
Oscar Vault Monday – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2002 (dir. Peter Jackson)
The second film in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is also quiet possibly the least discussed film in the series. It’s actually my favorite of the three films; I thought so when I first saw it and I still think so today. I think it’s got the hardest job of the three films. It has to follow the build up of the first film, their journey now split into multiple storylines. It also sets up the masterful conclusion of the third film. I think Jackson did a fantastic job keeping the pace and interest going throughout the film. The film also received the least Academy Award nominations of the three films (The Fellowship of the Ring received 13 nominations, winning four; The Return of the King received 11 nominations, winning in every category it was nominated including Best Picture). The Two Towers received six nominations, winning two: Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing (won), Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects (won) and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Pianist and winner Chicago.
Oscar Vault Monday – Top Hat, 1935 (dir. Martin Sandrich)
Featuring one of Hollywood’s most famous screen pairings – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – Top Hat was the duo’s most financially successful film; it was the second highest grossing film of 1935. At once a musical, a dance film and a screwball comedy, the film is non-stop fun from start to finish. Top Hat was nominated for four Academy Awards, though it didn’t win any: Best Song – “Cheek To Cheek”, Best Art Direction, Best Dance Direction (a category that only existed from 1935-1937) and Best Picture. The other films nominated that year were Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer (which, with four wins, won the most awards that year), Les Misérables, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap and winner Mutiny on the Bounty (nominated for seven awards, it is the last film to only win Best Picture and nothing else).
Oscar Vault Monday – The Front Page, 1931 (dir. Lewis Milestone)
This is one of those early transitioning to sound-era ceremonies where most of the films that were nominated for Best Picture are hard to watch by your average modern moviegoer. The technology was still catching up with itself and everything looks kind of raw. That being said, the stories were as great as ever. I chose The Front Page to discuss from this ceremony because its director Lewis Milestone was clearly trying to experiment with filming techniques regardless of the setbacks caused by the sound transition. The result is a film filled with really interesting camera movements and staging unlike most films made during this transitional era. Another interesting thing about this film is how many times this story was made into a film, this 1931 effort being the first. It’s based on a stage play of the same name by Ben Hect and Charles MacArthur, with the screenplay adapted by Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer. Hect and MacArthur’s play was later adapted into Howard Hawk’s 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday – with a screenplay by Lederer, Hect and MacArthur, actually – and again in 1972 by Billy Wilder under its original name and a fourth time in 1988 under the name Switching Channels. The Front Page was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning none: Best Actor Adolphe Menjou, Best Director and Best Picture.
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