Blog Archives
Oscar Vault Monday – Anatomy of a Murder, 1959 (dir. Otto Preminger)
I first saw this movie during TCM Summer Under The Stars last August and it made me fall in love with Lee Remick. She is something else in this film, a film that also features a stellar ensemble cast. I also feel I must point out that this was the year that Ben-Hur won Best Picture and as much as I like Anatomy of a Murder there’s no comparison between the two. Especially in terms of scope and pure cinematic epicness. Ben-Hur is the kind of film that could only be a film, whereas Anatomy of Murder could have worked just as well as a play. That being said, Anatomy of a Murder is an amazing film and definitely worth your time. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, though it failed to win a single award: Best B&W Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor Arthur O’Connell, Best Supporting Actor George C. Scott, Best Actor James Stewart and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were The Diary of Anne Frank, The Nun’s Story, Room at the Top and winner Ben-Hur (which won eleven Oscars).
Oscar Vault Monday – Picnic, 1955 (dir. Joshua Logan)
This is a year wherein I 100% agree with the winner the Academy picked – Marty. It’s one of my favorite films period, let alone one of my favorite Best Picture winners. That being said, the three nominees I’ve seen from that year (Marty, Picnic and Mister Roberts) are all fabulous films. I decided to talk about Picnic because it has one of my all-time favorite performances and there’s lots of shirtless William Holden. Picnic was nominated for six Oscars, winning two: Best Score, Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration (won), Best Film Editing (won), Best Supporting Actor Arthur O’Connell, Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were: Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, The Rose Tattoo and winner Marty.
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