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Movie Quote of the Day – Midnight Cowboy, 1969 (dir. John Schlesinger)
Ratso Rizzo: I’m walking here! I’m walking here!
Movie Quote of the Day – Ishtar, 1987 (dir. Elaine May)
Lyle Rogers: What a smuck I was…
Chuck Clarke: Schmuck! It’s not smuck. Schmuck!
Lyle Rogers: Smuck!
Chuck Clarke: [loud] Schmuck!
Lyle Rogers: Sssssssssmuck!
Chuck Clarke: Say “ssshhhh”
Lyle Rogers: Ssshhhhhh.
Chuck Clarke: Now say “muck”.
Lyle Rogers: [soft] Muck.
Chuck Clarke: Now say “ssshhh” and “muck” together real fast.
Lyle Rogers: Smuck!
Chuck Clarke: …Closer.
Lyle Rogers: You really know the lingo.
1967: The Year Cinema Changed Forever
I know there is at least one book on this subject and I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but thanks to TCM showing several movies from that year, I have to agree completely. What I mean by Cinema, is Hollywood and American Cinema, because a lot of how it changed was based on things French New Wave directors had already been doing for almost ten years.
One way to see this change is by looking at the five films that were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars that year. Four of the films are harbingers of the new Hollywood. One is old guard and because of that in addition I want to talk about another film that, although nominated for four Oscars, was not up for Best Picture.
The five films up for Best Picture were Bonnie & Clyde, Doctor Dolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner and In The Heat of the Night. The film sixth film I’m going to discuss is In Cold Blood.
(500) Days of Summer and 9 Other Great Films the Academy Completely Ignored This Decade
I was really shocked that (500) Days of Summer was completely ignored by the Academy this year. It was on several critic’s top ten lists. It had won several critic awards for its screenplay. I really thought, at the very least, it would get nods for Original Screenplay and Editing (hello, that Expectations vs. Reality scene was fucking awesome). I even had it on my predictions for Best Picture.
Alas, this was not the case and was probably, for me, the biggest disappoint of Tuesday’s announcements. However, this is not the first time an amazing piece of cinema has gone completely un-lauded by the Academy. I’ve picked one film from each year of this past decade that also has zero Oscar nominations to its name.
the diary of a film history fanatic 