Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 34 and 33 — Oliver! (1968) and How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Josh Kaye

34. Oliver! (1968)

Other Nominated Films:
Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Rachel Rachel, Romeo and Juliet

A twist on the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist (see what I did there), Oliver! is an exciting tale about an orphan who runs away from an orphanage and gets caught up in a gang of child thieves. The twist? (I can’t seem to help myself!) They sing and dance their way happily through their sordid, miserable little lives! I actually have a personal experience with one of the songs from the film. For one of my assignments in a class, my group had to create a pitch for a restaurant idea, and we found this wonderful YouTube video featuring the song Food, Glorious Food. Unfortunately, I can’t find the clip, but it was a perfect fit. When I watched the film and heard the familiar music start playing, I sat up with a smile on my face for two reasons: A) I found the source of the YouTube song; and B) I knew that this would be an enjoyable movie — which it was, although there were some pretty sad moments throughout the film, especially towards the end. There were two characters that really stood out over the rest: Fagin (Ron Moody) and the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). Fagin can be considered a foster father for a bunch of the young, abandoned boys. He cares for the children and teaches them to make a living by doing what he does best: pickpocketing. And the Artful Dodger is his #1 go-to-guy. Both of the actors were nominated for Oscars, but neither one came out as the winner. I also would like to point out that Oliver Reed, who played Bill Sikes, is terrifying, and that’s all I have to say about that. Since the development of the MPAA rating system, Oliver! is the only G-rated film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, which is ironic since the following year Midnight Cowboy became the only X-Rated film to win Best Picture. Onna White also received an Honorary Award for her outstanding choreography achievement for Oliver!.

Nominated for 11 Oscars, Winner of 5
Honorary Award – Onna White – For her outstanding choreography achievement for Oliver!.
Best Art Direction-Set Direction – John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, Ken Muggleston (WON)
Best Director – Carol Reed (WON)
Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) – Johnny Green (WON)
Best Picture – John Woolf (WON)
Best Sound – Shepperton SSD (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Ron Moody
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Jack Wild
Best Cinematography – Oswald Morris
Best Costume Design – Phyllis Dalton
Best Film Editing – Ralph Kemplen
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – Vernon Harris

Fagin: [sings] I’m reviewing the situation / Can a fellow be a villain all his life? / All the trials and tribulations. / Better settle down and get myself a wife! / And a wife would cook and sew for me, / And come for me, and go for me, / And go for me, and nag at me, / The fingers, she would wag at me. / The money she would take from me. / A misery, she’ll make from me… I think I’d better think it out again!

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 36 and 35 — The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Josh Kaye

36. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Other Nominated Films:
The Awful Truth, Captains Courageous, Dead End, The Good Earth, In Old Chicago, Lost Horizon, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star is Born

I’m going to be completely honest, there are just some films that are harder to write about than others. Previous films on my countdown list, such as Around the World in 80 Days and The Broadway Melody, were easy to write about since, as films that are full of excitement, they’re fun to watch. Then, a film such as The Life of Emile Zola comes up, and I find myself struggling. It’s not because it’s a bad movie, since it really isn’t. In fact, it’s a very, very good film. I find the difficulty in writing about it is because…well…it’s just one of those movies. We’ve all seen them before — we watch and admire what’s on the screen, but when it comes to actually discussing the movie, our whole vocabulary is thrown out the window. That’s how I feel about The Life of Emile Zola. Since I’m having my own trouble coming up with the words to say, I’m just going to have to steal from someone who can say them better. Here are a few quotes from the original New York Times review that was published on August 12, 1937:

“The Warners, who have achieved the reputation of being Hollywood’s foremost triflers with history, paid their debt to truth last night with the presentation of The Life of Emile Zola at the Hollywood Theatre. Rich, dignified, honest, and strong, it is at once the finest historical film ever made and the greatest screen biography, greater even than The Story of Louis Pasteur with which the Warners squared their conscience last year.”

“…[The Life of Emile Zola] has followed not merely the spirit but, to a rare degree, the very letter of his life and of the  historically significant lives about him. And, still more miraculously, it has achieved this brilliant end without self-consciousness, without strutting glorification, without throwing history out of focus to build up the importance of its central figure.”

Thank you Frank S. Nugent for letting me borrow your words. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. The Life of Emile Zola is an honest depiction of the man in its title. William Dieterle is able to keep the spirit of Zola alive without having to fabricate many details. Paul Muni, who was nominated for his portrayal of the French author, is astonishing, and not just for his extraordinary performance, but because he looked exactly like the man. There really couldn’t have been a better choice for the role. The Life of Emile Zola would become the second biographical film to win Best Picture and the first film to receive 10 Academy Award nominations.

Nominated for 10 Oscars; Winner of 3
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Joseph Schildkraut (WON)
Best Picture – Warner Bros. (WON)
Best Writing, Screenplay – Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg, Norman Reilly Raine (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Paul Muni
Best Art Direction – Anton Grot
Best Assistant Director – Russell Saunders
Best Director – William Dieterle
Best Music, Score – Leo F. Forbstein (Warner Bros. Studio Music Department – Score by Max Steiner)
Best Sound, Recording – Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD)
Best Writing, Original Story – Heinz Herald

Émile Zola: What does it matter if an individual is shattered – if only justice is resurrected?

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 38 and 37 — The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Josh Kaye

38. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Other Nominated Films:
Anthony Adverse, Dodsworth, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities, Three Smart Girls

Florenz Ziegfeld was one of the most famous theater producers of the early 1900′s, producing hits such as the Ziegfeld Follies and Show Boat. The Great Ziegfeld is an extravagant film with gigantic dance sequences, one of which featured 180 performers, 4,300 yards of rayon silk, and cost $220,000. The film in total cost M-G-M about $2 million to make, which, for today, would probably be a budget of $200 million. Luckily for M-G-M, the film was able to bring in over $40 million, and rightly so. Ziegfeld led an interesting life, one that started with little money, but like so many other Americans, he worked his way to the top. While I don’t know much about the man (aside from the fact that the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan is named after him), by watching William Powell’s portrayal, I saw how hard of a worker Ziegfeld was, or Flo, as many of his friends called him. But the real star of the show is Luise Rainer, who won an Oscar for playing Flo’s ex-wife Anna Held. Rainer was great from beginning to end, but the one scene that truly stands out for me is when after she finds out that Flo has married Broadway star Billie Burke, (who would go on the play Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz) and she phones him to pretend she’s glad for him. Rainer plays the heart-broken woman so well that many believe this is the scene that won her the Oscar. While The Great Ziegfeldtakes many liberties with the life of Ziegfeld, it can’t take away the fact that Robert Z. Leonard creates a fun and exuberant film.

Nominated for 7 Oscars; Winner of 3
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Luise Rainer (WON)
Best Dance Direction – Seymour Felix for “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody”(WON)
Best Picture – M-G-M (WON)
Best Art Direction – Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu, Edwin B. Willis (WON)
Best Director – Robert Z. Leonard
Best Film Editing – William S. Gray
Best Writing, Original Story – William Anthony McGuire

Anna Held: [on the phone with Ziegfeld after learning of his marriage to Billie Burke] Hello, Flo… Yes. Here’s Anna… I’m so happy for you today, I could not help calling you and congratulate you… Wonderful, Flo! Never better in my whole life!… I’m so excited about my new plans! I’m going to Paris… Yes, for a few weeks, and then I can get back, and then I’m doing a new show, and… Oh, it’s all so wonderful! I’m so happy!… Yes… And I hope you are happy, too… Yes?… Oh, I’m so glad for you, Flo… Sounds funny for ex-husband and ex-wife to tell how happy they are, oui?… Yes, Flo… Goodbye, Flo… Goodbye…

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 40 and 39 — Cavalcade (1933) and The Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929)

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Josh Kaye

40. Cavalcade (1933)

Other Nominated Films:
42nd Street, A Farewell to Arms, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin’ Through, State Fair

At the time of it’s release, Cavalcade was a pretty big triumph. The 110 minute film spans around three decades of history, which is a tough challenge even for directors today. The film is defined by the big events that happen in the lives of the Jane and Robert Marryot, played by Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook. These include the Second Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and World War I. Cavalcade can easily be considered a tear-jerker due to the fact that the events we witness with this family are tragic on a more personal level. Using such tragic events in history is risky for a film, especially in a time where people are experimenting with cinema and figuring out what topics are proper or offensive to use in a movie. But by taking this risk, Frank Lloyd is able to bring out the best in his actors and allow the audience into the lives of these individuals and feel as they feel. Diane Wynyard is truly fantastic in her role as Jane. It doesn’t look as if she’s acting, but it looks as if she is Jane Marryot, and all of the pain and suffering that Jane has gone through in her life…well it seems as if Diane has been in her shoes before. This was the first Fox Studios film to be awarded Best Picture.

Nominated for 4 Oscars; Winner of 3
Best Art Direction – William S. Darling (WON)
Best Director – Frank Lloyd (WON)
Best Picture – Fox Studios (WON)
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Diana Wynyard

Jane Marryot: There should never be any good reason for neglecting someone that you love.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 42 and 41 — Cimarron (1931) and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Josh Kaye

42. Cimarron (1931)

Other Nominated Films:
East Lynne, The Front Page, Skippy, Trader Horn

One of the first films to ever win an Oscar, it’s interesting watching it now, to say the least. It’s one of those films that, for the time it was released, I can understand why it was a big hit. It has some pretty solid gun slinging sequences, and the story is able to hold up for the majority of the film. I also must compliment the acting of Irene Dunne, who did a dynamite job portraying a wife who must deal with the actions of her husband who keeps on riding out on her to find bigger and better things. It does tend to be racist, and not just to one race, but at some points, to all. I do realize that this is accurate to how attitudes were back in the day and to how movies were written at this time, but the only time I, myself, have seen a film so racist would have to be The Birth of a Nation directed by D.W. Griffith, one of the pioneers of filmmaking. Cimarronis the first Western to win a Best Picture award, and one of only three Westerns to win the award throughout the history of cinema (Unforgiven and Dances with Wolves are the only other ones.)

Nominated for 7 Oscars; Winner of 3
Best Art Direction – Max Rée (WON)
Best Picture – RKO Radio (WON)
Best Writing, Adaptation – Howard Estabrook (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Richard Dix
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Irene Dunne
Best Cinematography – Edward Cronjagor
Best Direction – Wesley Ruggles

Sabra Cravat: Did you have to kill him?
Yancy Cravat: No, I could have let him kill me.

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Welcome To The ClassicMovieHub Blog!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Josh Kaye

Why hello there! Welcome to the first blog post for ClassicMovieHub. I’ll be your co-host on this fine journey, and as your co-host, let me introduce myself. I’m Josh Kaye, a Cinema Studies major at SUNY Purchase. I won’t say that I’m anything close to an expert on Classic Cinema, as I will be learning more about the Classics as I go on, but watching and learning more about them has always been something I’ve wanted to do. This blog will focus on some of the greatest movies of all time, ranging from the silent classics of Chaplin to the haunting films of Hitchcock, and everything else in between.

For my first series on this blog, to commemorate the Academy Awards, which are on February 26th, I have watched every Best Picture winner between the years of 1927 – 1969. While watching all of these movies, I created a list of what I feel are the best films to win the Oscar based on the film itself, how the film has stuck with me since I first watched it, and every other cinematic aspect such as the acting, the directing, the music, and the cinematography. Beginning Thursday February 2nd, I shall list the films two at time until I reach the Top 10. From there, each film will be listed individually, and on February 27th, the #1 movie will be posted, as will a comparison between the Best Picture of 2011 and the Best Picture of All Time, at least to me.

There may be plenty of surprises as to where I put some films, and I expect not everyone will agree, but that’s the glory of movies…we each gather our own opinion and each feel so differently about one movie compared to the other. All I can hope for is that you spend your precious time to visiting here and reading, as well as giving a piece of your mind.

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