Thursday Film Picks- Norman Jewison

 

The great director, Norman Jewison, died on Saturday at the grand age of 97. He was a gifted director with a soul and a need to speak about injustice and talked about racism, prejudice and social issues but he also had a fun side and enjoyed making comedies as well. He was nominated for an Oscar, I think, 4 times but never won but he won 3 Emmys. He was a proud Canadian and born in Toronto making this city his second home. He created the Canadian Film Centre and was involved in the Toronto university. When he travelled through the U.S. south, after serving in the Canadian army during WW2, he was appalled at the segregation and racist attitude of the people and he visited this attitude in many of his films. I am going to choose more than my regular 3.

1. THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING-1966

This is a hilarious comedy about a small U.S. coastal town who feel they are being invaded by the Russians when a Russian sub accidentally runs aground. The U.S. citizens are ready for action while the Russian commander and his men just want to go home. It stars Alan Arkin and Sid Caesar and this is a comedy classic.

2. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT-1967

This is a classic starring Sidney Poitier as a detective sent to the Deep South to investigate a murder and must deal with the prejudices of the town including the sheriff played by Rod Steiger. This is well acted and deals with the horrible nature of people who hate just because of skin colour. This film won many Oscars and was made into a successful TV series that starred Carroll O’Connor.

3. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF-1971

This is a famous musical that was on Broadway winning many Tony’s before being made into this film starring Topol as head of Jewish family trying to marry off his daughters while dealing with the racist attitude of the Russians who would love to erase the people off their land. There are some great songs that come from this film like , “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset”. 

4. AND JUSTICE FOR ALL-1979

I was blown away by Al Pacino’s performance in this film with his famous “You’re out of order” scene being the culmination in this film  about a lawyer, who beats to a different drummer. He often is the bane of existence for some judges and ends up having to defend a judge he hates. It’s well acted and worth seeing.

5. MOONSTRUCK-1987

Cher was in top form in this comedy about a woman, living with her parents and being sought after by 2 brothers. The one, she expects to marry and he is  secure and solid but his wayward brother, played by Nicholas Cage, gets under her skin. This is a very fun comedy that won Cher her Oscar and allowed us to see her Oscar outfit.

6. THE HURRICANE-1999

I love this movie that stars Denzel Washington as Ruben, “The Hurricane”, Carter who is unjustly accused of a triple murder and sent to prison. Many took up his cause including famous people like Bob Dylan who wrote the song about “ The Hurricane” but nothing is done. Many years later, a young African American from NYC is sent to Toronto to study and given a second chance. There he learns about The Hurricane and, with his 3 teachers / mentors take up the cause to prove his innocence. Due to their diligence, they find the proof giving the lawyers the ability to set The Hurricane free. This caused quite a stir because, I believe, it showed how Canadians helped  this man when the Americans could not and The real Hurricane Carter decided to make Toronto his home. How dare we Canadians find the way! Hahaha. It is  well acted by Denzel who won the Oscar for this role.

Here are some other films Norman Jewison made:

1. THE THRILL OF IT ALL-1963

2. SEND ME NO FLOWERS- 1964

3. THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR- 1968

4. JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR-1972

5. ROLLERBALL- 1975

6. A SOLDIER'S STORY-1984

7. AGNES OF GOD- 1985

8. IN COUNTRY-1989

9. BOGUS-1996

10. THE STATEMENT-2003

Which films of his have you seen?