1. 1941- my Winner-CITIZEN KANE
The winner was How Green Was My Valley and the other nominees were Blossoms in the Dust, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Hold Back The Dawn, The Little Foxes, The Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sergeant York, Suspicion. Ok now I love How Green in my Valley but, seriously, over Citizen Kane!!?? The Maltese Falcon is better and so is The Little Foxes and High Sierra and The Lady Eve were not even nominated! I can say that Citizen Kane is not one of my personal favourites but I must recognize the importance of this film from every angle from the cinematography by the great Gregg Toland to the writing by Welles and Mankiewicz. It is somewhat based on William Randolph Hearst who was so angry that he tried, with the help of L. B. Mayor, to have all prints burned. The movie starts with the death of a great newspaper magnate who whispers “rosebud” and the newsman trying to find out what the importance is about this word. He speaks to all the man’s old colleagues and former friends and you find out about how this man rose to power but at the cost of losing his soul.
2. 1952-My Winner-SINGING IN THE RAIN
The winner was The Greatest Show on Earth( blecchhh) which I consider the worst winner ever! The other nominees being High Noon, Ivanhoe, Moulin Rouge, The Quiet Man. Yes, I chose a film that was not even nominated and it should have won. Now, mind you, if High Noon or The Quiet Man would have won, I would be ok with that because these are excellent films in my book. In fact, I almost chose The Quiet Man because it is a true classic and hold up well even today with this romantic comedy starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara but Singing wins because it is not only a Great musical but it is a great comedy. It is a wicked satire on the Hollywood of yesteryear when Sound films were taking over the silents. Gene Kelly plays a famous star, part of a duo with his leading lady played brilliantly by Jean Hagen. Their films are all the rage but they must now make a sound film and they flounders in the most hilarious way. Even though this is a musical, I bet even Shady would like this movie especially when Cyd Charisse makes her leggy entrance. By the way, the way sound films were first filmed is accurately portrayed in this film.
3. 1994-My winner-SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
The winner was Forrest Gump with the other nominees being Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, and my winner. Forrest is ok and sweet and blah, blah but it is no where near as great as Shawshank but the title of this film hurt its chances of winning or being seen until video made it known to the average Joe. In fact, I love Ed Wood and Pricilla, Queen of the Desert more than Forrest Gump. In my humble opinion, Forrest is nice but is one of the stupid wins as every other movie mentioned is better. Pulp Fiction is not for everybody but it has more originality than Forrest. Shawshank is about an innocent man sentenced to life in prison for the killing of his wife and her lover. In prison, he meets fellow inmates with Red, played by Morgan Freeman, becoming his closest friend. The corruption and injustice he must endure is frustrating to say the least but you become enthralled with his quiet reserve. Tim Robbins should have won the Oscar over Tom Hanks but he wasn’t even nominated...a true crime in my opinion.
So which films do you feel should have won and what year did it come out? Actually which film do you feel is sorely neglected.
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteCitizen Kane is another film classic that I studied at college. That has to be one of the most imaginative and effective trailers ever produced. It's great to see some of my favorites introduced in it including Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. The term "rosebud" has taken on new meaning in the 21st century (I am told) because of its use in the world of adult film.
You know that I don't care much for musicals and therefore I would pick The Greatest Show on Earth over Singing In The Rain. However I too would have favored High Noon or The Quiet Man to win the award.
There are two films that Mrs. Shady insisted on watching so often that I am tired of both. They are Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption. However, I would much rather sit through another screening of the jailhouse saga or any of your other movie choices than to have to listen to Gump's mind numbing observations about life.
SORELY NEGLECTED/SHOULD HAVE WON:
Mars Needs Women (1967) starring Tommy Kirk and Yvonne Craig.
Thank you, dear friend BB!
Rosebud was, apparently, the name Hearst gave to his mistress, actress Marion Davies, of her privies so I get the porn industry taking this word on. OK..so just watch the scene with Cyd dancing around Gene...every man I showed this to (they also dislike musicals) loved this scene. Oh God...please pick anything but Greatest Show. I know those 2 last films you mention are often on tv but I try not to watch them especially Forrest because my brain cells die
DeleteI agree with you on all of these. I hate Forrest Gump. Ugh! Did not like TGSOE. HGWMV was okay, but not really to my taste in movies. When I was much younger I tried to see all Oscar winners in major categories. I stopped when I realized I was watching too many movies I did not enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean as I have sat through pictures that were heralded as great only for me to realize I just lost 2 hours of my life
DeleteHi Birgit - I am sure you're right ... and I need to see Shawshank ... thanks for the excellent notes though: I enjoy those ... not being a movie follower - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI know you do and you are so sweet. Shawshank is great and, if you have read the book, I heard the ending is different
DeleteWait, what? Citizen Kane didn't win?!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on Forrest Gump, it was sweet and I loved it, but The Shawshank Redemption (which I also picked) and Pulp Fiction were much greater movies.
Nope Citizen Kane did not win! It won in writing and one other award that escapes me at the moment.
DeleteThree incredible choices today, Birgit! I learned the secret of "rosebud" years before I ever actually saw Citizen Kaine, and the flick still blew me away! I'm a huge Welles fan, as evidenced by my cat, Orson. (And by the way, since misspellings are so plentiful on eBay, if you ever want to score an Orson Welles item that few other people will be bidding on, do a search under "Orson Wells!")
ReplyDeleteSingin' in the Rain? Great film. I love Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor in everything they each did. Gene Kelly had this deceptive way of dancing that made one erroneously think "Hey, that looks so easy! I'll bet I could do that, too!" One night at around two a.m., I walked home in the pouring rain. All of a sudden, I started singing "Singin' in the Rain," and although I'm no dancer, I sang the entire song (more than once), and danced my way along the deserted streets, swinging around street sign poles, running sideways up and down concrete steps on people's lawns, and the like. And I swear I was stone cold sober.
I can't think of any movies that should have won Best Picture but didn't, at least not right now. But I really think Robert Downey Jr. should have gotten the Oscar for his performance as Charlie Chaplin.
I danced one night too when it was pouring rain:) I'm glad I am not the only one. How sad that his name is misspelled. Robert Downey was excellent as Charlie Chaplin.
DeleteBy the way, you might like this: An otherwise-smart friend of mine is under the impression that Robert Downey Jr. and late 1980s conservative talk show host Morton Downey Jr. are brothers. I love her far too much to ask "If they are, what's their dad's name?!?"
DeleteAnother great movie from 1952 not nominated for Best Picture is The Bad and the Beautiful.
DeleteThe movie you mentioned I have seen is Forest Gump and it was just OK, not fantastic. I got rather tired of him after awhile, so your pick, which I sadly never saw, was probably far better.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing Singin in the Rain on Turner. It was fabulous, and I can't imagine it was not even nominated. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor were all so good. I can't believe I have actually seen a few of the movies you discussed, and one that actually didn't win. I must see Citizen Kane before I die.
Your thoughts are how I also think and I am happy you saw Singing In The Rain. Citizen Kane is required viewing
DeleteAll terrific films though they wouldn't necessarily be my choices for their years.
ReplyDeleteCitizen Kane is masterful and its influence massive but my vote that year would have gone to The Maltese Falcon which is equally skillful in its way and to me more entertaining.
Obviously it's madness that Singin' in the Rain wasn't nominated in its year, but then the nominees are a ragged lot with many pictures missing that should have been there including the film that would have been my pick for the year-The Lusty Men. Of the actual nominees I would have gone with High Noon. I enjoy The Greatest Show on Earth for what it is a big splashy empty entertainment but it's so wrong that it won the big prize, my pick for worst Best Picture winner is Around the World in 80 Days which is missing what Greatest Show has-entertainment value its a mindnumbing slog.
ANYTHING would have been preferable over the goo fest that is Forrest Gump but yes to Shawshank for the win.
Love the theme you've chosen! Almost every year has something that could have taken the place of the winner, though there are a few years where the correct film won. I could only get down to four of all the possibilities.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)-Just after the end of the First World War vet James Allen (Paul Muni) decides to ramble around the country working odd jobs before settling down. Striking up a casual acquaintance with another drifter he is implicated in a robbery and despite his innocence sentenced to several years on a Southern chain gang. Faced with intolerable conditions he manages to escape and over time build a new and successful life but fate intervenes. Powerful indictment of prison conditions and man’s inhumanity to man with brilliant work by Muni and a haunting ending. There is no way in hell this should have lost to the ponderous Cavalcade.
A Tale of Two Cities (1936)-Solid extremely well-acted version of the Dickens story of the French Revolution and some caught in its web. Handsomely mounted with Ronald Colman a strong Sydney Carton, Blanche Yurka a terrifyingly unhinged Madame De Farge and a lovely small performance by Isabel Jewell as a doomed seamstress. Again vastly superior to the corny and lumbering winner of its year-The Great Ziegfeld.
Grand Illusion (1938)-Eloquent treatise on the futility and senseless of war defies easy synopsis without sounding trite but the basic story is of two French fliers shot down during WWII and their relationship with their cultured German captor. Gripping and profound.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)-Spirited, lively, colorful and flat out fun version of the legend pulsates with vivid colors and a sense of joy. Masterfully lead by director Michael Curtiz with performances full of joie de vivre from Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, the Warner’s stock company and Olivia de Havilland but driving the entire enterprise is the perfectly cast Errol Flynn who is obviously having a great time. You will too. Either this or Grand Illusion should have emerged triumphant over the ultimate winner, the scattered and foolish You Can’t Take It With You.
Double Indemnity (1944)-Rapacious Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) ensnares hapless insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into killing her husband in such a way that they can collect the double indemnity policy on him. As Neff’s boss and mentor Barton Krebs (Edward G. Robinson) begins to suspect foul play things spin out of control and the depths of Phyllis’s maliciousness rise to the surface. Seminal noir that is expertly written and directed by Billy Wilder and memorably performed by Stanwyck and MacMurray in huge breaks from their established personas at the time. The winner this year was the genial but flyaway Going My Way, a pleasurable watch but nothing compared to this trendsetting masterwork.
I would not have been upset if The Maltese Falcon would have won because I like that film more than Citizen Kane but This film just seem to explode on screen with great acting and that deep focus photography. I have not even heard of The Lusty Men and have to look that up. That is quite the title for that time. I have not been able to sit through Around The World. I don't mind watching Greatest Show but no way should it have even been nominated. I love your picks! Chain gang is excellent and it is bone chilling at the end. Tale of Two Cities is so great and I just saw it again last year-love that fight scene with the 2 women. Ronald Colman is great! Grande Illusion is a masterwork and should have won and same with Double Indemnity. I love Going My Way but it is not the same as this film noir
DeleteI was disappointed in "Forrest Gump" because it wasn't like the book, which I thought was hilarious. How they would have done some of the scenes in the book, I don't know. But it would have been fun to have seen it.
ReplyDeleteA movie that I think should have won the Academy Award was 2005's "Capote," mostly because Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who won the Best Actor Oscar) had Capote down cold: the voice, the mannerisms, even the way he looked. It was up against "Crash" and "Brokeback Mountain," so there wasn't much hope of it getting Best Picture.
Capote is excellent and he did a tour De force performance. I dislike Crash but I love Brokeback and would have been happy if Brokeback won. As much as I love capote, I find it is more about the performance than the actual film...sounds strange, I know, but that's how I think
DeleteLast year Hacksaw Ridge should have won. The year The Artist won, any other movie would've been fine. (Hugo would've been best.) And both Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers should have won.
ReplyDeleteHacksaw Ridge is an excellent film and I think it should have received more kudos although i did like Moonlight and Lion. I love The Artist but Hugo is so enchanting and beautiful that, yes, I would have chosen that also. It goes without saying that the first 2 LOTR should have won as well-outstanding in everything!
DeleteYou make a great case for all your picks (although circus fan that I am I have a soft spot in my heart for Greatest Show.. though I wouldn't give it Best Picture).
ReplyDeleteI don't remember Oscar nominations from year to year let alone who won. For 1972 I'd pick Fellini's Roma over any other film though I guess it would have been in the Foreign Film category. I just love that movie...
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I have yet to see Roma but it could have been up since 2 Women was up and Life is beautiful was also up. Oh yes, you would have a soft spot for that film which is fun but should never have won. Have you ever seen Trapeze?
DeleteYes, I went to see Trapeze at a theater with my parents. Usually, if there was a circus movie playing, my parents would take us to see it--that was fine with me. I've seen it on TV a couple of times since including sometime last year on TCM.
DeleteI definitely agree with Shawshank. (Or Pulp Fiction that year over Forrest Gump) I thought Citizen Kane was overrated. I wish I could've seen it before it was hyped as being the greatest movie of all time.
ReplyDeleteI think of Citizen Kane like the Mona Lisa-there is a reason it is so hyped (although Mona only got noticed when she was stolen out of the Louvre back in 1911) but it is lost because of the hype. As I said, I don't consider it one of my own personal favs but I do give it its credo but I love Malteze falcon and others more
DeleteI've heard so much about Citizen Kane but have never seen it. Blush. Blush.
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a day filled with sparkle and free of pain.
Did you get your results from your C T test?
It is a film worth seeing for sure and I love so many scenes. I have sparkle but pain due to the weather coming...bad weather. I have carpal tunnel for sure but it is not bad enough for surgery which is great, I just have to wear 2 wrist braces for each wrist for 3 months to see if it will improve
Delete1. Citizen Kane is overrated, mainly for the flaw to which you alluded. It's a major flaw. Doesn't mean it's not a good film, but I think it's enough to cost it Best Picture. The Maltese Falcon should've won it.
ReplyDelete2. This seems like a weak year. A lot of cheese.
3. I'm fine with Gump winning it. I liked Pulp Fiction. Shawshank's popular, but not really a game-changer.
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the best films ever. (over Chariots of Fire)
1993: In the Name of the Father is another all-timer. But the Academy wasn't going to pick Irish Catholics over Jews. (Schindler's List)
1999: The Insider over American Beauty. This is another year where the Academy's left-wing bias shows.
2012: Zero Dark Thirty over Argo. Argo was a decent flick, but not BP material.
I am all for The Maltese Falcon but there is so much richness in Citizen Kane that I can’t ignore and don’t want to from the series of shots between Kane and his wife at the dining table to that huge fireplace where his second wife is working on a massive jigsaw puzzle. Ummmm....1952 is anything but a weak year when one had High Noon, The Quiet Man and Singing in the Rain. I also disagree completely with you on Shawshank so we shall move on where I also disagree about Raiders which I think is just ok. I would have picked Absence of Malice and Schindler’s List is a superb film. We actually agree about The Insider and I have not seen Zero Dark Thirty
DeleteI didn't see Shawshank Redemption until it was on TV, repeatedly, which meant it took a long time before I saw the whole movie. I had no idea it came out at the same time as Forrest Gump. That was a good story, too. I'm surprised Shawshank Redemption, as well as Tim Robbins, didn't get an Oscar nod.
ReplyDeleteI hope, one day, you can sit down and see the film without commercials because it really is great
DeleteAs soon as I read the title of the post, Shawshank Redemption came to mind. It should have won indeed.
ReplyDeleteI think so for sure and most love this film for good reason
DeleteUh oh, disappearing comment syndrome!
ReplyDeleteTwo big favourites of mine, Singin' in the Rain and Sahwshank Redemption. I saw the Singing in the Rain scene skated to, I don't remember which skater now, but it was brilliant. Always loved Debbie Reynolds anyway. Shawshank we have a copy of. Very clever movie.
ReplyDeleteHooray! All movies I've seen :)
ReplyDeleteAt the time Forrest Gump was in the zeitgeist of the Baby Boomers and their nostalgia for their lives. I totally know why it won. (And apparently the book on which it was based was a lot more subversive than came out in the film.)
However, I do love Shawshank. It's aged well, whereas FG hasn't.
I do think Star Wars should have won over Annie Hall. (Oh, I so hate Annie Hall. And most Woody Allen films.) But otherwise, I'd have to look through the lists of winners as my memory for Oscars isn't as good as it was when I was in my 20s.
Well, I saw Citizen Kane once because I was supposed to... and like it a lot. I've seen Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery at least 10 times.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you, I also didn't care for Forrest Gump.. and walked out of the theater before it ended. Thus Forrest Gump joins Footloose. I've seen the "MTV" video of Singing In The Rain yet not the whole movie. Steve Kerr says Shawshank Redemption is his favorite movie. I haven't seen it.
The biggest overlook: Mulholland Drive. The only Oscars kudos was the nomination for the category of best director. No trophies. I looked this up on Mulholland Drive:
Best movie as voted by:
- Chicago Film Critics Awards
- National Society of Film Critics
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Online Film Critics Society
They're critics. They're opinion isn't really as important as the individual. Still, Mulholland Drive is the biggest overlook of the Oscars. Honorable mentions: 1) Bulworth - only nominated for one Oscars category of best screenplay and no trophies. Perhaps because in the movie Beatty/Bulworth tells Hollywood producers, "The funny thing is how lousy most of your stuff is. You make violent films and you make dirty films. You know, family films. But most of the films aren't very good are they. It's funny that so many smart people can work so hard on 'em and spend so much money on 'em and make so much money on 'em. I mean, what do you think it is? It must be the money huh. It must be the money. It turns everything to crap." Of all the Academy Awards Beatty has won, I put Bulworth as his best performance. 2) Steve Martin has made some awesome movies... and also happened to be the host of the Oscars.
BIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteIt would probably be easier for me to say which movies have won Best Picture Oscars that I feel are way overrated, than to name movies I feel SHOULD have won but didn't.
When TERMS OF ENDEARMENT won in 1983, that's when I really stopped paying attention to the Oscars. Haven't watched one of their ceremonies since then. ("It's just a bunch of assholes patting themselves on the back." ~Martin Brumer)
Like you, I say that CITIZEN KANE is considered a classic for many valid reasons. It's not the most likable movie because the main character is not likable, but it was a monumentally innovative movie, and an excellently told story.
I'd say THE QUIET MAN should have won in 1952, but I'd also take SINGIN' IN THE RAIN over 'The Greatest Show On Earth'.
HIGH NOON, FORREST GUMP, and yes, even SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION would make my list of most overrated movies. (You can add SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and almost anything by Clint Eastwood to that list, as well.)
The best movie I've seen in at least 15 years, and probably more, was THE BIG SHORT. That was a very creative film with some excellent performances, and I can barely believe that Hollyweird was even allowed to tell the masses THAT MUCH truth. It's pretty rare when the entertainment world actually spills serious beans like that. (Best line in a movie in recent memory: "Time to call bullsh!t on every-f**king-thing." I nearly stood up and cheered!)
Having already seen PAPILLON and COOL HAND LUKE, I'll never understand the love everyone has for 'Shawshank Redemption'. I've seen it twice, and in the 'Prison Movies' category, 3rd place is the best I could possibly give it.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
POSTSCRIPT:
DeleteCome to think of it, 4th place is the best I could give it, since THE LONGEST YARD (1974) is just as much a prison movie as it is a football movie.
~ D-FensDogG
Citizen Kane is one of those movies that everyone loves that I don't quite get why...maybe one day I'll rewatch it.
ReplyDelete