Best Picture Hall of Fame

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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

A Beautiful Mind



I apologise in advance to whoever nominated this, because it’s not nice when someone hates your movie. To be fair, I didn’t hate it, I just thought it was extremely average.

Spoilers follow…

The King’s Speech ,might be the least edgy best picture nomination of recent years, but A Beautiful Mind is perhaps the blandest. Everything about it just seemed very staid and lacking in charm or interest. Hallucinations aside, there wasn’t much exciting about the direction, the editing is pretty choppy (who was it that said good editing is when you don’t notice the editing? Not sure I always agree but I noticed it here and not in a good way). It doesn’t even look good. Everything looks so beige and fifties-dress-up and there’s barely any interesting or well framed shots in the entire thing. I’m at a loss to understand how this won Howard Best Director.

I wonder if this is one of those films that people think is clever just because there’s a twist. And I have to say, it is a good twist, it certainly piqued my interest in the movie more at that point and was thinking back over the events so far in a new light. But that interest wasn’t sustained. This film is just really, really dull. And it just goes on. And there wasn’t enough maths in it.

I wasn’t keen on the whole silly ‘using the principles of Go to get laid’ in the bar nonsense. Or the throwing the desk out of the window. In fact, all of the ‘lighter’ moments missed the mark for me, which made it a fairly joyless experience. And the way he ‘overcomes’ his schizophrenia with the attendant swelling music made me cringe. Regarding the music, I really liked the main repeated theme but it was much too much in some scenes, more dramatic than it needed to be. It would probably be a really good piece of music if it weren’t attached to the film.

I’m not particularly a fan of Russell Crowe (with the exception of Gladiator) and I wasn’t impressed with him here (although he plays old a lot better than he plays young). I’m not generally a fan of Jennifer Connelly but she’s all right here - but not really Oscar winning good though. She just plays the bland supportive wife who occasionally gets to look scared. I liked Christopher Plummer as the doctor, he really does come across as potentially sinister but potentially kindly and misunderstood. And Paul Bettany is good.

Did it deserve to win Best Picture? Hell no. I would have picked Moulin Rouge!, personally, but any of the other nominations over this. Or Mulholland Drive. Or Black Hawk Down. And I would have given best director to any of the other nominees (or Luhrmann. Or Wes Anderson). I can’t help thinking there must have been a split vote and this was the safe choice that won through.



I think physical transformations are kind of overrated, has always seemed kind of gimmicky to me.
Preach, not to mention often unhealthy
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Oh my god. They're trying to claim another young victim with the foreign films.





On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
Imdb

Date Watched: 01/15/18
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Best Picture Hall of Fame
Rewatch? Yes.


I first watched this in 2016 in preparation for the MoFo 50's list. Having been very much impressed with Elia Kazan's East of Eden and with Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, I went into my first viewing of On the Waterfront with high hopes. Unfortunately my experience was not what I'd expected and I found myself respecting the film while not actually enjoying it. It ultimately made my ballot for that list, but it was for lack of enough films I liked better.

Tonight's experience was a bit different. I still respect it as I did previously, but this time I actually found myself engaged with it. The performances are all very strong (though I'll admit my interest in Terry is due in part to how sexy Marlon Brando was back in the day), the story was interesting (I do tend to be a sucker for stories of redemption), and the film looks great.

But the main thing was that I actually cared this time. I wanted Terry to better himself and to prove that he wasn't a bum. I felt for his struggles and was sorry for his losses. I'm not sure what it was that kept me from feeling that way last time, but I'm glad I had to give it another chance. It's by no means a favorite nor do I think it ever will be, but I enjoyed it.




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

A Beautiful Mind



I apologise in advance to whoever nominated this, because it’s not nice when someone hates your movie. To be fair, I didn’t hate it, I just thought it was extremely average.

I haven't read this review yet because I haven't watched the movie yet, but I just wanted to mention that I'm the person who nominated A Beautiful Mind, but don't feel bad even if you hated it. It was a blind nom, and I haven't even seen it yet. I nominated it because it's been on my watchlist for a long time, and it sounded like my type of movie.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Forrest Gump

I watched this movie many years ago, but I didn't remember much about it except that I thought it was very overrated. I'm not sure why I thought that because I watched it again last night, and I loved it. It has a nice mix of comedy and drama, but it also has a whole underlying fantasy element to it.

Forrest Gump may not be very smart, but apparently he's had a remarkable life. However he seems to be a bit of a jinx. Every time he talked about meeting someone important, (even though he didn't seem to realize that they were important), he followed it up by telling us how that person died. But I think that's what's so great about him. I love that he doesn't seem to know how important he was in the history of other people. Some of it, (or maybe even most of it), is a little far-fetched, but that's also what makes it so much fun.

I'm kind of on the fence about his relationship with Jenny. I liked her as a kid, but as they got older, she strayed so far that she didn't deserve him. Part of me wanted them to get together because it would make Forrest happy, but another part of me just wanted him to forget about her and meet someone else.

I've always liked Tom Hanks better as a comic actor rather than a dramatic actor, but there's no denying that he's one of the most talented actors working today. Gary Sinise was also terrific in this movie, as was the rest of the supporting cast. (And I forgot how adorable Haley Joel Osment was when he was young.)

I'm a little surprised that The Shawshank Redemption didn't win the Best Picture over Forrest Gump, but at least now I agree that this movie was a deserving winner.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Mutiny on the Bounty

This was another rewatch of a movie that I haven't seen in many years, but I didn't remember much about the movie, so it was almost like watching it for the first time. Despite some great performances in the movie, I liked the movie, but I didn't love it.

It felt like there was too much build-up to the actual mutiny, but not enough about what happened after the mutiny. Every time Captain Bligh did something terrible, I kept thinking that there would be at least some talk about the crew fighting back, but for most of the movie, they just took it. By the time we finally got to the mutiny, it just felt like a letdown.

Then when Captain Bligh and the others were adrift in the boat, they kind of glossed over it so fast that it didn't seem like it was as long as it was, or as hard for them as it was. And then they had such a short trial that I felt cheated out of the trial scene, and the aftermath of the trial.

WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Mutiny on the Bounty"!!!!" spoilers below
And in the end, it just seems like none of it even mattered because Captain Bligh never had to pay for his actions anyway, so he just gets to go and treat the next crew just as badly as he treated this crew. Other than the time when he was in the boat, there was no penalty for his actions.


I haven't seen most of the other Best Picture nominees that it was up against, so I don't know if it was a deserving winner or not, but I probably wouldn't have voted for it.



Mutiny on the Bounty

This was another rewatch of a movie that I haven't seen in many years, but I didn't remember much about the movie, so it was almost like watching it for the first time. Despite some great performances in the movie, I liked the movie, but I didn't love it.

It felt like there was too much build-up to the actual mutiny, but not enough about what happened after the mutiny. Every time Captain Bligh did something terrible, I kept thinking that there would be at least some talk about the crew fighting back, but for most of the movie, they just took it. By the time we finally got to the mutiny, it just felt like a letdown.

Then when Captain Bligh and the others were adrift in the boat, they kind of glossed over it so fast that it didn't seem like it was as long as it was, or as hard for them as it was. And then they had such a short trial that I felt cheated out of the trial scene, and the aftermath of the trial.
I can see what you're saying about wanting to see the trial scene and what happened to the men. The movie is based on the novel which is 400 pages. To cover the entire story would have required a longer movie. The 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty is an hour longer, and with 3 hours it does tell what happened to the men. Though I don't remember if we see the trail in that one either?

WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Mutiny on the Bounty"!!!!" spoilers below
And in the end, it just seems like none of it even mattered because Captain Bligh never had to pay for his actions anyway, so he just gets to go and treat the next crew just as badly as he treated this crew. Other than the time when he was in the boat, there was no penalty for his actions.
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
It wasn't Captain Bligh who was punished in the real incident, it was the men who mutinied.

This is what happened to the men:
In October 1790, Bligh was honourably acquitted at the court-martial inquiring into the loss of Bounty. Shortly thereafter, he published A Narrative of the Mutiny on board His Majesty's Ship "Bounty"; And the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, In the Ship's Boat, from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies. Of the 10 surviving prisoners eventually brought home in spite of Pandora's loss, four were acquitted, owing to Bligh's testimony that they were non-mutineers that Bligh was obliged to leave on Bounty because of lack of space in the launch. Two others were convicted because, while not participating in the mutiny, they were passive and did not resist. They subsequently received royal pardons. One was convicted but excused on a technicality. The remaining three were convicted and hanged.



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Mutiny on the Bounty



This is a film that I had been looking forward to seeing for quite some time. Charles Laughton and Clark Gable are two really fine actors. And Franchot Tone was also nominated for an Oscar in it. The problem I had however, was that it seemed a bit too theatrical of a performance which is something that can certainly happen with older movies. I felt Laughton's acting rather than becoming Captain Bligh, to the point where his madness didn't even seem real to be. Gable wasn't as bad, but it was far from a career defining performance. And there wasn't much special in Tones performance. Of course I love a good sea faring travel movie, so the story was right up my alley, but I'd be kidding if I didn't say the movie felt long, strange because the end felt rushed. I actually like the first half of the film better than the second, once they got to Tahiti it lost a bit of luster for me. So yeah, I was certainly disappointed as this seems to be bottom tier Oscar material. The lowest I've rated a few Oscar winners is
and while this won't hit that low of a mark, it isn't far behind it, either.




On The Waterfront

I believe this is my fourth time watching this since coming to Mofo and I had already seen it before then. I think I am kind of ready for a hiatus from this film. I think it is really good in a ton of areas. The performances are great. How can they not be with Brando, Cobb, and Malden. The film looks great and I think it has at least four knock out scenes.

I have two issues that keep this from being a favorite of mine, and they show themselves to me each and every viewing. One, there are at least two scenes that are used for heavy exposition that I don't care for. The most glaring one is the first scene that we meet Cobb's character. He pontificates about why he thinks the union should get kick back and how his organization works. Pretty brutal from a film that otherwise has a pretty good script.

The second thing that will never stop bothering me is Saint's character having anything to do at all with Brando's. They have some great scenes together but they set her up as such a tough, no nonsense women. Her relationship with her brother was so strong and emotional. I just don't believe for a second she would have anything to do with this guy who runs around with the men who killed her brother.

Had no idea Hitch had two great movies this year. As good as this film is I prefer both Rear Window and Dial M For Murder. On The Waterfront is the only film I have seen of those actually nominated.

Very good film that I kind of hope wins so at least no one can nominate it again.
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(Don't think docs are eligible for best pic so it'd be Barton Fink)
https://www.today.com/popculture/mic...ar-wbna5926840

In the midst of the presidential campaign, Moore’s announcement is a strategic move for his Oscar campaign. Documentaries and animated films have their own categories, but the conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that those niche awards can limit a film’s appeal in the overall best picture class.



Moore said he and his producing partner, Harvey Weinstein, agreed “Fahrenheit 9/11” would stand a better chance if they focused solely on the top Oscar.



He also said he wanted to be “supportive of my teammates in nonfiction film.”



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Rocky (1976)

I hadn't watched this movie since I was a kid and only remembered the most famous part of it.
I wasn't very pleasantly surprised! Sure there some flaws to it, none of the actors here are brilliant and Stallone doesn't have much skill but he has presence which helps balancing his performance.
The first act was a bit overdeveloped in my opinion but the last part of the film from the famous training scene set to Eye of the Tiger till the end is very very good! The fight, especially, has to be one of the best fighting scenes in all cinema history. It's tense, thrilling and incredibly exciting! When I noticed myself I was moving my body the way Rocky did.

I'm glad this was nominated, gave me the opportunity to rewatch it!

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Rocky (1976)

I hadn't watched this movie since I was a kid and only remembered the most famous part of it.
I wasn't very pleasantly surprised! Sure there some flaws to it, none of the actors here are brilliant and Stallone doesn't have much skill but he has presence which helps balancing his performance.
The first act was a bit overdeveloped in my opinion but the last part of the film from the famous training scene set to Eye of the Tiger till the end is very very good! The fight, especially, has to be one of the best fighting scenes in all cinema history. It's tense, thrilling and incredibly exciting! When I noticed myself I was moving my body the way Rocky did.

I'm glad this was nominated, gave me the opportunity to rewatch it!

+



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I can see what you're saying about wanting to see the trial scene and what happened to the men. The movie is based on the novel which is 400 pages. To cover the entire story would have required a longer movie. The 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty is an hour longer, and with 3 hours it does tell what happened to the men. Though I don't remember if we see the trail in that one either?

WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Mutiny on the Bounty"!!!!" spoilers below
And in the end, it just seems like none of it even mattered because Captain Bligh never had to pay for his actions anyway, so he just gets to go and treat the next crew just as badly as he treated this crew. Other than the time when he was in the boat, there was no penalty for his actions.
WARNING: "Spoilers" spoilers below
It wasn't Captain Bligh who was punished in the real incident, it was the men who mutinied.

This is what happened to the men:
In October 1790, Bligh was honourably acquitted at the court-martial inquiring into the loss of Bounty. Shortly thereafter, he published A Narrative of the Mutiny on board His Majesty's Ship "Bounty"; And the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, In the Ship's Boat, from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies. Of the 10 surviving prisoners eventually brought home in spite of Pandora's loss, four were acquitted, owing to Bligh's testimony that they were non-mutineers that Bligh was obliged to leave on Bounty because of lack of space in the launch. Two others were convicted because, while not participating in the mutiny, they were passive and did not resist. They subsequently received royal pardons. One was convicted but excused on a technicality. The remaining three were convicted and hanged.

WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Mutiny on the Bounty"!!!!" spoilers below
I realize that the outcome of the trial is because it's based on the real incident, but in real life, Captain Bligh wasn't as cruel as he was portrayed in the movie. If they're going to make him into a murderer for dramatic effect, then the punishment should fit the crime for the same reason.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Rocky (1976)

I hadn't watched this movie since I was a kid and only remembered the most famous part of it.
I wasn't very pleasantly surprised! Sure there some flaws to it, none of the actors here are brilliant and Stallone doesn't have much skill but he has presence which helps balancing his performance.
The first act was a bit overdeveloped in my opinion but the last part of the film from the famous training scene set to Eye of the Tiger till the end is very very good! The fight, especially, has to be one of the best fighting scenes in all cinema history. It's tense, thrilling and incredibly exciting! When I noticed myself I was moving my body the way Rocky did.

I'm glad this was nominated, gave me the opportunity to rewatch it!

+

Wasn't "Eye of the Tiger" in Rocky III?





A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001)
Imdb

Date Watched: 01/16/18
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Best Picture Hall of Fame
Rewatch? Yes.


Whenever you watch a film that is based on true events and real people it's important to keep in mind that what you are watching is fiction. Right or wrong - and for various reasons - movie makers will omit or downplay certain aspects of their subjects and emphasize, embellish, or downright fabricate other aspects. This is something that should be expected and if you are looking to film - especially Hollywood - for lessons in history, you are looking in the wrong place.

Ron Howard, in my experience, is a director who is much more interested in telling a story that will move and inspire his audience than he is in teaching them anything factual. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. A Beautiful Mind is not a movie about John Nash the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, it's a movie about John Nash the character who was inspired by the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician of the same name.

And, for me at least, Ron Howard succeeds in making the story of this character moving and engaging. And while it may come across as a bit corny to some (and certainly there are scenes that I'm not overly fond of), I agree with the decision to represent Nash's delusions as largely visual despite what really happened because it makes them more plausibly believable to the audience, while still providing clues that plant doubt about what is real and what isn't.

As to the acting, I think Crowe turned in a solid performance. His lack of physical resemblance to the real John Nash is of little consequence to me. His facial expressions, speech patterns, and overall body language are well suited for the character as he is written and the end result is a performance that elicits my sympathy and a desire to see him succeed in overcoming the obstacles and hardships in his life.

While far from being a favorite of mine, A Beautiful Mind is nevertheless a film that I have always enjoyed. And to the question of whether it deserved best picture, well... I can't say. I've only seen one of its fellow nominees - which I hated - and it's not even my favorite film of 2001, but I do think it is worthy of some praise.

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