Best Picture Hall of Fame

Just have Gladiator and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest left to rewatch, both of which are in my personal top 100.

My ballot's pretty much set, unless for some reason my opinion of either film drops significantly when I watch them again (doubt it), but I'll wait until this weekend to actually vote.

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Argo



“If I’m doing a fake movie, it’s going to be a fake hit.”

It’s easy to see why this was popular with Oscar voters. It’s pretty enjoyable with a good balance of serious credible danger and escape-adventure and plenty of humorous asides on Hollywood and the film industry.

I don’t expect exact historical accuracy from movies, they’re always going to change things for the sake of excitement. I think the problem with some of the changes is that they seemed to be done entirely to glorify and expand the role of Americans at the expense of everybody else. CIA involvement was much smaller and Canadian involvement much more significant. The British and New Zealand embassies didn’t turn the escaped embassy workers away. These things aren’t deal breakers by any means, but they are annoying, because they cast the movie’s entire motivations in a dubious light. The last-second airport chase bit was also a bit of an unnecessary add-on, the story is tense enough.

We don’t get to find out too much about the characters so it’s a little bit surface-level. The emotional moments don’t mean that much because we don’t know a lot about who these people are. Alan Arkin is good, Goodman is good, I like Clea DuVall, she should be in more stuff. Ben Affleck did a decent job as an actor. Was he snubbed as a director? Not especially. It’s a good movie, but not an all-time great.

Did it deserve to win best picture? Kind of. Looking at the other nominees, it really wasn’t a strong field that year, I prefer Argo to most of the ones I’ve seen. Amour is better, but probably a bit niche for best picture. (My personal favourites from 2012 are Cloud Atlas and Wadjda).

Yeah, you're right!!! xD I meant Gonna Fly Now, sorry!

Argo f yerself!

The Godfather

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."


I can't count the amount of times I've watched this movie and since it has been a while since seeing it, it was an absolute joy to sit back and enjoy.
I do understand that, like with any genre, if it's not your cup of tea, a nearly 3 hour film can be rather difficult to endure, so I do appreciate anyone who runs that gambit. For myself, having a fascination with the genre, and a love for this movie, the 3 hours slip right on by like visiting a favorite friend - or more appropriately, famiglia.

Set in post Word War II we get to meet "the family" of the Corleones at an incredibly large wedding. From Brando's Vito, The Godfather, granting "favors" with the adopted son; Tom (Robert Duvall) who is the family consigliere or advisor. We meet the eldest, Sonny, the hot-tempered son played with his usual gusto by James Caan, the second son, Fredo (John Cazale) who seems to be one that resides in the shadow of his brothers. And finally, the youngest, the war hero, Michael, played with such a dangerously calm waters by Al Pacino.

From here we learn a bit about the family business and what becomes of those who don't simply take the offer they really shouldn't have refused in the first place.
We also witness the war that erupts when the Corleones do not wish to join in on the Narcotics Business with the Tattlagias and the Barzinis, two of the five families of New York.
For the majority of us, this is common ground, even for some who haven't watched this movie, there are a number of scenes that are known and stick in our memories. For me, it is far too countless and to put them down would be the lump sum of reading a 3 hour review, since there are so many to easily choose from.

While still a glamorized rendition of Sicilian mafia families, there is still a tangible grit to the story line and what becomes of everyone. Especially in the finale of this movie. But, also, what raises it above a simple gangster film, is that we experience more than the underworld, but of the family themselves. Their interactions and who they are to one another.

For me, this was an easy win for 1972 and the only one that would be a contender, would have been another family; Fiddler on the Roof.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman, 1975)
Imdb

Date Watched: 1/17/2018
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Best Picture Hall of Fame
Rewatch: Yes

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a film that is at once wonderfully uplifting and devastatingly tragic. It's also a masterful piece of cinema with an incredible ensemble cast and iconic performances that feel strikingly authentic.

Louise Fletcher in particular is absolutely chilling as Mildred Ratched, a nurse who rules the psychiatric ward with her icy stares and passive aggressive methods of oppression. Patient, polite, calm, and all too believable, she is truly one of cinema's most frightening villains. And of course Jack Nicholson is a delight as R.P. McMurphy - a criminal who sees a stint in the mental hospital as an easy way out of hard labor in a prison camp, naive to the possibility of an indefinite stay and the abuses its patients suffer. But as foolish as the man is in many ways, he is all too wise in others. And it is through his perspective that we as an audience get to see the other characters, damaged though they may be, as men.

But there is one performance that stands out to me as being stronger still than either Nicholson or Fletcher, and that is Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit, a young patient struggling with a constant stutter and crippling anxiety. It's a role that is absolutely heartbreaking and Dourif handles it with amazing tenderness and understanding. (And looking over Dourif's IMDb page, I truly have to wonder what the hell happened. The few titles I recognize are not films that command respect and it appears as though his talent was wasted after this role.)

But there really isn't a weak performance to be found here and the film carries a tremendous amount of emotional weight. And though I've not seen all of its Best Picture competitors, I can still say with confidence that to me this is a film that is truly deserving of the title.

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Brad Dourif WAS pretty amazing in that role. Always loved his portrayal in Deadwood as Doc.

He was pretty great in Dune (1984) too

Done 4. Will get the write ups posted over the weekend.

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"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)

yes he was!

The Godfather

This is one of the movies that I just don't get what people see in it. It's a good movie, but I don't understand why people think it's better than other gangster movies. (Personally, I thought Goodfellas was a better movie.)

I liked the idea of the war hero turning into his criminal boss father, but it seemed pretty predictable, and overall, I think this movie was just too violent for me. (Although I have to admit that since I've seen this movie before, and I knew when it was coming up, I walked out of the room for the horse head scene.) I didn't like anything about the relationship between Michael and Kay. He didn't seem to need her when he got married in Italy, but then when he got back, he talked about how he needed her so much. Plus, she knew what his family business was, but she married him anyway, and then she got upset that he was running the family business. It would have made more sense if she just tried to stay as far away from him and his family as possible.

As for the acting, I think James Caan is underrated in this, but I didn't like Marlon Brando in this at all. I found his speaking annoying. It was like he was talking with a big wad of cotton in his mouth, and it made him hard to understand. (I'm sure there was a reason why he was talking like that, but I guess it was lost on me.) I liked Al Pacino early in the movie, when he was supposed to be a war hero, but I found him less believable later in the movie as he slowly turned into the head of the family.

I haven't seen most of the other movies that were nominated against it for Best Picture, but I would have voted for Cabaret over this movie. And of the movies that weren't nominated, I would have chosen either the musical 1776 or Sleuth.

And here's the review that some of you were waiting for, (and others thought might make me drop out of this HoF when the nominees were announced):

Silence of the Lambs

This is the movie that I was most afraid to watch. I've heard it called a "horror" movie, and I've heard it called a "thriller", but I didn't know how graphic it was, so I've avoided it for as long as I can remember. But I like mysteries, and thrillers that aren't too graphic, so deep down, I've also had a lot of curiosity about this movie, and I've wanted to see it almost as much as I was afraid to watch it.

There were some things I liked about the movie, and some things that I didn't like, but overall, I thought it was a very interesting movie, and it was nowhere near as graphic as I expected, but just as creepy.

I liked the scenes with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice. He's a great character because he seems to know everything about her before he even asks her any questions. However that was also something that I didn't like about the movie. There's no explanation for why he knows so much about her. Also, why would the FBI let a trainee have that kind of interaction with such a dangerous serial killer? She didn't listen to any of their instructions. She was warned not to tell him anything personal or let him get into her head, but when he asked her personal questions, she answered everything he asked. She should have at least been with a real FBI agent whenever she was talking to him.

I thought the serial killer Buffalo Bill seemed more dangerous than Hannibal Lector. He was nowhere near as smart, but he was more of a crazy loose cannon. (I watch a lot of reruns of the TV show "Monk", and I'll never look at Captain Stottlemeyer the same way again.)

I also think that a lot of the mystery gets lost in the creepiness of the two serial killers in the movie. The movie doesn't have the feel of the FBI trying to solve a mystery and catch a killer. It feels more like it's about the serial killer getting into the FBI agent's head. (But at least now I know where the title of the movie comes from.)

And again, I haven't seen all of the movies that were nominated for Best Picture against this movie, but I would have easily voted for Disney's Beauty and the Beast over this movie, and I thought The Prince of Tides would have also been a more deserving winner. And of the movies that weren't nominated, I would have chosen Terminator 2: Judgment Day over this movie too.

And to the person who nominated Silence of the Lambs, thank you for the nightmares that I'm sure I'll have for the next few weeks.

I don't know why I am letting people comparing Godfather to Goodfellas bother me. Next time I want to say I don't love Casablanca the way I should I am going to say because it's not as good as Annie Hall.

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Letterboxd

He was literally speaking with cotton balls in his mouth so it's weird that you said that. His voice was a mixture of two different real life mob bosses: Frank Costello and Carlo Gambino. Gambino's soft spokenness and Costello's kind of squeaky broken voice. He listened to a bunch of Kefauver Commission testimony videos and other interviews and felt that suited his character best i agree with him. Vito is regal almost majestic his voice is so unique and inviting (due to its softness) that you feel you have to listen to him; that's what they were going for and it works for me and most people but obviously not you. It also fits his nature in only making calculated decisions and not going off emotions like say Sonny. His political connections are largely based off Costello also but i don't think much of his character story is based on Gambino; Michael is more similar to him outside both of their soft spokenness and gentle manner. It's also part goes with his philosophy: "Sonny why do you speak when you can listen?".

A story reason is (only read this if you've seen Part II or aren't planning to like i'm guessing gbg)

Don't agree with your other problems but i don't think there's much point in going into them.

And yeah i'm sick of Goodfellas vs The Godfather they aren't similar outside of the mafia. The mafia was a massive orginization with many different levels and the focus here are on completely different things; The Godfather is on the bosses and Goodfellas are on non italian associates, pretty powerful associates but they were barely on the bosses radar at the time. And everything else is radically different that it seems pretty pointless to compare them to me.

Sorry for the rabbling here i'm still pretty sick so it took me like 20 minutes to write this

Edit: Oh yeah here's videos of Costello speaking, i'm not aware of any existing videos of Gambino speaking:

Don’t we compare things to point out the differences, as well as the similarities?

No, we contrast things to point out the differences, and compare to point out the similarities.

Though I know compare can be used either way. Shut up! I just wanted to pick on cricket!

I think they are compared for more than just because they are both mobster movies. I think they are compared because they are widely considered to be two of the greatest films of all time. Those two are the gold standard, and I don’t think Casino is quite in that class.

Maybe. I just find their tones so different that the comparison outside of the gangster stuff doesn't make sense to me.

It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.