Best Picture: "Oliver!," 1968

Movie Stats:

Released 1968 (UK)

British, in English

Director – Carol Reed

Stars – Mark Lester, Jack Wild, Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Shani Wallis

Plot Summary:

Based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, when young orphan Oliver (Lester) is tossed out of his orphanage/workhouse for asking for more gruel, he eventually makes his way to London, where he falls in with young pickpocket The Artful Dodger (Wild) and his equally young band of thieves, who are under the direction of an old man named Fagin (Moody). Reed co-stars as the dastardly Bill Sikes and Wallis as his wife (or maybe girlfriend; it wasn’t clear from the movie & I’ve never read the book) Nancy.

Bad Stuff:

I really disliked Oliver’s singing voice. I wasn’t particularly surprised to learn that the actor had been dubbed over by a girl, although apparently the filmmakers kept that a secret for 20 years.

I felt a little uncomfortable with the plight of an orphan being turned into a comedy. One scene, the boy is abused in a way that is shown as “comical,” the next he’s crying and singing “Where Is Love?” Geez, that’s tragic, not funny.

It’s surprisingly violent – although none of it is graphic – for a G-rated movie.

Good Stuff:

LOVED Moody’s singing voice. I think I could listen to that guy sing all day long.

There was great acting from everybody. I didn’t notice a weak link in the bunch. Child actors in particular can be really hit or miss, but I thought Lester was magnificent. More than once, a simple facial expression of his cut me to the core. I also thought Reed was pretty magnificent – really scary. I found myself wondering if the child actors were genuinely afraid of him during filming because he had some crazy eyes going on.

The big production song-and-dance sequences were great, especially “Consider Yourself.” I’m not surprised that they took weeks to film.

The Verdict:

I had a lot of reservations going in. This is the fourth and final musical to win Best Picture in the 1960s. I have to admit that I’ve gotten pretty burned out on them & have been feeling relieved that I don’t have to watch another musical until 2002’s “Chicago.”

However, despite these reservations, I found myself thoroughly entertained. I don’t think I found it as comical as I was supposed to, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. There was solid acting, good songs, great dance sequences, lovely costumes, and lots of excitement, adventure & drama. What’s not to like?

I give the movie 4.25 stars.

Best Picture: "In the Heat of the Night," 1967

Movie Stats:

Released 1967 (USA)

American, in English

Director – Norman Jewison (Who directed “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” which I maligned in my last movie post, hahaha, and also “Moonstruck,” one of my favorite films. Weird filmography!)

Stars – Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger

Plot Summary:

Philadelphia Police Detective Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) is just passing through Sparta, Mississippi when he’s wrongfully arrested for a high-profile murder. After discovering that Tibbs’s specialty is murder cases, local Police Chief Gillespie (Steiger) reluctantly asks for his help and Tibbs soon finds himself sucked into the case.

Bad Stuff:

To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot about it that I didn’t like. My only major quibble is that it seemed a little slow in places (although I was never bored) while, at the same time, it was over in the blink of an eye. If that makes sense.

Good Stuff:

I thought it did a fantastic job of portraying racism in a realistic light. So many movies & shows about this subject beat you over the head. I felt like this movie was saying, “Here it is. This is what it looks like,” letting you feel the disgust you should be feeling without overemphasizing the point.

Truly phenomenal acting from everybody, even from the entire supporting cast. I know I say this a lot, but the expressions on actors’ faces really struck me. Sometimes the subtlest expression can really make a scene, and that was certainly true here. Some favorites: the “not this shit again” look on Tibbs’s face when he’s being arrested; the horror/disgust on several characters faces after Tibbs touched them casually; the expression of sheer, impotent rage & depression on the face of Endicott (Larry Gates) after he’s been slapped by a black man. Masterful stuff.

Loved the progression of the relationship between Tibbs and Gillespie from loathing to grudging respect to friendship, on both sides.

The Verdict:

What a fantastic movie! I have to say that it was really nice to finally see a best picture winner with a black lead. It was also nice to see Rod Steiger again (last seen in On the Waterfront in a very different role). Also, it’s the closest we’ve gotten to female nudity since 1928 – nearly 40 years! – if you’re into that sort of thing. And the plot was pretty tight; I didn’t even guess the identity of the killer! So I can’t think of a single reason why you wouldn’t want to see this film. In fact, you should go see it now.

I give it 4.75 stars.

Postcard Project: 1930s, Part 1

As always, any spelling/grammatical mistakes were made by card authors & copied verbatim by me.

July 7, 1930
Addressed to Grandma. Text below.

"Hello Honey: Am sorry I couldn't see you before I left. Hugo called me in the morning and we drove over, left at 130 had a swell drive over. See you sooner. Love, Mary."

Scribbled along the side: "Hello darling know you are joy August."

Mary was one of my grandma's best friends. I found a picture of her amongst my family photos. There was a relative of ours named August but I don't think he was the same one who scribbled the note on the side of this card, as I don't know why he would have been traveling with my grandma's friend (unless it was a chaperoned trip of some short).

August 2, 1930
Addressed to Grandma. Text below.

"Hello Honey: Am at Oshkosh now having a swell time. But do wish you could be here to injoy it with me. I am as ever yours. Do write soon. Al."

Al was Grandma's sweetie long before she ever met my grandpa. I have a newspaper article about a car accident they were in while out joy riding one night. I'll have to post it sometime!

August 18, 1930
Addressed to Grandma. Text below.

"Hello Honey: Am having a swell time hope you were here. It sure is Beautiful here. Your old man I mean Sweetheart. Al."

Whoa, slow down there, Al. ;)

May 23, 1931
Addressed to Grandma. Text below.

"Hey Kid. Not lost yet and going strong. I'll be seeing you. M.N."

"M.N." is Grandma's friend Mary. The image on this card has been censored due to its extremely offensive, racist nature. I debated long and hard about whether or not it was right to censor the image. Ultimately, I decided that I didn't feel comfortable having a picture like that on my blog, even in the commission of a historical project like this.

July 1, 2931
Addressed to Grandma. Text below.

"Dear [redacted]: We got here fine hope you are the same it was 99 degree in the shade yesterday so you cant think how hot it was in the sun Violet. [address follows]"

Since I've mentioned Violet by name in my blog previously, I've included her name here. She was Grandma's younger sister.

Best Picture: "A Man for All Seasons," 1966

Movie Stats:

Released 1966 (USA)

British, in English

Director – Fred Zinnemann (who last brought us From Here to Eternity)

Stars – Paul Scofield, Leo McKern, Robert Shaw

Plot Summary:

A film about Sir Thomas More (Scofield), the lord, councilor, and great friend of Henry VIII (Shaw), who opposed the King’s divorce of his first wife and subsequent remarriage. McKern co-stars as the dastardly Lord Chancellor [Thomas] Cromwell.

Bad Stuff:

I found a lot of this movie confusing, and I have a very strong grasp of British history in general and of the events surrounding Henry’s divorce(s) in specific. I can only imagine how bewildering it would be for someone who hasn’t read much British history. Also, I found it particularly annoying that they referred to Cromwell only by his last name throughout the whole film, leading someone with a casual grasp of history to believe that it was Oliver Cromwell when really it was his great-great granduncle Thomas (in fact, Oliver wasn’t born for another 60+ years after the events of this film).

Shaw’s acting was awful. I winced every time he was on screen. Fortunately, he’s not in the film a whole lot.

The atrocious mustache of John Hurt, who played the sycophant Richard Rich (that was a real person’s name, if you can believe it).

Good Stuff:

The costumes were great. Also, when I was doing a little research into the historical figures of this movie after the fact, I was surprised to see how closely many of the actors resembled the people they played.

Apart from Shaw, there were some really fine performances, most notably Scofield and McKern.

[SPOILER IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HISTORY] The scene in the Tower toward the end, where More says goodbye to his family, was truly gut-wrenching. It made me cry. As hard as it was to watch, it was my favorite scene. Great acting.

The Verdict:

Let’s be honest. While there’s nothing wrong with this film, it’s two hours of guys arguing about whether or not another guy can get divorced. I get why it was a big deal at the time, way back in the 1500s, especially since it split England from the Church, but nowadays it’s kind of like, “Ho hum.” This movie was boring. I’m not sure why it won, although it doesn’t appear to have had a whole lot of competition (“The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming”? Seriously? That movie is terrible and now a complete, utter relic of the Cold War. I can’t believe it was nominated for Best Picture.)

Anyway, boring movies get low ratings, no matter how good the acting may be. For that reason, I give it 2.5 stars.

Best Picture: "The Sound of Music," 1965

Movie Stats:

Released 1965 (USA)

American, in English

Director – Robert Wise (who last brought us West Side Story)

Stars – Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn

Plot Summary:

Set in Austria in the months just before the German takeover of the country. Maria (Andrews), a novitiate at a convent in Salzburg, doesn’t quite seem to have what it takes to become a nun. Uncertain what to do with her, Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood) sends her to work as a governess to the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp (Plummer). There, Maria and Georg slowly begin to fall in love. Parker co-stars as Georg’s other love interest, The Baroness, and Haydn as her brother (?), Max Detweiler.

Bad Stuff:

“How do you solve a problem like Maria?” Apparently the answer is, “Get her out of the convent and marry her off.” That doesn’t seem very church-like to me, but all righty then.

While I agree that Andrews has a lovely singing voice, I felt that a lot of her acting, particularly in the beginning of the film, was hammy.

There are quite a few songs that I don’t like (“I Have Confidence,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” jump immediately to mind).

Good Stuff:

It had been so long since I’d seen this that I’d forgotten Georg is played by Christopher Plummer. I thought he was phenomenal. Easily the best performance of the film.

I really liked that the film didn’t rely on the love triangle to create all the drama. [SPOILER I GUESS BUT REALLY HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN THIS FILM?] When Georg calls off his engagement to The Baroness because he’s in love with Maria, she accepts defeat very gracefully. I really loved that scene.

They snuck some snappy dialogue in there. I was really surprised. One of my favorite lines in the film was a complete throwaway, spoken by Marta, the second to last child: “Maybe the flags with the spider in the middle make everybody nervous.” They still do, Marta. They still do.

The Verdict:

This is the only one of the 1960s winners that I’d ever seen all the way through (I’d seen pieces of some of the others). I’m going to be perfectly honest. I always hated this film. It’s one of those movies that everyone else you know loves. But I’d seen it multiple times when I was younger and had never liked it.

However, I hadn’t seen it in a very long time, certainly more than 20 years, so I decided to watch it again. And suddenly, this time, I got it. I know why everyone likes this film.

The cinematography is beautiful. It’s sweet, good-hearted, and fun. I always thought that, at its center, it was merely a mostly-unimaginative love story, but watching it this time, I found myself truly touched by the story of Georg and his children, of how Maria showed Georg how to be a father to them again. When he first hears the children singing “The Sound of Music” and walks into the room to join them, I was moved to tears.

So consider me a convert. I like this film now! It just goes to show, sometimes you need to give things (and people!) a second chance.

I give the film 4.25 stars.

Final Reflections on July 2013

It’s the last day of July. It’s been a fairly uneventful month, but holy cats, has it gone fast. I don’t have a whole lot to report. If you’re a friend in real life, you’ll know that the two big news items this month were my birthday & paying off my car.

The car thing was exciting, especially since I paid it off a year early. That means we knocked out three pieces of debt in less than a year. Now we plan to focus on our two credit cards, which will probably take a couple of years. Once that’s done, we’ll be mostly debt-free, except for my student loans, which I anticipate paying on until I die (and, compared to most people, I hardly have any, how sad is that?).

My birthday was basically a non-event. I had a rough time emotionally in the week leading up to it. I was feeling really lonely. Loneliness is something that has plagued me for as long as I can remember. It comes and goes, but it’s definitely been stronger since we moved to Dallas. Since it’s something that’s followed me everywhere I’ve ever gone, it seems obvious that the problem lies somewhere deep with in me. Obviously, I’ve never figured out how to fix it.

There’s this song by fun., “All Alright,” where he sings in the chorus, “Yeah, it’s all alright. I guess it’s all alright. I got nothing left inside of my chest, but it’s all alright.” That’s a pretty accurate description of how I felt for most of July. I guess if you’ve never felt hollow on the inside, then you don’t know how easy it can be to pretend on the outside that everything is fine, but I’ve gotten fairly good at it.

Anyway, it got better, although it’s still a problem that I’m puzzling over. I’m considering writing a blog series on loneliness but haven’t gathered the courage to follow through on it yet. I don’t know that I want to lay my soul bare in public like that.

In world news, I have to admit that I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention. There were political scandals. Aren’t there always? That stupid abortion bill passed here in Texas on the second try. And they banned women from bringing tampons into the state capitol during the session? Okay, weirdos. That guy from Glee died, which I thought was sad, because dying young is always sad. And some jackhole train driver in Spain decided that speeding was more important than people’s lives. That was both sad and infuriating.

Huh, I guess maybe I paid better attention than I thought.

Despite how this post may sound, I remain optimistic that things are not only good, but also continuing to get better. I’m looking forward to August. I have a lot of plans & a lot of good things coming up.

It's the end of July 2013 and that's what's been going on in my crazy head. If you're stopping by to read, why don't you tell me what's been going on in yours?