2002 - Chicago

The new poll to decide Matt vs. the Academy's next year of review is up. Five different years from the 1940s to choose from. One of them has ten nominees, all the others have five.

Meanwhile, let's get cracking on the nominees from 2002. Yesterday, I had the occasion to watch the first of the contenders for Best Picture that year...

Chicago

Director:

Rob Marshall

Screenplay:

Bill Condon

(based on the stage musical by Kander & Ebb)

Starring:

Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly

Academy Awards:

13 nominations

6 wins, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Zeta-Jones)

Chicago, 1927. Roxie Hart (Zellweger) is bored with her meek husband Amos (Reilly) and dreams of fame as a vaudeville star. She begins an affair with a man who promises her important introductions, but when he admits that he has no connections, she impulsively murders him. This crime of passion lands her in jail, where she awaits her trial. In prison, she meets her idol Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), who happens to also be a murderess, just with a lot more press. Velma's unscrupulous lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere) takes on Roxie's case as well, promising to make her a star in the process. As the film's poster proclaims, "If you can't be famous, be infamous."

There is an inevitable oddity in characters randomly bursting into song, a fate applicable to most musicals. However, Chicago manages to get around this by staging all of the musical numbers as inner thoughts or fantasies, thereby allowing the drama to unfold a tad more naturalistically. It is a very effective convention, cleverly employed so as to combine theatrical extravaganza with cinematic intimacy. And Chicago is a big, brassy, theatrical show, clearly suited for a big stage, so Rob Marshall is to be commended for his extremely creative direction, taking every advantage of his medium.

From the outset, Chicago promises to be a toe-tapping and sexy picture, maintaining its raunchy energy right to the final frame. The imaginative choreography (also by Rob Marshall) is spectacular to witness. In one number, Renée Zellweger literally walks in mid-air, her legs held up by male dancers, while in another number, female dancers inventively shape themselves into a car that is "driven" by Richard Gere. These stunning visual elements are complemented by the equally stunning design (costume, production and lighting).

The story uses the circus as a recurring theme to great effect. One song sees Flynn act as ventriloquist to Roxie's dummy (pictured), representing his puppetry of her image. Another sees Andy singing as a sad clown. Most poignantly, the hanging of one of the female inmates is inter-cut with a high-diving routine. The whole metaphor is summed up nicely by Flynn's rendition of Razzle Dazzle, explaining how the world loves a spectacle. It is this theme of fame and attention that is most prevalent in the script. Roxie just wants her fifteen minutes of fame, but at what cost?

Catherine Zeta-Jones won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her sultry portrayal of Velma Kelly. Three other cast members were also nominated for awards, namely Zellweger, Latifah and Reilly, all entertaining performances. Also impressive in smaller roles are Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs and Christine Baranski. For Grey's Anatomy fans with very keen eyesight, Sara Ramirez appears in the dancing ensemble.

The film itself was the first musical to take out Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968, a feat that could partly explain the return in popularity of the musical film (even if most of the recent film musicals have been adaptations of Broadway shows). And despite all the songs from the stage version being ineligible for Best Original Song, composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb were nominated for their collaboration on I Move On, a new song written specifically for the film, albeit only heard during the closing credits.

Best Picture of 1950

As I venture further and further into this project, I am consistently blown away by the enormous quality of film-making that I am experiencing. 1950 is certainly no exception. Another year filled with spectacular cinema, including a number of fine classics.

The nominees for Best Picture of 1950 are:

• All About Eve
• Born Yesterday
• Father of the Bride
• King Solomon's Mines
• Sunset Boulevard

It's an entirely unfair consequence of comparing films of different genres, but if they are each of similar artistic and creative quality, the drama will more often than not emerge as superior to the comedy ... or the action or the science fiction or the western or the adventure ... and the list goes on. I suppose it is the drama's greater potential for emotional stimulation. Other genres thrill and amuse and generally entertain, but at the end of the day, powerful subject matter tends to more effectively stick in the audience's minds. Like I said, entirely unfair. (It even occurs within sub-genres of the drama category. Just look at how successful epic dramas have been with the Academy.)

Three of 1950's Best Picture nominees fall prey to this unfortunate disadvantage. They are immensely enjoyable films, accomplished examples of their respective genres, but they are overshadowed by the other two nominees for no other reason than they are not dramas. King Solomon's Mines is an exhilarating adventure. Born Yesterday is a whimsical comedy. Father of the Bride has its moments of poignancy, but is still at its heart a comedy, and a delightfully charming one at that.

All three are solidly entertaining films that find themselves up against two dramatic pictures that have both since become classics - All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard. I bounced back and forth between these two intensely personal and moving films. The former won the Academy's top honour, but I eventually came down on the side of the latter. So, I now officially name Sunset Boulevard my favourite of 1950's Best Picture nominees.

Best Picture of 1950
Academy's choice: All About Eve	Matt's choice: Sunset Boulevard

Your choice:

Vote for your own favourite with the poll above. Next up, we will be travelling to a more recent era to take a look at Oscar's picks from 2002.

And the nominees for Best Picture of 2002 are:

• Chicago
• Gangs of New York
• The Hours
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Pianist

Another diverse bunch to sink our teeth into.

1950 - Born Yesterday

Last week marked one year since Kat and I left our home in Sydney to try our luck in the Big Apple. The opportunities for an actor in New York are certainly greater than back home and these past twelve months have definitely brought some great opportunities my way. But this week, in an ironic twist of fate, my biggest opportunity yet came knocking ... via my Australian agent. It appears the Australian casting director of The Hobbit wanted to see me for a role. The wonders of the modern age allowed me to record my own audition here in New York and send it back to them online. Now we wait...

And considering the accolades received by The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's a fairly safe bet to assume that The Hobbit will also garner a Best Picture nomination in the year of its release. If so, and if I manage to score a role in it, then this project will have come full self-referential circle.

This morning, I rounded out the 1950 Best Picture nominees with a viewing of...

Born Yesterday

Director:

George Cukor

Screenplay:

Albert Mannheimer

(based on the play by Garson Kanin)

Starring:

Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden

Academy Awards:

5 nominations

1 win, for Best Actress (Holliday)

Cranky and corrupt millionaire Harry Brock (Crawford) arrives in Washington to broker a shady deal with a congressman. Along for the ride is his fiancée Billie Dawn (Holliday), an ex-chorus girl with the social graces and intelligence of a lamp-post. In order to prevent any embarrassing incidents, Brock hires local journalist Paul Verrall (Holden) to give her some learnin'. But Billie's newfound knowledge causes problems for Brock when she begins to question his business activities.

Along with its fellow Best Picture nominee Father of the Bride, Born Yesterday is a pleasantly clever comedy. It hits all the right notes - witty dialogue, strong characters, some romance, a little drama and plenty of laughs. It is, however, quite clear that this film's source material is a play, perhaps more so than other stage adaptations. The vast majority of the story takes place in the same suite, containing several lengthy scenes of dialogue. Still, none of that really detracts from the film's enjoyment, thanks mostly to one Judy Holliday.

After originating the role on Broadway, Holliday (pictured) absolutely shines here, bringing to life one of the quirkiest characters ever written. She manages to successfully avoid caricature by imbuing Billie with great sincerity despite her hilarious stupidity. Such superb comic timing and so incredibly endearing. For her efforts, she took home the Oscar for Best Actress, beating out two classic screen performances by Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson. That's no mean feat and, for my money, I think she earned it.

Broderick Crawford, fresh from his own Oscar win the year before, leans a bit more towards caricature in his performance as the temperamental tycoon. Then again, all that blustering does suit the character and, when you think about it, the audience isn't supposed to like him very much anyway, so mission accomplished. William Holden rounds out the starring trio with a subtle portrayal of Paul, the only normal man amongst a band of crazies. The swift way in which he falls for Billie is a little tough to buy, but slow romances are not common on the big screen, especially in the olden days, so we'll let that slide.

1950 - Father of the Bride

You really haven't lived until you've witnessed first-hand the Christopher Walken mid-sentence pause. He is currently starring on Broadway in Martin McDonagh's new play A Behanding in Spokane, which I saw during the week. I lost count of how many times he surprised me by adding more words to a sentence that I had thought was conclusively over. His relaxed, dry delivery is so intensely entertaining that he hardly needs to speak for the audience to erupt with glee. Add Sam Rockwell to that equation and you've got yourself a very fine show, I assure you. Granted, the story is a little weird but with actors like that, they could be reading the nutritional information on the back of a cereal box and I'd be enthralled.

This evening, I watched nominee number four from the Best Picture shortlist of 1950...

Father of the Bride

Director:

Vincente Minelli

Screenplay:

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

(based on the novel by Edward Streeter)

Starring:

Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke

Academy Awards:

3 nominations

0 wins

Father of the Bride opens with Stanley Banks (Tracy) sitting pensively in the aftermath of the wedding reception for his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and her beloved Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor). Stanley then recollects the trials and tribulations that led to this special day: the casually shocking engagement announcement, the not-too-formal talk with his soon-to-be son-in-law, the nerve-wracking first meeting with the in-laws, the chaotic wedding rehearsal. And while Stanley worries himself into a knot about the expense of the wedding preparations, his real anxiety stems from his inability to say goodbye to his only daughter.

1950 sure was a stellar year for witty dialogue. In Goodrich and Hackett's script of Father of the Bride, we have yet another Best Picture nominee filled with humour. Of course, that is entirely unsurprising in this case since it is clearly a comedy. Nonetheless, clever writing is always worth mentioning, especially when it contributes to such a pleasant viewing experience. And 'pleasant' is an apt way to describe this sweet and funny film. Just like the recently discussed King Solomon's Mines, Father of the Bride is also well aware of its own genre and is successful precisely because it is simple and straightforward.

With the release of the 1991 Steve Martin remake, the comparisons are inevitable, especially considering both were big hits at the box office. Having the benefit of a modern sensibility, the newer version might be considered more accessible to a modern audience. However, the original stands up very well. For a film from 1950, it doesn't feel as old-fashioned as it could. Plus, the original garnered three Oscar nominations - three more than the remake.

Spencer Tracy carries the film superbly. From the opening monologue, his casual style creates an incredibly affable character which makes it that much easier to take this journey with him. It also accentuates the 'aww' factor when Stanley recognises that he is losing his daughter. At eighteen, Elizabeth Taylor was already an experienced actress and she is charmingly sweet as daddy's little girl. And yes, that's Glinda the Good Witch, Billie Burke, as Buckley's mother.

1950 - King Solomon's Mines

Am I wrong to assume that, when I order a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae from Dunkin' Donuts, the server will know what ingredients to use without having to ask me? I mean, I didn't come up with it. It's on the menu. Is there not some kind of training that you are given when you are hired? Training that shows you how to make each menu item? ... It might also help if you gave me a spoon.

Rant aside, don't forget to be counted in the vote for Matt vs. the Academy's next year of review. The poll can be found over there on the right hand side of the page.

Today, I took a look at another nominee from 1950's Best Picture race...

King Solomon's Mines

Director:

Compton Bennett & Andew Marton

Screenplay:

Helen Deutsch

(based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard)

Starring:

Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson

Academy Awards:

3 nominations

2 wins, including Best Color Cinematography

H. Rider Haggard's literary creation Allan Quatermain (Granger) is an intrepid adventurer who has been working as a safari guide in Africa for the past fifteen years. Ready to throw in the towel, Elizabeth Curtis (Kerr) persuades him to go on one final expedition in order to find her missing husband, who disappeared eighteen months ago in search of a legendary diamond mine. Quatermain leads the expedition, which includes Elizabeth and her brother John Goode (Carlson), into uncharted territory, where they encounter stampedes, heat exhaustion and unfriendly natives.

I find it especially exciting to know very little about a film before I sit down to watch it and that was the case with King Solomon's Mines (which, sadly, betrays my shameful lack of literary knowledge). Being entirely unfamiliar with the story, I was pleasantly surprised. A simple, straightforward adventure, this picture is very easy to watch. There is no dilly-dallying. Within a few minutes, the excitement and adventure have begun.

Part nature documentary, the film is given an enormous advantage by being shot on location in Africa. The crew must have endured hell during some of the scenes but it is all worth it to see the amazing array of animals - elephants, giraffes, rhinos, tigers, lions, zebras, snakes, monkeys, hedgehogs, anteaters, gazelles, crocodiles. The over-sized tarantula crawling onto Deborah Kerr's jacket was the only obvious fake, but as an arachnophobe, even fake spiders send shivers down my spine, so it still had the desired effect on me.

Like any good adventure flick, a decent dose of humour is provided in the clever script. My favourite line comes when Quatermain tells the others not to worry about the pride of lions passing nearby because they're not hungry. When Elizabeth asks him how he knows this, he replies, "Well, if they eat you, they're hungry." Along with humour, the other necessary element of an adventure story is romance, and King Solomon's Mines is not lacking in that, either. It even includes the obligatory sequence of sexual tension when the hero catches the damsel as she stumbles down a steep rocky incline, ending up face to face with each other, tantalisingly close, with their lips in prime kissing vicinity.

Deborah Kerr fights hard to play a woman who is part princess, part tough as nails. Stewart Granger is ideal as the great adventurer, providing the perfect amount of nonchalance and an impressive handle on African dialects. Plus, the large number of African tribesmen that appear lends another air of wonderment to an already breathtaking picture.