#4 Cimarron 1931

I watched this several months ago. I barely remember it. I found it to be extremely boring. Andrew and I both fell asleep watching it 2 or 3 times. I did the thing where you sort of half watch the movie and fast forward through all the boring parts. Other people do that, right? Here is a plot summary from IMDB as I am unable to recall a single thing about this film. *Yawn*

"When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right."

I'm really , really behind.

I forgot all about this blog. Life happens, I guess.

#3 All Quiet on the Western Front 1930

This is a film adapted from a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. I didn't want to watch this movie at all. I am not big on war movies. It's not the violence so much as the senselessness, the needless killing. I think war is a mistake. That being said, this film gave me much to think about. It being from the German point of view, I expected it to be much more "Germany is great, everyone else is evil". In truth, the movie could be about any war, in any country. It follows a group of school boys, lured into enlisting by their teacher. The boys are led to believe that war is glamorous, and exciting. They soon learn that it is anything but. We learn that these boys are human beings underneath it all, and that war is hell for either side. "Innocence is lost on the battlefield". All Quiet on the Western Front also marks the 1st time a movie made a major political statement. Many Americans disliked the film because they thought it was sympathetic to the Germans. Many Germans disliked the film because they felt it portrayed the German soldiers as weak. Germany was gearing up to become a great military power, and didn't want the film to discourage men from enlisting. The movie is as sad as I though it would be, however , I was surprised that it didn't glamorize war in the slightest. Instead war is shown to be futile and at times tedious. "The film is not about heroism but about drudgery and futility and the gulf between the concept of war and the actuality". Really great movie, but it left me feeling sad as so many war movies do.

I'm slacking

Seriously, I am REALLY behind. I didn't want to watch the 3rd movie because it was a war film and I wasn't feeling it. The 4th is some type of Western and I've fallen asleep watching it twice. I will hop back on the bandwagon, I promise. I've got a lot of stuff in my life I need to pull back together. Look for a new post here by the end of the week, I promise !!!

#2 The Broadway Melody - 1928-29

There's gotta be a cosmic reason this film is #2. This movie was a real stinker. It's premise was so unbelievable that I found myself laughing and shaking my head during most of the film. I really wanted to turn it off, but I kept my promise to watch it ALL the way through. I love my husband. I hate this movie. Broadway Tragedy more like.
1929 was supposedly a rough year for film, with all the major studios transitioning to "talkies". If Broadway Melody was the cream of the crop, I'd hate to see the curdles.

#1 Wings- 1927

First, some background information. The Academy Awards began in 1929, to honor movies made in 1927-1928. The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood, CA. An interesting side note : tickets cost $5 and 15 statuettes were awarded that evening.

The 1st ever Oscar for Best Picture went to the film "Wings" directed by William A. Wellman. It was also the only silent film to ever win an Academy Award. IMDB offers the brief description that "Wings" is a film about "Two young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I. "
That's basically it. My husband, Andrew, said it sounded like the premise of "Pearl Harbor" to him. I reminded him that neither the movie nor the Japanese military strike had occurred at that point in time. He acquiesced.
I found "Wings" to be much more enjoyable than I had anticipated. I equate silent films with cheesy music and comical over-acting.
I'll admit that there were a few scenes that made Andrew and I chuckle. Overall , Wings is a very well-acted movie. I found out through online research that the actors were actually flying their airplanes. They had to fly, turn on the camera, act, do stunts, and land safely (usually all in one take!). I was also impressed by the aerial stunts and effects in this movie. I was amazed by the camera work. The airplane crashes are REAL. Unbelievably, there were only 2 injuries during the making of this film. Sadly, one was fatal. There is a scene when one of the main characters , Jack (Charles 'Buddy' Rogers) drinks a little too much champagne, and he sees bubbles floating around Mary(leading lady Clara Bow). I wasn't aware that those types of effects were possible in 1927. Gary Cooper has a small part as Cadet White. I really enjoy watching old movies, and this one didn't disappoint.
"Wings" gives the viewer a love triangle, tons of action, surprisingly realistic war scenes, tears, and a happy ending. My only criticisms would be that at times it is hard to tell the enemy soldiers from the good guys. Some of the battle scenes are choppy, and the grainy black and white film doesn't help things. Secondly, the love interest of the 2 main men Sylvia (Jobyna Ralston) is a very under-developed character. Other than being a lovely looking woman, you really have no idea why the two men are so drawn to her.
Andrew and I watched the movie the day after Christmas. I had to work earlier in the day, and was so ready to relax. In my opinion it was the perfect type of movie to watch in bed, snuggled beneath the covers. I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through and finished the movie today. We might get adventurous and start the 2nd movie tonight.

The gift that keeps on giving

Months ago, I mentioned casually to my husband that it would be really cool to watch all of the films that have won the Academy Award for "Best Picture". Low and behold, guess what was under my tree this Christmas ?? Yep. The man pays attention. Not every movie was there. Some aren't out on DVD, some are REALLY hard to find, AND 82 movies would put quite a dent in the old checking account. The 1st 10 were in a gift bag under the tree, with the promise of more to follow. As a way to say thank you, I promised that I would start this blog to give my (our) personal review of each of the films. I am hopeful that we will be able to watch them all in order. Guess time will tell. Thanks for reading...here we go !!!!