The Best Worst Western?

The Western has long been one of my favorite genres of film. Part of it is the fascination of discovering a new place somewhere between civilization and the wild and setting down roots and making it a home. Another part of it is the struggle to obtain order in a frontier of lawlessness and brutality. And then there is the eternal western anti-hero, the selfish and brutal man that wanders the west and despite his short-comings still manages to do what is right. So, I was excited to watch Cimarron, the first western to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

The film started out well with a grand, expansive scene of the Oklahoma land rush in 1889. We see a wide shot of hundreds of horses and wagons gathered waiting for the rush to start. Our hero, Yancey Cravat, wonders among the masses in his white hat talking amongst the men. The rush soon starts and we immediately get a sense of the scale of the event has the hundreds of men and women take off in mass in search of land. It is a nice cinematic moment and a good start to the film; unfortunately the rest of the film can’t stand up to such a grand start.

The film suffers from a handful of problems; most notable being it’s dated treatment of minorities. Although the hero has a strong anti-racist stance it can’t overcome the stereotyped casting and acting. That being said, I kept an open mind and considered that this films was made in 1931. The film also suffered from some hammy acting, particularly from the lead actor, Richard Dix. This is probably due to many of the actors still being used to acting in silent films which used more expressive gestures to compensate for the lack of sound. Perhaps the films primary shortcoming was its inability to take on such a large subject. The story covers 40 years in the life of the Cravat family, in order to fit this into a two hour film there are points in which it leaps forward several years with little or no explanation as to what happened in that time. While this has worked in other films, in Cimarron it feels like we are missing important information. What could have been and insightful portrait of a frontier family just comes across as jumbled collection of historical anecdotes.

A friend pointed out that at the time that this film came out the events were only 40 years old, so, to the audience of the time, this was recent history; much like the films about the Vietnam War are to us. Perhaps that, combined with the grandiose scenes of the west, is why the film won best picture that year. However, viewing the film now, it is hard to see it as a best picture, especially since 1931 was the same year that Charlie Chaplin made, in my opinion, his best film: City Lights. Which, I should point out, wasn’t even nominated that year, but I digress. The next film in our Academy Awards fest is Grand Hotel. I last saw it over 15 years ago. I remember it being rather good so I am looking forward to seeing it again.

A World of Hurt

The first 10 or 15 minutes of a film is crucial. If you don’t capture the audience’s interest and get them to lose themselves in the film then you risk loosing their attention at any given point in the film. In this sense the opening of The Hurt Locker is perfect. It sets us up for everything we need to know in the film and it engrosses us. Going into a film about an Army bomb squad in Iraq we know that bombs are dangerous, yet there is a moment at the beginning when we realize the true power of a bomb. It is a raw, visceral moment executed with skill by director Kathryn Bigelow. A bomb goes off and we see its immediate effects. This is shown to us in slow motion, a technique which is often used too much in today’s action films yet is used perfectly here. We see a flash of rusted metal bending as particles fly off of it, then we see an array of rocks and gravel briefly suspended in the air. In those brief moments, several seconds on film but only a fraction of a second in reality, we realize that these rocks and particles are about to become lethal as they are launched in every direction. These images stick in your mind throughout the film and every time the protagonist, Staff Sgt. William James, approaches a bomb the viewer realizes the utter danger that lies ahead.

The opening sequence of the film also sets up the environment in which the bomb squad must work. It is a hot and dusty place, but that’s not what makes it dangerous. It’s the unknown. Every Iraqi the bomb squad meets is both a friend and enemy. A young man approaches one of the soldiers and asks him where he is from. Our heartbeats quicken, is this man just being friendly or does he have ulterior motives. Is he one of those Iraqis that love the Americans or is he a terrorist? This question will linger in our minds throughout the film with every individual these men meet. This doubt, fear, and intensity are all planted in the viewers mind in the first 10 minutes of the film. It is pure and brilliant storytelling by Kathryn Bigelow. I won’t give much else away about the film. I will say the performances by Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie are outstanding. This is a true narrative film. It focuses as much on the characters and dialogue as it does the events. The fact that you care about the characters only adds to the suspense. The film will get your heart pounding and keep you on the edge of your seat. I have a feeling it will be on my top ten list at the end of the year.

The first 8 minutes of The Hurt Locker can be seen here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/81586/movie-trailers-the-hurt-locker---opening-sequence, but I warn you once you watch it you’ll want to see the other 120 minutes.

A Musical and a War

Well, we have watched the next two films in our Academy Awards Best Picture viewing: The Broadway Melody (1929) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). The two films couldn’t have been more different from each other, one a fast-paced peppy musical and the other a slow-paced meditation on war.

The Broadway Melody is considered to be Hollywood’s first musical, but to call it a musical is not really fair. There are only three or four musical numbers throughout the film, unlike the classic musical in which the majority of the dialogue is sung. Synchronized voices were fairly new to movies at this time, with The Jazz Singer being the first feature-length “talkie” film when it was released in 1927. So, I imagine to many film-goers across the country, going to see The Broadway Melody was pretty exiting. Not only did they get to see people talking, they got to see them sing. You could now see a Broadway show in Topeka! Perhaps this is part of the reason this film won best picture, because the film seemed mediocre otherwise. It was entertaining, but from a filmmaking perspective it was unexciting. Other then a few tracking shots the film was shot largely from a static camera, rather boring when compared to the previous best picture winners. Some of the actors seemed a little stiff, as if they were afraid to move away from the microphone. The plot was a simple melodrama about two sisters trying to make it big and getting caught up in a love quadrangle, it appears to be a popular plot since the film was remade two more times. For me, nothing really stood out about this film other then its historical significance as the first musical to win best picture.

In contrast, All Quiet on the Western Front is a visually compelling epic. It is possibly Hollywood’s first true anti-war film. Although other earlier films could be said to be anti-war, many of them had a sense of nationality underlying them; the idea that war is a necessary evil. All Quiet on the Western Front does not try to hide it motives. It starts with an elderly man teaching young men about war. “Sweet and fitting it is to die for the Fatherland,” he claims. He seems patriotic and the boys join him in excitement, but we soon see his speech is war-mongering propaganda as the boys are quickly thrust into the war. It’s is not long before some of these young soldiers die and the others are marching towards the front, fearing for their lives. The scale of the battles in the film is grand. The director, Lewis Milestone, actually dug trenches and re-created the WWI battlefields on a large plot of land in California. The violence may not be as graphic as some of today’s war films, but it still is powerful and vivid. The film takes us through all aspects of war; its unflinching eye finds nothing good in what it sees. It ends with a powerfully grim shot: a dark hill strewn with white crosses and super-imposed over that, the ghostly image of the soldiers marching into the distance, each of them looking over their shoulder with sadness and a hint of accusation in their eyes. It’s a truly great cinematic moment, one that sticks with you well after the film is over.

Next up in our Oscar fest is the 1931 Best Picture Cimarron. I’ve never seen it and know little about it, so stay tuned for my thoughts.

Top Ten - 1994

Here is my list of top ten films from 1994 in alphabetical order:

• The Blue Kite – a powerful film that captures the details in the everyday life of a common Chinese family and their struggles in communist China.

• Three Colors Trilogy: Blue, White, Red – okay, probably not fair to count three films as one, but these three have to be view together. They intertwine together, much like our own lives.

• Ed Wood – Possibly my favorite Tim Burton film. A film about the love of making movies and how it drives a person, you can’t help but feel for the man Ed Wood, no matter how crazy or eccentric he seemed.

• Forrest Gump – simply: great storytelling. A film that everyone can seemingly find something to relate to and love.

• Heavenly Creatures – a beautiful and haunting file about the power of friendship and the imagination. The young actress that plays Juliet is going to be a great actress someday; her name is Kate Winslet. :)

• Natural Born Killers – some say this is an over-the-top violent piece of trash others says it is a brilliant commentary on society’s fascination with violence and scandal. I’m with the latter group and also must say that this is a masterpiece of editing.

• Pulp Fiction – a film that is completely opposite to Forrest Gump, yet every bit as good. Tarantino’s unique storytelling, unforgettable dialogue, and obvious love for trashy B-movies make this a great ride.

• Quiz Show – a captivating film about how television managed to trick millions of viewers in the 50s, until they were caught; yet it hasn’t stop them...

• The Shawshank Redemption – another great example of storytelling. Director Darabont manages to capture the essence of the Stephen King story like few others have done.

• To Live – another gorgeous film by Zhang Yimou with another powerful performance by Gong Li. Like other Yimou films it will leave you shaken.

Honorable Mention: Naked, Bullets over Broadway, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, The Last Seduction, Sirens, The Madness of King George, Four Weddings and a Funeral

Sunrise, Sunset

A few weeks ago my friends and I watched the second movie in our Academy Awards fest. The film was Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and, as I’ve noted before, this film actually won in 1927/28 the same year as Wings, but it won a special award for “Best Artistic Quality of Production”. Both were good films, but after watching I couldn’t help but think of a parallel. Wings is like the modern day Hollywood film with its big story, big actors, and big action sequences. Sunrise is like the modern day Independent film with its small scale story and use of cinematography and acting evoke emotions. In fact the director, F.W. Murnau, wouldn’t make Sunrise until he got a contract assuring no interference from the studio (Fox), much like the spirit of independent films today.

It’s not surprising then that I liked Sunrise more than Wings. Sunrise is an indication of what the silent era of film was becoming. No longer were silent films going to be just static shots followed by a title card, in Sunrise the camera moved fluidly and created images unlike many other silent films. The story is simple: a woman flees from the city to a small town, while there she ensnares a man and attempts to break his relationship with his wife. Early in the film ‘The Woman from the City’ walks through the town to go see the man. The camera pans to follow her as she sleeks through the night, but when she passes the camera, instead of it just continuing to pan, the camera picks up and follows her down the street. We follow her dark figure as it passes a window, the light from it briefly exposing her face but she does not hide from it, she looks in, unashamed in her ultimate goal. A short time later comes one of the best shots of the film. The man has gone out into the night to rendezvous with the woman. As he walks through a marsh the camera follows him, almost floating around him, as he passes under a tree, over a fence and past the camera. The shot continues as the camera turns and passes through a bush to spy on the woman as she stands and waits for the man. The camera lingers until he appears and they kiss, it is one continuous shot that lasts for a minute a thirty seconds. This is a stirring shot that is rare even in today’s cinema.

Murnau also uses superimposed images throughout the film to stir emotions. The morning after the rendezvous the man watches his wife go about her daily activities. The camera gazes upon him as images of the temptress are superimposed over him. One image of her embraces him and the next holds her head up towards his, her lips spread for a kiss. We can see his mind racing, tortured. Later in the film Murnau uses more superimposed images to express the excitement of the city. The shots are remarkable when you consider that they didn’t have the optical printers to do these effects yet. They would have to film a scene, rewind the film and compose and light the next scene so that they could shoot over the previous scene and match it together. Murnau uses camera techniques like this throughout the film in order to evoke emotions. Previously many silent filmmakers used extended title cards or overly dramatic acting to get across the emotions they wanted to express. Many film historians feel that Murnau’s techniques were a sign of the silent films to come. Unfortunately, Sunrise was released the same time as The Jazz Singer, the first big sound film. “Talkies” were a big hit and studios quickly switched to that format. However, because of the cumbersome sound equipment it took to make sound films the camera reverted to its previous unexciting static shots.

One flaw that modern audiences might find with Sunrise is the portrayal of the characters, the man as a brooding oaf and the woman as a submissive wife. As my friends and I watched this movie this was apparent. The actions of the characters were annoying to many of my friends. I imagine in the time that this film was made it was more acceptable. If one keeps that in mind as they watch this film I think they will find it quite noteworthy. Despite some misgivings, I noticed as we watched the film, my friends also remarked on great cinematic moments in the film. It’s good to know that an 80 year old film can still cause people to be moved with its filmmaking. Sound may have temporarily stunted the growth of cinema, but it is wonderful to see its potential and know that even then the Academy Awards saw that potential.

Next we are going to watch The Broadway Melody, the first sound film to win Best Picture. I’ve never seen it, so stay tuned for my thoughts.

Top Ten - 1993

Here is my list of top ten films from 1993 in alphabetical order:

• Farewell, My Concubine – a beautiful epic the shows Chinese history through the eyes of two artists and their personal struggles.
• Like Water For Chocolate – a sensual and passionate film of love and food
• Menace II Society – a powerful and uncompromising look at an inner city life. There is no optimism here, just a truthful look at how a person’s surroundings shape their life.
• The Piano – a poetic film about emotions and how they can be expressed. Holly Hunter is amazing and Harvey Keitel is brilliant as the gentle and tender Baines.
• Remains of the Day – a subtle and heartbreaking tale of repressed emotions. Probably Anthony Hopkins’ finest work.
• Ruby in Paradise – a warm and uplifting film (yes, I do like them too) about a young woman strength and perseverance to make the best of her life.
• The Scent of Green Papaya – one of the most visually lyrical films I’ve ever seen. A serene and contemplative meditation on life that soothes the soul.
• Schindler’s List – Spielberg matures and makes a masterpiece. This is more than just a film about the holocaust, it is about man’s ability to do good in the face of evil.
• Shadowlands – a deeply moving love story about how love can change us and the way we view the world. Have a box of tissues handy for this one.
• Short Cuts – Altman, once again, shows his skill at interweaving stories into a wonderful mosaic about how we can touch the lives of everyone we meet.

Honorable Mention: The Story of Qui Ju, The Fugitive, The Age of Innocence, Joy Luck Club, Six Degrees of Separation, Fearless, In the Name of the Father, Philadelphia, Orlando

Up, Up and Away

My friends and I have decided to watch every film that has won an Academy Award for Best Picture in chronological order. We planning on watching one film a month, but we may increase the frequency at times in order to get through them quicker. We started last weekend with Wings, the winner for “Best Production” of 1927/28. A little side note here: the 1st Academy Awards didn’t have a “Best Picture” category; instead it gave out two awards one for “Best Production” and one for “Best Artistic Quality of Production”. Also of note is that until 1934 the Academy Awards used a non-calendar year to determine the nominees, thus the 1927/28.

Anyway, I enjoyed Wings. I can see why it won for “Most Outstanding Production”; the battle scenes are quite impressive especially considering they were filmed 80 years ago. I imagine that in 1927 it must have been truly amazing seeing the aerial battles of WWI carried out before your eyes. It’s interesting seeing these action scenes and thinking about how they would be filmed today. They would probably be fast, with cuts every five or six seconds. I often think that some directors today choose such fast paced editing because their stories lack substance and they are afraid of loosing their audience’s attention. There are several shots in Wings were the camera is mounted in front of the actor on the plane for extended shots of the action. All we see for 20 or 30 seconds is the actor’s head darting back and forth, desperately looking for his opponent, and the ground and the sky whizzing behind him. It is an effective shot that portrays the chaos and danger of dog fighting, and one we probably wouldn’t see if the same movie were made today. Beyond the action the story itself seemed average, but that can be said about many great films when you strip them down to the basics. The actor’s were good, and although Clara Bow did not have a whole lot of screen time you can see why she was the original “It” girl. When she was on screen she brought to the movie a certain vivaciousness that the other actors seemed to lack. Overall a good start to our Academy Awards festivities. Next month is Sunrise the winner of the “Most Artistic Quality of Production” award for 1927/28. I’m looking forward to that one. I haven’t seen it since film school but I remember it being one of the best silent films I have ever seen.