The Life of Emile Zola

    And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Life of Emile Zola!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th January 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 10 (1937)

Stop me if this sounds familiar: There's this guy who has a talent in a creative field. He produces works that bring him fame but antagonises those in power. He falls into a slump but then becomes aware of a man going to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Guy then rouses the public using well-worded speeches in the pursuit of truth and justice. The narrative then shifts to the courtroom where those in power are challenged and are ultimately overcome. 
If such a narrative was made today one would think it had 'Oscar Bait' written all over it.
But the thing is, that's the plot of this movie which was made in 1937.....

It would seem that time has not been kind to this movie, with the major problem being the application of self-censorship as to not antagonise 1930s Germany (ie references to the accused being a Jew removed; why the image used in the poster does not resemble the protagonist). 
Personally, it wasn't bad: It does present an interesting version of historical events. Muni does a magnificent job in the lead role. And I can't say it was dull.
But reading up on the production of the movie, I was struck by the constant clashing between producer Henry Banke and exec. producer Hall B Wallis. And someone should adapt that because that would make a movie worth watching.

Mutiny on the Bounty

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... Mutiny on the Bounty!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th January 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 8 (1935)

This film is an interesting case in Oscar history. It was nominated for eight awards but only won one (need I say which one?). Also it had three entrants into the Best Actor category which led to the foundation of the 'Best Supporting Actor/Actress' categories. 

In recent years people have come put forth the theory of 'Oscar Bait': By fulfilling a particular set of criteria, success is guaranteed. And this could well be the earliest example of such a practice: Grandiose setting? Check. Historical piece (accuracy be damned!)? Check. Big name actors? Check. Presence of previous Oscar winners? Check. Exotic locales? Check. Plot involving rising up against an unjust authority? Check.

Cynicism aside however it would seem that time has been kind to this movie. It was a rollicking adventure film and was fun to watch. But the MVP is still Charles Laughton, commanding the screen every time he appears and proving he was truly born to play villains (how he never got the Oscar for Best Actor, I'll never know).

It Happened One Night

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... It Happened One Night!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th January 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 7 (1934)

This film has quite the reputation behind it: It was the first movie in Oscars history to scoop the top five awards (Best Picture/Actor/Actress/Director/Screenplay) and several elements inspired the mannerisms of Bugs Bunny. But perhaps the greatest legacy of this movie is that it is the progenitor of the modern rom-com.
You know those movies where two people come together, by chance, start hating one another and then form a romantic bond that cumulates in a disrupted wedding? Yeah, you can thank this movie for that.

Ultimately however this is still pretty funny and age has not withered the humour present. Likewise for the presence of our two leads - which is an impressive achievement considering Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable hated making it. But you wouldn't think that watching it now.
In fact, this movie still comes across as fun even when it has been copied countless times (but never bettered). Truly a gem.

Wings

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Wings!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th January 2024

This year marks a full decade since I started this series. So to acknowledge such a milestone, I'm going to attempt something ambitious:

For every week in 2024, I will be watching a movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Certainly watching the Best Picture winners is something I've been wanting to do for a while so now is as good a time as any to do so. After all, these movies are the best of the best - or so it would seem so it would be interesting to see if such a notion holds up. Of course, it would be easy to kowtow to the ongoing joke that the Academy get wrong time and time again but at the same time, it would be interesting to see if said joke still holds up. 

So some ground rules:

• The one rule of this series - watch a movie I've never seen before - still applies
• At time of writing there have been 95 Best Picture winners. Already I have seen 28 of them. Of course I'm not going to get through all of the remaining 67 so I am allowed to be selective. 
• I have a rough plan mapped out but I am open to suggestions

And now, what better way to commence this year-long plan than with the very first Best Picture winner.

A lot of this movie's reputation is being the first winner as well as being the only silent movie to gain the top honour. It was also worth keeping in mind, in my approach to this movie, that time may not have been kind to it and it may come across as dated now (a notion that may be ever present as this plan continues).

So what we have here is a war movie where air combat is married to a human drama off the battlefield. As it turned out, I wasn't exactly thrilled with the latter (indeed you could easily have shaved half an hour off and no one would've noticed) but the former is where the movie shines. The aerial sequences are astonishing - moreso when considers this was all done with practical effects - and still hold up nearly a century later. Director William A Wellman was a WW1 pilot himself and he shows a great knowledge for realism and how to convey air combat into the screen. 

It looks like this is going to make for an interesting year.....