The Broadway Melody (1928/29)

PLOT SUMMARY:
Harriet and Queenie Mahoney, a vaudeville act, come to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows.

AWARDS:
Wins:  Best Picture

Nominations:  Best Director (Harry Beaumont); Best Actress (Bessie Love)

AMANDA:
I love musicals, but I’m generally a little skeptical with older movies, so I wasn't completely on board with this one. But after being surprised by Wings, I thought I'd wait until I saw it to make my judgment. What were you expecting before we started it?

BOB:

I actually didn't know too much about this movie before we got going.  I did notice that it was ranked 84th on the Indiewire list that inspired this project, but that list had Forrest Gump at #77, so it can GFY.  Anyways... I'd agree with you that I was keeping an open mind.  First thing that jumped out at me while we were watching this one was how dated it was in some ways.  There were pretty ugly stereotypes of women (a character is pressured to quit her job by her guy and pretty easily caves in) and gays (a comically effeminate costume designer) that probably would get some blowback today.  While this movie doesn't get any awards for progressiveness, I guess those things were a sign of the times.  Did you notice this too?

AMANDA:
Yeah, I know what you mean. Sometimes I get frustrated with older movies and TV shows because of the stereotypes (this is why I didn't like the show "Mad Men" after just one episode), and this was no exception. It can be really distracting, but I think there were other things going on, so it didn't take over. Another thing that seems to be characteristic of older movies (at least the few I've seen) is that the acting is a little dramatic and cheesy. This was no exception. All the emotions were overdone and didn't seem genuine. All that being said, I did think the movie was pretty good. I'm ripping on it a little bit, but it was definitely entertaining. My favorite part was the old-fashioned dancing. The kick lines were fun to watch, and they reminded me of seeing the Rockettes at Christmastime with my grandma. What did you like best about it?

BOB:
I'd say that the sibling rivalry at the heart of the film was my favorite part.  As an oldest child, I could really sympathize with Hank (the older sister) when she was left behind after her younger sister Queenie's meteoric rise (although this has never happened to me personally :).  I will say, though, that Hank handled losing both the spotlight and her fiance to her sister much more gracefully than I would have.  If anything, I wanted to see more tension between the two sisters.  Were you Team Hank or Team Queenie?

AMANDA:
I was definitely Team Hank. I thought Queenie was too needy - she couldn't do anything for herself, and Hank enabled her. But I felt like Hank was a pushover when her sister stole her fiance. She was a strong character in other parts of the movie, and here she just lets them walk all over her. I can assure you I wouldn't have reacted the same way. It was tough to watch sometimes.

BOB'S FINAL THOUGHTS:
As was the case with Wings, there's nothing else I've seen from this year for me to compare The Broadway Melody to.  I'd say the movie met the tepid expectations that I had for it, but, ultimately, it didn't do enough for me to give it a strong recommendation.  My biggest problem was that I didn't feel like I was rooting for any of the characters.  To be honest, they were all somewhat repellant to me.  I don't blame the actors for that because the screenwriter here didn't do anywhere near enough to get me to care about them.  I don't mean to pile on about The Broadway Melody because I did enjoy parts of it, but I'd expect that it will end up in the back half of my rankings when all is said and done.

AMANDA'S FINAL THOUGHTS:
Overall, I thought Broadway Melody was a cute movie. The story was very straightforward and the musical scenes were entertaining. Sometimes I thought the singing was a little shrill but still fun to watch. I didn't feel very invested in any of the characters either. They all seemed a little crazy and selfish. I don't think it'll be near the top of my list in the very end.

IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS!:
Although some scenes of the film were shot in Technicolor, they were lost and are only available in black and white today.

NEXT UP: All Quiet on the Western Front

Wings (1927/28)

PLOT SUMMARY:
Two young men, one rich and one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.

AWARDS:
Wins:  Best Picture; Best Effects

Nominations:  None

BOB:
You can probably attest to the fact that I was really dragging my feet on starting this project up.  Despite considering myself to be pretty open-minded when it comes to movies, watching a two-and-a-half hour silent film (the only silent film to win Best Picture until The Artist in 2011) that looked like a 1920's Pearl Harbor didn't get me too fired up.  What were your thoughts going in to this one?

AMANDA:
I really didn't know what to think. I didn't read up on it at all and only heard about it from what you had talked about. That being said, I'd made the decision pretty early on to stay optimistic about it. I don't think I've ever watched silent movie before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I can't say I was very excited to watch a movie about planes. It took us a while to finally start it. What did you think once we got going?

BOB:
It really drew me in right away.  I think part of the reason was that this particular silent film used a lot of dialogue cards... or at least that's how it felt to me based on the others I've seen.  So it's not like I was ever really bored in that sense.  The love triangle is also a timeless plot device, so I found the movie less dated than it could have been.  What did you think about all the flying scenes (spoiler alert: this movie does not get cheated on them)?

AMANDA:
There were definitely a lot of flying scenes, but I thought they were pretty entertaining. Planes were still relatively new at the time – they’d been around 25 years or so – and people were still fascinated by them. They showed a lot ‘trick’ maneuvers, and I’m sure that captivated audiences. The one thing I couldn’t get over was how cold those pilots must have been. They appeared to be flying pretty high, at least above clouds, and they were also going pretty fast. They had goggles and old fashioned bomber hats, but nothing else covering them. I can imagine flying was pretty rough through any rain, wind, or if a flock of birds happened to get close – sick. Do you think it was realistic?

BOB:
I'm glad you brought up realism.  I'm trying to cut the movie some slack because it was 1927, so it's not like I was expecting something like Gravity here.  But this movie also won Best Effects at the Oscars, so I feel like I can nitpick a little bit.  There were a lot of planes crashing after being shot down, and not one went up in flames when it hit the ground.  I'm not sure why this bothered me so much, but I was almost laughing each time a plane went down, and it looked like a shot of a little kid throwing his toy airplane to the ground!  OK... mini rant over.  

Last question from me... what was your take on the movie's overt bromance between the two male leads?  For being such bitter rivals at the beginning of the movie, the final scene with them was like something out of Top Gun.  All that was missing was the slow-motion volleyball spikes with their dog tags jingling and jangling.  I'm always pro-bromance, but I'm curious as to what you thought.

AMANDA:

While I haven’t seen Top Gun, I think I know what you mean. The male lead characters changed their minds very quickly, and it wasn't very convincing. They went from hating each other to being best friends in what seemed like seconds. I was very happy with the conclusion and where everyone ended up, but it seemed a little far-fetched. 

BOB'S FINAL THOUGHTS: 
A quick scan of my IMDb voting history (no sarcastic comments about this please) shows that Wings is the only movie I've seen from 1927/28 (the first few Oscars honored films that were released between August 1st - July 31st rather than its current format where films have to be released during the calendar year... kind of confusing), so I don't have anything else to compare it to.  That being said, I don't have a problem with Wings being the first Best Picture winner.  Although I found some of the love triangle developments to be sloppily done (the girl the two leads are originally in love with very suddenly becomes an afterthought) and the issues I had with the aforementioned plane crashes, the pros outweighed the cons, and Wings definitely exceeded my expectations.  I will say, however, that I wish the Academy had created the Oscars a few years earlier, so that classics from the famed silent comedians Charlie Chaplin (The Gold Rush - 1925) and Buster Keaton (The General - 1926) could have received film's highest honor.  Check those two out if you like funny things.

AMANDA'S FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall, I really enjoyed Wings. I was a little hesitant once I found out I’d have to pay very close attention the dialogue cards. You know I have a short attention span for movies (whenever I sit down to watch a movie I always think of something ‘quick’ I need to do, and it usually involves running to another room). I thought this one kept my attention, and I really liked the music. Even without dialogue, the actors were fun to watch, and you could feel a lot of their emotion. Like I said before, this was the first silent film I’ve watched, and I really liked it!

IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS!:
At the first Academy Awards, there were originally two Best Picture-type awards.  Sunrise won for "Best Artistic Quality of Production," and Wings was given "Best Production."  After one year, the Academy discontinued the former category and retroactively decided that "Best Production" (later renamed "Best Picture") was the highest award a film could be given.

NEXT UP:   
The Broadway Melody

Introduction

AMANDA:

Just before the Oscars this year, Bob and I talked a lot about the movies we’d seen over the past year and what movie we thought should win Best Picture. I saw more movies in 2013 than I’ve seen any other year, and this is the first time I’ve seen every movie that nominated for Best Picture. Needless to say, I was much more engaged in the award show this year and not just checking out the dresses on the red carpet (and that’s compared to the only other time I’ve watched them… last year).

As we talked more about the Oscars and what movie we thought would win Best Picture, I started thinking about all the past winners that I haven’t seen and how many good movies I was missing out on. So I said I wanted to spend the next year or so watching all the Best Picture winners. I don’t think I really gave it a lot of thought or really knew how much of an effort it would be, but when you said you’d join, I thought it could be a fun project.  What did you think when we first talked about it?

BOB:
I was into the idea immediately... even when I realized I would have to watch Gone With the Wind again.  Given my love of classic movies and obsession with ranking things, I don't think that revelation is going to come as a surprise to most of the people reading this.  I also think the fact that we're doing this together is going to help us stay on track and not bail on the project.

Before we get going, how about a little Oscars background info on each of us...

1.  How many of the Best Picture winners have you already seen?  54 for me counting the newly awarded 12 Years a Slave

2.  What is your favorite one (note: Amanda is going to spend an inordinate amount of time deciding on her favorite, as she is indecisive and becomes anxious when forced to rank things)?  As is the answer for so many of life's questions, it's got to be The Godfather.

3.  What one are you looking forward to checking out the most?  I'm going to cheat a little bit on this one and say that I'm looking forward to re-watching a lot of the classics that I first watched at probably too young of an age to fully appreciate (off the top of my head... All About Eve, On the Waterfront, Amadeus, and Unforgiven)

Bonus question: What happens if we break up without finishing the project?  I will flame you on this blog until the end of the time.  Seriously.

AMANDA:

The introduction of this blog has already taken a drastic turn and I should have expected that. Here are my answers to your questions…

1. I’ve seen 26 Best Picture winners. Yes, I know I’m a little behind.

2. As much as I hate to admit it, Bob’s right, I have a really hard time ranking movies – especially if they’re completely different. After looking at my list, I’ve chosen The Departed as my top pick (for today) because I could watch that movie over and over. I love it. I’d consider Crash and The Sound of Music near the top too.

3. Truthfully, I don’t know a lot about those that I haven’t seen. I’m excited to watch the movies that I always hear about but haven’t seen (In the Heat of the Night, Gone With the Wind) and I’m also excited to re-watch those that I’ve already seen and love. 

Bonus Question: We’re practically done already - I'm not too worried about it.

Here’s a little bit more information on how we’ll be doing this blog...

We are going to watch all 86 movies that have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards - that includes the movies we’ve already seen (even if we hated them). We’re planning to watch them in chronological order, starting with the 1928 winner Wings. After we watch each one, we’ll write about it and each give our thoughts about the movie. We’ll continue the same format we’ve had here in the introduction where we go back and forth, and then we’ll rank the movies once we're all done.

And anyone who knows Bob is aware of his love for trivia, so he’ll be including a little bit of movie trivia with each review.

There's an area for comments on each blog post so feel free to include your own thoughts or questions. We’re excited about this project, and it’ll be more fun if other people get involved. Enjoy!

NEXT UP: Wings