How to Pick Your Next Movie -or- What to Do When There's Nothing You Want to Watch on Your Netflix Queue

Got an email this morning from a reader who was struggling to find the next movie to watch. He claimed to be having a hard time refining his taste in films. He further described himself as having "eclectic taste." (Don't we all?) He just wasn't digging what was on his Nextflix queue.

As a service to my legions of fans (three people is legions, isn't it?) I now provide all of you with an expanded version of my response.

Find a director to enjoy. If, for example, you love Goodfellas (1990), watch other Scorsese films. Or if you liked Some like it Hot (1959), see what else Billy Wilder did. This is a good way to find a style of film making that you enjoy. You're almost certainly not going to like every picture a given director does but you're probably going to like most and thus may tolerate his lesser efforts. Directors, as I will discuss below, are a far more reliable way to select films than stars. Watching one director you like will often lead you to others who have a similar style. Truffaut can lead to Godard, for example, as  Hawks can either lead to Ford or La Cava.

Pick a star. This is much riskier than going with a director because actors have and do all variety of films and some may not be to your taste. Also, since actors generally appear in a lot more films than directors make, they're more likely to be in some stinkers. However with people like Cary Grant, Bogie and Marlene Dietrich you're fairly safe. Notice that the three examples I gave are all stars of bygone eras. It's my impression that even the best of today's actors are more likely to be in bad films. Within the work of a star you can also focus on a genre. For example with Grant there's plenty of screwball comedies, with Bogie there's gangster films and with Dietrich a lot of romance.

Check out Great Films website. This is a great one stop shopping site in looking for films to watch. Brought to you by Tim Dirks, Greatest Films breaks down the "best" movies (yes, subject to debate but this provides a starting point and has all the classics) by such categories as decade, genre, stars. It also has such categories as best film speeches, best film kisses and best film editing sequences. Great fun and easy to navigate, not to mention an effective way to select something for your viewing pleasure.

Fall in love with "old" films. This is real easy to do. Movies from the 1930's in particular will help inspire a love for cinema. You won't get distracted by a an over emphasis on technical wizardry and state of the art special effects. Story and character were king (or queen) which is as it should be in story telling. The humor is not of the gross out variety and although once the production code began being enforced there was de facto censorship, its nice to have stories that aren't overly reliant on shocking violence or profanity. If you have Turner Classic Movies as part of your cable package you're good to go. Sadly not all the best from the 30's are on DVD but there's plenty to get you started. They did make bad movies back in Hollywood's Golden Age, but not of the spectacularly awful variety you see today. If you pick a random movie to watch from 2009 and then one from 1939 your chances of seeing a good film are far better from '39.

Read this blog (and others as well). If you look to your right you'll see labels for various stars, directors, genres etc. that I've covered over the two plus years of Riku Writes existence. You may get some ideas there. There are scads of other film bloggers some, like me, are rank amateurs, others are world renowned film critics like Roger Ebert. In fact, go to his website and check out The Great Movies section. Books can be helpful but that often means you're spending money to get just one person's opinion when you get lots of opinions for free on the internet.

Remember the rest of the world. Given the relatively limited availability of foreign language titles in the US. when you do pick a foreign film in the states you're quite likely to get something really good. So perhaps to an even greater degree than with older films, you stand a better chance of avoiding a bomb. Most of the classics from other countries are available as well as the best of the best directors.

Careful. Don't spend too much time researching movies. Better you should pick one and watch. Happy viewing.

Happy Woody Allen's Birthday Everyone!

I'm Not Quite Done With Directors Yet, This Time I Look at Directors as Characters

Yesterday I finished my two month long look at my favorite directors. But I'm still not ready to let go of the topic. I now proudly present directors as characters in films. These six movies give varying degrees of insight into the film-making process but all are excellent films. I give each a hearty recommendation.

Johnny Depp as Ed Wood in Ed Wood (1994). Ladies and gentleman the world's worst director of all time Mr. Ed Wood. Here is the incredibly true story of Ed Wood who made such classic bombs as Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959). This bit of dialogue says it all:

Edward D. Wood, Jr.: And cut! Print. We're moving on. That was perfect. Ed Reynolds: Perfect? Mr. Wood, do you know anything about the art of film production? Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Well, I like to think so. Ed Reynolds: That cardboard headstone tipped over. This graveyard is obviously phony. Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Nobody will ever notice that. Filmmaking is not about the tiny details. It's about the big picture. Ed Reynolds: The big picture? Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Yes. Ed Reynolds: Then how 'bout when the policemen arrived in daylight, but now it's suddenly night? Edward D. Wood, Jr.: What do you know? Haven't you heard of suspension of disbelief?

And, oh by the way, Wood is a cross dresser and his life is full of romantic complications (not that the two are mutually exclusive.) Tim Burton directed and an excellent supporting cast includes Martin Landau who won an Oscar for his portrayal of an aging Bela Lugosi.

Francois Truffaut as Director Ferrand in Day For Night (1973). Truffaut directed himself playing a director. I actually think it's more confusing than it sounds but that's just me. Anyway the great French director pulled it off on this story of the complexities faced on a a film shoot, especially when off set relationships interfere.

Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi in 8 1/2 (1963). Guido is a famous director who is in need of inspiration for his next picture. He is harried wherever he goes by wife, mistress, friends and memories. This beautiful film is clearly semi autobiographical. Just as its protagonist finds what he's looking for through dreams 8 1/2 is itself clearly the stuff of dreams. As esteemed as 8 1/2 is, Mastroianni's performance is actually under appreciated.

Woody Allen as Sandy Bates in Stardust Memories (1980). Many critics savaged this film in large part because Allen had used the film to lampoon critics and audiences. This only proves that many critics are big cry babies. Stardust Memories is classic Allen. Sandy Bates is a not at all thinly veiled version of Allen himself. Beleaguered by fans, obligations, lovers, past and present, and the vagaries of being a famous artist in a celebrity obsessed culture. This is, depending on how you look at it, somewhat of spoof or homage to, 8 1/2.

Joel McCrea as John Sullivan in Sullivan's Travels (1941). Sully is a successful director, mostly of light comedies and musicals but he wants to do more. Sully yearns to tell the story of the down and out. He further decides the only way to do so is by living among the poor. See my recent post on this great film for more.

Steve Martin as Bobby Bowfinger in Bowfinger (1999). Bowfinger is a director given one last chance to come up with a hit. The star that he wants for the film won't do the picture but there's no stopping our determined director who films him anyway. Martin is terrific in the title role as is Eddie Murphy in two roles including that of the reluctant star. A high-larious film.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... The Final Chapter Wherein My Favorite of All Directors is Revealed (The Answer May Surprise You)

As my army of regular readers (an Army of one!) is well aware, I have spent the last two months taking a weekly look at my favorite directors. The criteria has been that I am able to come up with a top ten list of said director's films. I have presented lists of films directed by Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, William Wellman, Martin Scorsese, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra and Billy Wilder. I'd actually planned two more, feting John Huston and Steven Speilberg, but for both gentleman I could only come up with nine films I really liked it.

The question I'm sure everyone has after all this is: so, who is your favorite director? The answer: none of the above. My favorite director is Jean Renoir (the fact that his picture is on the side of this page should have been a giveaway). So why no top ten for him? And for that matter why no top ten for other favored directors of mine from foreign lands such as Renoir's fellow Frenchmen Jean-Pierre Melville, Francois Truffuat and Louis Malle? Or Finland's Aki Kaurasmaki, Sweden's Ingemar Bergman, Italy's Federico Fellini or Japan's Akira Kurosawa? Simple, I've not seen quite enough films by any of them to create a top ten.

There are two basic and simple reasons for this: not enough of their films have been available in this country for long enough and I haven't seen all the those films that are available. Of course none of this would be an issue were I not married to the whole top ten idea, but when you're as obsessive compulsive as I am there's no hope.

Okay, show of hands. Who wants to read what I have to say about Renoir? All right, now who among you would prefer a link to what Peter Bogdanovich wrote about Renoir?

You win. Here it is.

Yes that was a cop out, but after reading Bogdanovich's ode I just couldn't imagine trying to write one myself. I will add that Grand Illusion (1937) is as perfect a movie as has ever been made and is my favorite foreign language film of all time. I've tried countless times to write about it with no success. It's like trying to write about a rainbow. No it's like trying to write about a rainbow that comes with matching orchestration. I had a slice of cheesecake earlier today that was simply scrumptious. Beyond saying that I don't know what else to tell you about it. So it goes.

I offer proof of my personal evolution thusly: Many years ago I rented Renoir's Rules of the Game (1939) and only got through about half an hour of it before deciding it was bunk (I know, I can't believe it, either). Some time later I decided to give it another chance and lo and behold I loved it as I have increasingly with subsequent viewings.

But even that film I don't esteem much more than I do Renoir's Boudou Saved from Drowning (1932), The Lower Depths (1936), The Southerner (1945), The River (1951) and The Human Beast (1938).

My goal is to see enough of his films to come up with a top ten which, judging from my experience with his work means that ten should do it.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Eight)

Yes it's true, proof positive that you really like a director is the fact that you can create a list of ten films of his that you really like. I have proved this in the past with lists of top ten films from: Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, William Wellman, Martin Scorsese, Howard Hawks and Frank Capra. This week's honoree is Billy Wilder.

When various actors for the same director keep getting nominated for Oscars or are otherwise recognized for their work it ain't no coincidence. The likes of Wiliam Holden, Jack Lemmon, Ray Milland, Gloria Swanson, Shirley MacClaine and even character actors like Robert Strauss were honored for work in Wilder films. Surely much credit must go to Wilder the writer who provided or tinkered with the screenplays for most of Wilder the director's films. Indeed Wilder started as a screenwriter with such classics as Ninothcka and Ball of Fire to his credit.

The relationship with Ninothcka's director is significant. The man was Ernest Lubitcsh who was Wilder's idol. Both came to the U.S. via Germany. Wilder was one of Adolph Hitler's unintentional gifts to Hollywood. When Der Fuhrer came to power a veritable who's who of German cinema hightailed out of the the Fatherland. Wilder may have been the greatest among them.

Though many of his films were comedies and many others were cynical (and some both) Wilder directed a wide variety of film. He made films dealing with Alcoholism, World War II, romance, newspapers, Sherlock Holmes, murder plots, courtroom drama and however you'd classify Sunset Boulevard.

Wilder was a daring director. While avoiding elaborate camera work or sets, he focused on subject matter that pushed the boundaries of what Hollywood would allow and he maintained his focus on character and plot. The results were some of the best films of his era and any other era for that matter. I believe the list bellow will illustrate this point.

1. Sunset Boulevard (1950). My fourth favorite all time American film, which is my way of saying I think it's a masterpiece. Not like any film made before or even since.

2. The Lost Weekend (1945). Take it from one who knows, Ray Milland's portrayal of the alcoholic Don Birnahm is spot on. Wilder and Milland created a compelling look at the depths to which a drunkard can and will sink.

3. Some Like it Hot (1959). One of the greatest comedies of all time. Marylin Monroe jiggles and giggles, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag are fast talking and funny. Surely you've seen it.

4. Double Indemnity (1944). Barbara Stanwyck, silly wig and all, is sexy and evil. Fred MacMurray is a slick talking sap but Edward G. Robinson steals the picture. Film noir at its absolute best, indeed a highly influential film in the genre.

5. The Major and the Minor (1942). The premise is ridiculous. Ginger Rogers could no more have passed for a 12 year old girl than I could, but that does little to diminish the laughs which are plentiful in Wilder's directorial debut. He wanted to start with a sure fire hit and he did.

6. Stalag 17 (1953). William Holden won the Best Actor Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of a cynical wheeler dealer who's suspected of being a Nazi plant. The setting is a German POW camp during World War II and the drama is deep but cut nicely by moments of humor.

7. Witness For the Prosecution (1957). An interesting twist on the usual stuff of courtroom dramas what with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich heading the cast. Has the requisite plot twist at the end but mostly enjoyable for the performances.

8. The Apartment (1960). That it was overly lavished at the Oscars reflects on the quality of what Hollywood was producing back then and in no way detracts from what a fine film this is. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacClaine couldn't be more watchable, which makes the film worthy of repeat viewings.

9. Fortune Cookie (1966). Walter Matthua and Lemon together for the first time and what a winning note they started on. Matthau is positively brilliant as the prototypical shyster lawyer and Lemon does a whole lot more with an rather ordinary part than most anyone else would or could have.

10. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). I know you can't believe this made my top ten but I really love this irreverent look at the legend of the great detective. He's a druggie and his sexuality is subject to debate. Wilder wisely cast unknowns as Holmes and Watson (they remain so today) and created an oddly effective film, never mind the somewhat silly case they're on.

Honorable Mention: Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Ace in the Hole (1951).up for a little Nazi hating. Stewart and and Morgan are together again but this is no comedy. See my post from last Winter.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Seven)

You know you really like a director if you can make a top ten list of your favorites from among his films. Previously I've offered top tens of Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, William Wellman, Howard Hawks and Martin Scorsese. This week's installment features Frank Capra.

Capra was supposedly a Republican who voted against FDR four times. Yet he made some of the most liberal, verging on radical, mainstream films of Hollywood's Golden Age. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe in particular, he warned against shadowy powers exerting unimaginable powers in our political process. In Smith it was graft hungry businessmen who could control congressman and muzzle the press. In Doe it was a megalomaniac with fascist tendencies who could aspire to the highest political position in the land.

Capra imagined an America where an ordinary Joe (or Jefferson) could take on these giants like a modern day David slaying Goliath. The love and support of a formerly cynical woman helped. Indeed what Capra did so well was show people transforming. Not just just falling in love but embracing ideals or values.

To many Capra is overly sentimental. It's not productive for me to address this view of Capra which folks are fully entitled to. I do feel he went to heavy on the schmaltz with You Can't Take it With You (1938) a film I don't particularly care for. But a movie like It's A Wonderful Life, in my mind, hits at too many truths to accurately and too adroitly to be thought maudlin.

Capra loved the notion of ordinary people a heroes and in a day and age when we're inundated with super natural crime fighters this is especially to be appreciated. Bu Capra also was adept at comedy, witness Platinum Blonde and Arsenic and old Lace, but also note the humor in even his most dramatic films.

Lubitsch had a touch but so too did Capra. His films celebrate its characters. They move along deftly and entertain us along the way. There is room, in fact a lot of it, for Capra's depiction of gritty common folk fighting for better days. Capra loved America. It shows. Nothing wrong with that, especially when he can show its underside and give us chuckles along the way.

Here are my ten favorite Capra films.

1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). My second favorite film of all time. In other words, I like it. Upon its release it was assailed by fascists, communists and even good ole American capitalists. In fact even today Mr. Smith draws fire for its supposedly subversive political message, mostly from conservatives. Obviously this film did something quite right. It's the story of political corruption over running one state that reaches all the way into the hallowed halls of the U.S. Senate. Jimmy Stewart plays the naive Senator Jefferson Smith who challenges the graft hungry Taylor Machine. In addition to Stewart the all star cast includes Claude Rains, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur and Guy Kibbee.

2. It's A Wonderful Life (1946). Now a Christmas classic although only the very beginning and the end of the film are set during the holiday. Stewart stars again this time paired with Donna Reed. Also returning is Thomas Mitchell who is a delight as Uncle Billy. It's one of the few movies that seeks to be heart warming and succeeds beyond any possible expectation. Its eternal themes of appreciating what you have and the importance of family and friends have and likely never will be better realized on screen. For me watching it is one of the joys of the Christmas season.

3. Meet John Doe (1941). Like many great films it comments on several themes. One is the madcap world of newspapers, another it the Great Depression and a third is the politics of demagoguery. I've only just started. Gary Cooper is the title character, a hobo who becomes a political cause celebre. Barbara Stanwyck is the reporter who creates the John Doe character and unwittingly launches a populist movement. Edward Arnold is as evil, nasty and mean as he was in Mr. Smith.

4. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). One of the screwiest of all screwball comedies and the only film Capra made with Cary Grant. Grant hated his performance but the rest of us delight in his turn as Mortimer Brewster a newlywed who discovers that his old maid aunts are poisoning elderly gents (don't you hate it when that happens). With the likes of Peter Lorre, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson and Edward Everett Horton on hand, this is comic gold. Priscilla Lane is the blushing and befuddled bride.

5. It Happened One Night (1934). Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in a road picture the likes of which you'll we've never seen since. Gable is a reporter, Colbert an heiress on the run from daddy and the two form a partnership that can only lead to them falling in love. It swept the Oscars but more importantly has endured and stands up no matter how often you watch it.

6. Platinum Blonde (1931). It's a Jean Harlow picture but 18 year old Loretta Young is do damn gorgeous and plays such a sweetie pie that she steals the picture. The great tragedy of watching the film is to realize that the male star, Robert Williams, died about the time of the film's release. he was on the verge of stardom. Thankfully we have this delight to enjoy him in, Young and Harlow. Williams plays a reporter who in the process of looking for the scoop on a young heiress (Harlow) falls in love and marries her. They're mismatched. A fellow reporter (Young) is more his cup of tea. Will true love out or will this unhappy union go on?

7. Broadway Bill (1934). What, another heiress? Yup, this time played by Myrna Loy with Warner Baxter as the male lead along with a horse named Broadway Bill. There's horse racing, gambling, romance and comedy. It is a vastly under appreciated film despite its presence on DVD. Do yourself a favor and rent it some time. Thank me later.

8. Lost Horizon (1937). It's rotten luck when your plane crashes in the Himalayas just as you've escaped war torn China, but if you in turn stumble upon Shangri-La, it's your lucky day. Such is the happy lot of the five protagonists of this story. They find Eden within the mountains, peace and serenity abound and people suffer no ill health and live eternally. It could be pretty cornball stuff but Capra does a nice job with James Hilton's novel. Ronald Colman, Thomas Mitchell, H.B. Warner, Edward Everett Horton and Jane Wyatt star.

9. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). What could be better than in inheriting a fortune? As far as Longfellow deeds is concerned, plenty. Especially when big city shysters come along and try to take advantage of him. He's a small town lad, happy enough to play his tuba. Jean Arthur plays a reporter who uses deception to get the scoop on Deeds. But wouldn't you know it, the two fall for each other. Meanwhile our hero has to fend off the swindlers.

10. Lady for a Day (1933). With character names like Dave the Dude, Missouri Martin, Apple Annie, and Shakespeare you know your watching a Damon Runyon story. From IMDb's plot summary because I couldn't put it better myself: "Apple Annie is an indigent woman who has always written to her daughter in Spain that she is a member of New York's high society. Now her daughter plans to return to America with her new fiance and his father, a member of Spain's aristocracy. Annie must pretend to be wealthy or the count will not give his blessing. She gets the help of Dave the Dude, who considers Annie a good luck charm, to obtain a luxury apartment and entertain the visitors, but things don't always go quite as planned." May Robson and Warren Willliam star.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Six)

A sure sign you really like a director is that you can come up with a list of ten films he's directed that you really like. As regular readers of this blog (both of us) know my look at favorite directors has become a weekly series and today's post on Martin Scorsese marks part six. Previous directors that I've recognized are Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wellman, John Ford and Howard Hawks.

I love listening to Scorsese talk about films. He can be seen and heard in film documentaries and featurettes aplenty. His love of and appreciation for films from all parts of the world from all decades is as evident as the brilliance of his directing. Scrosese doesn’t just talk about films and directors and stars, he enthuses about them. This enthusiasm is infectious. I liken it to two people who’ve seen a film that you haven’t caught yet. One tells you, “you’ve got to see it.” The other tells you how great the experience was of seeing it and how much they loved it. Invariably the type of recommendation the second person provided will be the more convincing to me.

Scorsese’s unabashed love of film comes through in his style of film making. He holds nothing back. Stories are told with great verve and excitement. And honesty. Is there now a more honest filmmaker?

Controversy has followed Scorsese, as it does many great filmmakers. In his case because of the violence depicted in some of his movies and the supposed unflattering portrayals of Italian-Americans. Suffice it to say his movies are not politically correct, that would corrupt the process. Many of his films, such as Mean Streets and Goodfellas draw from Scorsese’s own experiences growing up in New York. Along with several of the great gangster films ever made and other dark subjects explored in films like Taxi Driver, Scorsese has made Kundun (1997) about the dalai lama and the The Age of Innocence (1993) a costume drama based on an Edith Wharton novel. He’s nothing if not versatile.

Here are my top ten, as always, in order.

Goodfellas (1990). At the top of my list of Scorsese films and near the very top of all films ever made. Rich with unforgettable scenes, lines and performances. See my post from last February for more.

Raging Bull (1980). Scrosese has had the good fortune and good sense to surround himself with some exceptional talents. Among them actor Robert DeNiro who gave the performance of a lifetime as boxer Jake LaMotta and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, a three time Oscar winner, one for Raging Bull. This is utterly uncompromising film making. Both brutal and balletic. Considered by many critics to the best film of the 1980s.

The Aviator (2004). I seem to love this film more than anyone. I’m so clueless that I’ve never understood why it did not receive more critical acclaim and sweep that year’s Oscars. It’s the story of Howard Hughes over a 25 year period beginning with his filming of Hells Angels. It includes Hughes’ affairs with Kate Hepburn, Ava Gardner and Faith Domergue, his unsuccessful battle with OCD and his successful battle with congress. Most of all the Aviator, as its title suggests, is about Hughes the pilot and innovator in airplanes. Leonardo DiCaprio starred and is letter perfect, as is the film.

Taxi Driver (1976). This is a real poser. I mean trying to summarize Taxi Driver. Jeez, saying anything about in a few sentences seems wrong. Travis Bickle is a mentally unstable cab driver who vacillates between wanting to be an assassin or a vigilante killer. He takes an interest in a beautiful campaign worker and later a very young prostitute. How's that? For chrissakes just see it. DeNiro stars along with Cybill Sheperd, Jodie Foster and Harvey Kietel as one of the slimiest pimps you'll ever see.

Mean Streets (1973). It’s telling that a movie saw raw can be so damn good. An excellent film on its own terms it presaged much more to come. See my post from last Summer for more.

The King of Comedy (1982). Creepy, unsettling, embarrassing, uncomfortable. Yet I love it. Wrote about just the other day, see that post.

Gangs of New York (2002). DeNiro isn’t the only actor who gives brilliant performs for Scorsese. Just say Daniel Day-Lewis in this film. Also see some amazing set designs, costumes and special effects that re-create the Five Points Section of New York in the 1860’s. DeCaprio starred, though Day-Lewis stole the show. Yes its about the various gangs of mid 19th century New York but its also about immigration, city bosses and the draft riots. Wonderful history and story telling.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Immediately raised the hackles of people who hadn’t seen it, never would and wouldn’t understand it if they did. Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis adapted for the screen by paul Shrader, it pictured Jesus as what he was, a man. Some will argue that he was far more and the film allows for that too. Makes all those biblical epics of the 30 years prior seem like cartoons.

The Departed (2006). The only Scorsese film to garner him a Best Director Oscar and his only Best Picture winner too. Featured a rich cast of A list male actors, DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Whalberg, Jack Nicholson and Alec Baldwin. It’s the Irish mob, good cops, bad cops, people working undercover for both sides. Plenty of tension, violence and drama.

Casino (1995). Draws inevitable comparisons to previous gangster film from Scorsese and inevitably suffers as a result. DeNiro and Joe Pesci are back this time the setting is Las Vegas at the tail end of the mob’s control of the gaming industry. A very good film in its own right. That I rank it 10th suggests how much I esteem Scorsese’s other films.

Also be sure to see A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) in which he discusses some of the American films he has most loved and been influenced by and Il Mio Viaggio in Italia (1999) (aka My Voyage to Italy) a similar look at Italian films.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Five)

Yes, you know you really like a director if you can create a top ten list of your favorite films he's directed. Previously I've proven to my own satisfaction that I really like Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wellman and John Ford. Next up is Howard Hawks.

What do the original Scarface, Red River and Bringing Up Baby have in common? For one thing they were all directed by Howard Hawks. Okay what else? They're all really terrific films. Anything else? Let's see you've got a gangster film starring Paul Muni, a western with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift and a quintessential screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. I'm stuck here, what else do they have in common?

Not a lot and there's the genius of Hawks. He could, as they say of versatile athletes, do it all. And he could do it all well. And I didn't even mention a War film like Sergeant York or a detective story like The Big Sleep, both also directed by Hawks.

To me Hawks is not auteur director in the classic sense. He maintained close relations with screenwriters and allowed his actors to, you should excuse the expression, do their own thing. He trusted the story (even if he had done some re-writes) and his actors. There is thus a certain effortlessness to his direction. The dialogue is natural, even as its amped up in the case of His Girl Friday. The characters are moral, save Muni in Scarface, and interesting. They are often in trying circumstances and Hawks let's situations play out and we get to watch.

While Hitchcock was so marvelous at letting the camera be part of the story telling process, Hawks chose to let the actors be the focus. He knew to let John Barrymore have a lot of space just as he allowed Bogie and Bacall to sizzle together. Hawks was much simpler a film maker than Hitch or Ford, but every bit their equal because he embraced the central story and its characters. No wonder he was able to successfully transcend genres.

Here are my ten favorite hawks films.

The Big Sleep (1946). Everyone is entitled to her or his opinion. However if in their opinion The Big Sleep is not at the very least a good film, it calls into question any other film-related opinions that person may offer. Have I made myself clear? Please see my post on this very topic from February. Suffice it to say that to opine that The Big Sleep is merely a great detective story is insufficient. It's one of the best films ever made. This is Humphrey Bogart at his very best. Based on Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name.

His Girl Friday (1940). I rhapsodized about this outstanding film recently last month and I invite you to read that post. The film is famous for the overlapping dialogue and the screwball antics of its co stars, Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. But its a movie of surprising depth what with a story about an execution tucked neatly inside of it. Always funny, always entertaining. And didn't that one guy look a lot like Ralph Bellamy?

Twentieth Century (1934). The remarkable thing about this film is how well Carole Lombard, still just a kid at 24, held her own with the great John Barrymore. I'm telling ya folks, if you just want to sit back and enjoy some great acting, watch the two stars go at it. Barrymore plays Oscar Jaffe a stage impresario who has created a star and lover in Lombard's Lily Garland. They break up, Garland makes good in Hollywood while Jaffe produces a series of flops. He must get her back. The fun takes place on a train line called the Twentieth Century. Fun it is. Great fun.

To Have and Have Not (1944). It's when Bogie met Bacall. You want to a talk about on and off screen chemistry. But there was a very different kind of chemistry between Bogie and Walter Brennan (ever been bit by a dead bee?) who played one of the great screen drunks of all time. Based loosely on an Ernest Hemingway novel with a screenplay co-written by William Faulkner (Hemingway and Faulkner, what Steinbeck was too busy to help out?). It's set in Martinique during World War II. There are those nasty pro Nazi French and the wonderful Free French (yaah!) and you know who Bogie as fishing boat captain Steve Morgan helps out. The action is quite secondary to the relationships and dialogue.

Red River (1948). It's only one of the ten best Westerns ever made. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift are the ultimate acting odd couple but they make for a wonderful pairing. Clift plays Wayne's adopted son and the two commence to quarreling on a cattle drive to the Red River. The men side with the kid and Wayne is cast off vowing revenge. Will they reconcile? It's a true Western epic with Bible style subplots.

Scarface (1932). Along with Public Enemy and Little Caesar this one of three films to popularize the gangster genre for talkie audiences. One of several films that Ben Hecht wrote or co-wrote for Hawks. Paul Muni stars as Tony Camonte a character not so loosely based on Al Capone. Muni is almost over the top as a gangster who reaches the top with predictable consequences. The gorgeous Ann Dvorak is Tony's ill fated sister. Much better than the overblown remake of 1983.

Bringing Up Baby (1938). Arguably the screwiest of the screwball comedies. Grant and Hepburn were never better together -- or separately for that matter. Grant is a palaeontologist and Hepburn the socialite who falls for him. Who's Baby? A leopard, of course. Plot points are not essential to enjoying this wacky and wonderful film. Guaranteed to chase away the blues. (And you say its from the same guy who directed Scarface? Golly.)

Ball of Fire (1941). If anyone wonders why I'm so very much in love with the Barbara Stanwyck of the 1930's and '40's, all they need do is watch this film. Whatta dish. Stanwyck plays Sugarpuss O'Shea who needs a place to hide out so she doesn't have to testify against her gangster boyfriend. Lo and behold she ends up with eight professors who share a house while they write the definitive encyclopedia. Among the eggheads is Bertram Potts played by Gary Cooper. Love and comedy are the main courses of the rich meal that is Ball of Fire. See my post from last Summer for more.

Sergeant York (1941). The approximately true story of Alvin York who went from being a carouser to devout pacifist to a hero of the first World War. York was from the backwoods of Tennessee where he excelled in sharp shooting. This came in handy when he reluctantly agreed to tote and fire a rifle after being drafted into the army. He becomes a hero after capturing or killing seemingly half the German army. Gary Cooper was made for the part of York. Thanks in large part to Hawks' direction, what could have been just another super patriotic war picture has some meat to it. The lovely Joan Leslie and the ubiquitous Brennan are among the co stars.

Barbary Coast (1935). If nothing else I love the alternate title: Port of Wickedness. Every top ten list of favorite films has to have one that the author (that would be me in this case) laments is: "vastly underrated." You can guess which films qualifies for this list. How about this, Edward G. Robinson, Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea. Brian Donleavy, Harry Carey and Walter Brennan help fill out a winning cast. Not bad! The setting is the wild and wholly San Francisco of the 1800's. Robinson plays the owner of a gambling joint. Hopkins works for him but falls for a humble and honest prospector played by McCrea. Trouble develops and Donleavy, as the eponymously named Knuckles Jacoby, is on hand to dish some of it out.

Yes, it's true, Only Angels Have Wings (1939) did not make my top ten Hawks film list. Neither did Rio Bravo (1959) Why? Because there are ten other films of his I like better. I hope this doesn't cause a rift between us to develop.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Four)

My weekly look at my favorite directors continues with William "Wild Bill" Wellman, the best film director that not enough people have heard of. As with previous directors that I've raved about there are so many films of his that I like that creating a list of ten favorites was no problem. Aside from having to exclude a few good ones.

Wellman had an amazing run from 1931-1933 in which he directed half the films on this list. But he started making excellent films in the Silent Era and continued well into the 1950's.

While his reputation is built largely on manly Western and War films, Wellman was adept at all genres. He worked with a wide variety of great actors. James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Frederich March, Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard, Loretta Young and Lauren Bacall. To name but a handful.

Wellman was no slouch before he started his film career. Despite coming from a wealthy family (he was a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence) he started working on the nickname that would stick with him all his life, Wild Bill, at an early age. Wellman and trouble were close friends. He loved sports and one of those was joy riding. Wild Bill was quick to engage in fisticuffs, a habit that endured throughout his directing career.

With the advent of World War I, Wellman wasn't going to wait around for U.S. entry to participate. Through connections he was able to join the air branch of the French Foreign Legion. Despite being shot down once, he survived the war, joining U.S. forces before it was over.

Though his friendship with Douglas Fairbanks he became involved in movies, first as an actor. But he hated acting and longed to direct. Wild Bill worked his way up though a series of jobs, making his directorial debut in 1923.

Wellman's films were concise, straightforward and unflinching. His heroes were given to action, not words. He packed a lot into his stories seemingly never wasting a shot. Wellman used exteriors and weather but never let the camera linger on them. If his camera paused at all it was on a face. An expressive one. This was a appropriate because his films so often focused on ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Whether his characters were facing enemy tanks, a lynch mob, a vengeful crook or the person they loved, the focus was on them and their response. Wellman’s movies were character driven.

Wild Bill was comfortable with gangster films (Public Enemy, Midnight Mary), comedies (Small Town Girl, Nothing Sacred), war pictures (The Story of G.I. Joe, Battleground), Westerns, (The Oxbow Incident, Westward the Women) and even directed the original A Star is Born. Here are my ten favorites:

The Public Enemy (1931). The first great gangster film ever made. Much well deserved kudos has gone to star James Cagney for his stunning performance but Wellman had a little bit to do with the film as well. It is as tough and taut a film as you'll ever see. A no holds barred look at the rise and fall of a gangster. A familiar enough story but Cagney and Wellman breathed real intensity into the story. For more see my post of last Fall.

Wild Boys of the Road (1933). You'll note a pattern in Wellman's work in that he excels at realism and his stories pull nary a punch. Wild Boys is one of the best films about the Depression Era to come out of the Depression Era. It follows a group of teens who've left their homes to relieve the burdens on their families and see if they can make a go of it on their own. The school of hard knocks awaits. See my post from earlier this Spring for more.

Heroes For Sale (1933). Thank God this film is finally available on DVD and has been shown on TCM. Now it may finally get the recognition it so richly deserves. Wellman was a very economical film maker, particularly in the early Thirties. Here was a story of bravery, cowardice, drug abuse, labor strife, poverty and more. In less than 80 minutes! It's another powerful look at the Depression that was gripping the nation when the film was released. Richard Barthelmess starred and a strong supporting cast included Aline MacMahon, Loretta Young, Grant Mitchell and Charley Grapewin.

Wings (1927). The first great aerial war picture and still one of the best. The romance at the core of this World War I flying aces story is a tad on the hokey side but that doesn't detract from the spectacle that is Wings. The photography is amazing. Clearly Wellman brought is own experiences from the war to the production. Won the first Best Picture Oscar.

Midnight Mary (1933). The delicious Loretta Young stars as Mary Martin, a woman on trial for murder. As the jury deliberates, Young recalls her life and the circumstances that brought to her a possible death sentence. Mary grew up in poverty and things went downhill from there. She took up with a group of gangsters led by Ricardo Cortez but found love in the person of a wealthy young man played by Franchot Tone. Conflict. Old habits die hard especially when the bad guys have something on you and don't want to let you go. Thoroughly entertaining.

Westward the Women (1951). Go West young woman, and find a husband. Westward the Women is one of the few Westerns to focus on women. A California farmer in the mid 19th century recruits 150 women from Chicago to take the arduous wagon train journey west to provide brides for the overwhelmingly single male population. The wagon master is Robert Taylor and in a decidedly less glamorous role than he was accustomed to, he's excellent. But the real stars of the film are the women and the at times beautiful and at times hazardous trail. See more in my post from last year.

Battleground (1949). One of the better WWII films ever made, certainly from among those made during and immediately following the war. Absent the full color spewing blood and intestines protruding from wounds audiences see today, this is one realistic film. The emphasis is on the soldiers, in this case America GI's at the battle of the bulge. there is enough of lightness, thanks to cast members such as Van Johnson and George Murphy, to make this a thoroughly watchable film. See more on Battleground from a recent post.

The Ox Bow Incident (1943). Okay, I admit it, I overuse the word "powerful" when describing films, particularly Wellman's. That being said, this is one powerful story. Two cowboys, (Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan) are home from the range. It is through them that we see a town's reaction to cattle rustlers develop into a lynch mob mentality (literally) that grips a group of vigilantes and imperils a trio of drifters. The film was ahead of its time as evidenced by this snippet from variety's review of January 1, 1943: "Hardly a gruesome detail is omitted. Where the pleading by the three innocent victims doubtlessly was exciting on the printed page, it becomes too raw-blooded for the screen. Chief fault is that the picture over-emphasizes the single hanging incident of the novel, and there's not enough other action." Great fun. It’s hardly tame stuff today, but the Variety review is over wrought.

Small Town Girl (1936). This delightful comedy proves Wellman's versatility. The sweet as candy Janet Gaynor is the title character. She "accidentally" marries a wealthy young man played by Robert Taylor. This puts him a fix as he’s a big city fellow with a big city fiance. What will they do? It's a winning romantic comedy, quite a departure from the usual Wellman fare. An aspiring young actor named Jimmy Stewart plays Gaynor's jilted lover.

Night Nurse (1931). If you're a dirty old man like me (God forbid) you'll thrill to see the scantily clad duo of Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell as a couple of nurses. You may also get a kick out of a most nasty Clark Gable, sans mustache. Stanwyck plays a street wise dame knew to the nursing profession who uncovers a plot to murder the two kids she's charged with minding. She calls upon a would be suitor, who happens to be a small time crook, to foil the heinous plot. Great fun.

You Know You Really Like A Director If... (Part Three)

Part three of what was supposed to be an occasional series but has turned out to be a weekly one on my favorite directors. This week: John Ford.

Gruff, macho, no nonsense. John Ford was a man's man. To some he was a miserable ole cuss, to others always a beloved father figure. That would, at least seem, to be the accepted view. Many further believe that Ford made manly films that were soon dated. Nonsense. Ford's film's were rife with nuance, subtlety and ambiguity and they have aged like fine wine.

What was the relationship between Ethan and his brother's wife in The Searchers? What was Ford saying about legends at the end of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? Was Fort Apache an indictment of Custer and the notion that being white makes American warriors right?

Ford's films had humor and romance, and it was never simple pablum to be suffered as a side dish with the action at the story's core. In fact, the action itself was never at the core of Ford's films. The action was often the diversion, the means to get to deeper truths. Ford's films were so many wonderful little parts and the sum was almost always something very special.

What Ford did so masterfully was to tell very human stories with expansive backdrops. His oft used shooting locale of Monument Valley was the primary example of how he took films out of studios and drew on an infinitely broader expanse. It was like painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel rather than on a conventional sized canvas. His films were visual delights. Endless horizons, stunning sunsets, huge cloud formations and valleys stretching like his vast imagination.

I think it is quite misleading to state that Ford directed a lot of Westerns. The West did provide a picturesque tableau for many of his films, but his films were not conventional stories with shootouts and men in black hats. Yes, he had the cavalry famously ride to the rescue in Stagecoach, but it started the trend and was not a cliche.

Ford has also been unfairly maligned for supposed racism because of the manner in which his film's treated Native Americans. But Ford often cast a critical eye on the way Natives suffered at the hands of whites. His look at racism in The Searchers was revelatory. Indeed, Ford often showed great respect for Natives and their traditions and rituals.

Indeed traditions and rituals played a large part in Ford's films. His depiction of ceremonies and families were one more way to explore the human condition. In fact, I'd argue that Ford used his films to celebrate people. Yeah, the supposed ole cuss was a softy at heart.

Here are my ten favorite Ford films:

The Searchers (1956). A much revered film that deserves its exalted status. The film features John Wayne's best performance. This is one of the most exquisitely and innovately shot films of all time. For more see my recent post.

Stagecoach (1939). One of Ford's most influential films. It's a road picture with a company of diverse sorts riding the same stagecoach with "hostile Injuns" on the loose. There's an alcoholic doctor (Thomas Mitchell), a disgraced lady of suspicious character (Claire Trevor), a banker trying to run off with a small fortune (Berton Churchill) a riverboat gambler (John Carradine) and of course the Ringo Kid (John Wayne). Great adventure and a great study of characters.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940). One of the most powerful looks at an epoch ever made. It's the Great Depression, and to make matters worse, the horrific Dust Bowl has laid waste to America's Great Basin. Tom Joad is released from prison just in time to join his family's migration from Oklahoma to the promised land -- California. What they find there is not so promising. You'd think a leftist rabble rouser had made this film, but no, it was the supposedly conservative Ford.

My Darling Clementine (1946). I doubt we'll ever see a better film version of the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral. Fonda is the perfect Earp and Walter Brennan's Old Man Clanton is one of the meanest varmints ever to appear on screen. However, the film really shines in its depiction of sibling fealtym and in the subplots involving the story's two women, played by Cathy Downs and Linda Darnell.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). There's nothing like an occasional visit to Shinbone, the fictional town that provides this film's setting. Lee Marvin is the title character and a meaner snake in the grass never existed. Jimmy Stewart is the aspiring lawyer who shoots him -- or does he? And John Wayne is aboard for perhaps his quintessential Wayne performance. See my post from last Summer for more.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). A wonderful, if largely fictionalized look at...you guessed it, Abraham Lincoln as a young lawyer. Fonda made for an excellent Lincoln (come to think of it, can't think of anyone who played ole Honest Abe any better). A story both charming and illuminating that captures the essence of Lincoln's homespun wit and wisdom.

The Lost Patrol (1934). I posted about this film last year and the manner in which what looks like a war film is in fact a horror story. And a good one at that. Victor McLaglen gets to play the lead for once and is excellent. Boris Karloff (told you it was a horror story) is a bible-quoting soldier who cracks under pressure and goes nuts. Set in the Mesopotamian Desert during World War I.

Fort Apache (1948). Fonda is the Custer-like Colonel Thursday who leads an ill-planed and ill-fated charge against a huge war party with unsurprising results. Fonda's performance is letter perfect as the prim and proper officer who longs for glory, damn the risks. A look at how heroes are made at the expense of a little truth.

The Hurricane (1937). On the surface this is not your typical Ford fare. A forbidden romance in the South Seas with cruel injustice and oh by the way a hurricane. But it still explores some of Ford's oft visited themes. Dorothy Lamour and John Hall are the lovers. The excellent cast includes Mary Astor, Raymond Massey and C. Aubrey Smith.

The Informer (1935). McLaglen is the lead one more time, this time as an Irish rebel who rats out a friend for 20 pounds. Oh sure, he has his reasons and those are explored along with the consequences of his act. A deep, thoughtful story that earned Ford his first of four Best Director Oscars.

Never Heard of Him

I am second to no one in my appreciation of the world's greatest website, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). It is absolutely, positively the most comprehensive film website in existence. It's the first place I go after watching a movie (unless I really need to use the bathroom). Want to learn more about the director? Check IMDb. Want to figure out where you'd previously seen that the guy who played the ranch hand? Check IMDb. Looking for reviews of the movie? Check IMDb. Trivia? Alternate Versions? Release date? Awards won? Filming locations? All on IMDb.

How about TV shows? IMDb is your one stop source. Fancy a discussion on a film or TV show? Try their discussion boards. How about if you want to get out of the house? (To see a movie, of course. ) You can find showtimes for theaters near you without leaving the comfort of the good ole IMDb.

Want some news or gossip from the film world? Guess who's got it.

Why they've even got links to some really cool blog posts (occasionally from this very site).

Yes ladies and gentleman, meine Damen und Herren, naiset ja herrat, signore e signori, Mesdames et Messieurs, señoras y señores, the IMDb is practically the only surfing center you'll ever need for everything and anything cinematic.

So what's Mr. Grumpy here got to complain about, then?

A "seemingly" trivial matter. Every day IMDb presents a poll asking readers a film or TV related question such as which is your favorite Paul Newman film or how many movies do you go to a year or what was the best film of the 1980's. The answers may sometimes astound you.

I enter into evidence today's poll question: "Only three directors have won the Academy Award for Best Director three times or more. Which one of these guys is your favorite filmmaker?" The choices were, of course, these notables:

Frank Capra (pictured above) (It Happened One Night; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; You Can’t Take It with You)
John Ford (The Informer; The Grapes of Wrath; How Green Was My Valley; The Quiet Man)
William Wyler (Mrs. Miniver; The Best Years of Our Lives; Ben-Hur)


Guess who won. No, go ahead, guess....If you said the leading answer, with an astounding 36%, was "I am not familiar with these directors" you are correct.

Not "familiar" with the directors of The Letter (1940) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) My Darling Clementine (1946), Dodsworth (1936), Meet John Doe (1941), Stagecoach (1939), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Roman Holiday (1953) and many, many more? Sacrebleu!

This is a classic example of the abyssal ignorance you come across on the IMDb. There is a huge number of little tykes, or people with the brains of little tykes, who come on the site and vote.

Another feature of the site is that for each movie and TV show you can assign a rating from 1-10. All films thus have a composite rating and you can look up what age groups and genders particularly liked or disliked a film. IMDb also keeps track of its top 250, the ratings leaders. Of all movies ever, guess what's number one? The Shawshank Redemption. A nice enough film, but number one? Ever? The Dark Knight clocks in at number six! Of all time! Two installments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy grace the top 20. Gran Torino, which popped in and out of theaters a few months ago is somehow number 82. Who even knew it had a cult following? Another recent Clint Eastwood offering, The Changeling, appears on the list as do The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and the recently released Caroline.

The top 250 is not surprising heavy on films released in the past ten years.

I am reminded of last year when I was still toiling as a middle school history teacher. I told the class I was going to show them a movie about a mountain man, called Jeremiah Johnson (1972). One student asked if there was anyone famous in it. When I replied, Robert Redford, she smirked "who?" as if I had told her Pernwickle Pennyllcker was the star.

So what we have here is a crotchety old man complaining about all the young whippersnappers who know of nothing pre MTV. Right? Well yes but it goes a lot deeper. Not so many years ago when I was a lad (and dinosaurs roamed the Earth) us young uns knew all the old baseball players and movie stars and even many of the long deceased presidents. Despite the efforts of such teachers as yours truly, today's younger set not only doesn't have a clue, it doesn't much seem to care.

So I could now launch into a lecture on our disposable society, but I think if you've made it this far you get the point.

Anthony Hopkins in the role of John Quincy Adams in Amistad (1997) said, "who we are is who we were." Our culture is in very serious trouble if the younger generations have no awareness of what built it and no appreciation for what those building blocks were. Whether in film, music, sports or politics, to recognize and appreciate those who came before enhances the appreciation of those around today. We are moving so fast so far so recklessly that we are leaving behind some very precious memories. Thank God for DVDs and Turner Classic Movies (world's greatest TV station) and the reverence many sports institutions hold for the past. Still I fear that it is too many of us old fogies who are fondly remembering and enjoying Jimmy Cagney, Benny Goodman and Willie Mays. We need to get our young people on board. For their sakes and the sakes of future generations. We lose something of ourselves as a culture when we lose links to our past.

Now will someone help me down off this soapbox?

Oscar Shmoscar

I got this question the other day about a recent film: "Is it Oscar worthy?" I get asked this often and it bugs the heck out of me. Actually, there are two ways to interpret this question:

1. Is this the type of film that the Academy will choose to honor whether it deserves the recognition or not? Fair question. Sometimes you can predict that a film such as Atonement will garner undeserved nominations while a terrific film like Zodiac will be ignored. Oscar nominations and winners can be predictable and baffling–or even both. Guessing what's going to be nominated then what will win can be a good parlor game.

2. The other way to look at the "is it Oscar worthy?" question is that the person asking the question considers the Oscar the gold standard for judging films. There are a lot of people like this (they are also known as causal film fans).

Here is a detailed and unimpeachable response to those who believe that the Oscars are the “be-all and end-all” of film evaluation.

Question: How many “Best Director” Oscars did the following group of directors garner between them? Alfred Hitchock (pictured above), Howard Hawks, Charlie Chaplin, King Vidor, Stanley Kubrick, William Wellman, Arthur Penn, Ridley Scott, Stanley Kramer, Sideny Lumet, Ernst Lubitsch, Robert Altman, Orson Wells and Alan J. Pakula.
Answer: Zero. Zilch. Nada. None.

Here's another one. These gentlemen have never won a competitive best actor award: Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Leslie Howard, Edward G. Robinson, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, John Barrymore and Kirk Douglas.
And the following ladies have been similarly neglected: Glenn Close, Irene Dunne, Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter, Jean Simmons, Myrna Loy, Ida Lupino, Janet Leigh and Jean Arthur.

It gets worse, folks. In 1933, Cavalcade won best picture over fellow nominees: Trouble in Paradise, King Kong, Duck Soup, Queen Christina and Dinner at Eight.

In 1936, The Great Ziegfeld won the statuette over Modern Times, Fury, My Man Godfrey, Show Boat, Swing Time.

In 1939, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Roaring Twenties, Stagecoach and Ninochtka lost to an overblown soap opera called Gone With the Wind

In 1940, The Grapes of Wrath, Foreign Correspondent, The Letter, The Great Dictator and The Philadelphia Story lost to Rebecca, a worthy picture but...

in 1941, How Green Was My Valley won the best picture Oscar over Citizen Kane.

In 1949, The Third Man was not nominated for best picture.

In 1951, An American in Paris beat out A Streetcar Named Desire, The Day the Earth Stood Still, African Queen, Strangers on a Train and A Place in the Sun. No joke.

In 1956, Around the World in 80 Days won best picture. The Searchers didn't. Seriously.

Two years later Gigi won the Oscar beating out something called Vertigo.

In 1967, In the Heat of the Night beat out both The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde.

In 1971, The French Connection won. A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show and McCabe and Mrs. Miller didn't.

Five years later the Academy awarded Rocky over Network, All the President's Men and Taxi Driver. (I'm not making this stuff up.)

Four years after that it was Kramer vs. Kramer over Manhattan and Apocalypse Now.
Not to be outdone, the 1980 ceremony saw the big prize go to Ordinary People, not Raging Bull.

One doesn't know whether to laugh or cry about this one. In 1989, Driving Miss Daisy beat out Do the Right Thing and Glory (there's all you need to know about Hollywood and African Americans).

In 1998, Shakespeare in Love was the winner, not Saving Private Ryan. Of course that was the year after Titanic's Oscar sweep.

And just a few years ago Crash got best picture. That alone is bad enough but is compounded by the fact that it won over Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, Good Luck.

Question: Is it Oscar worthy?

Answer: Who cares?