Monday, 09 July 2012
In between preparing for and officiating at two weddings this past weekend, I managed to re-attain my goal of seeing every Oscar winner for Best Picture.
As I may have mentioned before, that’s been one of my life goals for over twenty years now. The goal started off small: I had a list hanging up in my bedroom of every Best Picture winner from 1927 to the present (the present, at that time, was the early 1990s). I had seen about 15 – 20% of them.
After getting married, my wife said she thought my goal was a great idea, and we made a concerted effort to fill in all the holes. By 1998, I believe, we had seen them all. In fact, that year, we even went to the theaters to see all the Best Picture nominees (this included three great films: Life is Beautiful, Saving Private Ryan, and Shakespeare in Love – the eventual winner), so our goal was in tact even before the Oscars were awarded the following year.
Every year since then, I’ve either gone to the theater or rented the winner as soon as possible. My wife is right – this is a fun goal. Not only did it expose us to some of the greatest films ever made, and some of the lousiest, but I like that I have to put forth a little bit of effort every year to maintain the goal. In that way it’s different than some other life goals I’ve had – such as the goal of performing a wedding ceremony. I’ve attained that goal (and others) and no matter what I do for the rest of my life…I can always say I’ve done it.
Anyway, it took three evenings, but we finally finished watching The Artist, which is the 2011 winner.
Some clever people online have pointed out that this is the first silent film to win since 1927 (the first year of the Oscars). Some people who think they’ve even more clever pointed out that this is not true, since The Artist is not truly a silent film. But this is poppycock. Claiming The Artist is not a silent film would be like claiming Schindler’s List is not a black-and-white film, or that Mary Poppins is not a live-action film.
But I digress.
Artistically (if you’ll excuse the pun), The Artist was a great film. The camera work was outstanding, reminding viewers of a time when cinematographers used the camera itself to help tell the story. And, without the medium or sound, the film deftly made use of shadows and light. Again, this is an art that I feel has been cast aside. Once the advent of sound arrived, I think only Chaplin and Hitchock (two directors who came to fame in the silent era) and Orson Welles managed to continue their work as art. Oh – and some foreign guys, too, but they were foreign, so it doesn’t count.
I also want to mention the actors’ expressions: their exaggerated gestures and flouishes were corny. To me, this was a wonderful homage to the silent era.
But…
The story wasn’t anything special. One part Sunset Boulevard, one part Singing in the Rain, one part Vertigo, and one part Citizen Kane. Don’t get me wrong, these are all first-rate films, but it means The Artist didn’t exactly bowl me over with originality in the screenplay department.
It was also a little long – especially for such a simple plot. Many silent films fall victim to this. In fact, some of my favorite silent films are in the under-30 minute catergory. The drawnout story explains why my wife and I twice fell asleep during the film, and had to restart it twice on subsequent nights.
All in all, a really good flick. B+. Definitely rent it.
If you are interested in seeing some silent films from the silent era, I suggest:
Clocking in at about an hour and 10 minutes, this is how long a silent film should be. In my opinion, the most entertaining film you can watch without having to hear a thing. I recently re-watched this flick with my son – and if you have young kids at home, you should have them join you – and he liked it as much as I did.
Okay, so this one’s a little long (2+ hours). But it has a great story. Considering the time it was made (1927), there’s some amazing flight sequences, too. As a bonus, the film stars Clara Bow, who was pretty much the most popular silent film actress of her day. Wings was the first Best Picture winner.
If you ask most critics what the best Charlie Chaplin film is, they usually say Modern Times or The Gold Rush. They’re wrong. this is his best feature film. It’s from 1921 and it co-stars Jackie Coogan (who would, decades later, gain fame as Uncle Fester from TV’s The Addam’s Family). In typical Chaplin fashion, it’s funny and poingiant. It’ll only take you 68 minutes to watch, too.
I’m sorry to say I didn’t get around to watching this film until earlier this year. But you should find time for it, too. It’s funny, fast-paced (relatively), and has a great ending.
This 1925 film is probably my second-favorite silent film. It’s Russian, but since it’s silent, you don’t have to be put off by subtitles or tough accents. There’s a lot of excellent camerwork here, and some iconic images that are duplicated in films to this day (best example: the “Odessa Steps” sequence was mirrored in The Untouchables). Unlike the above films, this one is probably a bit much for the kids – lots of violence and suffering and killing…just like Old Mother Russia used to be.
This hour-and-a-half flick was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It’s the film that put him on the map. Well, the British map, at least. It was only the fourth film he directed, but it was the first one to really exemplify his style of unique cinematography, and his love of murder mystery suspense. This one tells the story of Jack the Ripper. Hitchock went on to make a dozen more silent films before shifting to sound, but this was his finest from that era.
Finally…
For those of you who can’t be bothered to spend an hour and a half watching a silent flick, check out this one – it’s only 11 minutes. From 1903, it’s often been billed as the first western movie, and the first American movie with a plot. It’s surprisingly fun and fast, despite it’s age (the cinematography’s a bit rickety and the editing can be jarring). Also, it’s available on YouTube, so you can watch it right now.
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