tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post6452101124668106299..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Director 1934SJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-40573111133014483842017-11-25T21:10:20.361-06:002017-11-25T21:10:20.361-06:00It's a tough call. For me, it really just came...It's a tough call. For me, it really just came down to the fact that, given a choice, I'm watching <i>The Thin Man</i> 9 times out of 10.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-16583628529694434092017-11-25T13:08:18.759-06:002017-11-25T13:08:18.759-06:00I like both It Happened one Night and The Thin Man...I like both It Happened one Night and The Thin Man, so both of them worked out, at least to my liking. Since this is a best direction award I need to ask which director got the most out of the material. You can argue that Powell and Loy drove The Thin Man, but it is the director who is responsible for the comedic timing of the movie and it is knife sharp. I am not sure I would credit Capra to the same extent for being responsible for the movie's success. It could have gone real sappy, but it isn't. Is that good enough to beat the knife sharp direction of The Thin Man? I do not think so.<br />TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-64868517715008993872017-11-25T12:09:44.542-06:002017-11-25T12:09:44.542-06:00I can see that. I can't, heart-of-hearts, say ...I can see that. I can't, heart-of-hearts, say it's a wrong choice.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-61547078890588503142017-11-25T12:09:22.254-06:002017-11-25T12:09:22.254-06:00I think it's fair to suggest that It Happened ...I think it's fair to suggest that <i>It Happened One Night</i> was a worthy winner, and I'm not totally against that position. It's a bit of a hard sell for me to essentially give the award to two-thirds of the nominees, although I've done that before.<br /><br />And yes, I agree--no matter the number of the nominees, it really will ultimately come down to those top two.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-44349369598343188502017-11-25T10:41:11.434-06:002017-11-25T10:41:11.434-06:00I like L'Atalante more than you do and I love ...I like L'Atalante more than you do and I love The Thin Man but I would have given it to Capra for creating the definitive romantic comedy.marie_dresslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06334550550983418668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-70165042682069799632017-11-25T10:40:52.729-06:002017-11-25T10:40:52.729-06:00I'm with Tony in thinking that Oscar did okay ...I'm with Tony in thinking that Oscar did okay this time out though you'd hear no quibble from me if The Thin Man had taken it. In both cases the fact that either film works as well as it does can be laid at the director's feet with a very able assist from their perfectly cast performers. <br /><br />As far as One Night of Love goes I'm sure it was seen as a prestige picture at the time. Grace Moore was a huge opera star and the patina of class associated with that world surely put a bright shiny edge on the film. That said I think the film is crap and totally forgettable today except for opera lovers. I'm not one of those though as these things go Moore did have a fine voice. <br /><br />As to who is missing I'd add Howard Hawks for Twentieth Century and Josef von Sternberg for The Scarlet Empress. I do like the suggestion of Mark Sandrich for The Gay Divorcee. Even then musicals did get the respect they deserved. But even with them in the race it would still come down to being between those first two films for the prize.<br />joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-88325457387309113002017-11-24T14:56:04.772-06:002017-11-24T14:56:04.772-06:00I thought about the "okay" rating, but I...I thought about the "okay" rating, but I really think <i>The Thin Man</i> deserves it. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-79212731039969439582017-11-24T14:55:30.400-06:002017-11-24T14:55:30.400-06:00It's not that often one would suggest a guy ni...It's not that often one would suggest a guy nicknamed "One-Shot Woody" for this award, but the proof is in the film.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-55347738380743604382017-11-24T12:26:16.286-06:002017-11-24T12:26:16.286-06:00It Happened One Night and The Thin Man are both gr...It Happened One Night and The Thin Man are both great movies. And as I seem to like Cleopatra a lot better than most people, I could certainly see getting considered for this award.<br /><br />But I looked at my IMDB list for Favorite Movies Year By Year to remind me of what else is from 1934 and I find W.C. Fields' It's a Gift.<br /><br />It's directed by Norman McLeod, no stranger to great movies as he also directed Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Topper and quite a few others.<br /><br />Now I'm not saying I would give this award to McLeod. I'll have to think about it.<br /><br />As far as I'm concerned, much as I like The Thin Man, I believe this particular award should be classified "Oscar Did Okay," but I can see why you couldn't resist the temptation to use the Myrna Loy pic.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-91343959817102284622017-11-24T11:22:23.614-06:002017-11-24T11:22:23.614-06:00W. S. Van Dyke is not a name you hear a lot in Gre...W. S. Van Dyke is not a name you hear a lot in Great director discussions, but his directorial credits during the 30's were still more impressive than most. He definitely gets bonus points for teaming Powell and Loy. 1001: A Film Odyssey is produced, directed and written by Chris, a librarian.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04803620768028761898noreply@blogger.com