tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post6614727899271744541..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Director 1942SJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-61067801674579956382018-07-18T07:18:54.591-05:002018-07-18T07:18:54.591-05:00For me, the biggest problem with Mrs. Miniver is t...For me, the biggest problem with <i>Mrs. Miniver</i> is that it doesn't really portray the reality of what was going on. The privation was so severe that it couldn't really be shown--no one would have believed it in the U.S.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-87792585123004069192018-07-17T13:43:59.463-05:002018-07-17T13:43:59.463-05:00It's Lubitsch for me.
It' also interesti...It's Lubitsch for me. <br /><br />It' also interesting to note that Wyler said he would have done several things differently with Mrs. Miniver if he had made it after the war.1001: A Film Odyssey is produced, directed and written by Chris, a librarian.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04803620768028761898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-47107828593184201642018-07-16T09:19:51.642-05:002018-07-16T09:19:51.642-05:00Easy--no one thought that animated movies were pot...Easy--no one thought that animated movies were potentially the same as live action at the time, and when it comes to direction, my guess is that most people, even in the Academy, figured that the director of an animated film didn't actually have to do anything.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-10550417493474214402018-07-15T15:27:55.606-05:002018-07-15T15:27:55.606-05:00How was the underrated "Bambi" passed ov...How was the underrated "Bambi" passed over?John from Daejeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431973044799010218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-35187409188891696902018-07-14T12:46:41.716-05:002018-07-14T12:46:41.716-05:00I recommend Went the Day Well? if you want a reall...I recommend <i>Went the Day Well?</i> if you want a really unusual homefront movie. <i>In Which We Serve</i>, as I've said a number of times, is about as close to a perfect war movie as I can think of. It hits all the notes well and does so without being sappy or showing its hand.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-17804200198669713952018-07-14T12:45:24.469-05:002018-07-14T12:45:24.469-05:00I'm not sure I'm willing to limit Lubitsch...I'm not sure I'm willing to limit Lubitsch to a single masterpiece.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-58595703616713290012018-07-14T12:44:50.418-05:002018-07-14T12:44:50.418-05:00I like Lubitsch as a nomination here, but I'm ...I like Lubitsch as a nomination here, but I'm sticking with Coward and Lean. I think it gets war films right in that it doesn't sugar coat anything. It's a tragedy, yet still manages to have the sort of necessary uplift and nationalistic feel. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-80466934852607079902018-07-14T09:44:26.311-05:002018-07-14T09:44:26.311-05:00Fair enough. It's a fine film for all of its f...Fair enough. It's a fine film for all of its flaws, though.<br /><br />Allegedly, Cohan himself, after seeing the film, praised it and then sarcastically asked who it was about.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-90014285512315957482018-07-14T09:43:03.727-05:002018-07-14T09:43:03.727-05:00Yep--my mistake. Thanks for the correction.
Mrs. ...Yep--my mistake. Thanks for the correction.<br /><br /><i>Mrs. Miniver</i> does have a few flaws and it veers far from reality in terms of just how deprived the people of England really were, but it's a hell of a propaganda film.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-57706031196387937182018-07-14T02:29:37.125-05:002018-07-14T02:29:37.125-05:00I have not watched the two movies you would have p...I have not watched the two movies you would have preffered. That is probably a miss.<br />Unlike everybody else I am not infatuated with Mrs. Miniver, though that is probably more a problem with the screenplay than direction. It does what it sets out to do, I just do not like that very much. <br />I agree that Yankee Doodle Dandy belongs among the nominees, but Best Direction for me goes to To Be or Not to Be. In some ways it reminds me of Dr. Strangelove by approaching a terrible and sensitive subject with humour and thereby makes us swallow it. It worked for Kubrick and it worked for Lubitch.<br />The Magnificent Ambersons belonged among the nominees. Welles was a better director than actor and he did this one very well.TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-1189795871239281872018-07-13T19:35:41.733-05:002018-07-13T19:35:41.733-05:00And I must admit that To Be Or Not To Be is Lubits...And I must admit that To Be Or Not To Be is Lubitsch's masterpiece, from a guy who could take credit for a lot of great movies that you could also call masterpieces without any disagreement from me. It's just that I've seen Yankee Doodle Dandy a lot more times that I've seen To Be Or Not To Be. Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-59318997163925266162018-07-13T19:00:38.124-05:002018-07-13T19:00:38.124-05:00Of these five I'm in agreement that Mrs. Miniv...Of these five I'm in agreement that Mrs. Miniver is the right choice and I love the film but in an open field it wouldn't make my list of nominees. <br /><br />I like the mention of I Married a Witch, Rene Clair did much to make the material a gossamer charmer but much like Cagney and Yankee Doodle Dandy it's Veronica Lake (and Cecil Kellaway) who makes the film golden. I'd say the same for Irving Rapper, Bette Davis and Now, Voyager. <br /><br />There are a few who might not be nomination worthy but who turned in fine directing jobs. The first is Frank Tuttle for This Gun for a Hire, a film which has exerted much influence and proved enduring over the years. William Keighley handles the madness of The Man Who Came to Dinner well though it remains very much a filmed stage play powered by Monty Woolley, Ann Sheridan and Mary Wickes. <br /><br />The last two films you sited are fine films but wouldn't make my list. Welles and Ambersons even in its compromised form definitely belong among the nominees. I think Preston Sturges for Sullivan's Travels and Hitchcock for Saboteur (not everyone is crazy for the film but I love it) deserve consideration. Then there's two balancing acts made by masters. The first is Billy Wilder for The Major and the Minor who takes potentially distasteful material and with a light touch makes it a delight. But my winner would be Ernst Lubitsch for the brilliance of To Be or Not to Be.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-17041033862530068552018-07-13T18:11:09.929-05:002018-07-13T18:11:09.929-05:00Psst ... I think Ernst Lubitsch directed To Be or...Psst ... I think Ernst Lubitsch directed To Be or Not to Be. I'm with you on Wyler ... possibly among all the films. Mrs. Miniver may have some flaws - not many - but his direction was flawless I think.marie_dresslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06334550550983418668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-57991551531894709412018-07-13T15:29:53.334-05:002018-07-13T15:29:53.334-05:00For just anybody but Michael Curtiz, Yankee Doodle...For just anybody but Michael Curtiz, Yankee Doodle Dandy would be the highlight of a career. For Curtiz, I'm not sure it makes the Top Five.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.com