tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post7823476378273444962..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Director 1941SJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-92159863535291763282015-08-25T20:06:17.323-05:002015-08-25T20:06:17.323-05:00I was really surprised at just how engaging I foun...I was really surprised at just how engaging I found <i>The Little Foxes</i>, and a huge part of that comes from Wyler's work with the camera. It's a little surprising that the film isn't better known, because it's a damn workshop on camera use. <br /><br />I agree completely on Huston. If I could only add one, he'd be my pick, and he'd battle with Welles for the top position. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-77143673870737692862015-08-25T16:54:19.047-05:002015-08-25T16:54:19.047-05:00For these five I would line them up the same way. ...For these five I would line them up the same way. I agree totally about Mr. Jordan it's the cast that drives the film, the direction is just sort of following them around. <br /><br />Welles direction is deservedly storied but I love how Wyler keeps the action varied in Foxes. The pivotal staircase scene with Bette and Herbert Marshall is a great deal of Davis's performance but his positioning of the camera for the impact of the two shot is brilliant. It's a close call. <br /><br />I'd keep the two of them replace the other three with Raoul Walsh for High Sierra which he makes wonderfully tense, Preston Sturges for the light as air The Lady Eve and John Huston for Maltese Falcon. If that had been the lineup Huston would have been my pick over Welles. Kane at times feels stodgy now while Falcon never does.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-17250892482442188082015-05-04T08:24:54.970-05:002015-05-04T08:24:54.970-05:00I agree. Had The Maltese Falcon been nominated, it...I agree. Had <i>The Maltese Falcon</i> been nominated, it would have been a much closer second place, but still very much second place.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-45919733953209335652015-05-04T07:36:45.733-05:002015-05-04T07:36:45.733-05:00I haven't seen The Little Foxes yet. You'...I haven't seen The Little Foxes yet. You've made me look forward to it a little bit now.<br /><br />For me there's no other choice but Citizen Kane. Everything else is so far behind you can't even see them from there.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-83119918082022885572015-05-03T10:22:10.921-05:002015-05-03T10:22:10.921-05:00They Died with Their Boots On is a movie I inexpli...They Died with Their Boots On is a movie I inexplicably adore far beyond its actual merit. It's just so well-crafted in so many significant ways that I can completely forgive it for being revisionist fluff.<br /><br />Erroll Flynn and Olivia DeHaviland.<br /><br />Sydney Greenstreet as Winfield Scott!<br /><br />"Garry Owen" every five minutes. <br /><br />So much fun!Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-13337754715996423692015-05-03T09:03:34.380-05:002015-05-03T09:03:34.380-05:00I've seen High Sierra. It's a solid film, ...I've seen <i>High Sierra</i>. It's a solid film, and might deserve further consideration. I haven't seen <i>The Died with Their Boots on</i>.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-13776454778480933432015-05-03T02:04:53.193-05:002015-05-03T02:04:53.193-05:00No doubt that Welles' achievement on Citizen K...No doubt that Welles' achievement on Citizen Kane towers above anything else from 1941.<br /><br />It is worth mentioning Raoul Walsh, who had a good year. Both High Sierra and They Died With Their Boots On are ambitious productions that are very well put together.aceblackblog.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08404695143187261837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-62851493369370340952015-05-02T13:07:50.225-05:002015-05-02T13:07:50.225-05:00"Best Cary Grant movie" is an easy choic..."Best Cary Grant movie" is an easy choice for me: <i>North by Northwest</i>. That's also my choice for "best Hitchcock movie," "best 1950s movie," and "best freakin' movie every made."SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-17827812041347240442015-05-02T11:59:54.378-05:002015-05-02T11:59:54.378-05:00You're such a big Cary Grant fan that I'm ...You're such a big Cary Grant fan that I'm surprised you've never seen Suspicion!<br /><br />I can never decide if my favorite Cary Grant movie is Suspicion or The Awful Truth. Probably Suspicion. The last time I DVRed Suspicion, I kept it a dew days so I could watch it again almost immediately. I've never done with that with The Awful Truth. Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-56539197269180638412015-05-02T08:27:40.571-05:002015-05-02T08:27:40.571-05:00And that's really what it comes down to for me...And that's really what it comes down to for me. Welles reinvented what we could do with movies. There's a shot early in the film where the camera is moving toward a skylight. During a lightning strike, the camera moves through the window seamlessly--it's subtle, but it's also magnificent in how well it works. And <i>Kane</i> is littered with moments like that.<br /><br />You're probably right about <i>The Maltese Falcon</i>. It might just have been too new.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-71161200412618450922015-05-02T08:25:50.732-05:002015-05-02T08:25:50.732-05:00My issue with Sergeant York is that it hasn't ...My issue with <i>Sergeant York</i> is that it hasn't aged particularly well. It's also a case where, regardless of how accurate it may be to the real story, it <i>feels</i> like it's been sanitized. <br /><br />As for <i>Suspicion</i>, I can't comment. It's one of the Hitchcocks that is on my list that I haven't seen yet. I'll get there, though.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-84975382054584098632015-05-02T03:33:20.189-05:002015-05-02T03:33:20.189-05:00I am with you all the way here. Citizen Kane is a ...I am with you all the way here. Citizen Kane is a director's tour de force. It is Welles movie 100% and he almost reinvents the media. If that is not a director's movie, I do not know what is and then it actually matters less if you like the movie of not. He should have been rewarded for what he did.<br />I agree with you 100% on Sergeant York and How Green Was My Valley. They must have been picked for other reasons than director's effort. I like your tin foil comment. That is exactly how I felt. <br />John Huston was probably too new at the game to be recognized for the Maltese Falcon and my guess is that the Academy was not ready for the seediness of film noir. In retrospect we can give it the credit it deserve but I suppose it was difficult to know at the time that this movie would herald an entirely new genre that would dominate Hollywood for a decade.TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-73229972760766866912015-05-02T00:20:38.166-05:002015-05-02T00:20:38.166-05:001941 is a very very tough year, and I'm with y...1941 is a very very tough year, and I'm with you that John Huston's direction on The Maltese Falcon is a major omission for the Oscars. I would have a hard time choosing between Huston and Welles.<br /><br />But there's one movie you missed that makes this even harder: Suspicion, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I seem to like it a lot more than most Hitchcock fans. (It's my favorite Hitchcock.) I watched it three times last year and it's always fresh.<br /><br />Hitchcock, Wells or Huston. For me, it's gotta be ... Alfred Hitchcock. Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-36753116977323543662015-05-02T00:12:25.938-05:002015-05-02T00:12:25.938-05:00Before I say anything else, I wanted to say someth...Before I say anything else, I wanted to say something about Sergeant York. It's quite possibly the best propaganda film ever made. Not knowing the context of the time, you can't even tell that it's a movie with an agenda because the true story is amazing to begin with and the people who put together were all so good at what they did. And also, they were very sincere and believed in the cause so strongly.<br /><br />It was also a bit of a wasted effort on that front because isolationist sentiments were looking more and more ridiculous when Sergeant York opened at the end of 1941. And then December 7 rolled around and it wasn't ridiculous anymore so much as treasonous.<br /><br />I love Sergeant York, by the way. Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.com