1 Nomination, 0 Wins
Nomination: Best Achievement in Sound Editing - Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
This past year, Academy voters fell in love with a film telling the story of an individual fighting for survival in the most dire of circumstances in an escape vehicle after the destruction of a ship. Unfortunately for J.C. Chandor and team behind All Is Lost, this film was Gravity. While the Academy rewarded Gravity with ten nominations and seven Oscars, it almost completely ignored the similarly themed All Is Lost, granting it just a single nomination for sound editing.
Many were surprised by the lack of recognition by the Academy for All Is Lost, with many expecting a nomination for Robert Redford, perhaps none more than Mr. Redford himself, who blamed the distributors for poor distribution and a lackluster Oscar campaign. However, the true reason why All Is Lost found little recognition from the Academy is far simpler: it didn't deserve to.
All Is Lost is far from a bad movie, in fact I enjoyed it quite a bit. The film is largely a silent film with only one character, and the film moves at the most brisk pace imaginable, with the boat's first accident coming just after the film's opening voiceover. The successes of the film are due nearly entirely to Redford's acting and Chandor's directing. Redford is one of the all time great movie stars, and All Is Lost is the best performance he has given in many years. Few actors are able to convey much emotion without dialogue for even a few minutes, let alone a whole film, and fewer still are able to do so without resorting to cheap theatrics or overacting. The few recent successes of actors alone on screen that come to mind - Sandra Bullock in Gravity, Tom Hanks in Cast Away - still allowed for the actors to interact with imaginary figures, a returned George Clooney in the former and Wilson in the latter. There are no such moments in All Is Lost, with Redford's character focusing entirely on his survival, calmly and rationally. Redford demonstrates the skills of an expert sailor, at least to my non-sailing eyes, and never waivers from his focus or resolve until shortly before the end of the film. Yet while the lack of emotional theatrics is admirable, All Is Lost goes too far, and there's little for the audience to connect to on an emotional level. While I was tense throughout Gravity as I considered Bullock's character's fate, I had no investment in the outcome of Redford's character. Because he has no backstory, no personality outside of his calm expertise, and even no name, there is nothing other than Redford's commanding presence to make the audience care one way or the other whether he lives or dies. For a survival movie, this is critical, and without it I found myself just wondering when the next calamitous event would come. For an ocean survival movie, one expects storms, leaks, and sharks, and all three occur with little originality. With nothing unique about the story and no emotional connection with the main character, viewing All Is Lost is ultimately a hollow experience.
The fact that the film had no character development or plot, yet still held my interest, is a testament to Chandor's direction. I was a fan of his previous film Margin Call, which gained him an Oscar nomination for his screenplay, and was impressed by his restrained direction in All Is Lost. Film shoots on water are notoriously difficult, and it's hard to create and maintain visual interest in one man on a raft, even if that man is Robert Redford. Chandor holds back from anything flashy, and his direction is smart and subtle.
The film received its sole Academy Award nomination for its sound editing, and the work done by Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns is well deserving of its nomination. The rumbling of the storms and the crashing of the waves sound great, but it's the creaking of the boat that really stands out. Sound is at its most important in a film largely without dialogue, as audiences will notice the sound far more than in a conventional film. Boeddeker and Hymns rose to the challenge and did top-notch work on All Is Lost, and their nomination was well deserved.
I would not have been surprised if Redford had been nominated for his performance in All Is Lost, and I understand his frustration at the lack of nomination. Still, it was a tough year in his category, and despite his unrivaled presence, with little character development in the script and no chance to show any emotions other than steady resilience, Redford was failed by the decisions of the screenwriter, not the distributors or the Academy.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
1 Nomination, 0 Wins
Nomination: Best Cinematography, Color - Edward Cronjager
As a result of the Every Oscar Ever project, I've had to watch many films I would love to have skipped, usually due to nominations for technical achievements (Real Steel, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, just to name a few). While the Academy has recognized many of these clunkers in recent years, this is hardly a new phenomenon, and Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is proof that the Academy has always been willing to recognize terrible films for worthy technical achievements.
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef tells a Romeo and Juliet story of the children of families of competing sponge divers off the coast of Florida (I'd like to have been a fly on the wall for that pitch). Tony Petrakis, played by a young Robert Wagner, is the son of a Greek family who falls in love with Gwyneth Rhys (Terry Moore, the self-proclaimed wife of Howard Hughes), the daughter of a Protestant family who has long dominated the sponge business in the region. The story is straightforward with little surprises, and though the setup is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, there is none of the drama, wit, characters, or anything else that made Shakespeare's work and its best adaptations what they were. Instead, we have a flat premise that gives the filmmakers an excuse to set a story on the water. Matters aren't helped by Wagner's performance, as Wagner seems to belong to the school of acting that believes that if one says every line at the upper limit of one's volume, a great performance will result.
This decision to set a story on the water was an important one, because Beneath the 12-Mile Reef served as a showcase for the underwater CinemaScope cinematography of Edward Cronjager. None of this cinematography will look particularly impressive no, especially as a visit to any Best Buy comes with a showcase of jaw-dropping underwater cinematography on the newest generation of high-definition televisions. Still, in its time the film's cinematography was revolutionary, and this was the first time many audiences had seen the underwater world in such vivid beauty. But the nomination was clearly for technical achievement more than for any artistry in the cinematography, as the shots on land are generic and without any character or style. This is surprising, given that Cronjager was one of the great cinematographers of his era. Beneath the 12-Mile Reef was Cronjager's seventh and final Academy Award nomination, and he lensed such great films as Heaven Can Wait (1943) and Cimarron (1931). My best guess is that the fault lies with director Robert D. Webb, who spent years as a second unit director before moving to the director's chair, and whose best remembered films are the Elvis vehicle Love Me Tender (1956) and the Robert Ryan starrer The Proud Ones (1956). Though the technical achievement was impressive, Cronjager was rightfully beaten by Loyal Griggs for his iconic work in Shane (1953), one of the most memorable color cinematography jobs of the 1950s.
Aside from the cinematography, the one notable yet little mentioned thing about this movie is the storyline of the struggles of Greek immigrants to gain acceptance in the United States. The film was released in 1953, just a few years after Greek immigration to the United States surged following the end of World War II and four years after the end of the Greek Civil War. I don't know of any other films that touch on this era for Greek-Americans, and this film has some historical value for this reason. I don't want to overstate this, as the film hardly takes a nuanced look at the issue, but it might nonetheless be interesting for anyone interested in the Greek-American experience.
Other than those few individuals and those who love underwater photography, I can't imagine many people enjoying this film much more than I did. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more from a film about sponges.
Nomination: Best Cinematography, Color - Edward Cronjager
As a result of the Every Oscar Ever project, I've had to watch many films I would love to have skipped, usually due to nominations for technical achievements (Real Steel, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, just to name a few). While the Academy has recognized many of these clunkers in recent years, this is hardly a new phenomenon, and Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is proof that the Academy has always been willing to recognize terrible films for worthy technical achievements.
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef tells a Romeo and Juliet story of the children of families of competing sponge divers off the coast of Florida (I'd like to have been a fly on the wall for that pitch). Tony Petrakis, played by a young Robert Wagner, is the son of a Greek family who falls in love with Gwyneth Rhys (Terry Moore, the self-proclaimed wife of Howard Hughes), the daughter of a Protestant family who has long dominated the sponge business in the region. The story is straightforward with little surprises, and though the setup is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, there is none of the drama, wit, characters, or anything else that made Shakespeare's work and its best adaptations what they were. Instead, we have a flat premise that gives the filmmakers an excuse to set a story on the water. Matters aren't helped by Wagner's performance, as Wagner seems to belong to the school of acting that believes that if one says every line at the upper limit of one's volume, a great performance will result.
This decision to set a story on the water was an important one, because Beneath the 12-Mile Reef served as a showcase for the underwater CinemaScope cinematography of Edward Cronjager. None of this cinematography will look particularly impressive no, especially as a visit to any Best Buy comes with a showcase of jaw-dropping underwater cinematography on the newest generation of high-definition televisions. Still, in its time the film's cinematography was revolutionary, and this was the first time many audiences had seen the underwater world in such vivid beauty. But the nomination was clearly for technical achievement more than for any artistry in the cinematography, as the shots on land are generic and without any character or style. This is surprising, given that Cronjager was one of the great cinematographers of his era. Beneath the 12-Mile Reef was Cronjager's seventh and final Academy Award nomination, and he lensed such great films as Heaven Can Wait (1943) and Cimarron (1931). My best guess is that the fault lies with director Robert D. Webb, who spent years as a second unit director before moving to the director's chair, and whose best remembered films are the Elvis vehicle Love Me Tender (1956) and the Robert Ryan starrer The Proud Ones (1956). Though the technical achievement was impressive, Cronjager was rightfully beaten by Loyal Griggs for his iconic work in Shane (1953), one of the most memorable color cinematography jobs of the 1950s.
Aside from the cinematography, the one notable yet little mentioned thing about this movie is the storyline of the struggles of Greek immigrants to gain acceptance in the United States. The film was released in 1953, just a few years after Greek immigration to the United States surged following the end of World War II and four years after the end of the Greek Civil War. I don't know of any other films that touch on this era for Greek-Americans, and this film has some historical value for this reason. I don't want to overstate this, as the film hardly takes a nuanced look at the issue, but it might nonetheless be interesting for anyone interested in the Greek-American experience.
Other than those few individuals and those who love underwater photography, I can't imagine many people enjoying this film much more than I did. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more from a film about sponges.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Music in My Heart (1940)
1 Nomination, 0 Wins
Nomination: Best Music, Original Song: Chet Forrest and Bob Wright for "It's A Blue World"
The Academy Award ceremony held in 1941, like the other ceremonies held in the era, must have been full of musicians. Nine films were nominated for Best Original Song, 17 films for Best Original Score, and nine more for Best Score. The old Academy rules allowed for large numbers of nominations in several categories, giving scores of musicians the designation "Academy Award nominee." While this was no doubt a great thing for those nominated, for the Oscar completist it can be a mixed blessing. Many of the films nominated in these categories, particularly Best Song, tend to be light and frivolous films that would have had no chance of an Oscar nomination without the music categories. Sometimes this allows me to watch fun and lighthearted comedies that I would have otherwise missed, but more often I am stuck watching dreadful films with one halfway decent song. Thankfully, "Music in My Heart" is an example of the former.
Starring Tony Martin and Rita Hayworth and directed by journeyman director Joseph Santley, "Music in My Heart" is a lighthearted romance with a plotline so forgettable that just 24 hours after watching it, I am having a tough time recalling it to write this post. The pleasure of "Music in My Heart" comes not from the story, however, but instead from a charming leading performance by Tony Martin and some entertaining songs, including the nominated "It's A Blue World." Though not the best song in the film, "It's A Blue World" is a pleasant tune worthy of its nomination, but it had little chance against the Oscar winning "When You Wish Upon a Star."
I'll completely forgot that I watched this film in a month, but it was a short, enjoyable movie and it made for a pleasant afternoon.
Nomination: Best Music, Original Song: Chet Forrest and Bob Wright for "It's A Blue World"
The Academy Award ceremony held in 1941, like the other ceremonies held in the era, must have been full of musicians. Nine films were nominated for Best Original Song, 17 films for Best Original Score, and nine more for Best Score. The old Academy rules allowed for large numbers of nominations in several categories, giving scores of musicians the designation "Academy Award nominee." While this was no doubt a great thing for those nominated, for the Oscar completist it can be a mixed blessing. Many of the films nominated in these categories, particularly Best Song, tend to be light and frivolous films that would have had no chance of an Oscar nomination without the music categories. Sometimes this allows me to watch fun and lighthearted comedies that I would have otherwise missed, but more often I am stuck watching dreadful films with one halfway decent song. Thankfully, "Music in My Heart" is an example of the former.
Starring Tony Martin and Rita Hayworth and directed by journeyman director Joseph Santley, "Music in My Heart" is a lighthearted romance with a plotline so forgettable that just 24 hours after watching it, I am having a tough time recalling it to write this post. The pleasure of "Music in My Heart" comes not from the story, however, but instead from a charming leading performance by Tony Martin and some entertaining songs, including the nominated "It's A Blue World." Though not the best song in the film, "It's A Blue World" is a pleasant tune worthy of its nomination, but it had little chance against the Oscar winning "When You Wish Upon a Star."
I'll completely forgot that I watched this film in a month, but it was a short, enjoyable movie and it made for a pleasant afternoon.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
List of Academy Award nominations and reactions
The Oscar nominees are in. Below is a complete list along with my thoughts in each category. This year has been a busy one for me, so I've seen less of the films than I have at this point in any other year in recent memory. Without a clear runaway winner, this year promises to be an interesting one for Oscar watchers.
Films I have seen are in bold.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
12 Years a Slave
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
I am woefully underqualified to comment on this category, having seen only two of the films. Of the two I have seen, Gravity was by far my favorite. 12 Years a Slave is the likely winner, though don't count out American Hustle for a late run at the trophy, especially after receiving ten nominations, including noms in each of the acting categories.
Films I have seen are in bold.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
12 Years a Slave
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
I am woefully underqualified to comment on this category, having seen only two of the films. Of the two I have seen, Gravity was by far my favorite. 12 Years a Slave is the likely winner, though don't count out American Hustle for a late run at the trophy, especially after receiving ten nominations, including noms in each of the acting categories.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Bring Back Droopy!
Okay, I admit this one's a little far out, but after recently watching "One Droopy Knight" I was reminded just what a great character Droopy is and how he has fallen into neglect in recent generations. I started a petition at The Petition Site, and we're collecting signatures calling for the production of a new Droopy cartoon.
Are there better things in the world to petition for? Of course. But that doesn't mean we can't call for a brand new Droopy cartoon. So pass the word and let's get as many signatures as we can, calling for a new Droopy cartoon.
Sign the petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/351/145/965/bring-back-droopy/#
Are there better things in the world to petition for? Of course. But that doesn't mean we can't call for a brand new Droopy cartoon. So pass the word and let's get as many signatures as we can, calling for a new Droopy cartoon.
Sign the petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/351/145/965/bring-back-droopy/#
Valgaften (Election Night) (1999)
1 Nomination, 1 Win
Win: Best Short Film, Live Action - Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen has a knack for creating Oscar fare. Three of his short films have been Oscar nominated for Best Short Film, Live Action: "Wolfgang," "Ernst & Iyset," and "Valgaften," and the latter won the statuette. Since then, he has written the Best Foreign Language Film winning In a Better World and The Duchess, which won an Oscar for costume design and received a nomination for Art Direction.
While he's helped others win Academy Awards, the sole Oscar awarded to Jensen came for his short Valgaften or Election Night, a film about a man desperately trying to make it to the polls to vote before they close, but disgusted by the prejudices of those he meets along the way. Initially shocked by the bigotry he sees in those he meets, he first becomes overwhelmed by it and eventually finds himself unexpectedly making an unintentional yet hurtful bigoted comment of his own.
Riding in a taxi sure must be a trying experience in Denmark. Though I have heard a cab driver or two espouse bigoted comments, it certainly hasn't happened with frequency or to the same degree that the protagonist endures. Of course, the frequency of the bigotry encountered is meant to prove a point, though I'm not quite sure what the point is. Is it that we are all prejudiced in our own ways, and it's just a matter of degree? Perhaps, though the prejudice he shows is hardly on par with what he hears from cab drivers. Is it that he overreacted to the initial somewhat prejudiced comment he heard, and after seeing what serious prejudice looks like he is less certain in his self righteousness? Perhaps, though that would be a pretty cynical interpretation. Or maybe it's that despite our best intentions, there will always be bigotry in the world, so we might as well accept it, which would be the most hopeless interpretation of all.
I'd love to read any comments regarding what you took away from the short. Am I completely missing an obvious explanation?
Win: Best Short Film, Live Action - Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen
Anders Thomas Jensen has a knack for creating Oscar fare. Three of his short films have been Oscar nominated for Best Short Film, Live Action: "Wolfgang," "Ernst & Iyset," and "Valgaften," and the latter won the statuette. Since then, he has written the Best Foreign Language Film winning In a Better World and The Duchess, which won an Oscar for costume design and received a nomination for Art Direction.
While he's helped others win Academy Awards, the sole Oscar awarded to Jensen came for his short Valgaften or Election Night, a film about a man desperately trying to make it to the polls to vote before they close, but disgusted by the prejudices of those he meets along the way. Initially shocked by the bigotry he sees in those he meets, he first becomes overwhelmed by it and eventually finds himself unexpectedly making an unintentional yet hurtful bigoted comment of his own.
Riding in a taxi sure must be a trying experience in Denmark. Though I have heard a cab driver or two espouse bigoted comments, it certainly hasn't happened with frequency or to the same degree that the protagonist endures. Of course, the frequency of the bigotry encountered is meant to prove a point, though I'm not quite sure what the point is. Is it that we are all prejudiced in our own ways, and it's just a matter of degree? Perhaps, though the prejudice he shows is hardly on par with what he hears from cab drivers. Is it that he overreacted to the initial somewhat prejudiced comment he heard, and after seeing what serious prejudice looks like he is less certain in his self righteousness? Perhaps, though that would be a pretty cynical interpretation. Or maybe it's that despite our best intentions, there will always be bigotry in the world, so we might as well accept it, which would be the most hopeless interpretation of all.
I'd love to read any comments regarding what you took away from the short. Am I completely missing an obvious explanation?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
2 Nominations, 0 Wins
Nomination: Best Sound
Nomination: Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) - Ray Heindorf
Finian's Rainbow is a film of clashing generations. It is directed by one of the leaders of New Hollywood filmmaking but starring one of the most famous faces of Old Hollywood, bold enough to discuss racial issues but backwards enough to use blackface to do so, and exciting in its use of location filming but also far too reliant on silly looking sets.
Finian's Rainbow was first performed on Broadway in 1947, and had a film been made in the 1940's or 1950's it probably would have worked much better. But by the time of the film's release in 1968, the culture had experienced such enormous shifts that the film films more like a strange relic of the past trying too hard to fit into the present day. You know when old people attempt to use modern slang to relate to their grandchildren, but it just makes them look older? That's Finian's Rainbow.
Tommy Steele plays the leprechaun Og, and his performance is a bit of a mess. My only previous exposure to Steele's work was in The Happiest Millionaire, a performance I quite enjoyed. The Happiest Millionaire was just silly enough to allow for Steele's mugging and silliness, but in Finian's Rainbow he plays the role far too broadly, and the performance crosses the line from silly to strange.
Despite all of its weaknesses, Finian's Rainbow is worth watching, if for no other reason than Francis Ford Coppola's direction. Yes, he certainly overdirects at times, but it is the overdirection of a talented youth bursting with ideas rather than the overdirection of a hack filmmaker. Coppola worked with cinematographer Philip Lathrop to free the camera, and what results is the sense of constant movement, giving the film the feel of a lively pace despite its long running time. Some of the shots Coppola creates are silly, but it was good for him to get those out of his system before the film he'd make four years later, The Godfather.
The sound work in the film by M.A. Merrick and Dan Wallin is strong, and unlike many musicals that for some reason undeservedly get nominated for sound Oscars, Finian's Rainbow was well deserving of its nomination. Ray Heindorf's score was a solid effort as well, though it never stood a chance against Johnny Green's score for Oliver!
Nomination: Best Sound
Nomination: Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) - Ray Heindorf
 |
| Photo Courtesy PetulaClark.net |
Finian's Rainbow was first performed on Broadway in 1947, and had a film been made in the 1940's or 1950's it probably would have worked much better. But by the time of the film's release in 1968, the culture had experienced such enormous shifts that the film films more like a strange relic of the past trying too hard to fit into the present day. You know when old people attempt to use modern slang to relate to their grandchildren, but it just makes them look older? That's Finian's Rainbow.
Tommy Steele plays the leprechaun Og, and his performance is a bit of a mess. My only previous exposure to Steele's work was in The Happiest Millionaire, a performance I quite enjoyed. The Happiest Millionaire was just silly enough to allow for Steele's mugging and silliness, but in Finian's Rainbow he plays the role far too broadly, and the performance crosses the line from silly to strange.
Despite all of its weaknesses, Finian's Rainbow is worth watching, if for no other reason than Francis Ford Coppola's direction. Yes, he certainly overdirects at times, but it is the overdirection of a talented youth bursting with ideas rather than the overdirection of a hack filmmaker. Coppola worked with cinematographer Philip Lathrop to free the camera, and what results is the sense of constant movement, giving the film the feel of a lively pace despite its long running time. Some of the shots Coppola creates are silly, but it was good for him to get those out of his system before the film he'd make four years later, The Godfather.
The sound work in the film by M.A. Merrick and Dan Wallin is strong, and unlike many musicals that for some reason undeservedly get nominated for sound Oscars, Finian's Rainbow was well deserving of its nomination. Ray Heindorf's score was a solid effort as well, though it never stood a chance against Johnny Green's score for Oliver!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)