You look at this lineup and see three films everyone knows about and then there's two wildcards that could go either way, we never know. So it should be a good year even if those two are duds, which we have that going for us, which is nice.
1972 Best Picture
The Godfather
Rightly considered one of the greatest films of all time, it's really
hard to find negative things to say about it. And honestly, trying and
wanting to find negative things to say about it is just needless
nitpicking. It's very close to being a perfect film and is a must see,
not just for film nerds, but for anyone that's ever watched a movie in
their lives. We should all know the story of the Corleone family by now
and probably know all the sons' names by heart. We follow Vito and his
sons Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and adopted son Tom Hagen. Each of these
characters are perfectly portrayed by their actors and it's hard to
imagine anyone else in the roles. When you think of the Godfather, you
instantly think of Brando's raspy voiced iteration. When you think of
Michael, all you can see is Pacino. Even James Caan as Sonny and Robert
Duvall as Tom Hagen seem inseparable from their characters. The
underrated actor in the film, though, is John Cazale who never gets the
respect he should as an actor or even as Fredo in the film. They are all
brilliant performances that add to an engaging and intensely compelling
story. We witness the ascendance of Michael as the Godfather and his
arc is so well done that I find it crazy that he wasn't rewarded at all
for his performances in the trilogy. Everything else with the film is
great, too, from the iconic musical score, to the cinematography, to the
minor supporting characters who lend the film its authenticity. My one
gripe might be the time Michael spends in Sicily, which feels
underdeveloped and almost shoehorned in. If you shortened that or
condensed it, would you notice? I don't think so personally but I would
have liked that time to be a little more fleshed out so that Michael's
loss would hit even harder and better explain his turn into a cold,
calculated Don. But overall, The Godfather is without a doubt one of the greatest films of all time, a true masterpiece of film making.
Cabaret
Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! If you can hear the music playing and see Joel Grey performing those lines then you already know. This is my favorite musical of all time and if not for The Godfather, would have easily won Best Picture. It actually won more Oscars than that film, including Best Director for Bob Fosse. It's an absolute classic that really turns the musical genre on it's head. It has a more dark, real life tinge to it. It isn't just happy song and dance and everyone loves each other type of fancy musical. The performances at the Kit Kat Club at first mock and lambast the Nazi ideals but slowly those musical numbers become increasingly more in line with the rise of Nazism. At first we see a Nazi member getting kicked out of the club, but later the owner is beaten in the street and the ending shows the club filled with Nazi members. It's a really great look at the rise of nationalism and how it can slowly creep into every day life as no one steps up to really fight it off. That's the one part of the film. The other part follows Michael York and Liza Minnelli as they become friends and eventual lovers. Liza doesn't have a care in the world at all about what's going on outside of the cabaret and lives carefree and wild. The club is her ticket to stardom and she has the energy necessary to get there. York is the one who disdains everything about the Nazi rise and comments on it unencumbered even to their faces. He does get beaten for it but it just highlights how much the movement has taken hold. The two leads are really great to watch work, Liza especially, and make these moments in between musical numbers worth watching and paying attention to. They could easily just be filler for the next performance by Grey et al, but the story is very compelling and you understand the different ways of thinking of Berlin in the early 1930s through the various characters we meet. Sometimes I go on and on about films I really like, but you should just go see this one right now if you haven't already seen it. I had seen musicals before this and never really enjoyed the genre, but one day a girlfriend sat me down to watch this and it blew my mind on what exactly a musical could be. So praise be to Bob Fosse for introducing me to a genre that I still enjoy to this day and showing me it's not just those 40s and 50s song and dance movies that feel cookie cutter. There's actually an important message beneath the glitz and glamour of the Master of Ceremonies and Liza singing memorable song after memorable song. And that is also a big reason I like this film, the songs are great and you'll be humming them a week later. This is the best musical I've ever seen and it's a shame that it didn't get to win Best Picture. But don't let that take away from just how great this film truly is.
Deliverance
Deliverance. Everyone knows the film. Dueling Banjos. Squeal like a pig. Man rape. Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight (and Ned Beatty). Dangerous hillbillies. But I bet few people today have actually sat down and watched this one from start to finish. You look through the years and there's always a handful that stick out in a wow, that movie was nominated for Best Picture? This is one of those. I'd bet even more people don't realize it was nominated for BP, but it was, and it was a huge box office success. That's why I think it made it's way on to the BP list because it made a lot of money and had a lot of buzz because of certain scenes. The film itself is a pretty quick watch for the most part. Almost non-stop action or tension as we watch a group of four friends canoe down a river that might as well lead to hell for them. Kind of a benign beginning as they head to the river, meet some locals, and then start canoeing down the river. We watch them do that for awhile and it makes a whitewater river trip seem pretty fun and exhilarating. But then they stop and the man rape occurs and things sour rather quickly. The film still stays extremely engaging, however, as the four friends fight for their survival. From there, it is chaos. Things happen and you aren't sure if what you saw happened is right or what the characters think happened is correct. But it's nonetheless intense and dramatic. The acting is mostly just physical as I wouldn't call the performances amazing, just good enough to stay invested in what happens in the end. This is definitely a strange choice and one that probably makes more sense if you were paying attention back in 1972. Nowadays, a film like this would be praised but the shock value wouldn't be there and the familiarity of the survival story would be too much, I think. We've seen many versions of this story played out year after year in different settings and situations. Maybe this hit harder in 72, I dunno. It's a good film that I think more people should actually watch instead of relying on exaggerated ideas of what takes place in the story.
The Emigrants
This is such a strange nomination. To break it down, this film came out in Sweden in early 1971 and was nominated for Best Foreign Film - and lost to an Italian film, The Garden of Finzi-Continis. It was then released in New York in late 1972 and was subsequently nominated in big categories like Picture, Director, Actress, and Screenplay. Almost two years after it was actually released initially. This film started shooting in 1969! It's crazy that because of bad Academy rules this was allowed to be nominated in two straight years. Nominated for Best Picture and didn't even win when nominated for Foreign Film. Amazing. Even crazier is that when it was nominated in this year, it was nominated alongside it's sequel which was in Best Foreign Film. Wrap your head around that. I am glad that the Academy amended their rules to keep this from happening again because besides it creating a headache to think about, it's not really all that great. The story is about a family of poor Swedish farmers and some other people in their little village who have it rough with bad crops and harsh winters and the normal things that being poor brings with it. The family is headed by Max von Sydow who is good and Liv Ullmann who is decent at best. The film is three hours and twelve minutes long and the beginning of the film when we are in the depressing, dour Swedish farmland feels every bit of that length of time. It's a real struggle to get through, especially when there are these visual flourishes from the director that offer nothing to the story. Moments where the camera mimics Ullmann swinging on a swing and lingering too long on some reflection in water. The film could have easily been pared down and still retained the same message and style. I'd say the only good thing about this early part is when things finally get moving and the family and other folks start making the journey to America. That doesn't happen until halfway through but is a welcome breath of fresh air. They travel together by boat and then train and walk a lot and at least this picks the pace of the film up considerably. It's still mostly boring until they actually get to America and get close to Minnesota. Then the depressing tone of the film turns to hopeful as all the tragedies along the way are made worthy by finding beautiful land in America. Also, the film just looks better with more greens and luscious wilderness. I started liking the film at this point even if it is not enough to make the film bearable. I was at least more interested than I had been and wonder if the sequel would be better because of the setting being in America. Either way, not really something you need to waste your time on unless you're a huge fan of von Sydow or Ullmann or long Swedish films. I have no clue how this caught on with the Academy twice but I'm glad my experience with it is over.
Sounder
This one is a bit perplexing to me as one of the five Best films of the year. I really like that a majority black acted film was able to get nominated in a year with a couple of other really great/classic films. But I feel like this film is lacking in the prestige that should, at least in theory, come with being a Best Picture nominee. The film is based on a young adult novel about a boy and his dog and their slice of life as sharecroppers. The father is sent to a prison work camp in the beginning, so the family has to fend for themselves for a year. After watching, the film goes by so quickly that it feels like it's just skimming through important scenes in the book. The dog who is the title of the film, isn't really a huge deal in the film either, or at least isn't made to feel as emotionally important to the boy or the story. The dog does get shot in the face early on and wanders off before returning later. The boy also dotes on the dog but really the dog is more of a prop than a character which is strange for a film named after the dog. My biggest issue is that the film seems low key, where the film keeps a lot of things distant from the viewer. Like the emotional, dramatic parts don't seem to hit hard because the film doesn't let those moments build and breathe, it just moves on with the story. I did actually like the film and it's a decent, enjoyable watch that positively focuses on a black family. There's just something about the film that feels slight to me. It was like an indie film made on a budget (made for under a million) that didn't realize how sincerely good and powerful it's story could be. I definitely wanted some parts to resonate with me on an emotional level more than they did. This feels more like the Cliffs Notes version of the story and I wanted to see the full version. Sounder is an interesting inclusion in the Best Picture pantheon and I don't begrudge it being here. It's not too often a film about the black experience even ends up here, especially in 1972. It was never going to win but I do wish it had been more competitive in that sense. This is worth a watch, just don't expect a masterpiece.
Those two films I was wondering if they would be duds, well, they ended up (mostly) being duds. The Emigrants is a slog. Coming in at over three hours and it took me days to finish. The beginning is just rough before it starts to become more interesting in the last 20-30 minutes. I don't think it belongs in this group but I guess I can see the argument for it. Easy 5th spot for me. Sounder was strange because the film felt so slight, like it glossed over the story and only briefly touched on all the important moments. There's a great film there that doesn't quite come to the surface. I really wanted to like this one, too. Deliverance is a weird inclusion but probably felt way more daring and important back then. Today, these types of films are dime a dozen. It's cool that it's on here and makes for a very interesting entry into the Oscar pantheon. Was never going to win, though. Cabaret is sadly in second but would have easily won in most years, I believe. It's such a great film, a classic musical, and highly entertaining. It just happened to run into The Godfather buzzsaw. That's the clear cut winner and one of the most obvious choices ever. Cabaret at least gives it a good run for its money. Overall, this is a pretty good list. Two amazing classic films, one fun and interesting choice, and then a disappointing film that is still a decent little film, and then the long, dull Swedish mess. Let's get to the next year so I can finally move on from this one!
Oscar Winner: The Godfather
My Winner: The Godfather
Cabaret
Deliverance
Sounder
The Emigrants
No comments:
Post a Comment