Well, looks like I accidentally deleted this intro or else I forgot to finish it before I hit publish. Anyway, we got an all time great film that I'm pumped to watch again and some films that I have been looking forward to for a long time. There's also an unknown in Fanny, so let's see how that one plays out.
1961 Best Picture
West Side Story
Honestly, this is an all time winner. Just one of the most fantastic musicals ever produced and if you don't believe me go fucking watch it. I am enamored with the like twenty plus minute opening of the gangs dancing and prancing around the neighborhoods. It's colorful and bright and beautifully shot and tells us exactly what we are in for. Gangs that dance are going to clash with each other hardcore. It was the first film to win Best Director for two directors until the Coen Bros did it decades later. Jerome Robbins was a renowned Broadway guy brought in to shoot the dance numbers and was fired after about four of them were complete because he ran over budget so much and dancers were hurt and money was now tight. Robert Wise did the dramatic parts and the rest of the musical numbers, with input from the fired Robbins, and he deferred to and consulted with Robbins even after he was fired, which is pretty awesome. Wise insisted on the double billing and we got some really inspired scenes out of all of this. Some great acting as well. I think Rita Moreno might be the greatest Best Supporting Actress winner of all time. The story has romance, intrigue, lots of action and violence, some death, tender moments. It also has some of the most recognizable songs from a musical that you probably don't realize are from the same film. Just look at the Wikipedia or go on Spotify and listen to "America," "Maria," "Tonight," "I Feel Pretty," and "Cool." You may not recognize the names, but you absolutely know the songs. And I feel you may even know some of the other songs in the film, that's how amazing this musical is from a song standpoint. Usually it's like one song you recognize because it's ultra popular but this has multiple! I'd argue that this is probably the greatest musical of all time and I think I'd die on that hill. Just a complete film that is also a musical. It won ten of the eleven Oscars it was nominated for and won a special Honorary Oscar for Jerome Robbins which felt like you got booted while making a masterpiece, here's your fuck you to the producers. It got a remake from Spielberg that did well, so I'm curious what all he changed. But this one is an all time film and you probably have already watched it numerous times well before finding this shitty blog.
Fanny
Yikes. I did not like this one at all. Just a boring slog for something that maybe could have been good? Apparently this was a big musical on Broadway and had been adapted from the original play into a bunch of successful films in different countries in the 30s and later. So this had pedigree, and yet, the studio decided that this new film would have no songs and be a straight comedy/drama. Studio thought musicals were on the way out, yet look at what won Best Picture this year. And that's the thing, this film at times feels like it's going to burst into a song but then never does. So it feels a bit off. Also, much of the acting is just terrible and suffering from overacting. I think some of it is due to the dubbing where the voices just seem to not match, but also it just simply has bad acting. Leslie Caron was fine, Maurice Chevalier probably should have taken Charles Boyer's spot in the Best Actor list (though I would take neither, just Chevalier campaigned hard and was the better role), and the rest of the actors were plain bad. It really does take you out of the film and makes it seem interminable. The story is a guy gets Caron preggers but then goes out to sea to find adventure though he doesn't know she is pregnant. Old creepy guy Chevalier, who is like 70, marries 18 year old Caron and takes on the son she has as his own. There is tension when the guy comes back from abroad and his dad, Boyer, prevents him from disrupting the marriage. The first half of the film is so lighthearted that you think this is nothing but a comedy. But then the second half is more drama and family tension and it feels like a tale of two films. I said it was boring and you might be thinking after reading what I just wrote that this was actually intriguing, but no, it's not. It just doesn't seem to do anything right. I don't know how this made into a Best Picture lineup other than the studio bought it's way in or else the people from this year just had bad taste. This is one worth skipping unless you are a degenerate Oscar fan like me.
The Guns of Navarone
Here we have the token war film and I'm only half kidding. It does seem like the Best Picture category has to have a war film, though it's not always true. Anyway, this was one of the biggest box office pictures of the year, only behind the winning West Side Story. Audiences loved the star studded war thriller. It is loaded with the miscast Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, and a brief appearance by Richard Harris. Peck's character was from New Zealand in the book, but he didn't want to do an English accent, so everyone thought he was just some American which was not accurate at all. That's a minor quibble because it doesn't really effect the story at all. Almost all of the cast was too old for their actual counterparts from the story, but they are Hollywood stars so we overlook that. The story is of six commandos who are tasked to infiltrate an impenetrable fortress on a Greek island to blow up two big guns that are wreaking havoc on Allied ships. It's an entertaining film with big names and some good action. There are, to me, some times where the film really stalls out and becomes a bit boring as I am waiting for something to start happening. It doesn't have that flow of constant action and movement towards the inevitable end. That is okay sometimes if we are getting character development or whatever, but this film just doesn't have a good pace. It is an entertaining film like I said and I enjoyed watching it, but it isn't a strong war film compared to many others in this same category like The Longest Day or (not in this specific category) The Dirty Dozen. Decent film but not mind blowing or anything.
The Hustler
This feels like a film tailor made just for me. Gorgeous black and white film starring Paul Newman about a gritty, sports drama involving pool as the game of choice. Great acting and direction, it won the Oscar for Cinematography and Production Design, Black and White deservedly so. I'm a huge fan of The Color of Money and felt that it was a shame that it took until that film that Newman won his Oscar because I think I've given it to him in this blog like every single time he's been nominated. To say I was excited to finally watch this one is an understatement and knew full well going in that my expectations were exceedingly high. But it meets them because this is just one of those all around classic films that you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy it. What amazes me about the film is that almost every shot is done by the actors themselves, which points to their dedication and that folks like Jackie Gleason, who was actually an incredible pool player in his own right. So it lends that authenticity to the film where a shot doesn't always cut away from someone shooting or only film their face, we get to see the action as intended. The story is great as we see this young Newman act cocky and arrogant as he tries to beat the best pool player in the world. There is also a romantic story in there between Newman and Piper Laurie, which actually helps deepen the intensity of the film and rounds out Newman's character. That romance is a tragic one of two addicted people feeding into each other's problems and is fantastic work from Laurie. It's just an all around great film that is a classic for a reason and one that you shouldn't wait to watch like I did.
Judgment at Nuremberg
Been looking forward to this one for such a long time. Has a hugely star studded cast featuring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Richard Widmark, and William Shatner. It really is a great film and more than that, it's an all time trial film. You list law films and it's always top ten. So this film is about Tracy, who is an American judge brought over to Germany to judge some Nazis. It is basically an amalgamation of real life trials all rolled into one to supply the drama. Tracy is basically the conduit for the audience as Schell, Lancaster, and Widmark are the driving forces of the film. They are the ones who are prosecuting or defending in the film and it really allows Schell to make sane arguments for the Nazi side. The performances are obviously the highlight of the film, as four of them were nominated and Schell won for Best Actor. He is phenomenal and I feel like his win speaks to his passion in the role. I don't much care about the character arc for Tracy as he experiences some of Germany and meets Marlene Dietrich, a widowed Nazi. The meat and potatoes are the courtroom scenes where Schell is glorious and Widmark makes his mark, ahem. The subject is noble and apparently a few folks wanted to work for less than they normally got to be in this important film. The courtroom scenes are pretty dynamic with some rotating and split depth perception where one side is focused on one person, the other on someone else and it changes kind of thing. It has an incredible ending monologue from Tracy and is just a fantastic film overall. This is one to watch just for the historical perspective alone, but you'll stay for the great performances.
Not a bad group at all. An all time winner in West Side Story, a great billiards and character study in The Hustler, and a trial film that allows the defense to make sense and cast doubt, Judgment at Nuremberg. There is a generic WWII film that is the stuff of Allied fantasy but does have great actors and a good story in The Guns of Navarone. Fanny just sucks. It does not deserve to be in this category, but it seemed to be a big box office hit and so here we are. Terrible film that needs to bow out and let another great film get recognized. An easy winner this year and every year. Let's get to the end of the 60s and get out of here.
Oscar Winner: West Side Story
My Winner: West Side Story
The Hustler
Judgment at Nuremberg
The Guns of Navarone
Fanny
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