Finally, we are at the end of the 60s and can move on! I'll actually be going modern with finishing up the two most recent years in 2020 and 2021, so that should be fun. But first we have an interesting group of films with some I don't know much about and am hoping, like always, they are some hidden gems.
1960 Best Picture
The Apartment
I kind of feel like for any big classic film like this I can just paste the whole I'm so excited to finally watch this film I've been putting off for forever and can't wait to watch it and see what makes it so great. And this is truly one of those films that earns and lives up to the perfect or almost perfect designation and is an honest to God classic that swept 1960 with Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globes (the first time ever for that). If all the awards shows were around now, it probably would have had like twenty Best Picture wins. I actually thought it would be more cute and charming, and it is, but it also has some serious dramatic moments I really wasn't expecting. It's more of a dramedy than straight comedy that I was anticipating and it made for a more enjoyable experience. It's a very adult type of film in that it is smart and treats the viewer like an adult and isn't so cutesy with serious topics. It also has some legit great performances from Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine and even the sort of villain figure of Fred MacMurray who was more of a loving father figure and his role upset some folks expecting that. The direction from Billy Wilder is fantastic and I actually loved his decision to basically do zero closeups as it helps set an intimate but not in your face intimate tone that makes the film better. I haven't even said what the film is about yet! It's about Lemmon who is an insurance guy at a big firm in NYC who lends his apartment out to a few executives in the company in hopes of getting promoted. Comedy and drama ensue from that and Lemmon falls for the elevator operator MacLaine who has other things going on. Trying to be vague because it is best to go in blind on this one and just enjoy the story as it reaches its end because the story is satisfying. Honestly, one of the better wins in this category and probably one of the few comedy/drama films that could challenge for tops among all currently now 94 winners. That's a high bar but this film clears it with plenty of room.
The Alamo
I loved these types of films when I was growing up. My Dad is a big Western fan and liked John Wayne, so on lazy Saturdays, films like this or Rio Bravo or She Wore a Yellow Ribbon would be playing and we'd sit and watch before going out to eat with the grandparents. I loved Wayne as an actor and thought he was so cool and all that. Then of course I grew up and you kinda get to know more about the man instead of the star. His politics aside, he was a great and prolific actor who many a young kid saw because he was always in Westerns and war films. This film was his directorial debut and he sank a lot of his own money into it. It was one of the biggest draws of 1960 but only began making money after about ten years. Don't feel like I need to really explain the film. Wayne is kinda miscast as Davy Crockett, but I guess it works in a larger than life kinda way. His militia from Tennessee goes down to Texas to help out against Santa Anna. They hunker down, defend, and then they all die. Heroic stuff. You can argue the actual history and merit of their actions and whether or not they are on the wrong side of history in trying to keep black slavery a thing in that area (among other controversial issues). Lots of good arguments to read online about that, but historical accuracy is not something to expect of Hollywood in the late 50s and early 60s and especially not of the ultra patriotic Wayne. The film looks good enough, not really any flashy scenes or anything truly memorable. Just a film that gets to the point and follows these rag tag group of men as they defend to their last man. In reality, the men who fought at the Alamo were rather cosmopolitan, with many from Europe and a large number were Mexican themselves. The Tennessee folks were actually small in number. The action is done really well, with lots of closeup on the fighting and no skimping on explosions and violence. The end fighting is the best part of the film and makes wading through the by-the-numbers beginning worth it. I don't know if this is really an Oscar worthy film, especially for Best Picture. Maybe the Academy was giving John Wayne some props for his first directed film, seeing as they hadn't yet given him an Oscar. Worth searching out because it is a decent film and has some good performances from Laurence Harvey and Richard Widmark. It's entertaining, just maybe not at an Oscar level.
Elmer Gantry
This film is essentially a film that lets Burt Lancaster, in the title role, go off and do his thing. He is Elmer Gantry, a traveling salesmen who sees a revival with a hot woman (Jean Simmons, who probably should have been nominated for Best Actress) and decides he wants to get into the religious grift. The film really does just allow Lancaster to do what he does best and that's why he won the Oscar for it. It's also why Shirley Jones, as a prostitute who used to know Gantry and then gets her house raided by his morality police and then tries to blackmail him but feels guilty. A complicated role that won the Oscar possibly because she was going against her good girl type, but I enjoyed a ton. The film is interesting because it's kind of against the revival, extreme evangelicalism, religiousness that was an issue. Though this is set in the 1920s, it parallels the 1950/60s at the time and while it doesn't seem to suggest either way is right or wrong, it allows the viewer to do that. Though I do wish the film would have hammered Gantry a bit for his behavior because it is obviously reprehensible garbage and the film seems to excuse his actions. That's my big gripe that this dude should be held accountable for his actions but he slithers out of everything and doesn't really suffer any consequences. This is a great film that feels relevant to today unfortunately because of the loser MAGA folks who eat up bullshit like these people eat up revivalism. Mostly a film to watch for Lancaster's performance but it's a film to make you think and I appreciate those.
Sons and Lovers
This was an interesting film because it was the one in this group I knew the least about and also has the most sensual game of cribbage ever filmed. It's an adaptation of a D. H. Lawrence novel, so you know you're probably getting something dealing with relationships and sexuality within an industrial setting. And that's exactly what this film is about. Paul (a possibly miscast Dean Stockwell, who is the only American in the cast because the producers wanted a recognizable name/face for American audiences and who has an iffy accent) is a young man who has an artistic gift and lives in an English coal mining town with his overbearing mother and a drunken, sometimes violent father who doesn't support his artistic notions. He loves a local girl, Miriam, who has a strict mother and views sex as sinful and dirty and prefers to keep their relationship more platonic, much to Paul's chagrin. An older, wealthy man likes one of Paul's paintings and hires him to pursue his gift as his patron. Paul meets Clara (Mary Ure) who is is very independent woman who is separated from her husband, a suffragette, and very in tune with her sexuality. That's where I'll stop because you can see how much is going on even with stuff I left out and the cavalcade of characters continues in ways you might not expect. It's a quick hour and forty minute film that is worth watching because so much intrigue is going on. I actually enjoyed Stockwell's performance, though the critics didn't quite like his casting. Ure is an interesting breath of fresh air and the black and white photography just lends more weight to the story. The story comes from well seasoned stock so it feels a bit more important and serious and may well be why it was chosen for this group. I don't understand Trevor Howard's nomination in Best Actor for playing the father because he barely factors into the film. And I feel like the story could be longer to flesh out some of the details and make things more fluid rather than just having one relationship suddenly end and someone is back in another place (you'll know when you watch). I think it would bring a bit more prestige and gravitas to the film, though I enjoyed it for what it was. Worth watching because I feel this might be a hidden gem for some, this is a mild interest for me.
The Sundowners
This film is one of the forgotten nominees that no one ever remembers or brings up when discussing Best Picture films. The actressexual idiots that I read when looking into Glynis Johns nomination all declared the film utterly dull and boring. That's why you watch the films yourself instead of relying on anyone to tell you how to feel about something, including me. I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would which shouldn't be all that surprising with a stacked cast of Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov and the aforementioned Johns. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann who was himself an Oscar winner previously and directed a few classic films. The film is a pretty straightforward telling of a family in the Australian Outback who rove around herding sheep all over. Kerr and her son want to settle down, but Mitchum is resistant as he loves the nomadic lifestyle. While herding, they meet up with Ustinov and drive the sheep to a town after escaping a brush fire and there they all settle down for a while. We have seen many films like this in the previous decade of the 50s and before where we follow one family as they go through life's ups and downs. This one just comes with a more exotic locale than simply the American West. What I love most about the film is the strength of the acting and the characters. It is pretty great all the way through. Kerr was nominated for Best Actress and you've got some really entertaining turns from Ustinov and Johns while Mitchum is his normally solid self. The supporting and tertiary characters are pretty good, also, which helps solidify the story for me. I was never bored and didn't find this film to be dull at all. It's got a good mix of comedy and action and drama to keep anyone entertained. There's a lot more that goes on once the family reaches the town with sheep shearing and horse racing, but I kinda love that the film doesn't really have a neatly wrapped up happy ending. It forgoes that for one where the family comes together again but still will have to continue struggling and I appreciated that it didn't just end in the most obvious way. The film looks great and of course the Australian Outback makes for a beautiful backdrop for a story. This is why we watch things for ourselves in case other people lead us astray and keep us from seeing something we actually enjoy.
A pretty decent way to end a decade. The Alamo was something I enjoyed as a kid, but never thought of it as a Best Picture quality film and I still don't. The weak link for this year. Sons and Lovers was surprisingly modern feeling to an extent and had some good performances. Elmer Gantry was a bombastic film for Burt Lancaster and got you thinking about how easy it is to take advantage of people with religion and we are still seeing that today. The Sundowners surprised me with how much I truly enjoyed it. Kind of a simple, straightforward story that shows life down under with some really wonderfully solid performances. And then The Apartment is an almost perfect film that has a lot to love about it and would be around the top of all time best Best Picture winners. I am really surprised, though, that Spartacus and Exodus didn't get nominated. Maybe subject matter plays a part, but they were the highest grossing film and a top 5 grossing film, respectively. I wonder what the story was behind them missing out in this category. Great year to end a decade and I can't wait to start the 50s, just have to make a little detour first.
Oscar Winner: The Apartment
My Winner: West Side Story
The Sundowners
Elmer Gantry
Sons and Lovers
The Alamo
No comments:
Post a Comment