Three reasons why it's difficult to take the Oscars seriously:
1. Cary Grant never won for best actor.
2. Hitchcock never won for best director.
3. Crash won for best film. One of the worst films ever made; it's more of a lecture, actually, than a film, without a single credible character or line of dialogue. It's like a guy yelling "Racism is bad!" in your face for two hours. Or one hour in my case since I left the cinema - the only time I've walked out on a film before it was finished.
Anyway, back to Grant. It's difficult to choose, but I'd say His Girl Friday might be his best performance. I haven't seen all his films, though. I've been buying some more of them lately. I had planned on watching Operation Petticoat first, but gave up after half an hour. Apparently not all his films are masterpieces, especially from his later period. So I rather popped in Holiday, his second film with Katharine Hepburn, directed by George Cukor. If you base a comedy on how many times you laugh, this is a poor film. It's more appealing than actually funny. Grant gets to show off some of his acrobatic skills, and of course he's got great chemistry with Hepburn. The film's got class, okay?
Oh, and reason number four: Al Pacino won for best actor - not for The Godfather or Scarface or Dog Day Afternoon, but for Scent of a Woman.
You make some good points. Add to Hitchcock Orson Welles, who I don't believe ever received an Oscar for director or best picture. Another cinematic crime.
ReplyDelete"Crash"? How about unmemorable, overheated, and/or overrated Oscar winners such as "Out of Africa," "Gandhi," "Silence of the Lambs," "Shakespeare in Love." None of these were particularly outstanding or Oscar-worthy in my world. The list of cheesy Oscar winners is too long, I don't want to take up all of your blog space!
Grant was the best mumbler. Each mumble meant a different thing...
ReplyDeleteI'm particularly fond of I Was a Male War Bride. Also Monkey Business. His Girl Friday is perfection, of course.
But the toppermost of the poppermost for me is Bringing up Baby.
Oh come on, Greenblatt, Silence of the Lambs is a great film! American Beauty on the other hand...
ReplyDeleteYes, Nadie, Bringing up Baby is very good, but I still think His Girl Friday, Philadelphia Story and Only Angels Have Wings are my top three.
or what about The Awful Truth or My Favorite Wife. Only Angels have wings is brilliant. Also Gandhi was pretty good thats a big movie and I think it should win just based on the number of extras. Also Silence of the Lambs has great production design.
ReplyDeleteI love BRINGING UP BABY and PHILADELPHIA STORY. Grant was pretty cool in CHARADE and pretty much all the Hitchcock films he made. Of course, there's also that dark Capra oddity, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. I never quite made it through GUNGA DIN but people swear by that one.
ReplyDeleteI agree regarding AMERICAN BEAUTY, that was a dud. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, while I know is iconic, didn't do much for me personally. I wouldn't watch it a second time. Such are the movies, a flashpoint for discussion and debate.
Let me know when you get to 1970s Hollywood, esp. Peckinpah and Ashby, those are two of the greatest directors of all time in my book.
I quit watching the Oscars myself when "Shakespeare in Love" beat "Saving Private Ryan" for Best Picture, and I've never regretted it.
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