THANK YOU! Sunrise is one of the greatest movies I have EVER seen. And I mean sound, silent, black and white, color, English, non-English, new, old, the whole bird. Absolutely happy to see "Sunrise" get its due because that is a masterpiece of all masterpieces. If Murnau hadn't died in a car accident a few years later, who knows what that guy would have done. PS: His previous two films, "Faust " and "The Last Laugh" are outrageously incredible as well.
Yeah, for a lot of those 50s nominations, BOTH films are absolute masterpieces. I wish we didn't have this competitive spirit where SOMETHING has to be "first" or "best overall" instead of recognizing each film for its unique strengths.
I don't think a "Best Picture," award should be synonymous with a "most effort put in a film" award. From what I gathered from your discussion of Sunrise, you see it's merits mostly due to the outstanding difficulties and scale of it's production, which I agree, is definitely worth merit. But, I don't think that films like Rogue One should be seen as better than films like Moonlight simply because it was harder to make. Because in admitting that, you're essentially just setting a precedent that only allows for blockbuster films to win these awards. I don't think going back to the old system is a great way to counter this either, since I think in a variety of cases it's just going to reward consumerism over actual artistic merit, which I think goes against the spirit of filmmaking and creative expression as a whole.
I agree with you, it is the greatest silent movie ever made, at least from what I have seen. My next two are Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Modern Times by Chaplin.
Wings is such an incredible film. I watched it a few years ago and could not get over how innovative it was, not to mention sexy. I have not seen Sunrise but I can’t wait to see it now.
Haven't seen Sunrise yet either, yes I'm curious too! Wings is so impressive, isn't it, since the scenes are real-life action. The length of the movie didn't mind me at all because the story is so good.
I think when Fargo lost in '96 is when I threw my hands up and thought the Academy lost their minds...... There were a lot of head scratching over the years but that was the one that stumped me!
I agree. How "The English Patient" could possibly beat out "Fargo" for Best Picture is a mystery never to be solved. Even today, people talk about "Fargo". I don't think "The English Patient" is remembered even being made.
@@zethraelofteldrassil3149, The English Patient, what's that? .......Funny aside, I went to the USC Film school in the early '80s but ended up in Law instead of Film. A part of me feels cheated, because life happens, but a big part of me feels relived because I've watch the industry take a huge-slow slide into the shitter over the last 30+ years and I was not part of that death march. I still write and have had a book series come up for option several times but I've pushed back because ..... the industry sucks. Anymore, everything they touch they trash. Even the new DUNE is brilliant filmmaking but terrible adaptation. It's soul crushing to watch.
Best Best Picture? "It Happened One Night" 5 Oscars and a classic example of the kind of flick the Academy should be awarding Oscars to. Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Writing.
Great story. When I first saw Sunrise, I was blown away. I knew it won some sort of artistic merit Oscar but not best picture. I’m glad you explained the history of that award. But you also make a strong case for two top movie Oscar awards, especially now. I agree.
True enough, but they're not necessarily completely separated. There's nothing officially preventing Animated, Documentary, or Foreign Language feature nominees from being double-nominated for Best Picture as well. Parasite is a very prominent example. It just doesn't usually happen. It would be interesting to know if the original guidelines in 1929 allowed films to be nominated in both Best Picture categories.
That's true, although animators complain that they're in a kind of childhood ghetto, and not really allowed to compete with the big kids. In theory, the two "Bests" could go to the same movie. Oppenheimer and Barbie would be possibilities, this year. Although, like those other feature awards, it's more likely the Academy members would split their votes.
Kind of crazy to consider that a decade before the first Academy Awards, Wings director William A. Wellman and Sunrise director F.W. Murnau were both fighter pilots, on opposite sides of WWI. Considering how dangerous a job that was, the history of cinema could have been a lot different if one or both of them had been shot down. Potentially, one director could even have shot down the other
My next door neighbor was William Wellman's grandson he had amazing stories about crawling under the table while his grandfather played cards with Fay Wray etc
I think the circumstances of Citizen Kane is a bit odd since the reason for it not getting more Oscars than it did was mostly political and most of Hollywood were scared of William Randolph Hearst I believe. In any case people who actually saw How Green Was My Valley said it was a very good film. I haven't seen it but I wouldn't be surprised if it was and most of the dislike of the film had more to do that it beat Citizen Kane.
@@adrianmizen5070 I think many people have already seen Citizen Kane but the question is do people saying "How Green Was my Valley is the worst Oscar winner' have seen How Green Was my Valley?
How did Peter Greenaway's 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover' get completely overlooked/ignored at the 1990 Oscars ? Yes it was a crowded year, but TCTTHWAHL was a clear artistic AND technical achievement, far beyond any other film produced in 1989 (including Winner 'Driving Miss Daisy'), with Helen Mirren delivering a career defining performance. I gave up on oscar after that. (It didn't even win best Costume, or Set Design, even though it remains the only film to ever merge them into one category) Not until Baz Luhrman gave us Moulin Rouge was visual art and cinema so skillfully merged a second time. Greenaway gave us imagery for the mind's eye as it lasciviously burrowed its darkness into the soul. It earned a permanent place as my #1 of all time and soured my view of the Academy.
When Michael Gambon died, there were tribute montages of his long career as an actor and none of them included any reference to The Cook, the Their, his Wife and her Lover. Which was arguably the best performance of his life. The film was just too disturbing for popular acceptance. Torture, cannibalism, domestic violence. Its truly a masterpiece and I loved it but I could never watch it again.
@@persia888It is a purpose of art to shine light on our dark underbelly. The day we feel comfortable in that focus, we are indeed lost, but neither should we look away from allegorical imagery simply because it makes us uncomfortable.
One of the things that struck me when I saw Sunrise was just how fun it is in the middle. It's not every day that you see a melodrama contain a scene with an inebriated piglet while maintaining the emotional stakes.
Or they could do what the Golden Globes do and have different categories of best picture winner (though the GGs still don’t recognise genre films). Have a best picture drama, best picture animation, best picture comedy, best picture science fiction or fantasy. Edit: forgot best international film
The Shawshank Redemption should of won best picture. I think it was way better than Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction. I watched Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction left me with a ehh feeling. Wereas, I watched the Shawshank Redemption and I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I grew up "Hollywood" and we had two voting members in the family at one time. My Brother has a closet full of "screeners." You'd need to know the community to understand the whim I'd 'Oscar.' 'Kramer vs. Kramer?' That's when they lost me...
You should absolutely see The Jazz Singer. They could have easily done those two scenes without blackface, but it was 1929. If you can get past that, it's an excellent character driven movie.
Thank you for posting this. I have never been to film school but when I first saw Sunrise ten years ago I knew it was something very special and have been recommending it to anyone interested in film or art ever since. I don't understand how a landmark film like this could still be still be obscure.
I'm not artistic and know jack about film... but Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan were equally brilliant to me in vastly different regards. Picking one over the other throws shade over the entire Academy. Some years that should simply be obvious.
Shakespeare in Love was enjoyable fluff, and not as well nuanced as something like Pretty Woman which didn't get a lookin. It was ridiculous that it even got nominated let alone won.
from 1927 to 1967 I've agreed only ONCE with the Academy's best picture award and that was in 1927 with Sunrise which got a special achievement award. It is one of my 13 all time favorite films
Not really. The occasional dud like "Around the World in 80 Days" notwithstanding. Even something like "Oliver!" - it did not deserve to be the BP in the year of 2001 but its still a terrific musical. The Sting wasn't better than Badlands, or The Long Goodbye but it's still one of the better films of that year.@@RaimarLunardi
I live literally 250 feet (80 meters) from the Academy Awards stage, which was completed in 1998. If you look at the Hollywood-Highland mall from a balcony in this 1930 building you have full view, through a gigantic picture window, of the backstage bar that serves the folk at the awards. There is no more boring show on Earth. I have promised the occasional fan a full view of the backstage bar on Oscar night and they lose their enthusiasm very quickly when viewing the backstage bar. I don't watch the awards.
@@toomuchfilmschool- I agree. However I have no cellphone (sensitivity to microwaves) or camera - I do have a MacAir, paid for by Joe Biden. I don't know how to livestream - perhaps someone in L.A. could assist?
@@Tolstoy111is it a bad movie?, no, do all the literary references in it make it more than just a roncom that is pretending to be smarter than it is?, no, it deserves to be watched during a date or in a slow sunday morning, it doesn't deserve awards of any kind, and the fact that it won best picture soils it completely
No actually it is as smart as it sets out to be. Filled with all sorts of literary references. Tom Stoppard doesn't rise to your intellectual standard? "Saving Private Ryan" was a compilation of all the war movies Spielberg had ever seen. And there is nothing inherently wrong with Romantic Comedy - a genre practiced by Shakespeare and Jane Austen @@murciadoxial8056
The Shape of Water is below empty. A creature torn from the direct to sea Amazon River suddenly requires piles of salt cakes to recover in a bathtub, becomes sexy lover in stopped-off tap water, then reanimates its own and its lover's fatal gunshot wounds in rainfall. Worse, the truly heroic Russian doctor-agent squeals the whereabouts just as his own death is momentarily imminent. Pathetic. This revised best pics essay is rilly solid tho, thnx*
The issue with having 10 movies nominated for Best Picture is that often the winner has won with only about 20% of the vote or less and many are not widely seen. CODA is largely unseen and unavailable due to no official DVD release, no individual rentals, and being available only on a streaming service most people don't want. The Academy members all got copies of it, but the public awaits.
Realism. NeoRealism. A new streak of films being realistic. The world would improve if a Realism movement inwhich the majority of screens dumped the fake superhero and selfrighteous message movies.
Sunrise is not a secret to me; it's one of my favorite films. Wings is great, too. The actors were actually flying the planes while being filmed in the cockpits. They weren't experienced pilots, either. It was the only way to get the shots.
I totally remember Chariots of Fire and yes the music was a big part of it, and also loved Raiders. The Oscars has always generally been given for more 'serious' and or 'worthy' movies, a fair few I haven't seen for those very reasons.
Great video. I agree that having outstanding production as a separate category would be great. Director, Screenwriter, and Lead actors have theirs, why isn't there one for Producer?
Haven’t seen Sunrise yet but Wings is very entertaining with a very appealing cast, even by modern standards in Clara Bow and Gary Cooper among others.
Awards are not really important or convincing as it’s too arbitrary. What the public want is a flow of original entertaining films with great cinematography, plot, funny or dramatic content and varied to suit a wide audience base.
Sunrise is such a beautiful work. I saw it many years ago on TCM when they did Silent Sundays. I had a big screen tv at the time and remember turning out the lights to watch it theater style. I can't imagine what it must have been like to see it when it was first released.
One of the greatest films ever and it is a Charlie Chaplin film. The movie City Lights is a phenomenal movie and the final scene is hands down one of the greatest things ever put to film.
I think it’s an interesting point. But it begs the question of out of a selection of films, all filled with hard work and achievement. Which one is deserving of praise above the rest. It could further complicate things depending on the year. It also begs to he question of the criteria. What makes a film achievement? Presentation, budget, effects
In this video, I use footage from When the Clouds Roll By, starring Douglas Fairbanks, which was made decades before Royal Wedding. So I'm not sure I understand your 😉
I saw Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan. There didn’t need to be 2 categories. Shakespeare should never had been nominated. It was a sappy, boring movie. Paltrow deserved nothing but her goop.
Yet it wasn't homosexual. It was common practice of that era, I think that in All Quiet in the Western Front (1930), the protagonist kisses his sister in the mouth. There was another movie that I don't remember in which a son kisses his mother in the mouth.
There should be the possibility of dual awards for the years when there are two pictures worthy of Best Picture. I would also like to see a built in possibility of no Best Picture Award when there isn't one that deserves it. Actually this should apply to all the awards. Some years there should be two Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, etc. and other years there should be no award.
Wings is legit a fantastic movie. You definitely CAN go directly to it never having seen a silent film before. It is a much better film than any charlie chaplin movie and everyone should see it. It is better than any movie made in the last decade. Sunrise is technically interesting but a bit slow.
this is by far not the biggest issue i have with the oscars. its become less of a meritorious achievement and more of something they hand out to those who agree with them politically.
That's true, but it's an apples and oranges comparison no matter what. Film equipment is much cheaper now; movies require fewer people and less infrastructure.
@@toomuchfilmschool: If that is true, why do movies today routinely cost 100-200 million dollars? That would be 6-12 million dollars back then. If "Film equipment is much cheaper now; movies require fewer people and less infrastructure.", then the cost should be less than 36 million in today's dollars.
"Routinely?" A dozen or some movies a year, maybe. You know how many movies are made? Expensive movies are more expensive because of inventions that didn't even exist yet, and a greater demand for a realism. On the other side, cheap movies are even cheaper due to the reasons I already mentioned. A movie can be made by a few people in their garage on the weekend, which literally was not possible in the 1920s.
I watch Spotlight at least twice a year, and I wish I had those two hours back I wasted watching Chariots of Fire, yet I DO “own” the theme song. So, you’re wrong and also right about many things. Just wanted to confirm that.😜
When I said, "It doesn't matter which movies you, personally, liked or disliked," you felt the need to reply with which movies you, personally, liked and disliked?
@@toomuchfilmschoolYeah, the point is, the dropped H is the only part you got *right*. The pronunciation shown is “AH-midge,” with the accent on the first syllable. What you did is more than just leaning.
@@toomuchfilmschool It’s true that it’s gotten common for English speakers pronounce “homage” as the French word “hommage,” regardless of what the dictionary says. So, sure, you’re in good company. The point is just that you actually showed the dictionary pronunciation on the screen while you did it, and it’s totally different. That’s all.
Can we just agree that today, celebrating people who are obscenely rich and the mediocre films they get hired to "act" in is a complete waste of time and considering the state of the world currently it is insensitive and a big FU to most people of the world?
You mean The Artist, Wings, and (the one the Academy doesn't acknowledge) Sunrise? I'm very aware. In fact, I made a video essay about the latter two. You should watch it.
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
THANK YOU! Sunrise is one of the greatest movies I have EVER seen. And I mean sound, silent, black and white, color, English, non-English, new, old, the whole bird. Absolutely happy to see "Sunrise" get its due because that is a masterpiece of all masterpieces. If Murnau hadn't died in a car accident a few years later, who knows what that guy would have done. PS: His previous two films, "Faust " and "The Last Laugh" are outrageously incredible as well.
and don't forget city girl.
NOSFERATU!
What a different world it would be if that style continued. I think it would solve a lot of the debate over the Best Picture winner.
Yeah, for a lot of those 50s nominations, BOTH films are absolute masterpieces. I wish we didn't have this competitive spirit where SOMETHING has to be "first" or "best overall" instead of recognizing each film for its unique strengths.
Sunrise is my all-time favorite film.
It is an amazing film.
top 5 for me
It's fabulous. My other favorite Silents are Lady Windermere's Fan and Orphans of the Storm.
I don't think a "Best Picture," award should be synonymous with a "most effort put in a film" award. From what I gathered from your discussion of Sunrise, you see it's merits mostly due to the outstanding difficulties and scale of it's production, which I agree, is definitely worth merit. But, I don't think that films like Rogue One should be seen as better than films like Moonlight simply because it was harder to make. Because in admitting that, you're essentially just setting a precedent that only allows for blockbuster films to win these awards. I don't think going back to the old system is a great way to counter this either, since I think in a variety of cases it's just going to reward consumerism over actual artistic merit, which I think goes against the spirit of filmmaking and creative expression as a whole.
Sunrise might be my favorite silent film. We were blown away by it.
I agree with you, it is the greatest silent movie ever made, at least from what I have seen. My next two are Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Modern Times by Chaplin.
Wings is such an incredible film. I watched it a few years ago and could not get over how innovative it was, not to mention sexy. I have not seen Sunrise but I can’t wait to see it now.
Haven't seen Sunrise yet either, yes I'm curious too! Wings is so impressive, isn't it, since the scenes are real-life action. The length of the movie didn't mind me at all because the story is so good.
I think when Fargo lost in '96 is when I threw my hands up and thought the Academy lost their minds...... There were a lot of head scratching over the years but that was the one that stumped me!
I agree. How "The English Patient" could possibly beat out "Fargo" for Best Picture is a mystery never to be solved. Even today, people talk about "Fargo". I don't think "The English Patient" is remembered even being made.
@@zethraelofteldrassil3149, The English Patient, what's that? .......Funny aside, I went to the USC Film school in the early '80s but ended up in Law instead of Film. A part of me feels cheated, because life happens, but a big part of me feels relived because I've watch the industry take a huge-slow slide into the shitter over the last 30+ years and I was not part of that death march. I still write and have had a book series come up for option several times but I've pushed back because ..... the industry sucks. Anymore, everything they touch they trash. Even the new DUNE is brilliant filmmaking but terrible adaptation. It's soul crushing to watch.
Best Best Picture? "It Happened One Night" 5 Oscars and a classic example of the kind of flick the Academy should be awarding Oscars to. Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Writing.
Great story. When I first saw Sunrise, I was blown away. I knew it won some sort of artistic merit Oscar but not best picture. I’m glad you explained the history of that award. But you also make a strong case for two top movie Oscar awards, especially now. I agree.
Wow!!! I had no idea about this dual prize, and now everything makes sense on how, basically, the academy almost always gets it wrong... Thanx!!
There are two best picture Oscars, Best Motion Picture and Best Animated Feature. Could even include Documentary Feature
And Best Foreign Language, as well, but those aren't exactly the same thing.
True enough, but they're not necessarily completely separated. There's nothing officially preventing Animated, Documentary, or Foreign Language feature nominees from being double-nominated for Best Picture as well. Parasite is a very prominent example. It just doesn't usually happen. It would be interesting to know if the original guidelines in 1929 allowed films to be nominated in both Best Picture categories.
That's true, although animators complain that they're in a kind of childhood ghetto, and not really allowed to compete with the big kids.
In theory, the two "Bests" could go to the same movie. Oppenheimer and Barbie would be possibilities, this year. Although, like those other feature awards, it's more likely the Academy members would split their votes.
Kind of crazy to consider that a decade before the first Academy Awards, Wings director William A. Wellman and Sunrise director F.W. Murnau were both fighter pilots, on opposite sides of WWI. Considering how dangerous a job that was, the history of cinema could have been a lot different if one or both of them had been shot down. Potentially, one director could even have shot down the other
My next door neighbor was William Wellman's grandson
he had amazing stories about crawling under the table while his grandfather played cards with Fay Wray etc
excellent presentation, very well written.
You didn't mention How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane.
I think the circumstances of Citizen Kane is a bit odd since the reason for it not getting more Oscars than it did was mostly political and most of Hollywood were scared of William Randolph Hearst I believe.
In any case people who actually saw How Green Was My Valley said it was a very good film. I haven't seen it but I wouldn't be surprised if it was and most of the dislike of the film had more to do that it beat Citizen Kane.
Ah yes, Citizen Kane, the movie everybody knows is the greatest ever, especially if they've never seen it.
@@adrianmizen5070 I think many people have already seen Citizen Kane but the question is do people saying "How Green Was my Valley is the worst Oscar winner' have seen How Green Was my Valley?
How did Peter Greenaway's 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover' get completely overlooked/ignored at the 1990 Oscars ? Yes it was a crowded year, but TCTTHWAHL was a clear artistic AND technical achievement, far beyond any other film produced in 1989 (including Winner 'Driving Miss Daisy'), with Helen Mirren delivering a career defining performance. I gave up on oscar after that. (It didn't even win best Costume, or Set Design, even though it remains the only film to ever merge them into one category)
Not until Baz Luhrman gave us Moulin Rouge was visual art and cinema so skillfully merged a second time.
Greenaway gave us imagery for the mind's eye as it lasciviously burrowed its darkness into the soul. It earned a permanent place as my #1 of all time and soured my view of the Academy.
Absolutely! I should have mentioned that there was a chance some film or other could possibly win both best pictures.
When Michael Gambon died, there were tribute montages of his long career as an actor and none of them included any reference to The Cook, the Their, his Wife and her Lover. Which was arguably the best performance of his life. The film was just too disturbing for popular acceptance. Torture, cannibalism, domestic violence. Its truly a masterpiece and I loved it but I could never watch it again.
@@persia888It is a purpose of art to shine light on our dark underbelly. The day we feel comfortable in that focus, we are indeed lost, but neither should we look away from allegorical imagery simply because it makes us uncomfortable.
One of the things that struck me when I saw Sunrise was just how fun it is in the middle. It's not every day that you see a melodrama contain a scene with an inebriated piglet while maintaining the emotional stakes.
Or they could do what the Golden Globes do and have different categories of best picture winner (though the GGs still don’t recognise genre films). Have a best picture drama, best picture animation, best picture comedy, best picture science fiction or fantasy. Edit: forgot best international film
I agree, and the GG's shouldn't put 'comedy or musical' together as a musical can be a comedy, drama or both.
The Shawshank Redemption should of won best picture. I think it was way better than Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction. I watched Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction left me with a ehh feeling. Wereas, I watched the Shawshank Redemption and I couldn't stop thinking about it.
should 'have'
I grew up "Hollywood" and we had two voting members in the family at one time. My Brother has a closet full of "screeners." You'd need to know the community to understand the whim I'd 'Oscar.'
'Kramer vs. Kramer?' That's when they lost me...
😂 same here
I LOVE SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS! i have referred to myself and my friend maribel as “sunrise: a song of two humans superfans” before
You should absolutely see The Jazz Singer. They could have easily done those two scenes without blackface, but it was 1929. If you can get past that, it's an excellent character driven movie.
I did my part to promote Sunrise by including it in a graduate film course I taught in 1986.
Thank you for posting this. I have never been to film school but when I first saw Sunrise ten years ago I knew it was something very special and have been recommending it to anyone interested in film or art ever since. I don't understand how a landmark film like this could still be still be obscure.
I'm not artistic and know jack about film... but Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan were equally brilliant to me in vastly different regards. Picking one over the other throws shade over the entire Academy. Some years that should simply be obvious.
Shakespeare in Love was enjoyable fluff, and not as well nuanced as something like Pretty Woman which didn't get a lookin. It was ridiculous that it even got nominated let alone won.
from 1927 to 1967 I've agreed only ONCE with the Academy's best picture award and that was in 1927 with Sunrise which got a special achievement award. It is one of my 13 all time favorite films
for most movies on the Oscar, my rule of thumb is: the winner is the worst one...
Amadeus? The Godfather? @@RaimarLunardi
@@Tolstoy111 not those, but most...
Not really. The occasional dud like "Around the World in 80 Days" notwithstanding. Even something like "Oliver!" - it did not deserve to be the BP in the year of 2001 but its still a terrific musical. The Sting wasn't better than Badlands, or The Long Goodbye but it's still one of the better films of that year.@@RaimarLunardi
Like the Wings tv show reference.
I live literally 250 feet (80 meters) from the Academy Awards stage, which was completed in 1998. If you look at the Hollywood-Highland mall from a balcony in this 1930 building you have full view, through a gigantic picture window, of the backstage bar that serves the folk at the awards. There is no more boring show on Earth. I have promised the occasional fan a full view of the backstage bar on Oscar night and they lose their enthusiasm very quickly when viewing the backstage bar. I don't watch the awards.
You should live stream it!
@@toomuchfilmschool- I agree. However I have no cellphone (sensitivity to microwaves) or camera - I do have a MacAir, paid for by Joe Biden. I don't know how to livestream - perhaps someone in L.A. could assist?
I've seen both of them, and I have "Sunrise" on DVD.
Proud to say that I knew the answer was chariots of fire. And I've only ever seen that movie once, and hated it. I was very young LOL
fuck "The Oscars"
shakespeare in love did not even deserve a nomination, let alone a win
Why? It's one of the most literate films ever made in Hollywood. Funny and Romantic. What's wrong with it?
@@Tolstoy111is it a bad movie?, no, do all the literary references in it make it more than just a roncom that is pretending to be smarter than it is?, no, it deserves to be watched during a date or in a slow sunday morning, it doesn't deserve awards of any kind, and the fact that it won best picture soils it completely
No actually it is as smart as it sets out to be. Filled with all sorts of literary references. Tom Stoppard doesn't rise to your intellectual standard? "Saving Private Ryan" was a compilation of all the war movies Spielberg had ever seen. And there is nothing inherently wrong with Romantic Comedy - a genre practiced by Shakespeare and Jane Austen @@murciadoxial8056
I'd never heard of 'Moonlight' before the mix-up at the Oscars. In fact, the half-second clip you used in this video is the most I've ever seen of it.
The Shape of Water is below empty. A creature torn from the direct to sea Amazon River suddenly requires piles of salt cakes to recover in a bathtub, becomes sexy lover in stopped-off tap water, then reanimates its own and its lover's fatal gunshot wounds in rainfall. Worse, the truly heroic Russian doctor-agent squeals the whereabouts just as his own death is momentarily imminent. Pathetic. This revised best pics essay is rilly solid tho, thnx*
Moonlight and Spotlight innocent
Thanks for reminding me about the dual Oscars
I have a copy of Wings - have not seen Sunrise as yet, so will track a copy down... forthwith!
The issue with having 10 movies nominated for Best Picture is that often the winner has won with only about 20% of the vote or less and many are not widely seen. CODA is largely unseen and unavailable due to no official DVD release, no individual rentals, and being available only on a streaming service most people don't want. The Academy members all got copies of it, but the public awaits.
Realism. NeoRealism. A new streak of films being realistic. The world would improve if a Realism movement inwhich the majority of screens dumped the fake superhero and selfrighteous message movies.
Wings was my Dad’s favorite movie! It’s why he joined the Army Air Force in WW II three days after Pearl Harbor when he turned 18!
Sunrise is not a secret to me; it's one of my favorite films.
Wings is great, too. The actors were actually flying the planes while being filmed in the cockpits. They weren't experienced pilots, either. It was the only way to get the shots.
1995-6 was about the turning point. 70-95 watched/liked most of the oscar picture, 96-now didn't even watch most of the oscar pictures
I totally remember Chariots of Fire and yes the music was a big part of it, and also loved Raiders. The Oscars has always generally been given for more 'serious' and or 'worthy' movies, a fair few I haven't seen for those very reasons.
Great video. I agree that having outstanding production as a separate category would be great. Director, Screenwriter, and Lead actors have theirs, why isn't there one for Producer?
Haven’t seen Sunrise yet but Wings is very entertaining with a very appealing cast, even by modern standards in Clara Bow and Gary Cooper among others.
Awards are not really important or convincing as it’s too arbitrary. What the public want is a flow of original entertaining films with great cinematography, plot, funny or dramatic content and varied to suit a wide audience base.
Saving Private Ryan was not for everyone. Me mum walked out of the theatre because she got completely upset about the gruesome scenes.
Sunrise is such a beautiful work. I saw it many years ago on TCM when they did Silent Sundays. I had a big screen tv at the time and remember turning out the lights to watch it theater style. I can't imagine what it must have been like to see it when it was first released.
Mad Max Fury Road was one of the worst, most pointless big budget movies ever made.
I've seen both of the winners from 1929 and they're both great films.
One of the greatest films ever and it is a Charlie Chaplin film. The movie City Lights is a phenomenal movie and the final
scene is hands down one of the greatest things ever put to film.
I think it’s an interesting point. But it begs the question of out of a selection of films, all filled with hard work and achievement. Which one is deserving of praise above the rest. It could further complicate things depending on the year. It also begs to he question of the criteria. What makes a film achievement? Presentation, budget, effects
Fred Astaire was the guy "dancing" on the walls & ceiling... ... 😉
Yes, and I always thought he was the first one to apply it in 'Royal Wedding' ; -)
What?
@@toomuchfilmschool... in 'Royal Wedding'....
In this video, I use footage from When the Clouds Roll By, starring Douglas Fairbanks, which was made decades before Royal Wedding. So I'm not sure I understand your 😉
Wings and Sunrise are much better than most films that have been nominated this century.
I saw Star Wars in the theater and loved it. I've since seen 'Annie Hall' ...meh.
'Fury Road' was amazing from beginning to end.
Yeah, but I still wouldn't watch the Oscars. tavi.
I stopped watching the Academy Awards when Annie Hall beat Star Wars.
Star Wars is a witless kids film. Annie Hall is a brilliant romantic comedy.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, and completely agree.
Me, too! 😉
"Cultural Irrelevance". Yup.
Great video, I've subscribed!
Wings was a good show.
I saw Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan. There didn’t need to be 2 categories. Shakespeare should never had been nominated. It was a sappy, boring movie. Paltrow deserved nothing but her goop.
SIL is one of the most literate films ever made in Hollywood. It's not sappy at all.
@@Tolstoy111 I’m glad you liked it. I didn’t.
@@jpbaley2016 Do you like Shakespeare? It’s loaded with inside jokes and references to the plays and the era.
I never heard of it.
Wasn’t Howard Hughs the driving force behind Wings?
That’s where the real money came from .
I don't think so. You might be thinking of Hell's Angels, which is a few years later.
Thank you !Sorry I got mixed up
Both WWI pilot movie that were silent .
Hells Angels was shot as a silent but by release sound was available
So remade into sound .
Silent star had no so great voice and caused problems ….
Wings is also famous for featuring the first on-screen man on man kiss.
FWIW
Yet it wasn't homosexual. It was common practice of that era, I think that in All Quiet in the Western Front (1930), the protagonist kisses his sister in the mouth. There was another movie that I don't remember in which a son kisses his mother in the mouth.
If you are going to watch a Chaplin film, it should be The Great Dictator over the silent films.
There should be the possibility of dual awards for the years when there are two pictures worthy of Best Picture. I would also like to see a built in possibility of no Best Picture Award when there isn't one that deserves it. Actually this should apply to all the awards. Some years there should be two Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, etc. and other years there should be no award.
It amuses me they still call them "pictures". I thought eventually they'd change to more modern lingo like "film" or "movie".
Wings is legit a fantastic movie. You definitely CAN go directly to it never having seen a silent film before. It is a much better film than any charlie chaplin movie and everyone should see it. It is better than any movie made in the last decade.
Sunrise is technically interesting but a bit slow.
Janet Gaynor is so adorable as the country wife !!
Just watched it AGAIN yesterday
this is by far not the biggest issue i have with the oscars. its become less of a meritorious achievement and more of something they hand out to those who agree with them politically.
Is this john lithgow‘s voice?
No, but I'll take the compliment!
That insert of the Wings sitcom intro at the beginning was comedy perfection.
Best picture is like comparing apples and oranges... and awarding a banana
Can someone identify the people in the photos at 01:30 and 04:10 ? (I know Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.)
janet gaynor is holding the oscar
Definitely madmax, and definitely moonlight
2:06
Elon Musk is a time traveler!
I knew about it 😉
Wings is a fantastic film. Haven’t seen the other one.
Highly recommend. ruclips.net/video/6NayFytQeBE/видео.htmlsi=IPzuQGAEmjOqtHfJ
@@toomuchfilmschool Thanks very much. This is fabulous.
Three minute mandatory ad? Bailing.
I don't control the ads, but I'm pretty sure you can skip after 5 to 15 seconds.
I'm so sorry! It was unusual and not related to the worthy content. @@toomuchfilmschool
Raiders of the Lost Ark was terrible.
I think you're in the minority there.
What was your issue with it in the context of its time?
That 2 million dollars would be about 36 million in today's dollars.
That's true, but it's an apples and oranges comparison no matter what. Film equipment is much cheaper now; movies require fewer people and less infrastructure.
@@toomuchfilmschool: If that is true, why do movies today routinely cost 100-200 million dollars? That would be 6-12 million dollars back then. If "Film equipment is much cheaper now; movies require fewer people and less infrastructure.", then the cost should be less than 36 million in today's dollars.
"Routinely?" A dozen or some movies a year, maybe. You know how many movies are made?
Expensive movies are more expensive because of inventions that didn't even exist yet, and a greater demand for a realism. On the other side, cheap movies are even cheaper due to the reasons I already mentioned. A movie can be made by a few people in their garage on the weekend, which literally was not possible in the 1920s.
@@toomuchfilmschool: I didn't say always. I said routinely. "A dozen or some movies a year", in my opinion, qualifies as routinely.
I think most of know the corruption of these award shows is as ubiquitous as corruption in elections. Same people control both.
The academy can't allow themselves to endorse non-political content.
Past sale by date.
Why do you suggest starting with a silent Charlie Chaplin movie and then show a clip from The Great Dictator, which is a talkie?
Why don't you read the text on screen during that shot?
@@toomuchfilmschool Excuuuuse me. I was watching on a small screen with the sound bar at the bottom. The captioning was hardly visible.
I forgive you.
I watch Spotlight at least twice a year, and I wish I had those two hours back I wasted watching Chariots of Fire, yet I DO “own” the theme song. So, you’re wrong and also right about many things. Just wanted to confirm that.😜
When I said, "It doesn't matter which movies you, personally, liked or disliked," you felt the need to reply with which movies you, personally, liked and disliked?
I love how you recommend to start out light-heartedly with silent films yet the one you show is the one where chaplain happens to actually talk. Lol
And I love how you didn't read the text on screen that says, "Yes, know this isn't a silent film. I'm making a joke, calm down."
I notice the definition of "homage" in the text overlay actually shows you how to pronounce the word and you still got it wrong. 😝
The (h) is in parentheses because it's perfectly acceptable to drop it. Also, I leaned into the French pronunciation for the joke.
@@toomuchfilmschoolYeah, the point is, the dropped H is the only part you got *right*. The pronunciation shown is “AH-midge,” with the accent on the first syllable. What you did is more than just leaning.
No. ruclips.net/video/Frlpa79_WU8/видео.htmlsi=cfy7Up6BCJ3hkkBs
@@toomuchfilmschool It’s true that it’s gotten common for English speakers pronounce “homage” as the French word “hommage,” regardless of what the dictionary says. So, sure, you’re in good company. The point is just that you actually showed the dictionary pronunciation on the screen while you did it, and it’s totally different. That’s all.
Can we just agree that today, celebrating people who are obscenely rich and the mediocre films they get hired to "act" in is a complete waste of time and considering the state of the world currently it is insensitive and a big FU to most people of the world?
It's an industry award. Lots of industries have them. Most Oscars go to behind the scenes craftspeople who never get celebrated.
Shakespeare in Love is easily 3 times better than Saving Private Ryan. - no contest.
In your opinion. Which, like all opinions, is worthless.
;)@@williamwilson6499
3 silent films won Best Picture. Dick.
You mean The Artist, Wings, and (the one the Academy doesn't acknowledge) Sunrise? I'm very aware. In fact, I made a video essay about the latter two. You should watch it.
Isn't there a best director for this already?