Best Picture Nominee: Frost/Nixon (2008)

Following the resignation of US President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella), television talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen)wants to arrange a series of interviews with him to air on television. Part of the reason Frost thinks the interviews would be compelling to both the public and the television networks is that Nixon never admitted any guilt of or offered any apology for the Watergate scandal which led to his resignation. Nixon, with a few interview offers on the table, ultimately agrees to Frost's proposal partly because of the high $600,000 guaranteed appearance fee, and partly because he wants to take command of such an interview to show the world that he is still presidential so that he can resurrect his political career. Nixon believes he can railroad Frost, who is better known as a pop cultural entertainment styled interviewer than an investigative political interviewer. However, Frost has every intention on these interviews being hard hitting and pointed; in addition to his producer John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), Frost hires two investigative reporters known for their previous exposés on Nixon: Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell). Nixon's chief adviser for the interviews is his current chief of staff, Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon). Prior to the interviews, ground rules are negotiated, most importantly surrounding Watergate: the total percentage of time Watergate can be discussed and the definition of what constitutes Watergate. Hilarity ensues as the four interviews progress, each side trying to manipulate the interviews to his best advantage. Behind the scenes, Frost is having difficulty with the rest of his professional life: his regular talk shows are being canceled and he has not reached anywhere near the total $2 million financing for this project. Ultimately, Frost has to finance the project with much money out of his own pocket. It isn't until a chance telephone call that the tides turn on the interviews.

Trivia: Both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen repeat the roles they created on stage. Ron Howard would only agree to direct if the studio would allow both actors to appear in the film version. Frank Langella won a Tony Award in 2007 for playing Richard Nixon in the original stage production. Even while off-camera, all of the actors would remain in character and continue the Frost/Nixon rivalry by bickering and making fun of each other. Director Ron Howard admitted voting for Richard Nixon in the 1972-election. In 1977, the year of the actual David Frost and Richard Nixon's interviews, Ron Howard was directing his first feature film, Grand Theft Auto.

First off, let me say that I am reviewing the Best Picture Nominees in alphabetical order, so this should have been The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, but I have already reviewed it, you can see the review below. So next up is Frost/Nixon. You know, it's funny. I was alive when Watergate happened and these interviews were shot, but I was 7 when they were so I have no recollection of the actual interviews. I do recognise the name David Frost, but I couldn't point him out in a croud. What made this movie good was the interaction between David Frost and Richard Nixon. I liked the games Nixon played on Frost trying to get him out of he comfort zone. It makes me kind of want to see the original interviews to see if they come across the same way. The movie kept me interested in what would come next. Frank Lagella did a great job as Nixon. Will he win the Best Actor catagory? Probably not, there is a lot of good competition there.

Oscar Month: Changeling (2008)

The year was 1928, Los Angeles. As Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich). Not much hilarity there to ensue.

Trivia: Based on the true story of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, also known as the Wineville Chicken Murders. There is a roadside café named "Bummy's" which appears early on in the film. This is possibly in memory of Clint Eastwood's long time collaboration with Production Designer Henry Bumstead, who passed away in 2006. His nickname was "Bummy". Both Hilary Swank and Reese Witherspoon lobbied for the role of Christine Collins. Clint Eastwood cast Angelina Jolie at the suggestion of Executive Producer Ron Howard, who noted that Jolie's "look" would fit best with the time period. J. Michael Straczynski first learned of the story of Christine Collins from an unnamed source at Los Angeles City Hall. The source had stumbled across case files regarding the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders among other discarded documents scheduled for destruction. Straczynski took the files himself and became obsessed with the case, doing extensive research over the course of a year. Virtually every event depicted in the film appears as cited in legal documents, with dialog often taken verbatim from court transcripts. The exception is the insane asylum sequences which are based more on conventions of the time than documented events. Straczynski wrote his first draft of the screenplay in only eleven days.

Angelina Jolie is nominated in the Best Actress catagory for this period crime drama, and she does a good job as the mother wondering what happened to her child and fighting against the police. The movie is nice a simple and beautifully shot as most of Eastwood's movies are. It is worth seeing. But I am going to talk about movie posters. The one at the top of the page is the American version. The one to the left is Spanish (at least I think it is, it is written in Spanish). (click on the posters to see larger versions of them.) The second one is a powerful poster with a woman looking in on a child that might be her son or it might not be. You can see the concern on her face. The face is instantly recognizeable as Jolie, so you get the star power on the poster. It is a nice poster. The American one on the other hand. What the heck is up with that? Jolie looks huge. She also looks hungry. Hungry enough to eat the small bite size kid in front of her? Maybe. The picture is not enven that flatterying of her. I think the second poster is a much prettier picture of her. It also gives the impression of being in the past. If I saw the first poster without knowing what the film was about I couldn't even start to guess what it was about. No clue. And what is with the solid white background? There are many times when the foreign posters are superior to the domestic versions. Why is that? Because they think we can't understand it? Because they think if the poster doesn't have the stars full face promenantly shown we will fail to recognize them, no half hidden face, no reflections? They think that if the poster is to artsy that we will not watch it? Dear Hollywood, we are not idiots, (well at least some of us aren't. See Meet The Spartans: $38 million dollars at the boxoffice.)

Pathfinder (2007)

When a native woman finds the remains of a viking ship on the shores of North America 500 years before Columbus she find the lone survivor to be a young boy. She adopts him as her own and 15 years later he is at the brink of manhood. That is when hilarity ensues. The Vikings, led by Fran Tarkington, come back and start killing everyone for no apparent reason then they are bigger and stronger and, well, they are Vikings. The only hope for the whole American continent lies on the shoulders of this young man because only he knows the ways of the Viking.

Trivia: Actors wore hockey shoulder pads underneath their viking costume to make them appear larger and fiercer. Despite knowing that the Vikings' helmets didn't historically have large animal horns on them, the film makers decided to add them in anyway. This would work with the modern audiences who have an ingrained stereotype of what a Viking should look like in their mind. Moreover, the horns make the Vikings look more terrifying. The Vikings in the film are actually speaking Icelandic, which is the closest language to old Viking. The Pathfinder's house was constructed around a real tree which was found at the location and had to be re-enforced. The design of the Indian huts was partly inspired by the famous opera house in Sydney, Australia.

Apparently Vikings a vicious hulks of men bent on killing everybody they can find but it also appears that they don't make Vikings the way they used to because a man who was trained as a Viking at the age of 6 (and wasn't good at it then) can grow up in another culture for 15 years with only a single sword to train with and without help from anyone else, a young native woman, and a brave who is mute is able to kick the butts of the biggest Vikings in the group. I will admit, the first few Vikings that this guy kills could have underestimated him but you would think that after a while they would realize that he could fight. This movie also seems to want to point out that the Natives are in the same situation. The wise old pathfinder and elder of the tribe is able to fight and hold his own against the Vikings when the young warrior braves just rush in and get slaughtered in seconds (because they failed to head the white man's warnings. So white man who grew up as a native and old guy = good fighters. Young Indian Braves = bad fighters. I never thought I would say this but Antonio Banderas did it better, as in portraying the Viking culture in the 13th Warrior. Oh yeah, I forgot. They used stock footage of an avalanche. Stock footage!? What the heck? It was right out of a documentary about alpine skying or something. Uggghhh!

Glory (1989)

As the US Civil War drags on and drains even the vast resources of the north, an experiment is made with black troops, creating a special regiment under an all-white officer corps. The traditional military establishment considers this a bad joke, but a young abolitionist idealist Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Brodrick) from a very privileged family agrees to take on the dubious honor of commanding the black volunteers, mainly illiterate former slaves (among them Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher, and Denzel Washington in an Academy Award winning performance) and gains the rank of Colonel. Even his personal friend and second in command, Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes), lacks confidence in the project; yet they must overcome countless difficulties in training, procurement, and ensuing hilarity before the unit can even enter the War.

Trivia: The film depicts the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry training through the Christmas holidays of presumably 1862 (after the September 1862 Battle of Antietam,) but the real 54th Massachusetts did not organize until March 1863, and were engaged in their first battle on James Island, SC on 16 July 1863, and then Battery Wagner (the final battle in the film) on 18 July 1863. Matthew Broderick is believed to be a distant relative of Robert Gould Shaw, the character he plays. With the exception of Shaw, none of the primary characters are based on real people in the 54th. The relief sculpture in the credits is the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial in Boston Common, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The inaugural battle for the real 54th Massachusetts was at James Island, South Carolina, on 16 July 1863. The scene depicting this engagement was filmed during late February of 1989 at the Girl Scout Camp on Rose Dhu Island near Savannah, GA. It actually snowed during filming, and heaters had to be brought in to melt the snow. Later, in the Christmas at Camp Readville Scene, filmed in March 1989 at the old Train Roundhouse in Savannah, Georgia, snow blowers were brought in to blow chipped ice onto the ground to give the appearance of a winter snow.

I think at different times I have seen this whole movie, just not all together in one setting. I can't believe it was made 19 years ago. That makes me feel old, because I remember when it came out. All the leads did fantastic jobs in this film. Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman. Andre Braugher did great in his movie debuts as the educated black friend of Shaw who was the first to volunteer and then struggled through training. Matthew Brodrick brought a sensitivity to the role that I don't think many could have brought. And then there is Denzel Washington. He was very dynamic in this film and deserved the Oscar.

Flags Of Our Fathers (2006)

In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American sensation. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph.



Trivia: The scene in which a sailor falls from a ship and is left in the water as the fleet steams toward Iwo Jima actually happened. The incident is described in of Iwo by Richard Wheeler, himself a veteran of the fighting. Quote: 'According to Coast Guardsman Chet Hack of LST 763: "We got the man-overboard signal from the ship ahead of us. We turned to port to avoid hitting him and threw him a life preserver, but had orders not to stop. We could not hold up twenty-four ships for one man. Looking back, we could see him waving his arms, and it broke our hearts that we couldn't help him. We hoped that one of our destroyers or other small men-of-war that were cruising around to protect us would pick him up, but we never heard that they did." Shot back-to-back with Letters from Iwo Jima. The Japanese government would not permit filming of combat scenes on Iwo Jima, so scenes were filmed in Iceland which also has black sand beaches due to volcanic activity. For the companion film Letters from Iwo Jima the black sand found in Barstow, CA was used-along with special effects-to substitute for Iwo Jima's black sand.


If you hadn't noticed I didn't include my catch phrase "hilarity ensues". I did this out of respect for my grandfather and the men who fought on that small barren rock in the Pacific. My grandfather was stationed on one of the landing crafts that participated in the landings. He made it back, many didn't. He would have turned 100 last week. This movie really has a lot to say about defining a hero. The three surviving members of the flag raisers that return don't consider themselves heroes and they struggle with the fact that everyone else does. When this movie came out a lot was made of the fact that it seemed disjointed and hard to follow sense it didn't have a straight forward sequential timeline but bounced back and forth. I was expecting that so it didn't bother me at all, it was more like the three guys were remembering what had happened and we were in on it. One thing it really didn't do is convey the horrors on that island. I think in that respect Letters From Iwo Jima did a better job, though it was nothing compared to some recent war movies like Saving Private Ryan or the miniseries Band Of Brothers (if you haven't seen this, please do, it is well worth it). But in retrospect, the story really wasn't about the fight, it was about the soldiers. And one more thing about heroes, every single man and woman that puts on a uniform to defend our country is a hero in my eyes.

United 93 (2006)

United 93 (2006)
Number 227 on IMDb's Top 250

Emotionally-packed and moving fact-based story about the passengers aboard doomed flight United 93 that was the fourth terrorist attack plane on September 11, 2001. The passengers on the flight, as a result of a delay on takeoff that placed them behind the planned attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, are able to learn of the attacks and discern that this is no mere high-jacking. While the real events that caused the ultimate crash of the plane can never be known, the events depicted would appear to be as might be expected. The unpreparedness of the FAA and the military in dealing with the situation, which is also well-depicted here. This is about as far from hilarity as you can get.

Trivia: U.S Military Air Traffic Controllers were used during the military scenes. The civilian air traffic scenes were done by real FAA air traffic controllers. The United 93 flight crew is entirely portrayed by real pilots and flight attendants, some of whom actually work for United Airlines. The pins on the uniform worn by Trish Gates in the film, are actual airline pins that belonged to flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw. They were donated by her husband, Phil Bradshaw, to replicate her uniform for the film. Gates was herself a flight attendant for United Airlines shortly before participating in the film. Families of the 40 passengers and crew members killed on United Flight 93 cooperated in the production, offering Paul Greengrass detailed background about their loved ones, down to the clothes they wore, what reading materials or music they had with them and what sort of candy they might have snacked on aboard the plane. The actors who played the terrorist hijackers and the actors who played the passengers and crew on the flight were kept in separate hotels during filming. They also worked out in separate gyms and did not eat meals together. This was so that the director could capture the separation, fear and hostility between the two groups of antagonists and protagonists. The filmmakers donated a percentage of the opening weekend proceeds to the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The actual amount donated turned out to be $1.15 million. At the request of the filmmakers, no studio-produced trailers were shown before the start of the movie in its theatrical run. The ensemble cast of mainly unknown actors were each given studies of their real life United Flight 93 counterparts.

I will admit, six years later and it was a little hard to watch this movie because of the subject matter, and I didn't know anybody that was killed in the attacks. I can't even imagine what it was like for the familes. Paul Greengrass made sure that he had permission from each family before he made this movie and he showed the families the movie before it was released. The film was presented in real time which means the events lasted the same amount of time that the film did. The movie was good...the one hour documentary on the DVD was better. It followed several of the actors as they met the families of the people they portrayed. It really gave you a sense of the lives that these heroes led.

300: An IMAX Experience (2007)

We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life. Spartans: the finest soldiers the world has ever known. In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) lead a Army of well over 100,000 men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and other Slave soldiers. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) to surrender or withdraw and let hilarity ensue and then when left with no options he moved. Would 100,000 Persians be able to defeat 300 Spartans? The Persians never had a chance.

Trivia: The film was shot on blue and green screen in Montreal. The filmmakers used bluescreen 90% of the time, and greenscreen for 10%. They chose blue because it better matched the lighting paradigm (green would have been too bright) and because red garments (a la spartan capes) look better when shot over blue. The script demanded that most of the male cast spend the majority of their screen time bare-chested, as per Frank Miller's original graphic novel. Therefore, in order to adequately present themselves as the most well-trained and marshalled fighting force of the time, the entire principal cast underwent a rigorous and varied training regime for 6 weeks prior to shooting. The movie never claims to be historically correct. It is based almost entirely on Frank Miller's 1998 comic book mini-series. Changes from history were made by Miller and Snyder so as to appeal to a wider audience and create a more exciting and visually stunning action movie, rather than a typical historical epic. According to an interview with IGN.com, Director Zack Snyder says that fighting styles and formations (particularly the Spartan's phalanx) were purposefully changed - making them historically inaccurate - so they'd "look cool" and work better for movie purposes. The line "Come back with your shield, or on it" was a common phrase said by Spartan women to their sons and husbands. The monologue said by the narrator when it shows Leonidas and his men dead is actually found on the tomb of the real King Leonidas.

Wow, this movie was visually stunning, especially considering that I saw it in an IMAX theater. Frank Miller's Visual style really seems to be easily translatable to the big screen. It worked wonderfully for Sin City and it works for 300. Now there is some plot holes and bits of the fighting were disappointing (the armored rhino that goes rampaging toward the Spartan gets shot and killed by a single arrow, the elephants don't even get into the fight, they fall of the side of the cliff) but they were far outweighed by the shear spectacle that is the Spartans. Just imagine if the whole Spartan army would have been there.

Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination. Hilarity is nowhere to be found.

Trivia: Although they were filmed back to back, none of the cast from this film appears in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and vice versa. None of the cast members even met each other from each film. Ken Watanabe read actual letters sent by Imperial Japanese Army Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi to his family from Iwo Jima while preparing for his role.

It was a little hard to watch this movie knowing that my grandfather was on that black sandy beach 62 years ago. He was a sailor on a landing craft for the U.S. Navy. He came back, many didn't. But it was also fascinating to see a little bit of what he went through, (he didn't talk about it much), even if it was from Hollywood. It was also interesting that the story was told from the Japanese perspective because it hammers home the message of the film that both sides were the same, human beings with mothers and wives and family. Still, it was difficult for me, I wonder how Grandpa would have felt about it? Nobody was trying to kill me.

The Alphabet Project: L is for...

The Last Days Of Pompeii (1935)

Peaceloving blacksmith Marcus refuses lucrative offers to fight in the arena...until his wife dies for lack of medical care. His life as a gladiator hardens him, and shady enterprises make him the richest man in Pompeii, while his son Flavius (who met Jesus on a brief visit to Judaea) is as gentle as Marcus once was. The final disaster of Marcus and Flavius's cross purposes is interrupted by Vesuvius. Hilarity erupts.

Trivia: Despite all the spectacle, the movie was a box-office flop, and required several re-releases (on a double bill with King Kong (1933) another Marian C. Cooper production) to earn back its cost.

A good 30s Hollywood movie but what surprised me were the not so subtle christian overtones. Marcus disapproves of the slave trade and use of the slaves in the gladiator area but eventually becomes a gladiator himself and becomes disillusioned. He travels to Judea when an old women tells him his son will get the help of the greatest man in Judea. He thinks it is Pontius Pilate, but when his son is gravely injured he asks "the teacher" for his help and his son is healed. He is in Jerusalem when Pilate sentences Jesus, "the teacher" to death. (They even used the standard operating procedure from back then by not showing Jesus, just peoples reactions to him.) Flavius becomes a man who hates his father's job as head of the area and tries to save slaves and free them. Oh yeah, and it is placed in Pompeii so the last ten minutes are very explosive.

Impman, you were on the right track with The Land Before Time and The Land That Time Forgot based on my clue, but 1,927 years ago was 79 A.D. the year Vesuvius erupted.

Up Next: The "M" Movie. The week's clue: Flimflam Artists. Now here are the guesses for L:

The Land Before Time - Four orphan dinosaurs travel the ruins of their world, while grieving the loss of their families and banding together to face the odds of survival.

The Land That Time Forgot - During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals.

Lady Chatterley's Lover - A film adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel. After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires.

The Little Mermaid - A mermaid princess makes a faustian bargain with an unscrupulous seahag in order to meet a human prince on land.

Birth Of A Nation (1915)

Two brothers, Phil and Ted Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. Hilarity ensues for white people, not so much for black people.

Trivia: Some of the black characters are played by white actors with make-up, particularly those characters who were required to come in contact with a white actress. The person playing the Cameron's maid is not only clearly white, but is also obviously male. Elmo Lincoln, who plays "White-Arm Joe" in the film, also played eight additional bit parts. The film was made with only a single retake of a single scene, due to a continuity error involving Mae Marsh and the piece of cotton pinned to her shirt during the homecoming sequence. First film to run over 100 minutes. When it opened in New York City, ticket prices were $2.00 each, which was considered astronomical at the time. In today's currency, accounting for inflation, that would be about $17 - $20. One million people saw the film within a year after its release. Most Civil War scenes were based on actual photos of scenes they depict. However, postwar reconstruction scenes were not historically accurate, and many were in fact based on political cartoons rather than photographs (such as the legislature scenes).

Okay, I am going to talk about this film in two sections. First, the technical side of the film. This movie was ambitious, very ambitious, you could even consider it probably the first epic at 3 hours and 10 minutes long. Technically it was amazing, with a lot of the innovations that revolutionized movies, like irises, deep focus, jump cuts, and close-ups. It was also interesting to see some of the sets. The film claimed that they were reproductions of real places produced through pictures or other source materials. For example, Lincoln's Assassination was shot in a replica of Ford's Theater, and the South Carolina Senate Chambers were also shown. The music was incredible and used a full orchestra. This is why this movie is so influential...

Now here is why it is also so controversial. It is by far the most racist movie I have ever seen before in my life. Now I know that it was racist before I watched it, but my God, I just sat there with my jaw hanging down. All the "good guys" are white. All the "bad guys" are black except for the carpetbaggers who were despised by the "good guys". All the major black parts were given to white actors in black face. Amazing...And in the end, who comes charging in to the strains of Ride of the Valkyries (better known as the song from Apocalypse Now) like the U.S. Calvary to "save" the whites? Why it is none other then the Ku Klux Klan...as the heroes? The worst scene of this movie, racist-wise though, is the scene where the South Carolina Legislature is convening after the elections that transferred control to black legislators. The new black legislatures were depicted as little more then savages, one man took off his shoes and put his feet up on his desk, which caused another to complain to the chair about the stench, where by a rule was passed that legislators had to wear shoes. (oh, by the way, they guy that was complaining...had a turkey drumstick held in his hand that he was eating off of and waving around.) The mixture of this and the stated historical accuracy of the sets cause people to believe that these events really happened. The thing is that D.W.Griffith actually said he was surprised at the reaction the movie got.

Top 250 Challenge: 214

La Battaglia Di Algeri (1966)
Number 155 on IMDb's Top 250

The film reconstructs the events of November 1954 to December 1960 in Algiers during the Algerian War of Independence, beginning with the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah. From there, it depicts the conflict between native Algerians and French colonists in which the two sides exchange acts of increasing violence, leading to the introduction of French paratroopers to root out the FLN. The paratroops are depicted as "winning" the battle by neutralizing the whole FLN leadership through assassination or capture. Hilarity ensues. However, the film ends with a coda, depicting demonstrations and rioting by native Algerians for independence, in which it is suggested that though the French have won the Battle of Algiers, they have lost the war.

Trivia: In 2003, the film again made the news after the US Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict at The Pentagon offered a screening of the film, regarding it as a useful llustration of the problems faced in Iraq. A flyer for the screening read:

How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.

According to the Defense Department official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French."

Wow, what do I say about this film? It was a graphic, documentary style film that showed terroristic violence, a lot of it, there were drive-by shootings of police officers, bombings of cafes, dance halls and airports on one side and suspect interrogation and oppression on the other side. It film itself does not take sides and shows both with equal neutrality. It is pretty relevent to today.

Up Next Mystic River

Top 250 Challenge: 213

Spartacus (1960)
Number 169 on IMDb's Top 250

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes. Meanwhile, in Rome, the slave revolt has become a deciding factor in the power struggle between two senators: the republican Gracchus and the militarist Crassus, each of whom sees the fortunes of the rebellion as the key to his own rise to power or humiliating defeat. As the two statesmen attempt to aid, hinder and manipulate the rebels for their own benefit, Spartacus and his followers press on toward freedom. Hilarity subsequens. <---that's latin!

Trivia: The sound of the crowd cheering Spartacus! Spartacus! was actually recorded at a football game in Spartan Stadium, home of the Michigan State University Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan. Winning an Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lentulus Batiatus, Peter Ustinov stands as the only actor to win an Oscar for a Stanley Kubrick film. In fact, Peter Sellers is the only other actor to receive so much as a nomination. The original version included a scene where Marcus Licinius (Laurence Olivier) attempts to seduce Antoninus (Tony Curtis). The Production Code Administration and the Legion of Decency both objected. At one point Geoffrey Shurlock, representing the censors, suggested it would help if the reference in the scene to a preference for oysters or snails was changed to truffles and artichokes. In the end the scene was cut, but it was put back in for the 1991 restoration. However, the soundtrack had been lost in the meantime and the dialogue had to be dubbed. Tony Curtis was able to redo his lines, but Laurence Olivier had died. Joan Plowright, Laurence Olivier's widow, remembered that Anthony Hopkins had done a dead-on impression of Laurence Olivier and she mentioned this to the restoration team. They approached Anthony Hopkins and he agreed to voice in Laurence Olivier's lines in that scene. Anthony Hopkins is thanked in the credits for the restored version.

After many foreign films over the past few months I finally get to watch a full-on Hollywood Epic. It seems a little weird. This is what I think of as classic Hollywood of the 50s and 60s, films like Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments come to mind and Spartacus fits right in with those films. Okay, now for my thoughts on the "seduction scene" where Olivier tries to seduce Curtis that got cut out of the movie because of the Hays Code. To me it was kind of comical thinking of why they cut it. First off, if I didn't know Olivier was trying to seduce young Curtis, I would have thought they were talking about dinner. Here is the whole conversation: Olivier is in his bath and calls Curtis in.

Olivier: Do you eat oysters?

Curtis: When I have them, master.

Olivier: Do you eat snails?

Curtis: No, master.

Olivier: Do you consider the eating of oysters to be moral and the eating of
snails to be immoral?

Curtis: No, master.

Olivier: Of course not. It is all a matter of taste, isn't it?

Curtis: Yes, master.

Olivier: And taste is not the same as appetite, and therefore not a question
of morals.

Curtis: It could be argued so, master.

Olivier: My robe, Antoninus. My taste includes both snails and oysters.

So basically, Olivier is sayin that he swings both ways (not that there is anything wrong with that). So tame compared to what we see today it is laughable. How in the heck did Some Like It Hot get past the code if this didn't?

Oh well, next up The Battle Of Algiers

Top 250 Challenge: 181

Judgement At Nuremberg (1961)
Number 201 on IMDb's Top 250

It has been three years since the most important Nazi leaders had been tried. This trial is about 4 Judges who used their offices to conduct Nazi sterilization and cleansing policies. Retired American Judge, Judge Dan Haywood has a daunting task ahead of him. The Cold War is heating up and no one wants any more trials as Germany, and allied Governments, want to forget the past. But the question that the tribunal must decide, is that the right thing to do? Once again, very little hilarity in war crimes.

Trivia: Maximillian Schell's Lead Actor Oscar makes him the lowest-billed lead category winner in history. He is billed fifth, after Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, and Marlene Dietrich. Montgomery Clift had a habit of cutting his hair very short when he was between films and would not work until it had grown back. In fact, his scene in this film was shot right after getting one of those haircuts. He also had so much trouble remembering his lines, the scene had to be re-shot many times.

This was a pretty good film. Tracy is dignified and pensive as the presiding judge. Montgomery Clift is powerful in a small role as a victim of the german judges. Judy Garland was also powerful on the stand during the trial. Both Clift and Garland garnered supporting acting Oscar nominations.

Top 250 Challenge: 169

Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Number 49 on IMDb's Top 250

Ten years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda--and in an era of high-speed communication and round the clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man, Paul Rusesabagina, summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages. Hilarity is nowhere to be found when there is mass genocide in a movie.

Trivia: The screenwriter spent one year writing the first draft of the script. During the process, he called the Rwandan embassy in DC trying to find a way to locate Paul Rusesabagina. The woman who picked up the phone was a survivor who stayed at the Milles Collines Hotel. The real Paul and Tatiana went back to Rwanda with the director for research. Many people came to welcome them at the airport.

Don Cheadle is an amazing actor. I have liked him in every movie I have seen him in, except maybe that cockneyed accent he had in Oceans Eleven. Very good movie.

Top 250 Challenge: 162

Der Untergang (2004)
Number 42 on IMDb's Top 250

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his Generals and advisers to fight to the last man. "Downfall" explores these final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting from their beloved Fuhrer, in an effort to save their own lives, while still others (Joseph Goebbels) pledge to die with Hitler. Hitler, himself, degenerates into a paranoid shell of a man, full of optimism one moment and suicidal depression the next. When the end finally does comes, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender. Not much hilarity here.

Trivia: Of the thirty-seven named real life people featured as characters in the film, Rochus Misch was the only one who was still alive when the film was released. As of 2006, he is one of the last remaining survivors of the Führerbunker.

Well, as a movie this was pretty good. It shows the last days of Hitler all of which are in his Berlin bunker. He is shown in a sympathetic light at times, defiant at times, sometimes furious, sometimes pensive, sometimes downright delusional. You see the beginning stages of Parkinsons disease as he struggles to stay in control. It was kind of surreal watching this movie so soon after watching the Pianist.

Top 250 Challenge: 133

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Munich

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack. Avner (Eric Bana), an Israeli-born office worker for Mossad, is summoned to become the leader of a five-member assassination squad to seek revenge for the Munich Massacre by tracking down and killing the planners responsible for the Black September terror attack. As Avner isn't a high ranking member of Mossad, he is made to sign a renunciation of any official relation to Mossad and made the leader of the group, which consists of Steve (the South African getaway driver, [and future James Bond]), Hans (the German Jew document forger), Robert (a Belgian bomb expert) and Carl (the "worrier" who cleans up after the others). They operate out of the official structure of Mossad, receiving large amounts of dollars in a Swiss bank. Hilarity ensues.

This movie is very good, heck, it was nominated for Best Picture. Eric Bana is good as the sometimes bungling leader of the assassination squad. I do think Speilberg glossed over some of the implications of what Israel did. The world gave Israel some leeway because of the Munich Massacre, but Israel took advantage of that.

Trivia: One of many non-James Bond films to star an actor who (as of yet, will) portray 007 (Daniel Craig) and an actor who has played a Bond nemesis (Michael Lonsdale). Others include Robin and Marian starring Sean Connery and Robert Shaw (who faced off in From Russia With Love), and The Longest Day, with Connery and Gert Fröbe (who co-starred in Goldfinger).

Good Night, And Good Luck

Good Night, and Good Luck takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in the 1950s. Edward R. Murrow (Best Actor Nominee David Strathairn), and his dedicated staff - headed by his co-producer Fred Friendly (Best Director Nominee George Clooney) and reporter Joe Wershba (Robert Downey, Jr.) in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures, and discredit the tactics used by Senator Joesph McCarthy during his crusade to root out communist elements within the government. Murrow first defends Milo Radulovich who was discharged from the US Army because his father subscribed to a Serbian newspaper. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental. Historical footage also shows the questioning of Annie Lee Moss a Pentagon communication worker accussed of being a Communist based on her name appearing on a list seen by an FBI infiltrator of the American Communist Party. The film's subplots feature recently married staffers having to hide their marriage to save their jobs at CBS; and the suicide of Don Hollenbeck who was accussed of being a "pinko." The film is bookended by a speech to the Radio and Television News Directors Association in which Murrow harshly admonishes them not to squander the potential of television to inform and educate the public. Hilarity ensues.

This is a very good movie. Shot in black and white, with plenty of close ups, the movies centers around the CBS studios in New York and Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now" program, it is visually very intimate. Most of the characters smoke (as they did back in the 50's) and slow swirling smoke adds to the effect of the black and white. The cast includes some very good actors like Strathairn, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downy, Jr., Ray Wise, and Tate Donovan.

Trivia: George Clooney had said that when the movie had undergone test screenings, audience members felt that the McCarthy character was overacting a bit, not realizing that it was really the actual Senator McCarthy through archive footage.

Best Picture of 1995

Nominees:
Apollo 13
Babe
Braveheart
The Postman (Il Postino)
Sense and Sensibility

Winner:
Braveheart

Story: William Wallace (Mel Gibson) is a Scottish rebel who leads an uprising against the cruel English ruler Edward the Longshanks, who wishes to inherit the crown of Scotland for himself. When he was a young boy, William Wallace's father and brother, along with many others, lost their lives trying to free Scotland. Once he loses another of his loved ones, William Wallace begins his long quest to make Scotland free once and for all, along with the assistance of Robert the Bruce. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The extras used for the battle scenes were mostly members of the F.C.A., the Irish version of the Territorial Army. As they were drawn from many different army companies, and the members of these are usually drawn from the same locality, local rivalry between such companies is common. Apparently, some of the battle scenes seen in the movie are far more realistic than you might imagine, with rival companies actually using the occasion to try the beat the tar out of each other.

So, tell me what you think? Did you like Braveheart? Would you have picked another movie as Best Picture? Why?

Best Picture of 1993

Nominees:
The Fugitive
In the Name of the Father
The Piano
The Remains of the Day
Schindler’s List

Winner:
Schindler’s List

Story: Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is a vain, glorious and greedy German businessman who becomes unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: Steven Spielberg was not paid for this film. He refused to accept a salary citing that it would be "blood money". At his insistence, all royalties and residuals from this film that would normally have gone to him instead are given to the Shoah Foundation, which records and preserves written and videotaped testimonies from survivors of genocide worldwide, including the Holocaust.

So, tell me what you think? Did you like Shindler’s List? Would you have picked another movie as Best Picture? Why?