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Home Archives for classic

February 22, 2012 By iluvcinema 17 Comments

The Best Picture Project: [An American in Paris, 1951]

First, a big shout out to Ruth at FlixChatter for putting this blogging event together. With a few days left until “the big night,” she has enlisted a few bloggers to take a look back at decades past and select one Best Picture winner from the decade we chose.

And the winner is …

As the title of this blog post suggests, the decade I have selected is the 1950’s and the year I will focus on is 1951 – the year in which Vincente Minelli’s musical An American in Paris took home the Oscar™ for Best Picture.

An American in Paris is a musical film set to the works of George and Ira Gershwin and tells the story of American G.I. Jerry (Gene Kelly) who has decided to remain in Paris following the Second World War. He makes a meager living selling his artistic wares on the streets, until one day he meets a wealthy patroness (Nina Foch) who takes him under her wing, although it is quite obvious that she is interested in more than buying his artwork. No sooner does he begin to adjust to his new situation that he meets and falls in love with ebullient Parisian Lise (Leslie Caron), who has a set of romantic complications of her own. And as with any of these stories, the course to true love never runs smoothly.

Take it or leave it, one thing is certain – Minelli sure knew how to direct a musical. And when combined with Gene Kelly’s masterful choreography (he choreographed all the dance sequences in the film), you end up with some lovely numbers, including a climatic, 16-minute ballet. This dance sequence, which probes Jerry’s momentary flight of fancy, needs to be seen to be understood as the thing of beauty it is and is well worth the price of admission.

For all the singing and dancing, let us not forget to give credit to the supporting players. Special notice goes to comedian/pianist Oscar Levant, who plays struggling composer Adam, a close associate of Kelly’s Jerry. His dry wit and deadpan delivery offer an interesting counterbalance to the bright spectacle that surrounds him.

The Competition

I know that 1939 is often known as the Golden Year for H-wood, but surely 1951 cannot be too far behind.

An American in Paris beat out the following competition in the Best Picture sweepstakes:

  • The Elia Kazan production of A Streetcar Named Desire in which Marlon Brando gave his breakthrough film performance as Stanley Kowalski.
  • Quo Vadis, the swords and sandals Roman epic
  • Decision by Dawn, a WWII drama directed by Anatole Litvak
  • A Place in the Sun, the sweeping tragic drama directed by George Stevens and starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters.

As if this list of nominees was not impressive enough, a closer look at the year that was 1951 reveals several films are proven are classics in their own right (and equally worthy of the highest plaudits). Among them are:

  • Detective Story
  • Show Boat
  • Ace in the Hole
  • The Lavender Hill Mob
  • The African Queen
  • Strangers on a Train
  • Scrooge
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • The Thing from Another Planet

Did the Academy get it right?

Of course this is a purely subjective question but let’s take a look more closely at what made An American in Paris rise above the other films to take home the awards ceremony’s top prize. According to American Movie Classics’ blog, filmsite.org, the musical’s victory was a bit of a surprise in a year when it was matched up against dramatic heavyweights A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire. Both films were heavily favored to receive the Best Picture gong. In the end, the prevailing theory is that when it came to voting time, the two films cancelled each other out, allowing the dark horse An American in Paris to pull off the upset.

As much as I enjoyed the musical whimsy of An American in Paris, my money would have definitely been on Streetcar or A Place in the Sun. Even now, 60 years after the ceremony, I see why Academy voters were split, although Streetcar might get the slight edge.

 

So there you have it. Have you seen An American in Paris? What did you think about it?

Filed Under: Classics Tagged With: academy award, an american in paris, classic, gene kelly, leslie caron

February 13, 2012 By iluvcinema 6 Comments

Rebecca 2.0

EGADS Looks like I will be dreaming of Manderley again!

Joan Fontaine as 'The New Mrs. de Winter" and Dame Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" (1940)

Imagine my surprise when I found out that one of my favorite books of all time, Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, which in turn became a 1940 film directed by one of my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock, was getting a cinematic remake/reboot.

According to Variety Magazine’s Showblitz blog, DreamWorks and Working Title Films are joining forces to bring a fresh vision of this classic tale to the silver screen. The good news: Steven Knight, whose previous work includes Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and Steven Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things.

In case you have not read the book or seen the 1940 Hitchcock film, here is a very brief synopsis:

A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband’s glamorous first wife.

And here is the trailer for that film:

While not considered a quintessential ‘Hitchockian’ thriller, this film marked Mr. Hitchcock’s first Hollywood studio production and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of 1940.

Now that you have a little background information, tell me:

Who would you like to see cast in the title roles of the unnamed author, her new husband, Maxim de Winter, and most importantly, the maid Mrs. Danvers?

 

Filed Under: Coming Soon Tagged With: alfred hitchcock, classic, daphne dumaurier, dreamworks, rebecca, working title

October 6, 2010 By iluvcinema 2 Comments

Quick Pick: “I Married a Witch” (1942)

1941:  American leading lady Veronica Lake (Constance Ockleman, 1919 - 1973) wearing a glass-beaded dress in a scene from 'I Wanted Wings' about the fortunes of three recruits to the American Air Force, directed by Mitchell Leisen  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

I tweeted about this film last night as I watched its closing moments. I just wanted to take a moment to briefly post here about what an imaginative, creative piece of cinema this was. As a fan of the television series “Bewitched” (which this film predates by 20 years or so), I really was taken in by the story of a witch mixing with a mortal and all the wondrous things that come with that.

The film was directed by René Clair and is based on the novel The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith.

The supporting cast is also of note and includes the likes of Cecil Kellaway,  Susan Hayward and the ever entertaining Robert Benchley.

For more information on this film, I refer you to the entry in the TCM Movie Database.

Filed Under: Recommendation, Reviews Tagged With: classic, fantasy, fredric march, romance, supermatural, veronica lake, witches

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