It Happened One Night (1934)

As of today, It Happened One Night is the earliest Best Picture winner I have seen. The movie follows a rich, young woman (Claudette Colbert) who marries a man and her father is extremely opposed to the marriage. Before the marriage is consummated, her father intervenes and she manages to run away. She boards a bus and there meets an out-of-work reporter (Clark Gable). He recognizes who she is and gives her the option to give him the "inside scoop" and he will return her to her new husband or he will call her father and collect the award he is offering for his daughter.

The title really has nothing to do with the story. It takes place over several days (and nights). The most famous scene of the film is when the two must resort to hitch-hiking. He has little luck in getting a car to stop and give them a ride so she hikes up her skirt, flashes a bit of leg, and the next car to pass by stops to give them a ride. This scene was recreated in the newest Sex and the City movie and makes me want to slap the writers.

It Happened One Night was the first film to win all of the Big Five Awards at the Oscars: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Only two other films have been able to say the same in the 82 years of the Academy Awards - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Silence of the Lambs.

This movie is a real gem. It has a simple plot and is an enjoyment to watch. There is no over-thinking needed to watch It Happened One Night. It is a fun treasure from the early days of motion pictures.

All About Eve (1950)

"They smile in your face, all the time they wanna take your place...the back stabbers." That lyric pretty much sums up this movie. All About Eve follows a woman who wants desperately to become a star so she does what seems like the best option. She becomes friends with a top actress and uses her and her connections to get ahead. Like this NEVER happens in Hollywood. I would venture to guess Miss Eve knew her way around a casting couch as well.

If nothing else ladies, let this film be a lesson to you if any younger, less fortunate woman tries to get on your good graces through flatery. She is probably just using you and will cut your throat the minute she knows she can. The only beauty in this film is that at the end, we get a glimpse that Eve is going to have the same thing happen to her as she did to the other woman on her way to the top.

Ordinary People (1980)

Ordinary People seems to have rated high and fared well with audiences. The story focuses around a wealthy family whose older son was killed in a boating accident and their younger son who feels unloved by his mother, not connected to his father, and blames himself for his brother's death. The younger son attempts suicide and ends up spending a little time with the men in white jackets.

Mary Tyler Moore plays the mother who really does not love her younger son and is completely embarrassed by the fact he spent time under lock and key. Her character is the "poster child" for those WASP mothers who believe a solid layer of denial and a happy face mask all the personal problems she has.

From what I remember about this film, the younger son makes a friend in a girl from school. He takes her bowling, then to McDonald's, and then tries to reveal his attempted suicide to her. Yep, a Best Picture winner featured a bowling alley.

In the end, the mother admits to loving only the older son and she ends up leaving her husband and younger son behind. The father and son then rejoice and realize they do have something in common, the frigid bitch they called wife/mom. Mary Tyler Moore came a long way from playing Laura Petrie.

To me, this was just another family-based drama and little else. Here's the thing - every family has issues. It is not a big secret. There are even a few frigid bitches in my extended family. They know who they are. I am not a huge fan of movies centering around family life. In the instances I do like a family-centered film, it is their dysfunctions that make them appealing.

Timothy Hutton won Best Supporting Actor for his role. To date, he is the youngest man to win that award; he was 20 years old when he won.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, not far from the steel mill towns, but among those deer hunting-crazied people. Maybe that has something to do with the fact this movie hit home with me. It takes place in Clairton, PA and was filmed in various dying steel towns on the outskirts of Pittsburgh.

While I was not a young woman during the Vietnam War, I was when the Iraq conflict began in the early part of the 21st century. I watched as some of my male friends joined the armed forces and even had a boyfriend or two do the same. Robert De Niro's character is an amalgamation of those former boyfriends. It is because of his work in this movie that I have become quite a De Niro fan and will admit to even having a bit of a crush on him. I watched the first half of the movie and thought, "Wow, Robert Duvall is really attractive in this!" I then re-read the sleeve from Netflix and realized I had the wrong Robert D. Whoops!

The story centers around three friends as they prepare to leave their blue collar jobs to join the military and head to Vietnam. One is marrying his girlfriend while the other two are in love with the same woman. The three men often deer hunt together and De Niro's character is by far the most superior hunter.

They all meet in Vietnam while under fire and after having been there for some time. All three are captured and their captors use a torture method that doubles as entertainment for the men imprisioning them. These men force the American prisoners of war to play Russian Roulette. The game changes the lives and mental state of the three men.

I do not want to give anything more away for those who have not seen the film but it boils down to when De Niro's character returns, he is no longer able to shoot a deer. The movie shows what is unforunately the pattern in the United States - the poor boys go off to war because the rich boys either can get out of going, do not care, or do not need the money. When the young men returned from Vietnam, there was no celebration like after the victory of WWII. These guys were basically forgotten except by those close to them. They came home from a "war" that really was won by nobody. The mental suffering of these veterans is also showcased in the film but to say any more would be to give away parts of the story.

Christoper Walken won a Best Supporting Actor award for his role in The Deer Hunter. Rounding out the great cast were Meryl Streep and John Savage.

Titanic (1997)

Recently I wondered if there was any year that I could say I have seen all the Best Picture Nominees. There are several years that I have seen all but one. However, for the 1997 nominees, I have seen them all. I know I have mentioned before that the Oscars stand as is so there is little reason to gripe about those that did not win. I would just like to say that I believe this is a year the Academy got it wrong.

I was 14 when Titanic became a worldwide phenomenon. It is the Best Picture winner that I have seen more times in the theater than any other (5). I mean no disrespect to the movie because let's face it, it was and still is a big deal. While it is a work of fiction, it is encompassed by a real event.

Titanic is a three-hour film and the only one I have ever seen in the theater that gave you an intermission. The budget was some ridiculous number, $200 million I believe, but it made well over $1 billion worldwide. Adjusting for inflation, the only movie to gross more than Titanic is Gone with the Wind. Titanic had very impressive sets, amazing costumes, and was the grandest film to come along in ages. The screenplay was mediocre and the acting was alright. It pains me to say that because my absolute favorite actress, Kate Winslet, was nominated for a Best Actress award but did not win for Titanic. She was the strongest actor in the film but she went on to win an Oscar for a better role.

I am even okay with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" winning Best Song, although I have not heard that song in years and I would be okay with never hearing it again. *SOAPBOX SPEECH* To all of you that used this as a wedding song, you do realize it is about someone who is no longer with you? The same goes for those who used "I Will Always Love You" as your first dance. It is about ending a relationship. Please research your first song because when you do not, you look like an ass. *END SOAPBOX*

I can admit I was one of those people swept up in the Titanic craze that followed the film's release. I even went to the Titanic exhibit when it came to Pittsburgh a few years ago. The real story, and even the film, suck you in because it was a tragedy caused by complete ignorance on the part of the people in charge. I also thought Leo was just so cute in 1997. I was a 14 year old girl and liked guys who looked like 14 year old girls. I much prefer Cal (Billy Zane) now. He is tall, dark, and handsome. Cal's money is just an added bonus. *Spoiler Alert* The character kills himself in 1929 so Rose would have gotten all his money and still been able to be a free spirit. That money would have bought her quite a few roller coasters and horses. There is nothing saying she had to stay in "society" after his death.

Yes, Titanic is a grand film that is not going to fade any time soon. However, just because something is monstrous, does not mean it was a best picture of any year. The Harry Potter and Twilight films are usually the top box office movies in the year which they are released but none of them should ever win Best Picture. Because I have seen all 5 nominated films from 1997, I feel I can voice my opinion. If I got to vote for the Best Picture of 1997, my vote would go to L.A. Confidential. What it did not have in grandeur, it made up for with a superb cast. Billy Crystal hosted the 70th Academy Awards and during his opening song, he said L.A. Confidential could have been the iceberg that night. However, Titanic, the film, was unsinkable at the Academy Awards. It took home 11 of the 14 awards for which it was nominated. Titanic is currently in a 3-way tie with Ben-Hur and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the most Oscar wins for a film.