Ben-Hur (1959)

One of my moments of pure stupidity occurred while watching Ben-Hur. I borrowed the DVD from work and it was a two-sided disc and not labeled. I watched the second half, in its entirety, before figuring out I missed the first chunk of the movie. I did question why they would put the famous chariot race at the beginning of an almost 4-hour movie but it did not make me stop the movie and check. Then when I tried to watch the first side, it would not play in any of the DVD players in my house.

Now, for the film. All I can say is hell hath no fury like a Roman scorned. Messala totally had a thing for Judah Ben-Hur. I am not sure if it was just a bromance and it is really none of my business. Every time he said "Judah," mentally I began singing the Lady Gaga song "Judas."

Ben-Hur made the comment that only one other man had helped him and he wasn't sure why at the time. He was convinced these people helped him so he could go back and get his revenge. Okay, the one man was Jesus. I will admit I am a lapsed Christian but even I don't remember Jesus being all about revenge and killing those who have wronged you.

I was also really disappointed that Charlton Heston didn't shoot anyone in the movie. I have heard for years how gun crazy this man was and yet he did not use a gun at all in a film set in the first century. What a let down.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing is that a stunt man was killed during the filming of the chariot race scenes. And they left his death in the film! Until another 3+ hour movie with a ridiculous budget came along (Titanic in 1997), this movie had the most Oscars, claiming 11 of them. It is now tied with two other films, Titanic and LOTR: The Return of the King. To be honest, I could go the rest of my life not seeing any of these 3 films again.

Gigi (1958)

Gigi managed to have the record for the most Oscars for an entire year. The film won 9 awards including Best Picture.

The most memorable song from the movie is "Thank Heaven for Little Girls."

Maybe this is my modern-day view on the whole situation but I do not care for the idea of grooming a young girl to impress men. The lead man goes from being a confirmed bachelor to realizing this little girl, who isn't a "little girl" anymore, is the woman that will make him change his ways and settle into marriage. *Rolling eyes* Please. This is exactly why women are sorely disappointed when men don't want to marry them.

It starts off that this man and the girl's grandmother want Gigi to be his mistress. Maybe my grandmothers are/were older-fashioned than this woman. I cannot imagine either of my grandmothers suggesting I become a kept woman. Then again, they are doubtfully going to make a movie about my life.

Rebecca (1940)

This is another Best Picture winner with trivia attached to it. Because it was assumed Gone with the Wind would take home the Best Picture award in 1939, the release of Rebecca was held until 1940 so it would have a chance at the award. It is also the only film, since the introduction of supporting actor awards, that won Best Picture and no other award for acting, writing, or directing. That's got to hurt.

It occured to me after seeing this film that it definitely walks a similiar line with Jane Eyre. The woman is the second wife of an older, secretive man. They live in a mansion that is creepy and set in the English countryside. Then at the end, there is a huge fire that kills a crazy woman.

The maid was a just a bit psychotic. I read that Hitchcock intended her to have "lesbian undertones." Apparently hinting at this was so subtle that I completely missed it. I just figured the woman was crazy. Not exactly a nice way to paint lesbians there, Alfred.

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Here we go. This is the guy that was married to Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. This film is a musical about one of the most famous men of Broadway.

The cast in this film is dazzling, to say the least. The supporting roles are filled by the lovely Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer (the most senior Oscar winner still alive), also Ray Bolger (AKA Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz) in an extremely impressive dance number, and Fanny Brice (not Barbra's version of her but the real "Funny Girl.").

The musical numbers are quite memorable. The one that sticks with me is the one where the camera does one continuous shot of the "wedding cake" type decoration. My explanation will not do it justice. The video is probably on Youtube so be sure to look for it there.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Unfortunately, I think I am combining two movies when I think of The Life of Emile Zola. For some reason, I thought he was married to Billie Burke (AKA Glinda, The Good Witch of the North) but I realized that is the Best Picture winner from the previous year.

To be honest, I do not remember much about this film. The thing I recall most about Emile Zola is that I have read his book, Therese Raquin. His books were considered controversial but other than that, I do not seem to remember anything about him from this film. This is why I must do these postings as soon as I watch the film!

The Departed (2006)

Now to represent for the evil Irish side of the family. Can someone in the US please make a movie about good things Italian and Irish? Why must we always go for organized crime?

The cops have a mole in Jack Nicholson's gang of thugs. Jack Nicholson has a mole within the cops. It is extremely nerve-wracking not knowing if they will find each other out.

The Departed is the only time I have found Leonardo DiCaprio attractive. I honestly had a hard time telling him and Matt Damon apart. Maybe this was done deliberately to confuse everybody watching. If so, it worked for me.

That being said, I have to admit that this is one of my favorite Best Picture winners. *SPOILER* I think it is my unrealistic need for justice in the world. Everybody dies! Not only the "good" guys but the evil bastards that actually deserve to die, get killed. Matt Damon kills Jack Nicholson, who was actually turning evidence over to the FBI. When Martin Sheen was killed, it was so upsetting. His son (I will assume NOT Charlie) was at Notre Dame and he would never see him graduate. Just awful. And just when Matt Damon is begging Leo to kill him, the elevator door opens and Leo gets shot in the head! I never saw it coming. Matt Damon then kills the guy that saved him. But Mark Wahlberg saves the day. After Matt Damon loses the girl, he comes home to his empty apartment with a view and gets shot. It is poetic justice. There were so many twists at the end of this film.

I suppose I should rely highly on my English and German heritage because as the last three posts have shown us, my Italian and Irish roots can be sinister.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

The thing that I love most about The Godfather Part II winning Best Picture is all the trivia associated with it. Currently it is the only sequel with the former film winning the award as well. The two pictures also feature the only time two actors have won acting awards for playing the same character (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro).

What I liked about the second part was we got the back story of this family. We learned what it was like when they first arrived in the states. It also gave us a chance to see a young De Niro. That is never a bad thing.

We also learn that if you cross an Italian-American, you will pay for it with your life. It doesn't matter if you are brothers. You will get shot in the back of the head while fishing. There are also dealings with Cuba and a flashback scene so James Caan could make an appearance. Still not one of my favorite films but enjoyable to watch the one time I did.

The Godfather (1972)

My mother's side of the family is Italian-American. For years I have heard stories about when the first generation came to the US. The stories are not all pretty or "legal." My maternal grandmother was part Sicilian and I suspect past generations of that side of the family dealt with some shady people. I have never particularly cared for mob movies just because I would rather not know what some of my ancestors may have been capable of doing.

There are 2 rules I like to live by concerning Italian-Americans: 1) Never piss off an Italian-American and 2) Ignore the morons from the Jersey Shore. They are easily confused and give those of us with our lives together a bad reputation. I personally would like to see Marlon Brandon make The Situation an offer he couldn't refuse. Someone would have to interpret for him using monosyllabic words but it would entertain me for years to come.

While I liked The Godfather, it is not one of my favorite Best Picture winners. I do not care for the message that is sent; that the only way to get ahead is to do illegal things. It is probably true but there are a lot of people in this world that do what is right and fair. Unfortunately, great movies are rarely made about them.

The absolute most disturbing scene in any film is from this movie. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. I am talking about the horse head. That is just beyond evil. It takes a big person to kill a defenseless animal. I imagine this is the type of scene that lead Glenn Close to boil a child's rabbit a decade and a half later. What in the hell is wrong with people?

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

The first thing that most people will say about Midnight Cowboy is that it is the only film so far to win Best Picture while it had an X-rating. Watching the movie 40+ years later, it is nothing that shocking but apparently in 1969, it was worthy of the label. The rating was changed to R a few years after it was released but when it won the Oscar, it was rated X.

The movie features Dustin Hoffman in his first of three Best Picture appearances. One of the most famous movie quotes is said by Hoffman while crossing the street and almost getting hit by a car. Hoffman's, "I'm walkin' here!" has been copied in other films including Back to the Future Part II and Miss Congeniality.

The other star of the movie is Jon Voight, most famous for being Angelina Jolie's father. It is Voight's character that moves to the city to become a male prostitute but has no idea how the business is handled.

Several good movies were nominated for the 1969 Best Picture Oscar. I personally liked other ones more than Midnight Cowboy but it is occasionally good to see something win that will upset prudes.

My Fair Lady (1964)

I love Audrey Hepburn. I love England. I love musicals. So naturally, I love the film My Fair Lady .

The movie is based on the musical that was based on the play Pygmalion written by George Bernanrd Shaw. It involves a bet between two men that the one, a master of linguistics, can make a guttersnipe appear to be a lady among the wealthy, upper-crust.

In my senior English class in high school, we had to read Pygmalion. The teacher assigned roles to the class and told us to read them using an English accent. My role that day was that of Freddie's mother. When it was my turn to read, I did so in my best English accent. After I read, the teacher stopped the next person from reading and asked if I had worked on that accent. I told her I had not but she (and people in my class) were really impressed. It made my day and further increased my desire to go to England.

But back to the film. Henry Higgins is also an older man and Eliza could do worse. I know Freddie loved her and all but an older bachelor is the way to go. It annoys me that a scene from this movie was "modernized" in the atrocity that is Pretty Woman. (Think the horse race scene.)

The music in this is also really fun and famous. It features such songs as "Why Can't the English?," "Wouldn't it Be Loverly?," "I Could Have Danced All Night," and "Get Me to the Church on Time." I know there was a huge controversy over Julie Andrews not playing Eliza in the film. I am sure Julie was not too upset about not getting that role because she took home the Oscar that year for Mary Poppins.

Rain Man (1988)

I just finished watching Rain Man, the 1988 Best Picture winner. Since the age of about 4, I have been annoyed by Tom Cruise. I refused to watch Top Gun because I told my father the guy in it was a jerk. This was decades before he made couch-jumping a term we all know. Am I a trendsetter? I'd like to think I am but that's another story.

A person exploiting his or her autistic sibling is wrong. Tom Cruise played a yuppie son-of-a-bitch about as well as Michael Douglas can play a smarmy Wall Street tycoon. (This is a complement and I shall go no further.) Sure, he got to know his brother and have a change of heart but it still doesn't change the fact that he was a greedy, self-centered man. Even at the end, he wanted his brother in his life for selfish reasons, not what was best for the brother.

Dustin Hoffman was brilliant. Not to go all Tropical Thunder but it seems to be true that any time an actor or actress takes on a role that requires less or unique brain power, they hit Oscar gold. Not to take away from those people because Hoffman did a stellar job.

For being a Best Picture Winner, I was very pleased that it was not boring or overly long. I will definitely add this one to the "liked" column.

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire is the Best Picture winner from 1981 that depicts two British track Olympians from the 1924 Olympic games. It is based on a true story.

I remember that one of the athletes was a Christian and the other was Jewish. While the movie was good and I know I liked it, I do not remember anything else about it, other than the song. The song, of the same title, is far more famous than the film. After researching it, I vaguely remember that the Christian athlete won a gold medal at the games that year.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

I feel certain there are thousands of women that question everyday if having children was the right decision. There must be days when a parent wonders what life he/she would be leading had they not chosen to be a parent. As a childless woman, I am aware everyday of things I could not do if I were a mother. When I see women my age with a handful of children, trying to correct them or whatever it is moms have to do, I feel this overwhelming sense of relief.

That is not to say that someday I do not want to have a child. That day is just not in the immediate future. When I have a child, it will be after I have thought long and hard about it. I do not want to be the Meryl Streep character from Kramer vs. Kramer. At the minimum, motherhood is an 18-year job.

After walking away from her family, the ex-wife/mother comes back into the lives of her ex-husband and son. Now that she has taken time to figure out what she wants, she decides to fight her ex for custody of the child. In the end, she makes the the more selfless (in my opinion) choice. She realizes she cannot do it and the father should be his primary care-giver. Some people are better parents for walking away. Staying in the child's life can lead to resenting the child and causing him/her years of pain and even more years of therapy. I am not saying the answer is not to have kids. I just think people need to really think before they have children.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

In 1946, Americans, like millions of people around the world, were settling back into life post World War II. It is only fitting that the Best Picture winner from that year follows the lives of three men from the same town as they come home from the war on the European and Pacific fronts.

The three men are Al, a married man with two grown children; Fred, a guy from the wrong side of the tracks who married a blonde military groupie just before leaving to fight; and Butch, a sweet guy with a great gal that he feels deserves better than him now that he is returning from war after losing both of his hands.

Butch begins to push his girlfriend away, even though she does not seem to have a problem with his injuries.

As luck would have it, Al's wholesomely beautiful daughter (Peggy) meets Fred and the two fall for each other. Of course Blondie is in the way but she is quickly losing interest in her husband now that he is out of uniform and working his pre-war job as a soda jerk in a local pharmacy.

Peggy admits to her mother that she feels Fred deserves better than his current wife and that she intends to break up their marriage. Her mother tells her that her own marriage to Al was faced with the same problem in the past but they overcame it. When Al hears of this, he quickly tells Fred to stay away from his daughter. A little hypocritical there, Al. Men are fine with women chasing after them and ruining marriages, unless of course one of the women is his own daughter.

Fred is absolutely adorable and even knocks around one of his customers for having negative things to say about the war. He of course loses his job for this and his wife, who is courting other men, tells him that she gave him the best years of her life and is now leaving him. Men still are fascinated by shallow women like her so it shows men may never evolve.

In the end, Fred plans to leave town and move on with his life elsewhere. While at the airport, he happens to stumble into a better job dealing with the planes he flew in the war. Butch does marry his girlfriend and it is at the wedding Fred and Peggy see each other again. Peggy, unlike his charming ex-wife, seems happy to struggle along side him. While it never says, one can assume that Fred and Peggy added to the Baby-Boomer generation.

The Best Years of Our Lives is one of my favorite Oscar winning films. I am not saying that any war should be romanticized. However, World War II is the last time in American history that the unquestionable majority stood behind the country's fight. Korea seems to be a war forgotten by anyone not directly involved. Vietnam was the first time the country really divided and generations openly disagreed with each other. The Cold War cannot really "count" as a war. The streets of NYC did not fill with people following any news in either Iraq conflict. Americans pulled together for the war effort in the 1940s. The end of the war and the boys coming home was a huge reason for celebration for the nation. Perhaps one of the greatest moments on film is the nurse-sailor kiss in Times Square on V-J Day. I mean, does a world war really have to end to get kissed like that? Unless you are staring in a major motion picture, I am assuming so.

Gandhi (1982)

Anytime an actor seems to become another real person in film, he or she tends to be rewarded with the one of the best acting awards for that year. Ben Kingsley did so when he played Gandhi.

Gandhi was a lawyer and gave up the profession to help lead India to their independence from Britain. He also was a believer in peace and equality. He was a typical Libra, which is always a good thing (I know because I am one as well).

The movie clocks in at over 3 hours long. Best Picture winners tend to be super long movies. The movie begins with Gandhi's assassination and then goes back to tell the story of his life. It is always amazing to me that people who promote peace or are non-violent people seem to meet death through acts of violence. MLK is another example of this scenario.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Prior to watching The Tudors, my only knowledge of Thomas More was that he wrote Utopia. It was a book that I had to read and report about in my World Civilizations class in college.

Years later I got caught up in the story of the Tudor dynasty and the serial-marrying man, Henry VIII. Back in the time of the Tudors, hell, even now in some parts of the world, having a son is the greatest thing a man can accomplish. Henry VIII married his older brother's widow. They got the Pope to swear Henry's bride-to-be had never had carnal relations with the brother so it was okay with the Catholic Church that they marry.

Well, poor Katherine of Aragon managed to get pregnant several times but the only child to survive was a daughter. For an ego-maniac like Henry VIII, that was just not going to cut it. So the formerly devout Catholic king starts insisting that because it says in the Bible that a man shall not take his brother's wife, their marriage is cursed and God is punishing them with no sons. Truth be told, Henry was obsessed with Anne Boelyn and she wouldn't put out until Henry put a ring on her finger.

So Henry asks the Pope to grant him a divorce from Katherine because he feels the marriage was never legitimate anyway. There is just one problem - Catholics and divorce do not mix. Thomas More and a great many British subjects love Katherine and feel Henry is going too far. When the Pope refuses to grant a divorce, Henry just starts his own church. Men in lust will do anything. He has his church say his marriage was never valid and clears the way to marry Miss Boelyn.

To an insult to injury, Henry makes all the British subjects, including his former Queen and their daughter, swear their allegiance to Queen Anne and that any children she bears are the rightful heirs to the throne. Thomas More is one of those who refuses to take the oath so he is tried and executed for it. He was made a saint 400 years later so as far as Catholics go, he went straight to the top.

Henry went on to be kind of a joke, at least in my humble opinion. When Anne Boelyn was only able to provide a living daughter, he had lies created about her that resulted in her head being severed. His third wife died giving birth to his precious male heir. But Henry did not stop there. He agreed to a political marriage to a woman he saw only in a portrait. After meeting her, he decided she wasn't pretty enough for him. This coming from a man that looked like Fat Bastard by this time. He then marries a teenager that is also sleeping with one of her distant relatives. Henry has her killed and moves on to the sixth and final wife. Catherine Parr was lucky enough to have Henry die while married to her or she probably would have been disposed of for some reason or another too. Although, this Catherine did die not long after Henry. She died giving birth to her next husband's child.

The wonderful irony of the Tudors family is that the only male heir was sickly and died young. After Jane Grey, the daughter from the first marriage became Queen. By that time she had become slightly unbalanced and started killing those who were now not Catholics. When she died in her 40s, her half-sister, Anne Boelyn's daughter, took over. Elizabeth I ruled for almost 45 years. Girl Power! Elizabeth I was loved by her people and was the ruler during the whole Spanish Armada thing. Maybe fathers should be a little more proud of their daughters. Because let's face it, the women usually outlive the men.

Casablanca (1943)

I know I am going to be criticized and picked apart by most film lovers for not liking Casablanca. The movie was released 40 years before my birth so I grew up seeing this film spoofed so much that by the time I had to sit through the film in a college class, I felt I had already seen it.

It is your everyday boy meets girl, they have an epic love affair, turns out girl is married to anti-Nazi who is imprisoned at the time, "time goes by," boy opens a cafe in Casablanca, girl walks into his gin joint with husband, boy helps girl and husband flee the country. In the words of Peter Griffin, "I just saved you 2 boring hours."

The movie is also so over-quoted that it is annoying. "Play it again, Sam," is never even said in the movie yet people will argue tooth and nail that it is. I also could never bring myself to like Humphrey Bogart. I once read that he treated Audrey Hepburn terribly while filming Sabrina so I cannot like someone that treated her poorly, I am sorry. I am however, more fascinated with his marriage and love with Lauren Bacall than I am with this movie.

It is a classic and it is because of that I knew all the lines, how it ended, and the scene set-ups prior to viewing the actual film. I am not saying it would not be impressive to someone seeing it for the first time but I was left cold.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Is Shakespeare in Love cute? Sure. Was it enjoyable? Yeah. Did it deserve to win Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan? Wait, what? It beat Saving Private Ryan for the Best Picture of 1998? That was my initial reaction when seeing what the other Best Picture Nominees were that year.

I mean, it was a fun movie and I liked it but I don't think it was the Best Picture of 1998. I am going to guess that the Academy still had their heads up their asses because a year earlier they awarded Titanic the coveted award. Apparently the Academy needed more of the pretty, young, English girl (this time an American playing a Brit, the opposite of Kate Winslet the year before) engaged to be married to the stiff, upper class man but secretly wanting more. So she goes and screws the first artist she stumbles upon. In this case, he is a playwright, not a live-nude artist named Jack Dawson.

Again, I would pick the man the girl doesn't seem to want - in this case it is Colin Firth! I have nothing against Joseph Fiennes but he's not Colin Firth. In the same year, Joseph Fiennes played Shakespeare (who is told by Elizabeth I that Gwyneth needs to be with Colin) and Robert Dudley (who was shagging Elizabeth I). Oh, and I forgot Ben Affleck is in this movie. *groan* This was also the year that he was supposed to be left on an astroid but Bruce Willis had to go and be noble.

The opening music of the film is delightful though. I do own the soundtrack and I really did not mind the movie. I just think Saving Private Ryan was a better film and should have won.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

I am going to come out and just admit it; I cannot stand Kevin Costner. Mainly because he is an actor that cannot act. When he tries to do an accent, he fails miserably. Yet, he makes more money than anybody who actually does their job and does it well. That being said, he should stick to his baseball movies because he plays an arrogant son-of-bitch better than most because I maintain he is one.

I began watching Dances with Wolves secretly hoping I would not like it so I could go on about how awful it was and how terrible he is. Much to my displeasure, I loved the movie and Mr. Costner did not get under my skin like he usually does.

What really pisses me off about this movie is the killing of the animals. First the horse then the wolf. There is a short list of things that are going to really upset me when I watch a film and killing animals (although I know it is fake) is right at the top. I think it should be listed somewhere on the box of a film, "Animal Death Included" so I know to pass by it and go for another title.

It also really bothers me how those of European descent felt entitled to drive the Natives off of the lands they inhabited for thousands of years prior and think it was acceptable. This would include my own ancestors, at least on my father's side.

Even though I hate to admit it, Kevin Costner is credited with 2 Oscars assocaited with this film. He won for Best Director and Best Film. Although, I am just saying, neither award was for his acting. He has won a few Razzies for his acting though. Apparently, I am not alone in my thinking. You stick to those sports movies, Kevin and leave the real work to those who know how.

Schindler's List (1993)

I somehow managed to get through high school and college, as a history major no less, without ever having a single lesson on World War II. I fully intend to do more research on my own but I am not sure yet where to begin or how to go about it.

It was not until recently that I first saw Schindler's List. I hate to admit it but until the end of the film, I had no idea it was a true story. Seeing the survivors walk up to the real Schindler's grave and put roses on it was when it clicked for me.

This blog is meant to be about film so I will not go into my feelings about how negative and harmful religions can be. I just need to say that the events of the Holocaust were not in Biblical times. It was all happening less than a century ago. People being brainwashed by charismatic, yet vile, leaders is not something new and it is bound to continue into the future. We need to not be afraid to think for ourselves. It is important to education yourself and not be taken in by someone else's beliefs, thoughts, or actions.

I have yet to watch a film about the Holocaust that did not make my cry and really upset me. I am not Jewish and I cannot even say I am close to anyone that is. There is just something about hatred based on religion, a sin all religions are probably guilty of doing by at least some of its members, that is inherently hypocritical.

Ralph Fiennes always plays evil well. This role for him was no exception. Liam Neeson also does a stellar job, as he usually does. The film won 7 Oscars and Steven Spielberg won his first Best Director Oscar for the film.

If the viewer takes away nothing else from the film, just remember that if a self-serving business man can be changed into saving 1,100+ people from certain death, maybe you can do a little more to be a better person.

Tom Jones (1963)

Where can I even begin on this picture? Tom Jones, the movie, not the Welshman that sings, won Best Picture in 1963. Why it won Best Picture, I am not really sure. The Academy is known for making some questionable choices and this is one of those ones that I question.

I have not seen the other four films nominated for Best Picture that year so maybe Tom Jones was the best there was. Without having actually seen it, I would guess Cleopatra would be more interesting than this film.

The majority of the characters in Tom Jones, including the title character, are not likeable. The pace of the movie is odd. While there is an attempt at humor, something about it just does not work. The score was also borderline annoying.

I was amused when I figured out that the lead actor was Daddy Warbucks from the 1982 film version of Annie. I barely noticed him with hair.

The King's Speech (2010)

There is something to be said for seeing a Best Picture winner before it actually wins the award. As luck would have it, I got to see The King's Speech a few weeks before it won the award about an hour ago.

I do not hide the fact that I am an Anglophile. Foreign actors and actresses always just seem to be better than the American ones. There are a few American actors I would argue are wonderful at what they do but those ones seeking fame and cookie-cutter roles should never be praised or call what they do acting.

Now, for Colin Firth. I was not one of those people that saw his famous BBC production of Pride and Prejudice back in 1995. I did however, love him as the updated Mr. Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary. One of my other favorite movies is Love Actually, also staring Mr. Firth.

The King's Speech was exactly what I expected from a British film. There were scenes that made the audience laugh, scenes that provided a lump in the back of your throat (one should never cry at a British film, it would be very un-British), and scenes that made you sympathize with a "king." As I was watching the film, I thought to myself, "This is Best Picture material."

Some of the works of Beethoven are used during the film which help add to my loving it. While the King is giving his speech to a nation about to enter World War II, the music complements the speech so well that it gave me goosebumps and a sense of pride that I would imagine would be patriotism, if I were a royal subject. I came home from the movie that evening and purchased one of the famous posters from Britain in WWII, "Keep Calm and Carry On."

I did notice that the woman who played Geoffrey Rush's wife in the film was Elizabeth Bennet to Colin Firth's Fitzwilliam Darcy. The entire cast was wonderful and even the corgis were precious. I am very glad this film won Best Picture and that Colin Firth took home the Best Actor award! God Save the King!

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

To my knowledge, The Silence of the Lambs is the only Best Picture winner to have been filmed in Pittsburgh. I grew up with Pittsburgh as the nearest urban area. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when I first saw this movie and I can remember my dad showing me filming locations for it.

The movie is a story of a young woman (played by Jodie Foster) who is training to become an FBI agent. While in her training, there is a serial killer on the loose that is killing larger women and skinning part of their bodies for unknown reasons. In order to catch this killer before he strikes again, the FBI sends the young agent to see a psychologist with a criminal profiling background to help them get an idea of who is doing it and why. There is just one small problem, the psychologist is locked up for having unusual eating habits.

As a child, I can remember going with my parents to get their VCR fixed or cleaned at this video rental store about 15 miles from their house. The man who owned the place looked just like the serial killer in this film and he scared the hell out of me. He later would dub my North and South Book III tapes for me - I bought them from the UK, not knowing they would not work in the US but by that time I was old enough to realize he was not the same guy.

For a few years, I wanted to be a Criminal Profiler and even started college as a psychology major. A few reasons played in to me changing majors but I think in the back of my mind, I had a fear of one day running into a real-life Hannibal Lector. The Silence of the Lambs came from a book and is the second part in a trilogy by Thomas Harris. I had to read the first book in the series, Red Dragon, in college. One film adaptation of Red Dragon features the adorable Edward Norton in the lead role.

This is one of my favorite Best Pictures winners. I love psychological thrillers. The movie came out long before the television shows such as Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Minds aired. Currently, The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to win all of the Big Five Oscar awards (Picture, Screenplay, Director, Actor, and Actress). And to date, it is the most recent one to do so. The film has also been quoted and spoofed in many films and on television.

West Side Story (1961)

I was introduced to Romeo and Juliet when I was about 13 years old. I think this is the appropriate age for a girl to read the story because as she gets older, she realizes how stupid it is. Juliet was around 13 and at that age, a girl has yet to be completely let down by her fair share of suitors. Romeo is a 15 year old guy (need I say more?) and is in love with one woman in the morning and in love with another that very night. The only way for this tragedy to happen is to make the leads young and therefor, very stupid. Oh yeah, and they come from rivaling families. I am sure that when Shakespeare wrote this story, it was gripping stuff (as we learn in Shakespeare in Love) but by 1961, people were ready for a film that brought the musical version of this story to life.

The musical is not about two Italian families who hate each other. Instead it features an Irish-American (Jets) gang and a Puerto Rican-American (Sharks) gang in New York City. They of course are rival gangs. So one of the "Irish" guys falls in love with a girl named Maria. Maria is Puerto Rican, played by the Russian-American Natalie Wood, with vocals by Marni Nixon. Rita Moreno really is Puerto Rican and won an Oscar for the role without singing. I thought that was illegal? George Chakiris is really Greek-American but he really sang his songs and he also won the Oscar. And do not even get me started on the bad fake tans they gave the "Puerto Ricans" in this movie. I imagine today it would be border-line racist.

(Spoilers) Anyone who knows Romeo and Juliet can figure out what happens to the characters in this film, with one change at the end. "Juliet" somehow manages not to die. I like that ending better. No man you have known for a few days is worth shoving a dagger through your heart. If he wants to die for you, by all means let him. Don't be such a wimp! You got along before he came into your life, you will be fine without him.

There is a Dirty Dancing tie to West Side Story. One of the songs Lisa comments she may sing in the closing show is "I Feel Pretty" and it is from this musical.

Unforgiven (1992)

Last night I watched my fifty-fourth Best Picture. I really do not care for westerns so I generally do not watch them. Unforgiven was alright. I feel sure I will never watch it again but it was an okay film that I do not feel I wasted my time watching.

(Spoiler Alert) The story begins in the late 19th century in a small town in Wyoming. A cowboy maims a local prostitute and the lawman in charge feels if the cowboy and his friend, who was innocent, pay the "pimp" with horses, it will make up for the violent act. So the other women working in the brothel feel unavenged. Between them, they come up with some money and offer $1,000 to anyone that kills both men involved. When the cowboys bring in the horses as payment, the innocent cowboy offers a better horse to the woman who was attacked because he felt she deserved something. Unfortunately, the "good" cowboy is the first killed by the men willing to take on the job. I will watch any movie that deals with someone taking revenge on people who have done them wrong. I especially like movies that show women taking revenge on evil men.

Gene Hackman plays the lawman and received his second Academy Award for the role. Clint Eastwood is also credited with two Oscars for the film, Best Director and Best Picture. Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor but lost out to Tom Hanks for his role in Philadelphia. This is only the third Eastwood film I have seen and the only western featuring him. Every time I hear his name, I think of Back to the Future Part III. As one of my followers has yet to see the Back to the Future series, I will leave it at that.

Amadeus (1984)

Amadeus is easily one of my favorite films and high up on my list of favorite Best Pictures. I think I first saw the film in a class I took in high school - Music Appreciation. That was my favorite class I ever took.

I realize I am odd in that I am 27 years old, cannot play any musical instrument, and I honestly enjoy classical music. The fact that listening to classical music actually makes your brain work more efficiently is just an added bonus.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a rock star of his time. Before the likes of Elvis and The Beatles, he was one of those legends. However, Mozart lived well beyond his means and died penniless and in debt to many.

The film is told through the memories of Antonio Salieri, a contemporary of Mozart. It is a perfect blend of late 18th century life, culture, and music. It also brings forward a deep, psychological obsession and Salieri's extreme jealously, yet admiration, of Mozart. We clearly know that Salieri has at least begun to lose his mind as he tells the story years later.

Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, the same place The Sound of Music was filmed. What a musical city indeed! Mozart died when he was 35 years old. It must be a curse to be so talented and groundbreaking because that gift seems to have an uncanny link to early death. Beethoven was kind of the underdog to Mozart, always living in his shadow. If anyone can put Beethoven to shame, you know they must have been amazing. I have to admit that I tend to prefer Beethoven over Mozart. I am sure it has something to do with Beethoven being linked to several women with the name Therese. One of his most famous compositions, Fur Elise, was actually misread years after Beethoven's death. The original title of the song was Fur Therese but the general public are rarely aware of that little piece of information. I can only hope someday a movie as spectacular as Amadeus will be made to honor Beethoven.

Both main actors in Amadeus were nominated for the Best Actor award for the film. F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) won the award. Maybe the Academy was finally letting Salieri have a moment over Amadeus? Two years after the movie was released, a musician named Falco had a hit song called "Rock Me Amadeus," an homage to Mozart. Falco's song was one of only two songs in the 1980s to be successful in the United States and performed in German. (The other was "99 Luftballoons" by Nena.)

I currently own 6 Best Picture Winners and Amadeus is one of them. Any person who can appreciate music, likes history, or wants to see a good movie really should consider Amadeus.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Okay, first of all it is heartless of the Academy to award any film that is THIRD in a trilogy the coveted award because it means the viewer needs to sit through the first two to understand the winning picture.

I am not a fan of science fiction or fantasy. I draw the line somewhere after Harry Potter. A coworker was nice enough to lend me her copies of the Lord of the Rings films. There is only one thing that got me through all three films without wanting to harm myself...Viggo Mortensen.

The storyline of Liv Tyler and Viggo (yes, I consider myself to be on a first name basis with him) was enjoyable. Also appearing in the films were Orlando Bloom as an albino, Elijah Wood as a little person, a very plump Rudy, and one of the crawlers from The Descent.

I just watched these films less than a year ago and they have made such a little impression on me that I have already forgotten what the purpose was. There was an evil ring, a tower with a creepy looking eye at the top that I swore was going to shine the Bat Signal at any moment, and a bunch of battles in something called Middle Earth. I think they may have misread the script and it should have been the Middle East. I also seem to recall several little people riding trees that were mobile. Maybe I should have taken a dose of an hallucinogen to help the experience.

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

The first Best Picture Winner I watched in 2011 was How Green Was My Valley. The story is about a Welsh coal mining family around the turn to the 20th century.

As seems to be the theme of any movie dealing with coal mining, this is a sad story. (SPOILERS) The father and one of the older sons both die in separate mine explosions/collapses. Four of the other adult brothers are forced to leave the valley in search of work elsewhere. The youngest son loses the use of his legs but regains it, only to go on to be a "scholar" and being beaten up by the school bully. Then there is the beautiful daughter who is in love with the preacher but he does not want her to live the poor life of a preacher's wife. The preacher turns her out and she enters an unhappy marriage with the boss of the coal company's son. While she is indeed rich, she is miserable.

I kept waiting for John Wayne to come into town and start arguing with Maureen O'Hara but it never happened. The film also starred a very young Roddy McDowell. I could see a very strong resemblance between him and the younger version of Anna Paquin, which is very odd.