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.