Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of old movies, thanks to TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar program. That means I’ve seen quite a few past Best Picture winners throughout the ages. Many I chose to watch were picked as ‘bad’ or ‘unworthy’ by consensus. Here are some of my thoughts on some I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of seeing.
Cimarron (1931) – From 1931, Cimarron. Often cited as the one of the worst (here or here or here) Best Picture winners of all time. Honestly, I think it might be the worst. Worst, not as a Best Picture winner, but worst films I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t help that whoever has the rights failed to properly take care of it, because the eighty-four year old film looks like butt. The film, a Western about a journalist and his wife moving to a new town and their troubles, is boring AND racist. It did help make Irene Dunne famous, though, who is absolutely terrific in the screwball The Awful Truth (2/10)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937) – Emile Zola isn’t often called bad, but it pales in comparison when ranked against On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and Lawrence of Arabia. Zola was one of the first OScar biopics ever made, and it holds up decently. It’s conventional as all heck, and barely explores the work of writer Emile Zola (“Jew” is never said in the film, nor 1947’s Gentleman’s Agreement, a worse film also “exploring” anti-semitism). Still, Zola is decently watchable, and its influence on many other Oscar biopics today cannot be denied. (7/10)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) – I honestly can’t decide whether this movie or Cimarron was worse. At least Cimarron kept its torture to a two hour runtime. The Greatest Show on Earth lives on the idea that ‘bigger is better’, down to the incredibly overlong circus scenes and the large ensemble. Many of the trapeze scenes are thrilling, and Charlton Heston is a good leading man, but both positives belong in a better film than this. There’s a shoddy love triangle (Betty Hutton is insufferable, Cornel Wilde’s performance is poor), and simply too little happens to sustain 152 minutes. There’s a plot twist involving Buttons the Clown (a wasted Jimmy Stewart) that just made the whole thing worse. I feel this movie would’ve lost to the brisk and original High Noon only if screenwriter Carl Foreman wasn’t blacklisted. The Greatest Show on Earth is what people mean when they find old movies boring. (3/10)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) – I shouldn’t like this movie. Like The Greatest Show on Earth, this is another overlong epic tailor-made for awards. However, Around the World in 80 Days, despite being total fluff, is usually entertaining. Watching David Niven and Cantinflas travel the world in various escapades looks fantastic. At one point, it was the world’s largest film production, and it shows. The costumes and colors look great. Though I might be bored in the final hour of the three, I would love to see Around the World on the big screen in its 70 mm glory. (6.7/10)
Out of Africa (1985) – Oscar gave awards to many great films from 1956 to ’85, to Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather, and even nominating the unflinching Raging Bull. They backtracked big time by awarding the unbelievably boring Out of Africa, though. For example, Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather are both films longer than Africa, but they feel infinitely shorter. Why? Because there’s always something at stake. What’s at stake in Out of Africa? Meryl Streep’s happiness? Though she masters another accent, the will they/won’t they romance between Streep and co-star Robert Redford just isn’t enough to make the movie good. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t fall asleep during it. John Barry’s musical score comes highly recommended, though. (4/10)
So there’s many movies I still have to watch, but there’s my thoughts on some of the ones that you may have been on-the-fence about watching. Check out Out of Africa if you ran out of Lunesta or something.
Wu Chainz 