1917 (2019) and some interesting articles about the Oscars

Last weekend I did go to see this and it was good; I liked it, even though it reminded me of Saving Private Ryan at times, but I like this movie much better. I'm not sure the "long take" style was absolutely necessary, but I did like this style because you feel like you're right there with the characters and see their point of view. I wish more movies were shot like this, actually. I don't think it's as easy to do as imagined.  My friend I was with said afterwards that it reminded him of Paths of Glory, a WWI film with Kirk Douglas (I haven't seen it yet). Both films might make for a good double feature.

It may win some Oscars this weekend and I think they'd be deserving. The set direction was very impressive.

Spoiler alert (skip this next paragraph if you haven't seen it). My main problem with the film is that I found it totally unbelievable that the things that the soldier carried in his pocket would survive everything he endured, including the trench collapse and the escape down the river (and the waterfall drop). No way the maps and letters and photos he had would survive after being water-soaked for so long, in my opinion. Unless they were in a steel case of some kind, but I missed that.

Also I liked seeing some soldiers of color in the film, though their appearances were brief. There was a Sikh soldier with a very small part and some speaking lines, which I appreciated seeing on film. His scene happens on the back of a truck which is one of my favorite parts. I like that scene because it shows the experience of one soldier - grieving the death of his friend -  coming into contact with another group with established comradery. Then he needs to jumps off the truck and we never see the others again.

It's a bit of an episodic film, and I liked that knowing that the film is based on the memories of director Sam Mendes' grandfather.

This is a good article from NBC News about the WWI contributions of Sikh soldiers.
Other bloggers who recently tackled this film
Just a Cineast - blog post
Two Dollar Cinema - blog post
Bobby Rivers - blog post

Cliched Monologues - blog post

Some other interesting articles I read recently:

Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot: '1917' Is "Gimmicky," Renée Zellweger "Nailed It"
(The Hollywood Reporter)
A male member of the Academy's producers branch, granted anonymity to speak freely, shares which films earned his precious vote (and why).

The Oscars' 'Harriet Tubman problem'
(CNN.com Opinions)
Joaquin Phoenix's impassioned BAFTA acceptance speech, in which he criticized the lack of diversity in filmmaking, showed the persistence of structural racism. Phoenix implicated himself before an overwhelmingly white, and largely stunned, audience -- and cast a strong spotlight on the lack of racial diversity in the nominations for this weekend's Academy Awards.

Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957)

"Burt Lancaster as the famous Wyatt Earp...Kirk Douglas as the notorious Doc Holliday....Two men as different as day and night...Now you'll see them as they really were...hot blooded men in a raw and relentless era...Drawn by destiny to this scarlet dawn...October 6, 1888...When the gunfight at the OK Corral left its bloody imprint on the annals of the West.
- trailer

I did not love this movie.  It's really long, and seems longer than it needs to be, and is set in three different towns. The most interesting part is toward the end when the action place in Tombstone and we meet Wyatt Earp's family and a conflicted young gunfighter played by Dennis Hopper. I thought the movie would have been more interesting if it were set in just that town and we got to know more about those characters. Rhonda Fleming and Jo Van Fleet are the only female leads and they play the love interests of Burt (who's just okay) and gambler Kirk, who brings some personality to his character and was more interesting to me. He had to feign a bad cough throughout, and definitely convinced me he was really sick by the end.

It's so ironic that that immediately before I started watching this yesterday, the TV was turned to My Fair Lady playing on Turner Classic Movies, and the scene was Rex Harrison singing "Why Can't Women Be More Like A Man?" including the lyrics "Cause men are so friendly, good-natured and kind. A better companion you never will find."

Not at the OK Corral.

The movie is pretty violent, with lots of dudes guys getting shot or stabbed, and Jo Van Fleet almost dies twice. The opening song does not fit the mood of the film well; it's a ridiculous Frankie Lane tune that almost seems like a comedic parody --   "Okaaaay....Koraaaaaalllll.....Okaaaay....Koraaaaaalllll". I'm not the only one who thinks so -  back in 1957, Bosley Crowther, the critic for the New York Times even thought so (read that review here); he said that it seemed to be an imitation of High Noon's opening song. Not only is the song repeated several times throughout (and annoying after awhile), but the lyrics also change to fit "Boot Hill" as well. "Boot Hill...Boot Hill...". I can't think of another song every dedicated to a cemetery.

Reading more about this actual historical event, the inaccuracies and liberties that writer (Leon Uris) and the filmmakers took become more evident. For example, the trailer mentions the wrong day and year of the event. Also, the real gunfight never took place at OK Corral (the setting looks good in the movie, though).

These inaccuracies make me think more about the historical twists that Tarantino has been inserting in his latest few movies; most recently Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In 50 years, viewers of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may watch it without any historical context, and then may think that Sharon Tate lived beyond 1969 or may think she was just a fictional character. Likewise, I was scratching my head after "OK Corral" and wondering which characters were real and which weren't myself. Maybe this is the idea that Tarantino is trying to get across in his movies - that often in Hollywood films they're nothing more than make believe, and often just good old fashioned shoot-em-up  entertainment that is told the way the filmmakers want.

Another blog post from Just Hit Play

Seven Days in May (1964)

Kirk Douglas plays an advisor who helps the US President uncover evidence of a military takeover of the government from within.

Douglas' direct commander is played by Burt Lancaster, whom the President doesn't trust.

Burt is really unlikable in this film.

Ava Gardner has a small part as Burt's former lover who might hold some secrets to help uncover the plot.

Frederic March plays the President, and he makes a really good one, too; I wished his character was our President today.

It's a really good fictional thriller (though based on some real events). I really liked it. Directed by John Frankenheimer (also directed The Manchurian Candidate).

According to the history blog Boundary Stones, US President John F. Kennedy read and enjoyed the original novel which this film is based, and wanted to see a film made of it. Frankenheimer shot on location in Washington DC, and had the approval of the President, who unfortunately did not live to see the film.

The film was released a few months after President Kennedy's assassination. For audiences at that time, it must have a bit frightening to see such a politically-charged film so soon afterward.

Jacqueline of Another Old Movie Blog discussed this film in an excellent 2016 post here, noting how it remains relevant today.

Bill Crider also wrote about this movie, having remembered the original novel of which it was based, and another good post about this film from Movie Magg.

Norman Corwin turns 100 years old today

Today, May 3, American writer, journalist, screenwriter, producer, and essayist Norman Corwin celebrates a milestone birthday: 100 years young!

He began his radio career as a local commentator. He moved to New York City in 1938 and produced Norman Corwin’s Words Without Music for CBS. Two of Corwin’s masterworks, “The Plot to Overthrow Christmas” and “They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease,” debuted on this series.

In 1941, CBS’ Columbia Workshop gave Corwin a 26-week radio series; he responded with stories ranging from the whimsical to the darkly serious to the inspirational. A similar approach was taken on 1944’s Columbia Presents Corwin.

In December of 1941, Corwin wrote and produced We Hold These Truths, an all-star celebration of the Bill of Rights’ 150th anniversary. This landmark program aired over all four networks simultaneously.

Corwin created the special V-E Day broadcast On a Note of Triumph, which Carl Sandburg called “one of the all-time great American poems.”

Listen to "On A Note of Triumph" - the entire broadcast - from NPR (1 hour long) (opens in a new window; Flash player needed)

It's absolutely fascinating!

Three months later, he wrote 14 August, a V-J Day documentary narrated by Orson Welles.

Corwin wrote and produced over 100 programs during the golden age of radio. Notable programs include:

The Plot to Overthrow Christmas - December 25, 1938
They Fly through the Air with the Greatest of Ease - February 19, 1939
Spoon River Anthology - March, 1939
Descent of the Gods - August 3, 1940
Mary and the Fairy - August 31, 1940
Psalm for a Dark Year - November 9, 1940
We Hold These Truths - December 15, 1941
America at War (series) - February 14, 1942
The Lonesome Train - March 21, 1944
Untitled - May 30, 1944
Home For the 4th - July 4, 1944
El Capitan and the Corporal - July 25, 1944


On a Note of Triumph - May 8, 1945
The Undecided Molecule - July 17, 1945
14 August - August 14, 1945
God and Uranium - August 19, 1945
Hollywood Fights Back - October 26, 1947
Could Be - September 8, 1949
Document A/777 - March 26, 1950

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He also wrote screenplays for motion pictures, and was nominated for an Oscar in 1956 for the words he gave to Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn in "Lust for Life" about the life of Vincent Van Gough.



Filmography:

1967 "Sametka" (story)
1962 "Madison Avenue (writer)
1960 "The Story of Ruth" (writer)
1958 "The Naked Maja" (writer)
1956 "Lust for Life" (screenplay - Nominated for Oscar)
1956 "No Place to Hide" (screenplay)
1953 "Scandal at Scourie" (writer)
1951 "The Blue Veil" (wrter)

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In the early 1970s Corwin produced and hosted the television show Norman Corwin Presents.

In 1979 he hosted Academy Leaders, a weekly showcase for short animated films, such as those produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Corwin wrote several books, which include Trivializing America; plus many essays, letters, articles and plays.

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In recent years, National Public Radio has aired several new Corwin plays under the title More By Corwin. These included:

Our Lady Of The Freedoms, And Some Of Her Friends - A play about the Statue of Liberty.

No Love Lost - A lively debate about the nature of democracy in America, in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr; the work is based on their writings. This play featured Lloyd Bridges, Jack Lemmon, Martin Landau and Corwin's friend William Shatner. Shatner appeared in a number of Corwin productions.

The Writer With The Lame Left Hand - Based on the life story of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. This production featured Ed Asner, Charles Durning, Samantha Eggar and William Shatner.

The Curse Of 589 is a comedy about a physicist (William Shatner) who comes across an honest-to-goodness real life fairy, with a working magic wand.

The Secretariat - A play on the meaning of prayer. This production featured Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Phil Proctor, and William Shatner.

50 Years after 14 August - A reflection on the end of World War II. Co-produced with Dan Gediman.

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A 40 minute long documentary was produced about him in 2005. Partipants in the documentary included Robert Altman and Walter Cronkite. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. (It lost)

These days he keeps busy as a writer in residence at the Journalism School at USC. He writes articles for various publications, and is active in various organizations in and around the Los Angeles area.

Last year someone wrote on Huffington Post that Norman should have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to Radio. Read the Post Here. I wholeheartedly support that idea, as his work is legendary.

We wish Norman all the best on his 100th birthday today!

Sources:
Biography from the Radio Hall of Fame
Norman Corwin Official Website (http://normancorwin.com)
Wikipedia entry: Norman Corwin

Ace in the Hole (1951) - Starring Kirk Douglas

As Roger Ebert puts in in a recent review, this film is "a portrait of rotten journalism and the public's insatiable appetite for it". "Ace in the Hole" blew me away when I first saw it and I couldn't stop thinking and talking about it for days afterward. Fresh off his "stop-at-nothing-to-get-to-the-top" performance in "Champion", Kirk Douglas plays another cocky, competitive character, this time newspaper reporter Charles Tatum, who capitalizes on a mine disaster in a small New Mexico town (and churns out such wisecracks as "I can handle big news and little news. And if there's no news, I'll go out and bite a dog.") At the start of the film, his car breaks down in Albuquerque, and we learn that he had been fired from numerous New York paper jobs for boozing and womanizing. He lands a boring gig in a claustrophobic newspaper office and he hates it, as he longs for the noise of New York again. In on scene, Tatum asks a co-worker "What do you know about Yogi Berra?" She replies, "Yogi? That's sort of a religion isn't it?" Tatum: "You bet it is: Belief in the New York Yankees!" One day a story breaks out: In a nearby small town, a man named Leo Minoso is trapped in a mine after a cave-in; his legs are stuck and no one can get close to him without drilling through. This is Kirk's big break, he reasons, and proceeds to take possession of the story. After his story is printed on the front page, the newspaper's sales go through the roof and he's suddenly back in demand. His ruthless thirst for fame and wealth increases as the days pass. Meanwhile, an entire media circus forms around the cave. It's a fascinating story with many themes: loyalty, greed, competition. Lots of build-up to the return and rescue--- there's a chance Leo might not make it out of the cave alive....Will He or Won't He? It's an incredibly emotional film experience and Kirk Douglas as the heartless Tatum is brilliant. Plus great scenery of the desert and mountains. Wilder used thousands of extras and built a huge set - complete with a gigantic ferris wheel and carnival rides, and a pop music stage where a hit tribute song about the rescue of Leo is performed and sheet music is sold for 25 cents. Jan Sterling plays Leo's troubled wife. The commentary on the DVD is brilliant and so is the film. I agree with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who wrote, "Although the film is 56 years old, I found while watching it again that it still has all its power. It hasn't aged because Wilder and his co-writers, Walter Newman and Lesser Samuels, were so lean and mean [with their dialogue] . . . [Kirk Douglas'] focus and energy . . . is almost scary. There is nothing dated about [his] performance. It's as right-now as a sharpened knife....When the film was released, the press complained about its portrait of news practices and standards, even though the story was inspired by a real media circus when a man named Floyd Collins was trapped in a Kentucky cave. Today, it is hard to imagine some segments of the press not recognizing their hunger for sensation. "

Read more reviews of this picture from other bloggers at Out of the Past and Goodfellas Movie Blog.
Read another review from Confessions of a Film Philistine