The Wizard of Oz
Directed by Victor Fleming
Written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf based on the book by L. Frank Baum
1939/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Repeat viewing/Warner DVD
#202 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Wizard of Oz: A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.[/box]
Not only should one see this movie before one dies, but preferably before the age of 10. This is more than a movie to me, it is part of my life. Watching it yesterday brought back all the times I had seen it before – from my childhood on our black and white TV, to re-releases in the theater, to so many times on video and DVD.
As I sat watching it again, I began marvelling at how anything could be so perfect. What happy accidents had to occur to bring these particular creative artists and craftspeople together on the same project to achieve this result. Wonderful.
The only bone I have ever had to pick with this film has to do with the quote above. It always seemed to me that it should be other way around – that a heart is judged by how much it loves. But maybe that depends on who is doing the judging?
The Wizard of Oz won Academy Awards for Best Original Song (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score (Herbert Stothart). It was also nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Color Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Special Effects. Judy Garland won the Juvenile Award for 1939 for her “outstanding performance as a screen juvenile”.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Directed by Frank Capra
Written by Sidney Buchman from a story by Lewis R. Foster
1939/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#129 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] President of Senate: Will the Senator yield?
Jefferson Smith: No, sir, I’m afraid not, no sir. I yielded the floor once before, if you can remember, and I was practically never heard of again. No sir. And we might as well all get together on this yielding business right off the bat, now.[/box]
This just might be Frank Capra’s best film unless it’s that other one with Jimmy Stewart.
Without too much thought, the Governor (Guy Kibbee) appoints Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) to fill a vacant Senate seat, figuring that the popular Boy Ranger leader will be clueless about politics. Smith is inspired to be working with Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), who was a close friend of Smith’s crusading newspaper editor father. He little dreams that Paine is in the pocket of political boss Jim Taylor.
When Mr. Smith gets to Washington, Paine puts him under the tutelage of staffer Clarrisa Saunders (Jean Arthur) and instructs her to keep him out of politics. Arthur and her buddy newspaper man Diz Moore (Thomas Mitchell) think Smith is a hoot. But Smith is an enthusiastic idealist and starts drafting a bill to fund a National Boys Camp. When it turns out the camp would be built at the site of a dam Taylor and Rains are trying to quietly sneak through in a Deficiency Bill, Taylor decides Smith must be destroyed. Saunders helps Smith with his desperate attempt to defend himself.
I couldn’t help thinking how little things change as I watched this movie. At the time of its release, many saw the film as an attack on the Senate and the Press and thus as anti-democratic. But these naysayers were soon proved wrong when the film became the most popular movie in France just before the Occupation for showing how the democratic system as a whole works to protect liberty.
Capra managed to gather some of the most talented character actors in Hollywood for this picture. I had actually forgotten how very fine Claude Rains is in this. He is a bit over the top at the end but before that is admirably subtle and convincing. It goes without saying that James Stewart is superb in a role that suited him to a tee.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington won an Academy Award for its original story. It was nominated for 11 additional Oscars: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actor (Stewart); Best Supporting Actor (Rains); Best Supporting Actor (Carey); Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Art Direction; Best Sound Recording; Best Film Editing; Best Score (Dmitri Tiomkin).
Clip – “I guess this is just a lost cause, Mr. Paine.”
Stagecoach Directed by John Ford
Written by Dudley Nichols from a story by Ernest Haycox
1938/USA
Walter Wanger Productions
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#130 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Buck: If there’s anything I don’t like, it’s driving a stagecoach through Apache country.[/box]
John Ford finds a canvas wide enough to contain his vision.
A motley group of passengers board a stagecoach on a dangerous journey through Apache country. Town drunk/medical man Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and painted lady Dallas (Claire Trevor) are being driven out of town. Much to Doc’s delight, a little whiskey drummer (Donald Meek) is along for the ride. The passengers are rounded out with a sick lady on the way to join her soldier husband and her last-minute protector shady gambler Hatfield (John Carridine). As the coach is departing town a whingeing blowhard banker hops a ride. In the drivers seat is Buck (Andy Devine), with sheriff Curley riding shotgun (George Bancroft). The party is completed when the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who has escaped from jail, is forced to hitch a ride and apprehended by the sheriff.
The story follows the group dynamics as they move from a bickering set of individuals to a mostly cohesive unit battling challenges from child-birth, to love, to Apaches on the warpath.
It is hard to imagine a time when John Wayne wasn’t a movie star but such was the case here. He didn’t even get top billing. That distinction went to Claire Trevor, who previously had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Dead End. And, really, this is an ensemble piece. Wayne does make his entrance in grand style, though!
For me, John Ford is the star of this movie. The use of composition and vistas is stunning. Ford would never look back.
Thomas Mitchell won a Best Support Actor Oscar for his work in this film. (He couldn’t have been hurt by his great performances in Gone with the Wind and Only Angels Have Wings either.) The film also won an Academy Award for its Scoring. Stagecoach was also nominated by the Academy in the following categories: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Cinematography (B&W); Best Art Direction; and Best Film Editing.
Monsoon Wedding Directed by Mira Nair
Written by Sabrina Dhawan
2001/India/USA/Italy/Germany/France
IFC Productions; Mirabai Films; Keyfilms Roma; Paradis Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
#993 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 7.3/10; I say 8.5/10
[box] Pimmi Verma: This wedding is driving me nuts.[/box]
I’m a sucker for romances and domestic dramas and this delivers in a big way on both counts.
Devoted but irascible family man Lalit Verma is preparing for the big Punjabi wedding of his daughter Aditi at his home in New Delhi. On hand is goofy, quasi-hip wedding planner P.K. Dubey. Aditi’s marriage is semi-arranged and she has not yet broken off her affair with her married boss. Lalit’s niece Rai is not pleased to see her uncle at the wedding or his attentions to one of the little girls. Meanwhile, various flirtations and small conflicts go on within the large extended family.
While Aditi is deciding what to do with her life, P.K. becomes infatuated with the beautiful family domestic Alice. It is not giving away too much to say that the whole thing ends with at least one glorious wedding in the rain.
A Punjabi wedding looks like so much fun, I was wondering how I could get invited to one! The film is a very interesting mash-up of traditional and Western influences Many of the guests and the bridegroom are home from abroad for the wedding. But the primary impulse is a celebration of “Indian-ness”.
The film could be faulted for one too many love at first sight sub-plots but not by me. The subtitles I used translated the Punjabi and Hindi dialogue but not the English. Since I could not quite catch a lot of the extensive English due to the accents, possibly I was missing out. However, between the visuals and what I did understand the film played on my heart like a violin. Recommended.
Heavenly Creatures Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson
1994/New Zealand/Germany
Wing Nut Films/New Zealand Film Commission/Fontana Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
IMDb users say 7.5/10; I say 7/10
[box] Pauline Parker: [voiceover, from her diary] We have decided how sad it is for others that they cannot appreciate our genius.[/box]
Although I was impressed by many aspects of Heavenly Creatures, the whole was just not my cup of tea.
Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet (Kate Winslet) are high-school girls in 1950’s New Zealand. They find a common bond in their histories of childhood illnesses and love of Mario Lanza. Together, they invent the fantasy Kingdom of Borovnia in which they rule as King and Queen and an afterlife populated by their movie star heroes acting as Saints. Their intense friendship develops into something more and both sets of parents get worried. But trying to separate these girls could prove fatal ….
This film made Kate Winslet a star and her acting is quite wonderful as is that of the rest of the cast. The use of color is also quite beautiful. In this early effort, Peter Jackson shows his talent for fantasy and fantastical special effects.
The fantasy elements of the film were the problem for me. Although they were impressive, I thought they swamped the plot and characters. Paradoxically, this made the film less rather than more memorable for me.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Directed by Milos Forman
Written by Lawrence Hauman and Bo Goldman based on the novel by Ken Kesey and play by Dale Wasserman
1975/USA
Fantasy Films
Repeat viewing/Streaming on Amazon Watch Instant (free to Prime Members)
#620 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 8.8/10; I say 10/10
“You had a choice: you could either strain and look at things that appeared in front of you in the fog, painful as it might be, or you could relax and lose yourself” ― Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
This is undeniably one fine movie. And yet, and yet …
Randall P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is transferred from a prison work farm to a state mental institution for evaluation. The doctors believe he has been shamming mental illness and he is, in fact, trying for a discharge from the military. McMurphy hasn’t counted on the poised but vindictive Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), with whom he is soon in open warfare.
McMurphy develops great compassion for his fellow patients and sets out to show them how to rebel and live more fully. He may have his greatest success with a patient known as the Chief (Will Sampson), a huge Native American who is believed to be deaf and dumb. Unfortunately for McMurphy, his compassion overcomes his street smarts when he needs them most. With Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd as mental patients and Scatman Caruthers as an orderly.
I think this film deserved all the Academy Awards it won and then some. In fact, I would have loved it if each of the mental patients had been nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar — my favorite was Sydney Lasick as Cheswick.
I read the Ken Kesey novel multiple times before I saw the film. The novel is told from the perspective of the Big Chief, which gives it an almost hallucinatory flavor. McMurphy also comes off as far more heroic and I have always had a disconnect somehow with Nicholson’s performance. To me, Nicholson comes off as a smart-ass bad boy who takes glee in being naughty.
On this viewing, I was also surprised to find myself in some sympathy with the hospital authorities. Obviously, the electroshock and lobotomies are unconscionable, but surely they could not allow the patients in the shape we see them to go off on unauthorized and unsupervised excursions, hold drunken parties, or trash the ward. I know the story is an allegory about repressive society but the movie is so realistic that it almost forces one to ask these questions.
Whatever my quibbles, I think this one definitely qualifies as one people should try to catch before they die.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was the first film since It Happened One Night to win Academy Awards in all major categories — Best Picture, Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher), Best Director, and Best Writing (adapted screenplay). It was also nominated for awards in the following categories: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Dourif); Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.
Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (“Olympia 2. Teil – Fest der Schönheit”) Directed by Leni Riefenstahl
Written by Leni Riefenstahl
1938/Germany
Olympia Film GmbH
Repeat viewing
#126 of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
I am fascinated by what is beautiful, strong, healthy, what is living. I seek harmony. — Leni Riefenstahl
The second part of Riefenstahl’s documentary features the decathalon plus all the sports not on the track and field Olympic lineup. Once again, we begin with a prologue – this time featuring nude male atheletes swimming in a natural setting and finishing up with a hearty sauna. All of the sports coverage is quite lovely, with even some funny moments during the steeplechase event as officers and horses repeatedly get dunked. My very favorite part of the film was an Olympic diving sequence right at the end (see clip below). It was mesmerizing to watch the dives without narration and without nationality or winners. Riefenstahl demonstrates her brilliance as an editor here and throughout Olympia. Recommended.
Olympia Part I: Festival of the Nations (“Olympia 1. Teil – Fest der Völker”) Directed by Leni Riefenstahl
Written by Leni Riefenstahl
1938/Germany
Olympia Film GmbH
Repeat viewing
#125 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Through my optimism I naturally prefer and capture the beauty in life — Leni Riefenstahl
Riefenstahl’s film begins with a long arty prologue starting with the ancient Greek games and including a long sequence of nude male and female athletes practicing their sports. It’s sort of an exploration of the beauty of the human body. While this is captivating stuff, I was not looking forward to an hour and a half of the same. As soon as I could tire of it, we were into the Berlin Olympic Games. I ended up really enjoying the film and even rooting for my favorite athletes.
This part of Olympia covers the track and field events. There is no narration per se, just the voice of the German sports commentator. There is surprisingly little nationalism, perhaps inevitable since Germany won so few medals. There are several shots of Hitler but mostly he just looks disappointed. Jesse Owens runs like a rocket compared to his competitors. Recommended.
Fan trailer set to selections from Vangelis (non-sexualized nudity)
Jezebel Directed by William Wyler
Written by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel and John Huston from the play by Owen Davis
1938/USA
Warner Bros
Repeat viewing
#120 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Aunt Belle: Child, you’re out of your mind. You know you can’t wear red to the Olympus Ball. Julie Marsden: Can’t I? I’m goin’ to. This is 1852, dumplin’. 1852, not the Dark Ages.
William Wyler was some director and this is a polished well-acted drama.
Neither her aunt (Faye Bainter) nor her guardian can make headstrong Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) behave according to the rules of antebellum New Orleans society. Julie is determined to win the same battle with her fiance Pres Dillard.. In a fit of pique after Pres refuses to leave an important business meeting to go to a fitting with her, Julie decides to wear a red dress to a ball. This is simply something not done by unmarried girls, who traditionally dress in virginal white. Julie loses the battle of the sexes and the story follows the many bad consequences of her stubbornness. With George Brent as a rival beau, Donald Crisp as a doctor, and Spring Byington as a society matron.
This role suited Bette Davis perfectly. She is magnificent as the haughty, catty Julie. William Wyler, with whom she was having an affair at the time, made her look radiantly lovely as well. The rest of the cast is excellent, with the possible exception of Margaret Lindsay who gets on my nerves for some reason. The production was lavish and expensive and Wyler sets off the beautiful surroundings with a fluid moving camera. The ball scene is particularly notable.
I never can make sense of the ending. Why would anyone trust Julie to return her husband? I certainly wouldn’t.
Bette Davis and Faye Bainter were awarded with Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscars. Jezebel was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Music (Scoring).
Lawrence of Arabia Directed by David Lean
Written by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson based on the writings of T.E. Lawrence
1962/UK/USA
Columbia Pictures/Horizon Pictures
Repeat viewing
#404 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMdB users say 8.4/10; I say 9/10
Jackson Bentley: What is it, Major Lawrence, that attracts you personally to the desert?T.E. Lawrence: It’s clean.
Although epics are not my cup of tea, I make a giant exception for Lawrence of Arabia.
This is the dramatized story of T.E. Lawrence, who served in the British army as a liaison with the Arabs during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18.
Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) is an undisciplined and slightly off-kilter officer who is selected by Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains) of the Foreign Office to gather intelligence from Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) , the leader of a prominent Bedouin tribe, due to his prior travels in the Middle East and knowledge of Arabic. He almost immediately goes native, advising Faisal contrary to the orders and conventional wisdom of his British military superiors. Through his understanding and love of the Arabs, Lawrence wins their trust despite some initial friction with Faisal’s son, Ali (Omar Sharif).
Lawrence devises a daring plan to take the Turkish-held stronghold of Aqaba with a small contingent of Faisal’s men. In the desert, he manages to attract the support of Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) and his tribe against the Turks. The victory at Aqaba makes Lawrence a hero to the Arabs. Already almost mystically over-confident, Lawrence begins to believe his own P.R. Then, he is forced to execute a man to mediate a dispute between tribes and returns to Cairo to inform the British of the victory. On the way, one of his young servants dies horribly in quicksand. Both these deaths are huge blows to Lawrence.
In Cairo, Lawrence asks to be relieved of his role but General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) will have none of it. Lawrence asks Allenby for assurance that the British have no imperial ambitions in Arabia and Allenby falsely gives them. Lawrence returns to the desert to lead the Arab armies in support of British troops. After a series of successful skirmishes with the Turks, Lawrence is captured in Daara and severely beaten. He manages to disguise his identity so is eventually released. The trauma of this encounter sends him right over the edge and from then on Arab battles with the Turks become increasingly savage.
Eventually, the Arabs manage to take Damascus before the British can and Lawrence helps them set up an Arab Council to rule the city. This results in chaos, however, because the Arabs are ill-equipped to cope with the necessities of modern life such as electricity, water, telephones, etc. The practical Prince Faisal arrives to take charge in cooperation with the British and Lawrence is sent packing. (Faisal goes on to found the Hashemite dynasty, which still reigns in Jordan.)
Lawrence of Arabia has all the splendor of an epic with its magnificent score, gorgeous desert vistas, and thousands of extras marching into battle. It is much more than that because of the complex portrayal of Lawrence by the screenwriters, director, and newcomer Peter O’Toole. Those hypnotic blue eyes perfectly capture the blend of messianic lunacy and steely determination that was Lawrence. The rest of the distinguished British cast also excels. This is genuinely a film that should not be missed.
The film is filled with second choices in the casting of the roles. How lucky we are that Lean settled on the cast we see. Lawrence of Arabia won seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Color Cinematography (Freddie Young), Best Color Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Score (Maurice Jarre). It was nominated for an additional three Oscars: Best Actor (O’Toole), Best Supporting Actor (Sharif) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
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