Best Film Oscar Winners Challenge

You’d have likely been better off watching the Godfather first my friend, hard to go straight into Part 2 as it loses so much. The trilogy is very much to do with Michael Corleone and his rise and fall, the man whose father didn’t want him anywhere near the family business.
I recall Coppola saying “the tale of a great king with three sons: the oldest was given his passion and aggressiveness; the second his sweet nature and childlike qualities; and the third, his intelligence, cunning and coldness.”
It’s the descent into tragedy that grabs me, never meant for him but he found it all consuming.
 
You’d have likely been better off watching the Godfather first my friend, hard to go straight into Part 2 as it loses so much. The trilogy is very much to do with Michael Corleone and his rise and fall, the man whose father didn’t want him anywhere near the family business.
I recall Coppola saying “the tale of a great king with three sons: the oldest was given his passion and aggressiveness; the second his sweet nature and childlike qualities; and the third, his intelligence, cunning and coldness.”
It’s the descent into tragedy that grabs me, never meant for him but he found it all consuming.
I have watched the first film before, though not for a while. Won't go too much into that as it's coming up in two films time but I did get where this one left off from. I didn't want to be too harsh as I think it's just more to do with my personal taste. It's just not some film series I can get into or think "ah, I really feel like watching a Godfather film tonight!" When it comes to being in a mood to watch mafia films, I much prefer a true story, faster moving Martin Scorsese one, like Goodfellas or Casino.
 
The Godfather Part II - (1974) - out of all the films to watch that I haven't seen before, I was most looking forward to this. My two favourite actors! I'm left disapointed, somewhat. Yes, it's good acting, quite atmospheric but the story doesn't really go anywhere, is so slow and makes the whole thing drag. I get the feeling this might be my most controversial review, yet. It's taken me two evenings to watch this and struggled to stay awake both nights. I only stayed awake this night by distracting myself with the excitement of buying a 5ft oak tree on ebay.:laugh:. I'll try and soften my opinion by giving it 4/5

My word Boo, it's a storytelling masterpiece!

You are correct, this is your most controversial yet :)
 
For what it’s worth, I’ve watched Godfather II and not seen The Godfather yet(!), and still think it a masterclass in storytelling and acting performances!
 
For what it’s worth, I’ve watched Godfather II and not seen The Godfather yet(!), and still think it a masterclass in storytelling and acting performances!

It's a good job the Inspector is still on my case or he'd be right on your heels.
 
The Sting - (1973) - Much parodied and for very good reason. None still hold up to this though. Clever, engaging, great atmosphere, enjoyable acting, good music and style 5/5

The Godfather - (1972) - As you can probably tell from my review of part 2, I'm not really a Godfather fan. Have to say I enjoy this one more though. Think the biggest reason is that it isn't two stories, jumping backwards and forwards, like part 2. Also it seems to develop the characters better and actually go somewhere. Still find it a bit slow and heavy going though. I've included a great abridged video of it for you. :D 4.5/5

 
Greetings and sorry it's taken me so long to get back. A mixture of my personal life and sport on TV are the main reasons. Anyway, going to jump back to modern times now that Nomadland has been released on DVD, Will be back to the early 70s soon, I promise.

Nomadland - (2020) - Frances McDormand is brilliant in this. The non actors are pretty awesome too. Great atmosphere. Maybe a little too dark and slow for some but I liked it 4/5
 
And back on course now the footy and tennis have finished...

The French Connection - (1971) - A strong well acted film. Great atmosphere. It is a grower, bit confusing and slow at first but gets really good toward the end. 4/5

Patton - (1970) - George C Scott acts this out well with brilliant charisma. An easy film to get into. Bit "America, fudge yeah!" but also touches on Patton's faults. Very good. 4/5

That concludes the 70s and unsurprisingly, I'm giving The Deer Hunter the best Oscar winning best film award of the decade.

Over 50 films in this I've watched and reviewed now! On to the 60s...
 
Platoon - (1986) - A good performance from a young Charlie Sheen, a great performance from Tom Berenger. A very brutal and great depiction of war. Falls very slightly short of atmosphere, for me though and a bit uncomfortable the racial stereotypes of the black soldiers, as well as making them all cowards. 4.5/5
Platoon is a particular favourite of mine so i'm interested to hear what racial stereotypes there were of the black soldiers?
Also, there was only 1 coward that I can remember and that was Junior. That said, he was facing certain death and he knew it so he tried to run away. I'm sure plenty of other people would have done the same thing.
 
Platoon is a particular favourite of mine so i'm interested to hear what racial stereotypes there were of the black soldiers?
Also, there was only 1 coward that I can remember and that was Junior. That said, he was facing certain death and he knew it so he tried to run away. I'm sure plenty of other people would have done the same thing.
Well if you want me to break it down in more detail - the racial divide - all the white soldiers are drinkers and all the black soldiers are pot smokers. None of the black soldiers are officers. All three of the main black soldiers are depicted as cowards. Basically it doesn't do much better than depict a racial stereotype of "black people do stupid things."
 
Well if you want me to break it down in more detail - the racial divide - all the white soldiers are drinkers and all the black soldiers are pot smokers. None of the black soldiers are officers. All three of the main black soldiers are depicted as cowards. Basically it doesn't do much better than depict a racial stereotype of "black people do stupid things."
I think I must have seen a different Platoon than you. Don’t remember any of the black soldiers being cowards; and since when is being cowardly a black stereotype?

I think you might be looking for problems that aren’t there. Then again, I’ve not seen the film for a while and the goalposts for what’s offensive have probably changed since then.
 
Well if you want me to break it down in more detail - the racial divide - all the white soldiers are drinkers and all the black soldiers are pot smokers. None of the black soldiers are officers. All three of the main black soldiers are depicted as cowards. Basically it doesn't do much better than depict a racial stereotype of "black people do stupid things."
The platoon were split between Staff Sgt Barnes (played by Tom Berenger) and Sgt Elias (played by Willem Dafoe).
Sgt Elias was a pot smoker and his squad followed him in their downtime by getting high.
Staff Sgt Barnes didn't smoke Pot, he drank and played cards and his squad and that of Sgt O'Neill (played by John C McGinley) did the same.

There were both white and black soldiers in both squads either getting high or drinking but yes both Keith David and Forest Whitaker were in Sgt Elias squad and therefore smoked Pot but Junior (Reggie Johnson) was in Staff Sgt Barnes squad and he drank and played cards.

If I recall, there were only two officers in the film, a white Captain and a white Lt. Perhaps it wasn't very common to have black officers in the US Army in 1967. I guess the Direct Oliver Stone, who served in Vietnam, would probably have tried to make the film as true to life as possible.

The 3 main black actors were Keith David, Forest Whitaker and Corey Glover and non of them were depicted as cowards and non of them did anything stupid. In fact all 3 of them were role models to Charlie Sheen, especially Keith David.
 
Thank you for your opinions. Personally, it wasn't that much of a deal to me, good to hear the opinions of some die hard Platoon fans. There's been far worse racism since, especially the hero of The French Connection being a massive, blatant one but as I said before, prepared to overlook it somewhat, in keeping with the times it was filmed in, for the purpose of my ratings. :)

Anyway, on to the 60s. -

Midnight Cowboy - (1969) - Basically Dustin Hoffman pimps out Angelena Jolie's dad as a male prostitute. Got to give it marks for originality! Extremely seedy, atmospheric with awesome acting and cinematography. I liked it. Deserving of the very first 18 certificate best film Oscar winner. Some of the flashback stuff was a bit confusing as well as the beatnik party. Great film though 4.5/5

Oliver - (1968) - some great acting, brilliant songs but Mark Lester......

dear-oh-dear.gif


Was that his actual singing, as well? It was just as bad as his acting. Cant decide if he was more creepy as a kid or as an adult claiming paternity of Michael Jackson's daughter. 4/5
 
The Sting - (1973) - Much parodied and for very good reason. None still hold up to this though. Clever, engaging, great atmosphere, enjoyable acting, good music and style 5/5

The Godfather - (1972) - As you can probably tell from my review of part 2, I'm not really a Godfather fan. Have to say I enjoy this one more though. Think the biggest reason is that it isn't two stories, jumping backwards and forwards, like part 2. Also it seems to develop the characters better and actually go somewhere. Still find it a bit slow and heavy going though. I've included a great abridged video of it for you. :D 4.5/5



The Sting tends to be the lesser considered Newman and Redford affair, but it's still an absolute corker. Haven't watched it for about 20 years, think I'll dig it out.
 
Might be my last couple of reviews for a couple of weeks, see how I go (Olympics are now on)

A Man For All Seasons - (1966) - I love a historical drama, films about the Tudors have been done to death, though. That said, this one is pretty good. Takes a bit of getting into but sterling cast and some brilliant acting. Costume can be a bit dodgy in places though, Robert Shaw's Henry VIII looks like he's wearing a cross between Gary Glitter and Ming the Merciless costume. 4.5/5

The Sound Of Music - (1965) - Yes, this is a bit of a cult film so probably going to get some backlash. Acting, rather average, songs are catchy but not brilliant. Does have a nice atmosphere about it though and doesn't drag. 3.5/5
 
Anyone mentioned Ben Hur? That has got to be up there with the greats. It won 11 Oscars and truly was an epic of it's time.
 
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Anyone mentioned Ben Hur? That has got to be up there with the greats. It won 11 Oscars and truly was an epic of it's time.
I remember going to see it in Leicester Square and having to book seats, just like you did for the theatre.

I predict Boo will mention it when he gets to 1960 ;)
 
Olympics have finished so back on it...

My Fair Lady -(1964) - Slightly above average musical (how many bleeding musicals are ther in the 60s?) Stan Holloway is awesome though and with the best songs. 4/5

Tom Jones
- (1963) - kind of surprised this won an Oscar for best film. It's like a cross between a Carry on film and Benny Hill. Very enjoyable though and slightly more polished and better story from what I compared it to. Albert Finney makes it more respectable. The deer hunting scene is very dark but very anti hunting, so way ahead of its time. 3.5/5
 
Lawrence Of Arabia - (1962) - Pretty slick, solid acting, especially good from Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif. Should be my kind of film but don't know, can't completely get into it. The music starts getting annoying after a bit too. Nethertheless, have to give it 5/5

West Side Story
- (1961) - Seven Brides for seven brothers did the unlikely - it mixed singing and dancing with back woodsmen and worked. This tries to do the same but with New York gangs (real Goodfellas time). It doesn't work. The story is weak, the gangs are terribly weak (in both ways). A couple of good songs but doesn't save it for me. 2.5/5
 
The Apartment - (1960) - Ignoring all the historical no nos, this is a solid film. Cant thing of any stand out acting and once again it has bloody Shirley MacLaine in it (how does she keep getting in Oscar winning films!) A great story though 4.5/5

That's the 60s done. Lawrence of Arabia would seem the obvious choise as best one but for me, best Oscar winner best film of the 60s is In The Heat of the Night

Now the 50s...

Ben Hur - (1959) - Amazing, for its time. The chariot racing bit is amazing. Even most of the biblical bit isn't too bad. I like a good epic but this really does drag it out at times (how much rowing do you need? We get it!) 4/5
 

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