The third Academy Awards were held not long after the second Academy Awards. They moved the date back so that the ceremony could be held closer to the eligibility period. During this year the "Outstanding Picture" category was changed to "Outstanding Production."
_poster.jpg)
Those interested are welcome to consult the Wikipedia article
on the third Academy Awards. What follow below are my thoughts on
the Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Cinematography winners.
The Oscar ceremony recognizing movies released between August 1, 1929 to July 31, 1930 was held in 1930.
_poster.jpg)
1. Outstanding Production: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
2. Best Director: Lewis Milestone - All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Lewis Milestone also won Best Directing (Comedy) for 1927's Two Arabian Knights.
At this point I've seen all three filmed adaptations of Erich Maria Remarque's novel, these being the 1930 and 2022 versions released in theaters, and the 1979 made for TV movie. Of these three versions the 1979 TV movie is my favorite, primarily because it strikes, in my opinion, the best balance between the humanity of its characters and the horror of war.
Which is not to say that Lewis Milestone's 1930 version is bad in any respect. If it's not -- again, in my opinion -- as good as the 1979 version it's still excellent. 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front was a considerable technical achievement, and the story it tells is still just as timely. Just compare this film to other World War I films of the time period, everything from Hell's Angels (below) to Wings. It's head and shoulders above those other movies, and represents, moreover, a considerable improvement over the director's own Two Arabian Knights, which won him his first Academy Award a year previous.
Fun Fact 1: Many German war veterans served as extras in this film.
Fun Fact 2: The Nazis (Brownshirts) weren't fans of this movie's anti-war message. They disrupted several screenings of it in the years leading up to World War II.
3. Best Actor: George Arliss - Disraeli (1929)
All but surrounded by Russian spies, Benjamin Disraeli attempts to grab control of the Suez Canal in the interests of the Crown. I'm not well read on this era in British history, but I felt that the story was convincing and George Arliss is good in the lead role.
4. Best Actress: Norma Shearer - The Divorcee (1930)
Now here's a movie that goes down MUCH differently in 2023 that it did in 1930. Is the main character's version of turnabout fair play? Is her husband's offended jealousy unfounded? Is a divorced woman "ruined?" Is their marriage salvageable? I suppose your answers to these questions in 2023 depend more on your lifestyle, religious affiliation, gender orientation and sexual orientation, and less on a publicly held morality that you feel you have to answer to.
My thoughts on The Divorcee? It's a little too much like a play at times, and the scenes in the cabin leading up to the accident are confusing. This said, once the protagonist crosses the altar it's a much easier movie to understand and to relate to. Norma Shearer was a good actress, and I don't know that many of her contemporaries could have handled this role so well.
5. Best Cinematography: Willard Van der Veer - With Byrd at the South Pole (1930)
Documentary on Byrd's Antarctic Expedition. The task of filming this expedition was indeed daunting, involving cameras mounted on boats, planes and even dogsleds. With Byrd at the South Pole remains the only documentary to win an Oscar for cinematography.
Fun Fact: a lot of the money for this expedition came from the Ford Motor Company. Byrd was good friends with Edsel Ford (for whom the car is named) and his father Henry Ford.
_04.jpg)
6. Honorable Mention: Hell's Angels (1930)
All Quiet on the Western Front? In many way's Hell's Angels is the inverse of that movie, in other ways it's just not very good. Some of the accents, for example, are atrocious, even if the scenes of aerial combat are an improvement over Wings, which won the Academy Award for Outstanding Picture two years before.
Jean Harlow was very sexy though, and producer and director Howard Hughes spared no expense in both filming Wings and converting this previously silent picture to sound. I was familiar with this movie from both The Amazing Howard Hughes and The Aviator, and even though the dramatic elements often fall flat it's still an interesting watch.
Parting Thoughts
Related Entries:
沒有留言:
張貼留言