To see the intro to this project, as well as links to other decades, click here. 9) “Go Down, Moses,” from Sullivan’s Travels (1941) Writer-directors throughout movie history are rarely good at just shutting up and letting the work speak for itself, and Sullivan’s Travels is proof that even the best of them can stumble… Read More Listen to America: The 1940s
To see my running list of the hundred greatest movie stars in American film history, click here We’ve reached the top 10! At this point, every star gets their own post. 1) James Stewart When I started this list a while back (see above), I came up with a hilariously long list of qualifiers for what… Read More Better than AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars: 1
Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Phillip Alford, Rosemary Forsyth One of my five favorite movies of all time is Gettysburg, a childhood favorite which I describe in that linked piece as having a “softness” concerning slavery but worlds of sympathy about the introspection of Confederate generals out to keep other men in chains.… Read More Shenandoah (1965)
Dir. John Ford. Starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Gilbert Roland There’s a shot in Cheyenne Autumn that my little heart took note of, either because I am very sensitive to bravado or because I am very partisan. Wright (Walter Baldwin), a Quaker ministering to the Cheyenne’s needs on the reservation as best he can, works with his… Read More Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
One of the Grantland legacies I’m fond of, although I’m sure the idea didn’t start there, is the championship belt (RIP Grantland, long live Barnwell and Hyden). The purpose is to go year by year and create a list of who’s at the top of some field, which is a deceptively simple task, and one… Read More Anglophone Director Championship Belt, 1918-2018
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 10-6
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 55-51
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 75-71
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 90-86
Dir. Frank Capra. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore It’s a Wonderful Life presents an interesting viewing paradox to me. The movie was always going to get its due as a classic after it famously lost to The Best Years of Our Lives among moviegoers in December 1946. (The movie may not have been like, super popular,… Read More It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Seeing Things Secondhand 