Post by idioticbunny on May 3, 2017 19:26:28 GMT
Another year down, and closer to being out of the silent era. This year took a bit longer than the others simply because of the length of Napoleon as well as also deciding to venture into a side mission to watch the entire filmography of Alfred Hitchcock. Granted, I left out Downhill and The Lodger from his filmography until I receive my blu-ray copy from Criterion, but they are certainly on my list (especially the latter). However, The Ring is a worthy entry in the Hitchcock repertoire. The story might not be up to par, but you can sense he's started to get a better footing with his style.
Overall, I think this may be my favorite year of the decade so far. Not just because my top two might be two of my favorite films of the decade, but because it was easily the most consistent year in terms of quality so far. Even my least favorite film, Berlin, had some moments of brilliance (as well as moments of pure dullness) and was made with passion.
Not to mention, I've found my 2nd 10/10 for the decade in Sunrise. I'm still not quite sure yet if it tops The Phantom Carriage or not, but damn if it isn't brilliant and incredibly moving. Easily Murnau's masterpiece and worthy of its top 10 spot on the TSPDT list.
The rest range from excellent to good, no real bad seeds here. Metropolis was a bit disappointing in terms of story, but Lang saves it with his incredible and innovative direction. 7th Heaven shouldn't have been as good as it was, but damn if it wasn't incredibly moving. Janet Gaynor just came out of nowhere with two knock-out performances in one year. Might have shot up my list of favorite actresses from the decade, so I'm strongly considering watching Street Angel for her alone. The General was a bit disappointing considering how highly everyone talks of it in terms of Keaton, but I still ain't mad. It's still Keaton on his A-game, just the film itself wasn't as exciting or innovative as Sherlock Jr or Seven Chances. Oh, and how unnecessary was that blackface in Jazz Singer. Like literally came out of left field. If not for that, and some pretty poor acting from the leads, I'd give it a much better rating. Didn't realize it wasn't really the first "talkie," more like the first "sing-ie".
As always, here are my line-ups, feel free to share your own as well:
Best Picture:
01. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. Napoleon.
03. The Cat and the Canary.
04. 7th Heaven.
05. Metropolis.
06. Underworld.
07. The Kid Brother.
08. The General.
09. The Ring.
10. Chicago.
11. The Jazz Singer.
12. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City.
Best Director:
01. F.W. Murnau - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. Abel Gance - Napoleon.
03. Paul Leni - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Fritz Lang - Metropolis.
05. Josef von Sternberg - Underworld.
Best Actor:
01. George O'Brien - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. George Bancroft - Underworld.
03. Albert Dieudonne - Napoleon.
04. Buster Keaton - The General.
05. Clive Brook - Underworld.
Best Actress:
01. Janet Gaynor - 7th Heaven.
02. Janet Gaynor - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Phyllis Haver - Chicago.
04. Lillian Hall-Davis - The Ring.
Best Supporting Actor:
01. Vladimir Roudenko - Napoleon.
02. Alfred Abel - Metropolis.
03. Creighton Hale - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Robert Edeson - Chicago.
05. Alexandre Koubitzky - Napoleon.
Best Supporting Actress:
01. Eugenie Besserer - The Jazz Singer.
02. Martha Mattox - The Cat and the Canary.
03. Flora Finch - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Brigitte Helm - Metropolis.
05. Jobyna Ralston - The Kid Brother.
Best Original Screenplay:
01. Napoleon.
02. Underworld.
03. The Kid Brother.
04. The Ring.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. The Cat and the Canary.
02. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Metropolis.
04. 7th Heaven.
05. Chicago.
Best Ensemble:
01. The Cat and the Canary.
02. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Underworld.
04. Napoleon.
05. Chicago.
Best Editing:
Napoleon.
Best Cinematography:
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
Best Art Direction:
Metropolis.
Best Costume Design:
Napoleon.
Best Makeup:
Metropolis.
Best Visual Effects:
Metropolis.
As far as techs go, some of these might be best of the decade (esp. Costume/ Art Design), but the supporting acting categories were incredibly weak. Though I must say, I'm very surprised that I even tolerated, let alone actually enjoyed Alfred Abel for once. As someone who thought he was the weakest actor I'd seen this decade, I was thoroughly surprised. This year pretty much goes to Janet Gaynor though who blew everyone else out of the water.
What do you guys think of 1927? Recommendations for 1928? My list for next year is huuuuuuuuuuuge, so I'd really like to narrow it down to what you all are passionate about.
Overall, I think this may be my favorite year of the decade so far. Not just because my top two might be two of my favorite films of the decade, but because it was easily the most consistent year in terms of quality so far. Even my least favorite film, Berlin, had some moments of brilliance (as well as moments of pure dullness) and was made with passion.
Not to mention, I've found my 2nd 10/10 for the decade in Sunrise. I'm still not quite sure yet if it tops The Phantom Carriage or not, but damn if it isn't brilliant and incredibly moving. Easily Murnau's masterpiece and worthy of its top 10 spot on the TSPDT list.
The rest range from excellent to good, no real bad seeds here. Metropolis was a bit disappointing in terms of story, but Lang saves it with his incredible and innovative direction. 7th Heaven shouldn't have been as good as it was, but damn if it wasn't incredibly moving. Janet Gaynor just came out of nowhere with two knock-out performances in one year. Might have shot up my list of favorite actresses from the decade, so I'm strongly considering watching Street Angel for her alone. The General was a bit disappointing considering how highly everyone talks of it in terms of Keaton, but I still ain't mad. It's still Keaton on his A-game, just the film itself wasn't as exciting or innovative as Sherlock Jr or Seven Chances. Oh, and how unnecessary was that blackface in Jazz Singer. Like literally came out of left field. If not for that, and some pretty poor acting from the leads, I'd give it a much better rating. Didn't realize it wasn't really the first "talkie," more like the first "sing-ie".
As always, here are my line-ups, feel free to share your own as well:
Best Picture:
01. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. Napoleon.
03. The Cat and the Canary.
04. 7th Heaven.
05. Metropolis.
06. Underworld.
07. The Kid Brother.
08. The General.
09. The Ring.
10. Chicago.
11. The Jazz Singer.
12. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City.
Best Director:
01. F.W. Murnau - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. Abel Gance - Napoleon.
03. Paul Leni - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Fritz Lang - Metropolis.
05. Josef von Sternberg - Underworld.
Best Actor:
01. George O'Brien - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
02. George Bancroft - Underworld.
03. Albert Dieudonne - Napoleon.
04. Buster Keaton - The General.
05. Clive Brook - Underworld.
Best Actress:
01. Janet Gaynor - 7th Heaven.
02. Janet Gaynor - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Phyllis Haver - Chicago.
04. Lillian Hall-Davis - The Ring.
Best Supporting Actor:
01. Vladimir Roudenko - Napoleon.
02. Alfred Abel - Metropolis.
03. Creighton Hale - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Robert Edeson - Chicago.
05. Alexandre Koubitzky - Napoleon.
Best Supporting Actress:
01. Eugenie Besserer - The Jazz Singer.
02. Martha Mattox - The Cat and the Canary.
03. Flora Finch - The Cat and the Canary.
04. Brigitte Helm - Metropolis.
05. Jobyna Ralston - The Kid Brother.
Best Original Screenplay:
01. Napoleon.
02. Underworld.
03. The Kid Brother.
04. The Ring.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. The Cat and the Canary.
02. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Metropolis.
04. 7th Heaven.
05. Chicago.
Best Ensemble:
01. The Cat and the Canary.
02. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
03. Underworld.
04. Napoleon.
05. Chicago.
Best Editing:
Napoleon.
Best Cinematography:
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
Best Art Direction:
Metropolis.
Best Costume Design:
Napoleon.
Best Makeup:
Metropolis.
Best Visual Effects:
Metropolis.
As far as techs go, some of these might be best of the decade (esp. Costume/ Art Design), but the supporting acting categories were incredibly weak. Though I must say, I'm very surprised that I even tolerated, let alone actually enjoyed Alfred Abel for once. As someone who thought he was the weakest actor I'd seen this decade, I was thoroughly surprised. This year pretty much goes to Janet Gaynor though who blew everyone else out of the water.
What do you guys think of 1927? Recommendations for 1928? My list for next year is huuuuuuuuuuuge, so I'd really like to narrow it down to what you all are passionate about.
