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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 15, 2017 22:16:17 GMT
Not sure how many of you know, but I've been going through each year ten films at a time to try and boost up my film knowledge and force myself to finally watch ones I've not seen before. Since I've finally gotten through this decade, I thought I'd share what I feel is the best of the decade. Hopefully if you're not too familiar with the decade, this will serve as a starting point.
Please feel free to share your own lists as well or discuss my own picks.
BEST PICTURE: À Nous la Liberté (1931) Alexander Nevsky (1938) Design for Living (1933) Grand Hotel (1932) Les Misérables (1934) Modern Times (1936) The Pearls of the Crown (1937) *** The Story of a Cheat (1936) *** The 39 Steps (1935) Trouble in Paradise (1932)
BEST DIRECTOR: Raymond Bernard | Les Misérables Charles Chaplin | Modern Times René Clair | À Nous la Liberté *** Sergei M. Eisenstein & Dmitriy Vasilev | Alexander Nevsky *** Sacha Guitry | The Pearls of the Crown Sacha Guitry | The Story of a Cheat Alfred Hitchcock | The 39 Steps Ernst Lubitsch | Trouble in Paradise Rouben Mamoulian | Love Me Tonight Leni Riefenstahl | Olympia
BEST ACTOR: *** Harry Baur | Les Misérables *** James Cagney | Footlight Parade Gary Cooper | Design for Living Cary Grant | Bringing Up Baby Emil Jannings | The Blue Angel Charles Laughton | Mutiny on the Bounty Herbert Marshall | Trouble in Paradise Paul Muni | I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Paul Muni | The Life of Emile Zola James Stewart | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
BEST ACTRESS: Beulah Bondi | Make Way for Tomorrow Greta Garbo | Ninotchka Judy Garland | The Wizard of Oz Janet Gaynor | A Star Is Born *** Katharine Hepburn | Little Women *** Wendy Hiller | Pygmalion Miriam Hopkins | Design for Living Vivien Leigh | Gone with the Wind Merle Oberon | Wuthering Heights Ginger Rogers | Carefree
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: John Barrymore | Grand Hotel *** Lionel Barrymore | Grand Hotel *** Lionel Barrymore | You Can't Take It with You Dwight Frye | Dracula Bert Lahr | The Wizard of Oz Peter Lorre | M Herbert Marshall | The Good Fairy Groucho Marx | Animal Crackers Frank Morgan | The Good Fairy Joseph Schildkraut | The Life of Emile Zola
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jean Arthur | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Alice Brady | My Man Godfrey Joan Crawford | Grand Hotel Florelle | Les Misérables Greta Garbo | Grand Hotel Miriam Hopkins | Trouble in Paradise Phyllis Konstam | The Skin Game Carole Lombard | My Man Godfrey *** Carole Lombard | Twentieth Century *** Dita Parlo | La Grande Illusion
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: À Nous la Liberté City Lights Duck Soup Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Modern Times Ninotchka The Pearls of the Crown The Rules of the Game *** The Story of a Cheat *** Under the Roofs of Paris
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Animal Crackers Design for Living The Good Fairy *** Grand Hotel *** It Happened One Night Les Misérables Pygmalion The Thin Man Trouble in Paradise You Can't Take It with You
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST: Design for Living The Good Fairy *** Grand Hotel *** Les Misérables The Life of Emile Zola Mädchen in Uniform My Man Godfrey Trouble in Paradise The Wizard of Oz You Can't Take It with You
BEST FILM EDITING: *** Alexander Nevsky *** Earth Love Me Tonight The Pearls of the Crown The Story of a Cheat
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alexander Nevsky Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde *** Gone with the Wind *** Olympia Under the Roofs of Paris
BEST ART DIRECTION: À Nous la Liberté The Adventures of Robin Hood Gone with the Wind Modern Times *** The Wizard of Oz ***
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: *** The Adventures of Robin Hood *** Gone with the Wind Les Misérables The Pearls of the Crown The Wizard of Oz
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING: *** Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde *** Les Misérables The Life of Emile Zola The Private Life of Henry VIII The Wizard of Oz
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Hell's Angels The Invisible Man *** King Kong *** Topper The Wizard of Oz
BEST SOUND DESIGN: *** Alexander Nevsky *** All Quiet on the Western Front Love Me Tonight Waltzes from Vienna The Wizard of Oz
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Sergei Prokofiev | Alexander Nevsky *** Max Steiner | Gone with the Wind *** Max Steiner | King Kong Arthur Honegger | Les Misérables Charles Chaplin | Modern Times
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "I Only Have Eyes for You" | Dames "By a Waterfall" | Footlight Parade "Isn't It Romantic?" | Love Me Tonight "The Way You Look Tonight" | Swing Time *** "Under the Roofs of Paris" | Under the Roofs of Paris ***
This decade is nowhere near as good as the last one, at least in terms of creativity or ingenuity, but all the films listed here are well worth checking out. My make-up/visual effects line-ups are pretty weak because I skipped over a lot of the horror films since I typically hold off on horror until October so I can binge watch it all month long. So by then I'll see Vampyr, Frankenstein (and just about all James Whale's Universal horror films), The Mummy, The Old Dark House, etc. Hopefully they'll boost up those categories, and be good films in their own right.
Regardless, only two 10/10 films this decade (sometimes one depending on how I feel about Grand Hotel on any given day). I highly recommend everyone check out Sacha Guitry's work. Criterion has most of his work, and I only got the chance to see three of his films, but they're all fantastic. Hope to catch more in the future. Man has an amazing way with dialogue, script structure, etc. Very high recommendation.
Other greats: René Clair, Ernst Lubitsch, Rouben Mamoulian, Leni Riefenstahl (despite the obviously despicable propaganda, though there's less of it in Olympia which is the best of her work I've seen), Frank Capra, the obvious Chaplin, and of course, Alfred Hitchcock - whose finally grown into his element this decade, though still growing. And any film with Lionel Barrymore, Paul Muni, Cary Grant, or Katharine Hepburn are worth checking out as well. Barrymore's winning performance and Lorre's M are the only ones to make any of my top 25 all-time acting line-ups (though Baur is super close for Actor), so I'd say those are essentials.
Hoping the 1940s have more to offer on a creative level, and judging from the ones I've already seen and loved (Citizen Kane, Notorious, Double Indemnity, Rope, It's a Wonderful Life, Casablanca), I have a strong feeling it will. Wouldn't say the 1930s don't have anything to offer, but there's certainly more filler than outstanding efforts. But the outstanding efforts are really good.
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Post by countjohn on Sept 16, 2017 16:21:45 GMT
Best Picture- Ninotchka L’Atlante City Lights Grand Hotel Gone With the Wind
Best Director- Jean Vigo- L’Atlante Charlie Chaplin- City Lights Fritz Lang- M Tod Browning- Freaks Victor Flemming- Gone With the Wind
Best Actor- Laurence Olivier- Wuthering Heights John Barrymore- Grand Hotel Charlie Chaplin- City Lights Victor McLaglen- The Informer Clark Gable- Gone With the Wind
Best Actress- Katharine Hepburn- Bringing Up Baby Myrna Loy- The Thin Man Claudette Colbert- It Happened One Night Greta Garbo- Grand Hotel Vivien Leigh- Gone With the Wind
Best Supporting Actor- Lionel Barrymore- Grand Hotel Frank Morgan- The Wizard of Oz Wallace Beery- Grand Hotel Harry Earles- Freaks Peter Lorre- M
Best Supporting Actress- Hattie McDaniel- Gone With the Wind Ann Dvorak- Scarface Jean Harlow- The Public Enemy Joan Crawford- Grand Hotel Olivia Di Havilland- Gone With the Wind
Best Original Screenplay- L’Atalante City Lights Test Pilot M Ninotchka
Best Adapted Screenplay- Grand Hotel Freaks It Happened One Night Bringing Up Baby Gone With the Wind
Best Cinematography- L’Atalante City Lights Freaks M Gone With the Wind
Best Editing- L’Atalante Freaks M Triumph of the Will Gone With the Wind
Best Costume Design- The Wizard of Oz The Adventures of Robin Hood Grand Hotel Mary of Scotland Gone With the Wind
Best Production Design The Wizard of Oz Grand Hotel The Adventures of Robin Hood Mary of Scotland Gone With the Wind
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 16, 2017 16:31:50 GMT
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Post by stephen on Sept 16, 2017 16:37:56 GMT
I'll give it some thought, but I will say that I am sore that you didn't put any love for All Quiet on the Western Front beyond its sound design.
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 16, 2017 16:42:22 GMT
countjohnHappy to see some love for Grand Hotel and Ninotchka (which probably makes my top 30 for the decade). I really wanted to love Gone with the Wind more but it felt like there wasn't a strong enough focus and the plot felt a bit messy despite being incredibly detailed from a directorial standpoint. Plus the equation of North to Nazis kind of turned me off a bit (not that there couldn't have been some bad apples in the bunch, but not their purpose as a whole), but regardless still a damn solid movie with some of the best technical aspects I've probably ever seen. Also might be in the minority, but I consider Gable supporting. He's largely absent for about three hours of the film only to dominate the last hour. Also L'Atalante is one of my top 5 least favorite of the decade. Really feel I missed something there. Unfortunately, don't see anything too special about McDaniel, Harlow, or Olivier's performances. I felt the latter was sleep-walking through the whole thing, but I typically love him. Other than that, love the love for Myrna Loy (super underrated as well as underutilized in those Thin Man films). Also love that Supporting Actor line-up. Beery is great in probably one of the best ensemble casts of all-time, so the fact he doesn't even make the top 5 of his cast says a lot. And that Harry Earles love is so inspired. He and Daisy Earles were both fantastic. And the nod for Ann Dvorak is great, she barely misses my top 20. Also Triumph of the Will and Olympia both cut it really close with my Editing and Sound nominations. She was so brilliant with her use of each to convey meaning (although that meaning might not always have been a good one) and energize what was on screen. Not heard of Mary of Scotland or Test Pilot, though. Will add those to my list to check out in the future. Thanks for the line-ups!
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 16, 2017 16:46:17 GMT
I'll give it some thought, but I will say that I am sore that you didn't put any love for All Quiet on the Western Front beyond its sound design. Oh, trust me. It pained me to leave it off. If it makes you feel better, it was #12 in Picture (behind The Good Fairy), Director (behind Lang's M), and Lead Actor (behind Barrymore in Twentieth Century), as well as #11 in Ensemble. Plus top 15-20 for tech stuff. So I loved it a fair deal. Almost wish I could've pushed some categories to fifteen just so as not to leave anything out. It easily dominates the year 1930 at least, so it's got that going for it!
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 16, 2017 16:48:54 GMT
stephenAnd on the other hand, at least I included Garbo (twice even) this time around!
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Post by countjohn on Sept 16, 2017 17:05:11 GMT
countjohn Happy to see some love for Grand Hotel and Ninotchka (which probably makes my top 30 for the decade). I really wanted to love Gone with the Wind more but it felt like there wasn't a strong enough focus and the plot felt a bit messy despite being incredibly detailed from a directorial standpoint. Plus the equation of North to Nazis kind of turned me off a bit (not that there couldn't have been some bad apples in the bunch, but not their purpose as a whole), but regardless still a damn solid movie with some of the best technical aspects I've probably ever seen. Also might be in the minority, but I consider Gable supporting. He's largely absent for about three hours of the film only to dominate the last hour. Also L'Atalante is one of my top 5 least favorite of the decade. Really feel I missed something there. Unfortunately, don't see anything too special about McDaniel, Harlow, or Olivier's performances. I felt the latter was sleep-walking through the whole thing, but I typically love him. Other than that, love the love for Myrna Loy (super underrated as well as underutilized in those Thin Man films). Also love that Supporting Actor line-up. Beery is great in probably one of the best ensemble casts of all-time, so the fact he doesn't even make the top 5 of his cast says a lot. And that Harry Earles love is so inspired. He and Daisy Earles were both fantastic. And the nod for Ann Dvorak is great, she barely misses my top 20. Also Triumph of the Will and Olympia both cut it really close with my Editing and Sound nominations. She was so brilliant with her use of each to convey meaning (although that meaning might not always have been a good one) and energize what was on screen. Not heard of Mary of Scotland or Test Pilot, though. Will add those to my list to check out in the future. Thanks for the line-ups! Didn't really care for Mary of Scotland as an overall movie, it just looked great.
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Post by Joaquim on Sept 17, 2017 0:19:46 GMT
I'll stick to wins.
Best Picture: The Rules of the Game (1939) Best Director: Jean Renoir - The Rules of the Game Best Actor: Peter Lorre - M Best Actress: Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night Best Supporting Actor: Roland Toutain - The Rules of the Game Best Supporting Actress: Nora Gregor - The Rules of the Game Best Original Screenplay: The Rules of the Game Best Adapted Screenplay: It Happened One Night Best Foreign Language Film: The Rules of the Game Best Original Score: City Lights Best Sound: The Wizard of Oz Best Production Design: The Rules of the Game Best Cinematography: Stagecoach Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Wizard of Oz Best Costume Design: The Rules of the Game Best Film Editing: The Rules of the Game Best Visual Effects: The Wizard of Oz
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Sept 17, 2017 5:20:27 GMT
idioticbunny Sure, why not (runner ups in italic): Best Picture: Ninotschka (1939)Liebelei (1933) Bringing Up Baby (1938) Gone with the Wind (1939) Modern Times (1936) Mädchen in Uniform (1931) La Regle du Jeu (1939) Partie de campagne (1936) Menschen am Sonntag (1930) M (1931) Best Director (11 because this is hard): Carl Theodor Dreyer - VampyrErnst Lubitsch - Ninotchka Max Ophüls - Liebelei Boris Barnet - By the Bluest of Seas Aleksandr Dovzhenko - Earth Jean Renoir - Partie de campagne Fritz Lang - M Leni Riefenstahl - Olympia Sergei M. Eisenstein - Alexander Newsky Charles Chaplin - Modern Times Howard Hawks - Only Angels Have Wings Best Actor: Cary Grant - Bringing Up Baby Charles Chaplin - Modern Times Peter Lorre - MClark Gable - Gone with the Wind Michel Simon - Bodou Saved from Drowning Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn - Bringing Up Baby Greta Garbo - NinotchkaVivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind Hertha Thiele - Mädchen in Uniform Kakuko Mori - The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums Best Screenplay(from any source): NinotchkaMädchen in UniformDie 3 Groschen-Oper I was born but... Menschen am Sonntag Liebelei Pygmalion Mr. Smith Goes to Washington La règle du jeu Bodou Saved from Drowning Best Ensemble Cast: Lubitsch & RenoirBest Editing: NinotchkaMenschen am Sonntag Alexander Newsky OlympiaEarth Best Cinematography (11 because I wouldn't know what to kick): Alexander Newsky Partie de campagne Earth Ninotschka Gone with the WindMädchen in Uniform The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums L'Atalante Tabu City Girl LiebeleiBest Art Direction: Gone with the Wind The Wizard of Oz L'Atalante Mädchen in Uniform Liebelei La Regle du Jeu Modern Times The Scarlet EmpressMorocco Alexander Newsy Best Visual Effects: Le Roman de Renard (no contest) I personally like the decade a lot for all the strange stuff it has going on. Narrative had not been streamlined yet and a lot of films feel pleasantly off (Renoir being perhaps the most prominent example) and more personal in their approach to storytelling than films from later decades. Of course it depends on the type of films you watch. There are tons of cheap cashgrabs like in any decade and if anything they are even worse than in other decades (because they have little technical footing) but the good films and the good directors developed their own means of storytelling and were less bound by convention. I have a strange fondness for Hollywood in the 30's because stuff like Morocco, Scarface, Robin Hood or all the wonderfull screwball. Everything feels remarkably fresh and to the point, no side-plots, rarely overstaying 90 min. significantly. When I watch Hawks Scarface I feel like I'm watching Scarface and just Scarface. When I watch modern gangster films (say 60's onwards), I feel like I'm watching 2 or 3 different things at once which has its upside aswell as it allows for more complexity but it's also unavoidably much more convoluted and couldn't ever have the same charme as Scarface. Besides that I think it's quite telling that only one of my Best Director nominees is American.
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 17, 2017 16:23:10 GMT
I'll stick to wins. Best Picture: The Rules of the Game (1939) Best Director: Jean Renoir - The Rules of the Game Best Actor: Peter Lorre - M Best Actress: Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night Best Supporting Actor: Roland Toutain - The Rules of the Game Best Supporting Actress: Nora Gregor - The Rules of the Game Best Original Screenplay: The Rules of the Game Best Adapted Screenplay: It Happened One Night Best Foreign Language Film: The Rules of the Game Best Original Score: City Lights Best Sound: The Wizard of Oz Best Production Design: The Rules of the Game Best Cinematography: Stagecoach Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Wizard of Oz Best Costume Design: The Rules of the Game Best Film Editing: The Rules of the Game Best Visual Effects: The Wizard of Oz Funny, I still can't comprehend Lorre being Lead when he's only in the film for about the last third of it, but doesn't matter where he is as long as he's getting showered with praise. Fantastic performance. I wasn't big on Toutain at all, I thought he was one of the weaker of that cast, but other than that, I love all your choices here. Are you still checking out older films as before or have you kind of pushed on through already?
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 17, 2017 16:41:07 GMT
tobias Didn't realize you were such a huge fan of Ninotchka. That's great! I honestly think a re-watch will further solidify it as one of my favorites of the decade. My biggest frustration was just how perfect Garbo was in the first half, and then suddenly after a strange encounter at a restaurant, she's suddenly the Garbo of ol' and all traces of that stern, stoic Ninotchka are gone. I just wanted a level of consistency in the performance/character, but perhaps on a re-watch it won't bother me as much. Because I still loved her character and her performance a lot, that was just one directorial choice that bugged me a bit. Also enjoy the love for People on Sunday and Madchen in Uniform. Will definitely be getting back around to Renoir and Vigo's short films at some point (probably do something like this again, going year by year, but with short films). So A Day in the Country will be a priority. Also sad I couldn't find any versions of Liebelei. You're certainly on the right track with the decade, though I think a lot of the essential films for me were largely American/British, and thus controlled by production companies to make the same sort of stuff as always. That's why I have such a great admiration for Rouben Mamoulain. He was the one director who seemed to actually move the camera and wasn't limited by the glass boxes most directors had to keep them in to reduce sound. Amazing that he figured that out in 1932, yet directors for the rest of the decade still didn't figure it out. I can agree on the gangster films, too. Some directors, like Hawks, really had a knack for being able to use that fast-paced wit to their advantage, and it makes them so enjoyable. I've never been big on the gangster drama. As you said, there's often too much going on - and yes, they make for more well-rounded films - but they always seem to drag on longer than they need to. This is why the Godfather films have always been a bore to me. Excited to move into the noir-heavy 1940s, though. Noir is one of my favorite genres, and I'm especially happy to finally check out all the ones I had missed out on for so long (like The Big Sleep, Key Largo, Out of the Past, etc.) as well as re-watching all the ones I haven't seen in over a decade ( The Maltese Falcon and Laura being prominent ones). Seems like where the draw of gangster films started to dwindle, film noirs took their place and their wit felt much more at home there than in the gangster films. Plus, this is the beginning of Orson Welles, whose only film I've seen is Citizen Kane (and love, love, loved it, but it needs a re-watch) and I'm dying to see more.
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Post by Joaquim on Sept 17, 2017 20:11:04 GMT
I'll stick to wins. Best Picture: The Rules of the Game (1939) Best Director: Jean Renoir - The Rules of the Game Best Actor: Peter Lorre - M Best Actress: Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night Best Supporting Actor: Roland Toutain - The Rules of the Game Best Supporting Actress: Nora Gregor - The Rules of the Game Best Original Screenplay: The Rules of the Game Best Adapted Screenplay: It Happened One Night Best Foreign Language Film: The Rules of the Game Best Original Score: City Lights Best Sound: The Wizard of Oz Best Production Design: The Rules of the Game Best Cinematography: Stagecoach Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Wizard of Oz Best Costume Design: The Rules of the Game Best Film Editing: The Rules of the Game Best Visual Effects: The Wizard of Oz Funny, I still can't comprehend Lorre being Lead when he's only in the film for about the last third of it, but doesn't matter where he is as long as he's getting showered with praise. Fantastic performance. I wasn't big on Toutain at all, I thought he was one of the weaker of that cast, but other than that, I love all your choices here. Are you still checking out older films as before or have you kind of pushed on through already? Lorre would've been my win in either category. Still gotta watch lots lots of older stuff. I put if off for a while but I'll dedicate all of next year to it.
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Sept 17, 2017 20:49:08 GMT
tobias Didn't realize you were such a huge fan of Ninotchka. That's great! I honestly think a re-watch will further solidify it as one of my favorites of the decade. My biggest frustration was just how perfect Garbo was in the first half, and then suddenly after a strange encounter at a restaurant, she's suddenly the Garbo of ol' and all traces of that stern, stoic Ninotchka are gone. I just wanted a level of consistency in the performance/character, but perhaps on a re-watch it won't bother me as much. Because I still loved her character and her performance a lot, that was just one directorial choice that bugged me a bit. Also enjoy the love for People on Sunday and Madchen in Uniform. Will definitely be getting back around to Renoir and Vigo's short films at some point (probably do something like this again, going year by year, but with short films). So A Day in the Country will be a priority. Also sad I couldn't find any versions of Liebelei. You're certainly on the right track with the decade, though I think a lot of the essential films for me were largely American/British, and thus controlled by production companies to make the same sort of stuff as always. That's why I have such a great admiration for Rouben Mamoulain. He was the one director who seemed to actually move the camera and wasn't limited by the glass boxes most directors had to keep them in to reduce sound. Amazing that he figured that out in 1932, yet directors for the rest of the decade still didn't figure it out. I can agree on the gangster films, too. Some directors, like Hawks, really had a knack for being able to use that fast-paced wit to their advantage, and it makes them so enjoyable. I've never been big on the gangster drama. As you said, there's often too much going on - and yes, they make for more well-rounded films - but they always seem to drag on longer than they need to. This is why the Godfather films have always been a bore to me. Excited to move into the noir-heavy 1940s, though. Noir is one of my favorite genres, and I'm especially happy to finally check out all the ones I had missed out on for so long (like The Big Sleep, Key Largo, Out of the Past, etc.) as well as re-watching all the ones I haven't seen in over a decade ( The Maltese Falcon and Laura being prominent ones). Seems like where the draw of gangster films started to dwindle, film noirs took their place and their wit felt much more at home there than in the gangster films. Plus, this is the beginning of Orson Welles, whose only film I've seen is Citizen Kane (and love, love, loved it, but it needs a re-watch) and I'm dying to see more. I actually like the shift in Ninotchka, mainly because I think the romantic scenes are incredibly well done. Yeah, obviously sound is a huge restriction in the 30's and also the reason why many movies feel very stale. While in the late 20's there was at times crazily advanced stuff going on with moving cameras already, in 1930's films even a pan is a step out of the ordinary in some films. Ultimately in such an enviroment you had to either figure out how to make the stale camera a stylistic device (see Ozu) or find a way to get some dynamics into it. I might be wrong but I think European films were a little more willing to just go the extra mile and dub it (or to just take the sub-par sound). 40's is truly a decade dominated by english language films. I would definitely say that many noirs (or films similar to noir) rank among the top of the decade. I would recommend Tourner any day. Cat People is already a film that is recognizably different from what was going on in American cinema before but I Walked with a Zombie is his masterpiece. I was a little let down by Out of the Past after watching these 2 but that's probably just me, it's still a good film afterall. Orson Welles is also great. I went through his filmography maybe 1,5 years ago and even if it shows that his productions were usually plagued by problems, the immense skill and care that went into his films truly shows. I have not seen Macbeth though which is commonly said to be his worst and also not his TV films (which are actually said to be rather good for TV productions).
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 18, 2017 0:44:43 GMT
Funny, I still can't comprehend Lorre being Lead when he's only in the film for about the last third of it, but doesn't matter where he is as long as he's getting showered with praise. Fantastic performance. I wasn't big on Toutain at all, I thought he was one of the weaker of that cast, but other than that, I love all your choices here. Are you still checking out older films as before or have you kind of pushed on through already? Lorre would've been my win in either category. Still gotta watch lots lots of older stuff. I put if off for a while but I'll dedicate all of next year to it. I wholeheartedly encourage it. Hopefully you can use mine and tobias' line-ups as a starting point as well.
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 18, 2017 0:54:59 GMT
I actually like the shift in Ninotchka, mainly because I think the romantic scenes are incredibly well done. Yeah, obviously sound is a huge restriction in the 30's and also the reason why many movies feel very stale. While in the late 20's there was at times crazily advanced stuff going on with moving cameras already, in 1930's films even a pan is a step out of the ordinary in some films. Ultimately in such an enviroment you had to either figure out how to make the stale camera a stylistic device (see Ozu) or find a way to get some dynamics into it. I might be wrong but I think European films were a little more willing to just go the extra mile and dub it (or to just take the sub-par sound). 40's is truly a decade dominated by english language films. I would definitely say that many noirs (or films similar to noir) rank among the top of the decade. I would recommend Tourner any day. Cat People is already a film that is recognizably different from what was going on in American cinema before but I Walked with a Zombie is his masterpiece. I was a little let down by Out of the Past after watching these 2 but that's probably just me, it's still a good film afterall. Orson Welles is also great. I went through his filmography maybe 1,5 years ago and even if it shows that his productions were usually plagued by problems, the immense skill and care that went into his films truly shows. I have not seen Macbeth though which is commonly said to be his worst and also not his TV films (which are actually said to be rather good for TV productions). Yeah, that's why I still enjoy the film a lot and it's a solid 8/10 because even though I was upset by the inconsistency of her character, the second half still has some wonderful scenes. Especially when Ninotchka drinks champagne - probably some of the best acting of Garbo's career and equal parts hilarious and romantic. So, again, I'll definitely be re-watching it again in the future. Exactly. That's why I enjoyed a lot of the foreign stuff I watched (but unfortunately didn't get around to as much as last decade). Especially Guitry who used voice-over as a primary tool in two of his three films I watched (and both wound up making my top ten for the decade). It makes for fluid camera movement that feels so unique to the decade, but compared to the 1920s isn't all that special. So yeah, some, like Lubitsch, used the Hollywood norm and static camera movement to their advantage in terms of framing and blocking, but other times it just feels incredibly stale on a visual level. I'm certainly hoping that changes more with the 1940s (another reason I'm excited for Citizen Kane again because I feel like Welles finally broke the chain of stale camera movement and placement). Ahh, yes. Cat People is one I've been dying to see and will probably get to it during October during my horror movie marathons. Same with Zombie. So I'm excited to get to Tourneur as well as Welles. And to finally check out Powell/Pressburger's The Red Shoes is one that's high on my list. So many! Plus all the Hitchcock I've not seen yet, especially Shadow of a Doubt which is probably the one Hitchcock outside of Frenzy I'm still dying to see (though, to be fair, I'm dying to watch all Hitchcock).
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Sept 18, 2017 5:01:20 GMT
glad you liked Les mis, an unsung masterpiece in my eyes
my top 10
Les miserables (Bernard, 1934) Make Way for Tomorrow (McCarey, 1937) L'Atalante (Vigo, 1934) M (Lang, 1931) Vampyr (Dreyer, 1932) By the Bluest of Seas (Barnet, 1936) La grande illusion (Renoir, 1937) People on Sunday (various, 1930) Gone with the Wind (Fleming, 1939) A Day in the Country (Renoir, 1936)
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 18, 2017 18:43:22 GMT
glad you liked Les mis, an unsung masterpiece in my eyes my top 10 Les miserables (Bernard, 1934) Make Way for Tomorrow (McCarey, 1937) L'Atalante (Vigo, 1934) M (Lang, 1931) Vampyr (Dreyer, 1932) By the Bluest of Seas (Barnet, 1936) La grande illusion (Renoir, 1937) People on Sunday (various, 1930) Gone with the Wind (Fleming, 1939) A Day in the Country (Renoir, 1936) Glad to hear your feedback here. Also glad you've seen a fair bit more than the 1920s here. I knew you'd appreciate the love for Bernard's Les Mis. It's my #3 behind Story of a Cheat and Grand Hotel. Pretty damn close to a perfect 10. For being nearly five hours, there's not a single moment that should be left out and I was thoroughly engaged the whole time, mainly because Baur's performance was ungodly good. Can't wait to watch Vampyr next month as part of my horror film marathon, have a good feeling I'll love that one. And it seems I should have watched By the Bluest of Seas when I had the chance, just didn't hear enough about it to feel it was essential. Now I feel it was. Will be getting around to Renoir's Country when I make my way through short films in the future as well. Huge disappointment with L'Atalante which I thought would be one of my favorites considering the synopsis, but it wound up one of my bottom five of the decade. Just wasn't my taste, I suppose. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed all the rest on your list.
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no
Badass
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Likes: 423
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Post by no on Sept 19, 2017 6:08:29 GMT
Best Feature
M (1931) Modern Times (1936) City Lights (1931) Alexander Nevsky (1938) L'atalante (1934) Gone with the Wind (1939) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) The Wizard of Oz (1939) La Grande Illusion (1937) Vampyr (1932)
Best Short
Zero for Conduct (1933) A Day in the Country (1936) An Optical Poem (1938) Sentimental Romance (1930) Bezhin lug (1937)
Best Documentary
À Propos de Nice (1930) The Seahorse (1934) The Triumph of the Will (1935) Man Ray's Home Movies (1938) La destrucción de Oaxaca (1931) Similarities Between Light and Speed (1937) The Fourth Dimension (1937)
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Post by themoviesinner on Sept 19, 2017 8:32:59 GMT
Top 10 Films: 1. Grand Illusion 2. The Story Of The Last Chrysanthemums 3. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington 4. Vampyr 5. Queen Christina 6. Captain Blood 7. Gone With The Wind 8. The Bitter Tea Of General Yen 9. La Chienne 10. Fury
Best Director: 1. Jean Renoir - Grand Illusion 2. Kenji Mizoguchi - The Story Of The Last Chrysanthemums 3. Carl Theodor Dreyer - Vampyr 4. Rouben Mamoulian - Queen Christina 5. Frank Capra - Mr.Smith Goes To Washington
Best Actor: 1. James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington 2. Gary Cooper - Mr. Deeds Goes To Town 3. Spencer Tracy - Fury 4. Jean Gabin - Pepe Le Moko 5. Charles Laughton - The Private Life Of Henry VIII
Best Actress: 1. Greta Garbo - Queen Christina 2. Jean Arthur - Only Angels Have Wings 3. Barbara Stanwyck - The Miracle Woman 4. Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind 5. Barbara Stanwyck - Stella Dallas
Best Supporting Actor: 1. Erich Von Stroheim - Grand Illusion 2. Pat O’Brien - Angels With Dirty Faces 3. Peter Lorre - M. 4. Michel Simon - L' Atalante 5. Claude Rains - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Best Supporting Actress: 1. Joan Crawford - Grand Hotel 2. Jean Arthur - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 3. Claire Trevor - Dead End 4. Anne Shirley - Stella Dallas 5. Olivia De Havilland - Gone With The Wind
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demille
Full Member
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Likes: 306
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Post by demille on Sept 19, 2017 13:05:12 GMT
winner in bold, runner up italics
BEST PICTURE: À Nous la Liberté (1931) Anna Karenina (1935) Bringing Up Baby (1938) La Chienne (1931) City Lights (1931) Dracula (1931) It's a Gift (1934) La Kermesse Héroïque (1935) Love Me Tonight (1932) M (1931) Modern Times (1936) The Most Dangerous Game (1932) Port of Shadows (1938) Queen Christina (1933) The Rules of the Game (1939) The Scarlet Empress (1934) The Story of a Cheat (1936) The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) Top Hat (1935) Trouble in Paradise (1932) Vampyr (1932)
BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Boleslawski - The Painted Veil Charles Chaplin - City Lights René Clair - À Nous la Liberté Carl Theodor Dreyer - Vampyr Sacha Guitry - The Story of a Cheat Fritz Lang - M Ernst Lubitsch - Trouble in Paradise Rouben Mamoulian - Queen Christina Jean Renoir - The Rules of the Game Josef von Sternberg - The Scarlet Empress
BEST ACTOR: John Barrymore - Twentieth Century Gary Cooper - Mr Deeds Goes to Town James Cagney - The Public Enemy Jean Gabin - La Bête Humaine Cary Grant - Bringing Up Baby Walter Huston - Dodsworth Emil Jannings - The Blue Angel Spencer Tracy - Fury Paul Muni - I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
BEST ACTRESS: Greta Garbo - Anna Karenina Greta Garbo - Camille Greta Garbo - Ninotchka Greta Garbo - Queen Christina Katharine Hepburn - Bringing Up Baby Wendy Hiller - Pygmalion Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind Carole Lombard - My Man Godfrey Luise Rainer - The Good Earth Barbara Stanwyck - Stella Dallas
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mischa Auer - My Man Godfrey Lionel Barrymore - Grand Hotel Charles Bickford - Anna Christie Dwight Frye - Dracula John Garfield - Four Daughters Bert Lahr - The Wizard of Oz Peter Lorre - M Herbert Marshall - The Painted Veil Thomas Mitchell - Stagecoach Claude Rains - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Erich Von Stroheim - Grand Illusion
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jean Arthur - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Alice Brady - My Man Godfrey Joan Crawford - The Women Laura Hope Crews - Camille Olivia De Havilland - Gone With The Wind Marie Dressler - Anna Christie Miriam Hopkins - Trouble in Paradise Carole Lombard - Twentieth Century Luise Rainer - The Great Ziegfeld Rosalind Russell - The Women
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 19, 2017 16:46:29 GMT
noThanks for listing some shorts. It's a medium I'm terribly behind on, but plan to do something similar to what I'm doing now with features for those as well in the future. Funny you consider L'Atalante a short, though, as it was about 90 minutes long wasn't it?
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 19, 2017 16:51:07 GMT
themoviesinnerHappy to see your line-ups here. I'm not that big on royalty dramas or swash-bucklers, hence why Queen Christina (though this one was a pleasant surprise thanks to Mamoulian - so glad to see some love for him) and Captain Blood didn't really make my lists. Also think that Michel Simon might be my least favorite actor of the decade. Aside from La Chienne, I hated just about every other one of his performances. So maybe I missed something there as it seems he gets a lot of love for L'Atalante. Regardless, wouldn't have pegged you as a Mr. Smith fan, but glad you are. Truly is a fantastic film and one of Stewart's best performances. Enjoy most everything else you've listed, though I need to get around to Stella Dallas, Fury, and the Stanwyck at a later time. Especially Fury since it was the one Lang I wanted to check out from the decade outside Testament and M, but I couldn't find a place to watch it.
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Post by idioticbunny on Sept 19, 2017 16:56:57 GMT
demilleThanks again for the lengthy lists. Always appreciated to help me seek out new things and compare to see what others love. Makes me very happy to see another fan of Story of a Cheat and A Nous la Liberte. Super underrated films that are probably more game-changing than anything else from the decade (save Chaplin's and Mamoulian's work). Was super disappointed in The Scarlet Empress. Especially as Josef von Sternberg was one of my favorite directors of the last decade, I was really disappointed with his output for this decade (save The Blue Angel which was good, but not great). Also pretty disappointed in the Garbo films as well. As I mentioned in another comment, royalty dramas aren't my thing most of the time. And Camille and Anna Karenina were just too dull and repetitive (especially the former) for my taste. Still decent movies, it's not as though they were bad (same goes for her performances in each), but just not my cup of tea. Otherwise, a great list and some performances/films there I will certainly seek out next time around. Especially if there's a Herbert Marshall performance that's lauded!
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Post by themoviesinner on Sept 19, 2017 17:04:49 GMT
Happy to see your line-ups here. I'm not that big on royalty dramas or swash-bucklers, hence why Queen Christina (though this one was a pleasant surprise thanks to Mamoulian - so glad to see some love for him) and Captain Blood didn't really make my lists. Also think that Michel Simon might be my least favorite actor of the decade. Aside from La Chienne, I hated just about every other one of his performances. So maybe I missed something there as it seems he gets a lot of love for L'Atalante. Regardless, wouldn't have pegged you as a Mr. Smith fan, but glad you are. Truly is a fantastic film and one of Stewart's best performances. Enjoy most everything else you've listed, though I need to get around to Stella Dallas, Fury, and the Stanwyck at a later time. Especially Fury since it was the one Lang I wanted to check out from the decade outside Testament and M, but I couldn't find a place to watch it. I think Simon is a great actor, but I totally understand how someone would hate him, as his acting style is certainly unique and somewhat unconventional and definitely not for everyone. I'm probably also one of the biggest fans of Frank Capra and he is definitely my favorite director of the decade (and just outside my top 10 of all time). I also highly recommend Fury as I consider it Lang's best film.
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