Goal Completed!

You probably don’t remember this, but in 2008, Deal & I set a goal to watch all the Academy Award Best Picture winners over 80+ years.

As of April 2010, we had finished and blogged about 1958 through present. See here for 1981-2009 and here for 1958-1980. Please note, we rate on a scale of 0 (worst) to 10 (best).

We made our way through 1929-1957 and just about finished before we hit the AT in May 2011. I didn’t have time to post our reviews before leaving civilization and in the midst of putting our stuff in storage and moving a few times, the list got lost. Guess what I came across the other day??

So just in time for another Oscar winner, I am gracing you with our remaining movie reviews of the Best Pictures from 1929-1957 (plus 2010-2012)! After almost 4 years of trying, we realize how lofty of a goal it was. If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you should know we have lofty goals.

Thankfully we still had the good ol’ VHS player around for the 1929-1957 round because most of these did not deserve a DVD reproduction (and our ratings would agree).

Wings (1929)
P=4, J=3
Silent film, black & white, made in 1927, more than 2 hours long. Need I say more?

The Broadway Melody (1930)
P=3, J=3
A poor attempt of a love story in the form of a musical.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – Yes, there were 2 movies for 1930!
P=6, J=5
A movie about WWI from the point of young, German soldiers. Touching and well done (for 1930!)

Cimarron (1931)
P=4, J=4
This movie confused us a bit, although the plot of settlement in the 19th century was interesting.

Grand Hotel (1932)
P=3, J=2
The movie tries to follow the story line for individual characters who cross each other’s path in a luxurious hotel, but it wasn’t done well.

Cavalcade (1934)
P=2, J=1
No. Not worth my words.

It Happened One Night (1935)
P=7, J=5
Who knew the 1930s were so scandalous??

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
P=6, J=7
We were pretty impressed with this story about this mutiny (led by Marlon Brando) aboard a British Navy ship in the late 1700s.

The Great Ziegfield
 (1937)
P=2, J=2
The main character was rather annoying.

The Life of Emile Zola (1938)
P=7, J=8
I really for the life of me can’t recall why we liked this, but it’s not often J gives a higher score than I do, so it must have been impressive. And again, we are still in the 1930s here, so kudos to them.

You Can’t Take It With You (1939)
P=8, J=7
This was quite comical with a very eccentric family at the center of attention.

Gone With The Wind (1940)
P=5, J=5
We are probably getting imaginary daggers thrown at the computer screens for only giving a 5 to this classic romance film with dreamy Clark Gable, but Scarlett O’Hara is just plain spoiled and annoying. I was not rooting for them to get together.

Rebecca (1940)
P=8, J=8
I have ALWAYS loved this book and J & I listened to the book on CD and he loved it too. The movie is just as good. It’s not often you see a mystery film among the Oscar winners, so we love it even more for being in that genre.

How Green Was My Valley (1942)
P=4, J=3
If you want a peak into early century mining life, you might like this, but the plot could have flowed a lot better.

Mrs. Miniver (1943)
P=4, J=4
I think it would have been a good movie if they focused less on the wife/mother (Mrs. Miniver).

Casablanca (1944)
P=6, J=5
Another romantic classic and I can see why everyone fell in love with Humphrey Bogart.

Going My Way (1945)
P=7, J=8
I can’t fully remember this one, but our ratings speak for it because again, J rated higher than me!

The Lost Weekend (1946)
P=6, J=5
Depressing movie about alcoholism.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)
P=7, J=7
Poignant movie about post-war life for WWII veterans.

Gentleman’s Agreement (1948)
P=6, J=5
Pretty good movie depicting anti-Semitism. Definitely timed well following WWII.

Hamlet (1949)
P=2, J=0
Just watch the 1996 version. I heart Shakespeare and even this play of his, but man did this movie version suck.

All the King’s Men (1950)
P=6, J=4
I thought it was an interesting look into politics, but I also think there was a 2006 remake of this movie, so it was probably much better than the 1950 version.

All About Eve (1951)
P=7, J=6
Well, this was all about Eve, a Broadway star.

An American in Paris (1952)
P=4, J=3
The plot about two men falling in love with the same woman sounds like it would be good, but it just didn’t get there.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1953)
P=7, J=7
A behind-the-scenes look at the circus. Very exciting stuff!!

From Here to Eternity (1954)
P=6, J=6
I’ll have to apologize again because I just can’t trigger my memory on this one. But a 6 is not bad?

On the Waterfront (1955)
P=6, P=5
A neat look into the life of a longshoreman … they work hard and apparently there’s some corruption! PS, Marlon Brando is in this one!

Marty (1956)
P=4, J=4
Ugh, once again, I can’t give you any feedback, but it looks like it is worth skipping based on the ratings. 

Around the World in Eighty Days (1957)
P=7, J=7
Adventure awaits!

The More Recent Films:
The Hurt Locker (2010)
P=8, J=8
More war education! Very good acting!

The King’s Speech (2011)
P=7, J=6
My sister is a speech pathologist and who knew they go way back!

The Artist (2012)
P=6, J=5
Much better than the silent films in the 1920s! A sad story about how actors in silent films were left behind when sound came into play.

And after tonight, we will have a new one to watch!

How many of these have you seen?