4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
4 Scenes From 4 Films
1984 (1956, directed by Michael Anderson)
F For Fake (1974, directed by Orson Welles)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984, directed by Michael Radford)
Lost Highway (1997, directed by David Lynch)
Over on Through the Shattered Lens Presents the Oscars, we are reimagining Oscar history, one year at a time. Today, we take a look at 1920. Prohibition goes into effect, women finally get the right to vote, Harding is elected President, D.W. Griffith finally gets some recognition, and Fatty Arbuckle is the most popular man in Hollywood!
William S. Hart, the Third President of AMPAS
1920 was a year of many changes.
On January 16th, the 18th Amendment went into effect and prohibition became the law of the land. Suddenly, it was illegal to transport and sell alcohol in the United States. As social reformers rejoiced, the government grew and ordinary citizens started to hoard whatever liquor they had. (Selling alcohol was illegal but drinking it was not.) Perhaps the people happiest about prohibition were the gangsters who now had a totally new market to exploit.
On August 26th, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed and, finally, all women were granted the right to vote. And it came not a minute too late because it was time for the United States to elect a new president. Weary after the nonstop drama of 8 years of Woodrow Wilson, the American electorate turned to Warren…
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(Credit: Gracja Waniewska)
Last night, we were all stunned by the news that director We Craven had passed away after a battle with brain cancer. If you want to see a great tribute to Craven, check out this 4 Shots From 4 Films that Arleigh posted on his birthday. If you want to read a great reflection of Wes Craven and his career, check out this tribute from Ryan the Trashfilm Guru.
As for me, I’m going to share an anecdote and then, I’m going to pay tribute to Wes with a six trailer salute.
First, the anecdote. I can still remember the first time that I ever watched Last House On The Left. It was a film that I had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, as a horror lover, I could not help but be impressed by the terrifying performances of Fred Lincoln and David Hess. I could not help but by moved by the way Hess’s haunting song, Now You’re All Alone, was used in the film. And, as low-budget and exploitive as the film may have been, I could see that Wes Craven was more interested in critiquing sadism than in celebrating it.
At the same time, it was still an unpleasant film for me, as a woman, to watch and the addition of some clumsy humor pretty much confirmed that Craven was still finding his way as a filmmaker. It was one of those films that I knew, as a horror fan, I had to watch but I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed it.
However, that night, I did end up watching the movie twice. I watched it a second time so that I could listen to the commentary from Wes Craven and producer Sean S. Cunningham. And — oh my God — both of these guys were so funny and charming! Craven, especially, seemed to enjoy pointing out scenes that didn’t quite work and the frequently awkward dialogue that he had written. Craven and Cunningham both came across as being two of the nicest guys in the world and it was indeed an experience to hear them cheerfully talking while these absolutely vile images were flickering by onscreen.
And really, that taught me an important lesson and it’s one that I remember to this day. Whenever I hear some judgmental know-it-all claiming that only a sick person could direct or write a horror movie, I remember that charming Wes Craven audio commentary.
And now, here are six trailers for six of Wes Craven’s films.
Wes Craven, R.I.P.
At the 1919 Academy Awards, Evelyn Preer makes history, Harry Houdini is rewarded for playing himself, and Bolshevism goes on trial!
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
In 1919, as the Spanish Flu continued to infect and kill millions, the world tried to recover from World War I. After spending six months at the Paris Peace Conference, President Woodrow Wilson returned to the U.S. and launched an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to bring the United States into the newly formed League of Nations. On September 25th, while barnstorming across the nation in support of the League, a physically exhausted Wilson collapsed and never truly recovered. On October 2nd, a stroke left him partially paralyzed and blind in one eye.
Even before Wilson’s physical collapse, the U.S. population had reason to feel uncertain about the future. On January 6th, the wildly popular Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep. Before his death, Roosevelt had been widely expected to run for President in 1920 and hopefully return the U.S. to the peace and prosperity…
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Well, here we are. The year is more than halfway over. The fall movie season is approaching. And yet, not a single true Oscar front-runner has yet to emerge. Could this be the year that a true populist hit, like Mad Max: Fury Road, or an unexpected art house wonder, like Ex Machina, manages to secure a spot?
Well, probably not. But still, it’s fun to speculate!
(Are Oscar pundits being too quick to dismiss Straight Outta Compton? I have not seen it yet but look at those reviews and look at that box office. It’s an interesting question.)
Anyway, here are my prediction for August! To see how my thinking has evolved over the year, check out my predictions of January, February, March, April, May, June, and July!
Best Picture
Black Mass
Brookyln
Carol
The Danish Girl
Everest
Inside Out
Joy
Sicario
Suffragette
Youth
Best Actor
Michael Caine in Youth
Don Cheadle in Miles Ahead
Johnny Depp in Black Mass
Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in Carol
Jennifer Lawrence in Joy
Julianne Moore in Freeheld
Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
Lily Tomlin in Grandma
Best Supporting Actor
Robert De Niro in Joy
Benicio Del Toro in Sicario
Tom Hardy in The Revenant
Harvey Keitel in Youth
Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight
Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter in Suffragette
Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara in Carol
Ellen Page in Freeheld
Julie Walters in Brooklyn
Best Director
John Cowley for Brooklyn
Todd Haynes for Carol
David O. Russell for Joy
Paolo Sorrentino for Youth
Denis Villenueve for Sicario
So, what does everyone think of the trailer for Goodnight, Mommy? For the past few months, people have been hyping this movie as one of the scariest movies ever made. The trailer certainly has its moments, nicely mixing obvious scares with moments of deep unease and ominous atmosphere. This is one movie that I will definitely be seeing as soon as it opens in theaters.
Continuing to reimagine Oscar history one year at a time, LMB and I take a look at what 1915 could have been.
John Wilkes Booth (Raoul Walsh) flees after shooting Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith’s Birth Of A Nation
The second annual Academy Awards were handed out on January 20th, 1916. For the second and final time, the ceremony took place in the Empire Room of the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. Just as in the previous year, the awards were handed out after dinner and a speech from Academy President Mack Sennett. Again, the winners were announced before the actual ceremony and were given certificates of achievement. According to contemporary reports, the winners who were present all gave brief acceptance speeches but nobody bothered to record what anyone said.
As in the previous year, winners were selected by a jury of distinguished citizens. The 1915 jury consisted of:
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4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
Welcome to a special Mario Bava-themed edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films. Today is the maestro’s birthday and therefore, a very important day to everyone who loves Italian cinema. All four of the shots below sprang from the imagination of Mario Bava.
Blood and Black Lace (1964, dir by Mario Bava)
Kill, Baby, Kill (1966, directed by Mario Bava)
Hatchet For The Honeymoon (1970, dir by Mario Bava)
Lisa and the Devil (1973, dir by Mario Bava)
(Anyone want to guess why I have a special place in my heart for the last film pictured?)
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
Inland Empire (2006, dir by David Lynch)
Borgman (2013, dir by Alex van Warmerdam)
A Field in England (2013, dir by Ben Wheatley)
Goodbye to Language (2014, dir by Jean-Luc Godard)
It’s shaping up to be a strange Oscar race. Here we are halfway through the year and, yet, there are no front-runners. Some very acclaimed films have been released this year and yet, few of them seem to be getting the type of buzz that usually accompanies a surprise Oscar nomination. Last year at this time, there was cautious buzz for Grand Budapest Hotel while almost everyone felt pretty safe assuming that Sundance favorites like Boyhood and Whiplash would be players in the Oscar race and many of us were highly anticipating the release of films like Birdman and The Imitation Game. (For that matter, a lot of people were also still convinced that Unbroken would win best picture. The buzz is not always correct but still, the buzz was still there.)
This year, some people are hoping that Mad Max: Fury Road will somehow break through the Academy’s aversion to “genre” filmmaking. (And seriously, the Doof Warrior deserves some sort of award, don’t you think?) Quite a few are hoping that Ex Machina will not be forgotten. Personally, I have high hopes for Inside Out. The buzz around Bridge of Spies is respectful, largely because it seems like the type of film that usually would be be nominated. (That said, this film also seems like it could bring out the worst impulses of both Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, leading to a movie that will have more in common with The Terminal than with War Horse.) Carol was beloved at Cannes.
So there are definitely possibilities out there. When I made my Oscar predictions for this month, I didn’t quite have to blindly guess as much as I did way back in January. But still, it cannot be denied that — as of right now — this race is wide open and there’s a lot of room for surprise.
Below, you’ll find my Oscar predictions for July. You can also check out my previous Oscar predictions for January, February, March, April, May, and June!
Best Picture
Black Mass
Brooklyn
Carol
I Saw The Light
In The Heart of the Sea
Inside Out
Sicario
Suffragette
The Walk
Youth
Best Actor
Michael Caine in Youth
Johnny Depp in Black Mass
Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs
Tom Hiddleston in I Saw The Light
Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in Carol
Marion Cotillard in MacBeth
Sally Field in Hello, My Name Is Doris
Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
Lily Tomlin in Grandma
Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks in Concussion
John Cusack in Love & Mercy
Benicio Del Toro in Sicario
Harvey Keitel in Youth
Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight
Best Supporting Actress
Joan Allen in Room
Helena Bonham Carter in Suffragette
Jane Fonda in Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara in Carol
Best Director
John Crowley for Brooklyn
Todd Haynes for Carol
Ron Howard for In The Heart of the Sea
Denis Villenueve for Sicario
Robert Zemeckis for The Walk
Through the Shattered Lens 