The Oscar Project Interlude #4: Best of the 1960s

by Chris Marshall:

Here we are, on the brink of the 1970s. I couldn’t be more excited. The musical-heavy 1960s weren’t as bad as I expected, but I’m still glad they’re over, if only so I can get into what promises to be the best decade of Oscar winners from top to bottom. There are individual winners in other decades that may match up, but no time period matches the overall quality of the 1970s.

The 60s were somewhat uneven, but in addition to the musicals, which I’ve talked about ad nauseum, there was also a glut of British-made films: Lawrence of Arabia, Tom Jones, and A Man for All Seasons. Between 1961 and 1968, In the Heat of the Night was the only American-made non-musical Best Picture winner. As opposed to the 1970s, which contains 10 American-made non-musical winners.

The Oscar Project #35: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

by Chris Marshall:

Is it possible to acknowledge a film as great but not particularly like it? To admire a movie for its craftsmanship and the technical skill required to pull it off but not actually enjoy the time you spent doing so? Because that’s the overarching feeling I have after watching Lawrence of Arabia.

As was the case with Mutiny on the Bounty, I have memories of this film from my childhood despite never having watched it before. Specifically, I remember it coming on TV in “letterbox format,” meaning it had big black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, and I couldn’t imagine why anybody would want to watch a movie like that. I was told that you could actually see more of the picture in that format, which was totally baffling to me. How can you get more with less?

Fast forward 18 years to a time when I can make sense of this seeming paradox, and now I won’t watch a movie any other way; full screen DVDs aren’t worth the discs they’re printed (is that the word I want?) on. Now that I’ve watched Lawrence of Arabia, I also understand why it is so critical to watch this film in particular in widescreen format.