It has taken me a lifetime to watch Lawrence of Arabia. I never thought this story would be for me most of that time, so I avoided it like the plague. Then when you factor in the run time of 228 minutes (three hours and forty-eight minutes), you have to be really committed to spending … More Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A long time ago, we attended movie premieres on opening weekends at the theatre and enjoyed brilliant films that would win Oscars. I was there in 2010, watching The King’s Speech on opening weekend. I remember being intrigued by the film because of its significance in history. Little did I know many months later, it … More The King’s Speech (2010)
I’ve been to a total of eight Broadway shows in my lifetime, which includes The Phantom of the Opera, twice. When I tracked down the 1936 Best Picture winner, The Great Ziegfeld little did I know I would have a glimpse into Broadway history. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (William Powell) was a brilliant mind, a man … More The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
When I was growing up, I loved to study history. I did focus most of my efforts on sports and United States Presidents; however, I did manage to explore other areas of history. Lost among the millions, maybe billions of stories out there of years gone by, is the story of Emile Zola. I mentioned … More The Life of Emile Zola
A Man for All Seasons was originally a play that was turned into a motion picture that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 1966. The film also captured five other awards that night, including the Best Director and Best Actor. For those unfamiliar with the story, A Man for All Seasons … More A Man for All Seasons (1966)
As I continue to finish up all the Academy Award winners for Best Picture, I got to admit that there was a handful that I dreaded. One of them was The Last Emperor because, at 2:48, I didn’t think I had the patience to sit through a film that did not appeal to me in … More The Last Emperor (1987)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has gone down as one of the most prolific composers the world has ever known. Amadeus won Best Picture in 1985 and is a fictional look into the great composer’s life as he struggled to write and orchestrate in the late 1800s. Considered one of the greatest films of all-time, this play … More Amadeus (1984)
If you research the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty,” you will find two blockbuster movies out there, this 1935 Best Picture winner with Clark Gable and a 1965 version starring Marlon Brando. Both films feature heavyweights as the leads, but today I will focus on the 1935 version, one of only Best Picture winners to … More Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
When I started to compile the list of Best Picture winners I never watched, I will admit I dreaded the really long ones, like Gandhi, which came out the year I was born (1982) and clocks in 3:11 long. As crazy as this following statement may sound, I found Gandhi to be fascinating. It was … More Gandhi (1982)
It’s been a few days since I rented Chariots of Fire, and I’m still quite unsure how I feel about this film. The biggest question that still lingers in my mind is, “was I suppose to be inspired by this story?” To be quite honest, this was rather an uninteresting and uneventful movie with subpar … More Chariots of Fire (1982)
Ten Stars or Less 