My Alphabetical Journey Through Every Best Picture Winner Part 2

On May 8th, 2022 I had embarked on a mission to watch and review every film that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, in those seventy-three days I watched all ninety-four entries in alphabetical order. Here are my thoughts on these films. Please enjoy.

6.?AN AMERICAN IN PARIS – 1951

The twenty-fourth Best Picture winner was an intriguing mantle to bestow this musical.?For it lacks the excitement and a reason to care about these characters.?Further, we can go elsewhere if we want to see a dancing spectacle.?The intercut musical interlude adds very little to the plot and takes out of the story.?The ballet at the end is very much not needed.?

I like Nina Foch’s Milo and “I Got Rhythm” number with the kids of Paris.?I must also admit that its attempt to revitalize the musical in the 1950s was inspiring and led the way to other better musicals down the road.??But this film is not for you if you don’t like dancing, old-time music and a very lame romantic triangle.?In the end, I can confirm two things: one, the film did win Best Picture, though I don’t know why, and two, there was an American in Paris, but not an interesting one.

7.?ANNIE HALL – 1977

The winner of the fiftieth Best Picture prize was Woody Allen’s masterpiece, Annie Hall.?It brought so much to screen it was hard for me to keep up, including breaking the fourth wall, literally bringing people into the film, and humoristic scenes that pace the film well.?However, as much as I tried to stay within the film, Woody’s Alvy Singer was so off-putting. We watch Allen do his schtick and explain that he mixes fantasy and reality, thus suggesting this whole story is unreliable.?Why is the story told through Alvy’s perspective if he’s going to tell the truth with his neurotic vision?

Diane Keaton’s Annie Hall is fabulous; she saves the film. Her character development is intriguing, seeing her fall for Alvy by the Brooklyn Bridge and the conversation in Los Angeles, where she puts him in his place, was remarkable to me.? Alvy was too awful to be in a relationship, The character is a precursor to Larry David's character in Curb Your Enthusiasm.?Ultimately, the comedic performance of Woody Allen did infect the brilliance of the film that we knew Annie Hall would end up as did

8.?THE APARTMENT – 1960

The thirty-third Best Picture winner was The Apartment.?It had a lot of promise and one exceptional character to grow.?The storytelling was perfect.?I found it so compelling that I was glued and moved by Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine’s arc. Jack Lemmon’s performance as C.C. Baxter is a compelling character to watch.?He kept getting what he wanted in a career but lost his home and the girl.?So, we feel for him when his cohorts abuse his apartment for their affair, his boss refuses to promote him, and he continually uses his apartment.

The direction of Billy Wilder, planting all the elements for that climatic payoff is perfect; how he and I. A. L. Diamond wrote Baxter was equally good.?The compact beat of the story, showing us Baxter through the mirror, is excellent. We get a great result if you can get past the premise of the film and focus on the Baxter’s growth and the love story.?It’s thrilling and entertaining and uses sympathetic sitcom actors against type.?The villains help move us into those more harmful elements of the picture.?Ultimately, the apartment held all the cards for one of the biggest surprises in Billy Wilder’s career.

9. ARGO – 2012

Argo was an exciting premise, with a great cast filling in cameo-type roles, winning eighty-fifth Best Picture. Although it had numerous flaws, I still felt it was a compelling tale, if poorly executed. I liked that this piece was escapist fun, like a James Bond-type scenario that kept you in the story for two hours. Let’s talk about the storyline and premise. Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, building a fake movie to get the six Americans out of Tehran. It has great potential, but you have to stretch believability somewhat. People who play fast and loose with the facts couldn’t have developed some of these plot points better.

Also, we see little moments because of the multiple arcs and characters, but they all become one note. Reducing the Canadian Ambassador to a concierge was a joke. The six Americans are one note. Then there is the extraction of the six Americans from Iran; it was full of cliched moments. The bus stalled as the Iranians found out they had been had. The one who didn’t want to take part until the last moment became the most crucial part of the story to get them out of Iran. The Americans stop the operation, but Mendez does it anyway. This whole sequence should be the bulk of the film.??Not just the last chunk. Ultimately, the film was a horrible B movie fake called Argo.

10.?AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – 1956

The travelogue around the world that showed us six continents, and incredible vistas, won the twenty-ninth Best Picture prize.?Some may argue that this film has a wacky plot, was uninspiring, and missed key moments to make the adventure worthwhile.?I would say the opposite because of Passepartout, a Spanish comedic genius.?Cantinflas’s Passepartout filled these moments with sadness in Japan after losing his master and craziness in India after being chased by the mob. David Niven as British Gentleman Phileas Fogg, who was a strict schedule that can’t keep a servant, is fascinating to watch.?Fogg threw away his schedule and allowed Shirley MacLaine to join him on this adventure. I would have argued they should have spent a little time on the emotional side of things so we can understand that love.

I would like to mention is the cameos.??This was the first time such a thing was used in film before.?This new director Michael Todd may not have used them to the fullest, but after watching a movie and seeing Frank Sinatra playing the piano.?Then, seeing Buster Keaton showing up on a train.?Then, John Gielgud and Peter Lorre showed up out of the blue.?It made you want to stay alert.?They might not say anything, but sometimes you don’t need them to say anything.?Just the thrill of seeing these Oscar winners was enough.?The movie ends with animation showing you the whole journey again.?Letting you know what cameos you might have missed, thus making you watch the film again to see those actors in the movie.?Ultimately, we went around the world in eighty days, seeing our favorites, modes of transport, and sights in eighty different ways.?What could be better?