81 Days With Oscar And Me

Every Academy Award-Winning Movie, Back to Back, Starting With the First

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Entries Tagged as 'Smoking'

Schindler’s List

October 24th, 2009 · No Comments · 1993, Adaptation, Black and White, Drama, F-Word, Nationalization, Nazi Socialist Germany, Oskar Schindler, Schindler's List, Seinfeld, Sex, Smoking, Steven Spielberg, Universal Pictures

In my mind, Schindler’s List will forever be associated with the two-part episode of Seinfeld (Season 5, episodes 18 and 19: “The Raincoats 1 and 2”) that aired in 1994. Jerry’s parents are staying with him while they’re visiting from Florida. Consequently, he hasn’t any privacy. And he wants time alone with his girlfriend, Rachel. […]

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Midnight Cowboy

September 30th, 2009 · No Comments · 1969, Adaptation, Color, Drama, Drug Use, Dustin Hoffman, John Schlesinger, Jon Voight, Mid-Point, Midnight Cowboy, Nudity, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, R-Rating, Screenplay Structure, Smoking, Swearing, United Artists

The difference between Oliver! and Midnight Cowboy is the difference between day and night. Oliver!, the previous Best-Picture winner, is a G-rated movie that’s, as they say, suitable for the entire family. Midnight Cowboy is an X-rated movie (later reduced to R) that’s, as they say, suitable for the entire family – if it’s a […]

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All About Eve

September 11th, 2009 · No Comments · 1950, Adaptation, All About Eve, Bette Davis, Black and White, Composer: Alfred Newman, Drama, Inciting Incident, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Marilyn Monroe, Mid-Point, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, Screenplay Structure, Smoking, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Before I perused the listing for this film on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), I had no idea that Marilyn Monroe is one of the stars in it. Her part can’t be very big, though. This was 1950. And she wasn’t yet the legendary blonde bombshell that she would quickly become. So it’ll be fun […]

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Gentleman’s Agreement

September 8th, 2009 · 1 Comment · 1947, Adaptation, Anti-Semitism, Black and White, Composer: Alfred Newman, Dean Stockwell, Drama, Elia Kazan, Gentleman's Agreement, Inciting Incident, Marriage and Divorce, Mid-Point, Not Released In United States, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, Screenplay Structure, Smoking, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

And the winner is…another adaptation! What a surprise. This makes three adaptations (a movie based on a novel, short story, or play) in a row. And a total of 13 adaptations out of 20 Oscar-winning films, which is a whopping 65%. Gentleman’s Agreement, the movie, is based on the novel of the same name, written […]

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Casablanca

September 4th, 2009 · No Comments · 1943, Black and White, Casablanca, Claude Rains, Composer: Max Steiner, Drama, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Michael Curtiz, Original Screenplay, Peter Lorre, Smoking, Sydney Greenstreet, War, Warner Bros. Pictures

Every scene. Every song. Every character. Every line of dialogue. Every plot twist. Everything about Casablanca is perfect. If you haven’t seen this move, shame on you. Frankly, this is the one movie that should be issued at birth. “Mr. and Mrs. Stevens? You have a lovely baby daughter. Here’s the birth certificate. And her […]

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Grand Hotel

August 24th, 2009 · No Comments · 1931-1932, Absinthe, Adaptation, Black and White, Drama, Grand Hotel, Greta Garbo, Louisiana Flip, M-G-M Studios, Mordaunt Hall, Smoking, The Barrymores

I wander around in book stores a lot. (My wife tells me I wander around in them too much, although it’s not the wandering that alarms her; it’s the buying.) I found a used book at our local Barnes & Noble called The New York Times Film Reviews: A One-Volume Selection, by George Amberg. It’s […]

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