gavin6942
On the opening night of its annual 31 Days of Oscar festival, Turner Classic Movies presents the world premiere of "And the Oscar Goes To...", a documentary tracing the history of the Academy Awards.Let us not try to say the movies are any more important than they are. And the Oscars are a celebration of these not terribly important things. But, at the same time, let us not underestimate how important the movies really are. They bind us as a culture, connect us to other cultures and define generations. Sometimes they even change the way we look at the world.And we get some great classic moments (Charlie Chaplin) alongside some more modern moments (Affleck and Damon, Diablo Cody). I almost wish I had started watching them sooner...
dglink
At a breezy 95 minutes, the entertaining TCM documentary "And the Oscar goes to..." skims across nearly 90 years of Hollywood and Academy Award history with breathless nostalgia and a few fascinating factoids. Despite a personal viewing of the televised Oscar ceremony that stretches back to the late 1950's, much had slipped from memory. Certainly Sacheen Littlefeather's refusal of Marlon Brando's Oscar, Hattie McDaniel's teary acceptance speech, and Jane Fonda receiving the Oscar for her father were familiar from countless replays. However, Dustin Hoffman's gracious speech honoring his co-nominees, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in giddy exuberance after their screen-writing win, and Tom Hanks thanking his gay-American teachers had faded. Vanessa Redgrave's Palestinian comments, however, perhaps remain too controversial for inclusion. Also missing are any mention of how the nominations are made, who can vote, and how the winners are determined, despite several shots of an early Price Waterhouse representative.A movie buff's popcorn flick, "And the Oscar goes to..." includes the ceremony's many hosts, beginning with black-and-white footage of Bob Hope; the quintessential Oscar Night host, Hope had the style, wit, and humor to which later hosts could only aspire. With unflappable good taste, Hope seemed effortless, while others often tried too hard with mixed results. Whoopi Goldberg, however, did provide some priceless moments as host, especially her "African Queen" comment while garbed as Queen Elizabeth I. Johnny Carson and Steve Martin brought back some smiles, but other hosts are remembered with a grimace, and the sight of James Franco and Anne Hathaway was allowed to pass without comment.Director-writers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have inter-cut brief historical segments amongst the clips and interviews. Evidently, the Academy's original purpose was to combat unionization; but once the Academy renounced political and labor involvement, the board of governors turned to the celebration of movies as an art form, and the Oscars were born. The film also touches briefly on the 1950's black list and includes Lilian Hellman's pointed on-air comments. The spotty history of honoring African-American artists is an all-too-brief flash of clips, and a discussion of gay performances and openly LGBT actors seems to end before it begins. Epstein and Friedman are intent on avoiding controversy and focusing on nostalgia and light interviews with former nominees and winners.Oscar winners such as Cher, Ellen Burstyn, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Helen Mirren among others discuss the experience of being nominated, waiting tensely in the audience, losing gracefully, and winning graciously. Helen Mirren offers some of the best insights about the inner conflict when artists compete for awards. However, despite the occasional revelations, the film is little more than a nostalgic introduction to a subject that could have filled several hours. Perhaps, if successful, "And the Oscar goes to..." could be the introductory episode in a series that explores Oscar politics and campaigning, studio power and influence, and the Oscar's increasing value to star salaries and movie grosses. A passing glance at overlooked artists (Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Deborah Kerr, Peter O'Toole) and bypassed films (Singin' in the Rain, The Searchers) could have filled an entire documentary. The extended discussion of Martin Scorsese's directorial technique on "Raging Bull" only emphasized Oscar's sometimes bizarre choices; the winners that year over Scorsese and "Raging Bull," Robert Redford and "Ordinary People," were barely mentioned. As one interviewee said, the Oscars is one big night of glittering celebration among countless days of hard non-glamorous work in grungy surroundings. However, that one-night ceremony is an event to enjoy and discuss over the next morning's coffee. The award's ephemeral fame fades quickly, and few can name last year's winners, although the vastly entertaining "And the Oscar goes to..." will help viewers remember many more of them.
classicsoncall
If I'm correct about this documentary debuting last night (2/1/2014) on the Turner Classic Movie Channel, then a couple of film lovers already beat me to the punch with a review here. That's a quick turnaround I must say. Anyone tuning in to the program will be rewarded with a neat if only surface skimming history of the Academy Awards, but with that in mind it was a credible effort. I particularly enjoyed some of the older clips dating back to the origins of the Academy, and to my mind it would have been a disservice not to mention the winner of the first 'Best Picture', but they did and even showed a brief clip from "Wings", a film about World War I. I was reminded of my own recollection of the first time I ever watched the Awards with Bob Hope presenting during an era when he was a perennial host. Actors appearing who voiced personal comments about the awards included Helen Mirren, George Clooney, Benicio del Toro and Cher, but it was Dustin Hoffman in an acceptance speech clip who voiced possibly the best perspective on the Oscars when he stated that even though only one film or actor can win a given category, no one should feel like a loser in such esteemed company. I guess that's a healthy way to look at it, but at the same time I wondered what would have gone through his mind if he hadn't been able to give that speech. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this will get a rerun or two on TCM, so if you have the chance, give it a look. Long time film fans will doubtless have fun trying to identify some of the former celebrities who appear in whiz time fashion from clip to clip.
Michael_Elliott
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Very good documentary taking a look at the history of the Oscars. That's pretty much the only plot description that this thing needs as the 90-minute running time is all about the big event. We learn about the very first awards and how it came to be. We learn about various rule changes that have taken place over time. We also get to hear from countless winners as they talk about what it's like getting up there to give a speech but we also get to hear from the other side in what it feels like to lose. Just about every topic is covered including some winners who started controversy, the smaller categories that most people don't care about and there's even a list of people who never won the award and it's just as impressive as the list of winners. AND THE Oscar GOES TO... is a very entertaining look at the end, which is full of interviews with current winners but I thought this was the least entertaining thing. Do we really need to hear from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg again? Yes, it's always great seeing these two but we've already had so many other documentaries about their films and careers. I thought the most interesting moments were the ones dealing with the older footage that we don't get to see as often. This includes Hattie McDaniel's acceptance speech for GONE WITH THE WIND and various clips of Bob Hope hosting the event. The stuff dealing with the legends of Hollywood who are no longer with us are clearly the best moments of this and it makes you wonder why these full shows (and the AFI tributes) aren't available for viewing.
