1968 - Oliver! "Once a villain, you're a villain to the end!"

1968 Best Picture

Premiered December 10, 1968

Budget $10 Million

Gross $16.8 Million

This was the first Oscar winning movie with an MPAA rating. It was rated "G" but would probably have a PG or even PG-13 rating today because of violence. It shows how times have changed on both ends of the decency spectrum. 

We had an interesting experience with this movie. It was a double sided DVD but we didn't realize that. We watched the last half and were scratching our heads when the film was over after an hour. We finally figured it out and watched the first half second.

The story is good, the acting is ok and the music was decent. This movie did not do much to advance the art of film. It was just another musical in an era overflowing with musicals. 

Joel

Favorite: I liked the song "Boy For Sale". The subject matter was very haunting, the tune was beautiful and Harry Seacombe has a great voice.

Least Favorite: I did not like the actress who played Nancy. She was not a good actor and her singing voice was not very good.

Callie

Favorite: I liked the story. It would be great to see on the stage.

Least Favorite: I did not like the ending. 

A Summary of the first 40 years of Best Pictures

I, Joel, wanted to rundown the best and the worst of the first 40 years of Oscar Best Picture winners. It has been a lot of fun to see movies evolve from year to year and to see what people were watching in that time in  history.

Top 5 movies so far:
1. The Sound Of Music
2. My Fair Lady
3. Ben-Hur
4. Casablanca
5. It Happened One Night

Worst movies so far:
1. Tom Jones
2. Cavalcade
3. How Green Was My Valley
4. Hamlet
5. Cimarron

Biggest surprising movies that we liked: Rebecca and the Life Of Emile Zola.

Movies that were all hype but failed to deliver: Gone With The Wind and From Here To Eternity

Best decade so far: The 1950s

The worst decade so far: The 1940s

The best performance by an actor: Sidney Poitier in In The Heat Of The Night

The best performance by an actress: Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady

Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock in Rebecca

Best Quote: "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!" from In The Heat Of The Night

1967 - In The Heat Of The Night: "They Call Me Mister Tibbs"

1967 Best Picture Winner

Premiered August 2, 1967 in New York

Budget $2 Million

Gross N/A

This is the first movie with a strong social message. It took a firm stand against racism and it got its point across. The movie held our attention for the entire duration and we were kept guessing until the very end of the movie. We were pleasantly surprised by the entire experience.

Joel

Favorite: I thought that Sidney Poitier did a great job as Tibbs.

Least Favorite: The music was very sixties-ish. It prevented the movie from being timeless.

Callie

Favorite: It had a feeling of suspense thriller that was fun.

Least Favorite: There was a hokey vibe about it: the music was bad and some of the acting was a little hokey.

1966 - A Man For All Seasons: "I Know A Man Who Wants To Change His Woman"

1966 Best Picture Winner

Premiered December 12, 166 in New York

Budget $2 Million

Gross $25 Million

The sixties roller coaster ride continues with A Man For All Seasons. As a play, it would be quite good but as a movie it misses the mark. The film is dull and is disjointed in a lot of places. Characters appear and disappear and then reappear a lot later without filling in the blanks. The movie is also very slow.

Joel

Favorite: I liked Robert Shaw as Henry VIII. He did an excellent job portraying an insane monarch. 

Least Favorite: I knew that I was supposed to root for Thomas but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was righteous but he was so pious that it hurt the effectiveness of the character.

Callie

Favorite: The story line was intriguing. It emphasized integrity and honor.

Least Favorite: The acting was bad and every decision the director made made the movie worse.

1965 - The Sound Of Music: "I Wonder What Grass Tastes Like"

1965 Best Picture Winner

Premiered March 2, 1965

Budget $8.2 Million

Gross $163 Million

We are discovering that the sixties were an up and down decade in terms of film. It is refreshing to have two top notch movies in a row. 

The Sound Of Music is as close to a "perfect movie" as we have come so far. The film is fantastic from the opening camera shots from the air, to the music, to the acting, to the story up until the suspense filled climax. We were both very familiar with this movie but it adds to impact of the movie to watch it in the context of its Best Picture predecessors. 

Joel

Favorite: The end is suspenseful and compelling. I knew the ending but I will still nervous that the Nazis would find them.

Least Favorite: My only beef with the movie is the fact that Maria and Liesl appear to be the same age. Charmian Carr was 23 and Julie Andrews was 30 but their makeup made them both appear to be 25. 

Callie

Favorite: I've seen this movie before and I loved it this time. It is timeless and purely enjoyable all around.

Least Favorite: Sometimes the way that Capt. Von Trapp says his lines is annoying.