The Academy Awards Best Picture Project - 1930-31

So, I've had the long-standing idea that I should watch all of the films that have won an Oscar for Best Picture, starting from oldest to newest. I finally got around to it.

Well, the first thing I learned was that the oldest Best Picture winner (Wings, winner in 1929) hasn't been released on DVD in the US. I don't know if that's the case for any others... Anyway, I watched the following two winners this week:

The Broadway Melody (winner in 1930, made in 1929)

A musical centered around a male Broadway star and a two-sister vaudeville act just arrived in New York. I did not care much for the musical aspect but thought the storyline and acting were quite good. A love triangle, some ulterior motives, etc. Since the setting is a Broadway revue, several of the music numbers don't feel too forced but there are also a couple of occasions of people bursting into song in apartments, which always seems contrived. I'm probably grading this a bit on a curve, given its age, but I'll give it a 7/10.

All Quiet On The Western Front (winner in 1931, made in 1930)

I have to admit I didn't know much about the actual story here, even though it's based on such a famous book. The movie begins in Germany during the early stages of World War I, and we see a college professor giving a firebrand speech (duty, honor, etc.) encouraging the students to join the war effort. We then follow a group of new German recruits through basic training and then onto the trenches on the western front.

The overarching message of the film (war is hell, and the soldiers who return are forever changed) is familiar, but the movie never feels preachy. The characters are compelling and the war scenes are impressive (they used over 2,000 extras) and seem realistic. (8/10)

Speaking of war movies and how soldiers are changed by the experience, if you haven't seen The Hurt Locker (in movie theaters still, I think) I highly recommend it. I don't want to give the movie away, other than that it follows a US bomb squad in Iraq in 2004 whose primary job it is to disarm or detonate roadside bombs, and that the movie opens with a quote by Chris Hedges: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug." The quote makes a lot of sense after you've seen the movie.

Hedges was a foreign correspondent for the New York Times for 15 years, and spent much of them in warzones. A number of years ago I read his book War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning (also recommended) and I still remember the interview that made me go out and get the book: he talked about the seductive nature of war, even as a reporter, and how regular life seems insignificant when life-and-death no longer is on the line. After many years in the field he realized that he had to choose between going back and living a normal life or continuing until he was killed. So, he returned home and started writing books.

Finally, if you want to listen to a guy who truly understands the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, etc. listen to Michael Ware (also foreign correspondent; now CNN, previously Time Magazine) who has lived in Iraq since before the invasion. While I'm doing shoutouts, also listen to Reza Aslan who often appears on talk shows. His book No god but God from a few years ago is an excellent lesson in the history of islam with a surprisingly optimisitic view on its future. And, a reminder to follow Fareed Zakaria and his excellent show GPS.