Oh yeah!
Posted on 03/14/2006 1:20:49 PM PST by joyspring777
In 1981, as a member of a traveling theater ensemble, I won an Oscar-night betting pool by correctly guessing more Academy Award winners than my fellow actors. The secret of my success: I knew that the winners were determined as much by Hollywood politics as on the merits. Back then, of course, "Hollywood politics" meant who was liked or disliked by his peers, who was the "sentimental favorite," who was "due" for an award, etc. Increasingly, however, the "politics" driving the Oscars -- and Hollywood itself -- is politics pure and simple.
I write a few weeks before this year's Oscars, but already they've shaped up as the most politically driven in history. The most nominated film, and the one favored to win most of the top awards -- including Best Picture -- is the "gay Western" Brokeback Mountain. Of the other Best Picture nominees, one -- Good Night and Good Luck -- amounts to stale liberal hagiography of anti-McCarthy newsman Edward R. Murrow; one -- Steven Spielberg's Munich -- posits moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorists and the Israelis who bring them to justice; and one, Capote, features another homosexual protagonist. (Rounding out the "gay" theme of the awards is the Best Actress nomination for the star of Transamerica, about a transsexual.)
Didn't see any of these films? Don't feel left out -- neither did most of the rest of the country, despite relentless hype, especially for Brokeback Mountain. But the real shame of this year's Oscars is not what they honored, but what they didn't. For, despite the impression that Hollywood seems all too ready to give, that they cater to no one but gays and liberal zealots, they actually did make a few good films for the rest of us in 2005 -- including one near-great one.
I've written about one of the "good" ones before: The Island, a very effective sci-fi thriller that is shockingly pro-life -- so much so that one has to wonder if the filmmakers realized its implications. The "near-great" one I have in mind is Ron Howard's Cinderella Man -- which, I submit, stands with the finest films ever made.
Cinderella Man is the real-life story of James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe), a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into early retirement after a string of losses and a broken hand. As the nation enters the worst years of the Depression, Braddock struggles to support his wife and children with part-time work on the loading docks. Thanks to a last-minute cancellation, however, he finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender -- and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Thus begins one of the most amazing comebacks in sports history, as Braddock wins victory after victory, eventually facing Max Baer, the heavyweight champion of the world, notorious for having killed two men in the ring.
You'd have to go back a long way to find a film that so powerfully affirms the virtues of hard work, self-sacrifice, patriotism, family, faith, and true manhood. In that last regard, the contrast with Brokeback Mountain couldn't be starker. The protagonist of Cinderella Man suffers heroically for his family, even as other men are seen abandoning theirs under pressure of poverty and unemployment; the protagonists of Brokeback Mountain betray their wives and children from no higher motive than to pursue their adulterous and unnatural "love."
As part of our expanded DVD offerings, Cinderella Man is now available from the Club in a Collector's Edition DVD that includes commentary by director Ron Howard and the two co-writers, plus no fewer than five mini-documentaries on various aspects of making the film and the true-life story behind it. If you're a film buff like me, this is a "must-have" title for your permanent collection.
*rimshot*
=)
I watched a rental "The Harder They Fall" from '56 starring Bogart and an amazing Rod Steiger in a film noir boxing pic.
Jersey Joe Walcott has a great role as trainer of the mug.
I liked Cinderella man, also.
After suffering through A Beautiful Mind, I try to skip all things Howard. ABM was a vastly overrated movie, a cartoonish version of the book.
One of the finest films I have seen.
Extraordinary.
I agree that Cinderella Man was the best movie of 05....in fact, it was the only movie I saw(hehehe).....Ron Howard and the cast and crew were snubbed at the Oscars..
Will have to watch CINDERELLA MAN. Other than that, I really enjoyed WALK THE LINE and thought Joaquin Phoenix was fantastic. He should have won, rather than someone playing Capote, which is pretty much just a gay caricature.
Oh yeah!
No..."Chocolate City"!
If only all the other Batman movies were as good - hopefully they'll start redoing some in the spirit of that film.
I knew it wouldn't be long to wait.....LOL
Caught that on TCM recently. I think it was Bogie's last picture.
I "Liked Lord of War" and "History of Violence" ...Cinderella Man was a little too slow.
Did not see any of the Oscar noms...boring cept will rent "Capote" cuz I always liked "In Cold Blood".
That's just the beans I've been eating as part of my green earth biomethane project. I haven't actually been able to transport anybody yet, but I've been successful in getting an entire room full of people to move!
No IMDB or other internet searches allowed.
Max Baer's son played Jethro!
Max Baer (sp?) was Jethro's dad. (Well, not the character's dad, but the father of Max Baer Jr.) Can I redeem my points for a few minutes in the ce-ment pond with Elly May?
My favorite Beverly Hillibillies was when Jethro pretended he was a "double naught spy".
The actor that played Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies is the son of the real Max Bauer the boxer of Cinderella Man.
I was first guys...where do I pick up my fifty points?
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