1928—Wings, William Wellman
Nominated: The Racket, Seventh Heaven
Should have won: Sunrise
Be sure to see: The Jazz Singer NOTE: This movie is 1927 but this ceremony was considered the 1927/28 season, Steamboat Willie
“Hey, if youse guys need kissin' I'll kiss you...wit' a gun-butt!”--Sergeant in Mervale
In the first of many war movies to win the best picture Oscar, Wings tells the story of two friends fighting for two things, their country in World War I and for their love for a girl. Though the love angle anchors the film, the movie is known for its dazzling aerial battle sequences. The romance aspect works like a tangled web. Mary loves Jack but Jack loves his new shiny car and another girl, Sylvia. But Sylvia loves David. Things begin to get complicated when Jack and David (incidentally, the names of the two lead characters in one of my all time favorite movies, An American Werewolf in London) become friends after being stationed in the war together. But it doesn't end there; Mary also joins in the medical corps to try to get closer to Jack. When all is said and done, Jack realizes after experiencing the horrors of war that everything he really wants is at home.
I enjoyed Wings. It is a beautiful film and I got caught up in the story and the flying scenes. And like any romance pictures, I found myself rooting for the happy ending. Because the following year's winner was a talkie, Wings had been the only silent movie to win best picture until The Artist won in 2011. But as lovely as this movie is, do not pass up the superior Sunrise. That movie was not nominated but did take home a special award for best unique and artistic picture. If you have never seen a silent movie, I would suggest starting with Sunrise over Wings. But any Charlie Chaplin movie or even Harold Lloyd's Safety Last would do nicely. Or you could begin with my first; probably the greatest vampire movie ever made, 1922's Nosferatu. But Wings is still a landmark film and certainly worth a look and speaking of looking, be sure to see if you can spot Gary Cooper who has a brief appearance.
I don't think I've ever seen a silent film before. They aren't boring?
ReplyDeleteI just watched A Trip to the Moon. Interesting to note that they had these ideas about flying to the moon with spacecrafts, etc and we were decades away from actually doing it. Pretty fascinating to watch that and realize that it was created well over 100 years ago!
ReplyDeleteI've seen at least 15. I've been trying to remember the ones I know I've seen so I might have forgottes a few. A couple of them are a little boring and you sort of want to put your remote on that first fast forward so you can still read the titles. But that stuff happens with sound movies, some are boring and you want to go through them. So no, they aren't boring for the sake of "silent movies are boring". Get on youtube and check out A Trip to the Moon. it is from 1902 and is really short but very good. And I love that the 2011 winner was silent. If you want a good laugh check out "Silent Movie" by Mel Brooks.
ReplyDeleteA Trip to the Moon is a very interesting film.
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