Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

[G-Man]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

It had too much storyline between the sword fights and cum shots, if you ask me.

[matt j]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

Pietro Paolo Virdis wrote:

It's far from the best best films ever made, but terrible acting? Phoenix is brilliant. Russel is good, and if you like the old Errol Flynn sword fight matiné, this was a modern version.

HA! This was the modern version rolled in a big pile of dog doo.

Edit: Upon consideration, I do actually find it fascinating that PPV uses Errol Flynn movies as a point of comparison.

Gladiator is nothing like an Errol Flynn movie. The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, on the other hand, aside from the effects... Johnny Depp is basically channeling Flynn as much Richards.

[Ginger Yellow]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

It's mostly that last bit, innit? Like I mentioned on the music chapter a while ago, when too many like it, it must be crap?

The last bit is what makes people angry about it, sure. But it's not what makes it crap. Phoenix's performance is ridiculous. If the film was self-consciously ridiculous it would be fine. But it's not, it's incredibly self-important. And Phoenix hams it up something rotten.

[ian.64]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

Gladiator is what happens when you leave all the quality trappings, cast, design and all the other production essentials in place, yet take out all the human aspects that make films work. It's like watching glaciers rub against each other. A completely cold experience which has only Scott's visuals to redeem it.

It's not shit at all, it's just an empty experience dressed in the most immaculate of clothing.

[Guest]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

I love Phoenix so maybe I'm biased, but I thought his performance was a pretty appropriate reception of notions about the later Roman Empire. What you say about an empty experience is true ian, and also applies to about 75% of studio films these days.

[erwin]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

I liked the whispering-grass motif and thought the ending pretty moving, actually.

I suspect that a lot of the animosity towards it here has to do with over-exposure and the hype surrounding it. I don't think it's half as bad as people make out.

But then each to his own.

[ian.64]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

I love Phoenix so maybe I'm biased, but I thought his performance was a pretty appropriate reception of notions about the later Roman Empire. What you say about an empty experience is true ian, and also applies to about 75% of studio films these days.

It goes back to that discussion on another thread we had about Roman epics (film and television) and I singled out Spartacus and I, Claudius as prime examples of the genre, and I suppose another accusation that could be levelled at Gladiator is its refusal to have its icy serious leavened by any wit or humour - which the two aforementioned examples had in abundance (the former with Charles Laughton and Peter Unstinov supplying mordant wit, and the latter with funny bits all over the shop which only served to make its powerful moments of drama even more intense).

With Gladiator, the effort made to make its characters so serious that they might as well - as Tom Hulse said in Amadeus - 'shit marble' only added to its visually-opulent slog.

[Gerontophile]

Over-rated Oscar winners, overlooked film classics

I sort of agree with PPV to an extent here.

However, and I am about to use MGM as a 'catch all' term, I entirely disagree that ALL MGM musicals were shite.

Oklahoma and Annie, Get Your Gun are magnifique, as is (apparently, so I am told) South Pacific.

But, and this is a huge but, the acting is still shite... except, and this is a big except, when they dont sing, or dont lead into a song. (I know what I mean)

ian.64 has just reminded me what a good musical is: (and it isnt really a musical): Amadeus. A most under-rated film. Good tunes*, utterly class acting, and here, have an oscar (fucking finally F Murray Abraham) or 8.

*Yeah, 'good tunes' is possibly the understatement of this or any other millenium.