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Posts Tagged ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Deluxe Edition)’

TEN More Questionable Best Picture Awards

Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged , , , , , , , on March 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

English: Studio publicity portrait of the Amer...

English: Studio publicity portrait of the American actress Elizabeth Taylor. Français : Portrait publicitaire pris en studio de l’actrice américaine Elizabeth Taylor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As always I have an opinion I’m more than happy to share with you all about movies, the good ones and the bad ones.  I agree with the comments my nephew, Justin, left for me on Facebook. He was upset about the obvious politics that must go into the choices for Best Picture!  So here are 10 more what I call questionable Best Picture Award winning films.

  1. 1966 – A Man For All Seasons  – This was a very good choice and Hollywood loves a good period piece, BUT complex emotional roller coaster of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?* and the commanding and outstanding performances of both Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton should not have been overlooked!
  2. 1960 – The Apartment – I love this movie and who doesn’t love Shirley MacLain and Jack Lemon?  I’ve watched it many times which attests to its ability to transcend decades…but once again a powerful drama enriched with the likes of Burt Lancaster portraying the lead character, Elmer Gantry* should have propelled this movie to the head of the class!
  3. 1956 – Around the World In 80 Days – This is a repeat from yesterday because shame on me, I forgot to mention Giant,* one of the very few movies, the amazing James Dean starred in and he alone, not to mention Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson should have brought this picture to win the BP award.
  4. 1951 – American in Paris – Oh yes Gene Kelly is fabulous in this movie but when Hollywood makes a movie around the star’s talent which is other than acting as it was in this particular film, the movie becomes a vehicle for the dancing. So while others were watching the animation dancing with Gene and believe me I truly admire his choreography and performance, I was watching A Streetcar Named Desire*  with Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh give the world a stellar performances in a movie that over the years continues to rank among the Top Ten Best Movies ever.
  5. 1961 – West Side Story – A charming, lively, fast-paced adaptation of a very successful Broadway show.  The music lives on and although it dealt with race issues early on, it was no Judgement at Nuremberg!*
  6. 1958 – Gigi – Not my favorite movie just my favorite word as many of my regular readers know this is what my adorable grandchildren call me.  How could Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman and Burl Ives NOT have taken Cat On A Hot Tin Roof* to the winner’s circle?
  7. 1997 – Titanic – Don’t even go there…really?? L.A. Confidential* was a great story with several surprise twists and turns with excellent actors.
  8. 1964 – My Fair Lady – Again a wonderful movie with fine acting and singing yet again an adaptation of a Broadway play and it beat Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb* – Peter Sellers and George C. Scott hit a home run with this iconic film.
  9. 1980 – Ordinary People – This was a very good movie and deeply moving as it explored the dysfunction brought on in a family torn apart by the death of a child.  However, the plot is not original and it forced the likes of Raging Bull *and The Elephant Man *into the loser’s corner. What a shame!
  10. 1994 – Forrest Gump –  Entertaining to some degree, too long and I swear if Tom Hanks had not starred in it, it would never have gotten this far.  Pulp Fiction* was the stroke of genius by Quentin Tarantino with John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

Well that’s it folks, my 10 more worst Best Picture picks.  What do you think? Please do leave us your picks!  Oooh that reminds me I promised one of my readers to include his erudite comment and observation:  ” …1981, where Chariots of Fire beat out Reds, On Golden Pond, Atlantic City and Raiders of the Lost Ark, possibly belongs in that category as well.”

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A Legend is a Legend – I’m Just Sayin’

Posted in Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2011| 2 Comments »

Liz Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor legend, Richard Burton, Eddie Fisher, Michael Todd, Michael Jackson, Rock Hudson, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, National Velvet, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Paul Newman, White Diamonds, violet eyes, Cleopatra, Richard Burton

A True Hollywood Beauty

They made a song celebrating the deaths of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens – The Day The Music Died.  Elton John wrote a song honoring Princess Diana when she was killed in a car accident, A Candle Blowing in the Wind. They dimmed the lights of Broadway for the likes of Paul Newman and Natasha Richardson , Ron Silver and Jill Clayburgh. When Michael Jackson died, his music was aired both on radio and TV for days.

What will they do to honor Elizabeth Taylor?

She was a star for over 50 years and that’s a hell of a long time to be in the public eye.  As a child actress, she was as good as Margaret O’Brien and Shirley Temple BUT she was able to make the seamless transition into adult roles.

She was beautiful that goes without saying;  She had a luscious curvaceous body, an exquisite face with the forever-famous violet eyes.  She could embody the role of a country girl, a vamp, a drunken sot, a conniving bitch, a regal empress – you name it, she probably played it.  Clearly a Hollywood legend.

Loved and admired by her fans and friends, Elizabeth Taylor was known to be a kind, honest, generous and a loyal friend.   We all know about her steadfast relationships with both Rock Hudson and Michael Jackson proving just how loyal she could be.  She was also an entrepreneur who knew way back when before the term branding was being tossed around that she herself was a brand to be marketed;  White Diamonds made her a fortune.

On the other hand, she was self-indulgent, a drunk, a junkie, guilty of at least 5 of the 7 Deadly Sins, a heart-breaker, a home-wrecker and 8-time divorceé, proving either she was not a good wife or she made very bad choices or perhaps she was incapable of truly loving another person.  She was condemned from the pulpit of Catholic churches for her roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  I remember sitting in  Sunday Mass at St. John’s RC church in Middletown, CT  when Father Miller delivered a hell fire and brimstone sermon condemning Cleopatra and warning parishioners that going to see “that movie which was playing down the street ” would be a sin!

When it’s all said and done and “at the end of the day” as my daughter, Chiara, likes to say;  Elizabeth Taylor was a legend, a title appropriately conferred and not lightly given.  Thank God, for the preservation of films and let’s hope (if they haven’t already planned it) that TCM has a week of Elizabeth Taylor films.


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