Beauty and the Beast, the first animated feature nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, released

Beauty and the Beast Released: November 22, 1991 Studio: Disney Genre: animation/musical/romance/fantasy Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 219.00 Worldwide: 451.37 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 425.06 Worldwide: 674.65

Directing: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise Screenwriting: Linda Woolverton Starring: voices of Robby Benson, Paige O’Hara, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury Review: Beauty and the Beast was based on a classic fairy tale about “the importance of inner beauty” FS written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince deBeaumont in 1756. It wasn’t the first movie version; it made it to the big screen nearly a dozen times previously, including a 1922 silent version and La Belle et La Bête (1946), a French version by Jean Cocteau. Disney’s animated version, however, became the most successful. It “returned the Disney animation studios to their former glory” FS and became the first animated feature in history to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. It was Disney’s second film (1990’s The Rescuers Down Under was the first) to “combine its famous hand-drawn animation with computer graphics.” FS The story is about a French peasant girl (O’Hara) “trapped in the castle of a hideous beast” (Benson) who used to be a prince. In a somewhat creepy twist on Stockholm syndrome, she “eventually falls for his unusual charm.” A07 “The beautiful artwork and colors were supplemented by a well-written song score” FS from Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman. Highlights included the Oscar-winning title song and “the show-stopping ‘Be Our Guest.’” A07 Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 2 – Best Song (“Beauty and the Beast”), Best Music Score Nominations: 6 – including Best Picture, Best Song (“Belle”), Best Song (“Be Our Guest”), Best Sound Other Awards: Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Roger Ebert First posted 5/29/2023.

 

50 years ago: The Maltese Falcon, which Roger Ebert said spawned film noir, was released

The Maltese Falcon Released: October 3, 1941 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: film noir/mystery Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 0.97 Worldwide: 1.77 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 187.1 Worldwide: 272.1

Directing: John Huston Screenwriting: John Huston Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, Gladys George Review: Many critics hails this as “one of the greatest detective films ever made.” VD It “improves with each viewing.” LM “Critic Roger Ebert said “this is the movie that spawned film noir.” MSN He said it laid the groundwork for the genre that celebrated “mean streets, knife-edged heroes, dark shadows and tough dames.” MSN John Huston was 29 years old when he helmed The Maltese Falcon, his directorial debut. He also scripted the movie, based on Dashiel Hammett crime novel about “hard-boiled private detective” FS Sam Space (Bogart). The story “moves at lightning pace, with cameo by his father Walter Huston as Captain Jacobi.” LM Spade is hired by Brigid O’Shaugnessy (Astor), the “mysterious femme fatale” A98 to scour the streets of “a claustrophobic San Francisco” FS in search of the titular priceless bird statue. He must evade “greedy and duplicitous characters” FS such as “the gardenia-perfumed Mr. Cairo (Lorre), the scheming, jovially-sinister Fat Man (Greenstreet), and an effete gunsel Wilmer (Cook).” FS Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 3 – Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Greenstreet), and Best Screenplay Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Roger Ebert Leonard Maltin First posted 6/2/2023.

Terminator 2 opens

Terminator 2: Judgment Day Released: July 3, 1991 Studio: Sony Genre: sci-fi/action Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 205.90 Worldwide: 520.90 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 457.00 Worldwide: 1107.60

Directing: James Cameron Screenwriting: James Cameron, William Wisher Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong Review: In 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a cyborg in The Terminator and served up one of movie’s most quotable lines: “I’ll be back.” In 1991, he would, in fact, be back. This “well-executed, action-packed sequel” FS was given a massive $100 million budget thanks to director James Cameron’s success with blockbusters like Aliens (1986) and The Abyss (1989). The movie made back twice its budget in the United States alone in its opening weekend. FS “Is it really better than the original? In terms of scale and sheer, balls-out action spectacle, yes.” EM’18 In addition, “the computer-generated special effects and dazzling,” FS pushing “the boundaries of filmmaking.” AFI07 The movie is set in 1995, eleven years after the first film. “Sarah Connor (Hamilton) is now in a mental institution after attempting to blow up Cyberdyne Systems, and for acting delusional and insane over thoughts of an apocalypse. Her son John (Furlong) has become a rebellious foster child.” FS Schwarzenegger was a bad guy in the first movie but here he is on a mission to save the boy, who will one day be the leader who oversees humans’ victory over the cyborgs. He must face off with a newer model Terminator who has been sent to terminate John. This model can “morph his body into any solid shape, impersonate other persons and even camouflage himself with the background.” FS “The film explores issues of fate, responsibility, loyalty, and the essences of humanity.” FS The movie allows John Connor to assume the role of teacher in guiding Schwarzenegger’s more sensitive Terminator in human behavior. Sources: AFI07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” EM’18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 4 – Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing. Nominations: 6 – including Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/27/2023.

 

Citizen Kane released 50 years ago today

Citizen Kane Released: May 1, 1941 Studio: RKO Genre: drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 1.59 Worldwide: -- Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 56.60 Worldwide: --

Directing: Orson Welles Screenwriting: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead Review: “Call it a classic – in fact, call it the classic – but don’t for a second think that Kane is a musty, petrified museum piece.” TV “Welles broke all the rules and invented some new ones” A07 “when he co-wrote, directed, and starred in this masterpiece.” VD “The two hours between the whispered ‘Rosebud’ and the burning sled have inspired more intellectual pontificating than just about anything else ever put on film, but what’s almost always overlooked in all the reverence is just how much fun this movie is.” TV This is “a rollicking, electrifying entertainment that includes some of the most dazzling imagery ever shot.” TV “Welles delightedly explores his mastery of a new vocabulary;” T95 his enthusiasm for film is like “the biggest toy-train set any boy ever had.” RS “The debut of the 25-year-old Orson Welles actually merits the overused description of cinematic genius.” TV Citizen Kane is “a landmark of cinema history” FS which is “hailed by most critics as the greatest film ever made.” VD “The techniques he used …revolutionized movies in ways that are still being felt.” RS “Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep-focus, deeply shadowed cinematography; the discontinuous narrative…; the innovative use of sound and score; the low-level camera shots; the ensemble acting from Welles’ Mercury Theater.” FS “The rich black-and-white tones look as vibrant as today’s headlines.” TV The movie tells a “searing story of a newspaper publisher with an uncanny resemblance to William Randolph Hearst” A07 and his “ultimately empty rise to power” A98 as he is “destroyed by ambition and childhood neglect.” RS “A reporter is sent to investigate the significance of ‘Rosebud,’ the last word uttered by Kane (Welles), through interviews with various associates and his wife (Cotten, Sloane, Comingore).” FS “The film traces the newspaper tycoon from his simple beginnings to his ruthless peak and back down to his cold and lonely end” VD after his “wealth and power ultimately leave him abandoned and alone in his castle-like refuge.” FS “Most intriguing, however, is that there’s actually no one around to hear Kane mutter ‘Rosebud.’…So is everything we see and hear really the dying man’s dream?” T98 Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” T98 Time Out (1998). “Readers’ Top 100 Films” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Best Original Screenplay Nominations: 9 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Welles), Best B/W Cinematography, Best Score, Best Film Editing Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Woody Allen Roger Ebert Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Stanley Kubrick Leonard Maltin Paul Schrader Martin Scorsese First posted 7/25/2019; last updated 6/4/2023.