202: Unit 5 – The Academy’s Best

This unit revolves around movies which have won the award for “Best Picture” in the past.  Students will consider the aesthetic values of a great work of filmmaking art, the influence of the films on society and the evolution of film over time.  Additionally, students will consider the importance of using a historical backdrop in the art of film.  Students will be able to analyze the relationship between film/art and history; compare and evaluate competing ideological interpretations; and interpret historical fiction.

Here is a history of the Best Picture Winners by decade, starting with the most recent.

JOURNAL TASKS:

Required: How many (just count the numbers) of these have you seen? How does this list, in your opinion, vary from the AFI and IMDB lists?
Optional Task: Create a “Top 25 List” for yourself based on these movies. Briefly defend your decision.

2015 – Spotlight
2014 – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2013 – 12 Years a Slave
2012 – Argo
2011 – The Artist

2010 – The King’s Speech
2009 – The Hurt Locker
2008 – Slumdog Millionaire
2007 – No Country for Old Men
2006 – The Departed
2005 – Crash
2004 – Million Dollar Baby
2003 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2002 – Chicago
2001 – A Beautiful Mind
2000 – Gladiator

1999 – American Beauty
1998 – Shakespeare in Love
1997 – Titanic
1996 – The English Patient
1995 – Braveheart
1994 – Forrest Gump
1993 – Schindler’s List
1992 – Unforgiven
1991 – The Silence of the Lambs
1990 – Dances With Wolves

1989 – Driving Miss Daisy
1988 – Rain Man
1987 – The Last Emperor
1986 – Platoon
1985 – Out of Africa
1984 – Amadeus
1983 – Terms of Endearment
1982 – Gandhi
1981 – Chariots of Fire
1980 – Ordinary People

1979 – Kramer vs. Kramer
1978 – The Deer Hunter
1977 – Annie Hall
1976 – Rocky
1975 – One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1974 – The Godfather Part II
1973 – The Sting
1972 – The Godfather
1971 – The French Connection
1970 – Patton

1969 – Midnight Cowboy
1968 – Oliver!
1967 – In the Heat of the Night
1966 – A Man for All Seasons
1965 – The Sound of Music
1964 – My Fair Lady
1963 – Tom Jones
1962 – Lawrence of Arabia
1961 – West Side Story
1960 – The Apartment

1959 – Ben-Hur
1958 – Gigi
1957 – The Bridge on the River Kwai
1956 – Around the World in 80 Days
1955 – Marty
1954 – On the Waterfront
1953 – From Here to Eternity
1952 – The Greatest Show on Earth
1951 – An American in Paris
1950 – All About Eve

1949 – All the Kings Men
1948 – Hamlet
1947 – Gentleman’s Agreement
1946 – The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 – The Lost Weekend
1944 – Going My Way
1943 – Casablanca
1942 – Mrs. Miniver
1941 – How Green Was My Valley
1940 – Rebecca

1939 – Gone with the Wind
1938 – You Can’t Take It with You
1937 – The Life of Emile Zola
1936 – The Great Ziegfeld
1935 – Mutiny on the Bounty
1934 – It Happened One Night
1933 – Cavalcade
1932 – Grand Hotel
1931 – Cimarron
1930 – All Quiet on the Western Front
1929 – The Broadway Melody
1928 – Wings

Need the movie? Find it on Amazon.

No Country for Old Men is a unique film. It is slow at times and brutally horrific at others.  The climax of he movie even happens off screen.

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT:

Watch the movie and take notes, particularly the use of sound/music, the development of the main characters, and the idea of cowardice.

After watching the movie, respond to the following:

1. What kind of character is Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin)? How is this information presented to us? Hint: Think about how the movie presents the character visually and through dialogue.
2. What kind of character is Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem)? How is this information presented to us? Hint: Think about how the movie presents the character visually and through dialogue.
3. What kind of character is Sheriff Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones)? How is this information presented to us? Hint: Think about how the movie presents the character visually and through dialogue.
4. A theme of No Country for Old Men is the concept of fate. Fate can be defined as a predetermined state or end. How is the theme explored in the film? Think about when characters discuss how things will turn out and compare their predictions with the events that actually occur.
5. Yet another theme of No Country for Old Men is the concept of greed and its consequences. Greed can be defined as the compulsion to acquire material goods or currency beyond necessity. How is this theme explored in the film?  Think about how greed influences the characters actions throughout the story.
6. Sound design is one of the crucial components of film that separates it from literature. Sound design not only includes the music but also all sound effects and dialogue heard in the film. How is the sound design used to enhance the storytelling of the film? Think about how the music, dialogue, and sound effects are used to enhance the viewer’s immersion in the story.
7. Finally, consider the theme of cowardice. In the novel, this theme weighs heavily on Sheriff Bell. In the movie, does he appear to be a cowardly person? How about the other key characters? In what ways do any of them exhibit cowardice?

Need the movie? Find it on Amazon.

In the Godfather, the viewer witnesses the journey of Michael Corleone. In the film’s first act, he is a war hero having recently returned from World War II. He has no intention of being involved with the family’s illegal businesses. In the second act, he seeks to protect his father and later seek revenge against those who have wronged his father, becoming involved with the gangster activities of the mafia. By the third and final act, Michael Corleone is running the family business and eventually takes over as Godfather.

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT:

Watch The Godfather. Take notes specifically on the character development of Michael Corleone.

In at least 250 words, discuss the growth and change of Michael Corleone as he becomes the Godfather and head of a powerful organized crime family.

Forrest Gump: This movie beat out The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture in 1994.

Argo: Based on real events, Argo took home the top Oscar in 2012.

The Hurt Locker won Best Picture in 2008.

Gladiator grabbed the top award for Ridley Scott in 2000.

Shakespeare in Love nabbed the Best Picture award from Saving Private Ryan in 1998.

Dances with Wolves is the epic and sweeping western that took home the prize in 1990.

Amadeus, 1984’s best, tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Gone with the Wind grabbed 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1939.

Rocky won Best Picture in 1976. Just like the main character, the film itself was an underdog with zero expectations, eventually receiving the industry’s highest award. If you continue on to Film as Literature II, this movie is required watching in that course which focuses on genre studies.

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT:

With any of these that you watch, write a brief commentary about whether or not the movie was worthy of Best Picture. Explain your thoughts.

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT:

Option 1: Choose a movie you do not think should have been an Oscar winner. In a brief analysis (at least 250 words), create and support in argument to have this movie have its Best Picture Oscar taken back!

Option 2: Choose a movie you feel should have won the Oscar for Best Picture but did not. In a brief analysis (at least 250 words), create and support an argument in favor of this film be honored with the award retroactively.

Feel like doing something additional? If you have the means and or experience to use a video editing program such as iMovie, Premiere or Final Cut, make a trailer for a movie you have watched in this course. A trailer is a movie preview and there is an art to the trailer — to give enough information to make the story interesting, but yet not too much information as you don’t want to spoil the story.

Here are two sample student created trailers!

Student Trailer: Jaws

Student Trailer: Rocky