About three years ago, I got it into my head to watch every film ever nominated for an Oscar. It's a pretty insane feat, given that the nominees are well into the thousands, but it's a project I'm yet to regret embarking on. It's just a hell of a lot of fun and has given me this sort of startling education in the history of cinema and narrative. While I've been watching films on an ad hoc, out of order basis over on tumblr, I am finally starting to be able to cross full years off my list, and as I do, I'll be recapping them here.
It feels a bit like a cheat to be recapping the second Oscars at this stage. I've watched a fair chunk of the films, but of the 28 films nominated, four are considered lost films, and eight are unavailable in Australia, meaning I've watched 16 films and will still be casting some pretty wide aspersions in the process.
On the whole though, it was a year of pretty forgettable films. There was no real standout for me among them. That said, there were some really great female performances, particularly from Greta Garbo, Jeanne Eagels, and Bessie Love, who all offered up diverse and compelling performances in roles that could all have quickly devolved to caricature.
Interestingly, you can divide the films pretty easily into three categories: musicals, crime and shamed women. The latter was particularly prevalent - A Woman of Affairs, Street Angel, The Letter, Madame X, The Last of Mrs Cheyney all revolved around this idea of the salvation of bad women. It makes for an interesting trope in cinema and, perhaps even more interesting, was an era of female protagonists, which would slowly transition out as years went by.
Three Films to Watch
1. The Broadway Melody. There were a lot of musicals nominated for Oscars in the second year, but The Broadway Melody is by far the best. It's hopeful, fun, and scaffolded with wonderful performances and some pretty delightful set pieces.
2. A Woman of Affairs. Greta Garbo is, as always, a total star. Charismatic, gorgeous and insanely talented, she really was heads and shoulders above her contemporaries. Her performance in A Woman of Affairs is no exception, and it's worth it just for her.
3. Street Angel. This one was actually nominated back in the first year and is the only movie to be nominated over more than one years. It's such a sweet little film too, and Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell have such a tender, innocent chemistry. It's definitely worth the watch.
Three Films to Miss:
1. In Old Arizona. Boring, with an incredibly thin plot and riddled with racial stereotypes, it's worth the miss.
2. White Shadows in the South Sea. There are some interesting elements to this movie, particularly the colouring of the film, but the plot didn't do much for me and the protagonist was mostly an asshole.
3. Alibi. Snooooooozze.
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