Classic Movie Picks: February 2015

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

This month marks the beginning of TCM's annual "31 Days of Oscar" tribute to Academy Award winning and nominated films. Each day's programming focuses on a particular genre, while the primetime schedule features a chronological history of nominated films beginning with the first ceremony in 1927 and ending with films from 2006-2011. As the month goes on, and the films get more current, we'll see many TCM premieres; however, the daytime schedule is still packed with favorites from the classic era. As is tradition, I've connected by picks for the month to this year's Best Picture nominees. Even if you don't put a lot of stock into which films win awards, it's interesting to see what themes show up in acclaimed films past and present.

Boyhood
2/6, 12 PM - The 400 Blows (1959)

Writer-director Richard Linklater's film Boyhood is a lovely portrait of growing up in America, but what makes it truly remarkable is that the actors age over the course of real time -- in this case 12 years -- and by the end of the film you feel as though the main character of Mason is a boy that you've known his whole life and seen grow up before your eyes. Other filmmakers have achieved a similar effect through a series of films following a person or character over the course of many years; for example, Michael Apted's eight Up documentaries have chronicled a group of Londoners since age seven through the latest installment at age 56. In his Before trilogy, Linklater himself checks in with characters Jesse and Celine as they meet, reunite, and settle into a life together. However, French director Francois Truffaut's series of semi-autobiographical films starring Jean-Pierre Leaud feels like the closest cinematic ancestor to Boyhood. The first of Truffaut's films about Antoine Doinel, The 400 Blows, stars Leaud at age 12. It is a portrait of an adolescent in a world of adults, struggling through the confusion that we all experience at that age. This very personal story earned Truffaut and co-writer Marcel Moussy an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.

American Sniper
2/9, 8 PM - The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
American Sniper, based on the story of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, reminds us that support for the troops doesn't end at "mission accomplished" and the scars of war are mental as well as physical. I think that no film has portrayed this issue more beautifully than The Best Years of Our Lives, which follows three veterans returning to small town life after the end of WWII. The film won seven Academy Awards -- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Actor (Fredric March), and Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell). While Best Years ends happily, the film doesn't gloss over the very real mental and physical challenges faced by the soldiers and is not overly sentimental. Harold Russell, a real-life vet who had lost both hands, gives a memorable performance as Homer, a former football star who fears his high school sweetheart can't cope with the reality of his injuries. However, all the performers --including March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Hoagy Carmichael -- bring subtlety and warmth to the film. The Best Years of Our Lives is a film I can watch again and again and never ceases to effect me.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
2/21, 5:45 AM - Cabaret (1972)

A young man befriends a charismatic libertine against the backdrop of the rise of European fascism -- it could describe the plot of both Wes Anderson's melancholy comedy Grand Budapest Hotel and Bob Fosse's musical drama Cabaret. Anderson's film contains the remembrances of Zero, a lobby boy and protege to the magnetic concierge M. Gustave (played by an excellent Ralph Fiennes). M. Gustave and the grandiose hotel he oversees represent a dying era of opulence and gentility, subsumed by the harsh violence of a fascist regime in the fictional eastern European Republic of Zubrowka. The decadent Kit Kat Club at the center of Cabaret becomes a metaphor for 1930s Germany, from the point of view of a young writer who bonds with the club's over-the-top singer, Sally Bowles. As directors, Fosse and Anderson are exact -- the former's precision with the flick of a wrist matched by the latter's attention to the bow on a Mendl's pastry box. Cabaret won eight Academy Awards, though not Best Picture, which went to The Godfather: Best Director, Best Actress (Liza Minnelli), Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Cinematography, Editing, Score, Set Direction, and Sound.

Whiplash
2/25, 2:45 AM - Fame (1980)
Both Whiplash and Fame are about students striving for excellence in their art form -- in Whiplash it's a jazz drummer at an elite music academy persecuted by an overbearing teacher, while Fame focuses on the experiences of several students at New York City's High School for the Performing Arts. In both cases, the musical sections are where each film shines. Fame received Academy Award nominations for its screenplay and editing and won awards for its score and title song sung by Irene Cara. Fame was made at the beginning of the MTV era and it's musical numbers feel like music videos, full of quick cuts and dynamic angles. While the melodrama of the students lives can feel predictable, those moments when they are able to show off their talents for dancing and singing bring the film to life.

Selma
2/27, 10:15 PM - Gandhi (1982)
Selma and Gandhi are both about famous activists who used non-violent means to spread their message. However, while Gandhi is a sweeping epic that follows its main character over decades, Selma focuses on one event in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- the civil rights march through Alabama, from Selma to Birmingham. Gandhi received Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Editing, Screenplay, Art Direction, and Costume Design, as well as several more nominations. Unfortunately, Selma won't have a chance to match that achievement since it is only nominated in the categories of Best Picture and Best Song.

The Imitation Game 
3/2, 8 PM - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Dark forces threaten from afar and the world's best hope is a motley team of unlikely heroes, led by the least likely of all. When you start to think about it, the parallels between The Imitation Game, which follows Alan Turing and his Bletchley Park colleagues as they struggle to break the Enigma code and stop the Germans' advance in WWII, and the Fellowship are numerous. Mark Strong plays a Gandalf-like authority figure, watching the team's progress and interfering only when necessary; there's even a Boromir-esque traitor among group. At the center is Turing, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who like Frodo displays weakness, determination, hopelessness, and triumph along his journey; alongside Turing is his own "Samwise" (Frodo's trusted companion) in the form of Keira Knightley's Joan. Fellowship was nominated for 13 Oscars and won four for visual effects, makeup, cinematography, and score. TCM is showing the full Lord of the Rings trilogy tonight, so if you want to see how Frodo's story ends, get comfortable and enjoy all 558 minutes of it!

The Theory of Everything
3/3, 1 PM - Dodsworth (1936)

The Theory of Everything is the story of world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane, from their courtship as university students through the difficult years of their marriage. As time goes by, Stephen's health deteriorates drastically, making him dependent upon Jane, while his work as a scientist becomes more and more celebrated. I think a message one can take away from this film is that even when love exists, relationships are constantly evolving as the needs of each person change. I think this is a lesson at the center of Dodsworth as well. Fran Dodsworth (played by Ruth Chatterton) has spent her whole adult life supporting her husband Sam (Walter Huston) as the perfect wife and mother to their daughter, allowing Sam to achieve professional success. Now, upon reaching 40 and becoming a grandmother, Fran yearns for the adventure that her life has lacked. While Sam is the hero of the film and we are glad that he finds love with Mary Astor's Edith, Fran is not without our sympathy, too. Dodsworth received seven Oscar nominations, but won only for Art Direction; with five nominations, Theory's best chances for a win might be lead actor Eddie Redmayne or the original score.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
3/3, 8 PM - The Artist (2011)
You can probably imagine that at first it was a bit difficult to find a "classic" parallel to Birdman, a surreal fantasy about an actor (portrayed by Michael Keaton) known for a superhero role who desires to be taken seriously as a Broadway stage actor and is simultaneously suffering an existential crisis -- the surreal part is that he hears the voice of Birdman (his iconic character) goading him on and occasionally flies around New York City and makes things move with his mind. The parts of Birdman that I enjoyed the most were the more realistic scenes about putting on the play. Then it was obvious, the Academy loves show business stories that reveal the drama that goes on backstage, and Birdman was another entry in this genre. At its core, Birdman reminds me of a recent Oscar Best Picture winner: The Artist. In this film set in 1920s Hollywood, Jean Dujardin plays a successful silent film actor whose career declines with the advent of sound. Since he defines his personal worth by his fame and stardom, his professional troubles lead to depression. Dujardin won best actor for this role which is almost completely silent and the film also received awards for direction, score, costume design, and of course Best Picture. With nine Oscar nominations, Birdman is also a front-runner in the best picture and actor categories.

I'll be watching the Oscars on Sunday, February 22 to see which film gets the top prize! Hope you'll join me!