... what Terry Teachout said about Good Night, Good Luck, what's he going to think about what Teachout has to say about Ella Fitzgerald: Billie, Ella or Sarah? I think Teachout's dead wrong on this one. Not just about Ella, but also about Ira Gershwin.
As for Good Night, Good Luck, the guy who deserves to have a movie done about him in connection with Joe McCarthy is Ralph Flanders, the conservative senator from Vermont who introduced the bill of censure against Tailgunner Joe. Acoording to Flanders, "Joe McCarthy was indeed a man to be pitied. The burden he bore was that of a deep inferiority complex. For this he found relief in bullying witnesses, slurring associates and garnering headlines. In the pursuit of headlines he had a masterly success, and the bullying and slurring provided acceptable journalistic material. The press of our country must share in the blame for this unfortunate period in our history."
Well, I agree 100 percent about the the best director/best picture disconnect. I think Ang Lee got the award as compensation for the film's loss. But his directing was one of the worst things about the film.
ReplyDeleteYou've got to keep in mind that, with a competition like the Academy Awards, people are voting for their favorites discretely. You add up the totals for an individual category and that's who wins. So there's not necessarily any rhyme or reason when you look at the awards across categories.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, believing that the Best Picture must have the Best Director (and vice versa) is natural given that we list in an age in which our conception of cinema is dominated by the auteur theory. But it's not necessarily so.
The direction is a significant component of a film, of course, but it's not everything. A film could be the Best Picture of the year and still have only satisfactory direction. (Perhaps it was the stunning acting or exquisite writing that made it the best.) On the other hand, a film could be brilliantly directed by not be the year's best overall film.
One of the most prominent examples of this dichotomy in recent years was "Driving Miss Daisy," a film which may or may not have deserved its Best Picture Oscar -- but which was hardly distinguished by Bruce Beresford's competent and professional, but otherwise unexceptional direction.
Granted, the quality of the direction and the overall quality of the film are strongly correlated. But there are enough factors that combine to make a film that it's not a one-to-one relationship between the two.
Of course, the really glaring outrage regarding Driving Miss Daisy is that Morgan Freeman didn't get the best-actor award while Jessica Tandy did get the best-actress award. The thing only works as a duet, and Freeman was -- as usual -- superb.
ReplyDeleteYour other points, David, are well taken. A film is a collaboration, after all.
Agreed. As good as Tandy was, Freeman was even better. There is no role that the man can't play beautifully.
ReplyDelete