1927-1928 Wings & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

My project has been, for quite some time now, to watch all Academy Award Best Picture winners.  Because...why not?  It forces me to watch some movies that I would never otherwise watch.  I started back in college, but burned out.  A couple of months ago, I resumed my goal with a vengeance.  I thought I should make an effort to summarize my thoughts/impressions on the winners, be they ever so biased.

Starting with...


1927-1928 Wings (Outstanding Picture, Production)

Well, this first winner didn't make a huge impression on me.  I watched it in college when I first started this project, and all I remember is that it was a black and white film about WWI fighter pilots.  It's a silent picture.  A quick wiki search says that Clara Bow was in it, but her performance didn't make much of an impact on me, and this wasn't the most exhilarating of the movies I've watched.  Maybe I should watch it again for a fresher perspective, but I don't really feel it.  Perhaps someday.

Update: I DID end up watching it again.  See my updated review here:

http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/12/wings-and-broadway-melody-re-reviewed.html

AND

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (Unique and Artistic Production)



Just watched this one, so it is fresh in my mind.  It's debatable whether this counts as a best picture winner, and I was confused at first because it is included on some lists and not on others.  Apparently the "Unique and Artistic Production" award only existed the first year of the Academy Awards, and was considered of equal importance as "Outstanding Picture, Production," though the later is considered closer to the traditional "Best Picture" category.  Regardless, I didn't want to miss my goal on a technicality, so I watched the movie.  Also a silent film, it is about a farmer who is married with a young child but begins an affair with a woman from the city who convinces him that he should drown his wife and move to the city with her.  He takes his wife out in a boat and starts to move towards her menacingly, terrifying the wife, and then changes his mind.  Once they get to shore she runs off and he chases her.  She is in shock and he tries to comfort her, even buying her some lovely "I'm sorry I almost killed you" flowers.  They spend the day in the city and basically fall back in love.  I thought the actors were good, especially Janet Gaynor.  It was more interesting than Wings to me, though rather unbelievable...not sure how a man can go from planning to kill his wife in the morning to being madly in love with her in the afternoon.  Also, there's a long clip of them going to this fair and then having a country dance that I could have done without.