Category Archives: On My DVR

Awards, Documentary, Independent Film, On My DVR, Oscars

On My DVR: GasLand (2010)

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Currently on my DVR is the 2010 Sundance award-winning documentary GasLand. This HBO film was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar this past year and is currently nominated for four Primetime Emmys in nonfiction programming categories, including directing, writing, and cinematography. I’m not sure how a film that has both theatrical and television distribution can be eligible for the top prizes in both media, but I’m sure it’s got to be great. Here’s the synopsis from the film’s IMDb page:

It is happening all across America—rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called “fracking”—and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower. (Written by Sundance Film Festival)

Director: Josh Fox
Screenwriter: Josh Fox
Producers: Trish Adlesic, Josh Fox, Molly Gandour
Cast: Josh Fox
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: HBO Documentary Films
Runtime: 107 min.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8]
Awards, Classic Film, Drama, Narrative, On My DVR, Oscars

On My DVR: Sophie’s Choice (1982)

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Currently on my DVR is the 1982 classic Sophie’s Choice. This is the story of a Holocaust survivor and her lover as they befriend a writer who lives in their Brooklyn boarding house. This film earned Meryl Streep her fourth Oscar nomination and second win. (She had previously won three years earlier for her supporting role in Robert Benton’s Kramer vs. Kramer.) In total, the film earned a total of five Oscar nominations, with recognition also given to its cinematography, costumes, music, and writing. Sophie’s Choice is based on the William Styron novel of the same title.

This film was not on AFI’s original “100 Years … 100 Movies” list, but it did find a spot on the organization’s 10th anniversary list, creeping in at #91. No doubt, its ranking as one of the greatest 100 American films of all time is partly due to what some consider Streep’s greatest performance.

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Screenwriter: Alan J. Pakula
Producers: Keith Barish, Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
Genres: Drama, Romance
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 150 min.

Classic Film, Drama, Narrative, On My DVR, Oscars

On My DVR: Giant (1956)

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Currently on my DVR is the 1956 classic Giant. This is the story of a wealthy land owner and cattle rancher and his spoiled Virginian bride, and the conflicts that arise at home in Texas regarding race, class, and changing traditions (paraphrased from Yahoo! Movies). The film is as big as its title implies—and just as epic as the story and runtime is the cast. Hollywood heavyweight filmmaker George Stevens directed a monstrous cast that reads as a who’s who in classic Hollywood, including Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Mercedes McCambridge, and Dennis Hopper.

This film sits comfortably on my 170 list and is also one of just three films to star Dean before his untimely death the previous year, in 1955. Giant earned 10 Oscar nominations and one win, for Stevens’s direction. Among the nominations were Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and honors for Hudson and McCambridge for their leading and supporting performances, respectively. Dean also received a nomination for his leading performance—his second posthumous nomination (the other being for 1955’s East of Eden, which is also on my 170 list).

Director: George Stevens
Screenwriters: Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat
Producers: Henry Ginsberg, George Stevens
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo
Genres: Drama, Epic, Romance, Western
Distributor: Kino International
Runtime: 201 min.

Classic Film, Drama, Narrative, On My DVR, Oscars, War

On My DVR: Wings (1927)

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Currently on my DVR is the 1927 classic Wings. It’s the story of two men—one rich and one middle class—who share a common interest in the same woman as they become fighter pilots during World War I. Starring one of the biggest actresses of the time, Clara Bow plays a woman whose affections for one of the pilots are largely unnoticed. A 25-year-old Gary Cooper appears in this classic.

Wings earned the distinction of being the very first Best Picture Oscar winner. It’s also the only silent film to win the award. During that very first Oscar ceremony in 1929, the film beat out The Racket and 7th Heaven for the Outstanding Picture honor. It also went on to win for its “engineering effects,” a category that only existed that first year.

Director: William Wellman
Screenwriters: John Monk Saunders, Hope Loring, Louis D. Lighton
Producers: B.P. Schulberg, Lucien Hubbard (uncredited)
Cast: Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen, Jobyna Ralston
Genres: Drama, Romance, War
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 139 min.