Danny Boyle, Natalie Portman and Rapunzel: it’s a bumper week for Cherwell’s film critics.
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The Podd Couple: Week 5
Back by popular demand, Cherwell’s film podcast takes on the new film season.
‘And the loser is…’
As we draw closer to the 2011 Oscars and all eyes turn towards what Natalie Portman’s wearing on the red carpet and whether co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be able to muster any convincing on-screen chemistry, we may well find ourselves wondering what the Oscars are really about and whether they truly deserve the hype. Film-makers covet the awards: they offer unrivalled prestige and publicity to the happy winners. But how much should we trust the Academy’s opinion? Looking back at some of the decisions it has made in the Best Picture category over the last 83 years suggests we should keep an eye out for the runners-up…
1944 – Going My Way v. Double Indemnity and Gaslight
Perhaps distracted by the largest scale war the world had ever seen, the Academy decided to give the Best Picture Oscar to the now largely forgotten Going My Way, in which Bing Crosby plays a young man entering the Roman Catholic clergy, as opposed to Billy Wilder’s unforgettable and utterly gripping film noir, Double Indemnity or the equally memorable mystery-thriller Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman.
1952 – The Greatest Show on Earth v. High Noon
High Noon, the renowned Western set in real time which featured Grace Kelly alongside Gary Cooper, may have lost out on the Oscar that year to circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth but it has since been deemed the 27th Best Film of All Time (American Film Institute 2007) as well as being named “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress, which has selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
1969 – Midnight Cowboy v. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Whilst Midnight Cowboy, the story of a naïve gigolo in New York, has not been forgotten and did gross over $40 million at the U.S. box office, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid grossed over twice that amount and brought us the unforgettable pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
1970 – Patton v. M*A*S*H
Best Picture was just one of 7 Oscars won by World War II film Patton but it remains debatable whether it truly won the battle of the 1970 war films as rival nominee M*A*S*H, the satirical comedy set in a field hospital during the Korean War, is much more popular today, having spawned the hugely successful television series of the same name which ran for eleven years.
1976 – Rocky v. All The President’s Men and Taxi Driver
It’s perhaps a little surprising that the Sylvester Stallone boxing film Rocky should have prevailed at the 1976 Oscars, motivational soundtrack and training montage aside, when this was also the year that brought us All The President’s Men, the ground-breaking political thriller based on the journalists who uncovered the Watergate scandal (played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) and the hugely influential Martin Scorsese-directed Taxi Driver, the film which had Robert De Niro ask himself if he was talking to himself.
1982 – Gandhi v. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Tootsie
If it were a question of who you’d like to speak at your graduation, Gandhi might be more of a sensible choice than a wrinkly alien or a cross-dressing thesp, but when it comes to the films which depicted these unforgettable characters, it is less clear-cut: Richard Attenborough’s 8-Oscar film helped make a name for the formidable Ben Kingsley and was certainly the most serious and ‘worthy’ of the three…but has his Gandhi stood the test of time in the same way that Spielberg’s irresistible E.T. or Dustin Hoffman’s endearing ‘Dorothy Michaels’ (Tootsie) has?
1985 – Out of Africa v. Witness
Unlucky with Tootsie, director Sydney Pollack got his hands on the prize three years later with the colonial Kenyan love story played out between Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa but the captivating romantic thriller, Witness, in which Harrison Ford falls for an Amish girl is arguably much better-remembered, especially the scene featuring the Sam Cooke song ‘Wonderful World’ (where he doesn’t know much about history…).
1990 – Dances with Wolves v. Goodfellas
The ‘90s began with another questionable choice as director Martin Scorsese missed out once again with mobster film Goodfellas to 3-hour epic Western Dances with Wolves starring Kevin Costner. However, the Academy’s decision paralleled US Box Office figures, with Dances with Wolves grossing almost four times more than Goodfellas.
1994 – Forrest Gump v. Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction and Quiz Show
Tom Hanks’s Forrest Gump was undoubtedly a landmark event of ‘90s cinema but this was an especially hotly contested year and many would disagree with its choice over very popular rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral, much-lauded drama The Shawshank Redemption, greatly influential Tarantino creation Pulp Fiction and acclaimed historical drama Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford. I suppose films at the Oscars are like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates – you never know which one’s going to get picked…(and you often end up with the sticky, sickly one).
When TV thinks big
It’s as if TV series had finally shrugged off their inferiority complex. As if the fact that they could never match the big screen’s visual power no longer induced them to not even try. Boardwalk Empire‘s 80-minute pilot, which was directed by Martin Scorcese, is effectively a feature film in its own right. In recent years a spurt of “cinematic” TV series has suddenly emerged. Anyone who has seen, say, Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men will have been taken aback by their cinematic quality.
TV used to be the undisputed preserve of screenwriters (see Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing or J. J. Abrams’ Lost for instance). For a long time TV’s main advantage over cinema, namely its ability to show character development, was considered enough to redeem sloppy cinematography. Directors and other crew members were selected for their efficiency and ability to churn out around 20 episodes a year. Yet the next step seemed obvious: to take on its bigger brother at its own game.
It all started with The Sopranos, when the series’ creator, David Chase, brought on a bunch of people from independent cinema with absolutely no conception of how to make TV and set them loose on set. The result is a beautiful series which set a new benchmark for small-screen quality. Something that started on fee-paying cable television started to creep into mainstream channels once the business realized that there was a demand for a small number of high-quality TV series.
Within the confines of this niche, directors have come to be considered on par with screenwriters, and it shows. The executive producer of Mad Men, Scott Hornbacher, describes how he only enforces two rules on set: no hand-held camera and no steadycam. The result is an admirably shot product, which unashamedly exploits and constantly references classical Hollywood style.
For all this, it would be silly to ask whether TV will replace cinema. TV simply cannot match the amount of funds poured into each minute of cinema. For all its grandeur, Boardwalk Empire‘s pilot only cost $18 million. I say only because Shutter Island, Scorcese’s latest feature film, cost more than four times that amount. If you do the math, that’s about $36,000 extra per minute of film. And anyway, you don’t need to do the math to know that cinema and TV are fundamentally different media.
Still, though TV series will never match cinema in terms of cinematography, it is nice to see that the idea that they shouldn’t bother with it has been dispelled.
Thought for Week 6: Days of Rage
“I’m not asking you to immolate yourself with turpentine the next time your epoch-making essay comes back with ‘2:2’ scrawled on its front page in red pen. But there is a place for anger in Oxford.”
As the Arab world is wracked with popular rage born of years of resentment, how do we learn to live with our own frustration?
Oliver Moody introduces Cherwell’s new podcast, Thought for the Week, with a discussion of what the Arab revolutions might mean for us.
If you would like to contribute to Thought for the Week, get in touch with [email protected].
Cherworld: Week 5
“Heaven forfend, Mr Leslie, who voted in favour of the rise in tuition fees in 2004, that people should actually go to university for free. No, we’ll just use up about an hour of parliamentary time to debate this completely balls issue.”
Cherwell’s Beth McKernan and Robin McGhee give their considered opinions on Labour MP Chris Leslie’s parliamentary lobby against the automatic Oxford MA.
Produced by Evie Deavall and Oliver Moody
London Calling – But Not Running On Dunkin’…
Having made several trips to London in the past few weeks, to visit family staying in the city and interview for summer jobs, I’ve had the opportunity to glimpse many of the billboards along the route from the windows of trains, buses, and cars alike. Passing the advertisements for restaurants and coffee shops galore, I lamented the fact that Britain does not run on Dunkin’.
“America runs on Dunkin’” is a slogan most of my compatriots would recognize in an instant. It’s the catchphrase of Dunkin’ Donuts, a coffee and doughnut chain found in the four corners of the United States and everywhere in between. There’s Starbucks, of course, and Seattle’s Best, Tim Hortons and Krispy Kreme. And many independent, quirky shops are serving the best bean of all, as they might in Oxford.
But none have a motto as catchy as Dunkin’ Donuts, which by this point in time sells much more than its name would indicate. When I first got to Britain, I was taken aback by the proliferation of so many franchises in such a small area in Oxford – Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero, Coffee Republic – without the slightest indication of the existence of a Dunkin’. I realized quickly, of course, that this should be the case – after all, it’s America in the aphorism.
Their coffee might not be superior, and I’m not a huge doughnut fan. But not having a Dunkin’ Donuts around is just a bit of a reminder that I’m a speaker of the American tongue, especially when mentioning it casually and ending up the receiver of confused glances. I understand completely – but as a shout out to everyone who’s been in the vicinity when I’ve begun a diatribe on the subject, here’s a suggestion. If you ever visit America, go to Dunkin’ Donuts. You too can be an American running on Dunkin’ for a day.
James Blake "never booked" to play club night
Students were left disappointed after James Blake’s perceived “no-show” gig last weekend, but Cherwell can reveal that the critically acclaimed Dubstep artist was in fact never booked in the first place.
Flyers and the Facebook event page clearly advertised Blake as a special guest at the top of the bill at the club night called ‘Meditate’, held at The Bullingdon Arms last Saturday. But when Cherwell contacted Lucy Dickins, Blake’s agent, she said that Blake had never been booked to play.
The night’s promoter, second year Teddy Hall student Noor Rashid, was responsible for organising the event, which included booking the acts and the venue, as well as advertising and selling tickets for the night. He charged £20 for a standard price ticket, or £11 online for ‘early bird’ tickets for the event.
When contacted by Cherwell, Rashid declined to comment.
Cherwell spoke to Dickins, Blake’s current agent at International Talent Booking (ITB) as well as his previous agency, Reprise, and both said that Blake was never booked to play at the Bullingdon Arms.
A spokesperson at Reprise said, “I had contact with Rashid about the possibility of booking James but we never even agreed a fee, let alone a booking.
“If he’s claiming that Blake was supposed to play in Oxford last week, that’s completely false.”
Dickins said, “James was certainly not booked to play the Bullingdon in Oxford. I have never had a contact with anyone under the name of Noor Rashid.
“This is disappointing for his fans but I must re-iterate that James was never booked to play this night so is in no way responsible.”
Students who attended the event thought that Blake would be playing between 12 and 1am. However, by the night’s close at 3am Blake had still not appeared.
Suspicion about the real reason for Blake’s no-show was aroused when the Facebook event page was completely deleted on Sunday morning, which led some to believe that Blake was never actually booked to perform, a fact clarified by Cherwell yesterday.
On hearing that Blake was never booked for the event, Kevin Ferriter, a second year at St John’s, said, “At first I was angry at Blake for not turning up and that I’d wasted £20; but if it is the case that he was never booked, then I feel like I’ve been cheated, and now I am angry with the organisers. Without James Blake, it was just an average night with varying qualities of dub and drum and bass music.”
Ferriter continued, “I had invited some of my friends from home, and they came… especially for this event, so it was all a wasted trip.”
A full-time promoter in Oxford, who asked not to be named, contacted Cherwell about Saturday’s event. He expla
ined that he was suspicious of the booking as soon as he heard about it.
“There was no information about a Blake gig or DJ set in Oxford on any of his official websites, and I should know because I’ve been trying to book him for a while.
“James Blake was clearly advertised as being at the top of the bill.
Given his current stature I would suggest that he has five times more selling power than the rest of the Meditate bill put together.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the level of radio play he has been receiving in recent weeks, far in excess of the other artists. Customers would invariably be buying tickets to the artist in question and not the ‘Meditate’ event as a whole.”
Widget White of the Bullingdon Arms said, “We’ve had lots of complaints about people wanting their money back but it’s nothing to do with us: Rashid just hired out the room from us.
“We’re pretty pissed off ourselves that people paid £20 for a pretty average night. It was the first night Rashid had ever promoted [at The Bullingdon Arms], and we’ll never be having him back.
“If people want their money back then they should get in touch with Rashid, or if they paid for the early bird tickets online, We Got Tickets.”
Oscar Harry, a student at Cambridge, had come all the way to Oxford for the night. He said, “As a James Blake fan I am bitterly disappointed. £11 is quite a steep price for a night of lacklustre drum and bass.
I took a long coach journey from Cambridge and had to travel through Milton Keynes – do you know how horrible that is?”
James Grant, a second year Historian at Queen’s commented, “I’m shocked and appalled.”
‘Meditate’ is a new event, which advertises itself as “championing a very unique style of music”.
Oriel appeal
Plans put forward by Oriel College to build 31 graduate rooms on the site of a former nursery school in the Bartlemas conservation area, off Cowley Road, have been met by opposition from both local residents and the council.
The College has owned the land since 1329 and has tried to build on the site numerous times in the past, but each time the plans have ultimately been rejected.
The College appealed the rejection of its latest bid at a Planning Inspectorate hearing held in the Town Hall on Tuesday.
Oriel believe that their new plans will preserve the character of the area, which used to be the site of a medieval leper hospital.
In its written submission to the new appeal, the College said, “The East Area Parliament has come up with nothing new, no different angle. It has, having considered exactly the same issues as its professional advisers, taken the opposite view.”
It added it was “very unlikely” that the graduates resident in the proposed accommodation would cause any disturbance in the area.
A spokesperson for the Divinity Road Area Residents’ Association said, “The important sense of seclusion and isolation of the conservation area and the green buffer on its western edge which protects the listed buildings of the rural and medieval hamlet will be undermined”.
The Divinity Road Area Residents’ Association are have urged residents to participate in the campaign in order to preserve the site as a resource for students and residents alike.
According to the website of architects Marcus Beale, the proposed buildings are specifically designed to be eco-friendly, and will be environmentally friendly, with “low CO2 in construction” and “use of passive solar heating through orientation, shading and solar chimneys”.
Siestke Boeles, from Divinity Road Area Residents’ Association, said, “Local residents would like to see the redevelopment of the Old Nursery site, but for a development which has a community purpose and is in keeping.
“Both universities have sufficient student accommodation sites, and East Oxford is already saturated with students.”
Green city councillor Nuala Young said, “This is a very special little settlement in Oxford, and it is one of the few remaining sites of a medieval leper colony in the UK.
“Because of that, it is really important we defend its wonderful sense of isolation, peace and apartness. It could be a wonderful resource for people and students in the future.”
The results of the appeal will be released at the end of the month.
Massage away the Finals fear
Christ Church JCR has unanimously passed a motion to employ a masseuse during exam time in an attempt to knock Magdalen off the Norrington table top spot.
In the minutes of the General Meeting on Sunday, Andy Pearson, the Christ Church finalist who proposed the motion, is quoted as saying, “Magdalene [sic.] came top of the Norrington table last year.
“We all know that we should dick all over Magdalene [sic.].
“So I thought to myself ‘what do they have that we don’t’ and the answer is a professional masseuse during exam season.”
Pearson later told Cherwell that the Magdalen masseuse “may not actually exist” saying he had heard about it “through a complicated string of Chinese Whispers”.
Lauren Daum, the President of Magdalen JCR said, “I’m afraid we do not have a masseuse…if only!”
Magdalen topped the degree classification table for the first time last year with over 50% of its finalists earning a First whilst Christ Church came seventh out of the thirty colleges, with a third of its students making the top class.
Figures show that Magdalen has consistently attained a higher position then Christ Church in the table over the last five years.
However Pearson claimed, “I can tell you that a similar scheme is in place at Tufts University, and is extremely popular (they also have puppies and kittens brought in during the exam season- perhaps this will be next…).”
He also stressed the serious side of the motion, saying, “While it looks like a joke motion, it does address a real problem that many finalists face: they’re very stressed, and the methods that they use to counter this stress aren’t always particularly good for them.
“Hopefully some massage, combined with simply taking the time out of the library, will make things a bit better.”
Regarding the financing of the masseuse he said, “The money for this would come primarily from welfare, however I personally would find a massage very entertaining so maybe some from entz as well.”
Christ Church’s JCR President, second year Matt Barrett said, “I think the motion is excellent, everyone knows that exams are stressful and a free massage would be an excellent way to chill out.
“The JCR obviously has the welfare of its members at heart and we’ll do what we can to make exam season bearable.
“The proposer expressed a preference for Swedish massage but the specifics are yet to be worked out.”
He also said that the meeting was “well attended” although concerns over reaching quorum in general meetings were raised in a separate motion at the meeting.
Speaking about the success of the motion, Magdalen JCR President Daum, said, “We would encourage Christ Church to take whatever steps they feel are necessary in order for them to present us with a credible challenge in the Norrington-Table-stakes.
“Sadly we feel it may take (much) more than employing a masseuse. In the mean time, we will continue to enjoy giving them an ‘intellectual whopping’ year on year.”
