i hate it when people dont realize that something is great AT THE TIME OF AN AWARDS SHOW
50 years later were raising the films up, when the people who made them have long since passed
christ, why cant they see the effects of films like this, and scarface, and see their impact
Don't forget "Citizen Kane" had William Randloph Hearst squarely against it. With the pull he had in Hollywood at the time, I'm surprised "Citizen Kane" took home one Oscar.
shareTrue, and the Academy knew what they were doing and that what they WERE doing had to be done. Otherwise, Hearst wouldn't have advertised their films and with all the rubbish-y propoganda he could print in his papers about films, God knows the damage that could have been done....
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"films that don't receive a lot of public attention aren't usually the ones to win numerous awards."
Citizen Kane received a LOT of public attention. Orson Welles' name was on everybody's lips.
Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!
I saw Kane--once. While I freely admit that it is a fine movie and certaintly groundbreaking, the fact remains that I have never been able to bring myself to watch it again. But I have seen HGWMV many times, as it is just a joy to watch. So it really doesn't surprise me that Citizen Kane lost out that year.
share"With the pull he [Hearst] had in Hollywood at the time, I'm surprised "Citizen Kane" took home one Oscar.
That one Oscar, perhaps, indicated what Hollywood really thought about Hearst and his machinations.
"Stone-cold sober I find myself absolutely fascinating!"---Katharine Hepburn
Hearst trashed Kane's Oscar chances? This is a misconception. Hearst's power was enormously diminished by the time Citizen Kane was released. He had major financial reverses in the late 1930s--"the rich man's depression," when almost everyone went broke who hadn't gone broke in 1929. The only reason any of the Hearst empire survives today is that Marion Davies sold her jewelry (most of which Hearst had given her) for more than $1 million and gave him the money to salvage as much of his business as he could.
The story I heard from Cecil Pickett (father of actress Cindy Pickett) was that Marion Davies was as much loved by the film colony as Hearst was disliked, and the Academy rejected Welles because they resented the way he caricatured her in Citizen Kane as "Susan Alexander." (I was in some of Mr. Pickett's acting classes at the University of Houston, a few years after he taught Randy & Dennis Quaid and Brent Spiner.) Mr. Pickett thought very highly of Miss Davies as a screen comedienne.
Why would that surprise you? At a time when war was raging, death, uncertainty, upheaval, families forever divided and changed -- why would it surprise you that a movie about family and relationships would win over a movie about corruption and greed and power?
I think you take any set of award nominees and transplant them into a different time with different circumstances and different viewpoints and you'll get different results.
I hate when people criticize a movie when THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN IT. Watch this film. Its easy to understand why at the time (and even now) this would win Best Picture. Even Welles was happy Ford beat him in the Best Director category.
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I've seen both, and while "Kane" is certainly ahead of its time filmmaking-wise, "Valley" is no slouch. It's quite an emotional story and a film that gets an undeserved bad rap because of the "Kane" controversy.
shareYes,How Green Was My Valley beat Citizen Kane, which is a better film. But why do people never mention what was arguably a much bigger travesty - that the following year Welles' next movie, The Magnificent Ambersons, lost to Mrs Miniver? Hold Miniver up next to Valley and see which has more fans today.
shareThis is as good as Citizen Kane.
Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!
I have often argued that HGWMC has never been forgiven for beating out Citizen Kane...to the detriment of its critical reputation. My personal opinion is that although Kane is a technological masterpiece (and the guy who got robbed from Kane was Gregg Toland, who should have won for cinematography) a movie is also about emotions and feelings and Kane has always left me emotionally cold. Valley is the better movie.
It is not our abilities that make us who we are...it is our choices
"Kane" is probably the better movie, but HGWMV is a very strong film. I'm in my mid 40's and I'd never seen this film before, and I rented it and went into it thinking, "So THIS is the film that beat Citizen Kane" with sort of a chip on my shoulder. I have to say it was a very pleasant suprise. I can totally understand how the voters gave this Best Picture. It's such a rich, emotionally rewarding film. It definitely does NOT belong on a list of unworthy Best Picture winners.
"Push the button, Max!"
What the DEUCE?
Something happened you don't understand? Wow! How can this be? Many people liked a film better than you did?!?!? What the DEUCE???
I repeat: What the DEUCE?
What the DEUCE?
Something happened you don't understand? Wow! How can this be? Many people liked a film better than you did?!?!? What the DEUCE???
I repeat: What the DEUCE?
The dickens you say!
cinefreak
Bearing in mind that both movies were produced at a time of great turmoil and psychological/emotional upheaval - World War II - it was small wonder that HGWMV took top awards. People were seeking for a heartwarming tale of family unity & devotion for escapist entertainment, not a dark saga of a single individual who would stop at nothing to gain what he wants.
shareUhh, doesn't the family fall apart? What family unity? Don't the sons rebel against the father? I'd hardly call How Green Was My Valley a "heartwarming tale", anymore than I'd call The Grapes of Wrath a heartwarming tale.
shareThe eldest son died in a coalmining accident, the rest lost their jobs at the mine and had to migrate as there was no other work available in the valley. As for the "rebellion" against the father, it was more of a clash of principles than actual challenge of his authority (the boys wanted to form a union but the dad was against it). And if you watched the movie carefully to the end, even though they were physically away from their home, they were still present in spirit, as the youngest son Huw points out their whereabouts on a map to his parents - obviously the sons must have been corresponding by letters or else he wouldn't have known which countries they were in - he tells his mom "and you are a star that shines on them wherever they are" or something to that effect.
shareAnd the boys who left were also most likely still sending home "Table money" for their mother, especially after their father was killed.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
So the OP is saying that we should dance in the streets to support our current awards winners?!
Wooo Hoooo!
Two shows NEVER to watch or give any regard to: 1) ACADEMY AWARDS 2) GRAMMY AWARDS
Period.
You need to have your own list of award worthy films - if you're a moviephile.
And you'll never see even 1% of the really great ones worldwide in your lifetime.
Think about that.