THE GARDEN OF EDEN (1928) A Lewis Milestone follow-up to his Oscar win for TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS Toni wants to leave the pretzel bakery and become an opera singer (as one does) Amiable pre-code silent Milestone isn't afraid to move the camera either. Some fun tracking shots

WEARY RIVER (1929) A Frank Lloyd follow-up to his Oscar win for THE DIVINE LADY (Lloyd was Oscar-nominated for this too) A bit creaky, kinda fun melodrama about a gangster who becomes a convict who becomes a singing star Part silent, part talkie Richard Barthelmess has the juice

127 HOURS (2010) Danny Boyle's follow-up to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place 😛 Square in Boyle's wheelhouse Poppy. Dreamy. Visceral. Body horrors. Technical experimentation. Humans at center Tough watch but got me choked up

I thought there was only one Marty Supreme

NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (1971) Franklin J. Schaffner's follow-up to PATTON 3 hour Tsar epic Doesn't burrow into the imagination like DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Schaffner more of a literalist Oscar-winning design and costume Pretty on the outside. Moments of power and banal bloat on the inside

THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY (1942) A John Ford follow-up to his Oscar win for HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY Stunning real life footage. Some jingoism (expected). Some comedy relief with birds (not expected) Oscar winner for Best Documentary

MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936) A Frank Capra follow-up to IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Capra won the Oscar for this too Cooper in top form as a card poet who becomes rich A nice gateway into Capra. Idealism in the face of corruption. Good gags A film that champions your inner freak!

MOGAMBO (1953) A John Ford follow-up to his Oscar win for THE QUIET MAN Love in the brush. Animals everywhere, including Gable Both Grace and Ava Oscar-noms Another top notch Ford dialectical. Technicolor Africa—a dramatic space to work out primal lusts and moral thorniness

JUSTINE (1969) George Cukor's follow-up to MY FAIR LADY Based on a popular book series Cukor brought in after a firing I'm drawn to British-in-the-desert stories Romance, mystery Strong cast Cukor is a craftsman but feels patchwork "Your innocence constipates me" is a line I might use

STREET ANGEL (1928) A Frank Borzage follow-up to his Oscar win for 7TH HEAVEN A classic Borzage "lovers who face obstacles" Janet Gaynor wins a third of an Oscar Love the use of shadows and fog. All the variety of lived-in sets. Church, prison, church, the streets etc

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (1961) William Wyler's follow-up to BEN-HUR From Roman epic to intimate powderkeg at an all-girls school Gossip about a gay relationship, sadly, still feels timely And Wyler was a vocal opponent of the blacklist. He knows the sweeping power of a whisper

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941) Victor Fleming's follow-up to GONE WITH THE WIND Spencer Tracy has fun with the two sides—gentleman Jekyll and hideous Hyde. Ingrid Bergman is luminous Transformation not as iconic as March. But Tracy running through the fog 🔥 Stevenson's story carries the day

THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) Robert Wise's follow-up to THE SOUND OF MUSIC America in China 1926? Or America in Vietnam 1966? Parallels are not lost McQueen's only Oscar nom. All in the eyes. All in the choices Filmed on location 3 hours. Gives you a lot to wrestle with

TWO FOR THE SEESAW (1962) Robert Wise's follow-up to WEST SIDE STORY Basically a filmed play. Mitchum and MacLaine carry it. Not sure I cared enough about what happened 🤷‍♂️ My MVP is Ted D. McCord, whose crisp widescreen compositions earned him a cinematography Oscar nomination

THE MISSING (2003) Ron Howard's follow-up to his Oscar win for A BEAUTIFUL MIND Howard goes back to a classic American genre...the western Ethan Edwards-mode. Save daughter from trafficking Obvious pull at heartstrings with little push back on dated tropes Some scope and sweep

MARY OF SCOTLAND (1936) One of John Ford's follow-ups to his Oscar-winning THE INFORMER (Ford had 3 films come out in 1936) Adversaries Mary and Elizabeth I A bit simplified and overcooked in spots Ford's best visual is Hepburn. The gaze is clear. Their affair is obvious

MISSION TO MOSCOW (1943) Michael Curtiz's follow-up to CASABLANCA From one of the great WW2 movies to this blatant piece of pro-Stalin propaganda Walter Houston always dependable. He plays a U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Curtiz does what he can Strange film

It's been a month since I lost my dad. The movies have been a good help in escaping and healing

End of September Stats are in 81 movies watched this month 900 in 2025 so far

VALMONT (1989) Miloš Forman's follow-up to AMADEUS He's still into this court intrigue and wig thing Perhaps less dark than DANGEROUS LIASONS It's a bit looser. More of a human comedy...but with deranged, damaged people wreaking havoc A poisoned pastry with powdered sugar

AFTER TOMORROW (1932) A Frank Borzage follow-up to his Oscar win for BAD GIRL Depression-era romance. Borzage excels with this kind of story—young lovers against all odds The odds are the in-laws and the couple's own insecurities The pre-code frankness is refreshing

OLIVER TWIST (2005) Polanski's follow-up to his Oscar win for THE PIANIST Kingsley's Fagin 👌 Some interesting textual changes The power of the story still resonates for me "The sun,--the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope..." - Dickens

I'm enjoying this viewing theme of "Best Director Oscar winners and the films they made after winning" I'll continue that into October I'll do a few mutual suggestions from the other place Then wrap up October with some horror films

THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT (1932) A Norman Taurog follow-up to his Oscar win for SKIPPY Weird, wild slice of Americana. George M. Cohan plays two characters who look alike Camera tricks used Jimmy Durante unhinged A snake oil salesman as U.S. president? Would never happen...

FLAP (1970) Carol Reed's follow-up to his Oscar-winning OLIVER! American Indigenous rights seemed to be in the water (BILLY JACK, SOLDIER BLUE etc) In a loose fashion, Reed focuses on the outsider (Anthony Quinn as a Native American) within a corrupt, inhumane system Bit of a curio

WE WERE STRANGERS (1949) A John Huston follow-up to his Oscar win for THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE John Garfield. Jennifer Jones 1930s. Cuba. Revolution Sweat. Rum. Dynamite Creaky in spots. But the film is carried by its grit and passion. Tyranny must be defeated...

Not just froth and frills. There's a dark undercurrent to this film; it reveals itself towards the end. Wilder can't help himself. That's why we love him

THE EMPEROR WALTZ (1948) A Billy Wilder follow-up to his Oscar win for THE LOST WEEKEND Wilder wasn't a fan I mostly enjoyed. Lubitsch-coded Euro royal court romance Bing's velvet voice A couple great gags and zingers Mountain scenery. Color pops The ending got me choked up for some reason

PTA ranking by 2022 Sound & Sound votes In order from most to least votes: There Will Be Blood Magnolia Phantom Thread The Master Punch-Drunk Love/Boogie Nights (tied) Inherent Vice

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959) George Stevens's follow-up to his Oscar win for GIANT This slipped past me somehow Stevens's impressive control of mood and tension over 3 hrs His dissolve game 😘 Dramatic license aside, a patiently crafted adaptation of an essential story

PEOPLE WILL TALK (1951) Joseph L. Mankiewicz's follow-up to ALL ABOUT EVE Cary Grant stars as Dr. Praetorius, whose unorthodox methods are under scrutiny Scorsese cites this comedy on his LB account. Calls it "unusual" It is odd and mysterious. I'm still thinking about the chords it hits

BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK (2016) Ang Lee's follow-up to his Oscar win for LIFE OF PI Soldier Billy Lynn back in America after an Iraq tour Commercialization of war is a major theme Stuck between satire and soulful Steve Martin as Jerry Jones? Lee interested in technical experimentation

SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR (1952) George Stevens's follow-up to his Oscar-winning A PLACE IN THE SUN Ray Milland, an alcoholic (again). Connections between alcohol, addiction, and infidelity Visually rich staging and lens choice Grew on me. Leading to a fantastic final scene with wife Teresa Wright

LOVE AFFAIR (1939) Leo McCarey's follow-up to his Oscar win for THE AWFUL TRUTH It's been remade several times. But this felt so chill and real Boyer is very good. But I loved Irene Dunne, who was so chill and real Many heartstrings were tugged 2 Sight & Sound votes, Critics

SLOW DANCING IN THE BIG CITY (1978) John G. Avildsen's follow-up to ROCKY Paul Sorvino, great as a columnist in love with a dancer A bit cornball and low key in spots. I like the slice of New York Avildsen, fresh from Rocky and Adrian, still seems drawn to mismatched romance

ETERNALS (2021) Chloé Zhao's follow-up to NOMADLAND Inspired by the MCU and Malick's TREE OF LIFE (I read an interview) Lots of characters and exposition and orange rope thingies Doing something different was admirable, but its world building weight was heavy lifting for me

Quick viewing theme to end off the month Films by directors...directly after they won the Best Director Oscar First watches

INGEBORG HOLM (1913) An early Victor Sjöström silent feature Holm finds herself getting deeper into debt. Bad things keep happening The disconnect between sanity and society's systems Not filmically stylish. The camera is unflinching as it records the fall 4 Sight & Sound votes, Critics

THE PUMPKIN EATER (1964) Anne Bancroft, heartbreaking performance A woman struggling to find her place within an adulterous marriage, within an imperious world Jack Clayton, underrated director Harold Pinter, the great weaponizer of words 1 Sight & Sound vote, Director Terence Davies UK

WE CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN (1973) Restored film of Nicholas Ray's experimental work with college film students Challenging. Hallmarks of Late Style Deconstruction of narrative. Testing limits of form. Unfiltered expression of self 1 Sight & Sound vote, Director Rita Azevedo Gomes Portugal

POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (1965) I don't mean to sound like horn boy, but Edie Sedgwick is lingeried for the entire movie. She's lounging, smoking, on the phone. This must be cinema And first 30 mins are out of focus! Warhol knew the power of expectation 1 S&S vote, Director Radu Jude Romania

A COLD DRAFT (1988) "...there are no survivors" From experimental filmmaker Lis Rhodes Thatcher's Britain. Industrial. Indigent A potent collage of spoken word, sound effects, paintings on glass, footage, photographs 1 Sight & Sound vote, Director Chris Welsby Canada

I would like to hear some of your favorite directors, and I will try to watch a blindspot film in October Just reply to this post Cheers!

THE RED TURTLE (2016) This Oscar-nom animated film from Michaël Dudok de Wit is a vivid and beautiful story of survival and our relationship to nature Told almost entirely through images and music Looking forward to showing the kids in our family 1 Sight & Sound vote, Director Nora Twomey

THE GREAT MOMENT (1944) An odd one. Studio issues This Preston Sturges film has one foot in serious inventor biopic, another in slapstick A dentist uses anesthesia and laughing gas Interesting when we look at Sturges and the philosophy of comedy How laughter can hide pain

BUSSES ROAR (1942) A bomb on a bus! A thriller with a dose of American exceptionalist propaganda in the face of evildoers Takes a bit to crank up action but gets there Tarantino mentions this film in Cinema Speculation in context with Willie Best, a well-known African American actor at the time

THE GRAND DUEL (1972) Coming in at Number 15 on Tarantino's Top Twenty Spaghetti Western list Lee Van Cleef kills it again. He's a grizzled ex-marshall An epic tale of personal revenge, family style Gorgeous score Love the locations for their scenic and symbolic resonance

TODAY IT'S ME...TOMORROW YOU! (1968) Number 14 on Alex Cox's list of Top 20 Spaghetti Westerns Men on a mission. Seeking revenge on a wife's death I loved the bleakness here. The barren trees. The wasteland of retribution Co-written by Dario Argento

THE LAST ANGEL OF HISTORY (1996) A unique 45 minute docu-essay on afrofuturusm Connections between blues, funk, hip-hop, jazz, technology, literature, black history George Clinton interviews 🔥 Now I'm going to listen to some Sun Ra 1 Sight & Sound vote, Critic Abiba Coulibaly UK

COHERENCE (2013) Comets. Alternate realities. Just your typical dinner party with friends From James Ward Byrkit A Serling-esque style tale. Elements of horror A breezy 90 minute mind bender 1 Sight & Sound vote, Critic Ed Park USA