BBM didn't win Best Picture Oscar - but not to fret!

[ednbarby]

dly64 - I LOVED Rear Window, Vertigo, North by North West, and Bell Book and Candle.

Seriously though, BBM has to be in the top ten movies of all time. I only saw it recently and have been powerfully moved by it.  It's on my wish list for my birthday coming up in October. In my first viewing I got a bit annoyed as I couldn't understand a lot of what was being said, but hey, it gave me a reason to watch it again (and again!).

I think that great movies are a combintation of powerful scenery, powerful actors and performances and plots mixed with sub-plots and even more plots, allowing for a variety of interpretations to be placed on various scenes and lines, again and again. You get something new everytime you watch it and that, my friends, is what good moviemaking is all about!

Ah, so true.  Watched it for my sixteenth time (but who's counting?) last night, and caught something else *again* that had never registered before.  In Aguirre's office/trailer, the skin of a sheep's head is hanging right next to the hook on which Joe Aguirre hangs his hat after he calls the boys in.  How in the holy hell did I never see that before???  Really, we could all have a field day just freezing some frames in the two trailer scenes and noting all the symbolic stuff in there.  We've all noticed the binoculars - closed in their case in the first scene and hanging open and outside the case in the second.

My four-year-old son walked in from his bedroom during the post-reunion campfire scene, watched it intently, and goes, "But - two boys can't marry each other."  Broke my heart.  Already it's being engrained.  I said, "Two people who love each other *can* marry each other, whether they're both boys or both girls or a boy and girl.  If not legally, at least in their hearts."  Of course, being four, he goes, "But how can you get married in your hearts?"  I tried to explain how sometimes people who love each live together forever, but they never get legally married, and it's just like being married.  That blew his mind so much, he said, "I'm tired.  I'm going back to bed."

You're right, CD - this is definitely one of those movies you can find something new in every time you see it.  I haven't had it happen yet where I didn't.  And yet two months ago I figured I'd seen it as much as I needed to and probably wouldn't watch it again - at least not for a long time.  So much for that theory. 

[serious crayons]

CD, welcome to BetterMost! 

I've seen it "only" 15 times -- i.e., about 12 times more than I've seen any other movie. (Not only is it IN my top 10 favorite movies of all time, it IS my top 10 favorite movies of all time -- it gets all top 10 slots.) And I know people who watch it every day for months, people who have seen it literally 150 times or more.

So yeah, you can get new things out of it every time you watch. And as far as a variety of interpretations of lines and scenes, take a look at some of the threads here and you will see what a variety of interpretations people find to discuss! 

author=ednbarby link=topic=4259.msg88563#msg88563 date=1158587532]

My four-year-old son walked in from his bedroom during the post-reunion campfire scene, watched it intently, and goes, "But - two boys can't marry each other."  Broke my heart.  Already it's being engrained.

Barb, I bet it's natural that when Will looks around and sees nothing but different-sex couples, he gets the idea that that's how it's "supposed to" work. So it becomes ingrained. But only temporarily! You sound like you are doing a great job of outgraining it. 

[dly64]

Seriously though, BBM has to be in the top ten movies of all time. I only saw it recently and have been powerfully moved by it.  It's on my wish list for my birthday coming up in October. In my first viewing I got a bit annoyed as I couldn't understand a lot of what was being said, but hey, it gave me a reason to watch it again (and again!).

I think that great movies are a combintation of powerful scenery, powerful actors and performances and plots mixed with sub-plots and even more plots, allowing for a variety of interpretations to be placed on various scenes and lines, again and again. You get something new everytime you watch it and that, my friends, is what good moviemaking is all about!

Welcome to BetterMost, CD! I think you'll like it here. Many passionate people, great conversations and ... NO TROLLS!!!

As for my number of viewings ... I hate to admit it, but I am well over 150 times. SCARY!!! I have never had a reaction to a film like this!!! It's a strange, but oddly wonderful feeling!

[serious crayons]

You know, we haven't had a "how many times have you seen it" thread for a while. It's interesting, because there's such a range. Maybe I'll start one. Or maybe a poll!

[ednbarby]

You know, we haven't had a "how many times have you seen it" thread for a while. It's interesting, because there's such a range. Maybe I'll start one. Or maybe a poll!

There was one started a while back.  I just went to it and found I could actually edit my vote by clicking on "Remove Vote" (duh), slapping myself upside the head a few times for not having figured that out until now, and re-voting.  I added my 2 cents (as if I don't always do that anyway) so as to bump it up for ya, Katharine.

[serious crayons]

I saw that, Barb! At first I thought it was just a huge coincidence that you happened to post on it the very day the subject came up.

Anyway, I PMed Lynne (the OP) and asked if she'd mind if we either updated her poll or started a new one. She started hers so long ago (early April) that it could use a little bit of updating. For one thing, her top choice is "more than 30."

 

I know Diane is not the only one who could answer yes to "more than 150." And I bet answers like "50 to 100" are not at all unusual.

Also, I'm curious about some things now that the movie has been around so long: Are people trying to wean themselves? Do those who've seen it a huge number of times ever worry about getting tired of it? Or do they still see new things each time? What other rewards do they find in repeat viewings? For those who haven't seen it as many times, why not? And so on.

[moremojo]

Brokeback Mountain did win the Golden Lion at Venice, which in my opinion is worth ten Oscars. The Academy Awards are much more a popularity contest than they are a reputable arbiter of artistic merit, and many, many truly great films have never even been nominated for one, in any category.

[CD_one]

Thanks everyone for making me feel welcome to this forum!

Well well well. The first time I saw Brokeback moment was, now let me see, last Saturday night.  I cant (yet!) claim to watching it more than 3 times in the past 4 days but I think I've done a pretty good job thus far.  In that time I've also managed to get a copy of the short story and have read that, and am now ready for my next viewing, having more of an understanding of where Annie was heading with the story and also having the benefit of all the wonderful insights provided by this discussion forum.

I've been thinking on and off about the story over the past couple of days, when I haven't been at work and concentrating on other things.  I remember reading one of the postings where the author of the posting said they wouldn't feel the same about the movie if it was along the 'normal' lines of girl/boy romantic film.  What hits me (as a straight female) in the guts about this film, is the beautiful love story and the regret that unfolds. To me the boy/boy story doesn't matter, its not relevant, its the pleasure and pain of true love in an unfair society that is the key message..

[JT]

Maybe this is a loaded topic since there are many people who are still livid about BBM not winning the Best Picture Oscar. And yes … this is months down the road, but my mind keeps going back to the controversy. I decided to do some delving into the Academy’s track record for Best Picture winners …. not always so great. Some of the winners are:

The Broadway Melody
Cimarron
Cavalcade
Hamlet (1948)
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
Marty
Around the World in Eighty Days
Tom Jones
A Man for All Seasons
Chariots of Fire
Gladiator

I am not saying these films aren’t good (I’m not even saying they aren’t great). But how many people actually remember a lot of these films? Now, think of the following films that didn’t win:

King Kong (1933)
The Wizard of Oz
The Grapes of Wrath
Citizen Kane
It’s A Wonderful Life
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Sunset Boulevard
A Streetcar Named Desire
Singin’ in the Rain
High Noon
Shane
Rear Window
Rebel without a Cause
Giant
Vertigo
Some Like it Hot
Psycho (1960)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Bonnie and Clyde
The Graduate
2001: A Space Odyssey
Network (which lost to Rocky!!)
Apocalypse Now (which lost to Kramer vs. Kramer)
Fargo (which lost to The English Patient)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which lost to Gladiator!)
Brokeback Mountain (which lost to Crash)


I can tell you that the latter list has many more memorable and enduring films than does the previous (“winner”) list. 

In short … we need not despair. The true test of greatness will be time. IMO, BBM will weather it … Crash will not.

I agree with you, Diane!  I barely remember much of the "winner" list.  I like many of the movies in the "didn't win" list.  But 2005 has to be the Oscar's worst choices ever.  They didn't just have bad taste, but they're also prejudice.  Yeah, BBM will weather through time.

[dly64]

The best reward? As much as watching this film hurts, it also makes me feel better. When you figure out why, please let me in on the reason.

I don't know that I have an answer, but I can say that BBM has affected me in a way that no other film has. There are other films that I adore and obsess over. However, my BBM obsession has lasted nearly a year and I don’t see it ending any time soon. I have gotten to the point (finally) where I am not watching it every day, but I still watch it weekly. There is so much to love and to see. Even though I have seen it too many times to count, I still see something new every time I watch it. And of course, with forums like BM, I hear other POV, which have really enriched my understanding. I’ve never experienced anything like this. I doubt that I ever will again!