The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
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On the opening night of its annual 31 Days of Oscar festival, Turner Classic Movies presents the world premiere of "And the Oscar Goes To...", a documentary tracing the history of the Academy Awards.Let us not try to say the movies are any more important than they are. And the Oscars are a celebration of these not terribly important things. But, at the same time, let us not underestimate how important the movies really are. They bind us as a culture, connect us to other cultures and define generations. Sometimes they even change the way we look at the world.And we get some great classic moments (Charlie Chaplin) alongside some more modern moments (Affleck and Damon, Diablo Cody). I almost wish I had started watching them sooner...
"And the Oscar Goes To..." is a documentary about, naturally, the Oscar. However, if you are looking for an exhaustive film about the awards or one that is chronological, then you might be disappointed. Instead, the film mostly consists of some living Oscar recipients talking about their experience receiving the award along with a few clips of past winners. The past winners are mostly from the 1950s on--which isn't surprising since that is when they started showing the ceremony on television. And, many recent recipients aren't interviewed as well--making me wonder how they picked who would be on the show. While the film isn't perfect, it is enjoyable and gives you many nice little vignettes about the film and the craftspeople who make movies.
"And the Oscar Goes To..." is a 2014 documentary shown on TCM recently. Some of the interviews, like the one with Jane Fonda, were not recent, but most of them seemed like they were.The documentary took us through the early days of the Academy Awards through to the 21st century, though more recent years seem to have been left out. I think the latest clip was in 2010 announcing The Hurt Locker as best film.Lots and lots of clips of past Academy Awards, including hosts Whoppie Goldberg, Bob Hope, and Billy Crystal; past winners -- Hattie McDaniel's heartfelt speech after winning for Gone with the Wind, Michael Moore winning for Bowling for Columbine, Jane Fonda for Klute, Sasheen Littlefeather accepting for Marlon Brando (Godfather), "Good Will Hunting" stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Henry Fonda's win accepted by Jane Fonda; Dustin Hoffman, Ruth Gordon, Marlon Brando (the first win) and many others. There was a discussion of the McCarthy era and the blacklist; and footage from backstage, where the press and photographers meet the winners.So I'd say they packed a lot into 90 minutes. Also, there was a look at some of the classic stars announcing the awards: Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, etc. Narrated by Angelica Huston.Highly entertaining.
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Very good documentary taking a look at the history of the Oscars. That's pretty much the only plot description that this thing needs as the 90-minute running time is all about the big event. We learn about the very first awards and how it came to be. We learn about various rule changes that have taken place over time. We also get to hear from countless winners as they talk about what it's like getting up there to give a speech but we also get to hear from the other side in what it feels like to lose. Just about every topic is covered including some winners who started controversy, the smaller categories that most people don't care about and there's even a list of people who never won the award and it's just as impressive as the list of winners. AND THE Oscar GOES TO... is a very entertaining look at the end, which is full of interviews with current winners but I thought this was the least entertaining thing. Do we really need to hear from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg again? Yes, it's always great seeing these two but we've already had so many other documentaries about their films and careers. I thought the most interesting moments were the ones dealing with the older footage that we don't get to see as often. This includes Hattie McDaniel's acceptance speech for GONE WITH THE WIND and various clips of Bob Hope hosting the event. The stuff dealing with the legends of Hollywood who are no longer with us are clearly the best moments of this and it makes you wonder why these full shows (and the AFI tributes) aren't available for viewing.
