The fact that the silent Wings was given Best Picture is not only right, but a must. Wings had so many beautiful parts to it, great acting and a wonderful Director in William Wellman. First Best Picture at the Oscars: no doubt it deserved it.
Mr. Cellophane shoulda been my name, Mr. Cellophane....
I agree. Some people say that "The Jazz Singer" should have won the Oscar that year, but, aside from the use of sound, that movie had nothing new in it.
"I can't go anywhere without hearin' about that dumb tomato!"
--Velma Kelly
THE JAZZ SINGER did win a technical award, so from that aspect, I believe it got what it deserved.
I saw WINGS on the big screen last year in a 1923 movie palace, and I have to tell you, it's the epitome of "great film".
-J. Theakston
The Silent Photoplayer
Tom, that must have been amazing. I've heard about the special screeing with the tinting and all. I'm so envious!
From a fortune cookie: "Be Quicker of Mind Than of Tongue"
The print I saw wasn't tinted, but it was razor sharp and was complete with intermission footer. The score was on a 2/11 Mighty Wurlitzer and was just fabulous. One of my favorite movie events.
-J. Theakston
The Silent Photoplayer
http://www.thephotoplayer.com/
[deleted]
[deleted]
I just saw this in a 1926 movie palace (the Orpheum in L.A.), with live organ accompaniment. It was fantastic! And... the organist was 90+ years old. He played the same score, for this film, when the movie was originally released.
shareWow.
He must have been the world's only "10-year-old movie theater organist" back in 1927.
Actually, the organist at the Orpheum, Bob Mitchell, was born in 1912 and thus was 15 years old when he accompianed "Wings" on the organ. Bob Mitchell started accompanying films when he was only 12 years old, and so he was a "veteran" of sorts when Wings was released. Mitchell accompanied films at the Orpheum until his death at age 96. Pretty amazing.
shareheloo kips
realy? did you watch this movie? how can i find it on dvd? could u help me?
I would die if I saw this film in theatres. It was no doubt one of the best flicks I've ever seen. I was so amazed at the acting I was awe-struck. Not even kidding here. The flying scenes and the characters and the situations were all just TOO perfect. I'm so glad it's around! I have no idea if it's on DVD, I have it on VHS from amazon.
"A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is hurt, tired and bewildered."
Clara Bow
Chronic complainer - he didn't say what year he saw this performance.
I would love to see it in an old movie place with live accompaniment I'm not aware of any places like this in England.
I have a chinese DVD with subtitles (ebay)!
Available and in stock on amazon.com.
Any of you see a little old foreign movie called "Sunrise," that won "best artistic acheivement," that year. It' like 10,000 miles ahead of "Wings." I..um...like "Wings" better. Just to be perverse.
"Thus began our longest journey together." To Kill a Mockingbird
This is 2009 and I believe Wings will stand up against any modern movie in any decade. The story is great, the camera work is great, but it is the naturalness of the 3 leads that gives this story heart.
And I just love to see how normal the homes are. We forget that we are not that far in advance of that time except for our plumbing and heating and cooling.
Frankly many people are living in homes built at that time and loving it.
i can't recommend this movie enough. I give it 5 stars out of 5.
I was lucky enough to see this in Americus, Georgia (least likely place I expected to find a great theatre showing a CLASSIC) with a live accompanist who had driven down from Atlanta (3 hours from Atlanta to Americus). The theatre (http://www.rylander.org/) has a Moeller (spelling) organ that would rock the rafters. The theatre has just undergone a massive renovation and is divine! Well worth the drive for these surroundings, large screen, and live music.
In the meantime, I would LOVE to have this film on DVD and did sign up on Amazon to be notified. For now, I have a copy I recorded from TCM but I'd rather have a pristine, restored copy (are you listening, powers that be?)!
Wings is an amazing picture. Everything from the incredible action flying sequences, enthusiastic performances, innovative camera techniques to the plot that has been copied so often that some modern viewers will unfortunately see it as dated and cliché, this is film wizardry. However, never in the entirety of my life have I ever heard a knowledgable film fanatic make a claim like "The Jazz Singer should've won best picture." The only film that deserved the first best picture was without a doubt F.W. Murnau's Sunrise, which was never nominated but took the only ever Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production award. Wings won the Best Picture, Production award and was certainly up against two great silent films in Seventh Heaven and Lewis Milestones The Racket. However, Murnau's Sunrise is obviously the superior of the group and is undeniably one of the greatest films ever made.
shareI agree with you. I am impressed with "Wings", considering the cinema technology of 1927.
Regards,
Claudio
Unanimity is dumb.
I really want to see this movie! Is it good?
Crystal Allen: What a cheerful evening... OH IM SO BORED![throws sponge at maid]
Yes, it is. See IMDb User Rating, the reviews and the Nominations and Awards. Most of the users agree with that.
Regards,
Claudio
Unanimity is dumb. (Brazilian writer Nélson Rodrigues)
Yes, I believe that this movie is very underrated. I think that the main romantic story line is just as good as the technical, fighter pilot, scenes. I have never seen a silent movie before and I'm sure there are other great ones, but I have no complaints with this one. I think the academy awards started with a great choice! I think the drunk scene in Paris is especially challengine for its time. Really good movie. was entranced.
shareThe drunk scene in Paris was absolutely brilliant-BUBBLES!!
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it - Shaw
[deleted]
I agree. I hadn't seen this movie till last night on TCM. I had seen Sunrise, The Jazz Singer, and The Racket and while these three were great outstanding movies Wings was the right winner. The war scenes were fantastic especially when you consider they were made in the 20s. A great movie well worthy of being voted Best Picture.
shareI have been seeing a lot of silents but I honestly must say Wings is quite possibly one of the greatest films ever done by Hollywood.
The director (one of the best in Hollywood then or now) was in the war and he wore his heart on his sleeve when he made this film. Every frame and image is wonderful and heartbreaking.
The ground breaking visuals of the battle scenes are still great even today and back then would have been amazing indeed. No computers were used. pilots took cameras up in the planes to film the scenes!
The film balances the romance and the horror of war. The film is also one of the few American Films to balance the American effort. Too many American films imply America won the war! The director was careful to show the totality of war for all the countries involved, the totality of the war relating to the airforce and the infantry on the ground, and the totality of the war front and the home front. The director even showed an image of a German dying on flowers forming an Iron Cross implying compassion for the German fighting man.
The final scene (being famous for the kiss) was also about friendly fire. This is something not talked about much in films or real life as the Tileman(?) friendly fire incident shows. To include death by fiendly fire is daring and pushes the film conclusion to greater tragedy.
So for many reasons I offer this as one of the best films ever made by Hollywood.
J E F Rose
Finally saw Wings today and agree with your assessment. A much better film than I thought it would be. In fact, this films is iconic. It is much more than amazing early era flight scenes that we have heard about. A sweet and tragic story, great acting and a few laughs as well. Some of the effects were quite funny as well...like the bubbles and sketched flames from the crashing planes.
share"Too many American films imply America won the war!"
Really? Which films have you been watching?
I'd say "The Big Parade" did a lot more about showing the horrors of war than making any pretentions to some glorious victory.
And then there's "All Quiet on the Western Front," which shows the war entirely from the German point of view, balancing things out pretty nicely, I think...and remains arguably the most devastating cinematic view of war ever made, at least until "The Thin Red Line." (In my opinion, "Saving Private Ryan" had some great--and TERRIFYING!--battle scenes, but didn't really show the grit in between to such good effect.)
The only film I can think of that deals with WWI from the perspective of America's winning the war would be "Shoulder Arms," which was obviously a broad comedy and shouldn't be taken seriously.
Then again...by 1917 virtually every country involved in the war, certainly all three on the Western Front, had literally lost an entire generation to that abatoir. There was no way to break through, and no way to capitulate while saving face, so everyone just kept pumping in fresh meat for the machine guns. By 1917 Germany (and probably Britain and France, as well) was resorting to sending octogenarians and 12-year-olds to the trenches.
Then Germany finally makes the fatal mistake of allowing America an entrance into the War. Suddenly you have one of the most populated countries on the planet, fresh and full of vim and vinegar, entering a war against 80-year-olds and grammar school children.
No, on a case by case, incident by incident, battle by battle basis, America did not win the War.
But it could be argued that, just by arriving when it did, America did make the eventual outcome inevitable.
In that sense, America did win the War.