I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of the Oscar telecast — too much gaudy style and very little substance. No surprise. Also, I’ve never put too much stake in the awards themselves, but it’s always been nice when someone deserving gets a nod. Here are some thoughts on last night’s proceedings.
The Good
Errol Morris’ introductory short film was fantastic. It was easily my favorite part of the night. Thankfully, it’s been put up online for repeated viewing. Be sure to take a look if you missed it.
A few wins I was pleased to see: Forest Whitaker, Alan Arkin, Thelma Schoonmaker, and Martin Scorcese.
Al Gore having such a presence was quite entertaining. The presentation given by Al and Leonardo DiCaprio was great.
Ennio Morricone‘s acceptance speech was incredibly sweet and touching. (More on that part of the ceremony below.)
The Bad
Very little of it was of too much interest, but I really thought the shadow dance pieces were awful. They were athletically impressive perhaps, but seemed straight out of the early ’80s.
Did you catch the nominees for best costume design? They had these people modeling the various designs, and it seems that their only direction was to girate like an animatronic mannequin.
The Ugly
If you read this blog regularly, you may remember the excitement I had when I heard that Ennio Morricone was finally getting some recognition, in the form of a Lifetime Achievement Award, from the Academy. Last night was appalling. Clint Eastwood was stumbling over every other word, which was oddly charming and funny, but a little sad, as this was the first, and likely the last, time Morricone will get a tribute of this sort in the U.S. That wasn’t the worst of it though. After the introduction, the orchestra kicked in with a medley of some of Morricone’s memorable pieces of music. It was terrible, and more than a little offensive. Morricone is, in my opinion at least, the greatest film composer of our time. He brings an unheard of innovation to his music for films — interesting orchestrations, non-traditional instrumentation, and of course fascinating compositions. When the Academy finally gives credit where credit is due – he had been nominated five times, but never won – all they can offer is Lawrence Welkian arrangements of some of the most memorable movie music of cinema history. He deserves better.
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