Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)
Lawrence of Arabia
The Longest Day
The Music Man
Mutiny on the Bounty
To Kill a Mockingbird
Biggest Snub:
My Overall Thoughts:
Another excellent year for nominees. All 5 are great films that could have won, but in the end, only 3 really were powerful enough films.
LoA and TMM won the Globe awards for Drama and Musical, but in the end, nothing could beat LoA from winning Director David Lean a second deserving Oscar in a few short years.
My Rankings:
Movies
- 5. – The Music Man -Preston and Jones are great as the leads here and the songs are quite catchy. Great message!
- 4. – Mutiny on the Bounty – Epic retelling of the story of the crew of the Bounty. Brando, Howard and Harris are all great as representatives of 3 classes of characters. A bit long tho and it drags towards the end.
- 3. – To Kill a Mockingbird – Classic tale of racial justice and injustice in the South. Peck is superb as Finch. Loved how this is shown from a child’s perspective which tells the story without perceived prejudice.
- 2. – The Longest Day – Excellent retelling of the D-Day Invasion of 6 June 1944. Grand in scope and cast. The one drawback is that the film feels too short for such a grand and patriotic tale.
- 1. – Lawrence of Arabia – Amazing epic biopic of T.E. Lawrence’s experiences in the Middle East. O’Toole is superb here. Deserving of all the praises it has received over the years. One of Lean’s best films
Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Most Definitely! This film is one of the most amazing epics ever filmed. Lean did an amazing job with it and despite two of the other nominees being so powerful, they couldn’t stand a chance.
Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!
