Mar. 05, 2003 - 1:03 am
lots of fun movie stuff going on today. i've been working on compiling a list of movies we need at the media center for Greg. apparently we're supposed to be getting a ton of feature films that we ask for in the near future, so we're trying to come up with way too many things for them to purchase for us with the state's money. but in doing this, i've found so many new films that i want to see. it's amazing how much good stuff is out there just waiting to be discovered. in searching for Academy Award nominees, i came up with this film which was nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for William Wyler (whose movies i love) and Olivia de Havilland won her second Oscar with this film.
it's about a naive girl in the early to mid 1800s in the New England area who is pretty much lacking all around. she has no grace, no talent, no poise, and no great beauty. but she does have a lot of money coming to her. one day a handsome young man (played by the awesome Montgomery Clift) walks into her life and sweeps her off her feet. unfortunately he has recently finished spending up all of his own inheritance and it starts to appear to her father as if this guy is trying to marry her only for her money. and right up until the end we're left wondering.
this is the only romance i can think of off the top of my head that really gives you that "on the edge of your seat" feeling throughout. there's always something that makes you giddy, or anxious, or excited in some way. of course great direction and acting. this movie made me do some research on Olivia de Havilland previously and i discovered that she's actually still alive. she was born in 1916. wow. she's getting on up there. most famous people don't live that long. but all that i knew about her previously was that my mom loved her character in Gone with the Wind (1939) and kinda sorta named my sister after her character, Melanie. tonight Greg informed me that Olivia de Havilland actually was not that nice of a person and was always upset that her sister Joan Fontaine(still alive too) won an Oscar before her. ok, so maybe she has some petty aspects to her personality, but she's still an amazing actress.
oh, and one other note. while looking up info on Shelley Winters, the actress we love to see get killed, we found out about this awesome site in a sort of roundabout way. you've played the Kevin Bacon Game right? well this site plays it for you. it's called The Oracle of Bacon.