Category THE OSCARS

                ‘Platoon’ is a magnificent war film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on his experiences as an American soldier in the Vietnam War. It was released in 1986, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also won Best Director for Oliver Stone, as well as Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. This is also Oliver Stone’s first film about the war, followed by ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ and ‘Heaven & Earth’. These three films are often said to form a trilogy.

                The film, which follows a new recruit named Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) being at war in the deadly jungles, takes a frank look at the toll the war took on the men that fought, lived, and died in the jungle. The main conflict is the murder of innocent civilians causing a rift in the platoon while Chris tries to find the correct thing to do in a war with ambiguous morals.

                The movie is considered one of the most realistic war movies ever made, as Oliver Stone could successfully bring this film to the screen with an extreme amount of power. He could explore the war on many levels.

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               ‘Out of Africa’ was the movie that won in the Best Picture category at the 58th Academy Awards. The film was directed and produced by Sydney Pollack, and starred Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The movie was based on the auto-biographical novel by Isak Dinesen, the pen name of Danish writer Karen Blixen. It tells of Blixen’s time in the Kenyan highlands in the years before, during, and after World War I.

               The book was adapted into a screenplay by the writer Kurt Luedtke. Streep played Karen Blixen; Redford played Denys Finch Hatton; and Klaus Maria Brandauer played Baron Bror Blixen. The movie is taken from the perspective of Karen Blixen.

               The movie was shot in many of the real places mentioned in the book, like the Ngong hills, and Nairobi. It received eleven Academy Award nominations, and won seven of them including- Best Picture and Best Director. The music for ‘Out of Africa’ was composed by John Barry, who won an Oscar for his work.

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               ‘Amadeus’ is a 1984 American period drama film directed by Milos Forman, and adapted by with eight Oscars, including Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham), Best Director, and Best Peter Shaffer from his stage play of the same name. The film dominated the Academy Awards Adapted Screenplay. It also won four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) award. The American Film Institute ranked ‘Amadeus’ 53rd on its ‘100 Years, 100 Movies list’.

               The story, set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century, is a fictionalized biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The story is told from the point of view of Antonio Salieri, the court composer for Emperor Joseph II. A devout and serious man, Salieri’s faith is shaken when he meets Mozart. Though Mozart is shown as a quite immature-easy-going kind of young man, his musical talents win the affections of the court while simultaneously moving and infuriating Salieri.

               ‘Terms of Endearment’ is a remarkable movie. The movie is based on the 1975 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a feel-good kind of drama film directed by James L. Brooks. The movie had an all star cast, headed by Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine in their Oscar-winning roles. The film went on to get eleven nominations at the Academy Awards, and won five, including Best Picture. In addition, it won four Golden Globes.

               The movie tells the story of a mother-Aurora Greenway MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger), who have grown apart over the years. Aurora has found herself with a string of suitors, most notably retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Nicholson), while Emma too has a busy and tense married life. The plot takes a turn when Emma is diagnosed with cancer.

               McMurtry published a sequel to the original novel, ‘The Evening Star’, in 1992. This was itself adapted into a film four years later, with MacLaine and Nicholson reprising their roles.

               Gandhi,’ is a 1982 epic movie directed by Richard Attenborough. It is the biopic of Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi, aka Mahatma Gandhi. The role was played by Ben Kingsley. Its story concerns Gandhi as he leads the non-violent fight for India’s independence from the British Empire.

               The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director for Attenborough, Best Actor for Kingsley, and five other Oscars. It holds the record for biggest cast, having around 300,000 people including extras.

               The story starts in 1948, with Gandhi being assassinated. We then see a flashback to Gandhi as a 24-year-old lawyer in South Africa in 1893. Gandhi becomes an activist, agitating for the civil rights of Indians in South Africa.

               After 20 years in South Africa, he returns to India to find himself a hero. He joins the Congress Party campaign for Indian home rule, and eventually becomes its leader, spending thirty years battling the British before finally winning Indian independence.

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               ‘Chariots of Fire’ is a 1981 British movie directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson. The film was conceived and produced by David Puttnam, and written by Colin Welland. The film is based on real life track and field athletes Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, both of whom competed for Britain in the 1924 Olympic Games.

               It is also a movie about British class distinctions in the years after World War I. This is showed through the lead characters-Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, who is an English Jew, who runs to overcome prejudice.

               ‘Chariots of Fire’ was very successful at the 54th Academy Awards, winning four of seven nominations: Best Picture, Original Screenplay (Colin Welland), Costume Design (Milena Canonero), and Original Score (Vangelis). It is ranked 19th in the British Film Institute’s list of Top 100 British films. The film is also notable for its memorable electronic theme tune by Vangelis.

               The film’s title was inspired by the line, ‘Bring me my chariot of fire’; from the William Blake poem adapted into the popular British hymn ‘Jerusalem’.

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             ‘Ordinary People’ is a 1980 film that marked the directorial debut of actor Robert Redford. The movie won in the Best Picture category at the 53rd Academy Awards. The film stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton.

               It is an intimate domestic drama, and a deeply moving story about the dilemma of a suburban family. The movie mainly focuses on the life of a teenager in the family-Conrad Jarrett, who lives under a cloud of guilt after his brother drowns while trying to rescue him from a suicide attempt. Even after many therapy sessions the boy does not absolve himself, nor do his preoccupied parents offer him much solace.

               The film won four Academy Awards, including the Best Picture. The movie brought an Oscar for director Robert Redford, the actor, in his first attempt at directing; Timothy Hutton as supporting actor, and Alvin Sargent for his screenplay.

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             Adapted from the novel by Avery Carman, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ tells the story of Ted Kramer, a workaholic who is not really involved in the domestic life of his wife Joanna, and their 6-year-old son Billy.

             The story takes an unexpected turn when Joanna leaves the house one day, forcing Kramer to take care of all the household work alone. A year and a half pass before she finally returns to claim Billy. Then, an emotional custody battle ensues. ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ reflected a cultural shift which occurred during the 1970s, when ideas about motherhood and fatherhood were changing in western society.

              The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning five. The film earned Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep their first Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

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             ‘The Deer Hunter’ is a 1978 epic war film. The movie was directed, co-written, and co-produced by Michael Cimino. It was Cimino’s second film. The movie stars Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken and John Savage. The movie is a powerful, disturbing and compelling look at the Vietnam War.

               The movie is about three friends from a Pennsylvania steel town – Nick, Michael and Steven, who get enlisted to fight in Vietnam, just as Steven weds his girlfriend, Angela. To celebrate their last days of freedom, they go deer hunting.

               Once they go to war, things become a nightmare for them. They get imprisoned by their enemies. Later, the movie shows how the trio escapes from their captors, but cannot escape the consequences of the war.

               ‘The Deer Hunter’ received nine Academy Award nominations, and won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and for Christopher Walken as Best Supporting Actor.

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               ‘Annie Hall’, an American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen, received the Best Picture Oscars at the 50th Academy Awards. It was one of Allen’s most popular films. Allen had previously been known as a maker of zany comedies; the director has described Annie Hall as a major turning point. This break-through film came after Allen’s five earlier light-hearted comedies (from 1969-1975).

               The script was co-written with Marshall Brickman. ‘Annie Hall’ clearly has semi-autobiographical elements. The movie stars Woody Allen as Alvy Max Singer, and Diane Keaton as Annie Hall. The movie tells the story of a stand-up comedian, whose unstable love affair with aspiring singer Annie Hall begins to disintegrate when she moves to Los Angeles to discover herself and begin a new life.

               The film received widespread critical acclaim, and along with winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, it received Oscars in three other categories: two for Allen (Best Director and, with Brickman, Best Original Screenplay), and Best Actress for Keaton.

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