| Presenting the Cinema Olympics |
| So what the hell is this anyway? This is a lively and opinionated romp through over a century of film history, an Olympian task in itself. Like the real Olympics, this project will be done in four-year intervals, with films competing for the best in a variety of categories against others in the time frame. |
| Why this format? This is really an attempt to structure my own film viewing and at the same time continue to write my thoughts about movies. I had started a project called the Alternative Academy Awards, and was very unsatisfied with the results, so I had very little enthusiasm for continuing to create it. Then, on the Classic film message board at the Internet Movie Data Base, they started a game called "Fixing the Oscars" which I enjoyed playing (and heartily recommend to anyone) but realized I was duplicating my efforts, and had even less enthusiasm for the flawed project I was doing. I wanted to continue writing a film page, so I looked for a new format that would be interesting to read and write. I figured that by using the Olympics instead of the Oscars as a starting point, it would encourage a more international scope to my viewing, and would also be more manageable, working in four-year increments, instead of annually. I also thought it could be fun, picking a different host city for each competition, and adding the flavor of the city and the historic perspective of the times into each "Olympics." The format also lends itself to a fun bit of pageantry, with things like Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and trips into the Olympic Village to meet the competitors (and allow the chance for some commentary and frivolous tidbits that might not make it into the actual categories up for award.) Anyway, this is really just an excuse to get me excited about writing about film again, and I hope you find the format enjoyable. |
| How will the results be determined? All of the nominees, finalists and medal winners will be selected by the illustrious Cinema Olympic Committee, featuring such luminaries as...er...um...well... the committee consists of me, your ever humble Olympic Chairman. I will be using a highly scientific formula, taking into account such factors as artistic merit, enjoyment, the phase of the moon, frequent coin flips and just plain crankiness. Really the choices will come down to what I like, and to be blunt, I you don't like it, do your own damn project! (Just kidding, actually I don't expect anyone to agree with my selections. This is history through one person's eyes and hopefully a starting point for further exploration and discussion. I love comments, so please drop over to the message boards on my home page with any comments and/or criticisms relating to this project and I'll gladly enter into dialogues and debates. |
| So what can we expect? My taste encompasses a wide and eclectic range. I dig the "art house" as much as anyone, but if you're looking for a highly intellectualized "poo pooing" of Classic Hollywood, you've got the wrong guy, because I adore my genre flicks. I will often champion glorious and ambitious "failures" that I love for their sheer audacity. Traditionally marginalized categories like horror, comedy and "guilty pleasures" will feature heavily in the nominations. Which reminds me, this is the last time you will see me use the term "guilty pleasure." I have come to loathe it. Maybe it's a reaction to my Catholic schooling, but I have become a firm believer that the word guilt should not appear anywhere near the word pleasure. (Although I do admit that perhaps the pleasure I derive from say, the artistry of the elaborate coronation scene in Sergei Eisenstein's Soviet historical epic Ivan the Terrible, Part I comes from a different place than the pleasure I get watching Pam Grier wrestle in mud in Jack Hill's Women Behind Bars epic The Big Bird Cage.) Anyway, going back to the question of what you can expect when I choose my nominations; no guilt, but a lot of pleasure! |
| What is the time frame? The 1920 Olympics in Paris are about to begin, and will cover films released from the beginning of motion pictures until 1919. Following each Olympics, I'll take about a month off (giving me time to watch a ton of movies) and then there will be another Olympics in another city, covering the films released up to the previous year. (For example, the 1924 Olympics will cover releases from 1920-1923, 1928 will cover films from 1924-1927, ect.) |
| A Final Disclaimer: There are so many conflicting release dates for films, from so many different sources, that to simplify matters I'm sticking to one source, the main heading for a given films details in the Internet Movie Data Base, even if it seems to go against conventional wisdom in some cases. Even these dates sometimes change, but for the sake of consistency, the date I use for each nominated film will be the date listed by the imbd at the time the entry was written. Similarly, with all the country hopping by principals and complex financing schemes involved in film production, the Country of Origin will be the primary country in the films imdb listing. (For example, the great director Luis Bunuel is a Spaniard, but did most of his work outside of Spain, so he could conceivably win awards for both France and Mexico, depending on which Country the imbd lists first for the particular film.) |
| Well, it will soon be 1920, so... I'll See You in Paris! |