We're bringing back one of our greatest hits like an aging band on tour.
CAN YOU GUESS THE MOVIE FROM ITS FIRST AND LAST SHOT?
The answer (and some Oscar thoughts) are after the jump once you scroll down...
Yes, it's Glory (1989) the movie that won Denzel Washington his first Oscar. Long forgotten (in non-Oscar circles at least) is that it wasn't actually his first nomination even though he wasn't quite a headliner yet. He was previously up for Cry Freedom (1987) also in the supporting category. After Glory (1989) he was a bonafide movie star and the subsequent nominations would be in Lead.
Glory was well regarded at the time and remains a minor "how did that happen?" voting curiousity in Oscar history. It was well loved enough to win three Oscars (Cinematography, Supporting Actor, Sound) but despite an arguably weak year for traditional "Oscar-bait" films -- back when that description very much meant something -- it still didn't manage to crack the top categories of Picture and Director even though it's exactly the kind of movie that usually would have. In 1989 the big critical stories were sex, lies, and videotape and Do the Right Thing but Oscar voters were mostly scared of both of them, opting for a Best Picture lineup of Driving Miss Daisy, My Left Foot, Field of Dreams, Born on the 4th of July, and Dead Poet's Society.
1989 is an interesting year to think about in terms of the "expanded Best Picture" race of recent history. You can argue that about six different titles had reason to think they had an outside shot at the top five: Crimes and Misdemeanors (probably given the Woody Allen love), Do the Right Thing (maybe though who knows given that people were nervous about it in 1989) Enemies a Love Story (maybe given the acting branch enthusiasm at the time), The Fabulous Baker Boys (maybe), Glory (most certainly), and sex lies and videotape (maybe but who knows... Oscar hadn't entered its "indie" phase really). And beyond those six there were eight more that might have factored into a different voting system or have fared better in just a slightly different year: The Abyss, Camille Claudel, Parenthood, Shirley Valentine, When Harry Met Sally, The Little Mermaid, Batman, and Steel Magnolias.
But I digress, back to Glory. It would never be made today, given that it's ostensibly the story of an all black regimen of soldiers but it centers itself on the white man (Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Shaw) who leads them.
Have you seen Glory? It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime.