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Friday, March 16, 2012

Battle Of The Oscar Stars: Best Picture 1982




Movie day! Anyone yelling this sends me all into a tizzy, but it will never be as thrilling as those words being announced by a teacher-when a normal school day turned more excellent.

There really is nothing like those good old school girl days when a teacher would flick off those florescent lights and let a movie do the teaching for once.

Even so, looking back sometimes the choices of movies were not always that exciting, or were made to feel like a bore purely because it was being forced on you. Those damn teenagers never appreciate anything, and I used to be one of them.

Ben Hur was one of those movies I thought was a major drag back then, to only in my ripe old age decide I was ridiculous, and another can now be added to this list.   

Gandhi may have seemed like a three hour snooze back in High School, but today it can only be thought of as a grand and moving epic tale.

These examples only prove that with age, wisdom ripens, especially when it comes to quality movies. When I was fifteen I went to see Malibus Most Wanted in the theater, people! That's when movies were cheaper, and my friends and I were going through a phase where we adored Jamie Kennedy, but still...

I have aged, but thirty years has got nothing on Gandhi. 



Where some biopics fail is the subject matter, but this eight-time Oscar winner (Best Actor, Director, Cinematography, just to name a few) relishes in all the fact-based history and proves that when the story is right the quality can last a lifetime.

One of the most profound figures in history with his incredible non-violent protests to earn Indian acceptance in South Africa and freedom from British rule, is a downright  momentous, frustrating, and important tale that easily transforms into a compelling film.

Reminiscent of Lawrence Of Arabia, with its equally staggering filming of grandeur landscapes, Gandhi prevails over all the rest simply because of who they are profiling.

It also doesn't hurt that that man behind the lead performance is astonishing; Ben Kingsley is spot on in his portrayal. If all the performances that won Best Actor over the years were put in competition against each other, Kingsley could give those other dudes a run for their money.

Often throughout the movie, you can get caught up and forget that the man on the screen is not Gandhi in some History Channel special, and that it is actually Kingsley leading the people of India.

Did anyone else get a less than positive reaction after catching this one during history class? Give it a second chance, this one deserves it.

Next up:  Get your face ready for a good-old fashioned ugly cry, we're watching Terms Of Endearment.

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