Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project
TLDR; Father/Daughter team watch and review all movies nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, starting back in 1927.
Welcome to Shea Cinema, The Best Picture Project!
Join host Sara Shea and her father, William Shea, as they watch and explore every film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Sara and Dad are recreating a project Sara assigned to her high school Film Studies students, which includes contextual historical research, discussing their personal responses to each film, what makes these films important, why these films need to be understood in context, and, finally, did the winner deserve the Oscar?
So grab your popcorn, pull up a chair, sit back and relax, and let's begin Shea Cinema.
Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project
S6E10: State Fair, 1933
(Episode recorded October 26, 2024)
It's our ninth review of the season, and our sixth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. State Fair is based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, and was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were both musical adaptations made in 1945 and 1962. This family adventure at the local fair boasts the return of Janet Gaynor (our first time seeing her in a talkie since our first season where she starred in two incredible silent films) as well as our much anticipated first encounter with Will Rogers.
Our history timeline does get a big heavy (Hitler's rises to power and all), but the film, despite censorship, is lighthearted and fun. Listen in and find out if Sara cries over the romantic ending!
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