Cinema Social Club
A weekly discussion on all things moving pictures. Join us in Season One as we review every Academy Awards Best Picture winner.
Cinema Social Club
S01E01: Wings
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The Cinema Social Club takes flight with our very first episode. Tune in as we talk most watched films and we start our journey of reviewing every Best Picture Oscar winner with the very first: Wings.
Hello and welcome to the inaugural episode of the Cinema Social Club. I'm your neighborhood, Cameron, and joining at this round table of cinematic conversation are my co-hosts Glenn, Sarah, and Elisa. And in this season of Cinema Social Club, in addition to our normal movie talk, we will also be working our way through reviewing all of the best picture winners in Academy Award history, but more on that in a bit, because we begin with some entertainment news. And first up, Fox has announced their upcoming television renewals, and 17 of the series are so-called unscripted shows, or what we used to call reality shows, before realizing what a dumb name that was. Confusingly, two of the shows being renewed are Kitchen Nightmares, starring everyone's favorite lovable curmudgeon celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, and also Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service, which is basically Kitchen Nightmares with a bunch of phony, techy, covert weirdness thrown in. And don't worry if you're thinking it's too bad that poor Gordon only has two shows, because next level chef, in which he also stars, is also being renewed. And of course, Master Chef is in no danger of going away. At this point, Fox could rename themselves the Gordon Ramsey Network. In other news, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, better known as the people who hand out little gold sculptures once a year, have announced new rules for the Oscars. One of the rules changes now states that an actor can be nominated in multiple times in a single category in a single year. Asked for comment, Timothy Chalamet said simply, hold my beer. And an additional change to the Oscar rules, all acting nominations going forward will have to be proven to be performed by a human, because this is the world we live in now. This has not, of course, always been an Oscar rule, notably the 1999 Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar was won by a very robotic Gwyneth Paltrow. And now we look at the box office top five for this past weekend. At number five, a new entry from a brooding pop bad girl Billy Eilish, hit me hard and soft, the tour. At number four, it's another new entry, the mystery comedy The Sheep Detectives. It does what it says on the tin. At number three, on the slow slide out of the top five, it's all of your favorite Michael Jackson music video moments smashed into one convenient viewing experience, only without the actual Michael Jackson. It's the biopic Michael. At number two, yet another new entry, it's Mortal Kombat 2, which led me to ask the question hang on, they've made only two Mortal Kombat films? And then I remembered, oh right, it's a rebooted franchise. And finally at number one, for the second week in a row, it's the paycheck in search of a plot. The devil wears Prada 2. Before we get on to reviewing our main Oscar picture for this episode, we're going to briefly detour into some random discussion topic of the week. And for this week, we've assembled each of our top four most watched films of our entire lives. And hopefully, this will give you a little better understanding of the weird characters that we are. And just so there's no accusations of being uh unfair or cheating, this is not a scientifically exact study. These are the four top of our heads that we think we watched quite a lot list. And our heads don't work at the best of times. So good luck with this. Uh, and I think we'll just do round robin one each and go around.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_04And you can give a brief explanation as to why it was why you've watched it more times than you probably should. Uh Glenn, your number one.
SPEAKER_00My number one would be a film I watched every year since I can remember probably all the way back to being like seven years old.
SPEAKER_04And that was that was during the Lincoln administration. That goes back a long way.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Actually, before TVs, ironically.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, before film. That is the uh Christmas classic White Christmas.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I have seen it. So that means I've seen it at least 58 times. Yeah, I feel like Christmas movies are kind of cheaty on this.
SPEAKER_01I took them out of it because if I did the math on that, they would win.
SPEAKER_04I'll insert another one if you want me to. But you're only allowed one Christmas film before.
SPEAKER_00That's good.
SPEAKER_02Good, because I have one as well.
SPEAKER_00And that was because my my mother watched it every year. She loved it.
SPEAKER_04And I mean, we were only watching it for the last scene.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean, really, the rest of the is plot fluff that makes me.
SPEAKER_00I probably slept through most of that movie as a kid, but I was the one on the sofa with my mom watching it faithfully every year, and I've watched it ever since.
SPEAKER_02Very nice.
SPEAKER_00Oh, Lisa.
SPEAKER_02Well, because Glenn and I are about the same age, I too have watched a movie since I was probably two with my mother.
SPEAKER_04Texas Chainsaw Basics every year.
SPEAKER_03Probably.
SPEAKER_02No, it would be The Wizard of Oz.
SPEAKER_00Yep, yep, yep, yep. Okay.
SPEAKER_02That just was our movie. That's fair enough. Uh watched it.
SPEAKER_04That was another age thing. Because I find older people think The Wizard of Oz is like a normal, well-done film. Whereas everyone younger just thinks it's like this weird sort of thing.
SPEAKER_01And no, it is true. I do wonder if it's like a bit of a generational film. I don't think it is a generation. Because my parents absolutely love that movie. And I think when I was a kid, I probably liked it well enough. But now as an adult, I just hold no interest for me.
SPEAKER_00Now, Return to Oz, that's freaky.
SPEAKER_01There you go. Now you're cooking.
SPEAKER_00That's a scary, freaky movie. Uh Sarah.
SPEAKER_01Uh, I did, and this is a movie that came out the same year that I was born, which was 1995, considerably more recent than my co-host. Um, but this is a movie that I've probably been watching since I was literally an infant, because I'm 100% sure my parents would have put it on when I was a baby, to put because they watched it probably hundreds of times. And that is Rob Reiner's American President. Oh. And I have not stopped watching that movie. As like first I watched it as a family. It was the go-to family movie night. We are a West, we are a West Wing house, so anything Aaron Sorkin related, it was just organically in our house all the time. Um, but then I watched it again as an adult independently, and I probably put it on at least once a year.
SPEAKER_04It's just such a good movie. The plus is if you like the lines from an American president, they're gonna show up again in the West Wings. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01You could, it's really just a long West Wing episode.
SPEAKER_04Uh my first pick is uh sort sort of padded the numbers because when I first got it on VHS, I probably watched it a billion times. I I think I wore out at this at least one VHS tape with because I would watch it and then rewind it and watch it again and then rewind it and watch it again. And that is LA Confidential. Oh, yeah. Worthy. Yeah, quite worthy. One of those films where even when you know what the plot twists are, it's still a great film. Absolutely. Uh Glenn.
SPEAKER_00Uh, my second one also goes back quite a way. This is actually the second oldest. No, it is the first oldest film in my um four here. It is the thing from another world. Howard Hawkes. Um 1951 sci-fi epic. God, he was all over the map with genres, Howard Hawks.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Yeah. There's not a genre he didn't direct.
SPEAKER_00It's probably my favorite sci one of my favorite sci-fi films. I almost said my favorite. Uh that we'll be all right. It's my favorite black and white sci-fi book. And I've been watching it. We recorded, I recorded it off of a VCR, or I had a VCR recorded off the TV one year, probably in the early 80s, and I have watched it multiple times a year.
SPEAKER_04Glenn was 48 at the time. Uh Lisa.
SPEAKER_02Well, I hope I'm not stealing this from your third Glenn, because I think we might have it on our same list. I think we do.
SPEAKER_01I think I know what this is.
SPEAKER_02Got to be the original Jaws. Yep, I figured that was gonna be it.
SPEAKER_04Interestingly, I just watched that two days ago, although it is not on my list of most watch films.
SPEAKER_02Can't get enough. That's a good book.
SPEAKER_04Uh I still hate the mayor as well. Uh Sarah.
SPEAKER_01Fair enough. Um, I and I swear not all of my lists contain Annette Benning films, just the first two. And I've decided to go in order by year. Uh, so this is 2003's Open Range, directed by Kevin Costner.
SPEAKER_04Picked her two best films.
SPEAKER_01I really have, because I mean, again, that was a movie that I was introduced to by my parents, and we would always pick it for like Friday night movie nights. So we watched it quite a lot. But again, as I revisited it as an adult, it is such a good Western. It's a character-driven, it is care, it's a character study. It's not just shoot-em-ups and violence and this, that, and the other thing. Although it's also that. It is. It's both. It's like the final scene, the final showdown is probably one of my favorite scenes out of any Western. It's so good. Yeah, that one.
SPEAKER_04I agree. It's just unfortunate that he's decided to start making terrible Western movies.
SPEAKER_01No, we had a strong start.
SPEAKER_04Uh number two on my list, uh, may or may not have already shown up in this roundtable discussion. Uh, it is, in fact, the Michael Douglas headed an American president. Yes. Which uh I is on my list because I'm a political junkie. I'm l I'm slightly less interested in the love story aspect of the stuff.
SPEAKER_01I love the love story.
SPEAKER_04I like the fact that they're trying to pass a crime bill and all the intricacies involved in that. And Sarah's in it for the, you know, they're eating off the presidential China in their first date. But what's the point?
SPEAKER_01Something for everyone. Something for everybody.
SPEAKER_04Uh and Martin Sheen is probably my favorite person in that film, and he goes on to become president.
SPEAKER_00Uh Glenn. Well, this should come as no surprise to one of my co-hosts, but a movie I've seen almost more than any other, and probably my favorite movie on this list is Jaws. You just can't get enough of it. Absolutely. You can never remake it. That would be a crime against everything.
SPEAKER_02Um and the and the other ones that they made were horrible. Horrible.
SPEAKER_04You know, yeah, horrible.
SPEAKER_02Standalone film. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04The mother still confuses me, though. I was just saying, I watched it two days ago, and I'm like, she looks like she's like 50 years older than this. How does this work? Uh, and then there's the guy standing behind her, and I'm like, well, that could be the grandfather or the father. Who knows?
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04Uh if you know, you know. Alisa.
SPEAKER_02Uh my third pick might also be on Glenn's list. But since I was 13, the Exorcist.
SPEAKER_00The Exorcist, which I would argue is probably too young to be one of the extra.
SPEAKER_01It explains a lot.
SPEAKER_00Probably when I first saw it.
SPEAKER_02Well, kudos to my aunt who took me at 13 to a 17 plus movie.
SPEAKER_01Heck yeah, that's what a answer for.
SPEAKER_04Uh Sarah.
SPEAKER_01All right. We are jumping two years forward to 2005's Pride and Prejudice. And that is just I have no notes about that movie.
SPEAKER_04My worst watch film in the last year or something.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say I do agree that the American ending versus the original UK ending is significantly worse, but it is still a oh my god, I wouldn't change a casting decision, I wouldn't change a script decision. It is a great retelling of an excellent story, and I watch it at least twice a year.
SPEAKER_04Yes, and I have to say, in a film almost entirely about women, the male characters are sort of my favorite of them. They're excellent. Mr. Bingley and the father. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01They're so good. And every casting-wise, there's not a person I would change across the board.
SPEAKER_04Uh yeah. Uh, my next one, it was a choice between two, because there are two films that as a family we watched every year for at two different times. One was a Fourth of July film, and one was a Thanksgiving film. I've gone with a Thanksgiving film, and that's The Last Walt, which is the film documentary of the band's last performance, live performance, directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring a cast of basically every musician from the 19th to the late 1970s. Uh Glenton. Which you introduced me to, by the way. Indeed, yeah. Well, and you know what the other film was, too, which didn't make my list. But Gettysburg. Gettysburg.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. And it did not The Exorcist did not make my list. Not of most frequently seen films, definitely beyond the film.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, I would find The Exorcist to be a hardware film to watch all the time. Jaw is like a watch. Oh, yeah, you can do that on any.
SPEAKER_00So this is the silliest film on my list, and it was close between Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That's what I thought I thought so too. But it it was close between Monty Python and the Holy Grail and this film, but I realize I have seen this film at least twice as many times as Holy Grail. It's kidding. It is Caddyshack.
SPEAKER_03Oh I've seen that movie.
SPEAKER_00I mean, probably a hundred times I've seen that movie.
SPEAKER_04I'm in the minority of not liking it.
SPEAKER_00It's the movie I can quote the most, and it's very quotable, especially if you're a golfer. Sure. We love Rodney Dagerfield in that.
SPEAKER_04And oddly, I like Chevy Chason. I like Chevy Chasen, but I don't really like the rest of it that much.
SPEAKER_00But I just I've just seen it a million times. Not my favorite film in the world. Yeah. But I like it enough to have watched it.
SPEAKER_04It ages better than Ampere. It does. Although that is an animal. That is doing an incredibly low amount of lifting.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_04Uh Alisa.
SPEAKER_02Uh well, following up with the exorcist, we're gonna stick to the horror theme. And that would be the original Halloween.
SPEAKER_01Oh, nice choice.
SPEAKER_02So at least once a year on the holiday, but occasionally a few more times in between as well. I love that.
SPEAKER_04You gotta love Jamie Lee Curtis.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04And Donald Pleasant.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot to love about that movie. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Uh Sarah.
SPEAKER_01All right. Mine, uh, even though it has only been out for 11 years, I can say with absolute certainty that I've seen it a billion times because, as listeners do not know, I'm a huge Tom Cruise fan. Every movie he has made, I enjoy. But specifically, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation is, in my opinion, the best of the franchise. They introduce a ton of new amazing characters, and it's just wildly entertaining. I will put it on his background all the time.
SPEAKER_04Just as a clarification, you are a fan of him as an actor. As an actor, let's be very specific.
SPEAKER_01I will be so scared to meet him in real life, but I love him as an actor. That tiny man has a very infectious energy that I enjoy on screen.
SPEAKER_04Uh last one on my list is the film that I probably watch more than all of these. Uh, in fact, I watched it today as the time of this recording. And that is the film uh starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, All the Presidents Men of course at the Watergate break-in. Yeah, which somehow makes like just sitting at your desk and doing journalistic legwork into the most thrilling thing you've ever seen. It's literally just them reading off a list most of the time, and yet somehow it's very exciting. Uh, and with that little discussion out of the way, we turn to our ongoing self-imposed task of reviewing every Oscar-winning picture in the history of the Academy Awards. And this week, we jump in the Wayback Machine to 1929 and the very first Oscar ceremony. And it was there that our the film this week battled it out amongst so many competitors to take home the coveted best picture statue. And by so many, I mean two. It was one of three films nominated. Rough year for films, I suppose. Our film this week is Wings. The film was first released in New York on August 12th, 1927. And it took another half a year for it to be released in Los Angeles, because I guess things move slower back then, and then a full year later for it to be released nationwide. And oddly, for a film whose subject is a basically World War I air battles, the biggest star in the film is arguably actress Clara Bow. She was dubbed first to be dubbed the It Girl in Hollywood, although it was really more for practical reasons as much as anything else, as she had starred in a film called It. But she was an international star and early movie sex symbol. Alongside her in the film was Charles Buddy Rogers, who also sported a nickname. He was known as America's Boyfriend. Not sure whether everybody got together and took a vote on that or what, but there you go. Anyway, as already mentioned, uh Wings tells the story of air pilots fighting in the First World War. It is perhaps best known today simply because it was the first winner of Oscar's best picture category. But does this black and white silent film from almost a hundred years ago still hold up? Well, it's time for us to decide. Thoughts from my co-hosts are now welcome. So, what do we think? This I went into it thinking this was gonna be a sort of sloggy viewing experience.
SPEAKER_02I pictured a snooze fest of sorts.
SPEAKER_04And and to your credit, uh Sarah was by far doing the most yawning of the film.
SPEAKER_01So that was less about the film and more about my sleep schedule. Um, no, I mean, I thought it was like I have to put myself back in the time period in which it was made because otherwise there's just not a fair way to look at this film. Because if you look at this film by today's standards, although some of the effects I would say hold up, but if you look at the actual storytelling by today's standards, it's it the plot is non-existent for all intents and being. Yeah, like it's there's just not much there um in terms of an actual tangible plot, which is fine. Um, but I will say I was really blown away by the visual effects and just how sprawling the set, because you made that comment, Glenn, while we were watching it, just how big the set would have had to have been to pull something like this off. And when you consider the access that we have now to different technology and different effects that assist in this process versus what they had to work with, and the fact that they were still able to create really riveting dogfight scenes, very convincing battles on the ground, and also just the full scope of movement in any given shot was really breathtaking. And that was the part that I found incredibly entertaining and captivating because it was a two-hour and 20-minute movie that did not necessarily feel like a two-hour and 20-minute movie. It didn't feel like a slog the way that I was about two hours and eighteen minutes. Exactly. And those extra two minutes, those are the difference makers. Um, I was impressed on the whole.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna say, no one has mentioned that it was two hours and twenty minutes long. But it was, but it was, and it it actually was much better than I was going to give it credit for. And for me, besides all the great camera work and given the day, um, I learned a whole lot about World War One. Um so it it was a great uh history movie for me, um, as well as watching what they could do with what little they had cinematically in those days.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I think it was a worthy picture to have won best picture back then. Um because of the scope, the size of it, the the amount of money they poured into it. And the fact that if you're gonna have a big battle scene in 1927 when they made this, if you're gonna have a big battle scene with thousands of people, you had to have a big area with thousands of people actually in it. Yeah, and you had to, you know, had to have cameras everywhere to film it from different angles to get it. And the dogfight scenes, when you realize how how much better they were than they even looked, because of the fact that cameras back then weighed like 200, 300 pounds, you know, you for all the gear. Also, cameras they weren't digital, they carried only a certain amount of film in them at a time, and when that ran out, you had to land the plane, change out the film canisters, take off again, and start filming again. And it was, you know, just the logistics of making a film like that are insane. Just lots of great camera work. We talked about the cinematographer quite a bit. Yeah, great camera work, great uh visuals, Harry Perry.
SPEAKER_02Harry Perry. Not Harry Carrey, Harry Carey, different vibe, different energy.
SPEAKER_00And you know what? This the story needed to be kind of simple because when you you're thinking about this, is films were still in the early stages. Films plots were simple. So even for that, it was kind of complicated in that they made it sort of a love triangle in a way, um, with the two American Flyers and the girl they loved.
SPEAKER_04Well, and arguably it did have a plot twist.
SPEAKER_00It did have a plot twist to it. It would have a very nice one.
SPEAKER_01It did toward the end there.
SPEAKER_00Uh, I thought the acting was good for silent film acting. It was it was nice. The people looked great. I see why people loved Clara Bow, you know, and um yeah, I just thought it was an excellent film.
SPEAKER_04Although not necessarily that character that she was like, she was a bit of a yeah, she was I found she did have a sort of presence.
SPEAKER_01She has a something. I could definitely see why she would have a certain magnetism to her. Her character was very annoying. But I also have to just keep in mind that like I have never been a lover of old, old films because I'm not a fan of like, I'm not a fan of slapstick. I don't love hammed up acting, and that is the cornerstone of so many of these kinds of films that were made. So I it's it's almost unfair for me to judge it from that standpoint because that was just the style of the times. And there's a reason they don't hold a lot of interest. For me, but that doesn't mean that they're not good. Um, so I can definitely see why, especially for the kind of acting that people were responding to a lot then, why she would be such an icon so quickly, because she's got this great look. She is a very fun and engaging person and presence on the camera. Um, and she had a lot of chemistry with the main guy, even as he was like drunkenly rejecting her and obsessing with bubbles. Like they were fun together.
SPEAKER_04Such a weird scene.
SPEAKER_01Such an odd scene. They were like, Oh, we can animate bubbles. Let's go with it. A lot, a lot of bubbles.
SPEAKER_04Uh, and I'll I'll also say in the about minute and a half that Gary Cooper popped up toward the beginning of the film, you did sort of you could see, like, oh, I could see how that guy, like, yeah, not particularly known now, but this film sort of you could tell there was something there that was going to be discovered.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_04Because you sort of watched him versus the other two people on the screen, the the few minutes he was on the screen before they yanked his character away.
SPEAKER_02That's pretty sure for him. Too short.
SPEAKER_04And and arguably some of the better acting I've seen from Gary Cooper, who was less wooden than he sometimes has the tendency to be. Um so anything else standing out? I mean, I I I will say I did not miss dialogue, which I thought I would.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't just there was there was enough other stuff in there. There was plenty of sound in the picture. For sure. So it's a silent film as far as dialogue went, but there you heard machine gun fire, you heard lots of sound effects in the film, and the music was constant throughout the film and sort of went along with each scene or tried to be help describe each scene. Um, sometimes it was a little too on the nose, other times it was fine, but there was plenty of sound. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And some of them were along earworms, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Those tunes.
SPEAKER_01Those little tunes. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It was great. And you they did such a good job of acting, you knew what they were really talking about. Sure. Yeah, so it was it was pretty great.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, as far as that went. Uh, and I will and I don't know whether this was a conscious choice or not, but it did seem the acting became slightly more natural as the film went along. And I don't know whether that's because the tone shift and they intentionally did that, or I was just reading into that because of the tone shift that it seemed like they were. Because it at the beginning I'm like, okay, this is real silent movie acting where everything's like real broad and in your face, yeah. Very gestury. And it seemed to be less so as the movie went on. But again, it could have also been the subject matter. Yeah. So it started out kind of comic relief-y, and then obviously you are thrown into World War One, which is maybe the least funny thing to happen. Um, okay, well, let's move on to our categories. Now, the way that we do this is we have four categories that we're judging the movie on. We collectively decide of a score out of five for each of the categories, and those categories are visuals, which encompass a lot of things, cinematography, set design, set design, all sorts of things, uh, story, acting, and then re-watchability, which is basically would we watch this again both for ourselves and then I guess suppose with others, but sure. Uh so we'll start with visuals out of five. Bearing in mind, this is a film that was made in well, probably 1926, that'll be released in 1927.
SPEAKER_01Bearing in mind that it is nearly a hundred-year-old film, I would give the vis the the visuals five out of five because I was really, really impressed.
SPEAKER_04There's some very interesting camera work. Yeah, that I've never seen. That even today you're like, how do they?
SPEAKER_01Exactly. So I would give that a five out of five.
SPEAKER_04And even when it didn't go like the swing thing, which would be really cool. At first, I'm like, this is kind of gimmicky, but then I'm like, this is really interesting. And how the heck did they do that?
SPEAKER_01Or like the overlay of the war to kind of indicate the passage of time while he was sitting there and he just kind of had that running over his head. That was very cool. That split screen.
SPEAKER_04It's a bit like having Kira Knightley in a swing going around.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. It's I love that energy. Really respond to it. So yeah, I mean, I would I this I was most impressed by the visuals.
SPEAKER_04Okay. I will say, I first watched this, might have been high school or college, and it was literally like the worst possible. It was one of those things that you would have downloaded on a website. Gotcha. It was probably like, you know, a tiny file, and it was like a horrible quality. And I'm like, this is kind of hard to watch because it's it's real grainy and it does, and they like it was there was a lot of film flaw in it, which obviously this has been a restored right. We watched a restored copy, which they did clearly an incredible job with. Uh so visual, I can't complain about visuals. If we're including cinematography and like camera trick stuff, it would be a five out of five easy for me because there's a lot of stuff here that was impressive.
SPEAKER_02I was uh super impressed. I have this was my first silent movie that I have ever watched, believe it or not.
SPEAKER_04But I was I don't have that. Find it that hard to believe.
SPEAKER_02That makes a lot of sense. I kind of was thinking of a four. Like I thought that would be a really good score until you guys came up with the five. So I'm still sticking to the four.
SPEAKER_00Okay. This is an easy five for me for a lot of the reasons. A lot of the things you guys said. Um I it was groundbreaking for its time. The the difficulty they had logistically just to create any of the shots they did in the air, I mean, make it worthy of a five for me.
SPEAKER_04Um I mean, this looks better than a lot of the films from like 1940s, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00No, it's very impressive. Especially because at first I did mistake some scenes for using miniatures that were not. I mean, they did use a few miniatures, but there were times when I thought, oh, there's miniatures, and then I'm realizing no, they get close to the character and the characters, and it's some pretty heavy stuff, so it's it's an easy five.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Um, well, I think we'll take an average of five, five, five, four and go with a five.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think five, five. I think we could do that.
SPEAKER_04Uh huh. Twist my arm. Next up we have story.
SPEAKER_00Um, parts of it I enjoyed thing.
SPEAKER_03I yeah, yeah. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_00I no, I I liked the story. It was good. It was a love triangle and um amidst war. We think of it today as pretty simplistic because we've seen a hundred years of movies since then. And for us, we need twists, we need all kinds of things. I think I'm basing it on its time period. I think the story is worth at least a three and a half to I'll say four. Okay.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I was between three and four for this for the same reasons because, like, for me, the plot is ridiculously thin, but to your point, that was normal for then. And it was a mil it was a war film. They didn't need a super three-dimensional character plot. It was meant to be under the backdrop of war, and the plot that they wrote gave you what you needed to get out of the film what you needed to, and to pack the emotional punch with the various character deaths and what have you. It just was a little clunky. So I'm leaning.
SPEAKER_04I actually think the war plot was better than the plastic. I agree. The war plot was much better than the emotional plot.
SPEAKER_01So I'm I'm leaning three, but I could be persuaded to go for it.
SPEAKER_00And I give them to Camp's point earlier, I give them credit for something they did at the end, which was a bit of a bit of a twist at the end there. Makes it a better story.
SPEAKER_02Sure. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Uh Alisa.
SPEAKER_02Same. I I'm between a three and a four, so I could be a three and a half. Okay. For all the things.
SPEAKER_04I think three point five seems pretty good.
SPEAKER_01I think so.
SPEAKER_04Um, okay, next up, acting. Bearing in mind, again, we're judging it based on the 1920s standards. It's not the most naturalistic acting in the world.
SPEAKER_00I I think it's I think it's good acting for the time period. I I've seen plenty of silent movies and scienties from that time period, and some of them are so stage-like and melodramatic, the acting and over the top, because most of these people were stage actors who then went on to do films, or a lot of them were. Um and this, despite some of the early scenes, seemed fairly naturalistic to me in the acting, especially with I the one character in particular, I thought David did a good job at that.
SPEAKER_04Um I mean, David is arguably the best actor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and he's he's he's very magnetic, and uh he I think he did a great job. So for acting, I mean I gotta give it at least a three. Okay. Which to me is a good good enough. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I was actually leaning four, I was giving it more credit than that, and I think it was because it it was a bit hammed up, but that again was very normal for the time. But the moments that had a lot of emotional impact, I think, were very intense, like the scene where David is dying and they are in the church together. Spoiler alert for this hundred-year-old film. Yeah. I think that was very good. I think, you know, kind of the feverish way that the actor who played Jack was chasing after everybody in that final battle scene. I thought that was very effective. So each each actor in it had a standout scene that I can think of that I was very impressed by their performance. So yeah, I it's it's a you know generous four, but I'm inclined to give it a four.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was sort of close to a four as well. I can be talked into a four. Um the the scenes that are hammy are hammy. There's no really getting around it. But the but there was enough in the two plus hours where it was you saw signs of what acting was heading toward rather than what had it left behind that I I I can appreciate it's it's probably closer to a four for me.
SPEAKER_02Alisa to your point, Cameron. I I think that um I don't know if I saw the acting get better over the course of the film, but I do feel like the war acting was better than the familial and and you know the the parents of David. The home front. Yeah, I thought they were a little worse, but the um commanders and and everyone in the fighting scenes I thought was pretty realistic. So I was gonna give it a four. Okay.
SPEAKER_00I'll give the guys props for being able to act while being staring around in the sky, too. Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well, and also having fake tanks roll up on you.
SPEAKER_03Right, right.
SPEAKER_04Um so we have a four, four, four. I'll go with four, okay.
SPEAKER_03Nice.
SPEAKER_04So that's a four for acting and now re-watchability, which is, I guess, suppose either on your own or with others you can decide. Uh uh, we'll start with this. Is gonna be the toughest, probably.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because this is where it starts to feel less fair.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I guess I'm go ahead. I'm gonna give it a four.
SPEAKER_01Wow. We are in very different places with or myself.
SPEAKER_02I okay I might watch it. Fair enough.
SPEAKER_04Well, that's part of it.
SPEAKER_02But I don't know that I have many people I would recommend it to that would not say, you know, why am I watching this when everything has gotten better in cinema?
SPEAKER_04Well, and I can I think part of it is overcoming that.
SPEAKER_01That's yeah, you gotta get it.
SPEAKER_04Because there's gonna be a lot of people who just won't watch it because what they think it is. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Uh Sarah?
SPEAKER_01See, this is a tough one for me. And I my initial response for me personally, rewatching it, it's not going to happen. I really enjoyed it. I was very impressed. I could see a scenario where I look up clips of it that I enjoyed, but am I gonna sit down and do this for another two hours and 23 minutes? No, I'm not.
SPEAKER_04Although I argue going on YouTube and finding clips is also part of rewatching.
SPEAKER_01Which is why I went from a two to a three and a half.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Primarily because there are clips of it that I would enjoy rewatching. And I do think there's an important difference between re-watchability and watchability because I do think this is a film that people should see because of what it is and when it came out and how really genuinely impressive it is. But I do think that you can watch it one time and be like, all right, I got it, I'm good, and then kind of not go back. So I went from like it's a personal two, but a deserving three and a half.
SPEAKER_02I think I think only true film buffs watch it to specific audience. I want to see what what they did then and how far we've come now.
SPEAKER_01And I think you could get that in one viewing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Or, you know, fans of Claire Poe.
SPEAKER_00Yes, uh Glenn. Uh, for me, it's it's very rewatchable. I probably at some point will watch this film again, at least most of it. And so for me, it's like a four for watchability, rewatchability for introducing other people to it's maybe more like a three, because there's not a huge range of people I would introduce this to. But if they were film buffs or said they were film buffs, you gotta see it. Yeah, I mean, I just imagine how audiences, you know, in 1927 and 28 took this in because they had never seen anything like this. And if you can put yourself in that mindset of the audience, then it's uh it's very watchable. And so I'd I'll give it a three and a half for rewatchability.
SPEAKER_04Uh yeah, I'm about there. I'm thinking in a two-hour and 20-minute film, there's probably about an hour and a half of it that I would go back and make it to rewatch. It's largely the war sections of it. Um, so I think three and a half is probably a good good sort of area for it. Um, so we have two three and a half is a seven plus four is plus five is it's a sixteen. That's true, respectable, which is very good. Yeah, that's pretty good for uh the very first Oscar Best Picture winner, Wings. Very nice, wings, and with that we move on to our final segment, which is fun and games, where each week I devise something to test the knowledge and frankly patience of my fellow co-hosts. And this week we're playing a little game called What's the Link? Okay, each round will have the names of five people, and my co-host will be tasked with figuring out what links them together.
SPEAKER_01Did not go well last time.
SPEAKER_04Uh, we will start each round with three names, and each round, my co-host can ask up to three yes or no questions and can also ask for two additional names if they so need it. Are we ready? Ready, ready. The round one names are Daniel Day Lewis, Kate Blanchett, and Renee Zellweger.
SPEAKER_01Daniel Day Lewis, Kate Blanchett, Renee Zellweger. I can't think of any mayor that they're all in. They're all in Oscar-winning films. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Two of them are Oscar winning films. Two of them are, yeah. Best actor, best actress.
SPEAKER_01Are they all? I think Kate Blanchett won.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01Because Renee Zellweger has.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And obviously D'Angelo Taylor was. Renee Zellwinger has? Oh, yeah. Um, I don't remember what Cold Mountain for her? For Renee Zellwinger? I think she won for Cold Mountain.
SPEAKER_04Well, you can make that one of your yes or no questions, but I wouldn't. I was gonna say, no, I wouldn't, but I'm gonna go. She's marking up on a wrong tree here. Well, no, I'm just saying to discover whether Kate or whether one for Cold Mountain is not a good yes or no.
SPEAKER_01I'm fairly certain she's an Oscar winner. Yeah, so we have another ask for another person.
SPEAKER_00Let's ask we'll ask our questions first before we go to another person.
SPEAKER_04Now keep in mind you may want to save some of your questions for one. You know, because we only get three. You only get three questions. Oh, fine. You can use them whenever you can use all three before you get the next two names.
SPEAKER_00What do you want to do? Do you want to ask for another person?
SPEAKER_02Let's get a person, sure.
SPEAKER_04Your fourth name is Leonardo DiCaprio. Yeah, that helped.
SPEAKER_02Well, they are we're back to Oscar winners. Yes. Uh for me, yeah. Could it just be nominees, not winners?
SPEAKER_01No, because two of those people have very definitely won.
SPEAKER_00Can I can I ask a question? Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yes, if it's a yes or no question.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well, I want to talk to my co-host first. Did these people I know Leo did bring their one of their parents to the Oscars? Is this people who have no that for the Oscars brought a parent instead of husband, wife, or date?
SPEAKER_02Why why would you think that?
SPEAKER_00Because I think two of them have done that.
SPEAKER_02Who are you who do you think the other one?
SPEAKER_00I think Kate Blanchett and Leo did.
SPEAKER_02Okay. I know Leo did, but I didn't know about Kate.
SPEAKER_00And I'm wondering about Daniel Day Lewis. Did he bring his mom or something? How do you want to ask that or not? Or do or should we not and uh bark up that tree?
SPEAKER_01The other thing, have they all starred in biopics? Daniel Day Lewis certainly has.
SPEAKER_00Renee Zellweger. Renee Zelwiger has. Kate Blanchett did the Elizabeth film. Oh, I like this better.
SPEAKER_01Leo also has. He's I'm just trying to think of let's go with that question. Does it which question? Are they all in biopics? Yeah. Okay. Are they all in bio? Is it related to them all being in biopics?
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I was gonna say the one I'm not sure about though is Leonardo DiCaprio because I can't think of what he was in. That he specifically played a oh, he was in um Oh, Howard Hughes. He played in Howard Hughes. Yeah, he was an aviator.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he played in Howard Hughes in the aviator.
SPEAKER_01He also played um the head of the CIA.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_04Uh FBI.
SPEAKER_01FBI, too.
SPEAKER_04I'm just giving you that word. No, I appreciate it. I was like, it's what I'm saying. I don't want you butchering history.
SPEAKER_02Well, what if they all what if it just is? They all start in biopsy.
SPEAKER_00They all started in biopics, and that's what I think it might be.
SPEAKER_02Like that's we can try it.
SPEAKER_01I feel like that's gonna be too broad.
SPEAKER_02Let's get one more name.
SPEAKER_00All right, let's get the last name. Gary Oldman is your favorite. Yeah, absolutely. That's gotta be what it is. I feel like it's gonna be too broad. No, I don't think so.
SPEAKER_01I bet it's gonna be broad. Let's let's try it.
SPEAKER_00Can we well we'll ask it as a question?
SPEAKER_04No, because if it's if it's your actual guess, you and it's wrong, you're done.
SPEAKER_00Oh I don't care if we're wrong. That's a good that's a good guess.
SPEAKER_01I think that's a good thing. I feel like it's gonna be down to what type of biopic they were in.
SPEAKER_04Should I I'll I'll give I'll throw you a bone. Please. Sarah is correct. I know it.
SPEAKER_01So broad. Like I think have they all played political figures? Daniel Day Lewis played Lincoln. DiCaprio played Hoover. Kate Planchet played somebody.
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Because I can see her in my brain.
SPEAKER_00Renee Zellwigger.
SPEAKER_01Judy Garland. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't think she's been anyone in anything else. That's the only biopic I can think that Renee Zellwigger is on.
SPEAKER_00It has to do with their biopics.
SPEAKER_01For sure, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Two more questions. You can also give up.
SPEAKER_00Did they win? Did they win something for their biopics? Is that maybe that's it?
SPEAKER_01I'm 99% sure Renee Zellweger did not win for Judy. I really don't think you she won from Judy.
SPEAKER_00They were just nominated.
SPEAKER_02That I could see. Well, that could be a yes or no.
SPEAKER_00But that could be our that could be our final answer so we don't drag this on forever, too.
SPEAKER_01We'll quickly ask. Does it have any um does it have to do with an award related to their role? Biopics. Biopics. Biopics.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so should we try nominated?
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Were they all nominated for their roles in biopics?
SPEAKER_04Is that your final answer? Yes, yes, that is. Your incorrect answer.
SPEAKER_01So what was it?
SPEAKER_04The correct answer is all have won the best actor, actress Oscar for playing real life individuals.
SPEAKER_02I said Reneezo.
SPEAKER_04Your answers are Daniel Day Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln. Kate Blanchett, anyone? Dylan?
unknownI think.
SPEAKER_04Catherine Hepburn in the Aviator. Renee Zelegger, Judy Garland in Judy.
SPEAKER_01I did not think she won for that.
SPEAKER_04Yes, she did. Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Glass in the Revelant. Revenant.
SPEAKER_01I forgot that was a biopic.
SPEAKER_04And Gary Oldman, Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour. I will add to that, uh Kate Blenchett is the only actress to win best actress for playing an actress who is also one of best actress. Oh my god, look at that. Nice.
SPEAKER_01Look at her guy.
SPEAKER_04We were good.
SPEAKER_01We were awesomely close.
SPEAKER_04Are we ready for round two? Let's go. Sure. Your first three names are Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sidney Portier, and Steven Spielberg.
SPEAKER_02Directors?
SPEAKER_00I do not know anything that Douglas Fairbanks.
SPEAKER_01I was just going to say, I can't even think of what he looks like.
SPEAKER_00He was dashing. He had a mustache. He had a pencil thin mustache, and he was dashing and did a lot of his own stunts.
SPEAKER_01Okay, and that's all we know about him. Well, that's all you know about him now. All this table knows about him. Okay. Oh, God.
SPEAKER_04Some of us may know more than that.
SPEAKER_01Douglas Fairbanks. He was a great actor. I'm going to need another name.
SPEAKER_04Your fourth name is Kevin Spacey. Wow, this one's now really digging deep. Now bear in mind, you still have three questions.
SPEAKER_01Steven Spielberg is the one that's like really throwing me for a loop. The other three, I could probably kind of come up with some sort of thing. Well, what are you thinking? Well, I mean, for one thing, they're all actors. That's not too broad. Listen, I didn't say it was a good theory.
SPEAKER_00Well, why don't we just take the physical?
SPEAKER_01Name, yeah, let's do it. No questions first.
SPEAKER_04No, let's get the fifth one because I know is John Williams.
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, this is really oh man.
SPEAKER_04I'm just wondering about multiple Oscars because you could always ask the question, is this Oscar related?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Is this Oscar related? No. Yeah, son of a guy.
SPEAKER_01Is it is there is there a world in which all of them could have worked on the same film or the same franchise?
SPEAKER_00I feel like this entire game is just gonna be me prompting questions because you're like, were they all in movies that Steven Spielberg directed? Maybe.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but then I feel like he wouldn't be on the list. Correct.
SPEAKER_00Well, he was in he was in Jaws, technically. Among maybe others.
SPEAKER_02Well, ask that. That's okay. Do it, Glenn.
SPEAKER_00We'll burn our other question. Were they all in movies that Steven Spielberg directed?
SPEAKER_04Well, that seems more like a final example.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, maybe ask if like it has to do with the director.
SPEAKER_00Does it have to do with the director of the film? No. Well, it's not that then.
SPEAKER_01Okay, there's that. I have nothing. Did all of them at one point have a tiny little charming mustache?
SPEAKER_04Would you like a hint as uh to your third question?
SPEAKER_01Sure. Sure.
SPEAKER_04You may want to ask whether it even has anything to do with films.
SPEAKER_01Oh Jesus. You know, guys, it just occurred to me. Might this have nothing to do with films?
SPEAKER_00I think you should ask him.
SPEAKER_01Is it possible that we should ask? Hey Kim, just out of the blue sky. Is it possible that this has nothing to do with films? Does this have anything to do with films?
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, crap, are they all from the same place? Where would where? I don't know where any of these people are from. Did they all go to high school together?
SPEAKER_02Wouldn't he have a question that was just everybody grew up in the same town?
SPEAKER_01No, because he's gonna want to know, he's gonna want us to say what the town is. There's no way he's just going to accept it. No, no, I need to. Do you think you would accept if they're all just from the same place? But do you think he would even ask a question like that?
SPEAKER_00Go for it.
SPEAKER_01You can't even begin to see inside that crazy mind.
SPEAKER_00Go for it. Let's let's do it.
SPEAKER_01We don't have a go for it at this point.
SPEAKER_02Do the honors. Are they all from the same town?
SPEAKER_04That is your final guess as to what links them. Because you're out of questions. Oh, no, we're not.
SPEAKER_02Okay, then.
SPEAKER_04And also that would have been a final guess rather than a question, anyway.
SPEAKER_02They are all from the same small town.
SPEAKER_04You are incorrect.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_04The answer is they have all received honorary knighthoods from the British government.
unknownWhat?
SPEAKER_04Oh man.
SPEAKER_02Kevin Spacey?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Oh, he's done a lot of work in British theater.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he did well.
SPEAKER_04And did a lot of work for the Prince's Trust. Uh, round number three. Your first three names are Donald Sutherland.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_04Steve Buscemi, and Richard Gere.
SPEAKER_01I mean, they're all handsome devils, especially Steve.
SPEAKER_04Would we describe Donald Sutherland? I mean, I love Donald Sutherland. Would we describe him as a handful of the city? No, the eye.
SPEAKER_01The only one on that list that is definitively considered handsome. Richard Geere. It's just Richard Gere. I think we get a fourth.
SPEAKER_04Your fourth name is Mia Farrow.
SPEAKER_01Have they all been in what is that director?
SPEAKER_00Woody Allen.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Um I don't. I the guys who did Fargo.
SPEAKER_00The Cohen Brothers. Cohen Brothers.
SPEAKER_01Have they all been in Cohen Brothers films? Richard Gere, though. Okay. So we have nothing. You have also not asked any of the brother.
SPEAKER_00We have nothing with the single thing. Does this have anything to do with films they were in? Yes.
SPEAKER_03Okay. I was a very hesitant. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Well, that should give you a glue. I was gonna say it might be a film they were in instead of films they were in.
SPEAKER_01But you said that that would never be the thing. Is it their own films?
SPEAKER_00They're not collectively in a film. In a film, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay. But it could be related to it's not it's film-related.
SPEAKER_00Film-related, not outside of film, like you know, they all go to the same church or something.
SPEAKER_01Sure. Should we get number five? Yeah. Yep. Let's get number five.
SPEAKER_04Your fifth name, and this will confuse Sarah even further with her Cohen Brothers guess, is John Goodman.
SPEAKER_00Ooh, yeah, that that will do that.
SPEAKER_04Who's been in many Cohen Brothers films? So we have Donald Sutherland, Steve Boucemi, Steve Buscemi, Richard Gere, Mia Farrow, and John Goodman.
SPEAKER_00And it has to do with movies. It yeah, has has to do with maybe movies.
SPEAKER_04It's tangentially related to film.
SPEAKER_00Tangentally related to film.
SPEAKER_01Well, Steve Buscemi did um well, that was a television show, but I don't know. Maybe it could, maybe that's why it was a because it could be about a type of role that they played.
SPEAKER_00Mia Farrow throws this one off.
SPEAKER_01Mia Farrow is the one that easily throws me off. Because I could see it having something to do with like organized crime.
SPEAKER_02Can I ask? Because well, why not? Because he Cameron's right. Maybe it's just all right.
SPEAKER_04Here comes this is your this is one of the three questions. Which question? Okay.
SPEAKER_02Are are they all related somehow to playing the same type of role in a movie? Like a detective.
SPEAKER_04I will take that question as to be, is it is it based on a type of role? And the answer is no.
SPEAKER_01This is a tough one because I'm trying to think, because even if it's not based on a type of role, it could be based on a type of film. Because even if they didn't play, even if they didn't all play detectives in like organized crime movies or something like that, they might have all been I just have a feeling this is gonna be so out of left field. I think it's gonna be something totally crazy.
SPEAKER_04I will also slightly clarify because I think it's it's might might be slightly misleading when you said it does it have to do with film. I will say it has to do with the film industry.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's what I was wondering.
SPEAKER_04You have one more question if you want to just no one's just throw something out there.
SPEAKER_01It could be like, does it have to do with the way they came up in the industry?
SPEAKER_00Did they all have the same either acting teacher, coach, or acting school? Well, but is kind of more of an answer than a yes.
SPEAKER_04That is giving the answer to that's kind of a that's very specific.
SPEAKER_00Did they have the same acting coach?
SPEAKER_04Is that your final answer? That's a final question.
SPEAKER_01That's a final answer. That's a final answer.
SPEAKER_00Because that's like a singular because if the answer is yes, it has to do with how they were trained as actors. How they came.
SPEAKER_04No, I would say no to that.
SPEAKER_02So that was I have I can't blind alley.
SPEAKER_04I've no you're out of questions, you're out of.
SPEAKER_02I know. I have no idea.
SPEAKER_04So you might as well just throw something at the at the window.
SPEAKER_02There's nothing left.
SPEAKER_04Or just give up. You can also give up.
SPEAKER_00I'm ready to give up unless you I can't come to the case.
SPEAKER_01I mean, have they all been in absolute box office flops? Like, I have no clue. I would just say that. All right, have they all been in box office flops?
SPEAKER_04That's your answer. Sure. That's it. Uh incorrect. The answer is they are all notable actors who have never even been nominated for an Oscar in their careers.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Really? That kind of makes sense for some of them.
SPEAKER_04Especially scandalous for Donald Sutherland, I have to say that. I will say that two.
SPEAKER_01The two that I would push back on would be Goodman and Sutherland. The other three I think is completely fair. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Shocking.
SPEAKER_04Yes. Uh, round number four, your first three actors are Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Liam Neeson.
SPEAKER_01They are all men actors.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna burn a question just so we can keep going. Um, does this have anything to do with their personal relationships? No. Okay.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00I was thinking multiple wives, sure, things like that.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's Hollywood. I think we could probably assume that every actor ever has multiple wives.
SPEAKER_01Okay, Liam Neeson.
SPEAKER_04Not Tom Hanks.
SPEAKER_01Liam Neeson, Richard Burton. No, he's married Rita Wilson for a billion years.
SPEAKER_04Although, was he not married before Rita Wilson? Because they were married then.
SPEAKER_02I don't actually know.
SPEAKER_04No. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Can we get a fourth name? Sure. Let's just say that.
SPEAKER_04Well, you've already burned a question, so I'll give you a fourth name.
SPEAKER_00The fourth name is Burt Reynolds.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well, Stars of the 70s is out because of Liam Neeson. Yeah, he throws that. Tom Hanks was previously married. No, he wasn't. He was, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Clint Eastwood's a director. Yep. Um, I guess Liam Neeson is not. No. Donald Trent.
SPEAKER_00It's it's never gonna be something simple. Like if you've you've read if you realize the last several questions have all been Are they all Clint Eastwood, yes?
SPEAKER_01Liam Neeson, yes. Were they all in Westerns?
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, Clint Eastwood Liam Neeson was in a western.
SPEAKER_01He was to die in the west.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it's like a comedy western, but it's a western.
SPEAKER_00Richard Burton.
SPEAKER_01That's the one I don't know. Yeah, that's what I don't know if he's ever been.
SPEAKER_04Now you have two questions left and a name left.
SPEAKER_01Shall we get the name? Let's get the name.
SPEAKER_04Your fifth name is Christian Bale.
SPEAKER_01Also has been in a Western. That's Rob for me, like Burt Reynolds. I have no clue.
SPEAKER_00Does this have can I ask a question? Does this have to do with the genre of film that they did?
SPEAKER_04Going strictly by your wording, no.
SPEAKER_00I was thinking all Western.
SPEAKER_02He's splitting hair somehow.
SPEAKER_00Genre of film theory. So it has to do with something related to that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I think we're in the ballpark.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01With but I mean, if it's not if it because by the way, it was specifically the way that you said it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. That came back with a no.
SPEAKER_01But so something, something in there was I wonder if it's the types of role they played. But have they all played a bad guy? Liam Neeson was the bad guy in his. Clint East one, though, has he ever played the bad guy? Probably in something.
SPEAKER_00Played an anti-hero. That's the thing.
SPEAKER_01Like he's always played kind of uh Do you want to ask that question? Which question? The type of role? Or just don't use the one.
SPEAKER_04Just name the five again, real quick. Okay. Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Burt Reynolds, Christian Bale. Glenn had a thought there for a second.
SPEAKER_00It had to do with somebody playing like somebody come up with our last question.
SPEAKER_01Um, does it have something to do with the type of role they played? We're circling around so much.
SPEAKER_00Damn it. No. I'm just wondering if it's an archetype or something.
SPEAKER_01That's what I like. That's what I've interested. You said you'd give us a clue. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Well, I'll give you a clue after you get it. I'll give you a clue after you get it wrong.
SPEAKER_01It's gonna give it away.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah. Yeah, because it'll get it'll kind of give in the way.
SPEAKER_01Do you really think it would? I wonder like have they all played a bad guy?
SPEAKER_02Have they all played Have they all played a masked bandit?
SPEAKER_01Yes. Well, kind of. Have they all played like a mentor? I'm just now going through my Rolodex of Liam Nissan Rolls.
SPEAKER_00And and the obvious thing.
SPEAKER_01Did all their daughters get kidnapped?
SPEAKER_00Because the Welshman he's throwing me off. He just said to me with the Welshman. Why?
SPEAKER_01Why is it throwing off? Yeah, why is it?
SPEAKER_00Well, no, I said the Welshman is throwing me off.
SPEAKER_01Which one is the Welsh off your burden?
SPEAKER_04I'll give you the hint. One of you should be slightly better at this question than the other two.
SPEAKER_01That's got to crap. That's gotta be you.
SPEAKER_00It's not me.
SPEAKER_01I just gonna feel like it's gotta be you. It's gotta be you.
SPEAKER_02And why should one be better?
SPEAKER_04Well, if I told you that, then we'd really, really know it.
SPEAKER_02I think it's something that Glenn, like a movie he absolutely loves, that's just not coming to his head right now. And you're gonna feel like, oh my god, are you kidding?
SPEAKER_00I just can't think of a final guess.
SPEAKER_01Have they all played pilots? I don't know. I'm just gonna think.
SPEAKER_04Are we giving up? Yeah, yeah, I'm giving up.
SPEAKER_01I think we have to.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I will say, had you worded the question. Which one? Your question is this all about roles that they didn't play? Oh I can reveal to you the answer is they are all actors who have turned down playing James Bond.
SPEAKER_02Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_04Son of a guy. Yes.
SPEAKER_02They were turned down, or they turned down. Liam Neeson would have been a terrible James Bond. Oh, good that he turned it down.
SPEAKER_01He knew. He was, yeah. He was like, listen, guys, I know what you're looking for.
SPEAKER_04That was good. That was good. That was good. And the final round, your three names are well, there's five rounds. Five rounds. There's always five. There's always five. Your final three names, Yule Brenner, Anne Bancroft, and Helen Miran.
SPEAKER_01God.
SPEAKER_04This is mostly because I had to crowbar some women in because it was becoming a very ambominator.
SPEAKER_01It's been a sausage fest for sure. Were they all English? Yule Brenner. Anne Bancroft, is that what you said?
SPEAKER_04And Helen Miren.
SPEAKER_01I mean, one of them.
SPEAKER_00She's from New York City. She's New Yorker. Yulbrenner's actually Russian by birth. Well, so is Helen Mirin.
SPEAKER_02How about Anne Bancroft? Is she also Russian?
SPEAKER_00She's Italian, and I wonder what the other half of her family is. Could they all be from give us a fourth name?
SPEAKER_04Your fourth name is Viola Davis.
SPEAKER_03Oh dang it!
SPEAKER_00He was just waiting to give us that fourth name with the way we were going there.
SPEAKER_01Oh man, oh man, oh man.
SPEAKER_02What a what a well, we're talking about menage of people things again. They've all won multiple accolades, haven't they?
SPEAKER_04I don't know. No, you have three questions.
SPEAKER_01Has Halle Beeron won an Oscar? How could she name it?
SPEAKER_04The Queen?
SPEAKER_01Weirdly, I think that she I don't know that she has.
SPEAKER_00She's nominated for the Queen.
SPEAKER_01She's been nominated, but I don't know that she's won. Viola Davis has definitely won.
SPEAKER_00What?
SPEAKER_02Have they all played a king or a queen? The king of Siam, Yule Brenner. And then the Queen. Oh, Viola Davis.
SPEAKER_00And then who was the other one?
SPEAKER_01Viola Davis might have played a queen.
SPEAKER_00Who was the other one?
SPEAKER_01Who was the other one? Oh Helen Mirren. I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_00As far as I know, did not play a queen, but I don't know. Maybe she did.
SPEAKER_01Can we have name number five, please?
SPEAKER_04You may have name number five, and that name is Rex Harrison.
SPEAKER_00Oh god. Did not play a queen.
SPEAKER_02Probably not. He played a king, though, right?
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I feel like he did.
SPEAKER_00Oh, he he he oh, he played it.
SPEAKER_02Can can I ask it? Ask a question. It's not like a guess.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he's played rulers.
SPEAKER_02Have all of these people played some type of rulers?
SPEAKER_04That's kind of more of an answer than a question.
SPEAKER_00Does it have to do with a specific character type that they played? No. Okay. So not not a ruler. How about a yardstick?
SPEAKER_01Violet Ames and Helen Mirin are throwing me a bit. Gap-wise, I don't I don't really know that there's a scenario where they would have worked with the same people.
SPEAKER_00Can I ask another question? Just to speed this along. Does it have to do with film?
SPEAKER_01It's a fair question anymore. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00Like the film industry.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god.
SPEAKER_04In part. Yes. Okay.
SPEAKER_02In part. Is that a fair answer? Because that's just given us a little bit of a few.
SPEAKER_04It's a fair answer once you get the answer.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think that does.
SPEAKER_02But that's not really helpful.
SPEAKER_04Well, then I'll just say yes then and not you be confused.
SPEAKER_01Have they all done stage productions? I know Viola didn't know.
SPEAKER_02Ann Bancroft did, Yule Brenner did. I know.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_00Colin Mirenhouse. I think they played the same character on stage as they did in a film, maybe. Oh.
SPEAKER_01Was Viola Davis in? Did she do? Because the only thing I can think of play-wise for her that I know she did as a film was fences. And I don't know if she ever did that on. Right.
SPEAKER_00But it's a play. Rex Harrison did.
SPEAKER_02She might have.
SPEAKER_00No Brenner did.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Maybe it's that.
SPEAKER_00All right. So the third question should be have they had to do that. Does it have to do with them repeating a role?
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, it's totally that. It's totally stage.
SPEAKER_00But they played a role on stage and in a film, the same role.
SPEAKER_04I mean, not I'll give it to you. Yeah. The actual answer is that they have all won both the Tony and the Oscar for playing the same character. No.
SPEAKER_02That's incredible.
SPEAKER_04So not only did they do it, they won.
SPEAKER_02They freaking nailed the toes in both situations.
SPEAKER_04Yule Brenner for the King of Siam, obviously, and Bancroft for Annie Sullivan for The Miracle Worker. Helen Miren played Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, and she also played it in played her in a different play, so it wasn't the same, but it's the same character. And Viola Davis rose uh Maxon in fences. Yeah, I've got to. We got one. Rex Sarrison, famously Henry Higgins.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Woo! Look at us go.
SPEAKER_04So nice. And with that uh bit of frivolity out of the way, we reach the end of this, our very first episode of the Cinema Social Club. Thank you all for listening and tune in next time when we will continue our march through reviewing Oscar's best picture winners, as well as our other highly underappreciated takes on all things film. Until then, and with my thanks to my co-hosts and all of our lovely listeners, it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.