It Is Not 1939, But It Will Have To Do-- Written by Jerry Dennis

“Eight feet away from where I'm sitting, right here, there's enough gold to make me sole owner and proprietor of a pub as big as the Crystal Palace. Best pub in Hampshire.”

-- Sgt. Archibald Cutter from Gunga Din

“Sure it was your fault. You were gonna have dinner with him, the Dutchman hired him, I sent him up on schedule, the fog came in, a tree got in the way. All your fault. Forget it, unless you want the honor.”

-- Geoff Carter from Only Angels Have Wings

“My darling, you're such a child. You think that by saying, "I'm sorry," all the past can be corrected. Here, take my handkerchief. Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief.”

-- Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind

Conventional wisdom is for the dead. 2007 was an excellent year for films; I do not care what anyone says. As good as 2007 turned out to be, it in no way matches 1939. That is right; 1939 is still the year to beat and quite frankly it is not happening anytime soon. This is the first year I can honestly say I admire each best picture nominee. Yet, it is not difficult for me to pick my choice for best picture. Juno and Michael Clayton are very good films. Atonement is exquisite. No Country For Old Men is a masterpiece. There Will Be Blood is in a class by itself. It is a shame that Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers have their best films come out in the same year. While talking about these mighty talents, one cannot discount Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell And The Butterfly. This film alone secures his artistic talents with his filmmaking capabilities better than even Basquiat and Before Night Falls. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is the Johnny Got His Gun for the 21^st Century. The nominations for Tony Gilroy and Jason Reitman will encourage them to continue making good films—even great ones. It is a shame that Tim Burton, Sidney Lumet, Joe Wright, Ridley Scott, David Cronenberg, Sean Penn and David Fincher do not get much love, but their films are equally important to me. I know it is a tired dance of a first paragraph. This is not very sporting of me to write this type of thing on the eve of Oscar night.

It must have been mind blowing to have to pick the best films of 1939:
Gone With The Wind, Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory, Stagecoach, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Wizard Of Oz, Ninotchka, Of Mice And Men, Love Affair and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. How the hell do you select the best? First of all, the directing talent is daunting to say the least. John Ford, Frank Capra, Victor Fleming, Sam Wood and William Wyler were all nominated that year. Victor Fleming directed Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz. Either one is enough for film immortality, but both films-- that is incredible. Ernst Lubitsch did not get nominated for Ninotchka. It was such a crowded year that George Stevens did not make it for Gunga Din. Howard Hawks did not make it for Only Angels Have Wings; and George Cukor did not make it for The Women. Speaking of Gunga Din, Zoltan Korda’s version of The Four Feathers came out the same year. The Four Feathers with Ralph Richardson is by far my favorite version of the story. Gunga Din’s influence can be seen in the second half of Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. I still think the first half owes a lot to Lost Horizon with Ronald Colman. Two other directors did not make the cut were Jean Renoir for The Rules Of The Game and William A. Wellmen for Beau Geste. I am not upset about any of these omissions. When you have that much talent and genius operating in the system, it is always better to have too much than too little. John Ford directed Stagecoach and the Young Mr. Lincoln in the same year; that is a truly good year.

The best actor and best actress nominations were insane. How does one pick between Vivian Leigh, Greta Garbo, Greer Garson, Bette Davis and Irene Dunn. I am at a loss. Sure, Vivian Leigh won for Scarlett O’Hara. Talk about owning a role. Still, when Greta Garbo laughs in Ninotchka, it has to be one of the best and the most earned laughs of the Twentieth Century-- even better than the group laugh after Ethel Merman slips on the hospital floor at the end of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Bette Davis, Irene Dunn and Greer Garson—these are not nominations, but Valkyrie choices for crying out loud. Not one actress was nominated for The Women! Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine got nada. The actor choices must have been harder. Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Laurence Olivier, and Robert Donat were all nominated that year. Robert Donat won for Goodbye Mr. Chips. This must have been a tough call. Only Olivier could really drink Daniel Plainview’s milkshake and get away it. John Wayne, Gary Cooper, William Holden, Henry Fonda and especially Cary Grant are nowhere on the list. But, how can you complain with the nominations. There were so many to pick from that year. Cary Grant was so good in Gunga Din and Only Angels Have Wings. Gunga Din also contains what I think is Victor McLaglen’s finest performance as Sgt. ‘Mac’ MacChesney. How can you forget about Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Sam Jaffe who round out the incredible cast? The performances and direction of 1939 read like a who’s who of movie legends. It was a year like no other in the history of motion pictures. Many of us keep going back to these films thanks to Turner Classic Movies, revival houses and DVD’s. The films that did not win or even get nominated stay with us-- their staying power is unlimited.

Having said the above, I believe some of the films nominated from 2007 will have unlimited staying power. There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men will be talked about for years, if not decades to come. They represent directors at the height of their creative powers with no proof of slowing down. Michael Clayton contains three excellent performances from George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton. In another year, Michael Clayton would have a real chance at the little gold man, but it is no match for the two giants in the room. Atonement is the best adaptation of an Ian McEwan novel to date; not that Enduring Love, The Comfort Of Strangers and The Cement Garden were anything to sneeze at. In a year that released such wonderful indie comedies as Rocket Science, The Darjeeling Limited and Lars And The Real Girl, it does not surprise me that Juno rose to the top of the pack in critical acclaim and box office success. Juno has the highest box office gross of all five best picture nominees. It is the dark horse, but its true test is whether it will stand the test of time. The odds are that Diablo Cody will win the best original screenplay category. I read her book a couple of weeks ago and this is the kind of story that Hollywood and the Oscars loves. If she does not win, it will be a major upset. She is the real driving force behind the film. Having said that, I would really like to see Tamara Jenkins get it for The Savages. Of all the films nominated in this category, this is the rawest script in the bunch. It is powerful writing and to see the script come to life with Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Bosco is something to behold. Everyone in this category is very good, but Jenkins has been away for nearly a decade and it was well worth the wait.

Last year, the best actress category was stacked to the hilt. Each performance was top notch; especially Kate Winslet in Little Children and Penelope Cruz in Volver. I think both of those films gain stature everyday. Helen Mirren won for The Queen last year. This year the Best Actor category does not have a loser among them, but Daniel Day-Lewis owns this category. Daniel Plainview is forever. I feel Michael Clayton is George Clooney at his best since Three Kings and Out Of Sight. He won a best supporting actor for Syriana. It was deserved, but his acceptance speech was not-- thank God for South Park. He is a movie star in every sense of the word. He reminds of us Cary Grant, but he is no Cary Grant—not yet. Tommy Lee Jones is the core of In The Valley Of Elah. He is the film and without him it would be just another television movie of the week. He gives the film legitimacy and heart. Viggo Mortenson’s nomination for Eastern Promises is well deserved. Critics liked this film, but I know of no one who was fond of it. I have a fondness for Cronenberg that goes back to Demon Seed. If Clooney is our Cary Grant, than Viggo is our Kirk Douglas. Deal with it! Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Flee Street is divine. His partnership with Tim Burton is priceless for the most part. Is there anything Johnny Depp cannot do? This is their masterpiece and I hope people will discover this film on DVD and cable. It is an astounding achievement on many levels. I would have liked to have seen Helena Bonham Carter get a nomination for her work in the film. She is a revelation in this film. Like last year’s best actress category, all of the best actor nominations are well deserved.

The best actress category is between Julie Christie for Away From Her and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose. It could go either way. Cate Blanchett should not be nominated in this category for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The film is not very good. It ranks as a major disappointment in my book. I wanted to punch the director as I was watching it last October. Really, would it have been too much to ask for Amy Adams from Enchanted? Ellen Page could walk away with it for Juno. Come on, you know how these people operate. I am very happy to see Laura Linney nominated for The Savages, but that is a long shot. The race is between Christie and Cotillard. Their performances are simply radiant. I am grateful to see Julie Christie in a really good film. Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf is one for the books. This is the same actress we saw in A Good Year and Love Me If You Dare? She disappears into her role as Edith Piaf. How can you not be impressed with her?

Conventional wisdom suggests that Javier Bardem will win the Best Supporting Oscar for No Country For Old Men. Indeed, he should win it. If there was ever a time for a new category, it would be for best ensemble cast. No Country For Old Men contains several performances that are nothing less than stellar, but Bardem got the nomination. In this category, each performance is grand. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Casey Affleck, Hal Holbrook and Tom Wilkinson shine in their parts. Each of those performances adds something special to their films. If Bardem does not get it, all bets are off. In the best supporting actress category, Cate Blanchett seems to the favorite for I’m Not There. She is doing the Linda Hunt thing and she is great in the film. Still, I would love to see Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone or Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton get the award over her. As far as I am concerned Tilda Swinton never got her due for The Deep End. She gave the best actress performance of 2001. Ruby Dee could very well get it for American Gangster. I like Ruby Dee a lot. I loved her in Do The Right Thing. I miss Ossie Davis. This is a very strong possibility. I would not rule out Saoirse Ronan for Atonement. It could happen… it really could happen.

There was a goldmine of choices in 2007. Many great films were released. It was no 1939, but for me it was a year that started off with David Fincher’s Zodiac in March and ended with Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood in December. When one can bookend a year by two cinematic visionaries like them, it is a daring and an impressive year. So much happened in between, good and bad alike, but by the time the fall season arrived, it really became apparent this was going to be a very good year. I found more to like than hate last year. Still, it must have been like Heaven to get lost in the theaters back in 1939. Escapism from difficult times made movies essential to making life bearable. I am grateful that we still have such escapisms left to get lost in the darkness. There is still hope in the darkness; there is still connection in the darkness; there is still purpose in the darkness. Let there always be blood in the darkness-- fiction at its very best.