The 2nd Oscar "Broadway Melody": Is it the worst Oscar best film?

Maxwell 2022-01-21 08:02:14

At the end of the 1920s, in the early stage of the economic crisis, nearly 2,000 banks closed down and many workers were on the streets. However, the film industry is extremely prosperous, and many companies have switched to making sound films. Talents from the Broadway theater, song and dance, and broadcasting industries gather in Hollywood. This seems to be a bit similar to the current economy. It is an era of economic downturn and the death of all people in entertainment.

The 2nd Oscar Best Picture: THE BROADWAY MELODY

Broadway was an important place for American dramas and musicals at that time. Nearly a hundred theaters were gathered on a single street. The "Broadway Melody" filmed by MGM in 1929 was based on the Broadway Theater and described the stage love history of the two sisters on Broadway.

The film cost 350,000 U.S. dollars and became a sensation after it was released. Some of the songs and dances in the film have been widely circulated, such as the theme song "Broadway Melody", "Boyfriend", "You and I Love Each Other" and a wonderful ballet performance. These performances have been selected into the Hollywood Song and Dance Collection. Due to the success of the film, MGM made several sequels.

However, by the standards of modern music films, the melodic level of Broadway is not high. Critics generally believe that "if you score, it may be the lowest score among the best films of all previous Oscars." The emotional lines in the film are rather scribbled, even without, whoever loves or doesn't feel so ridiculous. Beautiful women, cars, champagne, jewellery... created the stage of American dreams in the early twentieth century-the drunken Broadway. Countless people became famous overnight, but lost themselves. Looking back a hundred years later, I realized the meaning of Oscar: the film that best reflects values ​​in the current era. The film itself has no brilliance. After the precipitation of the long history, it allows us to see the United States back then. Maybe this is the meaning of this film.

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Extended Reading
  • Jaiden 2022-04-24 07:01:23

    There are not many songs and dances, although it is advertised as a song and dance. Although it is old, it doesn't look boring. As for the comedy component, I don't see much.

  • Alisha 2022-04-21 09:03:15

    The first large-scale musical, it can be seen that when the film first entered the era of sound films, it was immature and Berkeley's technique had not yet appeared, which made the film's performance of singing and dancing scenes very simple, with only one fixed shot. Although it is the best picture for the second Oscar, it is still very boring. But for the first time in the film, the separation of sound and picture is used, which is not bad.

The Broadway Melody quotes

  • Hank Mahoney: [Instructions to the piano player] Now, give us a pick-up for an introduction and a couple of choruses. And swell to the finish. But you follow us, not us you.

  • Turpe - Costumer: Stop? Stop! Girls! Girls! Girls! Be careful of my hats.

    Chorus Girl: Well, we gotta get down on the stage.

    Turpe - Costumer: I don't care. I can't allow you to ruin 'em.

    Wardrobe Lady: I told you... they were too high and too wide.

    Turpe - Costumer: Well, big mama, I design the costumes for the show, not the doors for the theater.