1955
Directed by Delbert Mann
A few weeks ago, I realized that thanks to this list, I have seen most of the Best Picture winners. I recently decided to just finish up that list as well and coincidentally, Marty was one of the few that I have not seen (the others being Tom Jones and Dances With Wolves). So far, I have been really disappointed by the early winners and it does not surprise me that most of them were not in the book (Cimarron, The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, The Great Ziegfeld, and Wings to name a few). I was a little nervous that I would be similarly disappointed with Marty. Not only was it not as dull as previous winners (probably because it wasn't four hours long), but it was a lot more original and interesting.
This is the story of Marty, who is pressured by everyone around him to get married even though he has given up on love. He meets the girl of his dreams but the people in his life think he can do better. Damn society!
This is quite an interesting story. There are very few movies about unattractive people finding love. I actually found it quite comforting that we don't all have to be supermodels to fall in love, which seems to be the message of most films. I also enjoyed the acting; everything seemed to be really natural. Overall, it was a great watch and it is a shame how forgotten it is.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Clara's date had to be one of the most embarrassing scenes in cinema.
A remake of a tv movie.
Shortest Best Picture winner.
Along with The Lost Weekend, this film holds the unique distinction of having won both Best Picture and The Palme d'Or.
I agree...I thought this film was just great. Great story and acting. It seems like such a simple story to be told but when it comes to movie representation of finding love it's really quite unique.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Enough Said?
DeleteOh yeah that's a good comparison...yeah I really liked it. I love both of the leads and they didn't disappoint
ReplyDeleteThere is indeed a lack of quality movies about ordinary people, especially when it comes to romantic stories in the fifties. Always we get these extraordinariy characters, pretty women, and unlikely events. Marty shows us that ordinary people can be extraordinarily interesting.
ReplyDeleteMarty has some really annoying friends and his family deserves a kick in the butt.
Agreed. I love romantic movies especially that portray relationships realistically. Otherwise it's just two hot people finding reasons not to be together.
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