Period Drama at the Oscars 2012

The Artist

The Artist has 10 Oscar nominations:

• Best Picture- WINNER!!!
• Best Actor- Jean Dujardin- WINNER!!!
• Best Supporting Actress- Bérénice Bejo
• Best Directing- Michel Hazanavicius- WINNER!!!
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Original Score- WINNER!!!
• Best Film Editing
• Best Costume Design-WINNER!!!
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction

The Help

The Help has 4 Oscar nominations:

• Best Picture
• Best Actress-Viola Davis
• Best Supporting Actress- Octavia Spencer- WINNER!!!
• Best Supporting Actress- Jessica Chastain

Hugo

Hugo is nominated for 11 Oscars:

• Best Picture
• Best Directing- Martin Scorsese
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Visual Effects- WINNER!!!
• Best Sound Mixing- WINNER!!!
• Best Sound Editing- WINNER!!!
• Best Musical Score
• Best Film Editing
• Best Costume Design
• Best Cinematography-WINNER!!!
• Best Art Direction- WINNER!!!

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris is nominated for 4 Oscars:

• Best Picture
• Best Direction- Woody Allen- WINNER!!!
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Art Direction

Tree of Life

Tree of Life is nominated for 3 Oscars:

• Best Picture
• Best Direction- Terrence Malick
• Best Cinematography

War Horse

War Horse is nominated for 6 Oscars:

• Best Picture
• Best Original Score
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Sound Mixing

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is nominated for 3 Oscars:

• Best Actor- Gary Oldman
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Original Score

Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs is nominated for 3 Oscars:

• Best Actress- Glenn Close
• Best Supporting Actress- Janet McTeer
• Best Makeup

The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady is nominated for 2 Oscars:

• Best Actress- Meryl Streep- WINNER!!!
• Best Makeup- WINNER!!!

My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn is nominated for 2 Oscars:

• Best Actress- Michelle Williams
• Best Supporting Actor- Kenneth Branagh

Anonymous

Anonymous is nominated for one Oscar:

• Best Costumes

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is nominated for one Oscar:

• Best Costumes

W. E.

W. E. is nominated for one Oscar:

• Best Costumes

That's 13 period drama films nominated for Oscars! Amazing!! I have seen 8 of them and enjoyed each and every one.  I do wish I had read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy before I saw the film however as it was a bit hard to follow. I haven't seen The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, Albert Nobbs, Tree of Life or W.E.. I plan to see all of those, with the possible exception of Tree of Life, unless one of my readers tells me it's definitely worth seeing. It just looks a bit weird to me. But even W.E. (which has been panned by critics) looks like it would be at least a good rental.

Great year for flicks! Enjoy the Oscars tonight everyone.

Hugo is magical!

Hugo in 3D

Apparently there are two types of people in this world. Ones who love this film and ones who hate it. I adored this film. Magical is a good word to describe the story and the gorgeous journey it takes you on. My dear readers will likely love this film. If you need lots of action, things flying at screen and constant plot twists, you should skip it. The fact that it was directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Johnny Depp says a lot about it.

Hugo Isabelle and the automaton

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but Hugo lives in a Paris train station in the 1930s. His watchmaker father has passed away (poor Jude Law) and the orphan is now living in the walls of the Gare Montparnasse train station and winding all the clocks there. His quest to repair the automaton his father was restoring takes him on a very different journey where he meets Isabelle and her unusual godfather Georges Méliès.

Hugo hanging from clock face a la Harold Lloyd

This film is a love letter to the movies and a love letter to Paris all wrapped up in a "family film". It is really a film for thoughtful bookish adults and older children. Don't take young kids to this one, or any older children who didn't truly enjoy the Harry Potter films. Do take anyone who enjoys a deeper more thoughtful film than Hollywood usually produces these days.

Hugo learning magic tricks from Méliès

The film is full of brilliant English actors (yes all of the French people in this have English accents) such as Ben Kingsley as Méliès, Asa Butterfield as the luminous Hugo, Sacha Baron Cohen as the hilarious Station Inspector and a plethora of Potterites such as Frances de la Tour (Mme Maxime), Richard Griffiths (Mr. Dursley), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) and so on. Emily Mortimer is adorable as the flower seller and Jude Law does a lovely job of Hugo's father. American actress Chloe Grace Moretz is quite enchanting as Hugo's new friend and assistant in mischief. 

Gare Montparnasse Train Accident of 1895

Harold Lloyd "Safety Last!" 1923

"A Trip to the Moon"  1902

So I hope all my dear readers get a chance to see this over the holidays, and if you love it as I did, try to spread the word to others who you think would enjoy it. Keep the wrong folks away from this one however, as it needs the right audience. We will keep it as our little secret!

P.S. It is adapted from the beautifully illustrated book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by American writer Brian Selznick  who, incidentally, is distantly related to the legendary film producer David O. Selznick.

P.P.S. The automaton in this film (self-operating machine) is a realistic depiction of what these machine/toys were like in the late Victorian period. "The period 1860 to 1910 is known as "The Golden Age of Automata". During this period many small family based companies of Automata makers thrived in Paris. From their workshops they exported thousands of clockwork automata and mechanical singing birds around the world." -from Wikipedia
The Franklin Institute's Henri Maillardet Automaton was a principal inspiration for Selznick's book