It’s one of the buzziest weeks of the year, with the pinnacle of the film industry, the Oscars, taking place tomorrow. Let’s take a look at some of the top stories on Film For Thought this week, including final Oscar predictions, a word on Letterboxd, and an ode to one of the true giants of the screen, Gene Hackman.
The French Connection is so much more than just a cop thriller, and it’s certainly more than just an impeccable car chase (but it certainly helps). Corruption in the police force is its subject matter and Gene Hackman and Rob Schneider are cops intent on busting a heroin ring coming in from Europe. Hackman in particular plays Popeye Doyle with such an unflinching, tenacious voracity to take his opponent down at all costs. He is relentless and as eager to destroy as his enemy is, making him the perfect anti-hero for what could have been a sanitised, run of the mill cop drama. That, was the difference creatives in the seventies like Hackman were resolved to portray; that we’re far from angels ourselves. Hackman embodied something that only some of the greats can do and is less common these days: he was the ultimate everyman.
Why you need to be on Letterboxd: The Twitter for Cinephiles
Once Letterboxd moved onto the red carpet and had a presence at film festivals that is when it started to gather momentum. It started using its signature profile feature of showcasing your top 4 films in public, asking celebrities, actors, directors and filmmakers for their own Top 4, recording the interaction and sharing it. It turned into a lovely social experiment, watching well-known people crumble trying to sort through their favourite films to just pick four. Letterboxd has gone from strength to strength and is now planning on adding TV shows to its platform, how that will affect the user experience is anyone’s guess, but if anyone doesn’t like it there definitely will be many one liner reviews about it.
Best Picture? Best Bets for the Oscars
Now that Emilia Perez is out of the game, this year… will it be A, B or C? Anora, The Brutalist or Conclave. BAFTA awarded Conclave its Best Film award in a relative upset last week, but BAFTA can sometimes be a red herring that isn’t always indicative. It is a very tight race, and don’t believe enough people were actually telling the truth that they watched all three hours and thirty five minutes of The Brutalist, but I do think Anora is more of an accessible film. Film For Thought wishes that The Brutalist will get it, but fears that the accessibility of Anora will pip the 3 and a half hour long saga to the post.
FILM FOR THOUGHT 