Director: Frank Lloyd
Distributor: Fox Film Corporation
Top Billed Actors: Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor
Won 3 Oscars:
Outstanding Production - Fox
Best Director - Frank Lloyd
Best Art Direction - William S. Darling
Nominated for 1 more:
Best Actress - Diana Wynyard
Plot: The lives and deaths of a couple of Brits.
Distributor: Fox Film Corporation
Top Billed Actors: Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor
Won 3 Oscars:
Outstanding Production - Fox
Best Director - Frank Lloyd
Best Art Direction - William S. Darling
Nominated for 1 more:
Best Actress - Diana Wynyard
Plot: The lives and deaths of a couple of Brits.
With the opening of 1933 comes the winner of the 6th Academy Awards' Best Picture race, Cavalcade (1933). This must have been the year of England as the Best Picture is a film that is set in London and is played by an all-UK cast. The Best Actor that year was the first Englishman to win in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933). And the British Film Institute was founded in 1933. This movie, however, is not the most remembered Best Picture. It has the fewest amount of votes on IMDb and is the only winner to not have a stand alone DVD or Blu-Ray release. I have a poster that depicts every Best Picture winner as an Oscar statuette with famous scenes or symbols from the movies. For this film, the statuette is the clock that houses Big Ben in London. This famous English structure is shown in the first few seconds of the film and is not shown again. Perhaps this is the symbol on the poster because the plot deals with the progression of time. However, I am apt to think that the artist only saw the first few minutes and didn't want to proceed. I wouldn't blame him.
This movie isn't all lost though. Watching a family grow up over the course of thirty two years is fascinating. It is interesting to see historical moments portrayed throughout the story. From the war in South Africa to the first World War to simply New Years Eve of 1933, the viewer gets to see how time changes people and the world around us. The production quality is excellent and it shows why this won Best Art Direction. The costume and makeup is superb as the lead actors age thirty years before our eyes. The story wraps up nicely too, as we see New Years Eve for 1900 book-ended with New Years Eve of 1933. With all of the sorrowful things that occur in the picture, it is nice to have this closure.
The closure isn't enough to save some of the downfalls that happen before the conclusion. The acting can be rigid at times. Diana Wynyrd and Clive Brook are alright, but the supporting cast are either annoying or boring. The child actors and extremely British characters were cringe-worthy and the grown up children were rather dull. Also, the shifting of the point of view in the story, from the wealthy family to their servants' lives, gave the narrative a lack of focus. The extended music numbers are good in theory, but they were, well, extended. This movie could have been edited just a tad better to stay a little more on point.
Overall, a fascinating Frank Lloyd piece with beautiful set designs goes through time and shows just how much the twentieth century progressed. Shoddy editing and sub-par acting holds it back.
My Score: 6/10
This movie isn't all lost though. Watching a family grow up over the course of thirty two years is fascinating. It is interesting to see historical moments portrayed throughout the story. From the war in South Africa to the first World War to simply New Years Eve of 1933, the viewer gets to see how time changes people and the world around us. The production quality is excellent and it shows why this won Best Art Direction. The costume and makeup is superb as the lead actors age thirty years before our eyes. The story wraps up nicely too, as we see New Years Eve for 1900 book-ended with New Years Eve of 1933. With all of the sorrowful things that occur in the picture, it is nice to have this closure.
The closure isn't enough to save some of the downfalls that happen before the conclusion. The acting can be rigid at times. Diana Wynyrd and Clive Brook are alright, but the supporting cast are either annoying or boring. The child actors and extremely British characters were cringe-worthy and the grown up children were rather dull. Also, the shifting of the point of view in the story, from the wealthy family to their servants' lives, gave the narrative a lack of focus. The extended music numbers are good in theory, but they were, well, extended. This movie could have been edited just a tad better to stay a little more on point.
Overall, a fascinating Frank Lloyd piece with beautiful set designs goes through time and shows just how much the twentieth century progressed. Shoddy editing and sub-par acting holds it back.
My Score: 6/10