On Day 3 of my 34 days of Oscar, I saw "War Horse". This Steven Spielberg directed film has been nominated for 6 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing.I think that when it comes to the 2 award categories that cause the most confusion at the Academy Awards, the awards for Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing take the cake. Even I had to look up what differentiates each award as they both sound very much alike to me. Sound Editing is recording sound effects, creating background music, and creating certain sounds for use in the film (like horse clops when the horse is running in mud). Sound Mixing is when you take all of those sounds, and the recorded dialogue and mix them all together and make sure all sounds are at the right levels (so a horse whine isn't louder than the spoken dialogue happening at the same time). Most people automatically assume that the 2 awards go hand in hand, but since 2000 only 4 movies have won in both categories.
Overall, I liked "The War Horse" and can see why it was nominated for Best Picture. There were issues I had with the actor who played the lead as it was a 1 note performance and not good enough to carry a full movie like this. I also didn't care much for the nominated score. I thought 
that the John Williams score spent more time trying to tell you what you should be feeling and not enough time just helping tell this story. There were performances that were really good though, particularly Tom Hiddleston as a young army captain and Niels Arestrup as a grandfather who's granddaughter crosses paths with the horse. If you are an animal lover, I would caution against seeing this movie though as there are certainly some harsh scenes to watch in "War Horse".
that the John Williams score spent more time trying to tell you what you should be feeling and not enough time just helping tell this story. There were performances that were really good though, particularly Tom Hiddleston as a young army captain and Niels Arestrup as a grandfather who's granddaughter crosses paths with the horse. If you are an animal lover, I would caution against seeing this movie though as there are certainly some harsh scenes to watch in "War Horse".The Art Direction was very impressive and realistic. While watching "War Horse" you forgot that this movie was filmed in the present day. I have an untrained ear when it comes to passing
judgement on Sound Editing and Sound Mixing, but with all the explosions, gunfire and horse galloping I would say this movie has a good shot at winning one or both of those categories. The Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski was breathtaking at times. There were certainly scenes where he captures the sky in the most absolutely beautiful moments. I can see why a movie like this was nominated in so many technical categories.
"War Horse" gets from me a 3.5 out of 5 rating. It is technically a beautiful movie, but the acting of the main lead brings it down a notch and the score hams the movie up unnecessarily. The story itself is good and the look of the movie is realistic looking and beautiful.
judgement on Sound Editing and Sound Mixing, but with all the explosions, gunfire and horse galloping I would say this movie has a good shot at winning one or both of those categories. The Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski was breathtaking at times. There were certainly scenes where he captures the sky in the most absolutely beautiful moments. I can see why a movie like this was nominated in so many technical categories."War Horse" gets from me a 3.5 out of 5 rating. It is technically a beautiful movie, but the acting of the main lead brings it down a notch and the score hams the movie up unnecessarily. The story itself is good and the look of the movie is realistic looking and beautiful.
1 comment:
I agree with all of that.
I'd add that I thought casting a 'hunky young handsome guy' in the lead felt like a marketing move and made the story less compelling.
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