Greatest Best Picture of All Time: Round 1, Blockbuster Era
When Entertainment Weekly published its 66-movie bracket, they devoted the bottom-left corner to the "Blockbuster Era," aka 1979-1998. Bryan and I skipped ahead to that section because we'd already seen Titanic (1997). Which brings us to...
Blockbuster Era, Match 1: Titanic (1997) vs. Platoon (1986)
First Contestant: Titanic
There have been 11 films entitled Titanic, but only one of them has won Best Picture. I refer, of course, to the supersized James Cameron flick that came out in 1997 and was immediately responsible for every song on the radio being replaced by Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
In the 22 years since, however, several scenes have memetically mutated and become funnier in hindsight. Some younger viewers are surprised to realize that the line "draw me like one of your French girls" is played for erotic, not humorous effect. It is also a matter of some difficulty to convince naysayers that no, there wasn't room for two people on that door, dammit!!
When you sit down to watch this movie, in other words, you have quite a bit of preexisting public opinion to set aside. It can be hard to strip all that away and appreciate the film on its own merits.
Blockbuster Era, Match 1: Titanic (1997) vs. Platoon (1986)
First Contestant: Titanic
There have been 11 films entitled Titanic, but only one of them has won Best Picture. I refer, of course, to the supersized James Cameron flick that came out in 1997 and was immediately responsible for every song on the radio being replaced by Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
This Titanic was in theaters for almost 10 months and broke the record for domestic box office gross. Critics have advanced several explanations for its success, including the amazing star-making performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet; the innovative special effects; the director's loving attention to the human details of a compelling historical tragedy; and the high number of American men who will pay money to see a woman topless. Titanic also swept the Oscars, winning 11 out of 14 nominations (tying with 1959's Ben-Hur for the record) and inspiring a rather cringe-worthy acceptance speech from Mr. James King-of-the-World Cameron.
In the 22 years since, however, several scenes have memetically mutated and become funnier in hindsight. Some younger viewers are surprised to realize that the line "draw me like one of your French girls" is played for erotic, not humorous effect. It is also a matter of some difficulty to convince naysayers that no, there wasn't room for two people on that door, dammit!!
When you sit down to watch this movie, in other words, you have quite a bit of preexisting public opinion to set aside. It can be hard to strip all that away and appreciate the film on its own merits.
The Plot
Originally I wrote about 900 words to summarize this. Then, by chance, I ended up substitute-teaching an ESL class that was using the Top Notch textbook. Top Notch happens to describe the movie Titanic as follows: "In addition to a faithful historical account of the sinking, this is a 194-minute love story about a man who helps Rose find meaning in her life."
So let's go with that description. It'll save time.
I definitely think Titanic is a well-executed movie. It does have a couple of characterization problems, though.
For instance, when the ship is sinking, Rose is fully aware that more than half the passengers won't be able to fit on the lifeboats. She makes a heroic effort to break Jack out of the purser's office (where he's been unjustly imprisoned) so that he can at least have a fighting chance. When they get to the deck, though, the Second Officer won't let Jack on the lifeboat, despite there being seats available. He has decided that "women and children first" means "women and children only." (The 2nd officer was actually that strict in real life, but later went on to do very good things that led to Mark Rylance playing him in a different movie.) So Jack insists that Rose get on a lifeboat alone, and her ex-fiance Cal echoes that opinion. Rose takes the seat on a boat - and remember, the passengers outnumbered seats 2:1 - but, as it's being lowered, she jumps off the boat and back onto the ship. She wants to survive with Jack, or not at all.
Seriously? What about the other 2,200 people on this sinking ship, you selfish little brat?!
Even Jack calls her stupid for doing this:
This kicks off a series of events that ends up with the two of them (and 1,500 other screaming people) submersed in 28F water, with only 1 life jacket between them, and nothing to cling to except the wreckage of a door. This door is not buoyant enough to keep both of them afloat, so their choices are a) both get on top and both be partially submersed in sub-freezing water indefinitely, or b) let one person get dry while the other person freezes to death in the aforementioned water. No spoilers, but Jack goes with option B, and also volunteers to be the one who dies. His last words are "Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me that now, and never let go of that promise."
Which is touching and all, but...seriously?
Don't get me wrong - it's refreshing to see a rare male example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. But it's also problematic to have a dirt-poor man sacrifice his life in order to inspire a rich teenager's personal growth. Furthermore, 97% of first-class women passengers survived the sinking, compared to 13% of third-class men passengers. Which means that Jack was always going to die in this sinking, and Rose was always going to survive. Nothing either of them does in the third hour of the movie actually changes that outcome.
In other words, the moral of the story ends up being that Rose should fight to save her true love, but if that doesn't work, then she can at least use a mass tragedy to fake her own death, abandon her family, and start over. Later on, Jack and Rose can reunite in heaven.
Second Contestant: Platoon
Platoon is one of many attempts made by '80s Hollywood to deal with the horrific fallout of the Vietnam War, a category which also includes Full Metal Jacket, Born on the Fourth of July, Rambo (movies 1-3), Good Morning Vietnam, Hamburger Hill, Aliens, and Predator. This bumper crop of critical re-tellings about America's first military loss indicates at least 2 things: 1) the question of "why did we sacrifice so much for so little?" was weighing heavily on quite a few minds; and 2) we can probably expect to watch a lot of movies about the Afghan War in the 2030s.
This is also at least the 11th Best Picture winner to be about war.* Like many other films in the genre, Platoon was written and directed by a veteran, in this case Oliver Stone. Also like most other movies in the genre, it is not a happy or pleasant ride.
*This number might be higher depending on how you classify The Godfather, The Sound of Music, or Gone with the Wind, which are set during wars but don't show on-screen battles.
Chris realizes what really happened and gets into a physical fight with Barnes over it. Unfortunately, he's stoned at the time and Barnes is not, so he loses. Barnes leaves him alive to avoid being court-martialed.
Soon after, the severely-depleted platoon is overrun during a battle. In desperation, they call in an airstrike against their own position. Chris regains consciousness the next morning, finds a wounded Barnes, and kills him. Then the cavalry arrives in the form of an American tank crew flying the Nazi flag. The movie ends with Chris being evacuated in a medical helicopter, with a thousand-yard stare and an overly-anvilicious voice-over.
The Winner
This was the first contest for which Bryan and I were initially at odds. I enjoy Titanic's historical setting and dramatic tone, despite the characterization problems. But Bryan loves war movies and dislikes anything that involves sitting still for over 3 hours. After much discussion, we agreed to advance Platoon to the next round.
Up next: Birdman (2013) vs. Chicago (2002)
So let's go with that description. It'll save time.
I definitely think Titanic is a well-executed movie. It does have a couple of characterization problems, though.
For instance, when the ship is sinking, Rose is fully aware that more than half the passengers won't be able to fit on the lifeboats. She makes a heroic effort to break Jack out of the purser's office (where he's been unjustly imprisoned) so that he can at least have a fighting chance. When they get to the deck, though, the Second Officer won't let Jack on the lifeboat, despite there being seats available. He has decided that "women and children first" means "women and children only." (The 2nd officer was actually that strict in real life, but later went on to do very good things that led to Mark Rylance playing him in a different movie.) So Jack insists that Rose get on a lifeboat alone, and her ex-fiance Cal echoes that opinion. Rose takes the seat on a boat - and remember, the passengers outnumbered seats 2:1 - but, as it's being lowered, she jumps off the boat and back onto the ship. She wants to survive with Jack, or not at all.
Seriously? What about the other 2,200 people on this sinking ship, you selfish little brat?!
Even Jack calls her stupid for doing this:
I'm totally on your side, Jack. - via GIPHY
Which is touching and all, but...seriously?
Don't get me wrong - it's refreshing to see a rare male example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. But it's also problematic to have a dirt-poor man sacrifice his life in order to inspire a rich teenager's personal growth. Furthermore, 97% of first-class women passengers survived the sinking, compared to 13% of third-class men passengers. Which means that Jack was always going to die in this sinking, and Rose was always going to survive. Nothing either of them does in the third hour of the movie actually changes that outcome.
In other words, the moral of the story ends up being that Rose should fight to save her true love, but if that doesn't work, then she can at least use a mass tragedy to fake her own death, abandon her family, and start over. Later on, Jack and Rose can reunite in heaven.
Second Contestant: Platoon
Platoon is one of many attempts made by '80s Hollywood to deal with the horrific fallout of the Vietnam War, a category which also includes Full Metal Jacket, Born on the Fourth of July, Rambo (movies 1-3), Good Morning Vietnam, Hamburger Hill, Aliens, and Predator. This bumper crop of critical re-tellings about America's first military loss indicates at least 2 things: 1) the question of "why did we sacrifice so much for so little?" was weighing heavily on quite a few minds; and 2) we can probably expect to watch a lot of movies about the Afghan War in the 2030s.
This is also at least the 11th Best Picture winner to be about war.* Like many other films in the genre, Platoon was written and directed by a veteran, in this case Oliver Stone. Also like most other movies in the genre, it is not a happy or pleasant ride.
*This number might be higher depending on how you classify The Godfather, The Sound of Music, or Gone with the Wind, which are set during wars but don't show on-screen battles.
The Plot
Much like Rose from Titanic, protagonist Chris Taylor of Platoon lacks common sense. When the film begins, he has quit college and volunteered to be an infantryman in Vietnam. Unlike Paul from All Quiet on the Western Front, Chris was motivated not by patriotism but by a sense of inequality. As he puts it, "why should just the poor kids go off to war and the rich kids always get away with it?"
As his comrades put it, "You gotta be rich in the first place to think like that."
Anyway, Chris finds himself in a platoon where two sergeants, Elias and Barnes, are at odds over their philosophical approaches to war. Elias is a capable soldier, but also a good-hearted man who looks out for his subordinates and wants to minimize collateral damage. Barnes is a brutal and nasty person who has survived through extreme violence and blatant insubordination. Elias also indulges in drug use to take the edge off the horrors of war, while Barnes makes a point of staying clean. After Elias reports Barnes for illegally shooting a civilian (and their chain of command helpfully does nothing), the platoon is divided over how to handle the situation. Some argue for "fragging" Barnes (i.e. killing him in his sleep), while others argue for fragging Elias.
Barnes takes a third option: he gets Elias alone during a battle and shoots him in the chest repeatedly. He then reports that Elias was dead when he found him. This claim is dramatically undercut by the not-yet-dead Elias running into a clearing minutes after the evacuation helicopter leaves. Desperately trying to signal for help, he falls to his knees with his arms flung up like Christ on the cross. The VC shoots him multiple times before the astonished eyes of the departing platoon.
A moment that is rather spoiled by its inclusion on the DVD cover. - via GIPHY
Soon after, the severely-depleted platoon is overrun during a battle. In desperation, they call in an airstrike against their own position. Chris regains consciousness the next morning, finds a wounded Barnes, and kills him. Then the cavalry arrives in the form of an American tank crew flying the Nazi flag. The movie ends with Chris being evacuated in a medical helicopter, with a thousand-yard stare and an overly-anvilicious voice-over.
This was the first contest for which Bryan and I were initially at odds. I enjoy Titanic's historical setting and dramatic tone, despite the characterization problems. But Bryan loves war movies and dislikes anything that involves sitting still for over 3 hours. After much discussion, we agreed to advance Platoon to the next round.
Up next: Birdman (2013) vs. Chicago (2002)
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