#2022 Movie Odyssey Awards

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (final)

It is highly recommended you view the direct link to this; the indented bullets are still not fixed on tumblr after a few years now.

Wow. 10 years. Where does the time go? Happy anniversary to this bonkers, wonderful end-of-year blog tradition.

TAGGING: @addaellis, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shootingstarvenator, and @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal

OPEN INVITATIONS TO longtime followers, active followers, and previous participants including: @asexual-idiot-ramblings, @biglifehightides, @birdsongvelvet, @chinadoll408, @cinemaocd, @dansmonarbre, @dog-of-ulthar, @exlibrisneh, @machpowervisions, @memetoilet, @metamatar, @myluckyerror, @noelevangilinecarson, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, @the-lilac-grove, and @thewolfofelectricavenue. And any other followers who might be interested in helping out here!

A good day to all of you,

After an exciting end to the preliminary round, we arrive at the true business end for 2022's Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). This is tenth annual edition of MOABOS on this blog, as many of you know, and the ninth with participation from family, friends, and tumblr followers. If you asked me back in 2013 how long this would run, I would never have imagined five editions, let alone ten.

Record-keeping for this year's edition began when I saw All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) on January 2, 2022. Somehow, that one song I picked out in that movie has survived the entire year to get to this point. Over the rest of 2022, numerous songs from various movies filtered in and out on my master shortlist, culminating into this final round.

INTRODUCTION

For those who have never participated in this before, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time that calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey", in which any rewatches do not count) withan Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category except for this, Best Original Song. Original Song is the only category which does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. As always, MOABOS is considered a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways over how long I've known you for. In addition, I think it's a fun way to introduce to all of you films and music you may not have otherwise encountered or sought and to give everyone a dose of film and music history. MOABOS is but a foot-deep glimpse into my Movie Odyssey for this last year.

This final will be contested by fifteen songs. But it should (and still could be, unless I can't find it by January 1) be sixteen. Absent from the final round due to the fact I cannot find any video or audio on it is "Nous sommes seuls dans la forêt (We Are Alone in the Forest)” from 1930's Le Million. Unless I (or someone else) can find a video or audio clip of before January 1, this song will have to be considered an honorable mention. One online movie reviewer had a YouTube link to this song, but unfortunately it ran afoul of the Criterion Collection (who handle the film's distribution in North America) some time ago.

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the film industry. And as such, for the second straight year running, there are zero original songs from movies released this calendar year (I know, some of you are wondering why I didn't see the Top Gun sequel, and that's because I haven't seen the original). There was one entry from 2021 in this year's preliminary, but it was barely eliminated.

Also reflective of how personally difficult this year has been for me, this is a monolingual field for the final. That is a MOABOS first. I've said how much I find this distasteful, that I have no French chansons, Japanese anime songs, Viet Film Fest finds, Indian cinema discoveries (I refuse to watch RRR in any language other than the original Telugu and certainly not the Hindi dub on Netflix), or anything else found their way into the mix. Tracking down a significant amount of non-English language movies I see every year requires a certain amount of effort and time, and I wasn't able to do that as much as I'd like this 2022.

For this year's final, an MGM musical makes a MOABOS bow for the first time since 2017, with one the studio's more iconic songs (albeit not in the form of its most famous rendition). Doris Day, Warner Bros.' principal musical actress in the 1940s and '50s, was featured heavily in last year's edition, but did not end up in the top ten, She returns with three songs in the final this year. This ties a record for a performer - shared by Prince who had three songs for Purple Rain in 2018 and Elvis for three songs in Blue Hawaii and Frankie and Johnny in 2020).

Animation fans might raise their eyebrows with the sort-of rekindling of a rivalry: Disney (with The Rescuers and Oliver & Company) v. Don Bluth (All Dogs Go to Heaven). Meanwhile, the ageless Harry Belafonte makes the final on his MOABOS debut. As does the incredible Alice Faye (who is here twice over for The Gang's All Here). It's shaping up to be an interesting final!

2022's winner will join this company:

2021: “Lullaby in Ragtime” , The Five Pennies (1959) 2020: “Can't Help Falling in Love” , Blue Hawaii (1961) 2019: “I Wish I Didn't Love You So”, The Perils of Pauline (1947) 2018: “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) 2017: “Remember Me (Recuérdame)”, Coco (2017) 2016: “Stayin’ Alive”, Saturday Night Fever (1977) 2015: “Amhrán Na Farraige”, Song of the Sea (2014) 2014: “Rainbow Connection”, The Muppet Movie (1979) 2013: “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re In the Money)”,Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

INSTRUCTIONS

Please rank (#1-15) your choices in order. The top ten songs will receive nominations; all others get "Honorable Mentions". There is no minimum or maximum amount of songs you can rank, but because of the nature of single transferable vote, it is highly recommended to rank as many songs as possible, rather than only one or two. Those who rank fewer songs run a greater risk of their ballots being discarded in the later rounds of tabulation. Again, this is all described in the "read more".

Please consider to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines):

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration);

Its lyrics;

Context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films);

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable);

The song's cultural impact and context/sociopolitical context/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

Because of the difficulty to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. You are highly encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The tabulation method used in the preliminary round (10 points for 1st place, 9 points for 2nd, etc.) is being used for this round. But is used for the final only as the second tiebreaker (the tabulation method that will be used principally for the final – aka "single transferable vote" – is described in the "read more").

The deadline for submission is Saturday, January 7 Sunday, January 15 at 7 PM Pacific Time. That is 5 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time and 9 PM Central Time / 10 PM Eastern. That deadline is also Monday, January 16 at 3 AM GMT / 4 AM CET / 5 AM EET / 8 AM Pakistan Standard Time / 8:30 AM Indian Standard Time. This deadline – and I really hope we don't have to do this – will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time.

All of the below songs can also be found in this YouTube playlist (but please note you may not judge the music video of "9 to 5", you must judge the song and how it is used in context).

Enjoy the music! Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies you may have never otherwise heard of that you find fascinating. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):

2022 MOVIE ODYSSEY AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG – FINAL ROUND

“Good Morning”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Babes in Arms (1939)

Performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney

4th in Group A

This song appears early in the first Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musical of several (the two had previously appeared together in the fourth film of the Andy Hardy series) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Here, two vaudeville kids from different families – "Mickey" Moran (Rooney) and Patsy Barton (Garland) – are attempting to sell one of his songs to a musical publishing company. Babes in Arms was released a month after Garland starred in The Wizard of Oz.

If this song sounds familiar, it's because its most famous use was when it was recycled for Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor during Singin' in the Rain (1952) – a movie that recycled many MGM songs to immaculate results (MGM liked to recycle its songs multiple times for some of its musicals).

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, music by Nicholas Brodszky, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Performed by Doris Day

2nd in Group B

(use in film) / (single version)

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Ruth Etting (Day) has left the rough-and-tumble Chicago nightclub scene, thanks to her gangster boyfriend Martin Snyder (James Cagney). Ruth wants to break into the recording industry and, early on that journey, partakes in this early rehearsal with singing coach Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell; whose character falls for Day's).

“Island in the Sun”, music and lyrics by Harry Belafonte and Irving Burgie, Island in the Sun (1957)

Performed by Harry Belafonte

5th in Group A

Played over the opening credits of this romantic drama, complete with aerial footage of the island where the film takes place. Set on a fictional Caribbean island (and shot on location in Barbados and Grenada), Island in the Sun was controversial when it was first released due to its depiction of interracial relationships, adultery, and colonial politics.

Jamaican-American singer and actor Harry Belafonte introduced calypso music to American audiences in the 1950s. The genre, originating in Trinidad and Tobago in the 18th century, is influenced by the storytelling tradition of West African griots and often employs a syncopated 2/4 beat derived from West African musical beats. Calypso is a precursor to ska and reggae.

“Johnny Guitar”, music by Victor Young, lyrics by Peggy Lee, Johnny Guitar (1954)

Performed by Peggy Lee

Advanced directly to the final

Appears in the transition into the end credits of this proto-feminist Western. Victor Young's melody is the centerpiece to his score to this movie, and it is heard throughout. Joan Crawford plays Vienna, a saloonkeeper who has a tumultuous relationship with the locals because of her support for a local railroad project. The locals, led by hotheaded Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) find a pretext to run Vienna out of town for good, but not before the mysterious Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) shows up in town. The film was received cooly upon release, but time has elevated its reputation.

I know certain folks who have played Fallout: New Vegas are going to have a hard time setting aside their animosity for this song, but alas. “Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.”

“A Journey to a Star”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Alice Faye; reprised by film's cast

5th in Group B

(initial performance) / (reprise)

Onboard a ship bound a destination to, erm, somewhere, onboard entertainer Eadie Allen (Alice Faye) starts falling with Andy Mason (James Ellison), who is shortly about to report for duty in the South Pacific. The reprise occurs as a film-ending fantasia, complete with Busby Berkeley's oftentimes kaleidoscopic mass choreography, which he popularized in the 1930s (although they were already out-of-fashion by the time he made The Gang's All Here).

In the days of Old Hollywood, key cast and crewmembers were contracted specifically to the major studios. Some of the major studios had their signature musical stars. Among musical actresses? Judy Garland was contracted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM); Doris Day to Warner Bros; Deanna Durbin for Universal; Ginger Rogers for RKO while partnering with Fred Astaire. Until her being blackballed for a perceived breach of contract, it was Alice Faye who was 20th Century Fox's principal musical actress (she was supplanted by close friend Betty Grable). Faye makes her MOABOS debut, and it won't be the last time we see her.

“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, music and lyrics by Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole, A Mighty Wind (2003)

Performed by Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara

Advanced directly to the final

(use in film) / (soundtrack version)

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Christopher Guest's A Mighty Wind is a comedic mockumentary about a folk music reunion that sees three acts reunited for a send-off public TV special. Levy and O'Hara are Mitch & Mickey – once a married couple, but long separated after Mitch had a mental breakdown and never recovered. Mitch is seen having difficulty communicating and concentrating throughout the film, except when playing music. This song is heard in bits and pieces through the film until finally played in its entirety in this final scene. If you like this, I highly recommend watching Levy and O’Hara’s Oscar performance of this song (in character, to boot).

"I know this song. This is that really pretty one." – you better know this one Michael McKean, as you're the one who co-wrote it! Yes, the tall blonde lady is Jane Lynch

“Love Survives”, music and lyrics by Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, Mike Curb, and Michael Lloyd, All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Performed by Irene Cara and Freddie Jackson

3rd in Group B

“Love Survives” appears as the first song in the end credits of this animated musical fantasy directed by Don Bluth (1986's An American Tail, 1988's The Land Before Time). To preempt your questions about the YouTube comments in the provided link, it should be noted that this song was dedicated to voice actress Judith Barsi – who plays the human protagonist, Anne-Marie, in this movie (and Ducky in the original Land Before Time) – after she and her mother were both murdered by her father before this film was released.

“A Mighty Wind”, music and lyrics by Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean, A Mighty Wind (2003)

Performed by The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer); Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara); and The New Main Street Singers (John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Christopher Moynihan, David Blasucci, Mark Nonisa, Steve Pandis, and Patrick Sauber)

6th in Group B

The son (Bob Balaban) of an acclaimed folk music producer tries to put together a memorial concert on public TV to honor his late father, asking the three most famous of his father's acts to participate. After some drama among all three groups, they all come together for the concert, with this number concluding the occasion.

The video provided is from the public television alternative print that was offered as a DVD extra, not how this scene was shot in the movie. I have decided to provide the public TV alternative because the original is not available on YouTube (and also because the public TV version mirrors closely how it was shot in the film).

No apologies for that dirty lyric.

“Never Look Back”, music and lyrics by Chilton Price, Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Performed by Doris Day

2nd in Group A

Ruth Etting (Day) has left the rough-and-tumble Chicago nightclub scene, thanks to her gangster (and now ex-) boyfriend Martin Snyder (James Cagney in one of his final gangster roles). At this point, Ruth has made it in the recording industry and is now recording a song for a Hollywood movie she just starred in. A jealous Martin watches on in the recording booth.

“9 to 5” , music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, Nine to Five (1980)

Performed by Dolly Parton

Advanced directly to the final

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

This song is performed over the opening credits to this workplace revenge comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dabney Coleman as the three leads' chauvinist boss. “9 to 5” represented Parton's breakthrough into pop music, having previously only been known as a country music star.

NOTE: the above link takes you to a clip of the opening credits. The provided YouTube playlist only has the music video (remember you are judging the song and its use in context, not a music video).

“No Love, No Nothin'”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Alice Faye

3rd in Group A

A dinner-and-a-show club is in dress rehearsal for their newest show and, more urgently, a war bond party. Eadie Allen (Alice Faye) is the performer here, with U.S. Army servicemember Andy Mason Jr. (James Ellison; whose character is on a furlough) among the few people permitted to preview the performance. Andy and Eadie had a chance encounter a few years back, with the two clearly interested in each other but nothing transpiring.

“Nous sommes seuls dans la forêt (We Are Alone in the Forest)”, music and lyrics by Armand Bernard, Philippe Parès, and Georges Van Parys, Le Million (1931, France)

This entry is a placeholder. Do not rank unless I find the audio/video to this online somewhere. If I cannot find a video/audio clip by January 1, this song will be considered an "Honorable Mention".

Performed by Constantin Siroesco and Odette Talazac

Lyrics in French

Siroesco and Talazac are two operatic singers at a stage show that is almost interrupted by the heavily indebted Michel (René Lefèvre) and fiancée, Beatrice (Annabella). Michel has won the lottery, but he has misplaced his winning ticket in his jacket. Michel's pursuit of the jacket has taken him to this theater, where he and Beatrice run out on stage at the worst possible time. They crouch behind some scenery, while this song - reflective of their relationship - plays.

“Pillow Talk”, music and lyrics by Buddy Pepper and Inez James, Pillow Talk (1959)

Performed by Doris Day

6th in Group A

This is the title song – played over the opening credits – to this romantic comedy starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

This was the first of three groundbreaking romcoms (an informal trilogy) starring Day and Hudson. Tony Randall also starred in all three of these movies in supporting roles. Along with Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964), Pillow Talk was considered risqué for the time and helped to contribute to the demise of the Hays Code (a series of self-censorship guidelines for almost all major Hollywood movies released from 1934-1968). For the classic film buffs out there, Pillow Talk is like a pre-Code picture that just happened to show up in the late '50s.

“Someone's Waiting for You”, music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, The Rescuers (1977)

Performed by Shelby Flint

1st in Group A

Six-year-old orphan Penny (Michelle Stacy) has been kidnapped by the greedy Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page). Medusa has imprisoned Penny in a Louisiana bayou. But the resourceful Penny has sent a message in a bottle that has been received by the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization housed in the U.N. in New York. This song plays non-diegetically as our two mice heroes, Bernard and Ms. Bianca (Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor), arrive.

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, music by Jerry Goldsmith, lyrics by Richard Gillis, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Performed by Richard Gillis

4th in Group B

Thumbnail image is slightly NSFW

In this American Western film's opening minutes, Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) has been abandoned in the desert by his two companions. He wanders the Arizona desert, speaking in a folksy demeanor to no one but God as if trying to bargain over his desperate situation. The opening credits play during this song and Cable's exhortations to the Lord. For film score fans: this movie was released one month after Patton (which Jerry Goldsmith also scored).

The Ballad of Cable Hogue was an unusually light-hearted and tender Western by director Sam Peckinpah, best known today for revisionist Westerns that soaked in nihilistic ultraviolence (most notably 1969's The Wild Bunch).

“Why Should I Worry?”, music and lyrics by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, Oliver & Company (1988)

Performed by Billy Joel

1st in Group B

(use in film) / (soundtrack version)

Early in this adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist (but where almost all the characters are sassy talking animals), the dog version of Billy Joel, Dodger, reneges on a deal with young orphan cat Oliver (Joey Lawrence) to steal hot dogs from a human vendor.

Have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Maybe you would like to know something more about a song or a movie featured in this year's competition? Well, just ask yours truly! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

Once more to all, my thanks all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over this last calendar year and beyond. However long you've known me - whether it's been a few months, or, wow, more than half my life, it is a privilege and a pleasure to share all this music and (at least excerpts of) these movies with you. It's my hope you find this entertaining and enlightening about cinema and the music that goes along with it. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Happy listening, and I hope you have fun!

The winner is determined by a process distinct from the preliminary round. For the final, the winner is chosen by the process known as single transferable vote (the Academy Awards uses this method to choose a Best Picture winner, visually explained here):

All #1 picks from all voters are tabulated. A song needs more than half of all aggregate votes to win (50% of all votes plus one… i.e. if there are thirty respondents, sixteen #1 votes are needed to win on the first count).

If there is no winner after the first count (as is most likely), the song(s) with the fewest #1 votes or points is/are eliminated. Placement will be determined by the tiebreakers described below. Then, we look at the ballots of those who voted for the most recently-eliminated song(s). Their votes then go to the highest remaining non-eliminated song on their ballot.

The process described in step #2 repeats until one song has secured 50% plus one of all votes. We keep eliminating nominees and transfer votes to the highest-ranked, non-eliminated song on each ballot. A song is declared the winner when it reaches more than fifty percent of all #1 and re-distributed votes.

NOTE: It is possible after several rounds of counting that respondents who did not entirely fill in their ballots will have wasted their votes at the end of the process. For example, if a person voted the second-to-last place song as their #1, ranked no other songs, and the count has exceeded two rounds, their ballot is discarded (lowering the vote threshold needed to win), and they have no say in which song ultimately is the winner.

Tiebreakers: 1) first song to receive 50% plus one of all #1 and transferred votes; 2) total points earned (this was the first tiebreaker in the preliminary round); 3) total #1 votes; 4) average placement on my ballot and my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared

[techradar-247]

Insights into Wednesday Season 2: Jenna Ortega Discusses the Upcoming Action-Packed Horror Experience

Introduction:

As the fervor for Wednesday Season 2 reaches its zenith, Jenna Ortega, reprising her iconic role as Wednesday Addams, recently spilled captivating details during the pre-show at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. From script revelations to a departure from romantic undertones, let's delve into Jenna Ortega's revelations about the impending season, promising an exhilarating, horror-laden escapade for avid fans.

Jenna Ortega's Insights at the Emmy Awards:

At the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards pre-show, the 21-year-old actress, Jenna Ortega, shared a sneak peek into the highly anticipated Wednesday Season 2. Armed with the scripts for the upcoming season and now donning the hat of a producer, Jenna unveiled that the new installment would steer towards heightened horror, bidding adieu to the whimsical romance that characterized Season 1.

Thrilling Action and Cinematic Brilliance:

A standout revelation emerged as Jenna expressed that Wednesday Season 2 would be a thrilling rollercoaster of action. Teasing "really good one-liners," she emphasized that each episode would exude cinematic brilliance, promising a viewing experience akin to watching a captivating movie. This bold shift aligns seamlessly with the show's evolution, ensuring an electrifying ride for its dedicated fan base.

Jenna Ortega's Vision for Wednesday's Evolution:

Delving into the character dynamics, Jenna Ortega shed light on the character arc of Wednesday Addams in Season 2. Acknowledging the need for evolution, Jenna conveyed her excitement about unraveling new facets of Wednesday's persona. Despite the character's timeless consistency, Jenna believes a touch of change is vital for the show's dynamism, presenting Season 2 as the ideal canvas for Wednesday's evolution.

Emmy Awards Triumph and Acclaim:

The Jenna Ortega-led sensation, Wednesday, garnered significant acclaim at the Emmy Awards, securing three nominations. With nods for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Jenna Ortega, and Outstanding Direction for a Comedy Series for Tim Burton, the series stood as a testament to its impact on the television landscape. These accolades underscore the show's popularity and critical acclaim.

Season 1 Recap and Cliffhanger Anticipation:

Premiering on November 16, 2022, Wednesday Season 1 swiftly ascended to become Netflix's second most-watched English language show within three weeks of its release. The season concluded with an intense cliffhanger, unraveling Wednesday's newfound stalker. Cryptic texts and images hinted at looming threats, setting the stage for a gripping continuation in Season 2.

Departure from Romance:

Jenna Ortega's earlier revelation about Season 2 showcased a deliberate shift away from romantic elements prevalent in Season 1. The decision to forego any romantic entanglements for Wednesday underscores a commitment to delve deeper into horror and character development. This narrative pivot signals a refreshing direction for the series, leaving fans intrigued about the resolution of Season 1's lingering cliffhanger.

Conclusion:

With Wednesday Season 2 poised to be a spellbinding and action-packed horror odyssey, Jenna Ortega's revelations offer enthusiasts a tantalizing glimpse into the evolution of a beloved character. The abandonment of romance, coupled with the promise of heightened action and cinematic excellence, adds an extra layer of anticipation for viewers eagerly awaiting the next chapter. Recognized at the Emmy Awards and guided by Jenna Ortega's vision, Wednesday Season 2 stands as a beacon for an enthralling and captivating narrative. As production gears up and fans await further revelations, the excitement continues to mount for the mysterious and alluring world of Wednesday.

[pulsdmedia]

The Week Ahead 7/10-7/16

We’re feeling the heat this week, so let the sweat and the beats drop. Escape the heat with open bar disco parties, an outdoor fest that serves up endless booze, a full moon soirée, and so much more. Summer at its finest...

**THIS WEEKEND** Long Island Summer Festival

Outdoor summer vibes, endless drinks to cool you off, and so many more delicious treats will be served up at the 2022 Long Island Summer Festival. Grab your $19 Ticket that gets you admission, plus 4 Hours To Enjoy 150+ Local, National, & International Beers, Wines & Spirits, plus more surprises in store! Live music, tasty eats, and fun games will give you a break from all the booze, which you'll drink endlessly from a handy souvenir tasting glass you can take home after the festival! You'll discover new brews, vinos, and spirits, meeting the brewery representatives, sommeliers, and master distillers as they refill your glass!

Free Fitness Classes In The Meatpacking District

Join the Meatpacking BID and the Wellth Collective for a fun al fresco fitness series consisting of three free 45-minute classes! Classes will consist of a variety of modalities including yoga, bootcamp, dance cardio, boxing, pilates and more. This week, join 305 Fitness for a non-stop cardio party or opt for a full-body balanced workout with Barre3.

Up To 50% Off Tickets To Seven Sins: A Sultry Cabaret + Burlesque Show

A decadent escape from reality, Seven Sins at Theatre XIV is truly outstanding. Applauded by Forbes, "Company XIV Rules New York City Nightlife Once Again With Seven Sins," serving up a glittering showcase of sensual, mind-blowing performances with a spectacular spin. Dubbed a baroque burlesque, the show centers around a modern retelling of the story of Adam, Eve, and the fall of man. It's garnered a ton of buzz not only for the cast of exceptionally talented and skilled performers, but for the lush design and the luxe feel. In a uniquely beautiful and intimate theatre, you'll watch as imaginative performances take place on the stunning stage - acrobats will fly high, contortionists will bend into mesmerizing shapes, dancers will transfix with their moves, singers are set to entice with their melodies, and so much more...

"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" Screening

Join 92Y for a special advance screening of award-winning director, Anthony Fabian’s, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris — followed by a pre-recorded conversation with its star, Academy Award-nominated actress Lesley Manville, and TheWrap’s Benjamin Lindsay. Based on Paul Gallico’s beloved novel from 1958, the film tells the story of a hard-working London maid who becomes determined to go to Paris and purchase a couture dress from the House of Dior — and ends up changing Dior in the process. See the movie before it hits theaters and hear Manville discuss her role, the making of the film, stories from behind the scenes, and more.

$19 VIP Ticket: 2 Hour Open Bar Studio 54 Summer Fridays Party

Go back in time and experience the great discotheques of the '70s like Studio 54, 2001 Odyssey, and the infamous Copacabana as Casa 51 turns up the heat to a full inferno with their specially curated Studio 54 Summer Fridays series! Let the music of the '70s fill the air at this groovy spectacular that harkens to the heyday of glamour and glitter, with a heavy splash of unlimited drinks, DJ sounds, and vibes aplenty. Snap selfies in Boogie Wonderland, breathe in the fresh air on the outdoor ParaDisco patio, grab your friends & learn the Hustle, drop by the Disco Fever Mirrored Wall for a complimentary far-out photo or video, marvel as the the Studio 54 aerialist glides on the infamous crescent moon, hit the dance floor to the disco rhythms - there's so many more surprises in store!

Full Moon Party

Align your vibe with the surreal spirits in the celestial glow as you bask in the lunar love of this July full moon! Nurture your nature and shine like the star that you are. On this night, you'll connect to the cosmos and radiate in the ritual of timeless dance magic madness. Light the candles, burn the fires, the night is yours!

[chasereed8]

Watch The Most Effective Motion Pictures Of 2022

With the discharge of hdss like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it is laborious to believe that it's been over a decade since Revenge of the Sith. However, in 2022 that point can have flown by and we'll be dwelling in a future the place some exciting new films are premiering. With that said, what movies do you suppose should be on your viewing list as far as the anticipated releases?

What are the best Movies of 2022?

If you are in search of some great movies to look at in 2022, look no additional! Listed below are the highest five movies that you need to positively take a look at. 1. "A Star Is Born" This is probably the most anticipated film of the 12 months, and for good reason. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga star in this drama about a younger girl who rises to fame after her self-proclaimed "hillbilly" husband turns into a star. 2. "Black Panther" The critically acclaimed movie from Marvel comes to theaters this year and it's positive to be a success. Chadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa, the king of Wakanda and Black Panther, who should protect his kingdom from enemies both inside and out of doors of the nation. 3. "The Put up" Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star on this drama in regards to the Washington Publish's resolution to publish the Pentagon Papers, which reveal the government's secrets concerning the Vietnam Conflict. 4. "Incredibles 2" The Incredibles return this year in an motion-packed sequel that is sure to delight followers of the primary movie. This time round, Mr. Incredible (Hickory Dickory Dock)

A short Historical past of Cinema

The history of cinema is fascinating, relationship again to the late 1800s. The very first movies were created in 1894 by French photographer and filmmaker Louis Le Prince. He created a movie camera and film stock, which allowed for more accurate filming and improved the quality of films. In 1912, the primary function length film was created - a 15-minute adaptation of the story of Homer's Odyssey. In those early years, films were typically shown in rural areas as an educational instrument or to promote tourism. Nonetheless, it wasn't until 1927 that the primary talking film was released. All through the years, films have evolved into what we all know and love at the moment. There are now numerous totally different genres and styles of movies available to watch, making it a really distinctive experience. Here are a few of our favourite movies from this year and upcoming years: "A Quiet Place" - This thriller is about in the future after an apocalyptic event has destroyed most of civilization. The remaining humans live in silence, making an attempt to survive by hiding from the monstrous creatures that roam the world. "Black Panther" - This action-packed movie follows T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he leads a workforce of warriors in an attempt to take down

Awards and Baftas: The Significance of popularity in Cinema

The Academy Awards ceremony is one in all the biggest occasions in Hollywood yearly, and with good purpose. The Oscars are thought-about the Oscars by many, and they typically reflect the popular opinion of what are thought of the best movies of that yr. Nonetheless, even when a film didn’t win any awards on the Academy Awards, it should still be considered the most effective motion pictures by followers. Reputation might be simply as necessary as awards relating to judging the quality of a movie. A film that is properly-acquired by audiences and critics alike is more prone to generate income at the box office and receive other awards down the line. This reputation may come from one or more components. For example, a properly-made film could have nice performing and directing, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t have a lot of an influence. Conversely, a movie with bad acting and writing may do properly on the box office even if it doesn’t have great visuals or sound results. Regardless of the case may be, popular films tend to stay around longer than less widespread ones. Which means that over time, they turn out to be more memorable and deserving of recognition. In brief, popular

Best Movies Unseen Thus far for 2020

Trying to look at a few of the most effective films of 2022? Look no further! Here are 10 films that you will not need to miss. 1. "A Star is Born" This remake of the traditional film stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. It tells the story of a proficient musician who turns into a star after meeting a famous singer. 2. "The Meg" This motion thriller stars Jason Statham and Li Bingbing. It tells the story of a gaggle of scientists who're trapped in a submarine with an enormous shark. 3. "Mary Poppins Returns" This sequel to the basic film stars Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins. She visits London throughout World Conflict II and helps kids to cope with the conflict. 4. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" This comedy movie stars Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell. It tells the story of a girl who is dumped by her husband and pressured to go underground as a spy. 5. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" This laptop-generated superhero film stars Miles Morales as Spider-Man. It tells the story of Peter Parker, who's remodeled into Spider-Man and

Conclusion

The yr 2022 is coming and with it comes a complete new set of movies! A few of them are positive to be hits, and others is probably not as in style. Nevertheless, no matter what, there's one thing for positive: these movies are going to be amazing! If you are searching for the better of the perfect, that is the section for you! Here, we'll spotlight five of our favorite motion pictures from this year and let you realize why they deserve your consideration. So whether you are a film lover or just need to see some great new titles, read on!

[cruisedesk-blog]

Carnival Corporation Launches First of Three New Ships in 2017: Seabourn Encore from its Seabourn Ultra-Luxury Cruise Line

As demand continues to rise for cruise vacations -- one of fastest-growing segments of vacation industry - three of 10 brands from world's largest leisure travel company add new ships in 2017

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest leisure travel company, recently launched the Seabourn Encore, the first of three new ships that will enter service in 2017 across three of its 10 global cruise brands. Carnival Corporation will also launch Majestic Princess from Princess Cruises in April, which will be the world's first cruise ship built specifically for the Chinese market, and its Germany-based AIDA Cruises brand in July will launch AIDAperla, one of the world's most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced ships.

Following the launch of Seabourn Encore, the upcoming 2017 additions of Majestic Princess and AIDAperla are part of the 17 ships scheduled for delivery for Carnival Corporation and its brands through 2022, creating measured capacity growth over time that enables the company's global fleet to meet accelerating demand for cruise vacations in every region of the world.

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"On the heels of launching three new ships in 2016, it is exciting to have three more new ships join our fleet in 2017 as we re-invest on multiple fronts to continue raising the bar in providing our guests with a great vacation experience at an exceptional value," said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation.

Added Frizzell: "Introducing new ships is part of our long-term strategy to build state-of-the-art vessels that are highly efficient to operate while creating excitement and demand among consumers. Of course, as stunning and beautiful as our new and existing ships are, what matters even more is the passionate focus of our 120,000 employees on providing our guests with extraordinary experiences to over 700 ports around the world that land-based vacations simply cannot match. All in all, it is rewarding to see more and more consumers recognizing that cruising is the world's best vacation and vacation value."

The three new ships scheduled to join Carnival Corporation's fleet include:

Seabourn: Seabourn Encore – Official launch date of January 2017 Seabourn Encore, the fourth all-suite ship in Seabourn's fleet, was launched Jan. 7 at a festive evening ceremony pier side at Marina Bay Cruise Center in Singapore, a key Asian shipping hub and popular homeport in southeast Asia for Carnival Corporation cruise ships. The launch featured international recording artist and world's best-selling soprano Sarah Brightman presiding over the naming ceremony as godmother of the new 600-guest ship.

The vessel was designed by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany and features contemporary interiors and modern design elements and innovations consistent with the line's reputation for understated elegance. Tihany is also designing a second ship, Seabourn Ovation, which is currently under construction and scheduled to launch in spring 2018.

Seabourn Encore will expand and build on the line's award-winning Odyssey-class ships, which revolutionized ultra-luxury cruising with enhanced accommodations and innovative amenities when they were introduced between 2009 and 2011. The 40,350-gross ton ship is configured with one additional deck, expanded public areas and a private veranda for every suite.

Seabourn Encore will maintain the line's high ratio of space per guest, enabling highly personalized service by its exceptional crew.

The new vessel continues Seabourn's reputation as the world's finest ultra-luxury cruise line. Seabourn has been named the "World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line" by readers of both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Cruise Critic named Seabourn "Best for Luxury," and numerous other publications have recognized the brand for its luxurious accommodations, extraordinary level of service, exceptional dining and unrivaled spa facilities.

Princess Cruises: Majestic Princess – Official launch date of April 2017 Majestic Princess will be the world's first cruise ship built specifically for the Chinese market, where Carnival Corporation, led by Princess Cruises and Italy-based Costa Cruises, maintains industry leadership in a market expected to eventually become the world's largest cruising region. The 143,000-ton vessel, with capacity for 3,560 guests based on double occupancy, will showcase the exclusive Princess Class experience enhanced with features designed specifically for Chinese travelers.

Majestic Princess will also offer the international flavor of cruising with Princess Cruises, drawn from the brand's award-winning expertise as the world's leader in premium destination cruising.

Majestic Princess will be the only cruise ship that offers two specialty dinner menus designed by Michelin star chefs at sea in China.

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One offering is Harmony, created in partnership with Richard Chen, former chef of Wing Lei – the first Chinese restaurant in North America awarded a Michelin star. Harmony will feature haute Chinese cuisine paired with pristine ocean views and modern décor, serving Chen's interpretation of classic Cantonese dishes.  The second Michelin star dining experience will be "La Mer – A French Bistro" from three-Michelin star chef Emmanuel Renaut.

The ship will also offer Princess' signature Movies Under the Stars, with the largest outdoor screen at sea, and the exciting Princess Water Color Fantasy fountain and light show.

Guests will also experience the signature SeaWalk, the industry's first glass-floor walkway at sea, and SeaView Bar featuring "flair" bartending with the best views at sea.

The Piazza Atrium, the central focal point of the ship, features live entertainment throughout the day and evening. It is a grand spectacle surrounded by The Shops of Princess, nearly 1,100 square meters of luxury boutiques, which include designer brand shops from Cartier, Bvlgari and Chopard and leather goods from Burberry and Gucci, to name a few.

Accommodations will be configured to appeal to families and multigenerational travelers, and all outside staterooms will have private balconies.

AIDA Cruises: AIDAperla – Official launch date of July 2017 AIDAperla is the 12th and second of a new-generation vessel in the fleet for AIDA Cruises, the most recognized cruise brand in Germany and one of the country's fastest-growing and most successful tourism businesses that has pioneered the "green cruising" concept. At 124,500 tons with 1,643 cabins, AIDAperla will be among the world's most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly cruise ships.

AIDAperla will – like its sister ship AIDAprima -- feature the revolutionary hull design that significantly enhances energy efficiency. It will also use the Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS), which was a first in the cruise industry on AIDAprima. This modern technology enables the ships to glide on a cushion of air, further reducing fuel consumption.

The ship will also feature AIDA's Spray Bar, an exclusive, all-white champagne lounge, which is spread across two decks and operated via partnership with Moët & Chandon.

More New Ships to Join Fleet in 2018 In 2018, Carnival Corporation plans to launch three new ships from Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Seabourn. The Carnival Horizon, sister ship of the Carnival Vista, from Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled for delivery in March 2018; the Seabourn Ovation from Seabourn is scheduled for delivery in spring 2018; and ms Nieuw Statendam, sister ship of ms Koningsdam, from Holland America Line is scheduled for delivery in November 2018.

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[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (final results)

TAGGING (even some folks who didn’t do this but I hope will join/rejoin us someday): @addaellis, @emilylime5, @exlibrisneh​, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @machpowervisions, @maximiliani, @memetoilet​, @metamatar, @myluckyerror​, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shadesofhappy​, @shootingstarvenator, and @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal

Hello everybody,

This is being sent much later than it has been in the past, but hopefully the first few weeks of 2023 have been treating you all well. Whether or not you participated in 2022′s Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS) final, I thank you for your consideration, your time, and your support. This was, as many of you know, the tenth edition of MOABOS and the ninth with outside involvement from family, friends, and tumblr followers. This strange little tradition has some history behind it now. Stunning upsets, controversy, runaways and nailbiters, my friends asking what is up with the musical taste from my other friends, and much more.

Only the basics can be found in the body of this post (if you did those over email, I also sent you some details over Excel). The “read more” includes the ten Best Picture winners for this year's Movie Odyssey Awards.

Over the last few years, we've alternated between upset winner and mainstream winners. Last year for the 2021 edition of MOABOS, the upset winner was "Lullaby in Ragtime" from The Five Pennies (1959) - stunning the prohibitive favorite, Billie Eilish's title song from No Time to Die (2021). That year saw parity at the top (when you used the points system used in the preliminary). Only two points separated 1st and 3rd last year.

This year was a two-horse race and it was apparent, from less than a dozen rankings submitted, the direction this year's edition of MOABOS was going. Once more, MOABOS alternates between an upset and the mainstream. This year was decidedly mainstream.

First, the standings on points. It should be noted that MOABOS 2022/MOABOS X smashed 2019's participation record for the final. Up from 33 rankings received (including yours truly), this year we had 40 participants in the final (and we still had people who i invited who didn’t have time/didn’t participate).

STANDINGS ON POINTS (USED ONLY AS A SECONDARY TIEBREAKER... the actual final result is the list below this one). Using the method used in the preliminary round, the count would’ve looked like this (“Song”, Film title (points) / #1 votes).:

“9 to 5”, 9 to 5 (255) / 9

“Someone’s Waiting for You”, The Rescuers (229) / 7

“Why Should I Worry?”, Oliver & Company (172) / 1

“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, A Mighty Wind (163) / 4

“Island in the Sun”, Island in the Sun (149) / 1

“Johnny Guitar”, Johnny Guitar (145) / 2

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (144) / 3

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, Love Me or Leave Me (144) / 3

“Love Survives”, All Dogs Go to Heaven (135) / 4

“A Journey to a Star”, The Gang’s All Here (128) / 3

“Never Look Back”, Love Me or Leave Me (121) / 1

“Good Morning”, Babes on Broadway (114) / 1

“Pillow Talk”, Pillow Talk (113) / 1

“No Love, No Nothin’”, Love Me or Leave Me (73) / 0

 “A Mighty Wind”, A Mighty Wind (71) / 0

Using the points system tiebreaker alone, 9 to 5 ran away on points. It is the second-largest point differential in a final ever, behind only the result in 2017. That year, “Remember Me (Recuérdame)” from Coco (2017) beat out “Knockin' on Heaven's Door” by 39 points. That year also marked the final year - due to too many participants ranking only one, two, or three songs on their rankings - I used the points system above as the primary tabulation method to determine the winner.

One more note here: "Tomorrow is the Song I Sing" and "I'll Never Stop Loving You" were separated on the tiebreak which averages out both song's placement on my rankings and my sister's rankings. Taken together, the former averaged higher than the latter.

THE OFFICIAL TABULATION FOLLOWS AND DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE READ-MORE. We used a single transferable vote (which is explained visually here). With 30 votes, a song needed 50% + 1 vote of all #1 and transferred votes to be declared a winner. Thus, a song needed 16 votes to win. One ballot was discarded midway through the count due to that person ranking ten songs, but having their top ten completely eliminated as the count progressed. Thus, the magic number to win was lowered to 15. The top ten songs became nominees; the bottom five are considered honorable mentions:

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (FINAL STANDINGS)

“9 to 5”, Nine to Five (1980)

“Someone’s Waiting for You”, The Rescuers (1977)

“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, A Mighty Wind (2003)

“Johnny Guitar”, Johnny Guitar (1954)

“Love Survives”, All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

“A Journey to a Star”, The Gang’s All Here (1943)

“Island in the Sun”, Island in the Sun (1957)

“Why Should I Worry?”, Oliver & Company (1988)

“Never Look Back”, Love Me or Leave Me

“Good Morning”, Babes on Broadway (1939)

“Pillow Talk”, Pillow Talk (1959)

“No Love, No Nothin’”, The Gang’s All Here

“A Mighty Wind”, A Mighty Wind

NR (honorable mention because I couldn't find a replacement audio/video in time for the final after the Criterion Collection copyright striked it): “Nous sommes seuls dans la forêt (We Are Alone in the Forest)”, music and lyrics by Armand Bernard, Philippe Parès, and Georges Van Parys, Le Million (1931, France)

The bottom five and “Nous sommes seuls dans la forêt (We Are Alone in the Forest)” all received honorable mentions. The top ten received nominations.

SUMMARY

Composed by Dolly Parton, the title song from Nine to Five wins it in a (mostly) comfortable affair. It took - as detailed further in the attached spreadsheet - the full 12 counts for it to eventually emerge victorious, but it does so here. From the 1980 workplace revenge comedy film of the same name co-starring Parton with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, Elizabeth Wilson, and Sterling Hayden, "9 to 5" was Parton's breakthrough outside of country music circles into pop music. She received an Academy Award nomination, two Grammys, and the #78 spot for the American Film Institute's (AFI) admittedly flawed "100 Years, 100 Songs" list (flawed because the list includes songs not original to their respective movies).

Along with the likes of "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" (most associated with Whitney Houston, but the writing credits are all Parton's), "9 to 5" is among her most recognizable hits outside of country music circles. Parton is damn funny in 9 to 5, as well as another movie I saw her in this year, the 1982 musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. For whatever reason, Hollywood hasn't been knocking on her door to star in more musical films. Our loss. Will Parton appear in MOABOS again? Given her limited filmography, probably just one more time, but goodness knows when that will be. "9 to 5" is the first MOABOS winner to be confined completely to an opening or closing credits; the song is never reprised and its melody is never quoted in the film's score. 2016 MOABOS winner "Stayin' Alive" first appears in the film's opening credits, but is reprised later in Saturday Night Fever (1977). It is the first 1980s MOABOS winner.

Runner-up "Someone's Waiting for You" benefitted from a greater number of people who had previously watched The Rescuers (1977) more than I anticipated. Set aside the song's instrumentation, and, lyrically, it sounds like something composed in the late '40s or '50s. It was, as many of you have related to me, the tearjerker for this year's edition of MOABOS. In third was "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow", with Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as the fictional folk music duo of Mitch & Mickey. A Mighty Wind, a mockumentary sending up American folk music, leads up to that very moment - the emotional climax to one of the better Christopher Guest mockumentaries. We'll see the Christopher Guest mockumentary troupe another day on MOABOS.

Elsewhere, we had a few people make their MOABOS debuts, all overdue. Harry Belafonte was more of a recording artist and civil rights activist than he was a film star, but his calypso title song for Island in the Sun is a good introduction for many of you to one of the smoothest entertainers in the business in the second half of the last century. We'll see Harry again.

Two blonde singers that represented their respective contracted studios also made impressions here. We've seen Doris Day (Warner Bros.) here before, having made her debut last year (I really, really should have had multiple Doris Day entries in 2013, but that was in the before-times when younger me wasn't sure what to make of her ughhh). Over the last few years, I've been so happy to see so many of you take to Doris - a brilliant singer, an underrated comedic and dramatic actress due to her image hoisted upon by the media. Doris will be back another time.

And of course, debuting this year was Alice Faye (20th Century Fox). In the decades since Faye's star burned brightest (1930s and early '40s), the singer with the distinctive alto has seen her work buried by a studio that did not see much value making their older movies easily accessible to the general public (as opposed to Warner Bros., who own the pre-May 1987 MGM and RKO libraries, too). In recent years, Fox was bought by Disney - a company also known for not making available selections deep in their back catalogue - and encountering these Old Hollywood Fox movies comes once in a blue moon. Hopefully we get luckier more often than not. Alice will make another MOABOS appearance some day.

CONCLUSION

MOABOS is only a small glimpse into the larger 2022 Movie Odyssey. But I hope you enjoyed even this sliver of a look into that moviewatching journey.

“9 to 5” joins our past winners for MOABOS:

2021: “Lullaby in Ragtime” from The Five Pennies (1955)  

2020: “Can't Help Falling in Love” from Blue Hawaii (1961)

2019: “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So”     from The Perils of Pauline (1947)

2018: “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

2017: “Remember Me (Recuérdame)” from Coco (2017)

2016: “Stayin’ Alive” from Saturday Night Fever (1977)

2015: “Amhrán Na Farraige” from Song of the Sea     (2014)

2014: “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie (1979)

2013: “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re In the Money)” from Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

The 1970s was one placement away from a third winner, which would have broken a tie with the 1950s and 2010s. Among all full decades since synchronized sound was introduced to movies, only the 1990s and 2000s have yet to get on the board.

Once more, thank you all for participating in 2022′s Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song. Thank you for your friendship, time, effort, and personal support over this last year.

I end every year not quite knowing if we are going to do MOABOS for the following year. There are many factors going into it, and I never know what movies might come my way by the year's end. So it is my hope that I will see you again next year, for what will be the eleventh edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song. Until then. 

40 ballots were submitted; twenty-one #1 votes and transferred votes needed to win

2ND COUNT: One vote from “Pillow Talk” to “Someone’s Waiting for You”

3RD COUNT: One vote from “Good Morning” to “Johnny Guitar”

4TH COUNT: One vote for “Never Look Back” to Island in the Sun”

5TH COUNT: One vote for “Why Should I Worry?” to “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”

6TH COUNT: Two votes for “Island in the Sun” to “9 to 5”

7TH COUNT: One vote for “A Journey to a Star” to “9 to 5″, another for “Someone’s Waiting for You”, another for “Johnny Guitar”

8TH COUNT: One vote for “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” to “Johnny Guitar”. The others to “Someone’s Waiting for You” and “9 to 5″.

9TH COUNT: One vote for “Tomorrow is the Song I Sing” to “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”. Another to “Johnny Guitar”, another to “Someone’s Waiting for You”.

10TH COUNT: All four votes for “Love Survives” to “9 to 5″.

11TH COUNT: For the six votes for “Johnny Guitar”, two went to “9 to 5″, two went to “Someone’s Waiting for You”, and one went to “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”. One ballot was discarded. 39 ballots remain; 20 to win.

12TH COUNT: For the seven votes for “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, four went to “9 to 5″ and two went to “Someone’s Waiting for You”. One ballot was discarded. 38 ballots remain; 20 to win.

“9 to 5″ won on the 12th and final count - 23 ballots to 15.

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Awards

And now to (finally) cap off the 2022 Movie Odyssey, here is the annual awards ceremony. To remind you all, the films eligible for the Movie Odyssey are only those that I saw for the first time in their entirety over the last calendar year. Rewatches do not count. Other eligibility rules (such as whether or not a “TV movie” versus a “streaming movie” can count can be found here).

All of these films that were nominated or won (except for Worst Picture) are worth your time and are worth seeking. Even though some of them might be deeply flawed, there are redeeming elements to them that make them wonderful watches. And some, like our ten Best Picture winners - I never distinguish one above the other nine because it’s just too damn hard - are my highest recommendations of the year.

Best Pictures

La bestia debe morir (The Beast Must Die) (1952, Argentina)

The Doll (1919, Germany)

Drive My Car (2021, Japan)

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

The Ladykillers (1955)

Nightmare Alley (1947)

A Patch of Blue (1965)

Petite Maman (2021, France)

Sidewalk Stories (1989)

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

With the fewest movies I’ve seen on record in a calendar year since the blog began, this probably would mean that Best Picture would skew newer, as it does here. For the first time ever, Best Picture has more than three films from the current decade. Drive My Car seems to herald a return to form for Japanese cinema (whose live-action industry has lacked much appeal for international audiences until recently). EEAAO is an Internet favorite, and its fearless filmmaking has proven emotionally resonant while ridiculously entertaining. Little-seen Petite Maman is a low fantasy movie that looks at grief through the eyes of a child - and it is one of the finest films about children I have seen in years. The Tragedy of Macbeth was a stunner for its loaded cast and its deeply atmospheric black-and-white 4:3 aesthetics.

Outside of the current decade, Argentinian noir strikes again with the deliciously deranged La bestia debe morir, saved from oblivion thanks to collaboration of Fernando Martín Peña, the Film Noir Foundation, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Doll represents Ernst Lubitsch at his early silent film best. It is an uproarious time complete with Lubitsch’s sly visuals, but I’m not sure if I could recommend to it folks who haven’t seen a silent film. The Ladykillers drips with British wit as hideous violence threatens to burst through its comedic facade, all thanks to a stupendous ensemble performance. Edmund Goulding’s Nightmare Alley is superior to the Guillermo del Toro remake in almost all the ways that matter. Tyrone Power’s perhaps career-best performance powers a moody noir that always feels a little off-kilter. A Patch of Blue is understated, but intelligent filmmaking by Guy Green. Compassionate performances from Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman will steal hearts. And lastly, Sidewalk Stories is a neo-silent film from African-American filmmaker Charles Lane as a tribute to Chaplin’s The Kid (1921). But it works beyond as a tribute to Chaplin.

What a slate of ten this was.

Best Comedy

Father Goose (1964)

Glass Onion (2022)

The Ladykillers

A Mighty Wind (2003)

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953, France)

9 to 5 (1980)

The Oyster Princess (1919, Germany)

Pillow Talk (1959)

See How They Run (2022)

Start Cheering (1938)

As I say every year, this category is not so much looking for the “best” movie as it is awarding the movie that made me laugh the most. The Oyster Princess is the lesser of the two early Ernst Lubitsch movies I saw this year, but it was the more outrageous watch. This farce comedy sees an American heiress’ father attempt to purchase a husband for his daughter, but it does not according to plan. The Oyster Princess contained the best title card I saw in any silent film this year: “A foxtrot epidemic suddenly breaks out during the wedding.” Trust me, you have to see the film to get it. Just behind are Pillow Talk, The Ladykillers, and holiday phenomenon Glass Onion.

Best Musical

Babes in Arms (1939)

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)

Big Fella (1937)

The Gang’s All Here (1943)

Ladies of the Chorus (1948)

Le Million (1931, France)

Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Meet Danny Wilson (1952)

Oliver & Company (1988)

The Wiz (1978)

This category advantages original musicals, not musical adaptations. If it’s a musical adaptation, it better be superbly filmed/adapted or else I’m gonna have a hard time making a case for it. The Gang’s All Here is a 20th Century Fox musical that combines both original songs and songs from other films from Fox’s back catalog (which, before and after the studio’s acquisition from Disney, was always difficult to access). A musical riot, big splashy fun, somewhat thanks to Busby Berkeley’s direction and signature choreography (see: the reprise of “A Journey to a Star”). I also considered Babes in Arms and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (an adaptation) for this award.

Best Animated Feature

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Belle (2021, Japan)

Flee (2021, Denmark)

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021, Japan)

Hilda and the Mountain King (2021)

Lightyear (2022)

Oliver & Company

The Rescuers (1977)

The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

Turning Red (2022)

No contest here. Nominated at last year’s Oscars for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature, and International Feature Film (the first time any movie had been nominated for that combination of categories), Flee is about a man who shares, for the first time in his life, his experiences about fleeing Taliban-controlled Afghanistan shortly after the Soviet withdrawal from the country. A pseudonym is used to protect his identity. Some might have quibbles with the film’s artistic style, but I’m of the opinion that the way the story is told far outstrips any concerns I have about the animation itself.

None of the other nominees came close to matching Flee. But I would consider The Rescuers (the 1977 original) to be the runner-up here. In a stronger year, no way would the scattershot Belle, emotionally unengaging Lightyear, and narratively lacking Oliver & Company stayed in this category.

Best Documentary

American Revolution 2 (1969)

Antonio Gaudí (1984, Japan)

Children of the Mist (2021, Vietnam)

A Crack in the Mountain (2022)

The Donut King (2020)

Flee

The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)

Spellbound (2002)

Three Songs for Benazir (2021 short, Afghanistan)

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (2015, Ukraine)

Flee does the double. The competition here, however, is much closer than in Animated Feature. To me, the very close runner-up is the Grand Jury Trống Đồng Award for Best Feature winner from Viet Film Fest 2022 (yours truly is the Artistic Director), Children of the Mist. Hà Lệ Diễm’s feature debut follows the life of a 12, later 13-year-old Hmong girl living in far northern Vietnam. At 13 years of age, she might be subject to the tradition of bride-kidnapping in Hmong culture. The director is mostly an observer to what happens in the film. One wonders what would have happened to the film’s subject if the cameras were not there.

Next up after Children of the Mist would have been The Murder of Fred Hampton and the experimental Antonio Gaudí.

Best Non-English Language Film

Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (2020 short), Switzerland/Kyrgyzstan

La bestia debe morir (The Beast Must Die), Argentina

Buffalo Boy (2004), Vietnam

Drive My Car, Japan

Flee, Denmark

Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People) (1989), India

Loves of a Blonde (1965), Czechoslovakia

Memoria (2021), Colombia

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, France

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, Ukraine

Let’s spotlight a few others here I haven’t mentioned yet. Nguyễn-Võ Minh’s Buffalo Boy is a coming-of-age tale in far southern rural Vietnam that goes about its drama methodically, capturing a place and time so unlike anything you will find in the movies. Like an American Western, Buffalo Boy asks questions of morality and masculinity in an unforgiving landscape. Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot or Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday is Jacques Tati's introduction of his iconic character - the silent, pipe-smoking, behatted, clumsy M. Hulot. The best Hulot movie would come later, but so began the legend of one of the most important silent comic protagonists in filmmaking.

Best Silent Film

The Doll

The Oyster Princess

Sidewalk Stories

Three Women (1924)

I wasn’t too much a fan of Three Women, but I wasn’t able to get to many silent films in 2022. Hopefully that changes for the next year.

Personal Favorite Film

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Drive My Car

Glass Onion

Go for Broke! (1951)

Hilda and the Mountain King

The Ladykillers

The Masque of Red Death (1964)

Misterios de ultratumba (Black Pit of Dr. M) (1959, Mexico)

A Patch of Blue

Time After Time (1979)

I’ll always point out that the films I considered to be the best of what I’ve seen in a calendar year aren’t necessarily my favorites. Too many film critics conflate the quality of the films they see with their personal preferences. There’s a strict separation for me. This year, Roger Corman’s The Masque of Red Death - starring Vincent Price and distributed by American International Pictures (AIP) - takes the cake as my personal favorite. AIP made eight Edgar Allan Poe adaptations from 1960-1964; each one directed by Corman and starring Price, each one not strictly keeping to Poe’s text. I’m a fan of Poe, and don’t expect a strict adaptation from the AIP/Corman/Price movies. The garish Technicolor? The complete commitment to character from Price though he’s surrounded by other actors who can’t act half as good as him? The sumptuous costuming and production design for this gothic horror movie? Couldn’t get enough of it.

Close behind were Glass Onion and the delightful sci-fi Time After Time, which imagines what would’ve happened if H.G. Wells actually built a time machine and transported himself to late ‘70s San Francisco. Now only if they can get a home media release of Misterios de ultratumba with English subtitles, because what a treat that movie was.

Best Director

Román Viñoly Barreto, La bestia debe morir

Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog (2021)

The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Edmund Goulding, Nightmare Alley (1947)

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

Ernst Lubitsch, The Doll

Alexander Mackendrick, The Ladykillers

Céline Sciamma, Petite Maman

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans (2022)

Jacques Tati, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday

This category usually aligns pretty closely with Best Picture. Never nominated in this category and having never won before, it’s Ernst Lubitsch who takes Best Director this year for his saucy and vivacious silent romantic comedy. Lubitsch was a foundational director when it came to comedies in cinema, and I don’t a lot of contemporary filmmakers know enough about him or appreciate him enough. What an achievement too, to have made The Doll only a year after the conclusion of the Great War and the economic turmoil Germany was facing then.

Runner-up would have been Hamaguchi, and perhaps Mackendrick after that.

Best Acting Ensemble

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Drive My Car

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Glass Onion

The Ladykillers

A Mighty Wind

Nightmare Alley (1947)

9 to 5

Hats off to the gangsters played by Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, and Peter Sellers. And a huge ovation for Katie Johnson, who plays the old lady who gives their “string quintet” lodging. She is incredible and terrifically funny in this. Perfectly cast, incredibly acted, dripping with comedic sensibilities threatening to explode into violence (at least from the men’s side of things), they take Best Acting Ensemble.

This was a close call though, as several others had a shout to win here.

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis (2022)

Soumitra Chatterjee, Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People)

Cary Grant, Penny Serenade (1941)

Alec Guinness, The Ladykillers

Narciso Ibáñez Menta, La bestia debe morir

Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car

Sidney Poitier, A Patch of Blue

Tyrone Power, Nightmare Alley (1947)

Jason Robards, The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Arguably Tyrone Power’s finest few hours in any movie. As the scheming con man who stumbles his way into a carnival, this film is extremely removed from Power’s roles as crowd-pleasing, romantic, dark-and-handsome, swashbuckling heroes at his home studio 20th Century Fox. Power said later in life that Nightmare Alley was his favorite of all the films he made, and it is easy to see why.

I was also strongly considering Chatterjee, Menta, Nishijima, and Washington as well here.

Best Actress

Joan Crawford, Johnny Guitar (1954)

Doris Day, Pillow Talk

Irene Dunne, Penny Serenade

Elizabeth Hartman, A Patch of Blue

Katie Johnson, The Ladykillers

Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Tôko Miura, Drive My Car

Barbara Stanwyck, No Man of Her Own (1950)

Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once

So often the talk around Doris Day is to liken her to that “prudish innocent blonde that your mother/grandmother wanted to be”. That is reductive, and ignores her incredible dramatic (I almost double-nominated her here for Love Me or Leave Me, which was a dramatic role) and comedic talents. And she is something else here in Pillow Talk - a raunchy (for the time) romcom that helped contribute to the demise of Hollywood’s self-censoring Hays Code. Comedic timing? Perfect. Facial and bodily acting? Exactly what the part calls for and then some. Pillow Talk was the first of three groundbreaking romcoms she made with leading star Rock Hudson and supporting Actor Tony Randall (1961′s Lover Come Back and 1964′s Send Me No Flowers).

So many choices here, with almost every actress nominated here having a case to win it. This was a difficult decision.

Best Supporting Actor

Guillermo Battaglia, La bestia debe morir

Lyle Bettger, No Man of Her Own

Bobby Darin, Pressure Point (1962)

Troy Kotsur, CODA (2021)

Masaki Okada, Drive My Car

Nathán Pinzón, El vampiro negro (1953, Argentina)

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Tony Randall, Pillow Talk

Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

David Warner, The Ballad of Cable Hogue

As I joke every year, this is the category that favors villains. The winner this year is no different. If you have seen Fritz Lang’s M (1931, Germany), then I don’t have to say much other than that Nathán Pinzón plays the Peter Lorre character in this adaptation of M. Pinzón was a longtime character actor well-known to Argentinian audiences, but virtually nowhere else. In Latin American cinema at this time, “melodrama” is not a pejorative term when it comes to the acting style. The default in this era is to be histrionic. So how startling it is to see Pinzón play his role - a serial killer - quietly, with sadness and pathos to spare. 

His countryman, Guillermo Battaglia, also has a loathsome part to play in another Argentinian noir, and was close to notching this win. So too were Quan and Warner.

Best Supporting Actress

Gloria Castilla, El vampiro negro

Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

Kathryn Hunter, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Julie London, The Red House (1947)

Mercedes McCambridge, Johnny Guitar

Nina Meurisse, Petite Maman

Edna May Oliver, Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Park Yoo-rim, Drive My Car

Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue

Fiery, antagonistic, scene-stealing. That’s Mercedes McCambridge in Johnny Guitar for you. In the battle of feminine Western intelligence and will, McCambridge’s character may be the loser in the end, but the performance is an absolute winner. Colored by repressed sexuality (which has lent many queer interpretations between her character’s relationship to Crawford’s) and a stiffness that works in the context of the film, this was a memorable performance from McCambridge. Condon, Ellis, Hunter, and London were my next choices.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nguyễn-Võ Minh, Buffalo Boy

Hanns Kräly and Ernst Lubitsch, The Doll

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car

Satyajit Ray, Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People)

Miloš Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek, Ivan Passer, and Václav Šašek, Loves of a Blonde

Jules Furthman, Nightmare Alley (1947)

Guy Green, A Patch of Blue

Jane Campion and Thomas Savage, The Power of the Dog

Nicholas Meyer, Time After Time

Alberto Etchebehere and Román Viñoly Barreto, El vampiro negro

A touching, meditative from Hamaguchi and Oe gets the Adapted Screenplay crown, over very stiff competition. Closest competitors, to me, were Loves of a Blonde and Nightmare Alley.

Best Original Screenplay

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Ron Shelton, Bull Durham (1988)

The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans

William Rose and Jimmy O’Connor,The Ladykillers

Colin Higgins and Patricia Resnick, 9 to 5

Jordan Peele, Nope (2022)

Céline Sciamma, Petite Maman

Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin, Pillow Talk

Charles Lane, Sidewalk Stories

Steven Spielberg has become so legendary, he’s come full circle: audiences and critics and historians now take him for granted. The Fabelmans remains in theaters as of the writing of this sentence, and it’s going to make very little money (blame COVID, a moviegoing culture that only goes to theaters when it’s mainstream American animation or superheroes, etc.). But it’s a beautiful screenplay from him and Kushner, exploring how filmmaking was a means that allowed him to understand his friends and family, and all the childhood trauma that emanated from both.

After that, I might have given this to The Ladykillers or Petite Maman on another day.

Best Cinematography

Alberto Etchebehere, La bestia debe morir

Yves Cape, Buffalo Boy

Hidetoshi Shinomiya, Drive My Car

Bert Glennon and Ray Rennahan, Drums Along the Mohawk

Harry Stradling, Sr., Johnny Guitar

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Memoria

Victor Herrera, Misterios de ultratumba (Black Pit of Dr. M)

Lee Garmes, Nightmare Alley (1947)

Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog

Gabriel Figueroa, The Scapular (1968, Mexico)

In his first appearance in this category, arguably Mexico’s greatest cinematographer ever takes the prize. Figueroa started out as a still photographer when, in the 1930s, he was introduced to filmmaking by his friends. He took some time in the late 1930s to earn a scholarship and study under Gregg Toland (1940′s The Grapes of Wrath, 1941′s Citizen Kane) for one year. He came home to Mexico and became a black-and-white cinematography specialist. And in The Scapular comes some of the most evocative, terrifying, and awe-inspiring images I’ve seen in a black-and-white film. All this after that format was already losing momentum in Hollywood itself. Fantastic work.

After Figueroa, I was thinking  perhaps Mukdeeprom, Garmes, or Cape.

Best Film Editing

David Brenner, James Cameron, John Refoua, and Stephen E. Rivkin, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn, The Fabelmans

Ray Curtiss, The Gang’s All Here

Bob Ducsay, Glass Onion

José Serra, La bestia debe morir

Pamela Martin, King Richard

Miroslav Hájek, Loves of a Blonde

Nicholas Monsour, Nope

Joel Coen and Lucian Johnston, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best to watch it yourself and see what I mean. EEAAO would be an absolute mess without its terrific editing. Avatar, The Gang’s All Here, and The Tragedy of Macbeth were next considered.

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

George Burns, Babes in Toyland (1961)

Carol Hall, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Charles Henderson and Alfred Newman, The Gang’s All Here

George Duning, Ladies of the Chorus

George Stoll and Robert Van Eps, Love Me or Leave Me

Eugen Illin, Loves of a Blonde

Tom Halm, A Mighty Wind

Ernest Irving, The Proud Valley (1940)

George Parrish, Start Cheering

Charlie Smalls, The Wiz

In a category that advantages original musicals over adaptations and combination scores or original and adapted musical, it’s an original musical mockumentary that wins here. If I learned anything about my followers over MOABOS, it’s that many of them don’t like American folk music. Alas, for the amount of songs composed for this film, and for the instrumental fidelity to the American folk tradition, A Mighty Wind blows the competition away.

Well, mostly. The Gang’s All Here and Love Me or Leave Me had a decent chance, too.

Best Original Score

Terence Blanchard, The Woman King (2022)

Elmer Bernstein, The Black Cauldron (1985)

Bruce Broughton, The Rescuers Down Under

Simon Franglen, Avatar: The Way of Water

Michael Giacchino, The Batman (2022)

Jerry Goldsmith, A Patch of Blue

Marc Marder, Sidewalk Stories

Miklós Rózsa, The Red House

Miklós Rózsa, Time After Time

Victor Young, Johnny Guitar

Okay, some of my friends, family, and followers didn’t like “Johnny Guitar”. But Victor Young’s score to that movie incorporated the central tune gorgeously across the film’s runtime. A rumbling, dramatic dynamo of a score fits the action and dialogue scenes beautifully, and wins for the second time in this category in as many attempts (in 2013, Young won for his score to another Western, 1953′s Shane).

Rózsa for Time After Time, Blanchard, and Franglen were also under consideration as the winners here.

Best Original Song

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, music by Nicholas Brodszky, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Love Me or Leave Me

“Island in the Sun”, music and lyrics by Harry Belafonte and Irving Burgie, Island in the Sun (1957)

“Johnny Guitar”, music by Victor Young, lyrics by Peggy Lee, Johnny Guitar

“A Journey to a Star”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang’s All Here

“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, music and lyrics by Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole, A Mighty Wind

“Love Survives”, music and lyrics by Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, Mike Curb, and Michael Lloyd, All Dogs Go to Heaven

“9 to 5”, music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, 9 to 5

“Someone’s Waiting for You”, music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, The Rescuers

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, music by Jerry Goldsmith, lyrics by Richard Gillis, The Ballad of Cable Hogue

“Why Should I Worry?”, music and lyrics by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, Oliver & Company

My thanks again to those of you who participated in the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song’s (MOABOS) tenth edition. I certainly hope you all had a lot of fun listening and watching, and that you might have learned something or became interested in a film along the way.

Details for this category here.

Best Costume Design

Christof Roche-Gordon, Death on the Nile (2022)

Catherine Martin, Elvis

Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Eugene Joseff, The Gang’s All Here

Uncredited, Ladies of the Chorus

Laura Nightingale, The Masque of Red Death

Luis Sequeira, Nightmare Alley (2021)

Uncredited, The Oyster Princess

Kym Barrett, Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Gersha Phillips, The Woman King

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Pat McNalley and Ruth Sandifer, Babes in Toyland

Pete Altobelli, Cindy Baggett, Marvin G. Westmore, Irene De’Atley, and Barbara Lorenz, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Michelle Chung and Anissa Salazar, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Guy Pearce, The Gang’s All Here

Helen Hunt, Ladies of the Chorus

Uncredited, Le Million

Evangelina Garibay and Agripina Lozada, Misterios de ultratumba (Black Pit of Dr. M)

Carolyn Cousins, See How They Run

Lesley Vanderwalt, Three Thousand Years of Longing

Babalwa Mtshiselwa and Louisa V. Anthony, The Woman King

Best Production Design                                        

Kurt Richter, The Doll

Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Ian Gracie, and Damien Drew, Elvis

Rick Heinrichs and Andrew Bennett, Glass Onion

Jim Morahan, The Ladykillers

Lazare Meerson, Le Million

Tamara Deverell and Brandt Gordon, Nightmare Alley (2021)

Rochus Gliese and Kurt Richter, The Oyster Princess

Wilfred Shingleton, The Proud Valley

Roger Ford, Nicholas Dare, and Sophie Nash, Three Thousand Years of Longing

 Stefan Dechant, Jason T. Clark, and Christina Ann Wilson, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Achievement in Visual Effects

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Batman

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Nope

Robin Robin (2021 short)

Worst Picture

The Ancestral (2022, Vietnam)

The Black Cauldron (1985)

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Please no.

Honorary Awards

Aardman Animations, for their innovations in stop-motion animation

Sidney Poitier, for his trailblazing artistic and human accomplishments (posthumously)

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture; 56) Eleven: Drive My Car

Ten: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Nine: The Ladykillers

Seven: La bestia debe morir (The Beast Must Die); A Patch of Blue

Six: The Gang’s All Here; Nightmare Alley (1947); The Tragedy of Macbeth

Five: The Ballad of Cable Hogue; The Doll; The Fabelmans; Glass Onion; Johnny Guitar

Four: Ladies of the Chorus; Loves of a Blonde; A Mighty Wind; 9 to 5; The Oyster Princess; Petite Maman; Pillow Talk; The Power of the Dog; Sidewalk Stories

Three: Avatar: The Way of Water;The Banshees of Inisherin; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; Buffalo Boy; Elvis; Flee; Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People); Love Me or Leave Me; Le Million; Misterios de ultratumba (Black Pit of Dr. M); Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday; Nope; Oliver & Company; Three Thousand Years of Longing; Time After Time; El vampiro negro; The Woman King

Two: All Dogs Go to Heaven; Babes in Toyland; The Batman; Drums Along the Mohawk; Hilda and the Mountain King; The Masque of Red Death; Memoria; Nightmare Alley (2021); No Man of Her Own; Penny Serenade; The Proud Valley; The Red House; The Rescuers; The Rescuers Down Under; See How They Run; Start Cheering; Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom; The Wiz

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 25) 3 wins: The Doll; Everything Everywhere All At Once

2 wins: Flee; La bestia debe morir (The Beast Must Die); Drive My Car; The Ladykillers; Nightmare Alley (1947)

1 win: The Batman; The Fabelmans; The Gang’s All Here; Johnny Guitar; The Masque of Red Death; A Mighty Wind; Nope; Le Million; The Oyster Princess; A Patch of Blue; Petite Maman; Pillow Talk; Robin Robin; The Scapular; Sidewalk Stories; Three Thousand Years of Longing; The Tragedy of Macbeth; El vampire negro; The Woman King

83 films were nominated in 26 categories.

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song deadline extension

TAGGING: @addaellis, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @metamatar, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shootingstarvenator, and @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal

ALSO TAGGING THOSE WHO WERE GIVEN OPEN INVITATIONS (you are all longtime followers, active followers, and previous participants) including: @asexual-idiot-ramblings, @biglifehightides, @birdsongvelvet, @chinadoll408, @cinemaocd, @dansmonarbre, @dog-of-ulthar, @exlibrisneh, @machpowervisions, @memetoilet, @myluckyerror, @noelevangilinecarson, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, @the-lilac-grove, and @thewolfofelectricavenue. And any other followers who might be interested in helping out here!

Hello all,

A belated Happy New Year to all of you, and I hope 2023 is treating you well. Over the last few weeks, I've been rather slow to remind folks about sending in their rankings for this year's edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS; the final round can be found here). The lack of reminders was intentional this year, as I wanted more time to spend with family. So turnout, as of the actual deadline yesterday, was not that great (but not an all-time low, thankfully).

To those of you who have sent in your rankings, I thank you all and I hope that you enjoyed the listening! For those of you who have not sent in your rankings, we now have a revised deadline for you. The new (and FINAL) deadline is Sunday, January 15 at 7 PM Pacific. That is 5 PM Hawaiian/Aleutian Time, 9 PM Central, and 10 PM Eastern. That is Monday, January 16 at 3 AM GMT / 4 AM CET / 5 AM EET / 8 AM Pakistan Standard Time / 8:30 AM India Standard Time.

Tabulation can only begin once I have received all the rankings. With so many people outstanding, I have no idea who is "winning" at this point. I'll be following up with those of you who have not submitted a ranking yet later this week, just so I can figure out what to expect by next Sunday evening. I also need this delay as I need to figure out the rest of the awards myself for all the other categories later this week.

Especially for the first-timers, if you have any questions or comments about how MOABOS works, you should feel free to contact me. A result is coming soon, and thank you all again for your help!

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary results)

TAGGING (yes, even some non-participants who I still would like to invite for the final): @addaellis, @birdsongvelvet, @dog-of-ulthar, @emilylime5, @exlibrisneh, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @memetoilet, @myluckyerror, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shootingstarvenator, and @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal. There will be more invites from other followers not listed here for the final.

Good day everyone,

If you are being tagged in this, that is because you were invited to participate in the 2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song's (MOABOS) preliminary round. As usual, I extended the deadline for a little bit of time to procure some last votes. My thanks to you all, even for those who did not participate (I hope you'll be able to participate in the final however!). The email for the final round will be sent very shortly. For newcomers: the final uses a different tabulation than what we used here for the preliminary. That will be explained soon.

A record 36 people cast their rankings in the MOABOS preliminary round. Five people including myself and my sister did both groups; those three others (and the few others who were invited to do two groups but didn't) have been doing MOABOS since or near the beginning.

What follows are the results from both groups. First choices received 10 points, second choices 9 points, third choices 8 points, etc. The top six from each group advanced to the final. Unlike in previous years where I reserved the power to take 0-2 songs that finished outside the automatic qualifiers, there are no such wild cards this year.

If two or more songs tied on points, the tie was broken based on the #1 votes received. If two or more songs were still tied, the tie was broken by average placement on my and my sister's ballot. There is no benefit in the final to "winning" either preliminary group. Other than myself and my sister, three people - all of whom have been doing MOABOS for the longest time - participated in both groups.

The below is formatted: "Song title", film title (total points) / first-place votes. 

GROUP A (21 participants)

“Someone’s Waiting for You”, The Rescuers (142) / 5

“Never Look Back”, Love Me or Leave Me (134) / 2

“No Love, No Nothin'”, The Gang's All Here (118) / 4

“Good Morning”, Babes in Arms (110.5) / 1

“Island in the Sun”, Island in the Sun (109) / 3

“Pillow Talk”, Pillow Talk (101) / 1

“The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat”, The Gang's All Here (89.5)

“Pass Me By”, Father Goose (88) / 1

“When You're Next to Me”, A Mighty Wind (84) / 1

“Once Upon a Time in New York City”, Oliver & Company (83) / 3

“Once and For Always”, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (63)

In Group A, the top song burst out to an early lead, only to be culled back a little bit to make it essentially a group of two heavy hitters and everyone else. On deadline's close, the top six were well clear of the bottom five. "Once Upon a Time in New York City" is a Disney animated canon song that garnered the second-most amount of #1 votes, but it found itself second-to-last, making it the most polarizing song in the group. Instead, Group A rewarded the other Disney song in that group and Doris Day (twice!). For what it's worth Group A participants, I think you got rid of the second-best song from A Mighty Wind (2003). And I'm pleasantly surprised more of you have seen The Rescuers (1977) than I would have predicted!

"Good Morning" is the first song from the classic MGM library to grace the MOABOS final since 2017("I Like Myself" and "Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks" from 1955's It's Always Fair Weather). And Harry Belafonte and Alice Faye make the final on their MOABOS debuts.

GROUP B (20 participants)

“ Why Should I Worry? ”, Oliver & Company (125) / 5

“I'll Never Stop Loving You”, Love Me or Leave Me (121) / 1

“Love Survives”, All Dogs Go to Heaven (113) / 3

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (105) / 5

“ A Journey to a Star”, The Gang's All Here (103) / 3

“A Mighty Wind”, A Mighty Wind (95)

“The Sneak Song ”, Robin Robin (93) / 1

“Paducah”, The Gang's All Here (91)

“Roll Up Sailorman”, Big Fella (87) / 1

“Anyone Can See I Love You”, Ladies of the Chorus (83)

“Old Joe's Place”, A Mighty Wind (47) / 1

In Group B, A Mighty Wind, a movie that had three entries in the preliminary round, narrowly avoided a complete wipeout here. In both groups, American folk music (or, at least, a comedic replication of that genre) had its fans, but some very vigorous detractors. The title song from A Mighty Wind qualified for the final round by a margin of two points (and unlike its closest challenger and all other qualifiers into the final round, it did not have a single #1 vote). A nail-biting 10 points separated the sixth place song with the tenth. And like in Group A, Disney (this time in the form of Billy Joel) and Doris Day ruled.

Tying the top song on #1 votes, a fourth place finish for "Tomorrow is the Song I Sing" has to be a bit concerning, as it becomes the most polarizing song in Group B. As history tends to go, "Paducah" joins a list of songs with titles/lyrics about interesting-sounding American towns that won't be winning MOABOS yet again (any "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo", "Wichita", and the MOABOS-infamous "I Dug a Ditch" fans out there?).

(For newcomers, "I Dug a Ditch" from Thousands Cheer (1943) caused a not-so-insignificant stir among its detractors during the 2019 MOABOS prelim. That year, in the last few hours of voting on the final five rankings submitted, the song was ranked 3rd, 3rd, 5th, 2nd, and 1st - that’s 41 points out of a possible 50. "I Dug a Ditch", which seemed dead and buried only the day before, dug itself out of the hole to make the final.)

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Among the eliminated, I wanted to tip a very tutti frutti hat to Carmen Miranda, one of the brightest stars of the 1940s at the peak of her career at 20th Century Fox. We'll see her again some other day on MOABOS, a phenomenon of a cultural melding all too rare in Hollywood back in those old days.

And a gracious nod to jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman, whose big role in "Paducah" won't be joining us in the final. Goodman, one of the most prominent Jewish entertainers of his day, was perhaps the best jazz clarinetist of all time, and was one of the first to direct a racially integrated jazz band (during an era where that might have been a career killer). Goodman also made strides late in his career in classical music (I'm very fond of his recording ofAaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto).

And like last year, another three cheers to the bass-baritone Paul Robeson. Robeson's outspoken politics on race and imperialism landed Robeson in trouble, which forced him out of Hollywood for a time to make movies in Britain (Big Fellais a British production).

Since the prelim began, three songs I have yet to identify have been awaiting their opposition. However, this was supposed to be four songs awaiting in the final round. Absent from the final round due to the fact I cannot find any video or audio on it is "Nous sommes seuls dans la forêt (We Are Alone in the Forest)” from 1930's Le Million. Unless I (or someone else) can find a video or audio clip of this ASAP, this song will unfortunately have to be considered an honorary mention. One online movie reviewer had a YouTube link to this song, but unfortunately it ran afoul of the Criterion Collection (who handle the film's distribution in North America) some time ago.

Thank you all for participating in the preliminary. I certainly hope you are pumped for the final round that is coming your way on Tuesday, and that you're all enjoying the cinematic and musical adventure and discoveries we are all making!

Bonus music for your enjoyment! 

From two of the Movie Odyssey Award nominees for Best Original Score are two magnificent cues from two probable nominees. The first is "Cody's Flight" from The Rescuers Down Under (1990; yes, the sequel to The Rescuers), composed by Bruce Broughton. The second is "Sonata in Darkness" for solo piano from The Batman (2022), composed by Michael Giacchino.

[dweemeister]

2023 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Tumblr’s new post editor has disabled completely the ability to make indented bullet points. I apologize in advance for how ugly most of this post looks.

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OPEN invites to (or at least people who are committed to the final, but would like access to the prelim): @birdsongvelvet, @derricklogan2, @dog-of-ulthar, @inmyworldblr, @machpowervisions, @memetoilet, @metamatar, @myluckyerror, @noelevangilinecarson, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, and @the-lilac-grove. Some of you have participated in past MOABOS editions, some of you are longtime followers I've not really spoken to, but have interacted with quite a few of my posts... if you are interested, please let me know. I'll assign you a group or I'll put you into the final.

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Hello everybody,

If you were tagged here, that is because you graciously accepted my invitation to help out with this year's edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). I welcome you to the eleventh edition of MOABOS (MOABOS XI) and the tenth edition with outside help from family, friends, and followers on tumblr. When I first opened this up to other folks in 2014 (MOABOS II), I believed that this would last but only a few years, at most. And every time the year is new, I have no clue whether or not there will be another edition of MOABOS.

But here we are yet again. The Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song is not possible without all of your help.

For newcomers near and far: This is a classic film blog (concentration: pre-1980s Hollywood, but I have various specialties outside of that and watch plenty of newer films). That blog's primary purpose is to host my nearly 800 film write-ups tagged "My Movie Odyssey" (an index can be found here). MOABOS is one of my blog's year-end traditions, and just a smaller part of a larger one. On my blog, the Movie Odyssey Awards honor some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. MOABOS is my way to say thank you for your friendship and moral support no matter how long I've known you. It is, sneakily so, a way to introduce all of you to music and movies I enjoyed this past year. And you might learn a snippet of film history through this!

INTRODUCTION

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 24 songs will contest this preliminary round in two groups - Group A and Group B. After three years of pandemic disruptions, the 2020s are finally making a significant mark on MOABOS, perhaps with a vengeance. Some of the highest-grossing films of both 2023 and 2022 are here to contend, as is a movie newly-minted as one of the highest-grossing anime films ever. But the defending decade, the 1980s (through Dolly Parton's title song for 1980's 9 to 5), has plenty of entries this year. It is the decade of pop culture I like least, but the 1980s have a decent shot at being the first decade to defend a MOABOS title.

Last year was regrettably a monolingual field of songs. Folks, multilingual MOABOS is back. This year, across both groups, English, French, Hindi (returning for the first time since 2020, or MOABOS VIII), Japanese (also returning after a three-year absence), Brazilian Portuguese, and Vietnamese will be represented. For their respective movies, they capture just a part of a nation's soul and filmmaking culture at a certain time. MOABOS, too, is its own sort of time capsule.

After a few years of slight decline, the preliminary round of MOABOS drew a record 36 people casting rankings. Might that record fall this year? That same preliminary saw a resounding rejection of American folk music (or spoofs of American folk, at least) and a decidedly mixed opinion of the style of Golden Age 20th Century Fox musicals (their plots might be silly and nonsensical, but at least they have no pretensions of being anything more than that!). No American folk this year, but 20th Century Fox has a few contenders this year.

1980s and contemporary pop have historically performed well in the preliminaries. With some formidable entries this year that receive regular radio play, does that hold up or are there upsets in the cards?

2019's MOABOS (MOABOS VII) preliminary remains the gold standard for sheer chaos. The miraculous comeback of "I Dug a Ditch" from Thousands Cheer (1943) in the prelim's final hour brought a song that seemed dead as a doorknob back to life. A song about digging a hole got out of its hole, if you will. No group since has ever matched that drama. Might this be a nailbiter of a result?

INSTRUCTIONS

Please rank (#1-11) at least seven of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines): 

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration);

Its lyrics (incl. and not limited to lyrical invention and lyrical flow); 

Context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films);

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable; I know that almost none of us have a dancing background, but let's not discount this aspect entirely);

The song's cultural/sociopolitical impact and legacy/listenability outside the film's context (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

A notice on audio/video quality and colorization of black-and-white film: Because it is sometimes difficult to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song while you are drawing up your rankings - you're on the honor system on this one. In addition, in respect to personal and blog policy, I will not provide colorized videos of films that were originally in black-and-white. You can call this snobby all you want. But to yours truly, film colorization of B&W is disrespectful to the artisans who plied their craft and made decisions based on the fact the film was shot in black-and-white. It is essentially redirecting a movie without consent.

You are encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The top six songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. Unlike previous years, no at-large wild card picks outside the top six will advance to the final.

The deadline for submission is Wednesday, December 13 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Thursday, December 14 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline - and some of you have joked with me that this is inevitable - will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. A small group of longtime MOABOS veterans will be asked to do both groups, if possible (but they are required to complete their assigned group first before moving on) - they are generally selected for their longevity of MOABOS participation and promptness. Tabulation details are under the "read more".

Please pay attention to the groups you have been sorted into, and please only submit rankings for the group you have been assigned. For your convenience, the YouTube playlists for both groups follow:

PLAYLISTS: (GROUP A) / (GROUP B)

Group A: be warned, I am somewhat trolling you on one of these songs. At least it comes early!

Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies that strike your interest. With the deepest appreciation from this grateful classic film fan, here are your group's songs. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):

GROUP A

“Apartment for Sale”, music and lyrics by Cate Blanchett and Todd Field, Tár (2022)

Performed by Cate Blanchett

After her cross-hall apartment neighbor dies, composer/conductor Lydia Tár (Blanchett; whose character is the first female music director of the Berlin Philharmonic) learns from the deceased's family that they think the classical music emanating from Tár's apartment is an unlistenable racket. They bluntly request Tár to stop playing music entirely when they meet with potential buyers. Moments after that encounter, this is her response. By this point in the film, Tár's rationality is very much in question. This is a drama about the hubris and manipulative ways for a person in power.

This is the shortest song ever to qualify for a MOABOS preliminary round.

“Barsaat mein hamse mile tum sajan (In the Rainy Season, We Met One Another)”, music by Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal, lyrics by Shailendra, Barsaat (1949)

(initial version) / (end-of-film reprise)

Performed by Nimmi (singing voice dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar)

Lyrics in Hindi (translations in the CC's in provided videos)

Raj Kapoor was a major director/actor in the early decades of Bollywood. In one of his first directed movies, shortly after the Partition of India, we find Barsaat. This romance tells of two love stories of city men meeting women who live in Kashmir (a disputed region between India, Pakistan, and China). Later in the films, we will find Pran (Raj Kapoor) and Reshma (Nargis) quickly falling in love. But this song surrounds the womanizing Gopal (Prem Nath) and Neela (Nimmi), whose faithful love for Gopal goes largely unrequited. After much convincing from Neela, Gopal attends a local festival – and doesn't pay much attention to this Neela-led song-and-dance number.

In the reprise, Neela has died near the end of the film. Reformed, realizing too late how horrible he has been to Neela, Gopal carries her body to her funeral pyre as the monsoon rains – as hinted in this film's very title – finally arrive.

“Ciao Papa”, music by Alexandre Desplat, lyrics by Roeban Katz and Guillermo del Toro, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Performed by Gregory Mann

In this stop-motion animated adaptation of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, director Guillermo del Toro injects the tale with his signature gothic touch – moving the narrative up in time to Fascist Italy and not shying away from the original book's grotesqueness and the title character's sociopathy. This song appears as part of a montage where Geppetto (David Bradley) goes in search of Pinocchio (Mann) after Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz) abducts the wooden son.

“Esse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine)”, music by Sérgio Ricardo, lyrics by Sérgio Ricardo and Ruy Guerra, Esse Mundo é Meu (1964, Brazil)

Originally performed a cappella by Antônio Pitanga; provided version performed by Marina Lutfi and Adriana Lutfi (lead vocals), Sérgio Ricardo (vocals), João Gurgel (vocal/guitar), Alexandre Caldi (winds), Marcelo Caldi (piano/accordion), Lui Coimbra (cello), Giordano Gasperin (bass), and Diego Zangado (percussion)

Lyrics in Portuguese (extremely rough translated lyrics... "Saravá ogum" is an Afro-Brazilian exclamation; I'm not sure what "Mandinga" means in the song's context, but it's an Afro-Brazilian word that either refers to an ethnic group or "magic")

In this film almost never screened outside Brazil, two separate romantic storylines – a white couple and a black couple – play out in a Rio de Janeiro favela. In the latter storyline, Antônio Pitanga plays a shoeshiner. One day, while setting up his shoeshining equipment along the beach, he sings this song – an optimistic number in hopes for a better tomorrow. Black Brazilian romance was and is rare in Brazilian cinema, and the inclusion of such a romance so prominently featured in this film makes it a landmark of the nation's film history.

From the song's humble origins and use in the film, Sérgio Ricardo turned it into bossa nova. That's the late composer/film director himself in the provided video (the older man furthest to the left). The lead singers are his daughters.

“Hold My Hand” , music and lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop, Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Performed by Lady Gaga

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

This song, with touches of '80s arena rock and torch songs, appears at the top of the end credits. It is not quoted in the film's score at any point in this equally jingoistic sequel to the original Top Gun.

“I Know Why (And So Do You)”, music by Mack Gordon, lyrics by Harry Warren, Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

(initial version) / (reprise)

Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, Lynn Bari (dubbed by Pat Friday), The Modernaires, and John Payne; reprise by Payne and Sonja Henie

This song's melody forms the backbone of the film's score throughout. In the opening minutes of this musical, we find the Phil Corey Orchestra (Glenn Miller and His Orchestra) rehearsing in preparation for a Christmas concert they will be headlining in the mountainous resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. The first 48 seconds of the first video are an instrumental version of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade".

The reprise occurs near the end of the film as Norwegian refugee/figure skating extraordinaire Karen Benson (Sonja Henie, a 3x Olympic gold medalist in figure skating) and pianist Ted Scott (John Payne) find themselves stuck in a mountainside cabin. Karen, who has fled Norway due to the Nazi takeover there, has been pursuing Ted for almost all of the film, and Ted finally succumbs to her charms here - to the outrage of his girlfriend (Lynn Bari). Suffice it to say nobody should watch 20th Century Fox musicals for the plot (but refreshingly, they're not pretending to be any more than what they are).

“Jean”, music and lyrics by Rod McKuen, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

Performed by Rod McKuen

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Adapted from Muriel Spark's novel of the same name and set in 1930s Edinburgh, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie stars Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie, a teacher at an all-girls school. Brodie, a woman with unorthodox teaching methods, has a cadre of favorite students nicknamed the "Brodie Set": Sandy (Pamela Franklin), Monica (Shirley Steedman), Jenny (Diane Grayson), and Mary (Jane Carr). Each of them are around twelve years old when the film begins. This film, an atypical "teacher movie", is about a breakdown of professionalism, betrayal of trust, loss of innocence, and hubris.

The melodic structure is inspired by the style of Scottish folk songs, and it forms the central spine of the film's score and plays throughout. The song itself is not performed with lyrics until the end credits. Due to the events in the film's closing act, the tone, placement, and lyrics of "Jean" become ironic. The lyrics are decidedly romantic but, in context, it's anything but.

“Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)”, music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton, lyrics by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, and Lionel Richie, The Color Purple (1985)

Performed by Margaret Avery (singing voice dubbed by Táta Vega)

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Based on the book of the same name by Alice Walker, The Color Purple stars Whoopi Goldberg as Celie Harris in her breakthrough role. Celie, forcibly married off to Albert "Mister" Johnson (Danny Glover) as a teenager, has grown resigned after a lifetime of parental and spousal abuse. Mister has a mistress named Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), who works as a showgirl in Memphis. After one stormy evening, a sickly Shug appears at Mister's homestead for the first time and, over a few weeks, Celie nurses her back to health. The two grow attached and, as tribute, Shug performs this song at the local riverside juke joint.

In the book, the romantic relationship between Celie and Shug after this moment is more explicit. Director Steven Spielberg's greatest regret over this film was not making more of this romantic relationship. Given that the movie was released at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis and in an environment where LGBTQ+ themes were verboten to the major movie studios, I don't believe much more could've been done in 1985.

“Pink”, music and lyrics by Lizzo, Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, and Ricky Reed, Barbie (2023)

(initial version) / (reprise)

Performed by Lizzo

After narrator Helen Mirren describes to the audience Barbieland, we are introduced to Barbie (Margot Robbie), just awakening from a good night's sleep, with the initial version of "Pink". At the end of that day at the nightly dance party, Barbie asks her fellow Barbies if they ever think about death – a Barbie faux pas. Barbie corrects herself, but remains haunted by her question when she goes to bed that evening. We hear the reprise as Barbie awakens the next morning after barely sleeping, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

“That Darn Cat!”, composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, That Darn Cat! (1965)

Performed by Bobby Darin

Appears in the opening credits and final minutes of this comedy. That Darn Cat! marked the end of an era and the start of another. This was Hayley Mills' final of six films for Disney (a run that included the title character in 1960's Pollyanna and in her dual role in the original Parent Trap) and Dean Jones' first for Disney. The provided version includes audio from the opening credits, extracted directly from the film itself (a stipulation in Darin's contract means that the original soundtrack version is nowhere to be found online).

“Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night)”, music by Phạm Hải Âu, lyrics by Phạm Hải Âu and Chung Chí Công, Good Morning and Good Night (2019, Vietnam)

Performed by Hà Quốc Hoàng and Trần Lê Thúy Vy

Lyrics in Vietnamese (translation in provided video)

In this romantic musical influenced heavily by Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, indie musician Tâm (Hà Quốc Hoàng) unexpectedly forms a deep connection with Thanh (Trần Lê Thúy Vy), a rideshare driver who challenges his view of life, love, and art. This song appears at the top of the end credits. Most of the numbers in this film are composed in a style suited to Vietnamese indie music.

“When I Grow Up”, music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Ted Koehler and Irving Caesar, Curly Top (1935)

Performed by Shirley Temple; first reprise (not provided) by Billy Gilbert and Arthur Treacher; second reprise (not provided) by Esther Dale

Orphan Elizabeth Blair (Temple) performs this at a charity show meant to raise funds for the orphanage she is staying at. At certain points in this song, she dresses up in a wedding gown and dons "old" makeup in respect to the lyrics.

Where Alice Faye and Betty Grable may have been the two primary musical adult actresses at 20th Century Fox, Shirley Temple eclipsed both. Her modestly-budgeted movies showcased her childhood innocence and spunk, endearing her to a moviegoing public faced with the dire straits of the Great Depression. She was the highest-grossing actor in Hollywood from 1934-1938, and moviegoers of the Lost, Greatest, and early Silent Generations credit Temple's movies as needed morale boosters.

The folks assigned to GROUP A include: @cinemaocd, @cokwong, @emilylime5, @exlibrisneh, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @maximiliani, @shootingstarvenator, and @stephdgray. You are also being joined by 15 others including myself and my sister.

GROUP B

“Animal Crackers in My Soup”, music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Ted Koehler and Irving Caesar, Curly Top (1935)

Performed by Shirley Temple

Young Elizabeth Blair (Temple) and her elder sister, Mary (Rochelle Hudson) are living in an orphanage and are the primary entertainers for their fellow orphan girls. This number occurs early in the film and is quoted multiple times in the film's score. For those of you who despised this song's placement in those Shirley Temple DVD infomercials, I have no apologies to offer you.

Where Alice Faye (MOABOS X's "A Journey to a Star" from 1943's The Gang's All Here) and Betty Grable may have been the two primary musical adult actresses at 20th Century Fox, Shirley Temple eclipsed both. Her modestly-budgeted movies showcased her childhood innocence and spunk, endearing her to a moviegoing public faced with the dire straits of the Great Depression. She was the highest-grossing actor in Hollywood from 1934-1938, and moviegoers of the Lost, Greatest, and early Silent Generations credit Temple's movies as needed morale boosters.

“Barbarella”, music and lyrics by Bob Crewe and Charles Fox, Barbarella (1968)

Performed by The Glitterhouse

Played over the opening credits (not provided, because they are extremely NSFW) in which the title character (Jane Fonda) slowly undresses herself in zero gravity. Based on a controversially racy and heavily sexualized comic book series in France (even for the French!), Barbarella is a campy sci-fi movie that obliterated Fonda's homespun image in cinema. The movie was and is far more popular in Europe than it was in the U.S. (where it never became anything more than a cult classic).

In the years since, Fonda, a noted liberal activist, has essentially pleaded no contest to accusations that the film was anything but feminist.

“Captain Crow”, music by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe, The Sea Beast (2022)

Performed by chorus

Appears in part during a celebratory night at a pub in the film's opening act. Full appearance at the top of the end credits. This is a sea shanty celebrating the legendary monster hunter Captain Crow (Jared Harris). The melody is seldom quoted in the film's score. In The Sea Beast, an unnamed country has waged a centuries-long campaign to kill sea beasts, in defense of humanity. Similar to American Westerns, the film and this song plays with ideas of how popular narratives or mythoi are spun.

(Instrumental-only version for those interested... many versions in different languages are available on YouTube, including French, Hindi, Italian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and more – some lyrically clunkier than others)

“I’m Just Ken”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie (2023)

Performed by Ryan Gosling and company

The Kens of Barbieland have just taken over power from the Barbies. In response, the Barbies, Allan, and Mattel employee Gloria and her daughter Sasha have manipulated the Kens into fighting each other while they attempt to reestablish control. According to director Greta Gerwig, the dance segment seen here was influenced by "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935; see the warm-up playlist I sent to many of you) and "The Broadway Melody" from Singin' in the Rain (1952).

“Mujhe Kisi se Pyaar Ho Gaya (I’ve Fallen in Love with Someone)”, music by Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal, lyrics by Shailendra, Barsaat (1949, India)

Performed by Nargis (singing voice dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar)

Lyrics in Hindi (translations in the CC's in provided videos)

Raj Kapoor was a major director/actor in the early decades of Bollywood. In one of his first directed movies, shortly after the Partition of India, we find Barsaat. This romance tells of two love stories of vacationing city men meeting women who live in Kashmir (a disputed region between India, Pakistan, and China). This film juxtaposes the story of the womanizing Gopal (Prem Nath) and Neela (Nimmi), with that of Pran (Raj Kapoor) and Reshma (Nargis). It is the beginning of Pran and Reshma's romance that we see here, after she has been rowing Gopal and Pran around for the last few days.

“Qu'est-ce qu'on fait de l'amour? (What Do We Do with Love?)”, music and lyrics by Vincent Courtois, Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (2022, France)

Performed by Pomme

Lyrics in French (rough translation)

This song appears at the top of the end credits of this sequel to 2012's Ernest & Celestine, which was nominated (against the odds) for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The original was, as I wrote back in 2014, "cinematic friendship at its most rewarding and profoundly beautiful." In this sequel for our dynamic mouse and bear duo, Celestine (the mouse) accidentally breaks Ernest's (the bear) precious Stradibearius violin. It leads the unlikely friends to search for an old violin maker acquaintance of Ernest's back in his homeland of Gibberitia ("Charabïe" in the original title, a name derived from "charabia", the French word for "gibberish").

A further shameless plug for all of you reading this to seek out animation that is not from the major American and Japanese studios.

“Return to Sender”, music and lyrics by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

Performed by Elvis Presley

The eleventh of Elvis' 31 movies (if MOABOS returns for future editions, let's just say there's a lot more Elvis to come) and the second shot in Hawai'i after 1961's Blue Hawaii, Girls! Girls! Girls! is a misnomer as there are only two girls vying for Elvis' affections (it would be an appropriate title for many other Elvis movies). My sister thinks this film should've been titled Girls? Girls. Girls!

Here, Ross Carpenter (Elvis) is a fisherman who spends his evenings as a nightclub singer. Fellow nightclub singer Robin Gantner (Stella Stevens) and the secretly wealthy Laurel Dodge (Laurel Goodwin) are very much attracted to him. This number occurs after Ross starts seeing Laurel, inflaming Robin's suspicions, and resulting in a spat at the bar that immediately preceded the song.

“Something He Can Feel”, music and lyrics by Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle (1976)

Performed by Lonette McKee, Irene Cara, and Dwan Smith

(use in film) / (soundtrack version with Aretha Franklin)

Loosely based on the history of the Supremes, the musical Sparkle is the story of the three Williams sisters (the late Cara as lead singer Sparkle, McKee as Sister, and Smith as Dolores). They decide, along with two of their boyfriends, to take their church singing experience and turn into a semi-professional group called the Hearts.

This song appears midway through the film, as the boys have dropped out to become the group's managers. The Williams sisters have renamed the group Sister and the Sisters (I would've kept the original name). The performance of this number is intercut with glimpses of Sister's troubled personal life – the film's Rubicon crossing, setting up the conclusion of her storyline.

The film's original soundtrack does not contain any of the original performances. Instead, Aretha Franklin sings all the songs from the film in the soundtrack.

“Suzume”, music and lyrics by RADWIMPS, Suzume (2022, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS and Toaka

Lyrics in Japanese (extremely rough translation)

This song's melody (especially the eighteen-note vocalized motif) appears throughout the film. But this version, with lyrics, only appears as the second song in the end credits. In this film, 17-year-old Suzume and a young man named Souta must journey across Japan to close a series of mystical doors. Mysterious phenomena are passing through these once-locked into our world, and are causing natural disasters.

Makoto Shinkai's latest, unadjusted for inflation, is the fourth-highest grossing Japanese film of all time. MOABOS regulars will recall previous entries from Your Name (2016) and Weathering with You (2019) – all RADWIMPS compositions. Suzume directly addresses a trauma that Your Name and Weathering with You danced around: the 3/11/11 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

“Take My Breath Away”, music and lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, Top Gun (1986)

Performed by Berlin

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song

This song plays during romantic dialogue between Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). Top Gun never plays the entire song. In its inexplicable four appearances in the film in a 20-minute span, the song itself is played muted underneath the dialogue, its lyrics barely discernible in those respective scenes.

“Tiền”, music and lyrics by Trần Khắc Trí, Good Morning and Good Night (2019, Vietnam)

Performed by Trần Lê Thúy Vy, Hà Quốc Hoàng, and company

In this romantic musical influenced heavily by Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, indie musician Tâm (Hà Quốc Hoàng) unexpectedly forms a deep connection with Thanh (Trần Lê Thúy Vy), a rideshare driver who challenges his view of life, love, and art over a full day. This song appears about a third of the way through, after a conversation about money ("tiền" means "money" in Vietnamese). Most of the numbers in this film are composed in a style suited to Vietnamese indie music.

“We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”, music and lyrics by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Performed by Tina Turner

This song plays at the top of the end credits of the Mad Max series' third entry. In this movie, the late Tina Turner herself plays the antagonist (but neither true villain or antihero) Aunty Entity - who leads a post-apocalyptic trading post called Bartertown. "Thunderdome" refers to a gladiatorial arena in Bartertown in which conflicts are settled in a battle to the death (an aside: awkward as "Thunderdome" sounds as a lyric, it makes more sense than "Thunderball" from the 007 movie of the same name).

The folks assigned to GROUP B include: @addaellis, @halfwaythruthedark, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal. You are also being joined by 14 others including myself and my sister.

Would you like to know something more about a song or a movie featured above? Do you have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Feel free to ask me! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation or non-participation in the preliminary. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines near.

Once more to all of you here, my thanks for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over however long I've known you. It's a privilege and a pleasure to share all these movies (well, excerpts of them) and musical numbers with you. It's my hope that you not only learn something new about film and/or music, but that you also find this very fun to do!

Happy listening, all. And thank you again!

TABULATION FOR THE PRELIMINARY ROUND

This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been in use since MOABOS II (2014). A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method described here for the preliminary round is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there). 

The tiebreakers for the preliminary are:

total points earned;

total #1 votes;

song(s) which is/are ranked higher on more ballots than the other(s);

average placement on my and my sister's ballots;

tie declared

[dweemeister]

2023 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song Final

TAGGING (interested observers, non-participating observers, and participants): @addaellis, @birdsongvelvet; @cinemaocd, @cokwong, @doglvr, @emilylime5, @exlibrisneh, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @machpowervisions, @maximiliani, @memetoilet, @metamatar, @monkeysmadeofcheese, @myluckyerror, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shootingstarvenator, @stephdgray, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal.

OPEN INVITES go out to (longtime followers and former participants who have not accepted/declined): @dog-of-ulthar, @introspectivemeltdown, @mehetibel, @noelevangilinecarson, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, @the-lilac-grove

Hello everybody,

A good day to you wherever you are reading this. Following the most dramatic preliminary round in Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS) history, it is now time for the final.

Might the final also have some surprises and razor-thin close calls in store? As many of you know, this is the eleventh edition of MOABOS (MOABOS XI) and the tenth with participation from family, friends, and tumblr followers. At the beginning of every year, I never know whether or not this admittedly strange competition will return for another year. That it has persisted all this time – and grown – has been a personal joy. And it is not possible without all of you.

I began record-keeping for MOABOS XI when I saw Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) on New Year's Day this year. From there, I kept a running shortlist until the preliminary began on American Thanksgiving weekend. That one song from GdT's Pinocchio has survived the entire year to get to the final. Over the rest of 2023, numerous songs from various movies filtered in and out on my master shortlist, culminating into this final round.

INTRODUCTION

For those who have never participated in this before, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time that calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey", in which any rewatches do not count) with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category except for this, Best Original Song. Original Song is the only category which does not require you to watch the movies in their entirety. As always, MOABOS is considered a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways over how long I've known you for. In addition, I think it's a fun, novel way to introduce to all of you films and music you may not have otherwise encountered or sought and to give everyone a little bit of film and music history.

However, MOABOS is but a foot-deep glimpse into my much larger Movie Odyssey for this last year. There are many films I saw this calendar year that I consider much better than the ones that appear here. But did they have any original songs? They did not!

WHAT'S IN THE FINAL

This final will be contested by fifteen songs.

In a preliminary round filled will thrills and spills, some popular titles have failed to make it this far. That includes Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin in Top Gun (1986). But there's a Top Gun song in here, even more widely recognizable than both of these songs, that will be looking to assert its frontrunner status.

Snapping back from what was the first-ever monolingual MOABOS last year, the 2023 final sets the record for the most multilingual field ever with six languages represented – English, French, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. This breaks the previous record held by MOABOS VI (2018), which featured five different languages. After three-year absences, both Hindi-language and Japanese-language songs have progressed to the final. A Portuguese-language song marks the language's (and Brazilian cinema's) first appearance in a MOABOS final.

Two films from 20th Century Fox's Golden Age will also be contending. The first film, Sun Valley Serenade (1941), has two entries by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. In addition to the appearance of Orchestra Wives (1941) in MOABOS IX (2021), this ensures that each song featuring Miller that has qualified for MOABOS has made the final. In addition, some big news as Shirley Temple – so often on the wrong end of the points totals in the preliminary round – finally sees a final round with Curly Top (1935).

Finally, in a round usually riddled with multiple entries for certain films, there's a distinct lack of films with two or more contenders for MOABOS this year. The only exceptions to that are, surprisingly, Sun Valley Serenade and Good Morning and Good Night (which I encountered for Viet Film Fest this year).

2023's winner will join this company (winners' playlist):

2012 (Special): To be contested

2013 (I): “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re In the Money)”,Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

2014 (II): “Rainbow Connection”, The Muppet Movie (1979)

2015 (III): “Amhrán Na Farraige (Song of the Sea)”, Song of the Sea (2014)

2016 (IV): “Stayin’ Alive”, Saturday Night Fever (1977)

2017 (V): “Remember Me (Recuérdame)”, Coco (2017)

2018 (VI): “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

2019 (VII): “I Wish I Didn't Love You So”, The Perils of Pauline (1947)

2020 (VIII): “Can't Help Falling in Love” , Blue Hawaii (1961)

2021 (IX): “Lullaby in Ragtime”, The Five Pennies (1959)

2022 (X): “9 to 5”, Nine to Five (1980)

INSTRUCTIONS

Please rank (#1-15) your choices in order. The top ten songs will receive nominations; all others get "Honorable Mentions". There is no minimum or maximum amount of songs you can rank, but because of the nature of single transferable vote (the tabulation method described in the "read more"), it is highly recommended to rank as many songs as possible, rather than only one or two. Those who rank fewer songs run a greater risk of their ballots being discarded in the later rounds of tabulation. Since this rule change (first implemented in MOABOS VI in 2018), no participant who has only ranked one song has seen their choice win MOABOS. Again, this is all described in the "read more".

The tabulation method used in the preliminary round (10 points for 1st place, 9 points for 2nd, etc.) is being used for this round. However, it is used for the final only as the second tiebreaker (the tabulation method that will be used principally for the final – aka "single transferable vote" – is described in the "read more").

Please consider, to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines):

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration);

Its lyrics (incl. and not limited to lyrical invention and flow); 

Contextual use within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films);

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable; I know that almost none of us have a dancing background, but please do not dismiss this aspect entirely);

The song's cultural/sociopolitical impact and legacy/listenability outside the film's context (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

Remember: you are not judging music videos.

A notice on audio/video quality and colorization of black-and-white film: Because it is sometimes difficult to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song while you are drawing up your rankings – you're on the honor system on this one. In addition, in respect to personal and blog policy, I will not provide colorized videos of films that were originally in black-and-white. You can call this snobby all you want. But to yours truly, film colorization of B&W is disrespectful to the artisans who plied their craft and made decisions based on the fact the film was shot in black-and-white. It is essentially redirecting a movie without consent.

You are encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The deadline for submission is Wednesday, January 10 at 9 PM Pacific Time. That is7 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time and 11 PM Central Time. That deadline is also Thursday, January 11 at Midnight Eastern Time / 5 AM GMT / 6 AM CET / 7 AM EET / 2 PM Korea Standard Time. This deadline – as it always seems to happen – will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. The deadline is later this year due to Christmas and New Year's being on Mondays this year.

All of the below songs can also be found in this YouTube playlist (but please note you may not judge the music video, but instead judge the song and how it is used in context).

Enjoy the music! Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies you may have never otherwise heard of that you find fascinating. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title) and presented in alphabetical order (so feel free to shuffle the order!):

2023 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song Final (playlist)

“Animal Crackers in My Soup”, music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Ted Koehler and Irving Caesar, Curly Top (1935)

Performed by Shirley Temple

6th in Group B

Young Elizabeth Blair (Temple) and her elder sister, Mary (Rochelle Hudson) are living in an orphanage and are the primary entertainers for their fellow orphan girls. This number occurs early in the film and is quoted multiple times in the film's score. For those of you who despised this song's placement in those Shirley Temple DVD infomercials, I have no apologies to offer you.

For those familiar with Over the Garden Wall, this number inspired "Potatoes and Molasses" and its respective episode.

Where Alice Faye (MOABOS X's "A Journey to a Star" from 1943's The Gang's All Here)   and Betty Grable may have been the two primary musical adult actresses at 20th Century Fox, Shirley Temple eclipsed both. Her modestly-budgeted movies showcased her childhood innocence and spunk, endearing her to a moviegoing public faced with the Great Depression. She was the highest-grossing actor in Hollywood from 1934-1938, and moviegoers of the Lost, Greatest, and early Silent Generations credit Temple's movies as needed morale boosters.

“Barsaat mein hamse mile tum sajan (In the Rainy Season, We Met One Another)”, music by Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal, lyrics by Shailendra, Barsaat (1949, India)

(initial version) / (end-of-film reprise)

Performed by Nimmi (singing voice dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar)

Lyrics in Hindi (translations in the CC's in provided videos)

5th in Group A

Raj Kapoor was a major director/actor in the early decades of Bollywood. In one of his first directed movies, shortly after the Partition of India, we find Barsaat. This romance tells of two love stories of vacationing city men meeting women who live in Kashmir (a disputed region between India, Pakistan, and China). Later in the films, we will find Pran (Raj Kapoor) and Reshma (Nargis) quickly falling in love. But this song surrounds the womanizing Gopal (Prem Nath) and Neela (Nimmi), whose faithful love for Gopal goes largely unrequited. After much convincing from Neela, Gopal attends a local festival – and doesn't pay much attention to this Neela-led song-and-dance number.

In the reprise, Neela has died near the end of the film. Reformed, realizing too late how horrible he has been to Neela, Gopal carries her body to her funeral pyre as the monsoon rains – as hinted in this film's very title – finally arrive.

“Chattanooga Choo Choo”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and The Modernaires; danced and sung by the Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Advanced directly to the final

Midway through this musical, the Phil Corey Orchestra (Glenn Miller and His Orchestra) are anxiously awaiting for their pianist (John Payne) before rehearsal for a Christmas concert in the ski resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. He's been delayed by an unexpected detour while skiing down the slopes in pursuit of a young woman (Sonja Henie) who has been flirt-trolling him on the slopes. Phil is asked to "stall for time" by the band's manager (Milton Berle). But, quietly, Phil essentially says "screw it" and starts the rehearsal. As one of my tumblr followers put it, classic Hollywood's legacy of weird shenanigans at ski resorts continues.

Nicholas Brothers' and Dorothy Dandridge's segment feels separate from the rest of this number by design. White-owned theaters in the American South would refuse to show films with prominent roles with black actors, so 20th Century Fox structured Nicholas Brothers numbers in a way so that their dances could be easily cut for those theaters. MOABOS IX (2021) participants will recall that "I've Got a Gal (in Kalamazoo)" from Orchestra Wives (1942) and the reprise to the title song for Down Argentine Way (1940) were impacted similarly.

It's a brief, but memorable role for Dandridge in her early career. She would become one of the best African American actresses ever, thirteen years removed for her Best Actress nomination for Carmen Jones (1954).

This was the first of only two films made by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra while contracted to 20th Century Fox (RIP "Fox"). They were to make more, but then Miller decided to join the U.S. Army Air Forces (the predecessor of the Air Force) to lead its official band. Miller, an enormous musical figure of the swing jazz era, disappeared over the English Channel in December 1944. This was the first song ever to receive a gold record, and it was musically referenced across numerous Fox movies during the 1940s and '50s, becoming an unofficial studio anthem.

The city of Chattanooga and railways have and still embrace the song; localized Dutch, Finnish, German, and Italian versions of this song exist.

“Ciao Papa”, music by Alexandre Desplat, lyrics by Roeban Katz and Guillermo del Toro, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Performed by Gregory Mann

3rd in Group A

In this adaptation of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, director Guillermo del Toro injects the tale with his signature gothic touch – moving the narrative up in time to Fascist Italy and not shying away from the original book's grotesqueness and the title character's sociopathy. This song appears as part of a montage where Geppetto (David Bradley) goes in search of Pinocchio (Mann) after Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz) abducts the wooden son. Pinocchio is performing for Volpe in part to avoid conscription into Fascist Italy's military.

“Danger Zone”, music and lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, Top Gun (1986)

Performed by Kenny Loggins

Advanced directly to the final

This song first appears in the film's opening credits, as a number of U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcats are about to lift off from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Tomcats are being scrambled to address an incursion of what is heavily implied to be Soviet aircraft (and results in an exchange that should've immediately started WWIII, but the always-jingoistic Top Gun movies do not care about geopolitical consequences). The song is briefly played again for a similar scene later in the film.

“Esse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine)”, music by Sérgio Ricardo, lyrics by Sérgio Ricardo and Ruy Guerra, Esse Mundo é Meu (1964, Brazil)

Originally performed a cappella by Antônio Pitanga; provided version performed by Marina Lutfi and Adriana Lutfi (lead vocals), Sérgio Ricardo (vocals), João Gurgel (vocal/guitar), Alexandre Caldi (winds), Marcelo Caldi (piano/accordion), Lui Coimbra (cello), Giordano Gasperin (bass), and Diego Zangado (percussion)

Lyrics in Portuguese (extremely rough translation... "Saravá ogum" is an Afro-Brazilian exclamation; I'm not sure what "Mandinga" means in the song's context, but it's an Afro-Brazilian word that either refers to an ethnic group or "magic")

2nd in Group A

In this film almost never screened outside Brazil, two separate romantic storylines – a white couple and a black couple – play out in a Rio de Janeiro favela. In the latter storyline, Antônio Pitanga plays a shoeshiner. One day, while setting up his shoeshining equipment along the beach, he sings this song – an optimistic number in hopes for a better tomorrow. Black Brazilian romance was and is rare in Brazilian cinema, and the inclusion of such a romance so prominently featured in this film makes it a landmark of the nation's film history, alongside the likes of Black Orpheus (1959; although Esse Mundo é Meu came from a filmmaking movement – Cinema Novo – that rejected the likes of Black Orpheus).

From the song's humble origins and use in the film, Sérgio Ricardo turned it into bossa nova. That's the late composer/film director himself in the provided video (the older man furthest to the left). The lead singers are his daughters.

“Hooked On Your Love”, music and lyrics by Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle (1976)

Performed by Lonette McKee, Irene Cara, and Dwan Smith

(use in film) / (soundtrack version with Aretha Franklin)

Advanced directly to the final

Loosely based on the history of the Supremes, the musical Sparkle is the story of the three Williams sisters (the late Cara as lead singer Sparkle, McKee as Sister, and Smith as Dolores). They decide to take their church singing experience to become a semi-professional group called the Hearts.

This song appears midway through the film, as the boys have dropped out to become managers and the girls have renamed the group Sister and the Sisters (I would've kept the original name). This is the debut performance of Sister and the Sisters. If you're wondering what's going on with the lighting here, that's because the cinematographer of Sparkle didn't know how to light non-white actors.

The film's original soundtrack does not contain any of the original performances. Instead, Aretha Franklin sings all the songs from the film in the soundtrack.

“I Know Why (And So Do You)”, music by Mack Gordon, lyrics by Harry Warren, Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

(initial version) / (reprise)

Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, Lynn Bari (dubbed by Pat Friday), The Modernaires, and John Payne; reprise by Payne and Sonja Henie

6th in Group A

This song's melody forms the backbone of the film's score throughout. In the opening minutes of this musical, we find the Phil Corey Orchestra (Glenn Miller and His Orchestra) rehearsing in preparation for a Christmas concert they will be headlining in the mountainous resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. The first 48 seconds of the first video are an instrumental version of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade".

The reprise occurs near the end of the film as Norwegian refugee/figure skating extraordinaire Karen Benson (Sonja Henie, a 3x Olympic gold medalist in figure skating) and pianist Ted Scott (John Payne) find themselves stuck in a mountainside cabin. Karen, who has fled Norway due to the Nazi takeover there, has been pursuing Ted for almost all of the film, and Ted finally succumbs to her charms here – to the outrage of his girlfriend (Lynn Bari). Suffice it to say nobody should watch 20th Century Fox musicals for the plot (but refreshingly, they're not pretending to be any more than what they are).

What the heck is an Olympic figure skater doing and singing in a movie? Well, Henie was used in a handful of Fox musicals in musical numbers set to an elaborate figure skating sequence. These days, Henie's movies are largely out of print and hard to find. Her popularity was such that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) hired aspiring swimmer Esther Williams (unable to compete at the canceled 1940 Summer Olympics) as response to Fox's Sonja Henie movies. 

“I’m Just Ken”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie (2023)

Performed by Ryan Gosling and company

3rd in Group B

The Kens of Barbieland have taken over power from the Barbies after Ken (Ryan Gosling) learns about patriarchy in our real world. In response, the Barbies, Allan, and Mattel employee Gloria and her daughter Sasha have manipulated the Kens into fighting each other (or, in the Kens' parlance, "beaching off") while they attempt to reestablish control. According to director Greta Gerwig, the dance segment seen here was influenced by "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935; see the warm-up playlist I sent to many of you) and "The Broadway Melody" from Singin' in the Rain (1952).

The production design and overall look of Barbie was meant to have a sort of plastic toy aesthetic. Gerwig wanted to achieve an "authentic artificiality", injecting a sense of child's play into the filmmaking, and spiritually inspired by the production design of The Red Shoes (1948) – especially its 15-minute ballet sequence.

“Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)”, music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton, lyrics by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, and Lionel Richie, The Color Purple (1985)

Performed by Margaret Avery (singing voice dubbed by Táta Vega)

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

1st in Group A

Based on the book of the same name by Alice Walker, The Color Purple stars Whoopi Goldberg as Celie Harris in her breakthrough role. Celie, forcibly married off to Albert "Mister" Johnson (Danny Glover) as a teenager, has grown resigned after a lifetime of parental and spousal abuse. Mister has a mistress named Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), who works as a showgirl in Memphis. After one stormy evening, a sickly Shug appears at Mister's homestead for the first time and, over a few weeks, Celie nurses her back to health. The two grow attached and, as tribute, Shug performs this song at the local riverside juke joint.

In the book, the romantic relationship between Celie and Shug after this moment is more explicit. Director Steven Spielberg's greatest regret over this film was not making more of this romantic relationship. Given that the movie was released at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis and in an environment where LGBTQ+ themes were verboten to the major movie studios, I don't believe much more could've been done in 1985.

“Qu'est-ce qu'on fait de l'amour? (What Do We Do with Love?)”, music and lyrics by Vincent Courtois, Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (2022, France)

Performed by Pomme

Lyrics in French (rough translation)

1st in Group B

This song appears at the top of the end credits of this sequel to 2012's Ernest & Celestine, which was nominated (against the odds) for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The original was, as I wrote back in 2014, "cinematic friendship at its most rewarding and profoundly beautiful." In this sequel for our dynamic mouse and bear duo, Celestine (the mouse) accidentally breaks Ernest's (the bear) precious Stradibearius violin. It leads the unlikely friends to search for an old violin maker acquaintance of Ernest's back in his homeland of Gibberitia ("Charabïe" in the original title, a name derived from "charabia", the French word for "gibberish").

A further shameless plug for all of you reading this to seek out animation that is not from the major American and Japanese studios.

“Return to Sender”, music and lyrics by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

Performed by Elvis Presley

5th in Group B

The eleventh of Elvis' 31 movies (if MOABOS returns for future editions, let's just say there's a lot more Elvis to come) and the second shot in Hawai'i after 1961's Blue Hawaii, Girls! Girls! Girls! is a misnomer as there are only two girls vying for Elvis' affections (it would be an appropriate title for many other Elvis movies). My sister thinks this film should've been titled Girls? Girls. Girls!

Here, Ross Carpenter (Elvis) is a fisherman who spends his evenings as a nightclub singer. Fellow nightclub singer Robin Gantner (Stella Stevens) and the secretly wealthy Laurel Dodge (Laurel Goodwin) are very much attracted to him. This number occurs after Ross starts seeing Laurel, inflaming Robin's suspicions, and resulting in a spat at the bar that immediately preceded the song.

“Suzume”, music and lyrics by RADWIMPS, Suzume (2022, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS and Toaka

Lyrics in Japanese (extremely rough translation)

2nd in Group B

This song's melody (especially the eighteen-note vocalized motif) appears throughout the film. But this version, with lyrics, only appears as the second song in the end credits. In this film, 17-year-old Suzume and a young man named Souta must journey across Japan to close a series of mystical doors. Mysterious phenomena are passing through these once-locked into our world, and are causing natural disasters.

Makoto Shinkai's latest, unadjusted for inflation, is the fourth-highest grossing Japanese film of all time. MOABOS regulars will recall previous entries from Your Name (2016) and Weathering with You (2019) – all RADWIMPS compositions. Suzume directly addresses a trauma that Your Name and Weathering with You danced around: the 3/11/11 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

“Tiền”, music and lyrics by Trần Khắc Trí, Good Morning and Good Night (2019, Vietnam)

Performed by Trần Lê Thúy Vy, Hà Quốc Hoàng, and company

Lyrics in Vietnamese (translation in provided video)

4th in Group B

In this romantic musical influenced heavily by Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, indie musician Tâm (Hà Quốc Hoàng) unexpectedly forms a deep connection with Thanh (Trần Lê Thúy Vy), a rideshare driver who challenges his view of life, love, and art over a full day traversing Saigon. This song appears about a third of the way through, after a conversation about money ("tiền" means "money" in Vietnamese). Most of the numbers in this film are composed in a style suited to Vietnamese indie music.

“Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night)”, music by Phạm Hải Âu, lyrics by Phạm Hải Âu and Chung Chí Công, Good Morning and Good Night (2019, Vietnam)

Performed by Hà Quốc Hoàng and Trần Lê Thúy Vy

Lyrics in Vietnamese (translation in provided video)

4th in Group A

In this romantic musical influenced heavily by Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, indie musician Tâm (Hà Quốc Hoàng) unexpectedly forms a deep connection with Thanh (Trần Lê Thúy Vy), a rideshare driver who challenges his view of life, love, and art over a full day traversing Saigon. This song appears at the top of the end credits. Most of the numbers in this film are composed in a style suited to Vietnamese indie music.

Have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Maybe you would like to know something more about a song or a movie featured in this year's competition? I'm the one to ask! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

Once more to all, my thanks all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over this last calendar year and beyond. However long you've known me – it has been and is a distinct privilege and a pleasure to share all this music and (at least excerpts of) these movies with you. It's my hope you find this entertaining and enlightening about cinema and the music that goes along with it. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Happy listening, and I hope you have fun!

A happy holiday season to you and yours!

PS: TABULATION

The winner is determined by a process distinct from the preliminary round. For the final, the winner is chosen by the process known as single transferable vote (the Academy Awards uses this method to choose a Best Picture winner, visually explained here):

All #1 picks from all voters are tabulated. A song needs more than half of all aggregate votes to win (50% of all votes plus one… i.e. if there are thirty respondents, sixteen #1 votes are needed to win on the first count).

If there is no winner after the first count (as is most likely), the song(s) with the fewest #1 votes or points is/are eliminated. Placement will be determined by the tiebreakers described below. Then, we look at the ballots of those who voted for the most recently-eliminated song(s). Their votes then go to the highest remaining non-eliminated song on their ballot.

The process described in step #2 repeats until one song has secured 50% plus one of all votes. We keep eliminating nominees and transfer votes to the highest-ranked, non-eliminated song on each ballot. A song is declared the winner when it reaches more than fifty percent of all #1 and re-distributed votes.

NOTE: It is possible after several rounds of counting that respondents who did not entirely fill in their ballots will have wasted their votes at the end of the process. For example, if a person voted the second-to-last place song as their #1, ranked no other songs, and the count has exceeded two rounds, their ballot is discarded (lowering the vote threshold needed to win), and they have no say in which song ultimately is the winner. No one who has ranked only one or two songs on their rankings and nothing more has succeeded since this tabulation method was implemented. I highly discourage, but do not forbid, these practices.

Tiebreakers: 1) first song to receive 50% plus one of all #1 and transferred votes; 2) total points earned (the preliminary round's primary tabulation method); 3) total #1 votes; 4) average placement on my ballot and my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared

For reference: 2013 final 2014 final (input from family and friends began this year) 2015 final 2016 prelim / final 2017 prelim / final 2018 prelim / final 2019 prelim / final 2020 prelim / final 2021 prelim/ final 2022 prelim / final

[dweemeister]

2023 Movie Odyssey Awards

And now, the penultimate step to conclude the 20223 Movie Odyssey. The Movie Odyssey Awards honor the best in films that I saw for the first time last calendar year for me. Rewatches do not count. Other eligibility rules (such as whether or not a “TV movie” versus a “streaming movie” can count can be found here).

All of these films that were nominated or won (except for Worst Picture) are worth your time and are worth seeking. Even some of the most flawed films I saw this year managed a nomination somewhere - it helps there are ten nominees per category. And, as always, my Best Picture winners are my highest recommendations of the year.

There's also a new category this year! Another music category (some of you are already sighing, I know) in the form of Best Original Score Cue.

Best Pictures (I'm naming ten, I'm not distinguishing one above the other nine)

Anatomy of a Fall (2023, France)

The Color Purple (1985)

I Know Where I’m Going! (1945)

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

The Last Command (1928)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Past Lives (2023)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Tár (2022)

For the second straight year, I have set a record low for the number of feature films that I saw in a calendar year since when this blog began (2012). And on my failure to adhere to my objective on seeing more pre-1980 movies than those released 1980 and after, this Best Picture list skews far more modern than it usually does. This is also the first Movie Odyssey Award for Best Picture slate without a 10/10 rated film.

Six movies from the 2020s doubles the record (set last year, with three) of Best Picture winners that have come from the current decade.

Anatomy of a Fall, through its courtroom drama lens, remarks on unknowability of even the people we love most. Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple is melodrama (a word I'm using here in the neutral sense) of the first order, and tenderly told. The romance I Know Where I'm Going! is not often mentioned when it comes to Powell and Pressburger films (it seems like their first postbellum film despite being set during WWII), but I think scholarship is coming around on that (and I approve).

Martin Scorsese looks like he is getting a lot of short shrift from critics and the industry for Killers of the Flower Moon as another movie dominates 2023's headlines instead. But I thought his adaptation of David Grann's non-fiction book was the best release of 2023, a dramatic epic set on the Oklahoma prairie retelling a horrible saga that American history forgot. Director Josef von Sternberg and Emil Jannings may have had a tumultuous working relationship, but this visually striking silent film makes incredible use of blocking of extras and an arguably career-best performance by Jannings.

Taking much of Killers of the Flower Moon's thunder is Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, surely one of the movies to define 2023. Nolan's 181-minute biopic epic is arguably his most humanistic film yet (for a director not known for his humanism). On a far different scale, Celine Song's Past Lives was perhaps one of the best romantic dramas I've ever seen in a theater.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse made its predecessor look safe by comparison with its wild variety of styles. Points off for its necessarily heavy exposition and incomplete narrative (it is the first part of two), but its radical background changes, ever-changing color palette, and comprehensible action choreography put the MCU to shame.

Lastly, Tár was very much overshadowed by Everything Everywhere All At Once last year, perhaps unfairly so (it doesn't help that when people hear that the film is immersed in the world of classical music, they immediately lose interest). And The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was perhaps the film that shocked me the most all year, partly due to my expectations beforehand. Maggie Smith plays the title character in an atypical "teacher movie".

Best Comedy

American Fiction (2023)

Beauty’s Worth (1922)

Beverly of Graustark (1926)

Block-Heads (1938)

Fanfan la Tulipe (1952, France)

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

Heathers (1988)

The Holdovers (2023)

My Year of Dicks (2022 short)

An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It (2021 short)

This comes down to which movie made me laugh the most. I don't think this was that great a year on the comedy end, but Alexander Payne's The Holdovers is destined to be a Christmas classic. A Christmas classic for the sadsacks among us.

I thought The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was going to be utterly terrible. I mean, look at that frigging title. I respect Don Knotts for his Andy Griffith Show work, but I have to be in the right mood. But boy, it was ideal October viewing when I didn't want to watch a straight horror movie. Attaboy, Luther!

Appearing from the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film slate last year are My Year of Dicks and An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It. If I was still doing the Movie Odyssey For-Fun Awards, those two would tie for "Best Title". Not even close. It helps that they both made me laugh a lot!

Best Musical

Barsaat (1949, India)

Carmen Jones (1954)

Êsse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine) (1964, Brazil)

The Fabulous Senorita (1952)

Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Sparkle (1976)

Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

This is the Army (1943)

Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night) (2019, Vietnam)

This category has always advantaged original musicals rather than stage adaptations. And the more songs, the better. Just edging out Barsaat and Sun Valley Serenade is Carmen Jones, an adaptation of Oscar Hammerstein II's adaptation of George Bizet's Carmen. Bizet's music remains; Hammerstein wrote the lyrics. Instead of Sevilla, we find ourselves in the American South and all-black cast starring Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, and Joe Adams. An important work, and one of the very few major studio Hollywood movies with an all-black cast. You'll have to get used to both Dandridge and Belafonte being dubbed (their voices not suitable to sing in an operatic style, so director Otto Preminger thought). however.

Sparkle could have won this had they adhered more to the late '50s/'60s Motown sound a lot more faithfully. And if, narratively, the movie was better.

Best Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron (2023, Japan)

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia (2022, France)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

My Father’s Dragon (2022)

Nimona (2023)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

The Sea Beast (2022)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Suzume (2022, Japan)

ATSV wins this category, but Ernest & Celestine took my heart yet again. Do yourself a favor: please see both the 2012 original and the sequel. The former is one of the best animated features of the young century and though the latter is not as good as the original, it's still very much worth your time.

I was a little disappointed in The Boy and the Heron and, to be honest, I disliked Marcel the Shell and Nimona - an opinion that, if I said this any louder, would invoke the wrath of many on tumblr. Cartoon Saloon misses for the first time with My Father's Dragon. The hot streak had to end some time! Puss in Boots was the biggest surprise in terms of expectations versus how good the movie actually was.

Best Documentary

Fire of Love (2022)

For Tomorrow (2023, Canada)

In Living Memory (2022 short)

Pianoforte (2023, Poland)

Refuge After War (2023)

The Stroll (2023)

Seen as part of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. An HBO documentary, The Stroll is made by two transgender directors telling the story of the sex workers strolling around New York City's Meatpacking District in the 1980s and '90s, many of whom were transgender. I'm usually not a fan of documentaries where the directors are also subjects/have close ties to the material, but The Stroll is one of those rare exceptions. Beautifully told.

The classical music lover in me also deeply enjoyed Pianoforte, which follows a handful of young contestants (I think there's an age limit) at the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2021. One girl I recall said something akin to "I wish to play beautifully and with personality, but I also don't want to make a mistake!" Sorry miss, you've gotta do both! Also, I wonder how many of them hate Chopin's guts after competing in something like that.

Best Non-English Language Film

Anatomy of a Fall, France

Barsaat, India

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, France

Êsse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine), Brazil

Fanfan la Tulipe, France

Fellini Satyricon (1969), Italy

Godzilla Minus One (2023), Japan

The Quiet Girl (2022), Ireland

Shayda (2023), Australia

Suzume, Japan

A relatively weak year in this category, and way too many films in here than there should be from this decade. But I'll highlight here Êsse Mundo é Meu, which I saw last February at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in LA (I would go more often if I didn't live so far). The film, an exemplar of Cinema Novo (taking inspiration from the French New Wave and Italian neorealism, a rejection of Brazilian popular musical and comedies at the time. The print was in bad shape, and the Museum had to recreate the English subtitles by themselves. But it was a wonderful film, and, unfortunately, it is rarely screened outside of Brazil. I highly doubt I'll see the likes of it again.

I'm still not sure what to make of Fellini's fantastical period, which took off after Juliet of the Spirits (1965, Italy).

Best Silent Film

Alice’s Wonderland (1923 short)

Beauty’s Worth

Beverly of Graustark

Clash of the Wolves (1925)

The Last Command

The Oath of the Sword (1914 short)

Something Good – Negro Kiss (1898 short)

With thanks to the San Diego Asian Film Festival for their screening of The Oath of the Sword, the oldest-surviving (that we know of) film made entirely by an Asian American film company and starring a nearly all-Asian cast.

I need to see more silent films next year.

Personal Favorite Film (TIE)

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

Barbie (2023)

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia

Gentleman Jim (1942)

Godzilla Minus One

Ice Merchants (2022 short, Portugal)

The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

Sun Valley Serenade

Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

Godzilla Minus One was the best experience I had in a theater this last year, especially as a fan of Toho's kaiju films.

You can watch Ice Merchants, the highest-rated short film I've seen in years, here. And of course, the Academy disagreed with me.

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Federico Fellini, Fellini Satyricon

Todd Field, Tár

Ronald Neame, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I Know Where I’m Going!

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Celine Song, Past Lives

Steven Spielberg, The Color Purple

Josef von Sternberg, The Last Command

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall

This is not the best film from Powell and Pressburger, but I Know Where I'm Going! is a fascinating, quickly-shot film that I maintain is underrated in their filmography. You know it was an underwhelming year for me, when I'm not really feeling any of these ten for Best Director. But it had to be awarded to someone.

Best Acting Ensemble

Angels (2023, Vietnam)

The Color Purple

Don’t Bother to Knock

Heathers

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The Sea Wolf (1941)

Women Talking (2022)

Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong,Oprah Winfrey, Desreta Jackson, Willard Pugh, Akosua Busia, Laurence Fishburne, Howard Starr... everyone, take a bow. Some career-defining performances in there, enough to evoke tears out of me multiple times. The Color Purple an obvious choice for me here.

If you were to have me pick runners-ups? Probably The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Killers of the Flower Moon.

Best Actor

Humphrey Bogart, Black Legion (1937)

James Cagney, The Strawberry Blonde

Albert Finney, Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Brendan Fraser, The Whale (2022)

Hiệp Trần Nghĩa, The Accidental Getaway Driver (2023)

Emil Jannings, The Last Command

Roger Livesey, I Know Where I’m Going!

Bill Nighy, Living (2022)

Vincent Price, Witchfinder General (1968)

Edward G. Robinson, The Sea Wolf

I watched a lot of Vincent Price late in 2023. The Las Vegas Story (1952), House of Wax (1953), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). Witchfinder General, also known in the U.S. as The Conquerer Worm, was the role I was least familiar with. And oh my goodness is he excellent here. Price plays Matthew Hopkins, a 17th century English witch hunter, and this is perhaps Price's least sympathetic villain that I have seen. The direction might not be all that great, but give Price a non-campy, sadistic role and he will deliver.

Cagney is vastly underappreciated in The Strawberry Blonde, Humphrey Bogart is surprisingly gullible in Black Legion, and Bill Nighy breaks hearts in Living (a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru).

Best Actress (TIE)

Lucille Ball, Lured (1947)

Cate Blanchett, Tár

Marion Davies, Beverly of Graustark

Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple

Olivia de Havilland, The Strawberry Blonde

Greta Lee, Past Lives

Marilyn Monroe, Don’t Bother to Knock

Maggie Smith, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

I... couldn't make a choice. So I made two choices. Whoopi is extraordinary in her breakthrough role. Her physical acting helps us intuit the changing fortunes and self-belief of her character, and never resorting to histrionics as some actresses might. A beautifully nuanced performance.

A little less nuanced is Maggie Smith as Ms. Brodie. Easily one of the most memorable teacher movies I have seen, and it is Smith - giving her all to one of the a most complicated character - who makes it work perfectly.

Runners-up? Blanchett, Davies, Dandridge, and Gladstone. This category was fantastic this year.

Best Supporting Actor

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction (2023)

Elisha Cook Jr., Don’t Bother to Knock

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Danny Glover, The Color Purple

Milo Machado-Graner, Anatomy of a Fall

Dustin Nguyen, The Accidental Getaway Driver

George Sanders, Lured

Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers

Christian Slater, Heathers

Teo Yoo, Past Lives

George Sanders? A romantic interest in a noir? What? Well he is here, a departure (perhaps) from his debonair villainous roles. You can always depend on Sanders to deliver. Also considered De Niro here.

Best Supporting Actress

Margaret Avery, The Color Purple

Pearl Bailey, Carmen Jones

Ingrid Bergman, Murder on the Orient Express

Joan Blackman, The Great Impostor (1961)

Hong Chau, The Whale

Sherry Cola, Shortcomings (2023)

Pamela Franklin, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Rita Hayworth, The Strawberry Blonde

Oprah Winfrey, The Color Purple

Selina Zahednia, Shayda

Seen at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, virtually. Shayda is an Australian movie in which Iranian mother Shayda (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi) seeks refuge in an Australian women's shelter during Nowruz, Persian New Year. Selina Zahednia plays the daughter, Mona, and gives one of the best and most believable child performances of the young century.

Avery, Franklin, and Oprah Winfrey would have been next up.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Menno Meyjes, The Color Purple

Daniel Taradash and Charlotte Armstrong, Don’t Bother to Knock

Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Kazuo Ishiguro, Living

Leo Rosten, Lured

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Jay Presson Allen, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Robert Rossen, The Sea Wolf

Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Complain about the 3-hour runtime all you want. I just don't see how anything could've been cut; in fact, I think Roth and Scorsese could've added more context. What pushes them over the top here was their commitment - however flawed - to take the focus away from what was originally a more white savior-y approach to its current form. An extremely risky ending acknowledges more than it lets on.

Best Original Screenplay

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall

Abem Finkel and William Wister Haines, Black Legion

Daniel Waters, Heathers

David Hemingson, The Holdovers

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I Know Where I’m Going!

Celine Song, Past Lives

Garry Michael White, Scarecrow (1973)

Noora Niasari, Shayda

Makoto Shinkai Suzume

Todd Field, Tár

To descirbe the plot: Manchester native Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) departs for the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist she has never met. While awaiting the Scottish fog to clear, she meets a Royal Navy officer (Roger Livesey), who is happy to show her the sights and introduce her to the locals, whose humble lives are as far away from the war as could be possible.

Paramount Pictures (who didn't distribute the film) used this film's screenplay to their writer as an example of what a "perfect screenplay" looked like. Okay, it isn't perfect. But it's really damn good.

Best Cinematography

Dương Lê, Angels

Allen Daviau, The Color Purple

Êsse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine)

Giuseppe Rotunno, Fellini Satyricon

Erwin Hillier, I Know Where I’m Going!

Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon

Bert Glennon, The Last Command

Dewey Wrigley, My Friend Flicka (1943)

James Wong Howe, The Strawberry Blonde

Florian Hoffmeister, Tár

Best Film Editing

Nick Houy, Barbie

Jack Killifer, Gentleman Jim

John Seabourne, Sr., I Know Where I’m Going!

Thelma Schoonmaker, Killers of the Flower Moon

Michelle Tesoro, Maestro (2023)

Eddie Hamilton, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Jennifer Lame, Oppenheimer

Norman Savage, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Mike Andrews, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Monika Willi, Tár

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

Irving Berlin, This is the Army

David Buttolph, Cyril J. Mockridge, and Emil Newman, Sun Valley Serenade

Herschel Burke Gilbert, Carmen Jones

Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Joseph L. Lilley, Girls! Girls! Girls!

Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle

Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal and Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi, Barsaat

Phạm Hải Âu, Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night)

Heinz Roemheld, The Strawberry Blonde

Naoki Sato, Godzilla Minus One

This category awards film scores from musical movies or film scores that are taking a lot of pre-existing material and employing variations, but not enough to be considered a more original score. This category also tends to favor musicals, full stop.

And that's what we find here with Sun Valley Serenade taking its 4th and 8th place finishes in MOABOS for a solid, solid musical score.

Best Original Score

Richard Rodney Bennett, Murder on the Orient Express

Danny Elfman, Batman (1989)

Allan Gray, I Know Where I’m Going!

Maurice Jarre, The Island at the Top of the World (1974)

Quincy Jones, The Color Purple

Henry Mancini, The Great Impostor

Alfred Newman, My Friend Flicka

RADWIMPS and Kazuma Jinnouchi, Suzume

Dimitri Tiomkin, Land of the Pharaohs (1955)

John Williams, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Hans Zimmer, The Creator (2023)

The Ancient Egyptian language no longer exists in spoken form, as does any of that civilization's music. So what to do? Hire the one composer in Old Hollywood that you could fling into a historical cultural context so unlike his own and make it sound as genuine as he could get it (even if I'm sure no ancient Egyptian would understand the score too much). Dimitri Tiomkin came from a Russian Jewish family that lived in what is now Ukraine. He was a master of American Westerns and was also accomplished in films set in ancient Greece and Rome. He composes for Land of the Pharaohs one of the most musically interesting epic scores of the 1950s - I just wish there were better, cleaner, more modern recordings of this music!

Danny Elfman's score to Batman the runner-up here (that score played an important part in Batman: The Animated Series, and gave composer/conductor Shirley Walker a very important foothold in the film and television industry), but Richard Rodney Bennett, Quincy Jones, John Williams, and even Hans Zimmer (whom longtime readers will know I have a difficult relationship in terms of his post-Gladiator scores... but my gosh, he composes striking melodies again in The Creator!) are all worthy nominees here.

Best Original Score Cue

“Appel à la resistance”, Vincent Courtois, Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia

“The Building of the Tomb”, Dimitri Tiomkin, Land of the Pharaohs

“Cat Chase”, Kazuma Jinnouchi and RADWIMPS, Suzume

“Helena’s Theme”, John Williams, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

“Main Title”, Danny Elfman, Batman

“Main Title/Pharaoh’s Procession”, Dimitri Tiomkin, Land of the Pharaohs

“Nueva York Train Chase”, Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

“Quantum Mechanics”, Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer

“Top Gun Anthem”, Harold Faltermeyer, Top Gun (1986)

“True Love”, Hans Zimmer, The Creator

Our newest category! Yes, a fourth music category. MOABOSC. Okay, let's not.

I've actually wanted to create this category for some time, but I never did so until now. A film score cue is simply any single track heard in a movie, as you may have guessed. No lyrics (that's a song). Must be an original composition.

And it's John Williams who picks the inaugural award up for "Helena's Theme". Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is not the greatest movie. But Williams, now at 91, can compose scores and cues that other composers would sell their souls to compose material half as good. "Helena's Theme" is the dominant new idea in Dial of Destiny. Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is Indy's goddaughter. And her motif, mainly expressed through strings, is a romantic line that harkens to Erich Wolfgang Korngold (a classical music composer who crossed over into films, set the sound for Warner Bros. swashbuckler movies from the 1930s-40s, and established many norms of film scoring still in place today). A tremendous piece from Williams.

Runners-up behind Williams? Elfman, Tiomkin (for the main titles), Pemberton, and Zimmer.

Best Original Song

“Chattanooga Choo Choo”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Sun Valley Serenade

“Ciao Papa”, music by Alexandre Desplat, lyrics by Roeban Katz and Guillermo del Toro, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

“Danger Zone”, music and lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, Top Gun

“Êsse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine)”, music by Sérgio Ricardo, lyrics by Sérgio Ricardo and Ruy Guerra, Esse Mundo é Meu

“Hooked on Your Love”, music and lyrics by Curtis Mayfield, Sparkle

“I Know Why (And So Do You)”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Sun Valley Serenade

“I’m Just Ken”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrw Wyatt, Barbie

“Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)”, music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton, lyrics by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, and Lionel Richie, The Color Purple

“Qu-est-ce qu’on fait de l’amour? (What Do We Do with Love?)”, music and lyrics by Vincent Courtois, Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia

“Suzume”, music and lyrics by RADWIMPS, Suzume

Thanks to all of you who participated in MOABOS this year!

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Barbie

André-ani, Kathleen Kay, and Maude Marsh, Beverly of Graustark

Rosemary Odell,The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)

Aggie Guerard Rodgers, The Color Purple

Danilo Donati, Fellini Satyricon

Jacqueline West, Killers of the Flower Moon

Norma Moriceau, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Tony Walton, Murder on the Orient Express

Joan Bridge and Elizabeth Haffenden, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Orry-Kelly, The Strawberry Blonde

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Paul Engelen and Colin Jamison, Batman

Uncredited, Beauty’s Worth

Ken Chase and Robert L. Stevenson, The Color Purple

Gordon Bau, House of Wax (1953)

Emile LaVigne and Ann Locker, Land of the Pharaohs

Elizabeth Ann Fardon, Helen Evans, Rosalind Da Silva, and Cheryl Newton, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Kazu Hiro, Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Michael Mekash, and Kay Georgiou, Maestro

Stuart Freeborn, John O’Gorman, Charles E. Parker, and Ramon Gow, Murder on the Orient Express

Gordon Bau and Jean Burt Reilly, The Omega Man (1971)

Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Annemarie Bradley-Sherron, The Whale

I wonder how audiences though of the makeup in 3D back in the 1950s. Yes, House of Wax was filmed in 3D when it was a fad for the first time.

Best Production Design                                       

Sarah Greenwood, Barbie

Anton Furst and Peter Young, Batman

Uncredited, Fellini Satyricon

Ted Smith, Gentleman Jim

Curt Enderle and Guy Davis, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

John Paul Kelly, A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Jack Fisk, Killers of the Flower Moon

Hans Dreier, The Last Command

Jack Stephens, Murder on the Orient Express

Anton Grot, The Sea Wolf

Achievement in Visual Effects

Alice’s Wonderland

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Barbie

Batman

The Creator

Godzilla Minus One

In Which We Serve (1942)

The Island at the Top of the World

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Oppenheimer

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

All of these films are winners. You can't make me judge the visual effects from a 2020s movie versus a '40s movie. Come on now.

Worst Picture

Barbarella (1968)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963, Japan)

Mười: Lời nguyền trở lại (Muoi: The Curse Returns) (2022, Vietnam)

Treasure Island (1973)

Wish (2023)

Because holy cow. What even was low-budget major studio animation in America in the 1970s?

Honorary Awards:

The Film Foundation, for their tireless devotion to the preservation and restoration of classic world cinema

Ben Model, for composing wonderful scores for silent films and helping to preserve the memory of the silent film experience

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture... 51) Thirteen: The Color Purple

Ten: Killers of the Flower Moon

Eight: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Seven: I Know Where I’m Going!, The Strawberry Blonde

Six: Barbie, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Last Command, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Oppenheimer, Suzume, Tár

Five: Anatomy of a Fall, Batman, Don’t Bother to Knock, Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, Fellini Satyricon, Past Lives, Sun Valley Serenade

Four: Beverly of Graustark, Êsse Mundo é Meu, Godzilla Minus One, Heathers, Land of the Pharaohs, The Sea Wolf

Three: American Fiction, Barsaat, Beauty’s Worth, The Creator, Gentleman Jim, Lured, Shayda, Sparkle, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Whale

Two: The Accidental Getaway Driver, Angels, Black Legion, Fanfan la Tulipe, Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Great Impostor, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Island at the Top of the World, Living, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Maestro, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, My Friend Flicka, This is the Army, Top Gun, Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night), Women Talking

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 32) 4 wins: The Color Purple

3 wins: I Know Where I’m Going!, Killers of the Flower Moon

2 wins: Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, Godzilla Minus One, The Last Command, Oppenheimer, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

1 win: All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), Batman, Carmen Jones, The Creator, Fellini Satyricon, The Holdovers, House of Wax, Ice Merchants, In Which We Serve, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Island at the Top of the World, Land of the Pharaohs, Lured, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Murder on the Orient Express, Past Lives, Shayda, The Stroll, Sun Valley Serenade, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Witchfinder General

86 films were nominated in 27 categories.

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Because tumblr still cannot show indented bullets on the dashboard, this is best viewed on my blog via the direct link.

Informal invites go out to @asexual-idiot-ramblings, @biglifehightides, @birdsongvelvet, @blumes, @cinemaocd, @dog-of-ulthar, @exlibrisneh, @ideallaedi, @kataka-taka, @life-traveller, @mehetibel, @memetoilet, @mundi41, @myluckyerror, @shadesofhappy, @sunsetpanic, @phendranaedge/@twosontooter as longtime followers or folks who have participated in previous editions in MOABOS but have been on the inactive side lately. You are all invited to participate in either the prelim and/or just the final round. If you wish to participate in the prelim, please contact me so I can get you sorted into a group ASAP.

INTRODUCTION If you are being tagged on this post, that is because you graciously accepted the invitation to help out with this year's edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS) or were perhaps active in the past. This is the milestone tenth edition of MOABOS (MOABOS X?) and the ninth time with outside help from family, friends, and followers on tumblr. In other words, it's also the tenth year for my classic movie blog that is responsible for this end-of-year tradition! Thank you all for agreeing to participate in this admittedly peculiar tradition that continues to endure despite a pandemic and personal difficulties.

For newcomers (and oh boy there are many of you this year): my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. It is, for the most part, no democratic process. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. MOABOS is also a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support and a way to make the idea of watching older movies more accessible for those who might not seek them out.

SET-UP

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 22 songs will contest this preliminary round in two groups - Group A and Group B. With the pandemic still taking a toll on contemporary filmmaking, many of you will notice right away there are no 2022 entries for this year's MOABOS. And for another year running, very few of this year's entries are from the twenty-first century (although one particular movie from this century has quite a few entries this year). Danny Kaye - who was in last year's winner "Lullaby in Ragtime" from The Five Pennies (1959) - does not return to defend MOABOS this year. But we'll see Kaye again another year. There is no perennial Elvis contender this year either - cue the celebrations from the many Elvis ambivalents among you.

One year after the most multilingual field MOABOS had ever seen, we take a sharp turn. Reflecting how difficult this year has been for me (and I've needed more comfort movies this year), there are zero entries this year from a language other than English. This is a monolingual field, down from last year's record of eight languages represented. No anime films I saw this year had compelling contenders for MOABOS, nor did anything that I saw for Viet Film Fest (VFF). And I didn't see a lick of classic Bollywood this year again (this needs to be rectified).

2019's MOABOS preliminary remains the gold standard for sheer chaos. The miraculous comeback of "I Dug a Ditch" from Thousands Cheer (1943) in the prelim's final hour brought a song that seemed dead as a doorknob back to life. A song about digging a hole got out of its hole, if you will. No group since has ever matched that drama. Might this be a nailbiter of a result?

INSTRUCTIONS Please rank (#1-11) at least seven of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines):

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration);

Its lyrics;

Context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films);

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable);

The song's cultural impact and context/sociopolitical context/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

Because of the difficulty to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song.You are encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself! The top six songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. Unlike previous years, no songs finishing outside the top six will be considered as an at-large finalist. The deadline for submission is Friday, December 16 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Saturday, December 17 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline - as we have seen in the last few years - will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. A small group of longtime MOABOS veterans have been asked to do both groups, if possible (but they are required to complete their assigned group first before moving on). Tabulation details are under the “read more” cutoff.

Please participate in the group you have been sorted into, if you have not yet been sorted into a group and would like to participate, please contact me. You can access most, not all, of your group’s songs in these YouTube playlists: (Group A) / (Group B). Again, please note that not all of your group’s songs may not be in the playlist for various reasons.

GROUP A (playlist)

“Good Morning”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Babes in Arms (1939)

Performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney

Early in the first Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musical of several (the two had previously appeared together in the fourth film of the Andy Hardy series) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), two vaudeville kids from different families – "Mickey" Moran (Rooney) and Patsy Barton (Garland) – are attempting to sell one of his songs to a musical publishing company. Babes in Arms was released a month after Garland starred in The Wizard of Oz. 

If this song sounds familiar, it's because its most famous use was when it was recycled for Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor during Singin' in the Rain (1952) – a movie that recycled many MGM songs to immaculate results (MGM liked to recycle its songs multiple times for some of its musicals).

“Island in the Sun”, music and lyrics by Harry Belafonte and Irving Burgie, Island in the Sun (1957)

Performed by Harry Belafonte

Played over the opening credits of this romantic drama, complete with aerial footage of the island where the film takes place. Set on a fictional Caribbean island (and shot on location in Barbados and Grenada), Island in the Sun was controversial when it was first released due to its depiction of interracial relationships, adultery, and colonial politics.

Jamaican-American singer and actor Harry Belafonte introduced calypso music to American audiences in the 1950s. The genre, originating in Trinidad and Tobago in the 18th century, is influenced by the storytelling tradition of West African griots and often employs a syncopated 2/4 beat derived from West African musical beats. Calypso is a precursor to ska and reggae.

“The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Carmen Miranda and chorus

This is Carmen Miranda's signature song. It appears midway in the first half of this musical as part of a dinner show onboard a ship bound for a destination the movie never makes clear. The choreography was by director Busby Berkeley, best known for his mass choreographed song-and-dance numbers that he popularized in the 1930s (but had become out-of-fashion by the '40s).

This song – tame by today's standards – was considered risqué when it was released (see: the lyrics and all of that... citrus). The Gang's All Here was made during a time when the major studios were making certain movies adhering to the U.S. State Department's Good Neighbor Policy, as the studios attempted to show Latin American culture and persons in a positive light to counteract any sympathies with the Axis. Miranda, more popular in the U.S. than in her native Brazil during the height of her career at 20th Century Fox (RIP "Fox"), was typecast in "exotic Latin" roles during this time. Only closer to the end of her career and after her death, was she more venerated by her fellow Brazilians, as a South American who "conquered" American culture for a time.

“Never Look Back”, music and lyrics by Chilton Price, Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Performed by Doris Day

Ruth Etting (Day) has left the rough-and-tumble Chicago nightclub scene, thanks to her gangster (and now ex-) boyfriend Martin Snyder (James Cagney). At this point, Ruth has made it in the recording industry and is now recording a song for a Hollywood movie she just starred in. A jealous Martin watches on in the recording booth.

“No Love, No Nothin'”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Alice Faye

A dinner-and-a-show club is in dress rehearsal for their newest show and, more urgently, a war bond party. Eadie Allen (Alice Faye) is the performer here, with U.S. Army servicemember Andy Mason Jr. (James Ellison; whose character is on a furlough) among the few people permitted to preview the performance. Andy and Eadie had a chance encounter a few years back, with the two clearly interested in each other but nothing transpiring.

In the days of Old Hollywood, key cast and crewmembers were contracted specifically to the major studios. Some of the major studios had their signature musical stars. Among musical actresses? Judy Garland was contracted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM); Doris Day to Warner Bros; Deanna Durbin for Universal; Ginger Rogers for RKO while partnering with Fred Astaire. Until her being blackballed for a perceived breach of contract, it was Alice Faye who was 20th Century Fox's principal musical actress (she was supplanted by close friend Betty Grable). Faye makes her MOABOS debut, and it won't be the last time we see her.

“Once and For Always”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)

Performed by Bing Crosby and Rhonda Fleming

From a movie based very loosely on Mark Twain's comedic novel of the same name, “Once and For Always” is the signature love song between Hank Martin (Crosby) and Alisande la Carteloise (Fleming). In this film, American mechanic one day wakes up in King Arthur's (Cedric Hardwicke) land of Camelot. And while gracing Camelot with jazz, mid-century machinery knowhow, and "magic" to piss off Merlin (Murvyn Vye) and Morgan le Fay (Virginia Field), he falls for Arthur's niece, Alisande.

“Once Upon a Time in New York City”, music by Barry Mann, lyrics by Howard Ashman, Oliver & Company (1988)

Performed by Huey Lewis

Played over the opening credits of this movie in the Disney Animation Studios canon. Oliver & Company is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist to the streets of New York City. Instead of human street urchins, the characters are mostly sassy talking animals.

Oliver & Company was the last Disney animated movie before the beginning of the so-called "Disney Renaissance" with The Little Mermaid (1989). This film was released on the same day as Don Bluth's The Land Before Time, and was soundly beaten at the box office during a brief, intense period of rivalry between Bluth (a former Disney animator) and a struggling Disney.

“Pass Me By”, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Father Goose (1964)

Originally performed by Digby Wolfe; provided version performed by Cy Coleman

Played over the opening credits of this WWII comedy. Cary Grant plays the slovenly and usually inebriated American beachcomber Walter Eckland, who lives on an otherwise deserted Pacific island, and has an agreement with the Allied forces to report any Japanese warplanes or ships that he sees. His routine is interrupted one day when he encounters Frenchwoman Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) and seven young schoolgirls she's been tasked to take care of.

“Pillow Talk”, music and lyrics by Buddy Pepper and Inez James, Pillow Talk (1959)

Performed by Doris Day

This is the title song – played over the opening credits – to this romantic comedy starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

This was the first of three groundbreaking romcoms (an informal trilogy) starring Day and Hudson. Tony Randall also starred in all three of these movies in supporting roles. Along with Lover Come Back (1961), Send Me No Flowers (1964), Pillow Talk was considered risqué for the time and helped to contribute to the demise of the Hays Code (a series of self-censorship guidelines for almost all major Hollywood movies released from 1934-1968). For the classic film buffs out there, Pillow Talk is like a pre-Code picture that just happened to show up in the late '50s.

“Someone's Waiting for You”, music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, The Rescuers (1977)

Performed by Shelby Flint

Six-year-old orphan Penny (Michelle Stacy) has been kidnapped by the greedy Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page). Medusa has imprisoned Penny in a bayou in Louisiana. But the resourceful Penny has sent a message in a bottle that has been received by the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization housed in the U.N. in New York. This song plays non-diegetically as our two mice heroes, Bernard and Ms. Bianca (Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor), arrive.

“When You're Next to Me”, music and lyrics by Eugene Levy, A Mighty Wind (2003)

Performed by Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara

(soundtrack/end credits version) / (“public broadcast” DVD extra version)

Heard over the end credits of this mockumentary comedy spoofing American folk musicians. A Mighty Wind is about a folk music reunion that sees three acts reunited for a send-off public TV special. The “public broadcast” version provided here is a DVD extra and was not part of the film.

Group A participants include: @addaellis, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @rawberry101, @rosymeraki-blog, @shootingstarvenator, and @theybecomestories​. Sixteen others including myself and my sister will be joining you in this group.

GROUP B (playlist)

“Anyone Can See I Love You”, music and lyrics by Allan Roberts and Lester Lee, Ladies of the Chorus (1948)

Performed by Marilyn Monroe

Early on in this B-picture romantic musical, burlesque showgirl Mae Martin (Adele Jergens) secretly arranges for her daughter, fellow showgirl Peggy (Monroe), to take her place for a special number. It's a hit, and Peggy lands a lead role at the burlesque.

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, music by Nicholas Brodszky, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Performed by Doris Day

(use in film) / (single version)

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Ruth Etting (Day) has left the rough-and-tumble Chicago nightclub scene, thanks to her gangster boyfriend Martin Snyder (James Cagney). Ruth wants to break into the recording industry and, early on that journey, partakes in this early rehearsal with singing coach Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell; whose character falls for Day's).

“A Journey to a Star”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Alice Faye; reprised by film's cast

(initial performance) / (reprise)

Onboard a ship bound a destination to, erm, somewhere, onboard entertainer Eadie Allen (Alice Faye) starts falling with Andy Mason (James Ellison), who is shortly about to report for duty in the South Pacific. The reprise occurs as a film-ending fantasia, complete with Busby Berkeley's oftentimes kaleidoscopic mass choreography, which he popularized in the 1930s (although they were already out-of-fashion by the time he made The Gang's All Here).

In the days of Old Hollywood, key cast and crewmembers were contracted specifically to the major studios. Some of the major studios had their signature musical stars. Among musical actresses? Judy Garland was contracted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM); Doris Day to Warner Bros; Deanna Durbin for Universal; Ginger Rogers for RKO while partnering with Fred Astaire. Until her being blackballed for a perceived breach of contract, it was Alice Faye who was 20th Century Fox's principal musical actress (she was supplanted by close friend Betty Grable). Faye makes her MOABOS debut, and it won't be the last time we see her.

“Love Survives”, music and lyrics by Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, Mike Curb, and Michael Lloyd, All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Performed by Irene Cara and Freddie Jackson

“Love Survives” appears as the first song in the end credits of this animated musical fantasy directed by Don Bluth (1986's An American Tail, 1988's The Land Before Time). To preempt your questions about the YouTube comments in the provided link, it should be noted that this song was dedicated to voice actress Judith Barsi – who plays the human protagonist, Anne-Marie, in this movie (and Ducky in the original Land Before Time) – after she and her mother were both murdered by her father before this film was released.

“A Mighty Wind”, music and lyrics by Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean, A Mighty Wind (2003)

Performed by The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer); Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara); and The New Main Street Singers (John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Christopher Moynihan, David Blasucci, Mark Nonisa, Steve Pandis, and Patrick Sauber)

In this mockumentary comedy directed by Christopher Guest, the son (Bob Balaban) of an acclaimed folk music producer tries to put together a memorial concert on public TV to honor his late father, asking the three most famous of his father's acts to participate. After some drama among all three groups, they all come together for the concert, with this number concluding the occasion.

The video provided is from the public television alternative print that was offered as a DVD extra, not how this scene was shot in the movie. I have decided to provide the public TV alternative because the original is not available on YouTube (and also because the public TV version mirrors closely how it was shot in the film). No apologies for that dirty lyric.

“Old Joe's Place”, music and lyrics by Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean, A Mighty Wind (2003)

Performed by The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer)

In this mockumentary comedy directed by Christopher Guest, the son (Bob Balaban) of an acclaimed folk music producer tries to put together a memorial concert on public TV to honor his late father, asking the three most famous of his father's acts to participate. In this segment covering the Folksmen, we see some archival footage of one of their performances back at the height of their popularity. Please don't make me explain the punchline in this song.

The sharp-eyed and widely-watched among you will notice that those three men are the same people who comprise the fictional band Spinal Tap from the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984). At the very few concerts that Spinal Tap have given, the Folksmen are usually the opening act.

“Paducah”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo Robin, The Gang's All Here (1943)

Performed by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Carmen Miranda, and Tony DeMarco

Appearing late in The Gang's All Here, “Paducah” – in yet another example of American songwriters taking their song titles from funny-sounding American placenames – is the opening number of the war bond party that wraps up this film's narrative.

See my note for “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat” in Group A.

“Roll Up Sailorman”, music by Eric Ansell, lyrics by Henrik Ege, Big Fella (1937)

Performed by Paul Robeson

(use in film; begins at 21:44, ends at 23:32) / (soundtrack)

In a racially integrated, blue-collar neighborhood in Marseille, dockworker Banjo (Robeson) comes to the local café to enjoy an evening. Earlier in the day, the local police – noting Banjo's good reputation in the hardscrabble community, request him to listen and report back on the local gossip. As he and the café patrons sing together, he is wrestling with his own sense of morals and place among his friends.

“The Sneak Song”, music by Ben Please and Beth Porter, lyrics by Mikey Please, Robin Robin (2021 short)

Performed by Bronte Carmichael, Adeel Akhtar, Amira Macey-Michael, Tom Pegler, Endeavour Clutterbuck, and Megan Harris; reprise also performed by Richard E. Grant

Robin Robin was one of last year's Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Short Film. The film, an Aardman Animations (Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, 2000's Chicken Run)  production, stars a Robin (Carmichael) raised by a family of mice. Robin joins the family's attempt to sneak into a "Who-Man's" house and take away some food. The provided video includes the initial performance and reprise.

“Tomorrow is the Song I Sing”, music by Jerry Goldsmith, lyrics by Richard Gillis, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Performed by Richard Gillis

In this American Western film's opening minutes, Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) has been abandoned in the desert by his two companions. He wanders the Arizonan desert, speaking in a folksy demeanor to no one but God as if trying to bargain over his desperate situation. The opening credits play during this song and Cable's exhortations to the Lord. For film score fans: this movie was released one month after Patton (which Jerry Goldsmith also scored).

“Why Should I Worry?”, music and lyrics by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, Oliver & Company (1988)

Performed by Billy Joel

(use in film) / (soundtrack version)

Early in this adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist (but where almost all the characters are sassy talking animals), the dog version of Billy Joel, Dodger, reneges on a deal with young orphan cat Oliver (Joey Lawrence) to steal hot dogs from a human vendor.

Group B participants include: @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @plus-low-overthrow, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, @yellanimal, Sixteen others including myself and my sister are currently slated to be voting in Group B.

Have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Maybe you would like to know something more about a song or a movie featured in this year's competition? Well, just ask yours truly! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

To all of you, my thanks all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over this last calendar year and beyond. It's a privilege and a pleasure to share all this music and (at least excerpts of) these movies with you. It's my hope you find this entertaining and enlightening about cinema and the music that goes along with it. You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation or non-participation in the preliminary. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Happy listening, and I hope you have fun!

TABULATION FOR THE PRELIMINARY ROUND This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, tumblr followers, and family to help out. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method described here for the preliminary round is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there).

The tiebreakers for the preliminary are:

total points earned;

total #1 votes;

song(s) which is/are ranked higher on more ballots than the other(s);

average placement on my and my sister's ballots;

tie declared

[dweemeister]

2022 Movie Odyssey

Well, it’s another record set for the the latest date that this list has ever appeared. As per tradition on this blog, this is the complete list of films I saw for the first time in their entirety over the last calendar year. They are listed in the order of completion and with a respective rating out of ten from me. Each rating (my ratings system and eligibility rules are explained here) is based on my personal imdb rating. All half-points are rounded down.

March was defined entirely by my blog’s annual 31 Days of Oscar marathon (in which I limit myself to watching films nominated for an Academy Award or Honorary Academy Award winning films). June and early July were defined almost entirely by viewing submissions for Viet Film Fest - which contributed heavily to the amount of short films (one will notice tons of MGM short films and Popeye as well; the latter I believe I will be completing later in 2023) seen this year.

In sum, I saw 207 films that were new to me in 2021 (a sharp decline from 329 in 2021). 116 of those were features (films defined as forty-one minutes or longer); 91 were short films (forty minutes or shorter). My yearly goal to watch more pre-1980 films than 1980 and after - so as to ensure that I my viewing habits are well-rounded, chronologically - failed for the first time in at least eleven years. Among features, I saw six more features released 1980 and after. Adding both features and shorts, the deficit was nineteen. My professional situation in the second half of the year did not help matters.

What follows is the entire list of the 2022 Movie Odyssey:

JANUARY

The Fly’s Last Flight (1949 short) – 6/10

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) – 7.5/10

Hilda and Mountain King (2021) – 7/10

Babes in Toyland (1961) – 6/10

Sidewalk Stories (1989) – 8.5/10

The Donut King (2020) – 7.5/10

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) – 9.5/10

Baby Wants Spinach (1950 short) – 6/10

Chicana (1979 short) – 6/10

Start Cheering (1938) – 6/10

Ladies of the Chorus (1949) – 6.5/10

Drive My Car (2021, Japan) – 10/10

Belle (2021, Japan) – 6/10

La bestia debe morir (The Beast Must Die) (1952, Argentina) – 9.5/10

The Stork’s Holiday (1943 short) – 5/10

Beach Peach (1950 short) – 6/10

American Revolution 2 (1969) – 6/10

The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) – 8/10

Big Fella (1937) – 5.5/10

What Price Fleadom (1948 short) – 6/10

A Hero (2021, Iran) – 7.5/10

Nightmare Alley (1947) – 9/10

Flee (2021) – 8.5/10

One Ham’s Family (1943 short) – 6/10

FEBRUARY

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953, France) – 7.5/10

The Doll (1919, Germany) – 9/10

Father Goose (1964) – 7/10

Death on the Nile (2022) – 6/10

MARCH (31 Days of Oscar)

Audible (2021 short) – 8/10

When We Were Bullies (2021 short) – 6/10

On My Mind (2021 short, Denmark) – 6.5/10

Please Hold (2020 short) – 8/10

The Dress (2020 short, Poland) – 7.5/10

The Long Goodbye (2020 short) – 6/10

Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (2020 short, Switzerland/Kyrgyzstan) – 8/10

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (2015, Ukraine) – 7.5/10

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) – 7/10

Three Songs for Benazir (2021 short, Afghanistan) – 7.5/10

Lead Me Home (2021 short) – 7/10

The Queen of Basketball (2021 short) – 8.5/10

A Mighty Wind (2003) – 7/10

The Ladykillers (1955) – 9.5/10

A Patch of Blue (1965) – 9/10

Robin Robin (2021 short) – 8.5/10

Boxballet (2020 short) – 7.5/10

Affairs of the Art (2021 short) – 6.5/10

Bestia (2021 short, Chile) – 8/10

The Windshield Wiper (2021 short) – 7/10

Nightmare Alley (2021) – 7/10

Midnight Express (1978) – 6/10

Don’t Look Up (2021) – 4/10

The Power of the Dog (2021) – 8.5/10

CODA (2021) – 7/10

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) – 6.5/10

King Richard (2021) – 7.5/10

Loves of a Blonde (1965, Czechoslovakia) – 8/10

APRIL

Love Me or Leave Me (1955) – 6.5/10

The Batman (2022) – 8/10

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) – 8.5/10

Mahapurush (The Holy Man) (1965, India) – 6/10

Penny Serenade (1941) – 7.5/10

The Proud Valley (1940) – 7/10

The Oyster Princess (1919, Germany) – 7.5/10

When the Cat’s Away (1935 short) – 6/10

Turning Red (2022) – 7/10

Bull Durham (1988) – 7/10

Pillow Talk (1959) – 8/10

The Ancestral (2022, Vietnam) – 4/10

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) – 8/10

Anaïs in Love (2021, France) – 6/10

MAY (VFF submissions marked with asterisk)

Time After Time (1979) – 7/10

Memoria (2021, Colombia) – 7/10

An Inn in Tokyo (1935, Japan) – 7.5/10

Lady on a Train (1945) – 6/10

Petite Maman (2021, France) – 9/10

Gym Jam (1950 short) – 6/10

How Green is My Spinach (1950 short) – 7/10

Bi, Don’t Be Afraid (Bi, đừng sợ!) (2010, Vietnam) – 6/10

Jitterbug Jive (1950 short) – 6/10

Popeye Makes a Movie (1950 short) – 5/10

Footy Legends (2006) – 7/10

Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People (1989, India) – 7/10

Quick on the Vigor (1950 short) – 6/10

Rio in Rhythm (1950 short) – 8/10

Let’s Stalk Spinach (1951 short) – 6/10

Container (2021 short, Canada) – 8/10*

Free Your Mind (2021 short) – experimental film; score withheld*

Why Am I Still Alive? (2019 short, Canada) – 6.5/10*

No Man of Her Own (1950) – 7.5/10

Double-Cross Country Race (1951 short) – 5.5/10

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) – 7/10

Alpine for You (1951 short) – 6.5/10

The Farmer and the Belle (1950 short) – 6/10

Punch and Judo (1951 short) – 7/10

Thrill of Fair (1951 short) – 6/10

Antonio Gaudí (1984) – 6.5/10

Go for Broke! (1951) – 6.5/10

Spellbound (2002) – 7/10

JUNE

Gomenasai (2022 short) – score withheld*

Love, Laugh, Doom, Tears (2021 short) – 6.5/10*

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021, Japan) – 6.5/10

ALETHEIA (2022 short) – 6/10*

Vacation with Play (1951 short) – 6/10

good enough (2021 short) – 6/10*

Granny Boot Camp (2022 short) – 7/10*

Closing Time (2021 short) – 4/10*

A Realm of Return (2020, Canada) – 6/10*

Trespasser (2022 short) – 6/10*

Cà Phê 179 (2021 short, Canada) – 5/10*

Mabel (2022 short) – 7/10*

A Crack in the Mountain (2022) – 8/10*

Luv, Me (2021 short) – 7/10*

All I Ever Wanted (2021 short) – 7/10*

Exposed (2020 short) – 6/10*

Project Lullaby: CHOICE (2021 short) – experimental film; score withheld*

MiMi (2022 short, Vietnam) – 6.5/10*

Monkey in the Middle (2022 short, Vietnam) – 6/10*

Crouching Comic (2021 short) – 7/10*

Niềm đam mê (La passion) (2021 short, France) – 7/10*

Spring Roll Dream (2022 short, United Kingdom) – 8/10*

Me (Mom) (2019 short) – 7/10*

After Taste (2022 short, Vietnam) – 5.5/10*

Popeye’s Pappy (1952 short) – 5/10

Lightyear (2022) – 6/10

Friend or Phony (1952 short) – 5/10

Iris (2022 short) – 7/10*

Stinkfrucht (Taste of Home) (2022 short, Germany) – 8/10*

The Greatest Poem (2022 short) – 7/10*

Breakdown (2022 short) – 6/10*

Thuy & T. (2021 short) – experimental film; score withheld*

Talk to Me (2022 short) – 7/10*

Places and Times (2022 short) – 7/10*

It Was Time to Reconnect (2022 short) – 6/10*

The Aberrant (2022 short) – 6/10*

Thunderclouds (2022 short) – 7/10*

Fourth Block (2022 short) – 6.5/10*

My Mother’s Daughter (2022 short) – 7/10*

Mai Tell-Tale (2022 short) – 5/10*

Đêm Tối Rực Rỡ! (The Brilliant Darkness!) (2022, Vietnam) – 6.5/10*

Elvis (2022) – 6.5/10

Big Bad Sindbad (1952 short) – 5/10

Once Upon a Bridge in Vietnam (2022, France) – 6/10*

Buffalo Boy (2004, Vietnam) – 7.5/10

The Wiz (1978) – 6/10

Maika (2022, Vietnam) – 6.5/10*

Jimmy in Saigon (2022) – 7/10*

JULY

Memento Mori: Earth (2022, Vietnam) – 7.5/10*

Children of the Mist (2021, Vietnam) – 8/10*

Side Seeing: The Movie (2022, Vietnam) – 4/10*

Camouflage – Vietnamese Brush Strokes with History (2018) – 6/10*

Tiệc Trăng Máu (Blood Moon Party) (2020, Vietnam) – 7/10*

The Rescuers (1977) – 6/10

My Vietnam (2022) – 4/10*

Memoryland (2021, Vietnam) – 6.5/10*

Popalong Popeye (1952 short) – 6/10

The Black Cauldron (1985) – 4/10

Nope (2022) – 7/10

Shuteye Popeye (1952 short) – 6/10

Swimmer Take All (1952 short) – 6/10

Tots of Fun (1952 short) – 7/10

Oliver & Company (1988) – 5/10

AUGUST

The Rescuers Down Under (1990) – 6/10

The Prince and the Pauper (1990 short) – 6/10

The Gang’s All Here (1943) – 6/10

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) – 7.5/10

Three Women (1924) – 6/10

SEPTEMBER

Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) – 7/10

Pressure Point (1962) – 6/10

See How They Run (2022) – 7/10

The Woman King (2022) – 7/10

OCTOBER

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949) – 6/10

Babes in Arms (1939) – 6/10

Meet Danny Wilson (1952) – 6/10

The Scapular (1968, Mexico) – 7.5/10

Misterios de ultratumba (Black Pit of Dr. M) (1959, Mexico) – 7/10

The Masque of Red Death (1964) – 7/10

Two Boobs in a Balloon (1935 short) – 6.5/10

Nut Guilty (1936 short) – 6/10

The Red House (1947) – 7/10

NOVEMBER

El vampiro negro (1953, Argentina) – 7.5/10

Minnie the Moocher (1942 short) – 7/10

9 to 5 (1980) – 7.5/10

The World at Their Feet (1970) – 7.5/10

The Grandmother (1970 short) – experimental film; score withheld

Le Million (1931, France) – 7.5/10

Two Billion Hearts (1995) – 7/10

Ancient Fistory (1953 short) – 6/10

The Fabelmans (2022) – 8/10

Shaving Muggs (1953 short) – 6/10

Baby Wants a Bottle (1953 short) – 6/10

Johnny Guitar (1954) – 7/10

Glass Onion (2022) – 7.5/10

Popeye, the Ace of Space (1953) – 6/10

Island in the Sun (1957) – 6/10

DECEMBER

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) – 8/10

Firemen’s Brawl (1953 short) – 6/10

Popeye’s Mirthday (1953 short) – 6/10

Toreadorable (1953 short) – 5/10

Bride and Gloom (1954 short) – 5/10

Fright to the Finish (1954 short) – 7/10

Greek Mirthology (1954 short – 6/10

Popeye’s 20th Anniversary (1954 short) – 5/10

Private Eye Popeye (1954 short) – 6/10

Taxi-Turvy (1954 short) – 6/10

A Job for a Gob (1955 short) – 6/10

Mister and Mistletoe (1955 short) – 6/10

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) – 7.5/10

So closes out, finally, the 2022 Movie Odyssey. Thanks to you all for being a part, whichever ways large or small, of it.

[dweemeister]

2023 Movie Odyssey

I keep submitting this later and later! Anyways, as is tradition on this blog, this is the complete list of films I saw for the first time in their entirety over the last calendar year. They are listed in the order of completion and with a respective rating out of ten from me. Each rating (my ratings system and eligibility rules are explained here - which I really need to update) is based on my personal imdb rating. All half-points are rounded down.

Mid-late January was mostly virtual viewing for the Sundance Film Festival. March was defined almost entirely by my blog’s annual 31 Days of Oscar marathon (in which I limit myself to watching films nominated for an Academy Award or Honorary Academy Award winning films). May was entirely dedicated to viewing submissions for Viet Film Fest - which contributed heavily to the amount of short films (in somewhat-related news, I have finally completed viewing of the entire original Popeye short film series, an endeavor that took several years).

For the first time since I started taking records in 2012, I recorded not a single 10/10 rating.

In sum, I saw 226 films that were new to me in 2021 (up from 207 in 2022). 111 of those were features (films defined as forty-one minutes or longer, a record low since I've been keeping records); 115 were short films (forty minutes or shorter; a record and the first time short films surpassed features).

For the second straight year running, I failed on my yearly objective to watch more pre-1980 films than 1980 and after - this is to ensure that I my viewing habits are well-rounded, chronologically. Among features, I saw thirteen more features released 1980 and after. Adding both features and shorts, the deficit was fifty (a record, up from last year's count of nineteen).

What follows is the entire list of the 2023 Movie Odyssey:

JANUARY (asterisk denotes Sundance Film Festival)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) – 8.5/10

Beaus Will Be Beaus (1955 short) – 6/10

Heathers (1988) – 7/10

My Father’s Dragon (2022) – 6.5/10

Gift of Gag (1955 short) – 6/10

I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) – 8/10

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) – 7/10

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) – 7/10

My Friend Flicka (1943) – 6/10

Fellini Satyricon (1969, Italy) – 6/10

The Family Circus (2022 short)* – 6.5/10

Weapons and Their Names (2022 short)* – 6/10

The Flying Sailor (2022 short, Canada)* – 8/10

Thriving: A Disassociated Reverie (2023 short)* – 6/10

Tender (2022 short)* – 5/10

Sèt Lam (2022 short, France/Réunion)* – 7.5/10

Shortcomings (2023)* – 7/10

The Accidental Getaway Driver (2023)* – 7.5/10

Pianoforte (2023, Poland)* – 6/10

Shayda (2023, Australia)* – 7.5/10

The Stroll (2023)* – 8/10

The Eternal Memory (2023, Chile)* – 6/10

Triangle of Sadness (2022) – 5/10

FEBRUARY

The Bachelor Father (1931) – 6/10

Women Talking (2022) – 8/10

Lured (1947) – 7/10

The Omega Man (1971) – 5.5/10

Beverly of Graustark (1926) – 7/10

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022, Germany) – 6/10

Living (2022) – 8/10

Something Good – Negro Kiss (1898 short) – 7/10

Beauty’s Worth (1922) – 6.5/10

The Fabulous Senorita (1952) – 5/10

Êsse Mundo é Meu (This World is Mine) (1964, Brazil) – 7.5/10

That Man of Mine (1946) – 6/10

How Do You Measure a Year? (2021 short) – 6/10

The Elephant Whisperers (2022 short, India) – 7.5/10

Stranger at the Gate (2022 short) – 6/10

Haulout (2022 short, Russia/United Kingdom) – 7.5/10

The Martha Mitchell Effect (2022 short) – 7/10

Top Gun (1986) – 6/10

The Ring (1952) – 7/10

Ivalu (2023 short, Denmark) – 6/10

Night Ride (2020 short, Norway) – 6/10

Le pupille (2022 short, Italy) – 8/10

The Red Suitcase (2022 short, Luxembourg) – 8.5/10

An Irish Goodbye (2022 short) – 8.5/10

Curly Top (1935) – 7/10

MARCH (31 Days of Oscar) (double asterisks mark exceptions)

Tár (2022) – 8.5/10

Wee Willie Winkie (1937) – 7/10

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – 7/10

An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It (2021 short) – 8/10

Ice Merchants (2022 short, Portugal) – 9/10

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022 short) – 6/10

My Year of Dicks (2022 short) – 8/10

The Sea Beast (2022) – 7.5/10

Fire of Love (2022) – 7/10

The Whale (2022) – 6/10

The Quiet Girl (2022, Ireland) – 7/10

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) – 6/10

Block-Heads (1938) – 7.5/10

A Haul in One (1956 short)** – 6/10

Nearlyweds (1957 short)** – 6/10

The Crystal Brawl (1957 short)** – 5/10

Patriotic Popeye (1957 short)** – 6/10

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) – 6.5/10

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) – 8.5/10

APRIL (WB100) (pound/sharp sign denotes exceptions)

Hollywood Steps Out (1941 short) – 7/10

Buccaneer Bunny (1948 short) – 7/10

Clash of the Wolves (1925) – 7/10

The Sea Wolf (1941) – 7.5/10

Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943 short) – 6/10

This is the Army (1943) – 5.5/10

Suzume (2022, Japan)# – 7.5/10

A Lion is in the Streets (1953) – 5/10

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) – 7/10

The Strawberry Blonde (1941) – 7.5/10

MAY (all are VFF submissions)

House Rules (2022 short) – 7.5/10

The Bonsai Master (2023 short) – 6.5/10

Oink (2022 short) – 7/10

Refuge After War (2023) – 7/10

Kim-Ly and the Bottled Up Emotions (2022 short) – 6/10

What We Don’t Talk About (2023 short) – 6/10

(Phục Sinh)(Resurrection) (2022 short, Vietnam) – 7/10

Family (2022 short, Hungary) – experimental film; no rating provided

Ngày Mai (Tomorrow) (2023 short, Germany) – 7.5/10

In Living Memory (2022 short) – 8/10

Still Queer (2023 short) – experimental film; no rating provided

Polite Society (2023) – 7.5/10

On the Edge (2022 short, Vietnam) – 6/10

Supermarket Affairs (2022 short) – 8/10

Ma’s Kitchen (2022 short) – 5/10

Je Suis Là (I Am Here) (2022 short, France) – 6.5/10

Jackfruit (2021 short, Germany) – 8/10

The Resting Place: Nơi An Nghỉ (2022 short) – 5.5/10

Trốn Tìm Về (Homeseek) (2022 short, Vietnam) – 6/10

Jheff Wick (2023 short) – 6/10

Echo 8 (2023) – 5/10

For Tomorrow (2023, Canada) – 6/10

Cat Daddies (2022) – 6/10

Hex the Patriarchy (2023 short) – 6/10

Love, Dad (2021 short, Czech Republic) – 8.5/10

Match Point (2023 short) – 6/10

Porcelain (2023 short, Australia) – 7/10

Ripen (Trưởng Thành) (2023 short, Canada) – 6/10

La Cosecha (The Harvest) (2023 short) – 7.5/10

Hoang the Paper Boy (2023 short) – 5/10

The Ride (2023 short) – 6/10

Dawn of Skates (2023 short) – 7/10

Sleepless in Saigon (2023 short) – 5/10

Glow (2023 short, Germany) – experimental film; no rating provided

Little Parrot (2022 short, Germany) – 6/10

Tanh (2023 short, Vietnam) – 5/10

The Resemblance (2022 short) – 7/10

Astonishing Little Feet (2023 short) – 7/10

Breathe (2023 short) – 6/10

303.77 (2022 short, Vietnam) – 5/10

Bột (Powder) (2023 short, Vietnam) – 6/10

You Could Destroy Me But I’ll Still Be Here (2022 short, Canada) – experimental film; no rating provided

Her Name is Like a Sigh (2023 short) – 7/10

Mười: Lời nguyền trở lại (Muoi: The Curse Returns) (2022, Vietnam) – 3/10

Trails (2019 short) – experimental film; no rating provided

Conversations at the Register (2022 short) – 7/10

Good Chips (2023 short) – 7.5/10

Flowing Home (2021 short, Canada) – 8/10

Love, Mai (2023 short) – 7/10

Video Funeral (2023 short) – 7/10

The Waves Now Calm (2021 short, Malaysia) – 7.5/10

Object of Desire (2023 short) – 7/10

Think of Something Beautiful (2023 short, Germany) – 7/10

Heaven is in Space (2023 short) – 6/10

I Want You to Live (2023 short) – 6/10

Golden Seams of Love (2022 short) – 7.5/10

Hyphen (2023 short) – 6.5/10

Pipe Dreams (2023 short) – 7/10

39 (2022 short, Spain) – 7/10

Hao Are You (2023, Germany) – 7.5/10

Angels (2023, Vietnam) – 8/10

Our Blossom (2022, Hungary) – 5/10

Trời Sáng Rồi, Ta Ngủ Đi Thôi (Good Morning and Good Night)(2019, Vietnam) – 6.5/10

Trạng Tí (2022, Vietnam) – 4.5/10

Mekong Apocalypse (2023, Canada) – 3/10

Qua Bển Làm Chi (My Nail Guy) (2023, Vietnam) – 5/10

Tro tàn rực rỡ (Glorious Ashes) (2022, Vietnam) – 7/10

JUNE

High and Dizzy (1920 short) – 6.5/10

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023) – 8/10

Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919 short) – 6/10

Ask Father (1919 short) – 7/10

Sparkle (1976) – 5/10

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) – 9/10

The Last Command (1928) – 8.5/10

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963, Japan) – 4.5/10

Gentleman Jim (1942) – 8/10

Fallen Angels (1995, Hong Kong) – 6/10

Past Lives (2023) – 9/10

Land of the Pharaohs (1955) – 5/10

JULY

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) – 6/10

Black Legion (1937) – 7/10

Scarecrow (1973) – 7.5/10

Barbarella (1968) – 4/10

In Which We Serve (1942) – 7/10

The Tarnished Angels (1957) – 5.5/10

AUGUST

Assault and Flattery (1956 short) – 5/10

Hill-billing and Cooing (1956 short) – 7/10

Popeye for President (1956 short) – 6/10

Treasure Island (1973) – 3/10

The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) – 6/10

Out to Punch (1956 short) – 7/10

Batman (1989) – 7/10

Barbie (2023) – 7.5/10

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) – 7/10

Insect to Injury (1956 short) – 6/10

Oppenheimer (2023) – 8.5/10

Parlez Vous Woo (1956 short) – 6/10

How to Swim (1942 short) – 7/10

The Color Purple (1985) – 8.5/10

Let’s Sing a Song About the Moonlight (1948 short) – 6/10

Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) – 6/10

House of Wax (1953) – 8/10

Blue Beetle (2023) – 6/10

SEPTEMBER

Happy Together (1997, Hong Kong) – 7/10

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (2022, France) – 8/10

The Old Mill Pond (1936 short) – 5/10

Trolley Troubles (1927 short) – 7.5/10

Pluto Junior (1942 short) – 6/10

Nimona (2023) – 6/10

A Haunting in Venice (2023) – 6/10

The Creator (2023) – 6.5/10

OCTOBER

Trick or Treat (1952 short) – 7/10

Alice’s Wonderland (1923 short) – 7/10

Once Upon a Studio (2023 short) – 7/10

So You Want to Hold Your Wife (1947 short) – 7/10

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) – 9.5/10

The Last of the Line (1914 short) – 8/10

Hare and Hyde (1955 short) – 7/10

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) – 7/10

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) – 7/10

Witchfinder General (1968) – 7/10

NOVEMBER

The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934 short) – 6/10

Fanfan la Tulipe (1952, France) – 8/10

How to Fish (1942 short) – 7/10

The Island at the Top of the World (1974) – 6.5/10

Sun Valley Serenade (1941) – 7/10

The Oath of the Sword (1914 short) – 8/10

The Las Vegas Story (1952) – 6/10

Anatomy of a Fall (2023, France) – 9/10

The Great Impostor (1960) – 6/10

The Holdovers (2023) – 8/10

That Darn Cat! (1965) – 6/10

Wish (2023) – 4/10

Đất rừng phương Nam (Song of the South) (2023, Vietnam) – 6.5/10

Barsaat (1949, India) – 7/10

DECEMBER

Carmen Jones (1954) – 7.5/10

Godzilla Minus One (2023, Japan) – 8/10

The Small One (1978 short) – 6/10

Society Dog Show (1939 short) – 7/10

The Wise Little Hen (1934 short) – 7/10

The Boy and the Heron (2023, Japan) – 7.5/10

The Goddess of Spring (1934 short) – 8/10

Maestro (2023) – 7/10

One Magic Christmas (1985) – 6/10

The Cheaters (1945) – 7/10

Don’s Fountain of Youth (1953 short) – 6/10

American Fiction (2023) – 7.5/10

The Pups’ Christmas (1936 short) – 6/10

Tevya (1939) – 7/10

[dweemeister]

Delayed end-of-year programming note

Hello dear followers, hope you are well and that 2023 has gotten off to a good start.

I wasn’t really on tumblr all that much in late December and early January. I needed some time off to enjoy the holidays and my social media consumption was very limited. As such, I was unable to complete a few end-of-year traditions that lead into the 2022 Movie Odyssey Awards (an Oscar-like ceremony I hold awarding achievements in films that I saw for the first time in their entirety in that calendar year). So going into this week you will see the following:

On Tuesday, January 10, we will have a 24-hour tribute to those in the world of cinema who passed away in 2022. I call it our “Hail and Farewell”. There is no possible way I can include everyone, but Hail and Farewell is done in the spirit of honoring those who made their contributions to the young artform, in ways large and small.

On Wednesday, January 11 will be the 2022 Movie Odyssey in review. Films featured (whether in photo, photoset, gif, gifset, audio, or other types of posts) from 12-2 AM Pacific Time were first-time watches during January 2022 for myself, 2-4 AM covers February, 4-6 AM for March, etc.

Sunday, January 15 is the culmination of the 2022 Movie Odyssey Awards. If you are participating in the 2022 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS), an additional reminder that your MOABOS rankings for the final round are now due at 7 PM Pacific this day.

It’ll be two weeks delayed to put a bow on 2022, but I’ll say the time spent with family was worth it. Thank you for following this crazy classic film blog. I hope there will be more write-ups this year than in my professional life-impacted 2022.