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Yay!!! It's Thursday!!! That means it's again time for Thursday Movie Picks hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. If you're not taking part in this, I've no clue what you're waiting for. It's a weekly meme where bloggers are invited to suggest three movies based on a specific topic chosen by our wonderful host. The thing you really need to know is that I've had all sorts of fun doing this week after week. There's your inspiration. If you need more, click the link to her site and see the upcoming topics.
Got it? Good. This week is Oscar week, so it's only fitting that our theme is Oscar Winning Movies. We're limited to movies that won one of the following three awards: Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, or Best Foreign Language Film. This makes it a bit difficult to do what I like to do and go with hidden gems. I'll give it my best shot. My picks, chronologically (year released, award), as always...
In the Heat of the Night
(1967, Best Picture)
Sidney Poitier stars as Virgil Tibbs, a black detective from up north who comes south to the town of Sparta, Mississippi to investigate a murder. In 1967, no such thing as a black detective existed in Sparta. Lots of tension ensues. This classic has sadly become overshadowed by the TV series it spawned. When released it was one of two films that served as a dissertation on race in America starring Poitier. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, also nominated for Best Pic, is the other.
Midnight Cowboy
(1969, Best Picture)
John Voight and Dustin Hoffman star in one of the greatest bromances of all time. The story is of Joe Buck (Voight) leaving Texas for New York City in hopes of becoming a big time gigolo. Despite his obvious charms, this doesn't go so smoothly. Along the way, he meets Ratso (Hoffman), a con-man who initially gets the best of him, but later takes him in. Both men, and the movie as a whole, are deeply layered. Their relationship is simultaneously simple and complex. Voight is excellent as our titular cowboy. However, it's the master class in acting given by Dustin Hoffman that really makes the movie. This is his very best performance. (My full review)
Tsotsi
(2005, Best Foreign Language Film)
This South African picture is a poignant look at a young man who makes plenty of bad decisions and tries to make a good one during a really bad situation. Tsotsi is a gang-leader who realizes he has an unwanted passenger after he commits a car-jacking. Yup, there's a baby in the back seat. He then goes on a journey of self-discovery while trying to deal with the issue. We see him grow as the movie progresses. Somehow, the unthinkable happens and we empathize with the young man.