The Movies of 1927-28: My Take on Oscar's Ballot
★ = My Favorite Nominee /
★ = Oscar's Winner, if Different
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Best Picture
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| 7th Heaven - Really hard to vote against such sublime romanticism |
| The Racket - Haven't seen this in a while but didn't get the hype |
| ★ | Wings - Tremendously exciting, both technically and dramatically |
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Artistic Quality of Production
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| Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness - A fascinating quasi-ethnographic curiosity |
| The Crowd - Equals the naturalist novels of the era and the best of its movies |
| ★ | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans - Deep wellspring of creativity and feeling |
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Best Director (Drama)
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| ★ | Frank Borzage, 7th Heaven - Skilled with grammar, gorgeous with emotion |
| Herbert Brenon, Sorrell and Son - Guides tender male weepie with sure hand |
| King Vidor, The Crowd - Blends realistic sets and performances with bold images |
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Best Director (Comedy)
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| ★ | Lewis Milestone, Two Arabian Knights - Impressively maintains tone and energy |
| ★ | Ted Wilde, Speedy - I prefer Knights as a film but Wilde had a tougher, crazier job |
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Best Actress
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| Louise Dresser, A Ship Comes In - What is Dresser even doing on this roster? |
| ★ | Janet Gaynor, 7th Heaven, Street Angel, Sunrise - Heaven alone seals it for her |
| Gloria Swanson, Sadie Thompson - Gives Gaynor some tough competition |
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Best Actor
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| Richard Barthelmess, The Noose, The Patent Leather Kid - Good in Patent... |
| ★ | Emil Jannings, The Last Command, The Way of All Flesh - ...but Emil is canon |
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* The Noose only exists in a non-circulating print at MoMA.
* The Way of All Flesh no longer exists in any identified print. |
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