[HPFGU-Movie] Re: Should we rewind perhaps?

[Shannon]

At 04:56 PM 3/5/2002 -0000, Adhara wrote:
>--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "adhara_black" <adhara_black at y...> wrote:

>i do think that they have some common ground but even if they didn't, 
>would that make a comparison redundant? if so, how would you pick a 
>best movie oscar, since it's unfair to compare, say, lotr with a 
>beautiful mind. it has to be possible (though not always fair) to 
>compare two movies.

What I dislike about the comparisons is the way HP--as a fantasy--is being
compared to LOTR as a fantasy.  What was the most common headline when LOTR
came out?  "LOTR runs Rings around Potter!" (and you'd think some editor in
the world would have said, 'wow, mr movie critic, don't you think that's a
little too easy and that every movie critic on earth will use that same
headline?' but noooo.)  But my point is, you didn't see that with A
Beautiful Mind, or Moulin Rouge.  HP & LOTR are being compared because they
are both fantasies, and very little else.  They do have some common ground,
but only insofar as they contain elements that virtually all fantasy
stories contain. (see Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey.") As fantasy films
(and books), HP and LOTR strive for different things, and IMO they both
achieve those very different things in very different ways.

In general, things like the Oscars come down to a bunch of very subjective
criteria. What one Academy member deems the mark of quality will be wildly
different from another member's standard.  Being a movie awards junkie, I
get very involved in who wins and loses, and I know that awards are often
given based on things that have nothing to do with the nomination. (see Al
Pacino's win for Scent of a Woman...I firmly believe it was a belated win
for Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather) While I want desperately for Lord
of the Rings to win, I know that it doesn't prove anything...only that the
majority of the Academy liked it as much as I did.