I can't really complain about the Coen's winning because I believe their film was second only to Anderson's in 2007. Having read McCarthy's book, I can say that the Coen's DID do a hell of a lot of adapting, even if they stuck close to the dialogue and structure. McCarthy's prose is somewhat vague and very minimalist, and the Coen's ability to bring this somewhat mythological western landscape to life the way they did is a triumph. I haven't read Oil, but I've picked it up and flipped through it -- it seems so dense and different from TWBB that it almost feels like Anderson was nominated in the wrong category. Both directors created a rich landscape, an incredibly vivid inclosed film world and coaxed incredible performances from their actors. But NCFOM comes up a hair shy, and in my opinion, second place gets the same prize as the other three nominees: a plaque. TWBB is a film for the ages, one of the best of the decade, and it should take home about nine Oscars this year (yeah, even the one for score, which it was so criminally disqualified for). But the Coens will win on account of politics -- they've been in the game longer, they lost for Fargo ten years ago (who even talks about The English Patient anymore? -- not nearly as much as Fargo is still brought up) and everyone seems to agree that NCFOM is an outstanding film (I also agree). Ultimately, TWBB will be the film that most people will be talking about in ten years . . . but I expect NCFOM will have much more of a legacy than Crash, A Beautiful Mind, Shakespeare in Love or The English Patient. A toss up -- I'll be happy if either film wins, but my bias leans toward a TWBB sweep.
Oh, and PS: do you not like comments? I never seem to get any back from you.
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I can't really complain about the Coen's winning because I believe their film was second only to Anderson's in 2007. Having read McCarthy's book, I can say that the Coen's DID do a hell of a lot of adapting, even if they stuck close to the dialogue and structure. McCarthy's prose is somewhat vague and very minimalist, and the Coen's ability to bring this somewhat mythological western landscape to life the way they did is a triumph. I haven't read Oil, but I've picked it up and flipped through it -- it seems so dense and different from TWBB that it almost feels like Anderson was nominated in the wrong category. Both directors created a rich landscape, an incredibly vivid inclosed film world and coaxed incredible performances from their actors. But NCFOM comes up a hair shy, and in my opinion, second place gets the same prize as the other three nominees: a plaque. TWBB is a film for the ages, one of the best of the decade, and it should take home about nine Oscars this year (yeah, even the one for score, which it was so criminally disqualified for). But the Coens will win on account of politics -- they've been in the game longer, they lost for Fargo ten years ago (who even talks about The English Patient anymore? -- not nearly as much as Fargo is still brought up) and everyone seems to agree that NCFOM is an outstanding film (I also agree). Ultimately, TWBB will be the film that most people will be talking about in ten years . . . but I expect NCFOM will have much more of a legacy than Crash, A Beautiful Mind, Shakespeare in Love or The English Patient. A toss up -- I'll be happy if either film wins, but my bias leans toward a TWBB sweep.
Oh, and PS: do you not like comments? I never seem to get any back from you.
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