Wings and Sunrise: Movie Review + Analysis, The 1st Academy Awards
The first Academy Awards ceremony featured films from the year’s 1927 and 1928. The film industry looked ahead to these honorary awards as a celebration of movies themselves. The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. Silent films were the only category of films to take home a gold plated statue that night. There was something peculiar about that night compared to all future Academy Award ceremonies. There were two Best Picture winners, which are both covered in the first episode of Worthy.
The 1st Academy Awards
The first Best Picture (or Outstanding Production, which is what the category was called at this time), was Wings. It was directed by William Wellman and starred Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, and Richard Arlen. The film premiered in New York City on August 12, 1927. The film takes place during World War 1 where two men from the same hometown compete against one another only to become close friends by the film’s end.
The thematic elements of the film centers on the effects of war, identity, and love. While these overall themes can seem rudimentary to us in 2021, for 1927 it was revolutionary. It isn’t necessarily great in-depth look like future Best Picture winners into the horrors of war, but it does keep you engaged with the action.
I was impressed with the cinematography, especially the fighter plane dog-fight sequences. The music is memorable and the expressive acting of the characters keeps you immersed in the silent movie experience.
The second film that won Best Picture was Sunrise. The technicality that makes it a “Best Picture winner” was that it won for the Unique And Artistic Picture category. It’s sort of a category to honor indie or art house films.
We get into a deeper discussion on the Worthy podcast about the inclusion of this category and moving forward without it. I like that it’s there, but having 90+ years without it makes me feel like that is ultimately unnecessary. The point of the Academy Awards is that one film takes home that award.
Sunrise was released on September 23, 1927. The film was directed by German expressionist F.W. Murnau and starred George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor. Gaynor was the first Best Actress recipient for her role in the film as The Wife.
The film follows O’Brien’s character, The Man, who attempts to murder his Wife (Gaynor) after an affair. The plot reaches a climax when The Man realizes what he is about to do and confesses his love for The Wife. From that point on, the film focuses on the rest of their day exploring a nearby city and how they fall back in love.
While Sunrise opens on a gloom note, it brings you back to core of the characters and their love. It’s a risky storyline for that era but it is now revered as one of, if not the greatest, silent films to ever be made. The cinematography stands above Wings and the acting is rooted in deeper emotions and human truths than it’s Best Picture counterpart.
I would implore audiences to see both of these films. I think the value of Wings shows how incredibly filmmaking is. There is an art form to recreating battle sequences and putting the audience directly into the action.
Sunrise represents the struggle of artistry in filmmaking with it’s win and how indie-like films fought to be represented at the Academy Awards. They are both unique and outstanding in every way.
The goal of Worthy as a podcast is to inform our listeners that there is a grand history to the Academy Awards. Starting at the beginning is crucial because it gives all of us a basis for what we need to build upon in each future Best Picture winner.