Preparing for the Oscars with film perfection

TCM on a bitter, Tuesday night at the house, brought 2 absolute gems. I'm guessing everyone has had the chance to see Amadeus and The Red Balloon. If you haven't, well, to put it simply, you must. Sometimes I forget just how close both these film come to perfection... and in the case of  Amadeus, that feat may have been achieved. I just don't see a flaw in this masterpiece. Brilliant script, lush set, locations and costumes and some of the finest performances ever captured...well, I am not saying anything that hasn't been said over and over and over. It's a marvel. And I haven't even mentioned the score. I said to Chris (more than once) as we watched, 'can you imagine saying that you made this film'. It's the movie equivalent of discovering penicillin. Sheer genius.

And then there is The Red Balloon. Every frame seems Henri Cartier-Bresson influenced. The story of this boy and his balloon will make you long for the days of special effects-free film. A 30 minute beauty. *Just as an aside, doesn't it seem that we've gotten worse at filmmaking. I simply cannot imagine either of these movies being made in 2011...and that is a sad sad fact.