Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Let me proceed with the countdown of my favorite fifty movies of the twentieth century.  Many of the quality motion pictures I have selected tackles social and cultural issues. So far, my picks have examined race, British class structure, political malfeasance, propaganda, international reparations of stolen property, workplace equity, and the dark money in presidential elections.

“`Time to present my next offerings…

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~ #38 – DARK WATER (2019)

“`The tale dramatizes Ohio environmental attorney Robert Bilott’s case against the chemical manufacturing corporation DuPont after contaminating an area with unregulated chemicals found in their cookware. The film is based on the 2016 New York Times Magazine article The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare by Nathaniel Rich. It detailed a twenty-year legal battle against the corporation

“`The production was inspired from earlier work: Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action. Dark Water stars Mark Ruffalo and features Anne Hathaway, Mare Winningham, Tim Robbins, and Bill Pullman. This quality effort was snubbed during awards season.  Ruffalo has indicated his interest in selecting assignments based on issues that negatively affect society.

“`The DowDuPont breakup spun off a new company that continued to lose value throughout the second half of 2019 as investors grew concerned about the potential liabilities related to the earlier DuPont’s fluoropolymer product. After Dark Waters was released on November 12th, DuPont’s stock price dropped even further by 7.15 points from 72.18 to 65.03. Many executives still work, or recently worked, at the company.

“`DuPont eventually sold their business interests to The Chemours Company. Chemours paid $200 million to address environmental damages in North Carolina. A prior settlement in both West Virginia and Ohio cost $671 million, which was split between the two companies.

~ #37 – CHICAGO (2002)

“`One of three musicals to make the countdown, Chicago won an Oscar for Best Picture, the second of six profiled (the other, Green Book). With an amazing pedigree, it is based on the 1975 stage musical; 1942 William Wellman flick Roxie Hart, starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, William Frawley, and Spring Byington; and the 1927 silent film adaptation of the original 1926 play.

“`A screen version of Chicago was slated as the next project for Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway show and had earned an Oscar for his direction of the movie version of Cabaret. Although he died before realizing his efforts, Fosse’s distinctive jazz choreography style is evident throughout the 2002 production, and Bob is thanked in the credits. The music score was penned by the legendary John Kander and Fred Ebb. Nominated for twelve Oscars, it won six, including  Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound.

“`Top performances from a cast that features  Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Taye Diggs, Christine Baranski and Queen Latifah. The most stylish film musical since Oliver, Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret, it influenced later twenty-first century productions, such as Enchanted, The Greatest Showman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Rocketman, Into the Woods, and two other productions that I include in my Top 50. I will present them soon.

Until next time>                               “never forget’

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2021 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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