BEST Best Picture Ever: Round One, Match #5

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Additional info here (and cast your vote).

This is a tough one for me.  It's hard not to vote for one of the three "grand slam" winners (see yesterday's comments), so I'm going with the film on the left.  But I won't be surprised if David Lean's epic masterpiece wins this match, especially given the year in which each film was released (1934 v. 1962).

Most lawyers have a great affection for To Kill a Mockingbird, and rightly so.  But few remember that it was Lawrence of Arabia that took home the prize for Best Picture that year, beating not only TKAM, but also The Longest Day, The Music Man, and Mutiny on the Bounty.  In the Best Actor category, Gregory Peck won the Oscar over four other nominees, including Peter O'Toole.  It was the last of Peck's five nominations (and his only win).  It was the first of eight nominations for O'Toole, who has yet to claim the prize.  

Yesterday's result?  On the Waterfront (59.8%) defeats Titanic (40.2%).  Next up for On the Waterfront?  The Godfather (or Brando v. Brando, if you wish).  I see The Godfather running the table on its side of the bracket and advancing to the final faceoff. 

Comments

[Anon]

This in an inane exercise, strongly suggesting that law profs have too much time on their hands.

[Patrick S. O'Donnell]

Despite its bouts of "orientalism," Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest films of all time, and however charming It Happened One Night is, I don't think it belongs in the same class.

[Kelly Anders]

This is yet another mismatched comparison. The four films in this bracket create an imbalanced contest among four iconic auteurs -- Capra, Lean, Allen, and Wilder -- with this one being between Capra and Lean. My thought is that it would have been better to pit one of Capra's dramas against one of Lean's epics because a comedy (no matter how clever) has an uphill battle in topping a drama or an epic. "It Happened One Night" is a witty (if not cute) film that was a breath of fresh air during The Great Depression, while "Lawrence of Arabia" remains a masterpiece for the ages. For that reason, although I love Capra's body of work, I somewhat reluctantly decided to cast my vote in this round for Lean.