the 1939 Academy Awards

[brianluce]

Gone With the Wind beat Wizard of Oz for Best Picture.

Which do you think is the better movie and why?

I vote WOO hands down. GWTW is overrated in my book and WOO is top 5 of all time.

[Jared Meyer]

I am a big fan of Baum's Oz universe and read all 14 books when I was younger but I've never been able to sit through the whole movie. It's in my "slightly bizarre and unsettling" category. Maybe my parents showed it to me when I was really young and it scarred me? :)

Gone With the Wind though is a treat. Not one of my all-time favorites but I have a huge amount of respect for the film and like to watch it every couple years. In terms of the level of filmmaking, the story, the performances, how well it has aged, and overall entertainment value, I'd definitely place it higher than Oz. Much higher.

[YaBoyTopher]

I prefer Wizard of Oz.

I have seen that movie sooooo many times... both are great films but i think Oz has more replay value, I can watch Oz on a rainy sunday afternoon anytime but i have to work myself up to watch Gone with the wind again.

[PerroneFord]

I think this is an incredibly difficult task. The world was an entirely different place in 1939. Our sensibilities are so far removed from those of people judging films back then, it's nearly pointless.

Hmm.. do we give the Oscar to the movie about a little girl on a fantasy journey, or an upstanding southern gentleman in the segregated south.

Mind you GWTW garnered the first Oscar for a black actor/actress in history. While I am not a fan of the movie, that was a VERY historic moment.

[MikeGunter]

Hi,

I'm not so sure. 1939 was a year of really great movies such as Stagecoach, Of Mice and Men, and many more good movies.

Stagecoach holds up well. Ringo's appearance at the road with his saddle and rifle is tall cinema totally John Wayne. Burgess Meredith was robbed of a nomination for his portrait of George in Of Mice and Men and the score by Aaron Copland is aces.

There is a lot to like in 1939 - it is a year among years...

[brianluce]

I've never been able to sit through the whole movie. It's in my "slightly bizarre and unsettling" category. .

Yes. Agree 100%. WoOZ is disturbing and creepy. Hits you at a primal level. Like a nightmare. A BAD nightmare. GWTW has always felt like melodrama to me.

[spidey]

find it funny the same guy directed both. i dont like oz find it just overrated and boring.

[TheMacB]

1939 might be the best year for movies ever. There were TEN nominees, and these movies weren't even included:

Only Angels Have Wings
The Roaring Twenties
The Women
Young Mr. Lincoln
Golden Boy