Movie Time!
Part of the fun of watching the Academy Awards ceremony ever year is in trying to decipher a theme that can be drawn among the Best Picture nominees. This year the unifying factor that applies to each movie is that they all seem issue-based. For instance, Munich examines modern day terrorism by retelling the chilling real-life story of the 1972 Olympics. Brokeback Mountain and to some extent, Capote are films that navigate the delicate cultural terrain of homosexuality. Finally, race and journalistic ethics are tackled in Crash and Goodnight and Good Luck respectively. In celebration of the year in movies for 2005, I'd like to take a moment to discuss audiobooks that pertain to some of the year's most celebrated films and also point you in the direction of some terrific movie-related audio resources.
With the aforementioned Munich, we should really refocus our attention to the book on which it was based. Namely, Striking Back, a nonfiction book about the aftermath of the bloody 1972 Olympic kidnappings. Where the movie gives us suspense and drama, the audio book proves equally riveting with historical fact. For more real life intrigue, consider Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron, a biting portrayal of greed and corporate corruption that is mirrored in this year's best documentary film nominee Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
Speaking of cultural criticism, there's Edward R. Murrow, a biography to help you learn why broadcast journalism is forever in his debt. If the movie Good Night, and Good Luck piqued your interest in the man, this is the first place to start learning about Mr. Murrow. Truman Capote is responsible for his own journalist masterpiece: In Cold Blood. Here Capote dissects the anatomy of a murder in a small town.
Johnny Cash received well-deserved attention this year thanks to Walk The Line. For a more detailed account of how Cash fought his demons and became a country music legend, we recommend listening to The Man Called Cash. Another interesting biography that made its way to the silver screen was that of James J. Braddock, boxing's Cinderella Man. This unlikely depression-era story shows how a washed-up boxer rose from obscurity to become the heavy-weight champion of the world.
Popular fiction has always served as a basis for Oscar-worthy films and this year is no exception. The Best-Picture favorite Brokeback Mountain was originally a novella by Annie Proulx and the audio book version serves as a great companion. Memoirs of a Geisha has been on the best-seller list since its publication, and the visually stunning film version has only made its popularity grow in recent months. There's also John La Carre's The Constant Gardener, a tight, intelligent thriller that pits the needs of poor countries against the overwhelming will of big-time pharmaceuticals. Lastly there's Jane Austen's seminal Pride and Prejudice which has been adapted many times and proven still popular with the latest film version released in 2005.
There are also a few movie-related podcasts coming out currently that are worth your time amid the Oscar buzz. First of all is the always reliable Cinecast, a twice-weekly podcast that provides current reviews and insightful film discussion. For more reviews there's the Ebert & Roeper and KCRW's Film Reviews podcasts, which will help you round out your knowledge of the best material coming out currently. Interested in hearing interviews from the pros? Look no further than KCRW's the Treatment and the Variety Screenings Podcast, which both feature Q&A with actors and filmmakers.
The silver screen only shows us one aspect of the story; now with audio you can widen your grasp of what's happening in the film-world and learn more about the source material that's been fueling the current hits. The list covered here offers the perfect opportunity for you to examine the issues that underpin this year's Oscar favorites and discover voices that share your enthusiasm for the movies.