And the Oscar Goes To...

Narrated by Angelica Houston, And the Oscar Goes To... was made in partnership with Turner Classic Movies and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. There are dozens and dozens of actors and filmmakers featured in interviews throughout the film. Past hosts and past winners reflect on their experiences at Oscars ceremonies and as nominees.

To summarize the entirety of the documentary would not do it justice. There were a couple of items not mentioned and it tickled me to know that my knowledge of the history of the Oscars was so solid. For example, in the section regarding how politics have been involved at the ceremonies, when the clip of the "Native American" woman who accepted Marlon Brando's Oscar was shown, it was not mentioned that she was not actually Native American. These few things were dwarfed by the many new pieces of information that I did not know and the countless clips and images I had never seen before. There is something lovely about seeing Clark Gable accept his Oscar for It Happened One Night and how dashing Cary Grant looked when he received his lifetime achievement award.

The involvement of the Academy is what makes the movie credible and complete. To their credit, warts and all are included in the documentary. The era of Blacklisted actors, writers and filmmakers and the Academy's roadblock to the formation of unions are discussed early on.

The documentary aired originally Saturday February 1st and kicked of the TCM's annual 31 Days of Oscar. Construction on the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is set to begin this year in Los Angeles and is slated to open in early 2017.

Thanks Sarah...