Film historian discusses 2003's best movies

Old-fashioned swashbuckling costume films, smaller offbeat films coming from unique sources, and sequels that didn't live up to expectations were some of the trends in 2003 movies, says a UNT film historian.

Don Staples, professor of radio, television and film and a member of the Screen Actors Guild, called 2003 a year of many "pretty good but not great" films, adding that only a few are truly worthy of Academy Award nominations.

"There isn't going to be much controversy at the Oscars this year. Every year, you hear about films and actors and actresses who should have been nominated but were left out. This year, the worthy ones are a small enough group to all be nominated, or at least all be on the top 10 film lists for the year," Staples says.

The critics' choice for best film of 2003, he says, should be Mystic River, a murder mystery directed by Clint Eastwood. The people's choice for best film, however, he predicts will be Seabiscuit, the true story of the Depression-era racehorse.

"Seabiscuit is a film that people of all ages loved," Staples says.

November and December typically bring a crop of Oscar-worthy epic films. Staples expects Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Last Samurai to both be nominated for awards.

In addition, the stars of the two films, Russell Crowe in Master and Commander and Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, should receive acting nominations, he says.

"Both are swashbuckling, historical films like the ones with Errol Flynn in the 1930s. We have Russell Crowe with a sword in his hand and Tom Cruise with a sword in his hand," he says. "Both are long films, but if you like that type of film, you're on the edge of your seat most of the time while you're watching them."

In addition, both of these costume dramas have exotic backgrounds — the sea for Master and Commander, which is set on a British warship during the Napoleonic Wars, and 19th-century Japan for The Last Samurai.

These films should be joined in the nominations by two others released in late December: Cold Mountain and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. And Cruise and Crowe, Staples says, will be joined in the nominations for Best Actor by Sean Penn for Mystic River.

He adds that Johnny Depp should also be nominated for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl — another swashbuckling film, but a comedy instead of a drama.

"Pirates of the Caribbean came out in the middle of the summer as a throwaway film, but I thought it was one of the best films of the year," Staples says. "It had intelligent use of plot and story and great performances. Johnny Depp was magnificent in a role that could have been a disastrous performance."

Pirates of the Caribbean, which is based on a ride at Walt Disney World, was also the biggest surprise of the year, he says. The film made more than $300 million at the box office, making it the second top-grossing movie in the United States for 2003 behind Finding Nemo.

"Who would have guessed that a movie based on a theme park, that came out as a throwaway film in the middle of the summer, would be so good?" Staples says.

Smaller films from other offbeat sources, such as the comic book-based American Splendor, were also surprisingly good, he says. American Splendor, The Swimming Pool and Lost in Translation are among the smaller films he says should receive nominations.

"Bill Murray should be nominated for Lost in Translation, which was the sleeper film of the year, and Charlotte Rampling should be nominated for The Swimming Pool," he says. "These films appeal to a narrower group of the audience— adults rather than families— in their consideration of ideas and their aesthetic values."

But it was summer movies appealing to teen-agers and children that made the most money in the United States in 2003. In addition to Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean grossing more than $300 million, three films grossed more than $200 million and 15 grossed more than $100 million.

"The business people in the movie industry are happier than the critics," Staples says. "Many films did not live up to critical expectations. In some cases, sequels did not live up to the hype."

The Return of the King, the third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was expected to be "as good as, if not better than" its predecessors, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, Staples says. But it's the exception.

"Matrix: Revolutions was definitely not as good as the first two Matrix movies," he says. "It is really hard when you have a great original to have an equally great sequel."

He says some films with award-winning stars also were not as great as expected, including Intentional Cruelty, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and George Clooney; Matchstick Men, starring Nicolas Cage; and Assassination Tango, starring Robert Duvall.

And aside from Rampling, Staples says he can't select any Best Actress nominees among the films that have been released.

"Nothing jumped out in terms of the female performances — 2002 was the year of strong actresses, and 2003 was the year of strong actors," he says.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

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• New grading system announced to senate
• International group elects Holden president
• UNT community's donations make the holidays brighter
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• Three honored for 40 years of service to university

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