Sullivan's Travels

Title: Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Director: Preston Sturges
Starring: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake
Rank: 61

It's amazing the things a person can learn just from observing others. "Take a walk in another man's shoes" is a common phrase, but not something commonly practiced these days. Sullivan's Travels is about a director, John Sullivan, who wants to make a dramatic film about the lives of poor people. His investors, however, think this is a terrible idea: What does wealthy Sullivan know about the life of the poor and hobos?

Wanting to make an exceptional movie, Sullivan goes in disguise as a hobo to try to gain insight for his film. His first attempts to blend in are frivolous, and don't yield much understanding for Sullivan. He does, through a case of mistaken identity, end up living life as a hobo in chains for three years. When he is finally returned to his luscious life in Hollywood, he has a new appreciation for life, a genuine understanding of the hardships of a life on the street, and a realization that he doesn't want to make a drama about the hobo life. Instead, he wants to make a comedy: while on the streets, he observed first hand how laughter takes away the stressfulness of any situation, and knows that he wants to make a comedy to lighten the spirits of the less-fortunate as a sign of gratitude for all they taught him.

Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine. Scientifically proven to reduce stress, increase mood, and is even heart-healthy! (Source: Laughter is the Best Medicine) Sullivan learned through his experiences that when a person is in a discouraging situation, it is better to make them lighten up with humor rather than reaffirm their sorrowful circumstances. The film even opens with a dedication to humorous people:
To the memory of those who made us laugh: the motley mountebanks, the clowns, the buffoons, in all times and in all nations, whose efforts have lightened our burden a little, this picture is affectionately dedicated.

But more importantly than just learning the value of laughter, Sullivan learns what life is like through the eyes of another. All of us have our hardships in life, and all of us have the good points about life, too. Whatever the situation is, there's always someone who has a situation we would consider worse than our own. It takes a great deal of intelligence to learn through the observation of others rather than continuously making our own mistakes, and this holds true with learning about sorrow. Life is beautiful, but has complications. Life isn't easy (and if it was, it would certainly be boring and uneventful), but we can learn to appreciate the positive things in our lives rather than dwelling on the negative.

Sullivan's Travels touches on the benefits of showing charity and kindness to others. While Sullivan spends time as a tramp, people show him mercy at times. Some people give him food, sometimes it's as simple as just not turning him into the cops or letting him sleep in a place for the night. When he returns to his normal life, he pays the favors forward, giving $5 (which was a lot more back then than it is today) to all the hobos on the street. He even gives $100 to a man who gave him food when Sullivan had no way to pay for it. A gift of kindness, given without anything expected in return, is the purest form of love. Just remember this: even simple gestures of help can make a big difference. Giving to others is one of the most satisfying things a person can do. If the tables were turned, wouldn't you hope there would be someone out there willing to look past your situation and give you a little bit of a break?


Movies to Go: 81

Toy Story

Title: Toy Story (1995)
Director: John Lasseter
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Jim Varney, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger
Rank: 99



Change is inevitable, as we all know. Yet, even though we know change cannot be stopped, we often still fear change. It can be scary when the life you are used to and love suddenly changes, just as Woody's life changed. He was always Andy's favorite toy, until Buzz Lightyear arrives and captures Andy's playtime affections, threatening to leave Woody in the toy chest to collect dust. It doesn't matter if a king suddenly loses his wealth and becomes a peasant, or if a poor man wins the lotto and has riches beyond his dreams: change can be difficult for anyone. As humans, we tend to get used to things and like what we are familiar with, which is why it is so easy to fall into routines. But, as Woody learned, change isn't always a bad thing.

Through an amazing toy-journey, Woody and Buzz both discover new things about themselves. Change can be, and often is, a good thing. Woody and Buzz become the greatest of friends because of change. If we always stay in our comfort zones, we will never develop or evolve as people. My life is vastly different from what it was five years ago, and I know my life will be greatly different five years from now. To me, this is an exciting thing. I love life, I love where my life is right now, but if I thought that I was going to be here for the rest of my life it would make me sad. Change comes either by force or by choice, and adapting to change can be greatly rewarding, if we face the things that we fear about change. Life is not frozen- it's constantly moving, constantly growing and developing. It's a beautiful thing, really. Life without change would be uninteresting and nothing new would ever happen.

Toy Story may be about change, but it also made changes to the face of animation. It was the first full-length feature film to be completely computer animated. Toy Story paved the way for films like the Shrek tetralogy, the Ice Age trilogy, Kung-Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, How To Train Your Dragon, and of course all of the other gems PIXAR has given to the world (A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and coming June 30th is Toy Story 3). Even Beowulf could fall into this category, as well as a slew of others that have already been made and are being released in the coming years. Toy Story gave birth to a new generation of films, ones which the entire family can enjoy: kid-friendly, but just as appealing to adults, with a few adult-aimed jokes hidden throughout the films (I noticed this time that at one point Woody mockingly calls his friend "Buzz Light-Beer" instead of "Lightyear"). These films are admired by fans of all ages, bringing families and friends together once again. See? Change isn't always a bad thing.

Trivia:
•Every PIXAR movie has four things in common: 1) A visual reference somewhere in the film to another one of their projects. 2) A list of "Production Babies" (babies that were born to people who contributed to the film while it was in production). 3) A short film that accompanies it in the theaters. 4) John Ratzenberger does the voice of one character.
•In Toy Story, the visual reference to another PIXAR project is in Andy's room: among the books on his bookshelf (can be particularly seen when Woody is hosting the toy-meeting) there are books whose titles are PIXAR shorts, one of them having John Lasseter (the director) listed as the author. Also, the gas station Buzz and Woody fight at is Dinoco- the company that Lightening McQueen hopes to be sponsored by in PIXAR's Cars (2006).
•Toy Story was the first film to be completely computer animated. Each frame took between four to thirteen hours to render. (There are 24 frames in each second, the film is an hour an twenty minutes- you do the math.)
•There's a nod to Disney on Andy's wall: he has a Mickey Mouse clock.


Movies to Go: 82

BEN-HUR

Title: Ben-Hur (1959)
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd
Rank: 100

First, let me say thanks for sticking around during this hiatus. I've missed my 100 movies project deeply, and I've missed writing about the movies! Today I'll be (finally) writing the posts for the five movies I've watched since writing up The Grapes of Wrath nearly two months ago. Hopefully, there will be no more breaks after this!

Ben-Hur is an amazing film, one that molded the face of epic cinema. These days, it is common for film budgets to reach into the tens of millions, but back in 1959 MGM spent the astronomical price of $15 million to produce Ben-Hur. No expense was spared, and the results were well worth the price. It grossed an estimated $70 million, and saved MGM from bankruptcy. (source: IMDb/B.O.Mojo) But aside from saving one of the best-known studios from going under, Ben-Hur is a legacy, leading the ways for such films as Spartacus, Shindler's List, Titanic, Lord of the Rings, (all of which are on AFI's list) and many other appreciated epic movies. Every detail of this film was planned out and given careful attention, making it an absolutely beautiful film to view. The extras, the soundtrack, the sets, the script- everything about this film is grand and glorious! (Just make sure you have some time: Ben-Hur runs about three and a half hours long.) Ben-Hur raised the bar for films, calling them to be grander and push the bar of greatness.

The plot of Ben-Hur is one that touches many people. Judah Ben-Hur (played by Charlton Heston) is a man who, though wealthy, respects all people. Even though he is offered security and a high official rank if he gives the names of Jewish people who speak against the emperor, he turns it down without second thought and assertively protests the emperor to free all the Jews. Later, a controversy arises and he is made a slave. After three years of torture, he saves the life of the man who had beaten him down all those years when a boat accident nearly kills him. He never loses faith, never gives up hope, even when there is nothing he can see to hope for. He is freed after saving his slave-driver's life, and uses his freedom and new found social rank to fight for the rights of the people.

The story of Judas Ben-Hur parallels a story that is one of historical importance. Whether or not a Christian, nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Jesus Christ. Throughout Ben-Hur's journey, he comes across Jesus several times, and even though it is seemingly insignificant in gesture, Christ influences Ben-Hur each time they intertwine. When Jesus is being led to crucifixion, Ben-Hur is there watching in agony over the torture he is witnessing. Risking his own life, he gives Jesus a drink of water, returning the same favor Jesus gave him years prior. What is great about this is that the audience never sees Christ's face nor hears his voice, which instills the power of this man on the people, the mystery, and faith.

An epic movie is nothing without a good story to tell, but with an excellent and compelling story, Ben-Hur is a film that defines what an epic really should be. Fifty-one years after it was made, it still continues to be a major piece of discussion in any cinema class and a powerful influence on filmmakers today.


Movies to Go: 83