Cavalcade

I was excited to rent this movie since I had never seen it before. The problem is that it is one of the two movies that won best picture that are not available on DVD. So I had to go down to the local library and get a library card then have the VHS tape sent over from another library since my library didn't have it. Then when I finally got it I wasnt sure if my VCR would work since I havent used it in so long. I was just glad the VCR was connected to the TV since I wasnt sure I did that last time I moved. So I popped in the tape and started watching the movie. And at first it was all snowy and staticy. I was like oh crap how do I adjust tracking again??But it must have been the tape because after a minute or two it started working. So all I missed was the begining title cards. But at one point I was having trouble hearing because the sound quality was kind of poor I was thinking I should put subtitles on but then realized you cant do that with a VCR. After changing the battery in the remote I was finally all set so I could pause and rewind when needed(for example when the dog was barking or my wife called me on the phone).

So after all the excitement of getting the movie and getting the VCR to work I finally watched it. The movie follows two British families from 1899 to 1933. One a rich family with two sons and the other their servent family with a daughter. It starts with the two fathers going off to fight in the Boer War then moves on from there. Most movies like this would take about 2-3 hours to tell the story this one did it in 1 and a half hours. So, it moved pretty quick through time. First their kids are young then the one is getting married, then he dies on the titanic, then their other son joins the army and fights in WWI.

The quick pace of the movie makes it hard to really get invested in any of the characters. Its hard to really care about any of them. The one we are supposed to care about is the mother of the rich family who struggles through all the hardships of losing her boys. But that doesn't really come across very well and she just turns into a depressing character. The only real interesting part is how the one family goes from being servents to being upper class when their daughters becomes a famous dancer. The movie definetly falls to the bottom of best picture winners. Maybe not the worst but very close.

Other movies that came out in 1933 that went on to become classics.