Best Picture Winners: Patton

Patton (1970

Many people have complained about the Oscars becoming too political, but I don’t think that’s the reason for the current decline in interest in the ceremony. Other years have had far more political overtones. 

Take the 1978 Academy Awards, for example.

When Vanessa Redgrave was announced as the winner for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Julia, she used her moment on the platform to denounce the “the hoodlums” attacking the Palestinians. The audience responded with both applause and loud boos. Later in the ceremony, before presenting the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Paddy Chayefsky chastised Redgrave for her remarks and was loudly cheered.

Whatever view you take on this issue, you’ve got to admit this was great theater and greatly entertaining.

The problem with Oscars now is that the politics are so very monolithic and boring. Someone will get up and say, “Down with Trump” or “Racism is bad,” and everyone will cheer. Perhaps not everyone in the Academy has the same political views, but it appears that only one set of views may be freely expressed. 

In 1970, when Patton was released -- or when Patton won the Oscar in 1971 -- this wasn't the case. The Vietnam war was raging. Just as the nation was divided by the war, so was the Academy. Everyone knew that John Wayne and Jane Fonda had diametrically opposed views, but both had a place in the Academy and the Oscar ceremonies.

Francis Ford Coppola has said that when he was writing the screenplay for Patton, he knew that some in the audience would view the general as a hero and others as a jingoistic warmonger --so he included both Patton’s slapping a soldier for cowardice and his rescue of the soldiers of Bastogne. People who opposed the Vietnam war and those who supported it saw arguments for their case in the film. So they voted for it. And it won Best Picture because it's a film that is art rather than propaganda. It presents the complexity of this man, of war, and of life.

The film, fortunately for us here at Movie Churches, presents clergy but avoids simplicity in its presentation of the church.

One device used throughout the film is cutting to German military headquarters and listening in on German officers' comments about Patton. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (Karl Michael Vogler) mentions that Patton (George C. Scott) “prays on his knees but curses like a stable boy.”

We are shown this contrast in Patton's personality when a group of clergymen meets with him. They are introduced as “men from the states here to look after the spiritual welfare of the men.” Patton greets them warmly. One of the chaplains says, “I was glad to see a Bible by your bed. Do you find time to read it?” Patton answers, “I sure do. Every G*d d**n day.”

Patton always seems to show great respect for the church and the clergy. When he entered the liberated city of Messina, Italy, he knelt before the Bishop of the city to receive his blessing. On the other hand, his theology wasn't strictly orthodox for a Christian. He also believed in reincarnation.

One of the most damaging moments in his career occurred shortly after Patton’s successful campaign in Sicily: the Slapping Incident. While visiting men in the infirmary, he encountered a man who claimed to be there because of shell shock. He had lost the nerve to fight. Patton reprimanded him for his cowardice and said his presence was an affront to the brave men in the tent who had been physically wounded in battle. He slapped the man and demanded he be removed from the tent.

This incident made headlines back in the States and caused great turmoil in political and military circles. Many demanded that Patton be booted out of service, or at least demoted. In the film, he rightly fears his career might be over. What bothers him most is that he won’t be able to fulfill what he feels is his divinely appointed destiny of glory in battle.

Patton goes to a church, kneels near the altar, and recites Psalm 63:

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
to see thy power and thy glory,
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.
Thus will I bless thee while I live:
I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
when I remember thee upon my bed,
and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help,
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee:
thy right hand upholdeth me.
But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
They shall fall by the sword:
they shall be a portion for foxes.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
every one that sweareth by him shall glory:
but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.”

He seems most fervent in the prayer for enemies to fall by the sword and be the portion of foxes, but he does ask for God’s will to be done.

Patton’s command is restored for what is arguably the most important battle of his career, the Seige of Bastogne. Part of the Battle of Bulge, this was the last great German offensive action of the war. In the Ardennes Woods of Belgium, a small contingent of American soldiers held out against the great Nazi war machine. On Christmas Day of 1944, the Nazi forces demanded that General Anthony McAuliffe surrender. His one-word reply was, “Nuts!” 

Patton said a man of such eloquence must be rescued.

But there were obstacles to that rescue, chief of which was brutal winter weather hindering adequate aerial coverage for an attack. Patton recognized the problem and said, “If we have 24 hours of decent weather, we might make it.” He was told the weather forecast was for more snow, and his advisor said they would have to wait. Patton said, “We’re going to keep moving.”

Nonetheless, Patton realized he needed help, so he called in the Third Army Chaplain (Lionel Murton).

“You wanted to see me, General?”

“Oh, yes, Chaplain. I’m sick and tired of the 3rd Army having to fight the Germans without the support of the Supreme Command, no gasoline, and now this ungodly weather. I want a prayer. A weather prayer.”

“A weather prayer, sir?”

“Yes, let’s see if you can’t get God working with us on this thing.”

“It’ll take a pretty thick rug for that kind of praying.”

“I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet.”

“Well, I don’t know how this is gonna be received, General. Praying for good weather so we can kill our fellow man.”

“Well, I can assure you, sir, because of my intimate relations with the Almighty… If you write a good prayer, we’ll have good weather. And I expect that prayer within an hour.”

“Yes, sir.”

The chaplain writes a prayer, and Patton prays it.

“Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech thee of thy great goodness to restrain this immoderate weather with which we’ve had to contend. Grant us fair weather for battle. Graciously harken unto us as soldiers who call upon thee that armed with thy power we may advance from victory to victory and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish thy justice among men and nations. Amen.”

Director Franklin Schaffner allows us to hear the prayer over brutal scenes of battle as Patton’s forces savage the German troops. (It’s rather amazing that this film is rated PG. The PG-13 rating didn’t exist in 1970, but I would think today the realistic violence of the film could earn it an R rating.)

Patton doesn’t forget to whom he owes the conditions that allowed for the attack. He says, “Weather’s perfect. Cod, get me that Chaplain. He stands in good with the Lord, and I want him decorated.”

But after the victory in Europe, Patton is not sent to the ongoing war in the Pacific. Patton recognizes his day is done. He remembers that Roman conquerors would have a slave whisper in his ear, “All glory is fleeting.” I do wish we had seen the clergy in the film more strongly remind Patton that God’s glory was eternal. Still, we’re giving the clergy and the churches in the film a Three Steeple rating.

Crime Month Gets an Offer it Can't Refuse

The Godfather (1972)

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film, The Godfather, is one of the most acclaimed movies of all time. It won the Oscar for Best Picture, it was the biggest moneymaker of its time, and it still shows up near or at the top of critics' lists of best films. And yet, I’m going to write less about it than I do about a Christian Slater direct-to-video stinker.

Why? Because we write about clergy and churches in movies, and a cheesy film like God’s Not Dead spends more screen time on those things than this particular classic -- which won an Oscar for the director, Coppola, screenwriter Mario Puzo, and Best Actor Marlon Brando (who refused the award and sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to accept in his place).

But the church doesn’t come up a lot in the film. We see the Godfather’s son, Michael (Al Pacino), coming out of a movie theater with his girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton). They’ve been watching The Bells of St. Mary (a contemporary film for the characters, as the scene takes place in 1946). Kay asks Michael, “Would you like me better if I was a nun?” (A rather bizarre question to ask on a date.) 

He says, “No.” 

But then she asks, “Would you like me better if I was Ingrid Bergman?” 

To that, he says, “Now that’s a thought…” But then Michael spots a headline at a newsstand. His father, mob boss Vito Corleone, has been shot. So no more nun talk.

It’s interesting that Kay wonders if Michael wishes she were more “moral,” while the film is chiefly about Michael's descent into immorality. The son of a mafia Don (Brando), he tells Kay the criminality is “my family, it’s not me,” but throughout the film, he is increasingly pulled into the family business.

The first time we see a priest is at the second wedding in the film. Don Corleone wanted Michael to be able to stay out of crime, become a lawyer or a politician, but when an attempt is made on the Don’s life, Michael seeks revenge. He commits two murders and flees to Sicily. In the small town where he's hiding, he meets a beautiful woman, is "thunderstruck," and marries her. We briefly see the priest bless the couple at the wedding, and that’s all we see of him.

Don Corleone recovers somewhat from his injuries and goes back to leading his “family.” Other crime families want to get into the business of selling narcotics, but Don Corleone resists -- though not for reasons of morality. He says, “It’s not like gambling, liquor, or even women which is something most people want nowadays, but is forbidden by the pezzonovante of the Church.” His connections in government and the police department won’t help him if he gets into the drug business. (The word “pezzonovante,” Italian for “big shots,” didn’t appear in the subtitles on the DVD I was watching, but it is interesting that the Don seems to view the bureaucrats in the church just like bureaucrats in any other worldly organization.)

When Don Corleone dies later in the film, the funeral is a traditional Catholic ceremony, and all the attendees (mostly criminals and, apparently, good Catholics) cross themselves.

The film has all of the traditional church rituals: two weddings, a funeral, and even a baptism. The baptism is the most interesting service for us here at Movie Churches.

Michael agrees to be the godfather for his sister Connie's (Talia Shire) son. In one of the most powerful sequences in the film, Michael arranges for his chief rivals and enemies to be executed at the same time as the baptism.

Michael, as his nephew's godfather, answers the traditional baptismal questions.

“Michael, do you believe in God, the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth?”

 “I do,” the killer answers.

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord?” 

 “I do,” Michael responds.

“Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church?” 

“I do,” Michael says. Is he lying or telling the truth? Great question.

Michael must answer the questions for his infant when the priest asks, “Michael Francis Rizzi, do you renounce Satan?” 

Again, the question is asked as people are being killed on his command. And Michael answers, “I do renounce him.” 

The priest continues, “And all his works?” 

And Michael answers, “I do renounce them.” 

The priest asks, “And all his pomps?” (What the heck are “pomps?”) 

“I do renounce them,” Michael answers.

And finally, the priest asks, “Michael Rizzi, will you be baptized?” 

And Michael Corleone answers for his nephew, “I will.” The priest sprinkles the baby, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (in Latin, of course). The ceremony ends with the priest's blessing, “Michael Rizzi, go in peace, and may the Lord be with you. Amen.”

The music of J. S. Bach provides a lovely accompaniment for the baptism, and a dissonant accompaniment for the assassination of Michael’s enemies, as editors William Reynolds and Peter Zinner expertly intersperse the killings with the ceremony.

The Church doesn’t come off well in this film. The members of the Mafia (a word never used in the film because of pressure from Italian heritage groups) seem to be accepted members of their Catholic churches. I know church discipline isn’t widely loved these days, but still… An active career of murder would be a reason to deny someone the sacraments, wouldn’t you think?

That’s why, though The Godfather is rightly regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, the church in the film earns a meager Two Steeples.

I Fought the Law Month: The Godfather III

The Godfather III (1990) There are three Godfather films. The first two won Oscars for Best Picture, the third did not. The first two won Oscars for acting; the third did not. The first two had Robert Duvall as a family advisor; in the third, George Hamilton takes that role. Most infamously, the third film has director Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter, Sofia as a last-minute replacement for Winona Ryder (who became ill). As an actress, Sofia Coppola proved to be a very good future film director.

The first two films are among the best films ever made. The third film, though it has some good set pieces, as a whole just isn't very good. To put in in the terms of the Corleone sons, The Godfather III is the Fredo of the series. Still, though, this film has something we appreciate greatly here at Movie Churches: priests and the church in a prominent role. The first two Godfather films have some good church cameos (particularly the christening in the first film intercut with a gangland slaughter). In this film, the Roman Catholic Church carries the central plotline as Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) tries to become respectable by taking over the Vatican Bank.

I’m kind of torn about whether this film really fits the theme of “I Fought the Law,” because the law is not much of a presence in the Godfather trilogy. I think the police make brief appearances in the first two Godfather films, but not at all in the third. The Corleones are not held responsible by civil law, but only gang and church law.

This film moves quite quickly to a church service, a “papal order induction ceremony” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. (I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what the service was called. Basically, the service is just an excuse to butter up Michael Corleone, who gave a hundred million dollars through the Corleone Foundation to the poor of Sicily.) The film spends quite a bit of time at this service and especially at the reception that follows.

Obviously, there are a number of clergy at the reception. I was most pleased to see a clergyman of some kind named Dominic Abbandando played by Don Novelo. (Novelo also played a character on Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s, Father Guido Sarducci, the Vatican Gossip Reporter on Weekend Update.) Dominic notes that the Holy Father himself blessed Corleone, so who is anyone to question him?

One person who surely questions Michael Corleone is his ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton) who remembers the many crimes he committed during his rise in his criminal family. “I’m not here to see you disguised by your church. I thought that was a shameful ceremony,” she tells him.

Others disagree. The Archbishop tells Michael, “You’ve done a wonderful thing.”

Michael responds, “Let’s just be sure that this [$100 million] gets to the people who need it. 

Anthony, a young priest who is also one of Michael's godsons, is also in attendance. The Archbishop says of Anthony Vito Corleone (Franc D’Ambrosio), “There’s always a place in Rome for a fine young priest.” Sure enough, soon Anthony is serving in the Vatican.

But that gift for Sicily isn’t the end of the money the Vatican wants from Michael Corleone. Archbishop Gilday (Donal Donelly) comes to the Don saying, “I need your help. My gift was being able to persuade people to give to the Holy Church, and the Vatican put me in charge of the Vatican Bank. I was never a true banker.” It seems the church bank has a $700 million deficit -- and back in the ’70s (when this film takes place), that was real money.

Michael assures the Archbishop that none of the business he is involved in is illegitimate (never admitting he used to be in very illegitimate businesses). The archbishop says to Michael, “In today’s world, the power to absolve debt is greater than the power of forgiveness,” which doesn’t seem like a very theologically sound statement. 

Michael responds, “Don’t underestimate the power of forgiveness.” The Archbishop tells Michael he could be made the richest person in the world if he deposits $600 million in the Vatican Bank. Again Michael has a smooth response, “I have always believed that helping your fellow man is the greatest power.”

So Michael decides to pursue investing in the Church Bank and to REALLY get rid of his illegal businesses. But when he meets with the gangsters (that work for him) to divest himself of the dirty businesses, an attempted assassination via a machine gun equipped helicopter takes place. Bringing Michael to exclaim the most famous line from the film, “Just when I thought I was out… They pull me back in.”

Things don’t go much better for Michael when he tries to work his way through the church bureaucracy. Catholic business organizations in the United States don’t like the associations the Corleone name brings to the church. He finds more requests for favors and bribes within the church. He trusted the Archbishop but comes to see it as a swindle. He laments that his desire to become “legitimate” is met with more corruption in “decent” society, telling his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), “The higher I go, the crookeder it becomes.”

He seeks counsel from a trusted family advisor in Italy. He is told to see Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), “a wise and good man, very influential, he will see you.” Turns out, he is rather a good man, at least compared to everyone else in the film. Michael does go to see him.

Michael tells the Cardinal of his frustration with the corruption in modern life, even in the church. The Cardinal agrees, “Men in Europe are surrounded by Christianity, but Christ is not in them.” For a time, the Cardinal discusses church politics with Michael but then asks him if he’d like to give his confession.

Michael tells the Cardinal that it has been thirty years since his last confession, and surely the Cardinal doesn’t have time for him. “I always have time to save souls,” the Cardinal tells him.

“I’m beyond redemption,” Michael says. 

“Sometimes the desire for confession is overwhelming,” the Cardinal answers. 

Michael says, “What is the point in confessing if I don’t repent?” 

The Cardinal answers, “I hear you are a practical man, what have you got to lose?”

Michael confesses beginning with “I betrayed my wife, I betrayed myself, I killed men and ordered men to be killed.” 

“Go on, my son.” 

“I ordered the death of my brother.”

“What you have done is terrible, and it is right that you suffer,” the Cardinal tells him, “Your life can be redeemed, but I know you don’t believe that.” The priest absolves Micahel and the church bells ring.

But true to his word, in a way, Michael doesn’t repent, continuing to seek power above all else. And most of the clergy continue to do the same in the film. Most pay a heavy price for their corruption. Many clergymen suffer brutal slayings. And Michael pays a higher price.

So what is our Movie Churches rating for the Roman Catholic Church and its clergy in The Godfather III? It would be our lowest rating of One Steeple, but Cardinal Lamberto single-handedly brought the average up, so we're giving this movie Two Steeples.

New York Movies on the Small Screen

There are states where I search high and low to find a few films set and/or shot in a state. Face the facts, Delaware, you are not the new Hollywood. But then we come to New York. Aside from California, more films have been made in and about New York than any other state. So the problem I face here is not trying to scrape enough films together to write about, but to narrow films down. Instead of a dozen films, there are thousands of films to choose from. So I needed a system.  I decided to go with a dozen New York films from a dozen of the best of American directors.

You might be surprised that when I say that I’m talking about the best of directors, I first bring up Rob Reiner. It’s been a couple of decades since he made a decent film. But for one decade, he made some of my favorite films. One of the most quoted comedies of all time is his mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, and a number of people would call The Princess Bride their all time favorite films. And one of the best of romantic comedies -- and New York films -- is Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally. Made in 1989, the film brings to life the Rodgers and Hart song, “I Could Write a Book,” by showing “how to make two lovers of friends.” There is a lot of talk of sex in the film, but it is also a celebration of marriage, with an interesting device of interspersing the story of Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) with old couples telling their love stories.

And the film is full of New York icons: the Yankees and the Giants, ice skating in Central Park, marvelous views of the skyline, and, of course, delis. Nora Ephron’s screenplay makes this the best Woody Allen film Woody never made.

My favorite film director is Alfred Hitchcock. He made a number of films partially set in New York (such as North by Northwest which we will come back to in a later state), but The Wrong Man was filmed primarily in NYC and is also set entirely in the city. It is also unique in that it is based on a true story, and it’s not a thriller. Henry Fonda is a man falsely accused of robbery, and the film follows his struggles with the criminal justice system. There are also some faith moments in the film, as Fonda turns to God for help. Aside from I Confess, it’s Hitch’s film most filled with Catholic imagery.

My second favorite director is Akira Kurosawa. You may not be shocked to discover the Japanese director never directed a film about New York. But another favorite, Billy Wilder, did make a great New York film. 1960’s The Apartment won that year’s Oscar for Best Picture. The moral satire shows that Fred MacMurray could play sleazy as well as he played avuncular.

My favorite director(s) currently working are Joel and Ethan Coen. They’ve made films in all parts of the country, and they have worked in New York. 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis is the tale of a folk singer in the early 1960’s going to Greenwich Village to seek his fortune. It has a wonderful soundtrack rivaled only by the soundtrack for the Coens’ Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? For a key to what the film is all about, pay attention to the name of the cat.

The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, won the 1972 Oscar for Best Picture, and since then has often topped polls of the best films ever made. The film has scenes in a great variety of locations, including Italy, but a majority of the film is set (and was filmed) in New York City. There is a climatic scene in a church, the baptism of a child, within a montage of great acts of violence.

John Huston, a two time Oscar winner, directed a lesser known but very good New York gangster film, Prizzi’s Honor. Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner star as two professional killers who fall in love and (inevitably) are given the assignment to knock off the other.

The drug trade is the theme of William Friedkin’s Best Picture Winner, The French Connection.

Mob control of the unions was the subject of Elia Kazan’s Best Picture Winner, On the Waterfront (which featured Marlon Brando’s famous “I could have been a contender” speech and the film will be featured soon when Movie Churches looks at the Mob).

Crime was set to music in Robert Wise’s West Side Story, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet featuring juvenile delinquency, dance, and the Big Apple.

West Side Story also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but it was not the first musical that featured location filming in NYC. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s musical, On the Town, was the first MGM musical to film on location and it has fewer deaths than WSS.

I asked my daughter Jil, who lives in Brooklyn, what I should feature as a New York film and she suggested 2012’s Frances Ha. Directed by Noah Baumbach, creator of a number of independently produced comedies, the film features a millennial woman belatedly coming of age. Jil suggested the film because she likes it and because it features upstate New York and not just the city.

If one was to pick the quintessential New York director, it seems the two most likely options would be Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. And because life isn’t fair, I’m not including a Scorsese film (sorry, Marty). I will include Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors.  Chuck Colson once listed this comedy/drama as essential Christian viewing. In the film, a man gets away with a crime and finds that the worst possible punishment is not being caught. It is my favorite film by Allen and like most of Allen’s work, it is set and filmed in New York.

(Coming Wednesday, another New York film by a great American director, as seen on  the big screen)