All about Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards

by Emanuel Levy

This is a book for all film lovers to savor as, together with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they celebrate 2003 as the diamond anniversary of the Academy Awards. Now in paperback for the first time, All about Oscar builds on Levy's well-known work on the Academy Awards over the past twenty years. It is both history and appreciation, chockablock with inside stories and little known facts. Do you knowàWho came up with the idea for the Academy Awards and why? Who votes? Who is the youngest winner? The oldest? Who has been nominated the most times without winning? Where "Oscar" gets its name? All-new chapters added to the previous edition (Oscar Fever, 2001) "The Luck of the British," "The Foreign-Language Winners," "The Importance of Being Eccentric," "Is Oscar a White Man's Award?"*This book is neither authorized nor endorsed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough analysis of the history of the Academy Awards, but his voice as a film critic sneaks through at times. Also, this ends with the 2002 award season, so an update is due.

[Adrian Robbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards by Emanuel Levy (2003) provides a text that is carefully divided into very logical increments regarding the history and politics surrounding the Academy Awards. Beginning with the events that led up to the establishment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Levy presents a history of the Oscars and how they have become the most popular and prestigious awards in the film industry. In 'All About Oscar', Levy also describes why filmmakers strive to win this prominent award and how it can have a vast impact upon their future success. Furthermore, he describes the requirements imposed by the Academy in order to be nominated for an Oscar and compete for the top award. Throughout the remainder of this book, he cites various theories relative to how important a film's genre and subject matter is in order to increase the potential for winning an Oscar. In doing so, he addresses the Academy's view of bio-pictures, problem dramas, historical epics, comedies, and musicals. In summary, Levy's book 'All About Oscar' offers the reading audience a broad collection of facts that demonstrate the historical, cultural, and political contexts of Academy Award winning films. He examines the Oscars from many different perspectives (genre, subject matter, popularity figures, etc.). Levy offers the reader with realistic observations coupled with sound reasoning for what actually constitutes an Oscar winning film in the eyes of the Academy membership. He also concludes his book with various informative charts including, to include: Best Picture Winners and Nominees by Genre from 1927-2001, Best Picture Winners by Year and Date of Release, and Best Picture Winners by Year and Running Time. This book is an interesting read for anyone who is interested in learning more about this prestigious, annual, Hollywood award.

[Giuseppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, the book is very comprehensive (though sadly out of date as no updated version has been, or is likely to be, released). The author tries to stay away from acting as movie critic (but sometimes fails and harps excessively on a few movies...which is a shame, as i assume his intent was to be a dispassionate historian here). I would have given this 5 stars, but the amount of grammatical errors is a tad overwhelming, especially given that this version is the "updated" version, and the first edition was panned for its massive amounts of editorial laziness. I haven't read version one, but my understanding is that this version is an improvement. But any quality book is defined by it's editorial oversight, and i'm left with the impression that there was actually no editor involved. It's a shame to read a satisfying, well-thought out, and detailed book, only to be constantly nagged by the large amount of grammar fails. If i were the author, I'd be appalled. But them again, this is the second, and as of this review, final incarnation of this book, which leads me to the conclusion that the author didn't care that his hard work was felled by a disturbing lack of editorial oversight, which is embarrassing. If you can overlook the bad grammar, the book is very fun and informative. Fix the grammar for the next version, and ill give ya 5 stars...