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In Sam Wood's Oscar darling "The Pride of the Yankees," Hollywood's golden retriever, Gary Cooper, plays Lou Gehrig, a famous first baseman for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939. Gehrig was considered one of the more powerful hitters of his generation, earning him the on-field nickname of The Iron Horse. Tragically, Gehrig's baseball career began to suffer in the late '30s because of a strange, undiagnosed illness. It would later be revealed to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Als ended up taking his life in 1941, and it is still known colloquially in the United States as Lou Gehrig's Disease. 

"The Pride of the Yankees" follows Gehrig's life from his days at Columbia University through his retirement from the Yankees in 1939. It traces his rise to baseball fame, taking a job for the New York Yankees, a job he keeps secret from his ailing mother; she would prefer he be an engineer.

Christmas movies are one of the most beloved genres in cinema history with every film fan having their own select favorite that they watch and rewatch every year. However, while the genre is treasured, the Oscars haven’t rewarded it as much as you might think or hope. There are several movies, however, that have found their way into Oscars lineups. We’ve detailed just five of those Christmas movies that have managed Oscar nominations or wins.

By the way, “The Apartment” is not included on this list (but might be in a future article). The Billy Wilder movie won five Academy Awards including Best Picture (1961) but there seems to be debate around whether it actually qualifies as a Christmas movie or not. It’s set during the holiday period, but some feel that isn’t enough for it to be an out-and-out Christmas movie. Perhaps that’s one for our forums.

Best Film Editing and Best Picture have had an important relationship throughout Oscars history. While the two awards don’t always necessarily go to the same film, it is rare that a Best Picture winner isn’t at least nominated for Best Film Editing. Only two out of the last 20 Best Picture champs were snubbed by the editors’ branch: “Birdman” in 2015 and “Coda” in 2022.

One of the best cutters in the business is Thelma Schoonmaker. This longtime collaborator of Martin Scorsese reunites with him for this year’s red-hot Oscar contender, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” This story tells the true tale of the murder of several Osage tribe members in the USA in the 1920s, which led to an FBI investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone star.

Schoonmaker reaped her record ninth nomination for her work on this epic. Her other bids were as follows: 1971 for “Woodstock,...

Writer-director Billy Wilder’s favorite and perhaps best movie takes the leap to 4K, revealing even more beauty in the images of Joseph Lashelle and the designs of Alexandre Trauner . . . we all feel like we’ve lived in C.C. Baxter’s New York flat. Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s ‘dirty fairy tale’ best expresses the difficulty of keeping both a job and one’s self-respect — fitting in a love life seems altogether too much to ask. It all comes down to Shirley MacLaine’s sweet smile and Jack Lemmon’s eagerness to be a ‘mensch’ — when he’s discovering that a moral compromise is like selling one’s soul.

The Apartment 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1960 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 125 min. / Street Date March 15, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens,...

by Cláudio Alves

Throughout the History of the Academy Awards, two filmmakers have received eight nominations in the Best Editing category. They are Michael Kahn and Thelma Schoonmaker. They also happen to be among the four people currently tied for the title of 'most awarded film editor of all-time'. Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson as well as Kahn and Schoonmaker have all won three statuettes (though Schoonmaker and Kahn lead the nomination tally). Both of those champion editors are still active, so one of them may beat these Oscar records. As of the moment, Martin Scorsese's most important collaborator is in contention to win her fourth Oscar for The Irishman.

If it happens, she'll become the undisputed queen of film editing in Hollywood. In regards to the Academy Awards, that is…...

Thelma Schoonmaker has been one of Martin Scorsese's most trusted collaborators for half a century, and with her eighth Academy Award nomination, for Netflix's The Irishman, she ties a record held by Michael Kahn (1994's Schindler's List) as the most nominated editor in Oscar history.

She also holds three Oscar statuettes — for 1980's Raging Bull, 2004's The Aviator and 2006's The Departed — a record she shares with Steven Spielberg's longtime collaborator Kahn, as well as the late Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson.

She may have all those projects and accolades under her belt,...

Thelma Schoonmaker has been one of Martin Scorsese's most trusted collaborators for half a century, and with her eighth Academy Award nomination, for Netflix's The Irishman, she ties a record held by Michael Kahn (1994's Schindler's List) as the most nominated editor in Oscar history.

She also holds three Oscar statuettes — for 1980's Raging Bull, 2004's The Aviator and 2006's The Departed — a record she shares with Steven Spielberg's longtime collaborator Kahn, as well as the late Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson.

She may have all those projects and accolades under her belt,...

This year's Oscar nominees in the crafts areas include past winners, seasoned vets and some notable newcomers.

Martin Scorsese's longtime editor and three-time Oscar winner Thelma Schoonmaker earned her eighth Oscar nomination for The Irishman; she is now tied with Michael Kahn for the most category nominations, and with her three previous wins she is currently tied with Kahn and the late Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson. Schoonmaker and Scorsese have been working together since they teamed on 1970's Woodstock.

Three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson earned his 10th nomination for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He has previously ...

This year's Oscar nominees in the crafts areas include past winners, seasoned vets and some notable newcomers.

Martin Scorsese's longtime editor and three-time Oscar winner Thelma Schoonmaker earned her eighth Oscar nomination for The Irishman; she is now tied with Michael Kahn for the most category nominations, and with her three previous wins she is currently tied with Kahn and the late Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson. Schoonmaker and Scorsese have been working together since they teamed on 1970's Woodstock.

Three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson earned his 10th nomination for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He has previously ...

Thelma Schoonmaker is on the verge of Oscar history. The veteran film editor has long collaborated with Martin Scorsese, and that has paid off with three Oscars for Best Editing. Now she’s a contender again for his Netflix gangster epic “The Irishman,” and if she wins a fourth prize it would set a new record for the most awards any individual has won in the category.

Schoonmaker previously won Oscars for cutting Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” (1980), “The Aviator” (2004) and “The Departed” (2006). That tied her with three other filmmakers who have also achieved the hat trick.

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Ralph Dawson won for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935), “Anthony Adverse” (1936) and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938).

Daniel Mandell‘s three victories were for “The Pride of the Yankees” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) and “The Apartment” (1960).

And Michael Kahn claimed three for “Raiders of the Lost Ark...

Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s lavish movie boils down to a dirty party joke, but they struck gold just the same. Audiences flocked to see Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine reunited in a fantasy Parisian red light district, in a show that looks like Disneyland for fans of Playboy cartoons.

Irma La Douce

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 143 min. / Street Date July 17, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi, Herschel Bernardi, Hope Holiday, Bruce Yarnell, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney, Paul Dubov, Howard McNear, Cliff Osmond, Diki Lerner, Ruth & Jane Earl, Tura Satana.

Cinematography: Joseph La Shelle

Art Director: Alexander Trauner

Film Editor: Daniel Mandell

Original Music: Marguerite Monnot, André Previn

Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond from a play by Alexandre Breffort

Produced by Edward L. Alperson, I.A.L. Diamond, Billy Wilder

Directed by Billy Wilder

Although there’s...

Savant’s vote for the best romantic comedy ever goes to a sordid fable about problems in the big city Rat Race: keeping both a job and one’s self-respect. Picking up where 1930s pre-Code movies left off, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s ‘how to succeed’ thesis divides people into two groups, Takers and those that Get Took. And yet the message it delivers is life & love- affirming.

The Apartment

Blu-ray

Arrow Video USA

1960 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 125 min. / Limited Edition / Street Date December 12 (29?) (?), 2017 / Available from Arrow Video

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Edie Adams, Johnny Seven, Joyce Jameson, Willard Waterman, David White.

Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle

Film Editor: Daniel Mandell

Original Music: Adolph Deutsch

Written by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder

Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder

… and it’s also the all-time champion New Years’ movie.

Fritz Lang continues his take-no-prisoners indictment of America’s curious relationship with crime; this time he presents the thesis that an innocent man can be a pawn in cosmic game of injustice. Three-time loser Henry Fonda, the glummest actor in ’30s films, doesn’t mean to rob or kill, but gosh darn it, They Made Him a Criminal. Those considerations aside, it’s a wonderful cinematic achievement, made all the better by a decent digital restoration.

You Only Live Once

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1937 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 86 min. / Street Date July 25, 2017 / 29.98

Starring: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon,

William Gargan, Jerome Cowan, Charles ‘Chic’ Sale, Margaret Hamilton, Warren Hymer,

Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Ward Bond, Jack Carson, Jonathan Hale

Cinematography: Leon Shamroy

Art Direction: Alexander Toluboff

Film Editor: Daniel Mandell

Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer

Written by Graham Baker and Gene Towne

Produced by Walter Wanger

Directed by Fritz Lang...

Some like their comedy hot and some like it cold. Billy Wilder opted to step on the joke accelerator to see what top speed looked like. One of the most finely tuned comedies ever made, this political satire crams five hours’ worth of wit and sight gags into 115 minutes. The retirement-age James Cagney practically blows a fuse rattling through Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s high-pressure speeches, without slurring so much as a single syllable.

One, Two, Three

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1961 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis,

Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Lilo Pulver

Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp

Production Designers Robert Stratil, Heinrich Weidemann

Art Direction Alexander Trauner

Film Editor Daniel Mandell

Original Music André Previn

Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Ferenc Molnar

Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder

How...

Radical changes were required to adapt Lillian Hellman's Broadway play for post-Code Hollywood, to eradicate a theme that in 1934 was entirely taboo. But were audiences really unaware of the subject matter switch? William Wyler excels with this bowdlerized, yet curiously near-perfect, story about the power of scandal. These Three DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1936 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 93 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Catharine Doucet, Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Marcia Mae Jones , Carmencita Johnson, Mary Ann Durkin, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Brennan. Cinematography Gregg Toland Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Alfred Newman Written by Lillian Hellman Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by William Wyler

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

William Wyler directed half a decade's worth of silent westerns before his big break came. From that point on he made high profile dramas, almost all of which are excellent movies.

Remember Charlie Chaplin's 'The Killer with a Heart?' You too will be frustrated by this well-produced story of a slum kid who commits an unpardonable crime... except that a do-gooder priest wants to pardon him. Dana Andrews and Farley Granger star but the good work is in the smaller roles of this urban tragedy. Edge of Doom DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 18.59 Starring Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Paul Stewart, Mala Powers, Adele Jergens, Harold Vermilyea, John Ridgely, Douglas Fowley, Mabel Paige, Howland Chamberlain, Houseley Stevenson Sr., Jean Inness, Ellen Corby, Ray Teal. Cinematography Harry Stradling Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Philip Yordan Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by Mark Robson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

What's the most hopeless, depressing, feel-bad film noir on the charts? How about Detour,...

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. The Little Foxes is playing on Mubi in the Us February 15 through March 15, 2016.William Wyler and Bette Davis had a good thing going by the time of The Little Foxes (1941). Wyler had three (of his eventually 12) Academy Award nominations and he had directed the star in two Oscar-worthy performances of her own: Jezebel (1938), for which she won, and The Letter (1940), for which she didn’t. Though it would grow increasingly contentious, their association was nonetheless mutually productive, and while Davis may have been reluctant to take on the role played to great acclaim by Tallulah Bankhead in Lillian Hellman’s stage version of The Little Foxes, the resulting feature film trumped the trepidation. Set in the indistinct though suitably decrepit “Deep South” circa 1900, the backdrop is just vague enough to be regionally collective but just specific enough to be wholly unique.

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Ball of Fire is playing on Mubi in the Us January 8 through February 7, 2016.To rephrase a popular literary adage, one shouldn’t judge a film by its credits. Many a noteworthy roster of talent has yielded a less than superior motion picture. Such is not the case, however, with the 1941 Samuel Goldwyn production, Ball of Fire. Aside from the legendary producer, who had over 100 movies under his belt by this point in his career, the film boasts an Oscar-nominated story by Thomas Monroe and Billy Wilder, a script by Wilder and frequent co-writer Charles Brackett, a supporting cast of famous faces like Dana Andrews, Dan Duryea, and Elisha Cook Jr., and superb star turns by Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Behind the camera, the music is by Alfred Newman, Gregg Toland is the cinematographer, Daniel Mandell is the editor,...