Starting today, I’m going to begin posting my seen/not seen/not available articles covering each Academy Awards from the beginning to present. Currently, I’m looking at Tuesday and Thursday afternoons since there is no regular content on those days at present.

Below is the list of films I’ve seen and haven’t along with the number of nominations and wins each title received. I’ll follow these up with my reviews (a link to the original review if possible) of each title on the list that I’ve seen. I’ve also included a gallery of posters for the films that were nominated in 1927/28 if I can find them.

For my first Academy Awards, I have seen three of the nominated films, including both films honored as Best Picture. 7th Heaven was added as part of the Feed the Queue series a few years ago. My goal will be to eventually catch all winners (if available), then focus on nominees.

Seen [11 nominations, 8 wins]:

Sunrise [4,3]
7th Heaven [5,3]
Wings [2,2]

Not Seen [12 nominations, 5 wins]:

Chang [1,0]
The Crowd [2,2]
The Jazz Singer [1,0]
The Last Command [2,1]
The Racket [1,0] (VHS only)
Sadie Thompson [2,1]
Speedy [1,0]
Street Angel [1,1]
Tempest [1,0]
Underworld [1,0]

Incomplete or Hard to Find Films [8 nominations, 1 win]:

The Dove [1,0] (partial Library of Congress only)
Glorious Betsy [1,0] (Library of Congress only)
The Magic Flame [1,0] (partial – George Eastman House)
The Noose [1,0] (Museum of Modern Art only)
The Patent Leather Kid [1,0] (bootleg copies only)
A Ship Comes In [1,0] (bootleg copies only)
Sorrell and Son [1,0] (Academy library)
Two Arabian Knights [1,1] (Howard Hughes estate, not available to the public)

Lost Films [3 nominations, 1 win]:

The Devil Dancer [1,0]
The Private Life of Helen of Troy [1,0]
The Way of All Flesh [1,l]

Reviews:

Sunrise (4 stars)
This quintessential romantic drama is the standard to which all others should be compared. A lonely farmer is seduced by a woman from the city who encourages him to kill his wife so they can be together. While on their way to the big city by boat, the farmer prepares to kill his wife, but relents at the last moment. As the couple move through the city, the husband seeking forgiveness and the wife fleeing in fear, they come to terms with their problems and enjoy themselves, only to have tragedy strike on their way home.

This F.W. Murnau masterpiece employed a number of new and innovative filming techniques and was one of the first movies to use sound-on-film technology. His cinematography and visual effects were industry-leading and the sheer technological marvel of the film is only surpassed by its brilliant plotting and superb lead performance by Oscar winner Janet Gaynor.

George O’Brien is no slouch as the farmer and Margaret Livingston is briefly captivating as the city woman, but it’s Gaynor who carries the film like few actresses of her day could. The fear, faith and joyousness she display as the wife are among the finest ever captured on celluloid. This is a film I go back to regularly as one of the greatest films ever made and is positioned near the top or at the top of every list of all-time greats I make.

7th Heaven (4 stars)
My Short Review

Wings (2.5 Stars)
My Full Review

Purchase Available Films

Gallery of Posters