And the Oscar goes to…(Best Picture)

And the Oscars are just a few hours away. To celebrate, this picture gallery will trawl through posters of some of the most influential, iconic, memorable and all round brilliant films that  took home the Academy Award for Best Picture. I do think that films are immensely powerful media forms. They can make you laugh and cry and think and reflect. To me, the mark of a good film is when I leave the theater still contemplating the various open/hidden messages the film inspired in me.

I haven’t watched all the nominated films yet, but I’m most definitely pulling for this year’s Oscar front-runner, The Artist to come out triumphant and pick up yet another trophy to add to their already enormous award collection. To me, the film was full of heartfelt love for the silent film era and for cinema in general. And its message of the fleeting nature of fame, success and other things that may seem eternal is particularly apt in today’s world of technology and rapid changes. So I hope The Artist comes out tops and if it does, I would be a very happy girl indeed.

Anyway, before I continue rambling, here are just a few of the most iconic Best Picture films ever made. Once again, enjoy. 🙂

 

Gone With The Wind. Best Picture 1939. THE love story.

 

Casablanca. Best Picture 1942. Always regarded as one of the greatest films ever.

 

Ben Hur. Best Picture 1959. Record-breaking 11 Oscar wins.

 

West Side Story. Best Picture 1961. 10 Oscars and a pop culture icon.

 

Lawrence of Arabia. Best Picture 1962.

 

My Fair Lady. Best Picture 1964. Isn’t this poster stunning? And anything Audrey Hepburn touches turns to gold.

 

The Sound of Music. Best Picture 1965. And we can all still hum along to the tunes.

 

The Godfather. Best Picture 1972. One of THE most iconic films EVER. Even the poster tells you that.

 

Rocky. Best Picture 1976. How we know Sylvester Stallone.

 

Chariots of Fire. Best Picture 1981. Noted as one of the best British films of all time.

 

Dances With Wolves. Best Picture 1990.

 

The Silence of the Lambs. Best Picture 1991. What a haunting poster. And the movie is in a class of its own.

 

Unforgiven. Best Picture 1992. I LOVE THIS POSTER. And Clint Eastwood knows westerns alright.

 

Forrest Gump. Best Picture 1994. Who can forget the simple and sweet Forrest?

 

Titanic. Best Picture 1997. Indeed a lasting legacy of a movie.

 

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Best Picture 2003. In fact the entire trilogy has done remarkably well both critically and commercially.

 

Slumdog Millionaire.  Best Picture 2008. 8 Academy Award wins. And a soundtrack to follow.

Nostalgia and old posters

Been spending time with a big stack of dull textbooks and an even bigger pile of notes. Maybe that’s what inspired me to whip out my laptop and look for some old-school nostalgia and travel ads. And the gems I ended up uncovering were more than enough to make my day.

For the love of all things vintage and travel-ish, I present to you this AMAZING collection of vintage travel posters I found. Don’t you wish posters today still looked like this?

New York.

Italy. I love that vespa. And the girl looks like she’s having so much fun!

The Caribbean. Check out that skirt and its frills.

Chicago. Absolutely loving the tagline. Chicago: The Windy City. 

Bali. Exotic and mysterious?

Mexico. Yummy yummy fruits.

Paris. Fabulous montage. That Mona Lisa sure did catch my eye.

Siam. Or Thailand as it’s known today. Loving the twilight hue of the poster.

Cuba. Sunny and Beachy.

Hawaii. Of flowers and pineapples.

Lugano. I want to wear a pink dress and lie in a tree too!

Ticino. In Italy. This just became one of my favourite posters.

So there are plenty more posters that I found, but these are just some of those that really caught my eye. Now I feel like I HAVE to travel to all these places.  Do you have a favourite poster out of all these jewels?