2017 Schurmys - Hall of Fame

2017 Schurmann Film Awards

Hall of Fame

The Post

Today we are enshrining the second class of the Schurmy Hall of Fame. 5 legends of film and/or television will be given the greatest honour possible. A Schumy Hall of Fame induction.

A quick note on the rules for this Hall:
- No more than 5 inductees shall be honoured in a given year. Last year 10 were done but as the first year a larger class was allowed
- Eligibility shall be determined as being 30 years after the first relevant credit on IMDB or death, whichever comes first. Last year Philip Seymour Hoffman was the only honouree to meet eligibility in a tragic manner.
- Persons shall be eligible for work in the television and film industries across as role.
- Groups of persons shall be eligible only considering the work they accomplished together

Taxi Driver

Previous Inductees:

1. Woody Allen
2. Humphrey Bogart
3. Roger Deakins
4. Robert De Niro
5. Alfred Hitchcock
6. Philip Seymour Hoffman
7. Stanley Kubrick
8. Akira Kurosawa
9. Terrence Malick
10. Martin Scorsese

And now without further ado, the Hall of Fame Class of 2017

Persona

INGMAR BERGMAN

Director, Writer

Autumn Sonata, Cries and Whispers, Fanny and Alexander, Hour of the Wolf, Persona, Scenes From a Marriage, The Seventh Seal, Smiles of a Summer Night, Through a Glass Darkly, The Virgin Spring, Wild Strawberries, Winter Light

The master of Swedish cinema. Ingmar Bergman holds a dear place in my heart. His 1957 masterpiece, The Seventh Seal was my gateway into the world of foreign classics. Managing to cover topics such as the nature of life, death, God, religion and love while being entertaining, The Seventh Seal was a mind blowing experience. When you think of classic European cinema odds are you are thinking of Ingmar Bergman's work. Ultra serious, conversation driven explorations into the grand mysteries of life and the pain of existence. That description however does a complete disservice to how entertaining Bergman could make his films while fitting that description. He simply doesn't get enough credit for blending the entertainment into his art.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

MONTY PYTHON
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin

Comedy Troupe, Writers, Actors, Directors, Television Creators

Monty Python's Flying Circus, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Meaning of Life

The first group induction and what a fitting group it is. These six men turned the world of comedy on its head in the 1970s by throwing out the rule book. Basic structures of sketches were thrown out for Flying Circus, creating a new breed of sketch comedy. They reveled in the absurd often taking their comic ideas to the silliest places possible. When they branched into film they continued their rule breaking. Holy Grail routinely breaks the fourth wall and the film is so much better for it. Life of Brian is their most conventional work, and while it is a case of retaining basic story structure to enhance the story, its best moments are the most absurd. The Python's made everything funny. Pet Stores (just kill the parrot), Ancient Greek philosophers (make them play soccer against German philosophers), the Jesus story (tell the same story, but about the guy born in the neighboring manger). When they were done, Monty Python had changed comedy forever and their despite the scores of comedians influenced by this troupe, none have done it better.

Jurassic Park

STEVEN SPIELBERG

Director, Writer

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Bridge of Spies, Catch Me If You Can, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Color Purple, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones Series, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Lincoln, Minority Report, Munich, The Post, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Terminal

The greatest filmmaker who creates works for every stage in your life. As a child you get films like E.T. and The BFG. Then you grow some and you get Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones. You become a young adult and start tackling Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Jaws. You mature some more and dive in into Lincoln, Munich and A.I.. And of course the real magic of Spielberg is that his "children's films" are truly all-ages films. A master of populism, Spielberg films aim for large audiences, often by wearing a banner of broad sentimentality. He is the antithesis of the punk ethos and his films, especially his latter efforts, are often dismissed as "mawkish." But Spielberg is a sentimentalist. He believes in people. He loves watching great people do great things, whether they be American presidents or reporters uncovering government secrets. His films are technical marvels aiming to entertain and inspire audiences. He wants people to come away from his films with a sense of hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, no matter how bad the past has been. He is a one-of-a-kind master who's singular spirit is completely irreplaceable.

Some Like It Hot

BILLY WILDER

Director, Writer

Ace in the Hole, The Apartment, Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Love in the Afternoon, One Two Three, Sabrina, Some Like It Hot, The Spirit of St. Louis, Stalag 17, Sunset Blvd, Witness for the Prosecution

Born Austria and fleeing Europe during the rise of the Nazi Party, Billy Wilder brought a deeply pessimistic view of humanity with him to Hollywood. He made a name for himself with several classic film noirs in the 40s and 50s exploring darker topics and taboos that others in Hollywood was afraid to touch. Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Blvd, Ace in the Hole. Classic films exploring a darker side of American life each getting progressively darker and bleaker in the outlook on humanity, none more so than Ace in the Hole, where the true target of his exploration of corrupt media is the gullible masses who consume the news peddled by conmen like Kirk Douglas' Chuck Tatum. As his career progressed, Wilder turned to comedies, giving his career a second golden age after the decline of the film noir genre in the 50s. Some Like It Hot, The Apartment and One, Two, Three proved that the same dark wit the crafted so many great lines and characters in film noir ("I've met a lot of hard-boiled men in my life, but you, you're twenty minutes") could easily craft some of the finest comedies Hollywood has ever seen ("It's only one story down, the best you can do is break a leg"). Billy Wilder was a true visionary of post-WWII Hollywood, helping Hollywood break taboos and tackle every facet of humanity, a legend.

Star Wars

JOHN WILLIAMS

Composer

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Catch Me If You Can, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Harry Potter Series, Home Alone, How to Steal a Million, Indiana Jones Series, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Lincoln, The Long Goodbye, Minority Report, Munich, The Post, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Star Wars Series, The Terminal, War Horse, War of the Worlds

Quite possibly the greatest composer of the 20th Century, John Williams scored some of the biggest and most enduring movies ever made. Just look at that list of films and that is but a sampling of his work. Williams' scores are essential parts of these films and go a long way to helping them seep into your brain. From rousing refrains to sentimental melodies to quiet brilliance and all the way back, John Williams' scores are full of orchestral numbers worthy of the great classical composers. His works have proven to be iconic works of art that have influenced countless others. How many horror themes have cribbed from Jaws over the years? John Williams soundtracked our childhoods, our teen years and our adulthoods; he soundtracked our lives.

And that's the 2017 Class of the Schurmann Film Hall of Fame. Congratulations to these talented men. Tomorrow we wrap up the Schurmys for another year with the Major Awards. Have you figured out what's winning everything yet?

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade