Sergeant_Tibbs Okay, I love to get caught up in Oscar time. Yes, it's arbitrary and yes it has a muddy history, but it's fun and it shapes legacies and future great movies. And The Oscar Goes To is directed by Oscar winning director Rob Epstein for his two 80s documentaries as well as his co-director on one of them, who unfortunately didn't share a statue, Jeffrey Friedman. I figured it would be worthwhile, and it is, but it only skims the surface. What can you do in an hour and a half though? It has a small selection of movie highlights to choose from and it sticks with them throughout. At the very least - the documentary is specific, as it could result in something overly broad. There's anecdotes, but without real insight. Naturally, there's most focus on actors, and it touches on all the natural points in history and runs through the categories, giving 10 minutes or so to the other ones. It's mostly about the experience of winning an Oscar and with its archive of clips, it certainly captures several nights of excitement. It's at least good for the behind the scenes footage that's otherwise lost in the ether. Solid entertainment, but nothing special to experts.7/10

gavin6942 On the opening night of its annual 31 Days of Oscar festival, Turner Classic Movies presents the world premiere of "And the Oscar Goes To...", a documentary tracing the history of the Academy Awards.Let us not try to say the movies are any more important than they are. And the Oscars are a celebration of these not terribly important things. But, at the same time, let us not underestimate how important the movies really are. They bind us as a culture, connect us to other cultures and define generations. Sometimes they even change the way we look at the world.And we get some great classic moments (Charlie Chaplin) alongside some more modern moments (Affleck and Damon, Diablo Cody). I almost wish I had started watching them sooner...

MartinHafer "And the Oscar Goes To..." is a documentary about, naturally, the Oscar. However, if you are looking for an exhaustive film about the awards or one that is chronological, then you might be disappointed. Instead, the film mostly consists of some living Oscar recipients talking about their experience receiving the award along with a few clips of past winners. The past winners are mostly from the 1950s on--which isn't surprising since that is when they started showing the ceremony on television. And, many recent recipients aren't interviewed as well--making me wonder how they picked who would be on the show. While the film isn't perfect, it is enjoyable and gives you many nice little vignettes about the film and the craftspeople who make movies.

classicsoncall If I'm correct about this documentary debuting last night (2/1/2014) on the Turner Classic Movie Channel, then a couple of film lovers already beat me to the punch with a review here. That's a quick turnaround I must say. Anyone tuning in to the program will be rewarded with a neat if only surface skimming history of the Academy Awards, but with that in mind it was a credible effort. I particularly enjoyed some of the older clips dating back to the origins of the Academy, and to my mind it would have been a disservice not to mention the winner of the first 'Best Picture', but they did and even showed a brief clip from "Wings", a film about World War I. I was reminded of my own recollection of the first time I ever watched the Awards with Bob Hope presenting during an era when he was a perennial host. Actors appearing who voiced personal comments about the awards included Helen Mirren, George Clooney, Benicio del Toro and Cher, but it was Dustin Hoffman in an acceptance speech clip who voiced possibly the best perspective on the Oscars when he stated that even though only one film or actor can win a given category, no one should feel like a loser in such esteemed company. I guess that's a healthy way to look at it, but at the same time I wondered what would have gone through his mind if he hadn't been able to give that speech. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this will get a rerun or two on TCM, so if you have the chance, give it a look. Long time film fans will doubtless have fun trying to identify some of the former celebrities who appear in whiz time fashion from clip to clip.