Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Twenty years ago film was doing great. So were theaters. People went to see movies, or they would be waiting to rent them on DVD, or perhaps they would just go ahead and buy them. Of course, 2003 was still the new millennium, so some of the elements that would become staples of the film calendar were already in place. I know this year as a time when box office and award acclaim shook hands with gusto, but I shall go beyond that in my trip back to 2003 in film.
Let’s start with that key film, though. That would be Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. It dominated the box office, making over $1 billion worldwide and becoming the second-highest-grossing film ever at the time. The first two films in the trilogy did not really hit with the Academy Awards, but maybe they were just waiting for this one. The Oscars gave Return of the King a whopping 11 awards, tying the record. It won Best Picture and Best Director, but no acting awards, notably. Clearly, 2003 was the year of Return of the King.
On the one hand, both of the Matrix sequels finished in the top 10 in the world box office. On the other hand, they were critically not well received, and it probably is significant that Revolutions, the third film, finished eighth, showing that audiences seemed tired of Neo and company. Terminator 3 also largely slammed the brakes on that franchise as well.
Meanwhile, the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie birthed a franchise that just kept chugging along, though largely owed to its popularity overseas. The first film, though, also hit domestically, and got Johnny Depp an Oscar nomination. The number-two movie, by the way, was Finding Nemo.
The Oscars’ acting awards are puzzling choices. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won for Mystic River and Charlize Theron won for Monster. Damn, were Academy voters in a bummer of a mood that year? Or maybe it was a way to be “serious” to juxtapose all the awards for Return of the King.
A lot of awards bait for 2003 I don’t really like. In addition to Mystic River, there’s Lost in Translation, Master and Commander, etc. That’s with The Life of David Gale flopping as awards bait. I saw that in theaters as a teenager as a “discerning” filmgoer. I thought it was OK then, but man even that assessment doesn’t hold up.
All in all, this is a rough year for film. 2003 was a bad time at the movies. My top film is either Big Fish or Kill Bill Vol. 1, two movies by distinct filmmakers. One is gory and pulpy, the other fantastical and emotional. Yin and yang, in some ways. Return of the King is fine. I fell asleep the first time I tried to watch it.
