Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There's no denying the creakiness of The Broadway Melody (1929). Best known as the first sound film to win Best Picture, TBM inspired a series of spiritual successors into the early 1940s. So is it any good? Ehh...Many have defended the film from naysayers by telling us it was made early in the sound period and thus we should be kind to its less than well-aged qualities. As someone who delights in film history, of course I agree that some concessions should be taken, but there are much better sound films from this period which better showcased the new technology.There's also the issue of the plot, which is just uncomfortable. We have two sisters fresh off the vaudeville circuit who wish to transition to the big time on Broadway. One is engaged to a show biz man who proceeds to pursue the other sister during said engagement. He is never presented as the creep he is and for some reason, he is given a happy ending with the other sister. It could have been handled much better and by that I mean it could have been written in such a way that the fiancée could have come across as conflicted and not gleefully sleazy.The musical numbers are okay, but the choreography is lacking compared to something like Paul Fejos's Broadway (1930). Overall history geeks like me will be fascinated by the movie as an early sound film, but everyone else will more than likely be bored by the trite melodrama, dull musical numbers, and flat characterizations.

The first sound/talking film to win the award, known this year as "Outstanding Picture". As of 2013, it is also one of only ten musicals to achieve this distinction. Also of pioneering significance, one of the first film to feature a Technicolor sequence. The film follows a mostly unoriginal love-triangle between sisters Queenie & Hank Mahoney (Anita Page and Bessie Love) & Hank's (short for Henrietta, apparently) fiancé Eddie Kerns (Charles King), whom has agreed to assist with the sister's vaudeville act, transforming it for Broadway. Initially in love with the older sister and "stage manager" Hank, he "inevitably" falls in love with the younger, more beautiful Queenie, who avoids the situation by dating a notorious playboy, Jacques Warriner (Kenneth Thomson). Of course, she also ends up falling in love with Eddie, despite her desire to not take away something she knows her sister loves. Eventually everybody finds out everyone's true motives and intentions, and in the last scene Queenie and Eddie embrace, free now to live happily-ever-after, as Hank leaves to begin a thirty-week traveling show she was offered earlier. Free, that is, except for Queenie's guilt; she is still remorseful over the situation and expresses her sadness to Eddie. Intertwined through all of this are some acceptable dance and song numbers, some laughing moments, but really not much else. It is an alright film, but nowhere near the caliber of most other Best Picture Winners. I will admit that some of the dialogue, meaning, and even social cues/traditions were lost to me, due to the nearly-a-decade difference. The sound was difficult to listen to; Obviously at this early time, the studios were still far from mastery. In all, an entertaining look at early sound films, but not too much more depth.

Historically significant, among other things, as the first all-talking musical feature film, how could anyone not appreciate this great old movie. The story isn't much. A sister act, the Mahoney Sisters (Queenie and Hank), tries to make it big on The Great White Way. Romantic complications keep the plot moving. As a "talkie", the script is exactly that ... talky. The dialogue is clunky and the conflict a bit contrived. But who cares? The performers seem to enjoy what they are doing. And the two female leads (Anita Page and Bessie Love) are marvelous.This film really gives the viewer a good feel for 1920s style. Production design is plain and drab. I would describe the costumes as "interesting", with those flappers' unique hairdos and hats. And I'm constantly amazed at 1920s interiors with their high ceilings. Every room seems to lord over its human occupants, especially the theater proscenium where the title song is performed.The B&W cinematography isn't bad. I did notice the film's second half had visuals pleasantly high in contrast, compared to the first half. The second half, especially toward the end, looks pretty good. A few scenes appear a bit blurry or maybe out of focus. But film editors really had a lot to learn in those days, like the need to cut useless seconds when actors don't act, but just stare. The film's sound quality varies. Some scenes contain a bit of background static; in other scenes it's largely absent.Musical numbers are primitive but nonetheless enjoyable. I like that title song. It's played often throughout the film. And they were really big on tap dancing back in the twenties.If the viewer gives the film some slack, "The Broadway Melody" can be an enjoyable cinematic trip back to a fun era. It was a time when filmmakers were still learning their crafts; when viewers were satisfied with simpler, more basic, entertainment; when moralistic censors had yet to intrude; and especially when the world, unknowingly, was at the brink of economic collapse.

This is yet another Best Picture winner that would come to define Oscar as being style-over-substance, except the Musical Genre's no longer as popular as it once was (okay, Chicago did win, but that's for another review). This, however, is an interesting piece.For starters, during the eligibility period of the 2nd Academy Awards (late 1928-mid 1929) was a period in time where Hollywood was transitioning from silent to talkies. Thanks to some advancements in technology, we got the speakers, the recorders, and sound stages, many of which due to Broadway. And speaking of Broadway, what better way to show off the talkie trend than to give us a Broadway-like musical? Only Broadway Melody went a step further and even introduced Technicolor for the very first time in cinematic history (though only in a limited number of musical sequences, many of which didn't survive).So where does this film fall? Well, for the time, it certainly had a lot more to brag about for its accomplishments than most talkies did. But like a ton of other films from that time period that made the technological leap, it suffers from several of the faults that Hollywood was just not accustomed to at the time. The acting became uncomfortably awkward, the Technicolor looked really grainy and hideous-looking, the sound quality was very poor, and it simply became a lavish luxury.The story and the characters are completely forgettable as well. I just saw this movie on NetFlix, and I can't remember a thing about anybody or anything that went on. This is a primary example of giving us a half-baked story with cardboard cutouts as a means to showing off its technological advancements.So yeah, while its history is interesting, the movie itself is just an embarrassing bore. A lot of people may defend this film by saying that it simply didn't age well, and to "try viewing it from when it first came out," but this excuse simply isn't going to fly. Maybe if the story and characters were engaging, even with the embarrassing performances and dated technology, I may cut the film some slack. But the intent of the Oscars that year speaks for itself; Best Picture was the only Oscar it won that year, and it won for the spectacle alone. Even if that was because there were only 7 categories, the Oscar ceremony in subsequent years (with only 2 exceptions) will prove that there's no excuse for its lack of quality.It may not be the worst film to win Best Picture, but again, I can only recommend this film to those that are interested in learning of the Academy's humble roots. If you don't care about Oscar, then I'd seriously skip it. I will give it a generous--yet deserving, 4 out of 10.