The Horse's Head

The Plot: New York’s famous Brooklyn Bridge finally gets its due in Ken Burns’ first documentary. Presented in two halves, “Brooklyn Bridge” chronicles the bridge’s lengthy and dangerous construction as well as its legacy and impact on pop culture and architecture. And even at this early stage in Ken Burns’ career, we get plenty of zoomed-in historical photos with accompanying voice-overs. 

Why It Matters: The NFR gives some background for the film and praises Ken Burns as “a trusted public historian”. The write-up includes an interview with Ken Burns for the Library of Congress upon the induction of “Brooklyn Bridge” into the NFR. Did you know Ken Burns nominates films for NFR consideration too? Looks like I’m in esteemed company.

But Does It Really?: Because he’s known primarily for television, I didn’t realize Ken Burns has a few theatrical documentaries, and given Burns’ impact on documentary film of course one of them should be on the NFR. Like so many of Burns’ documentaries, “Brooklyn Bridge” quite impressively makes history come alive, turning what could have been bland engineering history into something much more personal and cinematic. I learned a lot about the Brooklyn Bridge thanks to this film, though to be fair I didn’t know anything about it going in; but still, it’s an informative, entertaining watch. Ken Burns is one of the most influential documentarians in American film, so having “Brooklyn Bridge” on the NFR is a natural choice to honor the man.

Everybody Gets One: Ken Burns knew he wanted to be a filmmaker since childhood, but it wasn’t until studying at Hampshire College that he decided on documentary filmmaking, fascinated by figuring out a way to “wake up American history”. In the late ‘70s, Burns received a copy of “The Great Bridge”, David McCullough’s book about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and knew he had to make a documentary based on it. “Brooklyn Bridge” was Ken Burns’ first documentary feature, and his first collaboration with PBS.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Brooklyn Bridge” was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 1982 Oscars, losing to Arnold Schwartzman’s “Genocide”, which…yeah this movie was not going to beat the Holocaust. Although Ken Burns didn’t win an Oscar for “Brooklyn Bridge” (or for his subsequent nomination for “The Statue of Liberty”), he has received five Emmys, four Peabodys, and a Grammy for his TV documentaries. 

• Also included among the tributes are plenty of film clips that either feature the bridge or prominently reference it. The films included are “The Bowery” with George Raft, “Way Out West” with Laurel and Hardy, “It Happened in Brooklyn” with Frank Sinatra, “Bowery Bugs” with Bugs Bunny, and “Tarzan’s New York Adventure” with…Tarzan.

• There are several references throughout to people being conned into buying the Brooklyn Bridge. While never explicitly mentioned within the documentary, this is a reference to George C. Parker, a con man in the early 20th century who would allegedly convince naive immigrants fresh off the boat that he constructed the Brooklyn Bridge and would sell it to them for everything they had. While it’s disputed that Parker ever actually did that, the idea of buying the Brooklyn Bridge became synonymous with gullible acts of stupidity. And if you believe that I got a bridge I can sell you.
• Playwright Arthur Miller makes an on-camera appearance at the end to provide his introspection about what the Brooklyn Bridge symbolizes. Though not directly referenced, Miller wrote the play “A View from the Bridge” about Italian-Americans in Brooklyn, so I assume that’s why he’s here.

• “Brooklyn Bridge” should not be confused with “Brooklyn Bridge”, the high-quality yet low-rated 1990s sitcom about Gary David Goldberg’s childhood in Brooklyn. Still, when am I ever going to get another chance to reference that show on this blog?

• David McCullough would go on to write two presidential autobiographies that would become prestige HBO projects: “Truman” and “John Adams”.

• Ken Burns’ follow-up to “Brooklyn Bridge” was a documentary about Shakers, but he came into prominence in 1990 with the success of his nine part series “The Civil War”. Other notable Ken Burns documentaries include “Baseball”, “Jazz”, and “The War”. As of this writing, Burns’ most recent series was his six-parter “The American Revolution” in 2025. In the aforementioned Library of Congress interview, Burns stated that he was “over the moon” about “Brooklyn Bridge” being added to the National Film Registry.

The Plot: Once upon a time, the beautiful Princess Aurora (voiced by Mary Costa) is born, and her kingdom celebrates at her christening. The festivities are thwarted, however, by Maleficent (voiced by Eleanor Audley) an evil fairy who wasn’t invited. She curses the baby to die on her 16th birthday by pricking the spindle of a spinning wheel. Thankfully, the good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, (voiced by Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen, and Barbara Luddy) change the spell so that she merely sleeps, to be awakened by true love’s first kiss. That’s about it plotwise, but please enjoy the stunningly beautiful animation as Walt Disney’s brand of storytelling reaches its pinnacle. 

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “magnificent score” and “vivid images and charming details”, while also singling out Maleficent as “one of Disney’s most enduring villainesses”. 

But Does It Really?: While not my personal favorite Disney animated film, “Sleeping Beauty” is, for my money, the most beautiful. The artistry on display is so good it distracts from the movie’s thin story and characters. But then again, “Sleeping Beauty” never pretends to be anything other than a wholesome, pure fairy tale, so there’s a lot I’m willing to forgive in the story department. Overall, the movie holds up well and still has enough enchanting moments to be considered among the best Disney films. While I never pushed to get “Sleeping Beauty” on the NFR, I’m glad it made the cut.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Sleeping Beauty” received a single Oscar nomination: Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) for George Bruns’ adaptation of the Tchaikovsky ballet score. The film lost to another NFR entry: “Porgy and Bess”.

• For what it’s worth, Princess Aurora is one of the few Disney heroines for which both of her birth parents are alive and stay alive for the whole movie. Granted she wasn’t raised by them and her mother doesn’t even have a name, but I’ll take what I can get.
• Ah, Maleficent. When it comes to Disney villains, you can’t do much better than a vengeful fairy who looks like the devil and sounds like Cinderella’s stepmother. Eleanor Audley is two for two with iconic Disney villains, and this is her masterwork, cackling and chewing the scenery in her limited screentime. Bonus shoutout to the legendary Marc Davis, supervising animator for both Maleficent and Aurora. Talk about range!

• Outside of Audley, I don’t have a lot to say about the voice cast. Mary Costa definitely has the pipes for Aurora, as does Bill Shirley as Prince Phillip. All three good fairies play well off each other, especially Luddy as stubborn Merryweather. And NFR buffs may recognize Marvin Miller as the narrator; he also narrated “Gerald McBoing-Boing” and voiced Robby the Robot in “Forbidden Planet”.
• In true Disney fashion, a little too much time is spent fleshing out the side characters rather than our protagonists. The fairies are fun and endearing, especially when they try to plan Aurora’s birthday, but most of the film’s screentime is devoted to them rather than Aurora. We don’t even see grown-up Aurora (or Briar Rose, her witness relocation name) until 18 minutes into the movie. It also doesn’t help that Aurora is, ya know, asleep for most of the third act.

• In a film filled with okay songs, “Once Upon a Dream” is the sole standout, serving as the film’s leitmotif (even being referenced as a minor plot point). It’s a charming sequence, although there’s an unintentional lol moment for me when the song ends and Prince Philip softly asks Aurora, “Who are you?”. These are the questions you ask before you start romantically singing at someone.

• I’m trying very hard not to poke holes in a fairy tale, but I have a few questions. First off, they ban all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, so what did they do for clothes for 16 years? And if the curse is lifted after sunset on Aurora’s 16th birthday, why would you bring her back to the castle before sunset? I know, I know, it’s a fairy tale, just let it be. 
• I love the reaction shot of Maleficent as she watches her goons capture Prince Philip. It’s like Jane Greer watching the fight/getting secretly turned on in “Out of the Past”.

• That’s one heck of a finale. The score amps up with the action as Prince Philip escapes Maleficent’s dungeon, fights off her goons, and does battle with Maleficent as a fire-breathing dragon. You just wish it went on a bit longer. 

• Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned in my research is that in the Perrault version, the prince doesn’t break the spell with a kiss, but rather by being  “captivated by her beauty”. So they did have consent back then!

• Speaking of the original fairy tale, are we not doing the second part where Prince Philip’s mother is an ogress who wants to eat Aurora and their children? You know what, good call.

• Like so many other popular Disney franchises, the characters from “Sleeping Beauty” pop up in countless other Disney media, most notably Maleficent who typically serves as the leader of all Disney villains. Maleficent is prominently featured in the theme park show Fantasmic, though due to one viral incident her dragon form no longer breathes fire.

• Speaking of Maleficent, the mistress of all evil has gotten not one but two live-action remake/prequel/sequels starring Angelina Jolie. The first “Maleficent” hit when live-action Disney remakes were still a novelty, but unfortunately “Mistress of Evil” arrived just as we were all getting sick of those damn things.

• But the biggest influence “Sleeping Beauty” had was on Disney animation itself. The film’s financial loss led to layoffs at Walt Disney Productions, and Walt determined that future animation films had to be done much more cheaply. Starting with 1961’s “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”, the original drawings were Xeroxed directly onto animation cels (rather than being hand-painted), resulting in the “scratchy” animation style that defined the next era of Disney animation. It would take 30 years and another fairy tale – “The Little Mermaid” – before Disney animation hit its next zenith. 

Further Viewing: “Grand Canyon”, the Oscar-winning short that preceded “Sleeping Beauty” in its original theatrical run. This is why there’s a Grand Canyon diorama at Disneyland!

Another year, another round of NFR nominations. But this isn’t just any year for me: it’s my 10^th year nominating films for the NFR, and to celebrate I wanted to do something a little different. Of the 249 films I’ve nominated over the last nine years, 51 have been inducted, which means 198 have become this blog’s perennial bridesmaids. So this year I’m choosing my nominees through a point system I’ve dubbed “The Horse’s Head’s Tournament of Losers Ballot 2026!”. I’ve taken each of my nominated films from the last nine years and assigned them points via a system so unnecessarily complex it would make you ask “Are you okay?” and “Seriously, are you okay? Do want to talk about it? Maybe go for a walk?” I’m fine, I promise. But I appreciate the concern.

Without further ado, my NFR Tournament of Losers Ballot 2026!

1. Scarface (1983): 1423 points
2. Aliens (1986): 1389 points
3. Aladdin (1992): 1297 points
4. Frozen (2013): 1153 points
5. The Avengers (2012): 1075 points
6. Fight Club (1999): 1013 points
7. Spider-Man (2002): 986 points
8. Avatar (2009): 964 points
9. Gremlins (1984): 959 points
10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001): 955 points
11. The Sixth Sense (1999): 831 points
12. Finding Nemo (2003): 830 points
13. Poltergeist (1982): 824 points
14. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997): 756 points
15. Gladiator (2000): 741 points
16. Beetlejuice (1988): 725 points
17. Alice in Wonderland (1951): 642 points
18. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954): 591 points
19. Skyfall (2012): 586 points
20. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961): 581 points
21. Fatal Attraction (1987): 561 points
22. The Great Escape (1963): 558 points
23. Seven (1995): 554 points
24. Edward Scissorhands (1990): 551 points
25. Speed (1994): 542 points
26. The Wolf Man (1941): 539 points
27. The Usual Suspects (1995): 529 points
28. The Jungle Book (1967): 523 points TIE
29. Up (2009): 523 points TIE
30. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993): 516 points
31. Mean Girls (2004): 495 points
32. Good Will Hunting (1997): 485 points
33. The Seven Year Itch (1955): 481 points
34. Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957): 460 points
35. 300 (2007): 453 points
36. The Elephant Man (1980): 451 points
37. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985): 446 points
38. Footloose (1984): 441 points
39. Space Jam (1996): 431 points
40. Big (1988): 422 points
41. Cast Away (2000): 417 points
42. Sleepless in Seattle (1993): 414 points
43. Song of the South (1946): 411 points
44. Driving Miss Daisy (1989): 409 points
45. Inglourious Basterds (2009): 408 points
46. Boogie Nights (1997): 399 points
47. Blue Velvet (1986): 393 points

Now you may be wondering, “Wait, 47? Didn’t you say you nominated 50?” Yes, I did. Thanks for paying attention; we should go for that walk. I swapped out the bottom three for a few ringers. Apologies to the trio of movies that made the Top 50 via the point system: Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Labyrinth (1986), and Anchorman (2004). I will prioritize these three on my 2027 ballot, though it would be funny if all three of them got inducted this year.

My first two ringer films are two personal favorites I nominate every year: “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963) and “Original Cast Album: Company” (1970). I wrote a whole post explaining how great they are. Shout out to “Mad World”, which was eight points shy of making the list on its own.

As for my 50th film, I’m picking a 2016 film that is freshly eligible for the NFR, and there was only one movie that I felt should get the nod: Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”. As a tribute to the golden age of Hollywood musicals and with winning lead performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, this film has maintained…Wait, there was a mistake. “Moonlight”, you guys have been nominated for the NFR. This is not a joke. “Moonlight” is my 50th NFR nominee. 

What can I say? I love topical humor.

December 27th, 2007: The NFR bumps it up to 475 movies with its Class of 2007. As I find it increasingly difficult to come up with new ways of saying “I’ve watched all 25 movies, so here’s my recap”, I’ll just say that I’ve watched all 25 movies, so here’s my recap:

• Tol’able David (1921): “a crowd-pleaser in its day”, “any modern viewing should be reserved strictly for film buffs.” 
• Mighty Like a Moose (1926): “holds up well in the laughs department”
• The Strong Man (1926): “makes the NFR cut as representation of Harry Langdon, with the added bonus of being Frank Capra’s directorial debut.”
• The Sex Life of the Polyp (1928): “intentionally droll, but some of the jokes still land.”
• Grand Hotel (1932): “the kind of all-star affair that could only be made in the studio system.”
• The Three Little Pigs (1933): “an iconic piece of early Disney”
• Our Day (1938): “a notch above your average home movie”, “You win this round, NFR.”
• The Women (1939): “a time capsule of gender politics of the ‘30s, and boasts a legendary roster of talent”
• Wuthering Heights (1939): “as close to a good film adaptation of the novel as we’ll ever get.”
• Dance, Girl, Dance (1940): “the kind of female-driven character study that [would become] common in the ‘70s and ‘80s”
• Now, Voyager (1942): “shows us why we should remember Bette Davis in the first place”
• The House I Live In (1945): “let’s just say my opinion of this film is ‘The Fence I Sit On’.”
• The Naked City (1948): “There are [over 900] movies in the National Film Registry. This has been one of them.”
• In a Lonely Place (1950): “[an] underrated [gem] of the era”
• Oklahoma! (1955): “a B+ effort lost amongst the A+ musicals already on this list.”
• 12 Angry Men (1957): “one of my favorite movies and only gets better with age.”
• Glimpse of the Garden (1957): “it’s not what you’re filming, but how you’re filming it.”
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): “the most meditative western you’ll find this side of ‘Unforgiven’.”
• Bullitt (1968): “makes the list for its iconic car chase”
• Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son (1969-1971): “another NFR entry that may just be for us completionists.”
• Peege (1972): “definitely worth a viewing. Just keep the tissue handy.”
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): “any movie that manages to make five notes and mashed potatoes iconic is gonna end up on the NFR”
• Days of Heaven (1978): “remembered for specific elements that are so good they help make up for the less successful story beats”
• Back to the Future (1985): “pure fun from beginning to end”
• Dances with Wolves (1990): “a wonderfully executed western epic.”

Before we go, some housekeeping. Once again real life is calling me away from the blog, so “The Horse’s Head” will be taking a summer hiatus. The goal is to be back in the fall with more posts (plus my Class of 2026 nominations), but I’ll keep you up to date if things change. As always, thanks for reading, and please keep taking care of each other.

The Plot: Around 1916, steelworker Bill (Richard Gere) flees Chicago with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and younger sister Linda (Linda Manz) following an altercation at work. The trio end up in the Texas panhandle working as grain shockers for a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard). To avoid gossip among the other hired hands, Bill and Abby pose as siblings, though rumors persist. When Bill learns that the Farmer is dying of an unknown disease, he convinces Abby to marry the Farmer so that they can inherit his fortune. From here we get a complicated love triangle, set against some of the most beautiful visuals ever committed to film.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “an impressionist painting for the screen”, praising Néstor Almendros’ “sublime” cinematography and Ennio Morricone’s “elegiac” musical score.

But Does It Really?: This is another NFR entry I would partially preserve. That cinematography? Print out each frame and hang it in a museum. That score? Have it playing on a loop in the same museum. Everything else about this movie? It’s fine. Ultimately, “Days of Heaven” is remembered for specific elements that are so good they help make up for the less successful story beats, plus compared to Malick’s other NFR entry “Badlands”, “Days” is more in line with what we think of as a “Terrence Malick movie”. I understand the NFR induction of “Days of Heaven” (it is beloved and respected enough that its absence would be too conspicuous), but personally it’s not my thing.

Shout Outs: Abby, Linda, and the Farmer briefly watch a scene from Charlie Chaplin’s “The Immigrant”.

Title Track: The film’s working title was “Stay Hungry”, which co-producer Harold Schneider used for his 1976 bodybuilding movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The title “Days of Heaven” was taken from a Bible passage; something about the land being heaven on earth. Deuteronomy: Look it up.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Days of Heaven” received four Oscar nominations, winning one for Néstor Almendros’ cinematography. To date, this is the sole Oscar win for a Terrence Malick film. Even more surprising, Ennio Morricone’s nod for Original Score was his first Oscar nomination ever, and it would be another 28 years and four nominations before they finally gave him a lifetime achievement Oscar (he would also win a competitive Oscar for 2015’s “The Hateful Eight”).

• It’s time to praise the many beautiful compositions of Néstor Almendros. What helps make this movie’s cinematography stick out is the reliance on natural light, giving the film a more earthy, modern quality. It also helps that much of the film is shot during “magic hour”. Everything looks better with a sunset sky as your backdrop. Bonus shoutout to  Haskell Wexler, credited here as “additional photography”. Turns out Almendros had to leave production halfway through, and Wexler came in to complete the project, filming by his estimation more than half of the finished film. While Wexler was initially pissed about not receiving a co-cinematographer credit, he eventually came to accept that he was ultimately carrying out Almendros’ vision for the film rather than his own.

• I always used to get this movie mixed up with “Heaven’s Gate”, Michael Cimino’s epic period piece from around the same time that killed the New Hollywood movement once and for all. There’s a little bit of overlap between the two movies (both are profiled in Peter Biskind’s “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”) but watching “Days” made me see that they are very different films.
• One of the ways Malick “fixed it in post” was scrapping most of the film’s dialogue and filling any gaps with improvised narration/commentary from Linda Manz as Bill’s little sister. I’m not quite sure it works, especially given her thick Chicagoan accent. 
• On a related note, I appreciate the film’s spare usage of dialogue, but it means everything is conveyed through subtle glances and camera compositions. I had to stay on my toes during this viewing.
• This is a good point to reiterate that the film is an original screenplay and not, as I assumed based on the film’s epic yet meandering tone, an adaptation from a novel. 

• Much like Gere’s performance, it’s hard to judge Brooke Adams’ work because the movie she made during production is not the same movie that got released. But I think she’s doing okay as the object of everyone’s affection. Fun Fact; Brooke Adams is married to Tony Shalhoub!
• The brother/sister thing is a weird plot point to have. Just…why? I guess the idea of two adults not being married was just too much for people in 1916.
• The locust invasion is probably the film’s highlight, and contains the most repeated bit of trivia about this movie: The shot of the locusts flying out of the field was filmed by dropping peanut shells onto the field and then playing the footage in reverse. To everyone’s credit, I didn’t notice any of the trickery involved. Well done, Malick.

• I love seeing which random people get mentioned in a movie’s Special Thanks section of the credits, and “Days of Heaven” has a doozy: Redd Foxx! Apparently a punchline from Foxx’s stand-up act is used in the film, which required Foxx’s permission. Definitely missed that.