Saltzman Sees...Black Hawk Down (2001)

Jerry Bruckheimer Presnts...Black Hawk Down (2001)

Saltzman Sees...The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Writer and Director Woody Allen Presents...The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Saltzman Sees...A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind won my Best Director (Ron Howard) and Best Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman and Sylvia Nasar) for 2001.

Saltzman Sees...2001 Oscars

2001 Nominees & Award Winners of My Oscars

• Best Picture

A Beautiful Mind
I Am Sam
The Majestic
61*


• Best Director

Billy Crystal (61*)
Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind)
Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam)
Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven)


• Best Family Picture

Dr. Dolittle 2
Monsters Inc.
Shrek


• Best Screenplay

Akiva Goldsman & Sylvia Nasar (A Beautiful Mind)
Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven)
Kristine Johnson & Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam)
Hank Steinberg (61*)


• Best Actor

Jim Carrey (The Majestic)
Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)
Sean Penn (I Am Sam)
Denzel Washington (Training Day)


• Best Actress

Halle Berry (Monster's Ball)
Gwenyth Paltrow (Shallow Hal)
Michelle Pfeiffer (I Am Sam)
Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive)


• Best Supporting Actor

Kevin Costner (3000 Miles To Graceland)
Zach Galifianakis (Out Cold)
Martin Landau (The Majestic)
Brad Pitt (Ocean's Eleven)


• Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind)
Courtney Cox (3000 Miles To Graceland)
Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam)
Laurie Holden (The Majestic)

To see all the movies I've seen in 2001, Click Here

Saltzman Sees...I Am Sam (2001)

I am Sam was my Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Actress (Michelle Pfeiffer) 

and Best Supporting Actress (Dakota Fanning)

Saltzman Sees...Out Cold (2001)

Saltzman Sees Presents...The Funniest Movie of 2001: Out Cold

What to do when Zach Galifianakis passes out drunk...

Saltzman Sees...Shrek (2001)

Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy began a journey in 2001 that would allow Dreamworks to compete with Disney Pixar to this day.  Myers, who has been brilliant in the past with outlandish characters from Saturday Night Live, including two Wayne's World movies and an Austin Powers trilogy, raises the bar as Shrek.  Myers creates depth and warmth in a over-sized ugly ogre that is captivating.

Shrek teaches us that falling in love is about what is in one's heart and mind and not about superficial things like appearance.  It is a beautiful love story and one the whole family will enjoy.  It is the Best Family Picture of 2001.

Saltzman Sees...61* (2001)

Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane are Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 61*.  Billy Crystal creates a perfect look back at the 1961 season that pitted Yankee against Yankee against Babe Ruth as two men chased the most hallowed record in sports.  Pepper and Jane are incredible as they transform into the former Yankee legends.  It is the movie Crystal was always suppose to make, and it is flawless.  If you don't know the story of Roger Maris, this is a must see.  It shows everything that is right, and everything that is wrong with America's pastime.  It is one of the best Sports Movies ever made, and another shining example of why HBO always seems to create beautiful films for us to enjoy.

Billy Crystal won my Best Director of 2001.

Saltzman Sees...The Majestic (2001)

The Majestic is a film that captures the sincere beauty of the movies and why we go in the first place. Jim Carrey stars as Peter Appleton, a screenplay writer in love with Hollywood. Carrey loses his memory during the film and while he tries to make sense of his new reality and tries to remember his past, he falls in love.  The most beautiful love story of the film, however is the one between Harry Trimble, played by Martin Landeau, and the movies.  The Majestic is an old run down movie house that Landau's character used to run before the war.  It is then brought back to life with the help of the entire town's blood sweat and tears.  Landau and Carrey brilliant and capture the true love affair with movies that we all have.  The entire cast is captivating as they show the audience what truly matters in this life is that you open your heart and let people in.

Martin Landau won my Best Supporting Actor of 2001.

"It was the only way to fall in love." ~ Martin Landau

Landau was interviewed in 2001 by Nancy Pfefferman, talking about what made movie houses such as The Majestic, so wonderful:  "You'd walk in off those hot streets into a nice, air-cooled theater and you'd spend all day watching Cagney or Jimmy Stewart. It cost all of 17 cents. Woody (Allen) and I both fell in love with the movies at those old theaters. It was the only way to fall in love." Pfefferman felt there was a Frank Capra like quality to the film.

Landau, when asked about the movie from Rebecca Murray and Fred Topel, agreed about the Frank Capra connection: "I read the script and I was very moved by it. It was like Frank Capra had put this on his shelf in 1951 and forgot about it."

The Majestic is a "Capra (esque)" masterpiece about why movies find a warm place in our hearts and stay with us for generations.  Landau felt it decades ago growing up in Brooklyn, and it is still felt today.  If only these movie houses still existed so we could go see today's movies the way they were meant to be shown.

Saltzman Sees...2001 Top Ten List

2001

1. I am Sam
2. A Beautiful Mind
3. The Majestic
4. 61*
5. Ocean's Eleven
6. Shrek
7. Out Cold
8. Training Day
9. Black Hawk Down
10. Spy Game

For all of the movies I have seen in 2001, Go to: http://saltinuts40.tripod.com/movies2001.html