Movie Madness
The Academy Awards airs on March 10th and it’s hard to believe when the first one took place in 1929 with 270 people in attendance, it lasted for only 15 minutes! They run a tad longer now, but thankfully, the Academy instituted a 45-second acceptance speech rule after the 2002 ceremony ran for a whopping 4 hours and 23 minutes. Still, I suspect there will be plenty of time to do a puzzle (or two) as you watch and here are some nominations for ones you may want to choose from!
I’ve always been a huge movie buff, so much so that I took a film class in college, where we studied two of the movies – Rear Window and Citizen Kane - on this Vintage Cinema puzzle from Re-marks. This 1000 piece stretched out almost as long as those aforementioned Oscar speeches, so I was thankful I had a puzzle roll, otherwise it would not fit on my board. As with all Re-marks, I used the poster provided during the build as the image is never complete on the box.
Speaking about posters, this and the next two puzzles I completed really set the scene to show off the evolution of movie posters. Through the end of the 1940s posters tended to feature an illustration from the film. In the ‘50s and ‘60s posters became increasingly conceptual. Photographs became more popular in the ‘70s, leading to today’s poster style starting in the 1980s.
This 1000-piece Boomer’s Favorite Movies from Hart Puzzles featured a ton of movie posters, offering just a sneak peek of some, and all of others. The Beatles are my favorite band, so it was a delight to find A Hard Day’s Night right next to my all-time favorite movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. I also loved the movie snacks strewn about the puzzle, although I didn’t find my go-to Raisinets. Here’s a fun fact - did you know that movie candy boxes came about to make it easier to share without candy falling in between the seats?
Boomer’s Favorite Movies by Hart Puzzles
Last up in the movie poster montages I completed was Springbok’s 1000-piece Going To The Movies. I really enjoy the cut of Springbok’s odd-shaped pieces, as there’s never a danger of putting one in the wrong spot and the quality was good on this one with no need to mash pieces in, like happens occasionally with this brand. This brought back my teen years and features my second favorite movie, which was actually a series. Can you guess what it is? Keep reading to find out…
Going To The Movies by Springbok
French illustrator, Alexandre Clérisse, and Heye have a series of puzzles that honor movie masters Alfred Hitchcock, Wes Anderson, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino and the one I chose, Steven Spielberg Films. The Seek and Find list on the box challenged me to spot different elements in the artwork, including Spielberg himself and a character from my second favorite film – Marty McFly from Back To The Future (are you sensing how much I love movies that deal with going back to change your reality?).
It also featured a film that is very special to Spielberg – Schindler’s List. It took in over $322 million, but he donated all his earnings to the Shoah Foundation, an organization that makes audio-visual interviews of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides.
Steven Spielberg Films by Heye
Another Heye that called for me to take “action” was this 1500-piece Hollyworld. I don’t often do puzzles larger than 1000 pieces, as they don’t typically hold my interest, but this one captivated me! It was very clever how the scenery shifted, with different sections for movies that take place in sand, sea, sky, city and jungle. Another clever “special effect” Munich-born, artist Christoph Schöne implemented was to keep characters from older films illustrated in black and white!
Hollyworld by Heye
When I was a child I’d count the days until Easter, so I could watch The Wizard of Oz on television, although I did have to look away whenever the wicked witch appeared. Sadly, others felt the same, resulting in many of Margaret Mitchell’s scenes being removed from the movie. A shame, as she suffered so much on the set, including having to recuperate for 6 weeks after being burned in the scene when she first appears as the witch and getting terribly sick from the toxic, copper-based green paint she had to wear! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz features many interesting connections inspired by the movie, both on the puzzle artwork and in details outlined on the fold-out poster that comes with it. This was my first Laurence King puzzle and I’m tempted to try Inside The Chocolate Factory next to discover more about another childhood classic!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Laurence King
Okay, this blog has gone a little long – it’s almost time to cue the orchestra to get me off the stage! But, let me squeeze in one final 1000-piece puzzle, Classic Rewind by Galison. As a person who enjoys her puns, I appreciated artist Bethany Robertson’s funny movie name tweaks (my personal favorite is “Sleeveless In Seattle”) and the trip down memory lane before streaming services meant I could toss my video rental card. This was also my first foil puzzle and while the high shine made it tricky, like in the movies, good lighting meant everything and saved the day!
As the title of my last puzzle suggested, it’s time for me to wind things up, but I hope, like Sally Field, I can say, “You like me, you really, really like me!” - or at least that you enjoyed the movie-themed puzzles that were truly the stars of this blog! Which was your favorite? Cast your award-winning vote below!
The End
– Lisa @lisalovespuzzles
Very entertaining blog. My winner is the 1500 piece Heye. Loved the special care they took differentiating different locations and eras
I love the new Heye film puzzles. I have a few in my to do pile and should really put them together!
