I saw basically no advertising for The Last Duel. House of Gucci on the other hand, I saw lots of advertising. If you don’t advertise your film, people won’t know there’s a film to see. The most I heard about The Last Duel was Scott’s interview where he called my generation stupid which I doesn’t make me to want to support a film in which a director insults me for not seeing. It didn’t know about it because he didn’t freaking advertise it!

It's a shame Last duel has flopped and avoided the award season that year.... Jodie Comer really deserved the nomination!!!

Jared Leto is the definition of ridiculous overacting. I want Leto and Jonathan Majors' Kang together in a one minute scene. This minute would produce enough cringe to make millions of multiverses collapse.

We need a new Oscar category: ‘Most Obvious Bargain Bin Wig’

I love house of gucci because it is unintentionally fun and campy but would never call it a genuinely good film that deserved academy recognition. I was rooting for power of the dog that year.

Honestly, whoever was responsible for the marketing of The Last Duel didn't do a great job because, being a avid fan of films, the first time I heard about the film was when I heard that it bombed at the box office. As you said, a medievel epic written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon AND starring the two of them that's also directed by Ridley Scott? How did I miss that?? shame.

They made a movie about Italians without any Italians in it. Except Gaga and Pacino.

I actually enjoyed House of Gucci. I don't think it should have been an awards contender, but I thought it made for a decent over-the-top soap opera type of drama. I had a fun, dumb time with it.

Lady gaga was really good in this movie but the script was bad honestly. Adam Driver was not really good here

I remember seeing the BAFTA nominations and only seeing Lady Gaga make it as the only awards season contender, and was like, well, Gaga is winning the BAFTA and the Oscar. If Kristen Stewart can’t get in for playing a British icon, and Gaga could, that spoke volumes at the time, and then out of nowhere, Jessica Chastain picked up steam and ended up winning.

Please don't even remind me of the heartbreak of The Last Duel's disappointing run. I was crushed, especially given how magnificent that film was. More deserving of Oacar attention than House of Gucci.

I don't get the Jared Leto casting. Like they couldn't find a middle age actor to play the role.

As far as the Last Duel, we’re talking about a deadly serious, awards-type medieval epic released during the Halloween season. Who's great idea was that? I too usually blame this generation and their habits, but cellphones had nothing to do with this miscalculation. Look at Shawshank Redemption. Even in 1994 audiences weren't going to trip over themselves to see such heavy stuff in the theater, and prices today are higher as well as streaming being more convenient for digesting these heavier properties.

Also, for The Last Duel: In addition to the non-existent marketing, I tend to think that the reason the duel was fought in the first place given the #metoo movement was something audiences just weren't ready or willing to watch. And ditto to Jodie Comer for not being recognized for her utterly stellar work. I really felt this movie would be her coming out party as a big time female Hollywood lead.

A lot of male actors talk about method acting but don't get half the negative discourse say an actress would when talking about the same thing. All Gaga did during her press tour was answer questions about how she took on the role of Patrizia and her process. Shocker: It turns out she's a method actress. If you have followed Gaga along her 10+ year career then you'd realise how dedicated of an artist she is when it comes to working on every single project. She's literally bled to death on stage, worn a dress made of meat, bursted out of an egg/vessel, jumped off the roof of a stadium, been vomited on in the name of performance art, filmed herself hanging upside down for hours on end by Robert Wilson etc and yet people are shocked because it turns out she's a method actress?? That's literally who she's been since the beginning of her career and to me it just shows how passionate she is. It's not her fault a lot of media outlets used and exaggerated her words for clickbait articles. Perhaps she should do less interviews during her next press cycle as her name alone is a draw however I wouldn't have an agenda against her simply for speaking her truth. In fact I'd applaud her for being so brave with her constant risk-taking career choices. That's all.

I think Ridley Scott’s greatness has been erratic. From classics Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, and Gladiator to duds like G.I. Jane, Exodus, The Counselor, and 1942. I was shocked though that House of Gucci, didn’t do better at the Oscars. An all-star cast and a worldwide iconic director, that was a can’t-miss lineup that missed. Gaga missing and costumes missing was strange. Jared Leto was gleefully peculiar in it. Not worthy of Oscar but not worthy of Razzie either. It was the makeup on him that was nominated. The Last Duel was the better film but I predicted right away that that film would miss out on awards because the campaigning for it was lackluster. Will Scott come back for Napoloen this year or Gladiator 2 next year? We’ll see…

Why Napoleon flopped at the Oscars - can’t wait for it!

I heard House of Gucci was two totally different movies stapled onto each other in the middle. It couldnt decide whether to be a complete history of Gucci or a murder suspense story. Should have gone with the latter.

I LOVED that the academy basically said “here, I’ll throw this Hair and Makeup nomination at you, because you don’t deserve anything else” 😂💀. This movie was just bad, long and bad.

Justice for Jodie Comer. She deserves to be in Best Actress race on that season. 😭

Gaga didn't exactly endear herself on the campaign trail, embarrassing herself with crazy method talk. She comes off as entirely too self-important and insecure. Hopefully that will pass in time. She was excellent in the role with some great acting instincts, but a different director may have pulled her back from chewing the scenery and hamming it up too much. But Scott allowed the whole cast to go down the Chef Boyardee trail. I don't understand though about the relationship between SAG and Oscars. I assume Gaga was nominated by her peers for SAG but don't only actors vote for actors with the Academy? How did she get nominated for literally everything but the Oscar? The film itself was truly terrible though. That sank the chances of everyone.

Because it was Long and Terrible. One of the best Oscar corrections of all time. The fact that the rest of the industry was fooled by this absolute mess of a movie was embarrassing.

I think the fact she missed, will benefit her after the Joker 2 drops. Think she will change her campaign strategy, and come for her second best actress nomination.

Not only was The Last Duel thé better of his two that year it had extraordinary performances deserving of OSCARS!!! Jodie comer I’m looking at you !!

Even though he clearly works hard it does feel like Ridley Scott just rushes through his films and if he doesn't have a solid script to begin with that rushing through can just exacerbate the problems in the script then he relies on the visual the paste over the problems. Also I feel like we'll be getting Why Napoleon Flopped at the Oscars in the new year.

How gaga put the most intimating moment like being LIVE ON STAGE AT THE OSCARS on hold to help Liza when she got a little confused, but ALSO give the R-E-S-P-E-C-T to a legend, who comes from film family royalty! It just says everything you need to know about Gaga as a human being and why she is so loved. That's why when I see a comment stating Gaga was grand and full of herself during the campaigning for the film I can almost guarantee that person either doesn't know anything about her really or the person is looking for something to point out about her in particular because she's the easy target. Tbh people give her a harder time compared to other actors who act the same way in campaign interviews. Like a lot of male actors for example but no one comments on that...

I literally don’t care about or put any stock in the Oscar’s, like I feel most people nowadays, but as little value as they have imo I’m always still interested in everyone debating about the different categories etc. I haven’t watched the Oscar’s in like yearssss but I’ll still totally watch a video on yt about them 😂

I honest to god have never heard of “The Last Duel” and have no memory of any seeing any ads for it at the time.

House of Gucci is one of the WORST films I have ever seen in a theater. My friend and I were lauging out loud throughout. Its a drama btw. The script was terrible and the direction all over the place. I think Adam Driver and Jeremy Irons come out pretty unscathed but Jared Leto and Pacino should be ashamed of themselves. How the hell did the producers get enough insurance to cover all that scenery chewing? Gaga was actually not bad and had a good sense of her character but the script gave her no legitimate motivation and she needed a good directior to keep her from going too over the top which happened too frequently.

The Last Duel remains one of my favourite modern cinema experiences. Snuck in a bottle of red wine. Drinking during those big banquet scenes... Unmatched!

Jared Leto's performance was hilariously bad in this movie. It's all the best and the worst that this movie have where he had the worst performance compare to the entire cast yet he was entertaining for all the wrong reasons. I couldn't almost believe that he was getting an Oscar buzz, I'm just happy that he didn't made it through 😂😂

Also, i think its possible that Hollywood just really hates Ridley Scott and refuse to nominate anything he does regardless of how good bc they just dont like him or like working with him.

The Jackhammer scene lol!!!! This generation's Nomi in the pool lol!!!!

Your 200th video, congratulations! Your delightfully wry comments and insightful observations never fail to engage, entertain and edify. Bravo, Brian!

House of Gucci bored me to tears. It wasn't even over the top enough to be entertaining. It would have been better as an unintentional comedy than the drudge fest it actually was. Even Gaga's commitment couldn't elevate this.

Ohh CONGRATS on your 200th video Brian!! Another excellent and truly interesting video, as for all 199 before ... I bet the next 200 come in less than half the time now that you're a real professional!! BRAVO Brian!! My feeling is that Ridley Scott, very much like Scorsese and Spielberg too, are way to harshly judged now that they are considered "masters", for I think that people would be jumping out of their pants if any of their "less successful" film had been made by unknown directors, or even most other directors ... we expect way too much from him now!!

Ouchy, Brian! Way harsh! The running time was a bit to long and could have been trimmed but was an entertaining story with some excellent performances mostly from Lady Gaga who deserved a nomination for sure!

I remember it all feeling a little gauche. You don’t assemble that cast, subject matter, director and release date unless you’re Targeting Oscar. You have to show up to every event and interview for months, but you can never say out loud that you want to win the little statue.

Her performance was the best thing about it. If that movie had been made better & minus the over the top feel, she might have had a chance.

It really feels like the first time Gaga asked us to take her seriously as an actress. Yes, she was previously nominated, but let’s be honest. Ally in ASIB isn’t that far from Gaga’s own persona.

Tons of reasons why House of Gucci didn't get tons of Oscar Nods: The Critical Reception Overshadowed By Other Films Like Licorice Pizza, Encanto Released the same year as The Last Duel Ridley Scott himself

Lady Gaga was fantastic in a not-very-good film. She deserved an Oscar nomination but ultimately likely finished in the dreaded sixth spot.

Happy 200th anniversary Brian been here since the start !

I remember putting it on on an overnight bus trip and falling asleep midway through, only to be awaken by the murder plot and inmediate shot. Let me tell you I did not believe at all thats what had happened in the movie

Anyone who saw the movie knew immediately it wasnt getting a thing and it was correct

Aww the last fuel looks amazing! Right up my alley! But i NEVER heard of it ever! Where was the marketing for that?? House of Gucci was absolutely everywhere you couldn't escape it

congrats on the 200th video! love your content

Happy 200th video, Brian! HOG makes a good, campy film, although what I remember best is Lady Gaga’s awards season campaign for this. 🤭

I just watched House of Gucci this past weekend (skipped it in theatres after it's dismal box office and mixed reviews). I ended up thoroughly enjoying it (although they could have cut 40 minutes of it as it does drag in certain sections) but Lady Gaga was marvelous as Patricia. She should have at least been nominated in the Best Actress category. I am seriously surprised that she wasn't because I enjoyed her performance more than Jessica Chastain's "Eyes of Tammy Faye" wining one.

How ironic that this came out the same day as Ridley Scott's birthday!

I never even heard of The last duel

Thanks again, Brian, for an excellent commentary. I agree with you about "House of Gucci." It was way too long, and I was disappointed in the movie overall. Keep up the great work. You remain my favorite film critic. Everyone else pales in comparison to you -- a class act in every way!

If you haven't done this before, can you do a video to explain the voting tining for the different award shows? You always say how important the other award shows are for getting Oscar nominations/votes. When is tge voting done?

Oscar expert and brother bro cameos, we love it ❤❤❤

Jared Leto was absolutely terrible in this movie. Gaga couldn't save the bizarre tone either. I did laugh out loud a couple of times at how camp it felt. I have to say...I liked the jack hammer scene. Thank you Adam Driver and Gaga for the commitment to that!

He should have won best directer for Alien. Period

I liked the movie but that’s it. Jared Leto was awful, though. On a side note, I really liked All the Money in the World. I wish that got more attention.

I'd argue that pre-Oscars, any time Gaga was nominated for a precursor, THAT was the surprise. If you listen to any Oscar pundit podcasts or other channels...people's predictions that Gaga *might* get Oscar nominated was more of a "Oh God, is this REALLY gonna happen? She keeps popping up." rather than a "Here we go!! Gaga's getting #2!" When the nomination day came and Stewart--who WAS very Oscar buzzed for a while, and then started to fall off the radar for a bit towards the end--got her deserved nomination, everyone breathed a sigh of relief rather than a gasp of surprise.

Jared Leto's performance in HoG was so campy it sucked the life out of a more serious storyline. I had a problem with some of the music selection, specifically during the wedding scene. The song that was used toward the end of it didn’t come out until at least a decade AFTER it and just took me out of it. And OMG the "Jackhammer" scene 😂😂😂 I love that name, but wouldn’t the more correct term be... the "Piledriver" scene... 😎

Ridley Scott's "reasoning" for why The Last Dual flopped is ridiculous. I saw this movie on opening weekend and had high expectations from the trailer, i thought overall it was average at best. Not one I'll rush to rewatch anytime soon. Jodie Comer was exceptional and stood out as the star performance. She should have probably recieved an Oscar nod for this role. (Napoleon is also average.) House of Gucci was an average film that was hyped up and failed to deliver. Gaga was pretty good and her Oscar nod was deserved. The only standout performance for me in this whole cast. I will give credit to Jeremy Irons for his performance. It's a shame he wasnt featured more.

Congratulations on your 200th video

Gaga was phenomenal in the movie. She was so camp, but at the same time she was fragil. I mean if house of gucci is consider a "fiasco" gurl, look around a little. Lets hope the joker 2 is amazing

Congrats on your 200th video!

This is a very good and serious analysis, like all the other videos in this channel. I was disappointed by Gaga missing the best actress slot at the Oscars, but I think it was mainly because of the bad reviews of the movie (frightfully so). Although, I think that will help her a bit with Joker: Folie À Deux.

I was looking forward to this movie, I still haven’t seen it, maybe I’ll keep it that way after your review

Please make a video about Jessica Lange 🙏

Have you considered doing a video on "How Spotlight beat Mad Max/The Revenant" ? Or do you think there's just not enough info to make a compelling video on it?

The jackhammer scene I forgot, but Jared’s hammy performance I well remember, it was the main thing that kept me watching. Sometimes the worst parts are the most memorable 🥃🥃🥃

I have a suggestion for an Oscar Fiasco video: Midnight Special (2016), the sci-fi epic that completely flopped.

Man, it's a shame The Last Duel bombed in the box office and, even worse, the academy completely relied on it rather than on its exceptional quality, it's a master piece that deserved recognition, man! And, to make things worse, another fabulous movie, House of Gucci, was shamelessly snubbed... still wondering what the academy members had in their heads to do so 😮 Great video, man!

Let’s get real! ‘21 was one of the worst years in film history. There was not ONE worthy Oscar nominee for Best Picture. As for Ridley Scott’s blaming the audience: Filmmaker heal thyself‼️ ‘House of Gucci’ and ‘The Last Duel’ were very bad films, with ‘Gucci’ slightly worse than ‘Duel.’ I gave ‘Gucci’ 2 stars on IMDB, and ‘Duel’ 4 stars! Rarely has a Director had a worse year in film, but then again, ‘21 was all bad‼️

Funny how Scott says millennials don’t want to learn anything when the last duel isn’t even accurate to the true events of what occurred anyway. And he also didn’t bother making napoleon accurate either 🙄🙄. Still enjoyed the movie and I loved Ben’s role.

Because it was a piece of turd. The fact that this film was poised to win awards is alarming to say the least. Not only was it not a good movie but it wasn't entertaining either. Just overall a mess of a film and the fact it won awards is really telling of who decides who and what gets to win major awards. Thankfully members of the Academy saw through this facade and decided to snub it.

Poor reasoning from Scott about The Last Duel's failure and a reason why Hollywood is doing so badly at the moment. Audiences are fed up with studios, directors and talent blaming them for not liking their bad product and poor creative decisions.

The most exciting thing about The House of Gucci, was seeing Lady G and Leto dress for awards season. I got the book as a gift when it came out in 2001, but the movie was too long, and the screenplay needed a healthy trim. It was beautifully filmed, and the location shots were gorgeous. And who doesn’t like a good closet dive, into the OG Gucci designs? And the Tiffany Yellow Diamond. Oh, wrong Oscars year.

Licorice Pizza... such a legendary film!

First of all, the movie should have been in Italian. With Italian actors. Not with American actors speaking English with Italian accents that were all over the place AND are only the way Italians sound when they're speaking English, not their own language. I won't even watch this movie for that reason. The whole thing is absurd.

08:07 “Its not about winning” Don’t lie Gaga, it’s all about winning!!!

The Last Duel vs House of Gucci trajectory is so interesting, because The Last Duel is a much stronger film. House of Gucci was such a slovenly fail and fumble of some amazing actors (particularly Gaga, Pacino, Irons and Driver). It lacked a clear and effective vision. I also resent how harsh the film is to look at, when it's about the origins of a major fashion house. Like, why is the film slightly ugly 😭 (hated the cinematography). The Last Duel is less flashy obviously but much more of a pleasure to watch. It never loses sight of its vision.

House of Gucci was unintentional camp. Bad editing, pacing and acting.

It just wasn't the movie people thought they were going to get ( IMO of course) You got Ga Ga and Gucci - I think a lot of people, myself def included, thought it would be like The Assassination of Gianni Versace, even though that was a series, with it's great cast (including Penelope Cruz as Donatella, who was pretty so so I think) and even the TV movie with Gina Gershon hamming it up as DV and looking uncannily like her in parts. I expected something colourful exciting and even camp but instead I found my attention waning quickly with it's clunky and uneven storylines - it just felt like a bloated family saga - a wasted opportunity. Out of Scott's 2 big awards contenders, The last Duel should have been at the front - which of course it wasn't - and it was by far the better film.

It’s was just OK. I remember liking it while watching it but I never felt the need to watch it again. And I watch movies over and over when I like them.

I’m late for this but I agree mostly with everything that was said on the video and I’d like to add that the movie sounds more like an over the top comedy and the academy tends to look down on this type of movie they do appreciate a good biopic but not a parody of one.

Love the campy House Of Gucci. I saw it twice in theaters and couple of weeks ago on Prime Video. It's 8 out 10. The Last Duel is the better movie. I remember being alone with mom at the theater, no one was going to movies at the time. That's the Ridley 2021 movie that should have been delayed to 2022 release with more banking from Disney to promote

I liked House of Gucci but I didn't find it memorable. It was like the story and cast were all bloated and overacting. It was all too big for what it really was.

Someone explain the “jackhammer” scene, I’ve never watched the film.

Gaga was so…sincere during the whole press tour, and I think that turned a lot of people off.

The Academy has a (ahem, cough) for Pedro Almodovor and Penelope Cruz. Once Parallel Mothers was in contention, they could breathe a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have to nominate anyone from that campy three-hour film and focus on depressing dramas.

Jeremy Irons was the BEST out of this whole and btw generally talented cast. The script and directing sucked. Gaga was so much more natural at acting than here being constantly over the top..... Leto was tragically horrible and i hate to say this I'm fan of his acting ever since I saw Requiem for a dream.

I was unable to finish this movie bc I was disappointedly BORED! I got about halfway through before I finally gave up. Replace Jared Leto with Martin Freeman or Martin Short, replace Gaga with Natalie Portman or Gal Gadot…and the film already becomes *infinitely* better. But the script and the way the story is told is honestly so dull and disjointed.

I mean its a terrible movie from a hit and miss director with actors that were at subpar performance - and all those are compliments.

Congratulations on your 200th video!!!! :) Personally I've found it funny, but not in a good way. In my mind it didn't make sense that I was watching an American movie, with American actors, doing this "Italo American" accent throughout the movie, despite being an Italian story. I am born and raised in Italy, and if Hollywood wants to make a movie about an Italian important family, go with it. But making them act with that accent on purpose is weird. It's like choosing to do a movie about a French historical family, and then having all the American actors speaking in English with a stereotypical french accent. Can you imagine the mess of it? Just keep it neutral.

"Halloween Kills" made $41 million and was on Peacock simultaneously.

Hollywood doesn’t take Gaga seriously as an actress, except just that one time.

Last Duel was a victim of poor marketing - it was barely advertised at all

Great analysis, thank you. The film seemed like a soap opera or based on a novel, by Sydney Sheldon. Scott is in great company. Hitchcock never won an Oscar and only one his films won Best Picture, Rebecca.

This is a trashy movie, but I freaking enjoyed it. It’s one of the only films from that year I’ve watched more than once. Reminds me of Valley of the Dolls, in that it’s not good but I still liked it.

Letos role did somehow not fit into the movie; it was like he was in another world: was he supposed to be funny...or what was the original plan with this character? It's not clear. Cudos to the actors that they tried to speak in an Italian accent,that can't be easy, but the accent came out "put on" the roles,as supposed to be more natural. The accent sounded unnatural, sounded not life like, sounded not refined, not polished, under- rehearsed. Maybe it would have been better just to have ordinary American speech...? Maybe there was too much focus on making the movie look and sound Italian,that it became 'Americans/Englishmen trying to portray Italians'. I would have had also less words in the whole movie; more silent calculating. Anyway, I am not surprised that this movie didn't get Oscars for acting. 😮

Does anyone know why Ridley Scott didn't win Best Director for Gladiator? It got Best Picture and seemed like a shoe-in for both.

I loved the last duel actually the performances were very good and I had a feeling by the time we got to jodie comer’s character pov we were going to see very different portrayals of the male characters and we reaaally did sis