YMMV / How Green Was My Valley

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• Award Snub: This film is perhaps the most famous film to receive the benefits of an awards snub by beating out both The Maltese Falcon (considered one of the greatest examples of Film Noir) and Citizen Kane (the perennial holder of "best movie ever" honors) at the same time. The film's Academy Award win for Best Picture is widely seen as a make-up for John Ford's Stagecoach losing out to Gone with the Wind for the category in 1939. This is all in spite of the fact that it's actually a pretty well-regarded film in its own right.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Both of the Morgan parents have quite a bit of fans, but for very different reasons:
  • Gwilym Morgan is appreciated for being a wise and strict but thoughtful father who stands as a unique contrast from father figures back then, as he encourages them to follow their own paths rather than forcing them to follow his shadow.
  • Beth Morgan is beloved for being pretty much the heart of the family, and not being afraid to defend her husband and kids when they're threatened. She's also shown to have a nice sense of humor occasionally.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • Mrs. Morgan's "Reason You Suck" Speech against the striking miners when they threaten Gwillym for his opposition to the strike. She crashed a strikers' meeting and threatens to kill anyone who harms her husband with her bare hands. Talk about Wife Bear!
  • Huw — who was 10 years old at the time — coming to help rescue his mother from a slippery fall into an icy pond. He keeps her head above the freezing water, until his brothers (returning from the above-mentioned meeting) see them and pull them out. Yes, it paralyzed his legs for a few months, but the sole fact that he was willing to risk his life for his mother definitely deserves a mention. Pretty impressive for such a young age.
  • Dai Bando gets one for dropping into the school to give Mr. Jonas a well-deserved beatdown after Jonas canes Huw to the point of fainting for boxing in the schoolyard.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: The movie's merits have been obscured by the fact that many people only remember it as "the movie that won the Oscar over Citizen Kane".
• Vindicated by History: An ironic example. While the film has always been lauded by critics, so much time has passed since its controversial Oscar win that the mainstream public has largely forgotten about it, so most people who have an opinion about the film have actually seen and appreciated it for its own merits.

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