And The Winner Still Is

Matt and Marisa end the season with an all-timer year: 1975. Though they're disappointed by Best Picture winner, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, they discuss fellow heavy-hitters like Robert Altman's Nashville and the blockbuster that started it all, Jaws.

Matt and Marisa return for the penultimate episode of the season to discuss what might be one of their best years yet, 1957. They scream over Peyton Place's twists, delight in the unexpected comedy of Witness for the Prosecution and marvel at just how good Best Picture winner, Bridge on the River Kwai, is.

This week, Matt, Marisa and guest Ben Murchison discuss the first year the Academy reinstated 10 Best Picture nominees, 2009. They talk about the surprise staying power of The Hurt Locker, their love for A Serious Man and remember what it was like when there was only one Avatar movie.

It's Christmas in June this week as Matt and Marisa discuss two holiday classics that also just happen to have been nominated for Best Picture: The Bishop's Wife and Miracle on 34th Street. They also lament how poorly the year's big winner, Gentleman's Agreement, has aged, watch some cartoons and praise the original Nightmare Alley adaptation.

This week, Matt and Marisa return to talk about one of Matt's favorite movies, Best Picture winner, Amadeus. Elsewhere in the episode, they marvel at how well The Karate Kid holds up, disagree on Jonathan Demme's Swing Shift and deep dive into the Best Song Score category.

This week, Matt and Marisa go back in time to discuss the 4th Oscars ceremony. In the episode, they wrestle with how Best Picture winner, Cimmaron, has aged, beg for a restored version of East Lynne and endure the trial that is Skippy.

Season 4 continues with a trip to the early '90s, when Steven Spielberg's heart-wrenching Schindler's List won Best Picture. Elsewhere in the episode, they discuss Angela Bassett's first Best Actress nomination for What's Love Got to Do with It, Rosie Perez's star turn in Fearless and bring up some all-time favorites in the For Your Consideration segment.

Matt and Marisa finally return with the long-awaited 4th season of And the Winner Still Is. This episode, they cover 1960, when The Apartment snatched the award for Best Picture. Elsewhere in the episode, they discuss Elizabeth Taylor's infamous win for BUtterfield 8, the culture-shifting influence of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and, as always, go to bat for a few underappreciated gems.

In the season finale, Matt and Marisa flash back two decades to the year 2000 to talk about a controversial Best Picture winner they still love, Gladiator. Elsewhere in the episode, they praise Julia Roberts's movie star performance in Erin Brockovich and cringe at how poorly Steven Soderbergh's other film that year, Traffic, has aged.

Matt and Marisa return to talk about the year Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You won Best Picture. In the episode, Marisa once again fawns over Jean Arthur and Matt marvels at the wild ride that is Four Daughters.

The season continues with the year West Side Story won Best Picture: 1961. Matt and Marisa discuss arguably one of the greatest musicals of all time from the dancing to the cinematography as well as the other films nominated.

Matt and Marisa return to discuss the 1945 Oscars, when The Lost Weekend won Best Picture. They marvel at how well the film's depiction of addiction has aged before moving on to talk about some of their personal favorite films like Mildred Pierce and Leave Her to Heaven.

Matt and Marisa finally talk about one of their favorites, Terms of Endearment. They also discuss the Boomer ennui of the The Big Chill, Meryl and Cher in Silkwood and demand justice for Yentl.

Matt and Marisa go back in time to the Academy's early years to talk about Best Picture winner, All Quiet on the Western Front, and how impressive it still is today. They also compare Greta Garbo's two performances as Anna Christie, struggle to understand Maurice Chevalier's appeal and spend some time thirsting over Chester Morris.

Matt, Marisa and special guest Manish Mathur, host of It Pod to Be You, discuss 1955's Best Picture winner, Marty.

Matt and Marisa kick off the 3rd season of their Oscars retrospective with 2010. It's the year The King's Speech won and The Social Network lost. Listen as they dive into the psychological horror of Black Swan, Jennifer Lawrence's breakout role in Winter's Bone and the inverted worlds of Inception all while dealing with the beginnings of the pandemic.

Our second season finale is jammed pack with content as Matt and Marisa discuss the 1934 Oscars—the year of the first Oscar "grand slam." The hosts may love romantic comedies, but does It Happened One Night live up to their standards? And that's only one of the 10 Best Picture nominees from that year. Find out about the good (The Thin Man) the bad (Flirtation Walk) and the weird (The Barretts of Wimpole Street). Plus, the hosts gush about iconic melodramas, rave about memorable musical numbers, and tell Rob Marshall to stay away from our beloved actresses.

Kat Manos (music editor at The Pop Break) joins Marisa and Matt to talk about the 2008 Oscars—and the trio is burning bridges with beloved actresses every chance they get! In this episode, listeners will: discover why Slumdog Millionaire is one of Matt's most formative filmgoing experiences, learn about Marisa's days as an intern for Us Weekly, and find out if they've managed to see The Reader all these years later. And, of course, The Dark Knight is discussed. How does it play in the age of J*ker?

The boys of Film Twitter might think that Raging Bull deserved Best Picture in 1980, but not so fast! Marisa and Matt are joined by Tom Moore (staff writer for The Pop Break) to defend Robert Redford's Best Picture winning drama, Ordinary People (spoiler alert: there's a lot of crying involved). Along the way, Scorsese inspires Matt to unpack some familial trauma, we debate the merits of musical biopics, and all three hosts briefly consider pivoting to a podcast on 19th century British literature. This is a fun episode about a year of very depressing movies.

This week's episode is all about the 1963 Oscars and its winner, Tom Jones. Haven't heard of it? Don't worry, you're fine—Matt and Marisa watched it for you. They also watched all four hours of Cleopatra, all three hours of America, America, and all two and a half hours of How the West Was Won. It's a huge year—and we haven't even mentioned one of the worst Best Picture nominees we've encountered so far. This is a must-listen-to episode, even if you haven't heard of the big winner.

This week's episode focuses on the 1941 Oscars, when How Green Was My Valley beat Citizen Kane for Best Picture. Most would say that Orson Welles deserved the top prize that year—do Marisa and Matt agree with Film Twitter? But that's not all, the hosts discuss an insane social issues melodrama, side-eye some propaganda from the era, and even get the chance to discuss Bogey, Hitchcock, and Bette Davis. It's an exciting episode packed with all the analysis (and tangents) you'd expect from a year with 10 nominees.

Alex Marcus (co-host of CinemaJoes and TV  editor at The Pop Break) marks the first guest of the second season, as he joins Matt and Marisa to discuss all the films of 1979. How has Best Picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer held up in the years since its release? Does Apocalypse Now still manage to impress in IMAX? And which notable actor from the year dated Marisa's mom? It's a year packed with classic dramas, star-driven spectacle, and some lesser-known gems (watch Starting Over, people!).

We're back with a new season and we're starting off strong as Marisa leads a discussion about her favorite movie: The English Patient. How has this controversial Best Picture winner aged and how does it compare to its nominees? Along the way, Matt gushes about Jerry Maguire, both hosts analyze a masterpiece from Mike Leigh, and, of course, discuss formative celebrity crushes. It's a jam-packed episode...not as long as The English Patient, but close.

Our last episode of the season is all about 1951—An American in Paris won Best Picture, but Matt and Marisa mainly want to talk about all the hot actors in the movies that year. Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire! Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun! Plus, of course, Gene Kelly! Along the way, the hosts talk about the questionable messages of sword and sandal epics, cast CW stars in remakes of classic films, and get a little emotional as the season comes to a close.

Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, and Pulp Fiction are three of the biggest films of the 1990s—and they were all nominated for Best Picture in 1994. Matt and Marisa are joined by Bill Bodkin (founder and editor-in-chief of The Pop Break) to discuss this influential year for the Academy and movies as a whole. How have these classics aged? Which actor do we think gave the best performances in them? And what random movie does Matt think actually deserved Best Picture? Find out in this week's episode.

Just how much preaching (and singing) can our hosts take? In this episode about the 1944 Oscars, Josh Sarnecky (co-host of TV Break and The Anniversary Brothers) joins Marisa and Matt to discuss Going My Way, Bing Crosby's Best Picture winning musical about a singing priest. Also discussed: an epic melodrama, a questionable biopic, and two classic thrillers—which do the hosts think should have taken home the big prize?

2005 is a formative year for Matt and Marisa as moviegoers...and it's also the year of one of the most hated Best Picture winners of all time. This week, the hosts discuss Crash... just how bad is Paul Haggis' star-studded drama? Plus: Marisa and Matt contemplate the legacy of Brokeback Mountain, wonder what's happening with George Clooney's career, and ask the question: has Steven Spielberg ever actually had sex before?

Marisa and Matt travel back to the first Oscar race ever: 1927! How has the inaugural Best Picture winner, Wings, aged? The hosts also discuss their crushes from the silent film era, go crazy over an F.W. Murnau's classic, and are shocked when Matt is forced to kill a bug on mic. Even if you haven't seen these movies, you'll want to give it a listen.

1976 is a year filled with classics. Rocky! Taxi Driver! All The President's Men! Network! Bound for Glory? Matt Gilbert (staff writer for The Pop Break) joins Matt and Marisa to discuss how these legendary films have aged, and which should have actually won Best Picture. Come for the thoughtful discussion of film history, stay for our Broadway hot takes.

We have our first guest! Sean Cordy (staff writer for The Pop Break) joins Marisa and Matt as they discuss 1967's Best Picture winner, In the Heat of the Night. Spoiler alert: the wrong actor was nominated! Elsewhere, Matt issues a public apology for a bad take from the past, Sean talks about how much he loves The Graduate, and all three hosts wonder if they hallucinated the plot of Doctor Dolittle.

It's an episode all about actresses (aren't they all?). Matt and Marisa discuss 1950's Best Picture Winner, All About Eve, and equally legendary nominee, Sunset Boulevard. Which do they prefer? Also discussed in the episode: Judy Holliday's Oscar winning role, Deborah Kerr's not-so-romantic adventure, and Elizabeth Taylor's turn in Father of the Bride.

This week, Matt gets to talk about one of his favorite movies–Broadcast News–as he and Marisa unpack the 1987 Oscars. Along the way, they talk about iconic romantic comedies like Moonstruck, the oeuvre of Adrian Lyne, and, of course, the year's Best Picture winner: The Last Emperor.

In this episode, Marisa and Matt talk about the legacy of 1939’s Best Picture winner, Gone with the Wind. But that’s not the only classic movie nominated for Best Picture that year...we’re talking about The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Stagecoach to name just a few of the 10 nominees. Also, listen to Matt and Marisa squeal about Bette Davis in the wild melodrama Dark Victory!

For the first episode of our Oscar retrospective podcast, we flash back to one of the most polarizing Best Picture winners: American Beauty. Find out what Marisa (ThePopBreak.com's Film Editor) and Matt think about Alan Ball’s suburban satire. We also discuss how much we hate The Cider House Rules, reflect on The Matrix’s influence, and Marisa reveals a surprising connection to one of the nominees!