Sibling Cinema

Season 2, Episode 8: TRUE LIES

We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

1994 is an iconic year: Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction vs Shawshank Redemption at the Oscars and The Lion King breaking box office records. We're keeping it light though, with James Cameron's spy comedy thriller True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Next week we finally get into the 21st century with 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Season 2, Episode 7: GHOSTBUSTERS

We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

This week, we dial into Iven Reitman's 1984 smash hit Ghostbusters. You all know it: Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver Bernie Hudson, Slimer, the great Ray Parker song, dogs and cats living together.

How does it hold up at 40? Tune in to see what we think.

Next week we turn to 1994 with the action comedy True Lies.

Season 2, Episode 6: THE CONVERSATION

We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

This week, we wiretap into the 1974 classic surveillance thriller, The Conversation. It's directed by Francis Ford Coppola and stars Gene Hackman in one of his signature roles. It turns 50 this year. And, hey, Ghostbusters turns 40 this year, so tune in next week for that.

Season 2, Episode 5: A HARD DAYS NIGHT We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Today's subject is the 60th anniversary of Beatlemania with the Beatles' first movie A Hard Days Night. Next week, we bust into the 70s for the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation.

Season 2, Episode 3: LAURA

We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

Today's subject is the 80th anniversary of film noir classic Laura. Directed by Otto Preminger, this twisty mystery stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, and Vincent Price. Next week, we will turn our attention to 1954 and discuss the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Season 2, Episode 2: IMITATION OF LIFE

We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

Today's subject is the 1934 melodrama Imitation of Life. Directed by John Stahl, this movie stars Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers in an interracial friendship of two single mothers. The film has since been overshadowed by its 1959 remake, but it makes for a fascinating look at some of the social mores of society 90 years passed. Next week, we will turn our attention to 1944 and select a film turning 80, Otto Preminger's film noir classic, Laura.

Season 2, Episode 1: SHERLOCK JR.

Welcome to our new mini-season, a ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

We start off with Sherlock Jr. the 1924 Buster Keaton classic that turned 100 years old earlier this year. Next week, we will turn our attention to 1934 and select a film turning 90, and so on until we finish the series with a 10-year-old movie.

Come back next week as we dive into the 1934 version of Imitation of Life.

We're winding down our very long first season with a two part season finale. We look back at all the Best Picture winners we've covered and select the best of the best.

Tune in next week for our new season. We have a ten-part series featuring films celebrating a decennial anniversary this year. First up, the 100th anniversary of Buster Keaton's 1924 classic Sherlock Jr.

We're winding down our very long first season with a two part season finale. We look back at all the Best Picture winners we've covered and select the best of the best.

Tune in next week for Part II!

Episode 69: THE GODFATHER

Our countdown* comes to an end after a year and a half, give or take. We're talking about one of the giants of American cinema, Francis Ford Coppolla's The Godfather.

The iconic cast includes Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Abe Vigoda, John Cazale, and Talia Shire. Does it really deserve the number one spot? Listen in and see what we think.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 68: CASABLANCA

This week we travel to Morocco in the midst of World War II. Then part of unoccupied France, hundreds of refugees wait for their chance to fly to their freedom. This is, of course, Casablanca, one of the most cherished classic films.

Join us as we dig into Michael Curtiz's grand romantic thriller, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, and Paul Henreid. It's the runner-up on our countdown.* Come back next week for the GOAT, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 67: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

This week we discuss David Lean's sprawling 1962 historical epic, Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O'Toole stars as British WW1 officer, TE Lawrence, who gains fame by uniting Arab tribes against the Ottoman Empire. The huge supporting cast is headlined by Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, and Claude Raines.

It won Best Picture over To Kill a Mockingbird. We debate that and its placement here as number 3 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week as we play it again with Casablanca.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 66: THE GODFATHER, PART II

For this week's episode, we dive into Francis Ford Coppola's epic crime sequel, The Godfather, Part II. Al Pacino returns to the role of Michael Corleone. Also returning, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire. Joining the cast for this installment we have, among many others, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, and Robert De Niro, who plays a young Vito Corleone in a flashback timeline. Lots of characters, lots of plot and lost to discuss.

The Godfather, Part II won Best Picture for 1974 and ranks here as number 4 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for another entry with lots of characters, lots of plot, and lots to discuss, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 65: SCHINDLER'S LIST

Steven Spielberg's passion project, Schindler's List, was released at the end of the year 1993. This harrowing 3+ hour Holocaust epic was a surprise box office hit and racked up a slew of awards. Then-unknown Liam Neeson starred in the title role as materialistic German businessman in Poland during World War II. He's a self-serving war profiteer, but as conditions worsen for his Jewish workforce, he ultimately choses to shield them from the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps.

Ben Kingsley co-stars, as well as another then-unknown, Ralph Fiennes, who delivers a chilling performance as notorious war criminal Amon Goethe.

It won Best Picture and ranks here as number 5 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week as we keep our friends close, but The Godfather, Part II closer.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 64: ALL ABOUT EVE

I don't feel like writing a description. It's good, watch it.

It ranks here as number 6 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week as we talk all about Schindler's List.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 63: ON THE WATERFRONT

Marlon Brando delivers one of his most iconic performances in Elia Kazan's 1954 thriller, On the Waterfront. Karl Malden, Rod Stieger, Eva Marie Saint and Lee J. Cobb also star.

It ranks here as number 7 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week as we talk all about All About Eve.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 62: THE APARTMENT

Be a mensch and listen in to this week's podcast as we dissect Billy Wilder's 1960 classic, The Apartment. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star as a couple of New Yorkers navigating romantic and office politics.

It ranks here as number 8 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for the number seven contender, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront from 1954.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 61: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

For this week's podcast we watched the 1975 classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Directed by Milos Foreman, this adaptation of Ken Kesey's highly regarded novel stars Jack Nicholson as Randle (yes, that's how it's spelled) McMurphy.

In one of his most iconic roles, Nicholson's antiestablishment beatnik is sent to a mental health facility to assess his competency to serve his prison sentence. He clashes with the facility's rigid warden, Nurse Ratched, played here by Louise Rainer. Brad Douriff, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd play the other inmates with whom McMurphy bonds.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won Best Picture in a stacked year, and ranks here as number 9 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for the number eight, Billy Wilder's 1960 masterpiece The Apartment.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 60: PARASITE

Listen in this week as break into the top ten with the 2019 South Korean film Parasite. It's our second straight movie about the conflict between rich and poor, but that's probably the extent of its similarities to It Happened One Night. Well, that and the fact that they're both great.

Song Kang Ho plays the head of a very poor family in Seoul. Their prospects begin to turn around as they infiltrate a very wealthy household one-by-one. And then things take a turn.

Parasite was the first and so far only non-English language film to win Best Picture. It ranks #10 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for the number nine, Milos Foreman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 59: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT

Come hitch a ride with us as we revisit Frank Capra's classic screwball comedy, It Happened One Night. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert star in this rich mouse/poor mouse comic road movie from the early sound era.

It beat out eleven other nominees to win the Best Picture prize for 1934 and ranks #11 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week as we jump ahead more than eighty years for Bong Joon Ho's 2019 dark comedy Parasite.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 58: THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

We journey back to the end of the Second World War for this week's podcast. Frederic March, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell star as three service men returning home from war in William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives. The men confront their own wounds as well as the changes in a society that had moved along without them. The classic drama also features Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy, Cathy O'Donnell and Hoagie Carmichael.

Break out your hankies and join us (but see the movie first!). The Best Years of Our Lives won the Best Picture prize for 1946 and ranks #12 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for the granddaddy of Romantic Comedies, Frank Capra's It Happened One Night from 1934.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 57: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

This week we delve into Jonathan Demme's 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs. Jodie Foster plays an FBI student tasks with interviewing the infamous serial killer Hannibal the Cannibal Lector, in the hopes of gathering clues to help find an at-large killer.

Lector is, of course, played by Anthony Hopkins in perhaps his most iconic role. Not for the faint of heart, The Silence of the Lambs won the Best Picture prize and ranks #13 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for a bit of a change of pace, The Best Years of Our Lives from 1946.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 56: GONE WITH THE WIND We've got a big one for you this week. One of the most popular, controversial, and discussed films of all time, Gone With the Wind has without a doubt made an indelible impression on movie history. Coming at the peak of the Hollywood Golden Age, it's a grand and epic saga based on the Margaret Mitchell blockbuster.

We did into the movie itself and its complicated legacy in this, one of our longest, episodes. Vivien Leigh stars as Scarlett O'Hara, a strong-willed Southern Belle in the years before, during and after the American Civil War. Clark Gable is the scandalous rouge, Rhett Butler. Also starring are Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Thomas Mitchell (no relation to Margaret) and Hattie McDaniel, who made history as the first person of color to win a competitive Oscar.

This movie won Best Picture for the watershed year of 1939. It ranks #14 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

Come back next week for our discussion of The Silence of the Lambs.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 55: ANNIE HALL This week's episode takes us to New York City in the mid-Seventies. Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred in this semiautobiographical comedy about a comedian reflecting on his recently defunct romance with a quirky aspiring singer. Allen plays the lead, Alvy Singer, and Diane Keaton gives a career-defining performance in the title role.

This is the movie that beat Star Wars for the 1977 Best Picture prize, and it ranks #15 on our countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 54: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Take a trip with us to Southeast Asia in the midst of World War II, as a British Colonel faces off against his Japanese captor in David Lean's adventure epic The Bridge on the River Kwai. Released in 1957, the film tells the story of Col. Nicholson and Col. Saito, two head strong men who butt heads as the British Prisoners of War are forced to build a rail bridge over the Kwai River. There's also an American, Shears, who reluctantly joins a commando squad to hike through the jungle to blow up the bridge. Starring Alec Guiness, William Holden, and Sessue Hayakawa, The Bridge on the River Kwai racked up seven Oscars (TM), including Best Picture. It ranks #16 on our countdown.* Be sure to look out for us again next week for a discussion of Annie Hall. Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court. *What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 53: MOONLIGHT

I'm going to refrain from making "La La Land-no oops-Moonlight" jokes in the episode description. There's plenty of that silliness in the episode. If you don't know what that means, just listen in and we'll tell you all about it.

Aside from all the talk of Oscarcast goofs, we do actually get into a pretty in depth discussion on this very serious, very personal drama, following a young boy becoming a man in an impoverished section of Miami.

Moonlight shocked the industry by winning the Best Picture Academy Award (TM) for 2016. It ranks #17 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week as we whistle and march our way into David Lean's 1957 epic The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 52: UNFORGIVEN

We're delving into Unforgiven this week. Clint Eastwood's 1992 revisionist Western is about an aging, supposedly reformed gunslinger who mounts his saddle for one last hit job. The film explores vengeance and the consequences of violence. Eastwood is joined by a stellar cast that includes Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Saul Rubinek and Richard Harris. It won four Oscars including Best Picture.

Unforgiven ranks #18 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week for a discussion on Barry Jenkins' 2016 drama Moonlight.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 51: AMADEUS

This week we're making one final trip to the 1980s for Milos Foreman's Amadeus. F. Murray Abraham stars as Salieri, the Austria court composer who recounts his rivalry with the brash young genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, played by Tom Hulce.

Tune in for our debate over whether the movie is about Mozart or Salieri. It won Best Picture for 1984 and ranks #19 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week as we dive into another Clint Eastwood movie, Unforgiven. Join us then to find out if we liked it any better than Million Dollar Baby.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 50: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Not really a Halloween movie, but pretty scary nonetheless. This week we talk about the Coen brothers' lone Best Picture winner, No Country for Old Men. Released in 2007, it follows Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, a Texas man on the run from a deadly assassin, Anton Chigur, played menacingly by Javier Bardem. Tommy Lee Jones plays the weary lawman desperately trying to keep the evil at bay.

No Country for Old Men ranks #20 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week. We get into the 'teens with the highest-ranking Best Picture winner of the 1980s, Amadeus.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 49: WEST SIDE STORY

Could it be? Yes, it could. Something's coming, something good. You don't have to wait. Bernstein. Sondheim. Robbins/Wise. It could only be West Side Story, and we've got a podcast all about the 1961 film version. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer star as star-crossed lovers, but it's Rita Moreno who steals the show as Anita.

West Side Story won the Best Picture award, plus a ton of other bling at the Oscars (TM) for that year. It ranks #21 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week. We've got our tracking devices set for the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 48: REBECCA

Last night, we dreamt we went to Manderley again . . . but we really we just watched a classic movie about it. The 1940 Alfred Hitchcock mystery Rebecca is the subject of our podcast this week. Joan Fontain plays a timid young woman who married a mysterious, wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter, played by Laurence Oliver. When she returns to his famed estate, Manderley, the newly wed must confront long-buried secrets, the memories of a dead wife, and a creepy housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson).

Rebecca is based on the best-selling novel by Daphne Du Maurier. It was released in 1940 and won the top prize at the Oscars (TM) for that year. It ranks #22 on our countdown.*

Come back again next week as we rumble our way into 1961's West Side Story.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

SPECIAL EPISODE: THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)

This week we're taking a brief break from our countdown of Best Picture winners to talk about a movie that got nowhere near Best Picture when it was released in 1987. It's the The Princess Bride directed by Rob Reiner and based on the book by William Goldman.

Why you ask are we breaking form this week? That's not your concern. Just buckle up for a lively discussion of this beloved movie and also listen for Bonnie's account of her recent run-in with one of the cast.

We'll get back to our countdown next week with Amadeus.

Episode 47: THE DEER HUNTER

This week, we discuss our final Vietnam film, Michael Cimino's 1978 epic The Deer Hunter. Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage play three steel town friends whose lives are changed forever when they depart for Vietnam.

Also starring Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter won the Best Picture Oscar for 1978. It ranks #23on our countdown.*

Join us next week for Alfred Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner, Rebecca from 1940.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 46: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

Join us for this week's podcast as we simply walk into Mordor with Frodo, Sam and Gollum, and also check in with the myriad of other characters in this final installment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings adaptation.

Return of the King was released in 2003 and won the top prize at the Oscars (TM) for the year. We also watched the previous installments, The Fellowship of the Ring from 2001 and The Two Towers from 2002, so we will discuss those as well. This is Bonnie's first time through the fantasy series. Press play to hear more.

Based on the final volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy opus, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ranks #24 on our countdown.*

Join us next week for another war film, 1978's The Deer Hunter.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 45: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)

This week, we discuss the oldest movie remaining: the Best Picture winner from the third Academy Awards (TM) ceremony covering the years 1929-1930.

All Quiet on the Western Front is an early sound film based on Erich Maria Remarque's 1929 German novel. The film follows very young men who eagerly sign up for service in World War I. They soon come face to face with the horrors of war. Lewis Milestone directed this classic antiwar film.

All Quiet on the Western Front ranks #25 on our countdown.*

Join us next week as we jump ahead to 2003 for the fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 44: ROCKY

We're heading back to the 1970's, with John Avildsen's 1976 classic underdog tale, Rocky.

Written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, this story of a Philadelphia-based, down-on-his-luck boxer who gets the opportunity of his life from heavy-weight champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Rocky's changing fortunes also impact his inner circle: girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire), his coach Mickey (Burgess Merideth), and Adrian's brother Paulie (Burt Young).

Rocky won the Best Picture Academy Award (TM) for 1976 against some fierce competition and ranks #26 on our countdown.

Join us next week for the 1930 version of the war epic All Quiet on the Western Front.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 43: THE DEPARTED

This week we discuss the 2006 crime thriller The Departed, which may or may not be Bonnie's first Martin Scorsese movie.

The film stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon facing off as double agents straddling both sides of the law. The star-studded cast also features Jack Nicholson as a Boston mob boss, Vera Farmiga as a state psychiatrist, plus Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin as law enforcement officers.

The Departed ranks #27 on our countdown.

Join us next week for the boxing classic, Rocky.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 42: THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Join us for a discussion of the beloved musical The Sound of Music.

Robert Wise directs this film adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein's final musical about the Von Trapp family in Austria in the last golden days of the 1930s.

Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer star. It won the Best Picture Academy Award (TM) for 1965, and ranks #28 on our countdown. Tune in to see how we think it holds up and which of us did their homework.

Join us next week for The Departed, which may or may not be a ghost story.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 41: MIDNIGHT COWBOY

We've made it into the twenties on our Best Picture countdown and get to chew over John Schlesinger's polarizing 1969 drama Midnight Cowboy. This is our third episode on a Dustin Hoffman film, following Rain Man and Kramer vs. Kramer. Hoffman plays Ratso Rizzo, a lowlife con man, and Jon Voigt shares the lead as Joe Buck, a naive Texas whose dreams are dashed in the Big Apple.

A sordid tale of a couple of men on the lowest rung of society, is it a humanistic masterpiece or just a slog? Turn in to find out our takes on Midnight Cowboy.

It ranks at number 29 on our Best Picture Countdown,* so it can't be all bad, right? Join us next week for The Sound of Music, which is pretty much the same movie.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 40: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

The subject of this week's podcast episode is Steve McQueen's harrowing depiction of slavery in the American antebellum South. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northrop, a free man from Pennsylvania who gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. Based on an actual slave narrative, the film also stars Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender.

It ranks at number 30 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 39: THE FRENCH CONNECTION

We make another visit to the 1970s for this week's episode. The French Connection is a gritty crime drama that turned Gene Hackman into a leading man in 1971. Hackman plays Detective Popeye Doyle, a decidedly unglamorous narcotics investigator in New York City. He partners with Roy Scheider in an attempt to uncover a heroine smuggling operation.

Known for its iconic car chase, The French Connection ranks at number 31 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

BONUS: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's 2022 sci-fi comedy/drama/adventure is the subject of this bonus episode. It is not part of our Best Picture countdown, because it won the Best Picture Oscar after we started this thing.

It stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, in the story of a laundromat owner who's life gets turned upside down when she discovers a multiverse. It's zany and grounded at the same time, and a rather offbeat film to be an Academy Awards juggernaut. How does it hold up against the other Best Picture winners? Tune in to find out.

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 38: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

1967 was a volatile year, and its Best Picture winner, Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night was a volatile picture in many ways. Rod Steiger plays a small-town Mississippi police chief who reluctantly accepts the help of a Philadelphia detective played by Sidney Poitier to solve the murder of a local VIP.

The detectives clash with each other, but more significantly, clash with the town's deep-seated racism. It dealt with hot-button issues in its day. Join us as we discuss how relevant it still is today.

It ranks at number 32 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 37: SPOTLIGHT

Our special guest star Lindsey is back by popular demand! She joins Bonnie and Dennis to break down the Best Picture Oscar winner from 2015, Tom McCarthy's Spotlight.

The film follows the investigative reporting by a team of Boston Globe journalists as they uncover the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in the early 2000s. Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams head up a stellar ensemble cast.

How does Spotlight measure up to the other great journalism movies, like All the President's Men? We discuss that and more in this week's podcast.

It ranks at number 33 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 36: FORREST GUMP

We are back with another classic. Robert Zmeckis's 1994 smash hit Forrest Gump. It cleaned up at the box office and the Academy Awards, beating out stiff competition like Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption.

Tom Hanks was at his peak as Forrest, as he takes us on a tour of 20th Century American history, along with Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan and Robin Wright as Jenny. How well does it hold up? Tune in as Bonnie and Dennis discuss.

It ranks at number 34on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 35: BEN-HUR

We are back with another William Wyler picture. This is our second of the three Best Picture winners directed by Wyler. Perhaps his most famous production, the 1959 Biblical epic Ben-Hur features Charleton Heston as the title character. Based on Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur cleaned up with 11 Oscars (TM) including Best Picture.

How well does it hold up? Listen along as Bonnie and Dennis discuss.

Perhaps surprisingly, it ranks at number 35 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 34: THE STING

Director George Roy Hill reunites with his Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting, the winner of seven Oscars including Best Picture for 1973. Like Butch and Sundance, The Sting is an old-timey buddy picture fueled by charm and vibes, relying heavily on the charisma of its leads and the appeal of its period setting. The Sting trades in Butch Cassidy's Old West setting for Depression-era Chicago, as a pair of likable con artists try to pull off a massive con against a powerful mob boss.

Who doesn't love The Sting? Well . . . there's at least one! Find out more in this week's episode as Bonnie and Dennis dissect this 70s classic.

It ranks at number 36 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 33: THE LOST WEEKEND

Writer/Director Billy Wilder is famous for his witty, cynical comedies, but his first Best Picture winner is the very serious expose on alcoholism, The Lost Weekend. Ray Milland stars as a writer whose life spirals out of control during a whiskey-fueled bender. It was the Academy Award winning Best Picture from 1945.

Bonnie and Dennis caught up with The Lost Weekend and discuss their thoughts. It ranks at number 37 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

Episode 32: TITANIC

The one and only Titanic is the subject of this week's episode. At the time of recording, we had no idea it would be in the news. James Cameron's romantic historical epic from 1997 is a movie Bonnie loves to hate. Did it improve on a rewatch? Tune in to find out! Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio as the young lovers, Titanic won the Best Picture Academy Award over some stiff competition. It ranks at number 38 on our Best Picture Countdown.*

Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.

*What is this list?

We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.