Subscribe via: RSS Feed // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Google Podcasts // Pocket Casts For some reason, the last Alfred Hitchcock film to be nominated for Best Picture is his 1945 psychological thriller, Spellbound. Featuring an early performance from Gregory Peck, and another lead performance from Ingrid Bergman, Spellbound was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and winning the Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Oscar for Miklós Rózsa. While co-hosts Dave and...

The Lost Weekend is Billy Wilder's first Best Picture winning film, and first time winning Best Director as well. For a director that many may know as a comedy-focused great, this journey into the darkness of alcohol addiction is bleak, powerful, and ultimately a very sobering affair. With a searing Best Actor award winning performance from Ray Milland, and a comforting supporting turn from the ever-reliable Jane Wyman, The Lost Weekend stands as a Best Picture winner that has fallen out of...

Subscribe via: RSS Feed // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Google Podcasts // Pocket Casts Trigger Warning: This episode discusses instances of abuse, manipulation, and gaslighting. We arrive at one of the films that Andrew was anticipating the most when coming to discussion Best Picture winners and nominees: George Cukor's thriller Gaslight. Starring Ingrid Bergman in one of her Oscar winning roles, alongside Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, and Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury, this thriller is a...

As World War Two wraps up, we ease out of one of the worst events of modern humankind with one of the most charming and inconsequential Best Picture winners yet, Leo McCarey's Going My Way. Bing Crosby won Best Actor, and dual nominee for the same role, Barry Fitzgerald won Best Supporting Actor, both playing priests keeping their church and its constiuents alive. Dave and Andrew navigate religion, priests, music, and charm in this discussion that tries to pat this nice little film on the...

While the 16th Best Picture winner - Casablanca - stands proudly as a bonafide classic, it isn't the only nominee of that year that stands the test of time as a genuine masterpiece. That honour also falls on William A. Wellman's undervalued social drama, The Ox-Bow Incident. At a tight 75 minutes long, The Ox-Bow Incident manages to deliver a stunning thriller that leaves the three hour bloated epics in its wake. Co-hosts Dave and Andrew delve into the power of masculinity, the cruelty of...

Every so often the Academy Awards get it right, and for the 16th Best Picture winner they chose one of the greatest films ever made: Michael Curtiz's Casablanca. Featuring outstanding performances from Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Raines, and more, this film is film that has had more words written about it than many others. Co-hosts Dave and Andrew dig in deep with Casablanca, seeking to turn over new dirt on an old classic. Follow the hosts on social media at the links...

James Cagney danced and sung his way to a Best Actor Oscar for Michael Curtiz's Best Picture nominated film, Yankee Doodle Dandy. In this episode of Awards Don't Matter, both Andrew and Dave are genuinely surprised by the love they have for a film that has all of the faults of other films that were nominated in 1942, and that they've covered in the past. We also ask, will Lin Manuel Miranda get a film like this in the future, and at what point is patriotism too much? Dig on in. Listen to...

As we arrive at the 15th Best Picture winner, Mrs Miniver, we find ourselves in the depths of the cinematic output during World War Two. As such, the Academy Award winners during the era reflected an optimism or jingoism that was needed to drive people to support the war effort. William Wyler's film is one such winner, with Greer Garson taking the lead and winning the Best Actress award. Co-hosts Dave and Andrew skirt around discussing Mrs Miniver as they seek to find the entry point for...

We once again return to the world of Alfred Hitchcock's with the third of his Best Picture nominated films, Suspicion. Joan Fontaine won Best Actress for her performance as Lina, a young woman who falls for a suave and confident man named Johnnie, played with ultimate-comfort by Cary Grant. Dave defends his favourite Hitchcock, delving into the complexity of the narrative, the uncertainty of the ending, and the eroticism of wanting Cary Grant to 'step on your neck'. Dig on in to this episode...

We arrive at maybe the most notorious and contentious Best Picture winners... ever? John Ford's How Green Was My Valley which triumphed over the 'Best Film Ever', Orson Welles Citizen Kane. In a possibly strident, and yet no less passionate, defense of How Green Was My Valley, co-hosts Dave and Andrew discuss John Ford's enduring classic, encouraging modern viewers to embrace this film without the shackles of its Oscar glory. Somehow we even wrap in a comparison to Steven Spielberg's Ready...

Charlie Chaplin is best known for his silent films, but quick in the minds of film lovers would be his iconic speech that concludes his Best Picture nominated film, The Great Dictator. Co-hosts of Awards Don't Matter sift through this powerful satire and assess how difficult it is to craft biting comedy that shakes its fists at the powerful. Find out in this episode whether Chaplin's maniacal dictator film still matters or not in this episode. Featured in this episode is a clip of Daniel...

The great Alfred Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar, and only received the prestige of winning Best Picture once in his career. Join co-hosts Dave and Andrew as they return to Manderlay and revisit the gothic romance that is Rebecca. Featuring stellar performances from Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier, this is a mystery you'll want to dive into. Subscribe via RSS Feed, Anchor.fm, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Follow the hosts on social media at the links below: Andrew F Peirce –...

We take momentary leave from the 1930's and 1940's to move to the modern day, and look at the most recent Best Picture winner, the 93rd in fact: Chloé Zhao's Nomadland. Winning three awards, including Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Director for Chloé Zhao, Nomadland follows Fern (McDormand) as she navigates her nomad life in modern America, through the rising gig economy and the pressing reality of a world that pushes against an ageing workforce. In this episode, co-hosts...

The deserving Best Picture winner of 1939, Ernst Lubitsch's masterful Ninotchka, gets a deep dive discussion in this episode as co-hosts Dave and Andrew swoon over Greta Garbo, laugh over her immaculate comedic timing, and fawn over the hilarious script co-written by the one and only Billy Wilder. Dig into this Russian/France rom-com and discover your new relationship litmus film. Please, go and watch this delightful film right now. Subscribe via RSS Feed, Anchor.fm, Apple Podcasts, or...

A long epic Best Picture winner deserves a long epic discussion. It's Gone With the Wind time as Dave and Andrew tackle Victor Fleming's (and George Cukor and Sam Wood) 1939 'classic', tackling the themes of racism, love, Vivien Leigh's performance, and Clark Gable's attractiveness. It's a long, complex discussion, embracing film history, and the value of reflection. Dig on in. Read Angelica Jade Bastién's piece on Gone With the Wind on Vulture here. Subscribe via RSS Feed, Anchor.fm, Apple...

'This is why I'm obsessed with movies' - Dave We reach a monumental moment in the history of the Academy Awards: the first film not in the English language to be nominated for Best Picture. This is Jean Renoir's masterpiece, Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion). Nominated solely for Best Picture, this masterful film encompasses the war movement in 1914, following captive French soldiers and their engagement with enemy forces. Find out why this one in particular matters more than...

We return to the world of Frank Capra with his second Best Picture winner, You Can't Take it With You. Co-hosts Dave and Andrew dig into this charming film, and as they do they uncover a Hollywood that wilfully steals from its own past to weave new stories. Full of delight and whimsy, this Best Picture winner features Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart and Edward Arnold. At the end, Dave and Andrew are forced to ask... while You Can't Take it With You, does that matter? Subscribe...

The first version of A Star is Born features the first ever Best Actress winner, Janet Gaynor, and Frederic March, and is directed by William A. Wellman, who collectively tell the tale of an actress on the rise, and an actor on his way down. It is a celebration of the rise and fall of greatness. Co-hosts Dave and Andrew leap into this slightly problematic tale, questioning its importance nowadays, and going further and asking whether this narrative still matters. Please be warned that this...