By Matt Neglia
Our Patreon Podcast series for “Last Best Picture” continues with a new month and a new poll of 10 randomly selected Best Picture Winners/Nominees for you to choose from. The winner of which, will be reviewed on the podcast in July. Stay tuned for May’s winner (“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest“) which will go up tomorrow and we’ll be recording the last poll’s winner “Lawrence Of Arabia” sometime this month.
Head on over to the polls page to vote and take a look at the new films below. Voting ends June 30th 2018.
LOVE AFFAIR (1939)
THE STORY: Engaged ladies’ man Michel Marnet (Charles Boyer) encounters spoken-for singer Terry McKay (Irene Dunne) aboard a transatlantic cruise, where sparks fly and a romance ensues. Once they reach New York, Michel and Terry agree to go back to their significant others, then meet atop the Empire State Building in six months, when both are free to pursue their affair. Though a tragic accident forestalls their reunion, Terry and Michel still hold out hope for a chance to rekindle their true love.
THE CAST: Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer & Maria Ouspenskaya
THE TEAM: Leo McCarey (Director), Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart & S.N. Behrman (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME: 87 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Writing (Original Story), Best Art Direction & Best Original Song (Nominated)
FOREIGN CORRESPONDANT (1940)
THE STORY: Crime reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) is turning in nothing but dull copy. His editor, unhappy with his work, hopes a change of scenery will be the thing Jones needs to get back on track. Re-assigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent, Jones is very much out of his element. When he stumbles on a spy ring, he feels ill-equipped to unravel the truth alone and he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter (Laraine Day) and an urbane English journalist (George Sanders).
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THE CAST: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Basserman & Robert Benchley
THE TEAM: Alfred Hitchcock (Director), Charles Bennett & Joan Harrison (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME: 120 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography & Best Effects, Special Effects (Nominated)
CASABLANCA (1942)
THE STORY: Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country.
THE CAST: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet & Peter Lorre
THE TEAM: Michael Curitz (Director), Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein & Howard Koch (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME: 102 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Director & Best Writing (Won), Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing & Best Original Score (Nominated)
THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)
THE STORY: Writer Don Birnam (Ray Milland) is on the wagon. Sober for only a few days, Don is supposed to be spending the weekend with his brother, Wick (Phillip Terry), but, eager for a drink, Don convinces his girlfriend (Jane Wyman) to take Wick to a show. Don, meanwhile, heads to his local bar and misses the train out of town. After recounting to the bartender (Howard da Silva) how he developed a drinking problem, Don goes on a weekend-long bender that just might prove to be his last.
THE CAST: Ray Milland & Jane Wyman
THE TEAM: Billy Wilder (Director/Writer) & Charles Brackett (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME: 99 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor & Best Screenplay (Won), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing & Best Original Score (Nominated)
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)
THE STORY: Enjoying a life of ease in the court of Egypt’s pharaoh, Moses (Charlton Heston) discovers his Hebrew heritage and, later, God’s expectations of him. He dedicates himself to liberating his people from captivity and — with the aid of plagues and divine intervention — manages to lead them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. A greater challenge comes in the form of the golden calf idol, however, and it takes an unforgettable visitation by God on Mount Sinai for Moses’ mission to prevail.
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THE CAST: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget & John Derek
THE TEAM: Cecil B. DeMille (Director), Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse L. Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss & Fredric M. Frank (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME: 220 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Special Effects (Won), Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing & Best Sound (Nominated)
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)
THE STORY: Widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), have a strong bond, but Emma marries teacher Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) against her mother’s wishes. When the marriage grows sour due to Flap’s cheating, Emma eventually splits from him, returning to her mother, who is involved with a former astronaut (Jack Nicholson). Soon, Emma learns that she has terminal cancer. In the hospital, supported by Aurora, she tries to make peace with Flap and her children.
THE CAST: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Danny DeVito & John Lithgow
THE TEAM: James L. Brooks (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME: 132 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor & Best Adapted Screenplay (Won), Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score & Best Sound (Nominated)
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
THE STORY: Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.
THE CAST: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall & Embeth Davidtz
THE TEAM: Steven Spielberg (Director) & Steven Zaillian (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME: 195 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction & Best Original Score (Won), Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Best Sound (Nominated)
IN THE BEDROOM (2001)
THE STORY: Summertime on the coast of Maine, “In the Bedroom” centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) is a doctor practicing in his native Maine and is married to New York born Ruth Fowler (Sissy Spacek), a music teacher. He is involved in a love affair with a local single mother (Marisa Tomei). As the beauty of Maine’s brief and fleeting summer comes to an end, these characters find themselves in the midst of unimaginable tragedy.
THE CAST: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl & Marisa Tomei
THE TEAM: Todd Field (Director/Writer) & Robert Festinger (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME: 131 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress & Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominated)
THE KING’S SPEECH (2010)
THE STORY: England’s Prince Albert (Colin Firth) must ascend the throne as King George VI, but he has a speech impediment. Knowing that the country needs her husband to be able to communicate effectively, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) hires Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian actor and speech therapist, to help him overcome his stammer. An extraordinary friendship develops between the two men, as Logue uses unconventional means to teach the monarch how to speak with confidence.
THE CAST: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle & Michael Gambon
THE TEAM: Tom Hooper (Director) & David Seidler (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME: 119 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor & Best Original Screenplay (Won), Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score & Best Sound Mixing (Nominated)
WAR HORSE (2011)
THE STORY: Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and his beloved horse, Joey, live on a farm in the British countryside. At the outbreak of World War I, Albert and Joey are forcibly parted when Albert’s father sells the horse to the British cavalry. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey begins an odyssey full of danger, joy and sorrow, and he transforms everyone he meets along the way. Meanwhile Albert, unable to forget his equine friend, searches the battlefields of France to find Joey and bring him home.
THE CAST: Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup & Jeremy Irvine
THE TEAM: Steven Spielberg (Director), Lee Hall & Richard Curtis (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME: 146 Minutes
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THE OSCARS: Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing (Nominated)
You can follow Matt and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars & Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture
