Oscarwatch Podcast

In which to say 'Thank you' to those who walked this path alongside.

We say farewell with a look back at one of the finest works ever produced, Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931), a film that is sure to make you fall in love all over again. Steve tears up, Amy laughs and we all stare in awe at how well this little film where no words are ever said can still hold up to this day. Not to spoil anything, but this movie is absolutely hilarious and as charming as the day is long. We thank you for listening to us for all these episodes. Like the Tramp at the end, you make us smile and perhaps, we'll meet again on the street. Our eyes no longer blind.

All aboard to ride that (Czech New) wave with a look at the Best Foreign Language film of 1967, Closely Watched Trains. This episode, Amy and Steve reveal some sordid histories of theirs, Steve admits to some "funny" feelings during a particular scene and the two discuss how boys and girls' "coming of age" narratives are very different (and awfully skewed towards the former). And who knew a Czech film that takes place during the Nazi occupation could be so damn funny? Plus, Steve cheers the ending that finally does what he wants it do...right? All that and a butchering of Czech names, this week on the podcast. Thank you for listening. Drop us a line at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod . Happy New Year!

Our pitch, in 25 words or less: This week, we talk Altfans, making movies, murder, underrated Robbins, Scacchi, Gallagher (and those eyebrows!) and of a time before meta was meta. We guarantee! Thanks for listening!

Amy and Steve get captured and thrown in the brig with our Christmas gift to ourselves: Billy Wilder's Stalag 17. A film with a special place in Amy's heart! We discuss the great William Holden (in his only Oscar winning role...and was it actually for something else?) and Steve realizes that yes, there is such a thing as "too much comedy" in an otherwise very serious film. Some films are hung around a great performance and no one does it better than Holden! And a question to you: which is better, this, The Great Escape or River Kwai? All that and more, this week. A very merry holidays to all of you. Thank you all for listening. We cannot do this without you. Thanks for listening, and be sure to chime in with your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." A brief message on the future, and fare thee well.

Are you listening closely? This week, as part of our all request Christmas Giftathon, we take a very close look back at the ultimate superhero showdown: Batman vs Wolverine, The Prestige (2006), a film that Steve simply cannot stop watching. And yes, don't worry folks, it is superior to The Illusionist in every single way. But what makes this Christopher Nolan film so appealing so many years later? And how great a screenplay is this? And why wasn't Bowie nominated?! For that matter, why wasn't this nominated for more. It has only grown in esteem in the years. We talk magic, suspense, the nature of Causality (and how Nolan may actually really hate it) and Amy definitely shows off her skills by pointing out how 'hey! isn't that this other guy in a beard?' All this and more, this week on the podcast! And thank you for listening!

A dominating narcissist destroys everyone around him in an attempt at immortality, and also there's a vampire! Hey-o! As part of the Christmas Gift month of requests, Amy (or should I say, Herr Direktor?) and Steve take a look back at the underloved 2000 film, Shadow of the Vampire. What is it about art as destruction that we find so compelling? And why, through all the blood, is this actually rather funny? Plus, we all definitely agree: John Malkovich brought his own costumes. Film history, the eternal life of film and a stern reminder, if it's not in frame, it doesn't exist! on the podcast. Thank you so much for listening!

We begin our Christmas Gift month with a trip to America...through the eyes of those who came here. Avalon is little remembered these days but as Amy and Steve both discover, it is both a little timeless and also very timely. We thrill over the much underappreciated Armin Mueller-Stahl and marvel at watching America as only immigrants can. And when the bitter thesis drops, it's a stab to the gut. Plus, Amy is clearly team Sam in the great turkey carving fight: be punctual people. Life is too short to be holding up other people, dammit. All that and so much more with this, our first listener request in December. Thank you all for writing in. I'm sorry we can't get to all of them this month but I assure you, we will get to all of them. If you have a request of your own, or want to side with Gabriel in the turkey fight, drop us a line at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, if it's not in frame, it doesn't exist!

Whether it's 1951, 1971 or 2018, there are some things that exist outside of time. Anarene may not be real but there are towns like it all over the country. Amy and Steve look at how the more things change, the more they stay the same in Peter Bogdanovich's transcendent film, The Last Picture Show. Is it a post-apocalyptic film? It sure starts that way and is somehow even bleaker than more traditional fare. Plus, nobody respects Shepherd or Bottoms here, but the awards heaped on Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman are well earned (even if Steve thinks Leachman was on a different tv show in the 80s). Never has hopelessness and ennui been more effective and nuanced than here, and we talk all that, Hank Williams and more. Like what you hear? Write us an email at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Stay tuned! December is upon us!

We mourn the passing of screenwriter William Goldman this week with a look back at the beloved fantasy, The Princess Bride. A film that was not that well known in its day, but has since become a cultural favorite. Joining Amy and Steve to talk fencing, fighting and true love is guest co-host Brian Hartz who is back to drop trivia bombs and love of swords into the mix. Just what makes this such a classic? And how have the lines been adopted into pop culture? Steve has some issues with plotholes, but as he is rightly shouted down, do they really matter? Plus, a question: who is prettier - Robin Wright, or Cary Elwes? All this and so much more on this very special, somewhat somber and very INCONCEIVABLE episode. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And thank you for listening. Write in with your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Til next time...as you wish.

In honor of the 100th anniversary since the end of World War I, Amy and Steve look back at the 3rd Academy Award winner, All Quiet On The Western Front, a film that time has hardly touched...and we wonder if that's a good or bad thing. We have seen all it has done before; but put yourself in the shoes of someone back then, imagine how this modern work would appear? Plus, sure he has some cheesy moments, but why wasn't Lew Ayres nominated? And the limited categories are felt here, as Louis Wolheim deserves a place at the table. All this, and Amy explains the film's title...and more, this week on the podcast. Thank you for listening. See you next week. Write us an email at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on social media @oscarwatchpod

The most important election in our lifetimes has just passed us (I hope we are still standing) and so what better way to celebrate democracy and America than with that most American of all films, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Directed by an immigrant, by the way! Wait...you mean this film didn't win Best Picture?!? How could that be? Well...we get into that, with a little preview of the banner year that 1939 was. Amy and Steve get to the heart of why this is so beloved and why every politician should watch this before doing anything. Plus, Stewart gets a lot of credit but what about Jean Arthur? So what if she can't cast movies, that's not her job! All that, and what would Steve and Amy use if they ever found themselves filibustering on the senate floor! The answers will probably in no way surprise you! May you listen to this for as long as we still have an open and free internet. Write us an email with your Listener Requests to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to follow us on social media @oscarwatch

In honor of Dia de los Muertos, Amy and Steve look back on last year's Best Animated Feature winner, Coco. While we normally ask how the film has aged, we instead ask how we think the film will be received in the future. Steve once again vents his annoyance (however unfounded) at this song winning over a different, more Hugh Jackman-y number. He also has some righteous anger over the makeup of how the underworld is basically just a sillier version of the real world. But he does love a good absurd bureaucracy! Most of all, we talk of family and how you're stuck with them, both here and there and how maybe we two hosts cannot fully understand it, but again, that is precisely the power of Coco: that it tells a universal truth with a very different cultural lens. All that and more, this week on the podcast. Send in your requests for our December lineup! There's plenty of time get your picks in to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com; and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, we remind ourselves what actually

No, it's not a dream, this is really happening. Amy and Steve are once again returning to the banner year of 1968 to discuss another genre film that broke boundaries and that we think may have deserved a Best Picture nom, Rosemary's Baby. A warning: we do discuss director Roman Polanski, criminal and briefly get into what he did. However, we also marvel that such a cruddy human being can also create such a boldly, proudly feminist film - as polemic as anything the 1960s created. And just why wasn't Mia Farrow - who is in every scene! - not considered? Is this film really just reinforcing why you should never be friends with your neighbors? And of course, Steve gets mighty upset at New York real estate. Question to you all: Guy Woodhouse: worst husband or THE WORST husband? All that, the music, the adaptation and more this week on the podcast. Send in your requests for our December gift month, four weeks of you calling the shots. Write in your pick and tell us briefly why you love it and why we should talk

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the bathroom...Hitchcock takes even that sanctuary away from us. Join Amy and Steve as they discuss one of the most influential films in history, Hitchcock's Psycho. How influential? It birthed the slasher and while it wasn't prescient, it sure informed us what was to come in the 1960s. And it is more than just the famous shower scene - but don't worry, we talk all about that - it is a wickedly crafted film from start to finish, as unsettling as only a master filmmaker can create. Plus, that music! And can we be honest? Anthony Perkins is a catch and a half. All that, plus we talk incels and the modern man...and more, this week on the podcast! Send in your thoughts on Psycho and your picks for what we should talk about this December, which is listener request month! The email is oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and we'd love to hear from you. Follow us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, these goddamn New York apartments, amirite?

Heeeeeere's...OscarWatch! We begin our October celebration of Shoulda Beens with a look at Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, a film that few liked when it was released but many came around on as the years went by. What is it about this movie that inspires revision and, as it turns out, an obsessive - nay, rabid - cult of fans? Joining Amy and Steve is #1 Kubrick fan Brian Hartz (who also chimed in on our 2001 episode) as they discuss the unsettling nature of the film, the indictment (or elevation) of misogyny, just why Jack works so well - and why Danny deserved a nod; and why we've all been overly harsh on Shelley Duvall. Brian also lays into some interesting takes on the music used, and we all throw up our hands and debate just what the hell happened in the end. All that and so, so much more on one of our longest episodes to date! Your requests keep coming in and we want more! What films should we discuss come December? You tell us! Write us an email and a brief paragraph on your choice to oscarwatchpodcast@g

Baa Ram Ewe! Baa Ram Ewe! Baa Ram Ewe...really should listen to our hosts discuss the magical and adorable Best Picture nominee, 1995's Babe. The second half of our George Miller double feature explores the writer/director's central theme of flying your own flag, whether that's dancing, not being sexual chattel or wanting to be a sheep-pig. Steve gets misty eyed thinking of this film; and Amy gets to experience it for the first time. Yes, we love the animals (especially Ferdinand the Duck) but we adore James Cromwell in this, his only ever nominated role. We can all agree that Christmas is indeed (emotional) carnage. All this and more, this week on the podcast. Write us in your Listener Requests and tell us why your recommendation is good (or bad!) at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com; we'll be talking about what you want to listen to all December long. Next week, a month-ish of the best horror films that never were nominated begins. Won't you come and play with us forever, and ever, and ever...?

Tap along if you feel like a penguin without a song...Amy and Steve tackle the George Miller directed tale of a lone figure wandering a barren wasteland in a quasi-ecological story while fighting the forces of the status quo. Yes, it is Happy Feet! (Why? What else could it be?) The 2006 Best Animated Feature is not without its critics, but as we learn, it was a bit of a down year for animation; besides, Pixar can't win all the awards, can it? We tackle the music - does it work? Does it make you dance? The message! Or rather, the messages. We reaffirm our love for Hugh Jackman and Steve wonders if the savior should also get the girl, but then we remember it's a kid's movie. But do kids like it? Amy has her own story to tell. Thanks for listening! Be sure to write us your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and send in your requests! December is gift month and we want to review the movies you love! Next week, the George Miller double feature continues...

Hop on the back of this moving truck and let's play the ivory keys with a look at vintage Nicholson and his nominated role, Five Easy Pieces. Wherein we ask: why do we love watching Nicholson self destruct? And what is the film trying to say about the human - specifically the male - experience? Some people just like to run, I suppose. Steve admires any movie that can play it this close to the vest, and Amy says there's more to Rayette than at first glance. And, of course, we put it between our knees and talk the famous diner scene. All that and more, this week. Write to us! Give us a film to discuss. We're doing an all listener request this December! Write an email (no FB or Twitter) outlining a film that won, was nominated or you think should have been a contender and if we like your argument, we'll talk about it on the show with a shout out to you! Our Gift to you, our listeners. The address is oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com Next week, let's tap our toes. It's getting cold in here...