The Best Picture Podcast

Eric, Isaac, and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 1977.  Once again, the nominees are Annie Hall, The Goodbye Girl, Julia, Star Wars, and The Turning Point.

Director:  Herbert Ross Producers:  Arthur Laurents, Herbert Ross Screenplay:  Arthur Laurents Photography:  Robert Surtees Music:  N/A Cast:  Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tom Skerritt Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 63%/Audience: 66%

Director:  George Lucas Producer:  Gary Kurtz Screenplay:  George Lucas Photography:  Gilbert Taylor Music:  John Williams Cast:  Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 94%/Audience: 96%

Director:  Fred Zinnemann Producer:  Richard Roth Screenplay:  Alvin Sargent Photography:  Douglas Slocombe Music:  Georges Delerue Cast:  Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Maximillian Schell, Hal Holbrook Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 73%/Audience: 70%

Director:  Herbert Ross Producer:  Ray Stark Screenplay:  Neil Simon Photography:  David M. Walsh Music:  Dave Grusin Cast:  Marsha Mason, Richard Dreyfuss, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict, Barbara Rhoades Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 80%/Audience: 85%

Director:  Woody Allen Producer:  Charles H. Joffe Screenplay:  Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman Photography:  Gordon Willis Music:  N/A Cast:  Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 97%/Audience: 92%

Director:  Franklin J. Schaffner Producer:  Frank McCarthy Screenplay:  Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North Photography:  Fred J. Koenekamp Music:  Jerry Goldsmith Cast: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, David Bauer, Edward Binns, John Doucette Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 92%/Audience: 93%

Director:  Robert Altman Producer:  Ingo Preminger Screenplay:  Ring Lardner, Jr. Photography:  Harold E. Stine Music:  Johnny Mandel Cast: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 86%/Audience: 83%

Director:  Arthur Hill Producer:  Howard G. Minsky Screenplay:  Erich Segal Photography:  Richard C. Kratina Music:  Francis Lai Cast: Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw, Ray Milland, John Marley, Russell Nype Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 63%/Audience: 75%

Director:  Bob Rafelson Producers:  Bob Rafelson, Richard Wechsler Screenplay:  Carole Eastman Photography:  Laszlo Kovacs Music:  N/A Cast:  Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg, Sally Struthers Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 89%/Audience: 84%

Director:  George Seaton Producer:  Ross Hunter Screenplay:  George Seaton Photography:  Ernest Laszlo Music:  Alfred Newman Cast:  Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 75%/Audience: 54%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 2007.  Once again, the nominees are Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood.

Director:  Paul Thomas Anderson Producers:  Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar Screenplay:  Paul Thomas Anderson Photography:  Robert Elswit Music:  Jonny Greenwood Cast:  Daniel Day-Lewis, Dillon Freasier, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, James Downey Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 91%/Audience: 86%

Directors:  Ethan  Coen, Joel Coen Producers:  Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin Screenplay:  Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Photography:  Roger Deakins Music:  Carter Burwell Cast:  Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 93%/Audience: 86%

Director:  Tony Gilroy Producers:  Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent, Sydney Pollack, Steve Samuels Screenplay:  Tony Gilroy Photography:  Robert Elswit Music:  James Newton Howard Cast:  George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Michael O'Keefe, Sydney Pollack Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 90%/Audience: 69%

Director:  Jason Reitman Producer:  Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith Screenplay:  Diablo Cody Photography:  Eric Steelberg Music:  Mateo Messina Cast:  Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 94%/Audience: 88%

Director:  Joe Wright Producers:  Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster Screenplay:  Christopher Hampton Photography:  Seamus McGarvey Music:  Dario Marianelli Cast:  Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Harriet Walter, Benedict Cumberbatch Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 83%/Audience: 80%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 1945.  Once again, the nominees are Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary's, The Lost Weekend, Mildred Pierce, and Spellbound.

Director:  Alfred Hitchcock Producer:  David O. Selznick Screenplay:  Ben Hecht Photography:  George Barnes Music:  Miklos Rozsa Cast:  Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Rhonda Fleming Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 86%/Audience: 82%

Director:  Michael Curtiz Producer:  Jerry Wald Screenplay:  Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner Photography:  Ernest Haller Music:  Max Steiner Cast:  Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 88%/Audience: 90%

Director:  Billy Wilder Producer:  Charles Brackett Screenplay:  Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder Photography:  John F. Seitz Music:  Miklos Rozsa Cast:  Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard DeSilva, Doris Sowling Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 97%/Audience: 90%

Director:  Leo McCarey Producer:  Leo McCarey Screenplay:  Dudley Nichols Photography:  George Barnes Music:  Robert Emmett Dolan Cast:  Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 85%/Audience: 77%

Director:  George Sidney Producer:  Joe Pasternak Screenplay:  Isobel Lennart Photography:  Charles P. Boyle, Robert H. Planck Music:  Calvin Jackson, George Stoll Cast:  Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Jose Iturbi, Dean Stockwell Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 53%/Audience: 78%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 2005.  Once again, the nominees are Brokeback Mountain; Capote; Crash; Good Night, and Good Luck.; and Munich.

Director:  Steven Spielberg Producers:  Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel, Steven Spielberg, Colin Wilson Screenplay:  Tony Kushner, Eric Roth Photography:  Janusz Kaminski Music:  John Williams Cast:  Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 78%/Audience: 83%

Director:  George Clooney Producers:  Simon Franks, Barbara A. Hall, Grant Heslov, Zygi Kamasa, Kiyotaka Ninomiya Screenplay:  George Clooney, Grant Heslov Photography:  Robert Elswit Music:  Jim Papoulis Cast:  David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 93%/Audience: 83%

Director:  Paul Haggis Producers:  Don Cheadle, Betsy Danbury, Sarah Finn, Paul Haggis, Mark R. Harris, Randi Hiller, Bobby Moresco, Cathy Schulman, Bob Yari Screenplay:  Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco Photography:  J. Michael Muro Music:  Mark Isham Cast:  Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Terence Howard, Michael Pena Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 74%/Audience: 88%

Director:  Bennett Miller Producers:  Caroline Baron, Michael Ohoven, William Vince Screenplay:  Dan Futterman Photography:  Adam Kimmel Music:  Mychael Dianna Cast:  Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 89%/Audience: 82%

Director:  Ang Lee Producers:  Scott Ferguson, Diana Ossana, James Schamus Screenplay:  Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana Photography:  Rodrigo Prieto Music:  Gustavo Santaolalla Cast:  Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 88%/Audience: 82%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 1967.  Once again, the nominees are Bonnie and Clyde, Doctor Dolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night.

Director:  Norman Jewison Producer:  Walter Mirisch Screenplay:  Stirling Silliphant Photography:  Haskell Wexler Music:  Quincy Jones Cast:  Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Lee Grant, Warren Oates, Scott Wilson Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 96%/Audience: 92%

Director:  Stanley Kramer Producer:  Stanley Kramer Screenplay:  William Rose Photography:  Sam Leavitt Music:  Frank De Vol Cast:  Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 71%/Audience: 85%

Director:  Mike Nichols Producer:  Lawrence Turman Screenplay:  Calder Willingham, Buck Henry Photography:  Robert Surtees Music:  N/A Cast:  Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 86%/Audience: 90%

Director:  Richard Fleischer Producer:  Arthur P. Jacobs Screenplay:  Leslie Bricusse Photography:  Robert Surtees Music:  Robert Surtees Cast:  Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, William Dix, Richard Attenborough Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 29%/Audience: 57%

Director:  Arthur Penn Producer:  Warren Beatty Screenplay:  David Newman, Robert Benton, Robert Towne Photography:  Burnett Guffey Music:  Charles Strouse Cast:  Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 90%/Audience: 88%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 1968.  Once again, the nominees are Funny Girl; The Lion in Winter; Oliver!; Rachel, Rachel; and Romeo and Juliet.

Director:  Franco Zeffirelli Producers:  John Brabourne, Anthony Havelock-Allan Screenplay:  Franco Brusati, Masolino D'Amico, Franco Zeffirelli Photography:  Pasqualino De Santis Music:  Nino Rota Cast:  Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, Michael York, Pat Heywood, John McEnery Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 95%/Audience: 74%

Director:  Paul Newman Producer:  Paul Newman Screenplay:  Stewart Stern Photography:  Gayne Rescher Music:  Jerome Moross Cast:  Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Estelle Parsons, Kate Harrington, Donald Moffat Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 91%/Audience: 76%

Director:  Carol Reed Producer:  John Woolf Screenplay:  Vernon Harris Photography:  Oswald Morris Music:  Lionel Bart, Johnny Green Cast:  Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 90%/Audience: 81%

Director:  Anthony Harvey Producer:  Martin Poll Screenplay:  James Goldman Photography:  Douglas Slocombe Music:  John Barry Cast:  Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, John Castle Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 91%/Audience: 90%

Director:  William Wyler Producer:  Ray Stark Screenplay:  Isobel Lennart Photography:  Harry Stradling Sr. Music:  Jule Styne, Walter Scharf Cast:  Barbra Streisand, Omar Sahrif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 94%/Audience: 85%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 2015.  Once again, the nominees are The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight.

Director:  Tom McCarthy Producers:  Kate Churchill, Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar, Youtchi von Lintel Screenplay:  Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy Photography:  Masanobu Takayanagi Music:  Howard Shore Cast:  Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 97%/Audience: 93%

Director:  Lenny Abrahamson Producers:  David Gross, Ed Guiney, Chantelle Tabrizi Screenplay:  Emma Donoghue Photography:  Danny Cohen Music:  Stephen Rennicks Cast:  Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers, William H. Macy Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 93%/Audience: 93%

Director:  Alejandro G. Inarritu Producers:  Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Inarritu, Douglas Jones, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon, Scott Robertson, Alex G. Scott, James W. Skotchdopole Screenplay:  Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Inarritu Photography:  Emmanuel Lubezki Music:  Alva Noto, Ryuichi Sakamoto Cast:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 78%/Audience: 84%

Director:  Ridley Scott Producers:  Mark Huffam, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, Ridley Scott, Adiya Sood Screenplay:  Drew Goddard Photography:  Dariusz Wolski Music:  Harry Gregson-Williams Cast:  Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Donald Glover, Michael Pena Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 91%/Audience: 91%

Director:  George Miller Producers:  George Miller, Doug Miller, P.J. Voeten Screenplay:  George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris Photography:  John Seale Music:  Junkie XL Cast:  Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 97%/Audience: 86%

Director:  John Crowley Producers:  Finola Dwyer, Pierre Even, Susan Mullen, Amanda Posey, Marie-Claude Poulin Screenplay:  Nick Hornby Photography:  Yves Belanger Music:  Michael Brook Cast:  Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 97%/Audience: 87%

Director:  Steven Spielberg Producers:  Christoph Fisser, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Hanning Molfenter, Marc Platt, Steven Spielberg, Charlie Woebcken Screenplay:  Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Photography:  Janusz Kaminski Music:  Thomas Newman Cast:  Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 91%/Audience: 87%

Director:  Adam McKay Producers:  Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Robyn Wholey Screenplay:  Charles Randolph, Adam McKay Photography:  Barry Ackroyd Music:  Nicholas Britell Cast:  Christian Bale, Steve Carell, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Ryan Gosling Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 89%/Audience: 88%

Eric and Sean rank and discuss the five nominees for Best Picture of 2000.  Once again, the nominees are Chocolat; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Erin Brockovich; Gladiator; and Traffic.