OSCAR PERFORMANCES: The Piano (1993) / Green Book

OSCAR PERFORMANCES: The Piano (1993) / Green Book

The moral of this story is LET WOMEN DIRECT ALL MOVIES.

It’s kind of hard to remember, but 1993 was a really, really great year for thoughtful storytelling in film. Schindler’s List, Short Cuts, The Remains of the Day, Six Degrees of Separation, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Philadelphia all came out that year, and all had gut-wrenching performances from established actors and rising stars. However, one film from New Zealand stood out from the crowd - it was female-led and female-directed. The Piano’s cast alone is enough to make it worth seeing, but it’s the directing choices of writer-director Jane Campion that transform a unique period piece into a transcendent romance told almost exclusively through the female gaze. You may come for the Oscar-winning performances, but by the end you won’t be able to deny that The Piano is a stunning work of art.

Then, after the break, we rightfully skewer the recent awards darling Green Book, which has notable performances from its leads, but is ultimately a film made by white baby boomers to make other white baby boomers feel OK that racism isn’t as bad as it used to be. Never mind the continued foot-in-mouth disease of the creators; this film is one of the most racist pieces of garbage to come out this year. Avoid it at all costs.

Macintosh & Maud have started a Patreon! Any little bit you can contribute helps, and we have special contributor-only content if you donate at the $2 level, including the final chapters of our Rocky-thon, Rocky Balboa and Creed!

You can email us with feedback at macintoshandmaud@gmail.com, or you can connect with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

If you like the podcast, make sure to subscribe and review on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

BONUS: 2019 Oscar Nominations

BONUS: 2019 Oscar Nominations

OSCAR PERFORMANCES: Dreamgirls (2006)

OSCAR PERFORMANCES: Dreamgirls (2006)