oscars

It is now more than fifteen years since the victory of Roberto Benigni 's unforgettable Life is Beautiful . On Sunday, in Hollywood, an Italian film came back to triumph in the Best Foreign Film category. And it did it after bringing home the same award at both the Golden Globes and BAFTAs in the weeks before. This is The Great Beauty, the new film by Paolo Sorrentino.

The film recounts the story of Jep Gambarella, a journalist and theatre critic (played magnificently by Tony Servillo, at this moment the best actor that Italian cinema can offer) and also the writer, in his youth, of a single novel The Apparatus Human.

The journalist, a man of great charm, immerses himself in the beauty of Rome's great past, whilst at the same time busying himself with the mundane events of the city. He attends every evening salon in the capital, jumping between parties vulgar and poor taste, along with his circle of friends.

Jep, by now lazy and impatient, understands that in his life there is nothing left to believe, and reduces its existence to a single purpose: "not to slip into the mundane of the mundane".

As part of our build-up to the 2014 Oscars, we are looking at the films likely to take home some of the top awards. Here, Erik Redli examines the parallels seen in The Great Gatsby with other leading characters in film and television.

The Great Gatsby starts with a black and white Warner Brothers logo just like it would have in the 1920s. I was curious; another tragic story starring DiCaprio.

The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man who has just moved into a small house right next to Gatsby's castle. Ambitious and reverent, he is often a timeless witness to the caprice of the upper classes and eventually he runs away from what he initially pursued.

The mysterious Gatsby does not appear during the first 30 minutes of the movie. Instead the other characters recall his parties and charm, intensifying the expectations of both Nick and the audience. All of a sudden, he appears from the cover of a crowd dancing to the modern soundtrack of Fergie's Little Party Killed Nobody.

The Golden Globes kicked off the movie awards season yesterday as part of the long build up to the Oscars on 2nd March. Often seen as a marker for the films likely to do well at the Academy Awards, we've gathered together five of the favourites for the big awards.

12 Years a Slave

In typically glamourous fashion, the annual glitzy Oscars ceremony took place in Hollywood last night, with few real surprises. Ben Affleck's Argo took home the top award after being named Best Film, whilst Daniel Day-Lewis made history by being named Best Actor for an unprecedented third time.

Day-Lewis lived up to the tag as red-hot favourite to take home the award for his leading role in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. Jennifer Lawrence continued her meteoric rise in Hollywood after claiming Best Actress for her role as a young widow struggling with her mental health in Silver Linings Playbook.

However, not quite everything went right for Lawrence on the night, as she lived every nominee's nightmare- falling over on the way to collect her award. Luckily she saw the funny side, and after she tripped over her dress, she started her speech with the line: "You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell over and that's embarrassing".

The Big Winners

Unlike some years, no single film really dominated the awards, with Life of Pi taking the most with just four. Ang Lee won his second Best Director Oscar, whilst the film also took home awards for cinematography, original score and visual effects.

This afternoon the Oscar nominations for 2013 were announced in Hollywood. The annual awards are the top prize in cinema, and hundreds of nervous film crews, actors and directors were all waiting to hear if they'd received a nod.

As the nominations were revealed by actors Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone, it soon became clear that, as is often the case, the list was dominated by a few films. Steven Spielberg's Lincoln took most nominations with 12, whilst Life Of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook also both did very well.

Whilst most of the major awards are led by Hollywood's finest, there are a few more unusual titles in the mix. Michael Haneke's Amour for example is up for Best Film, Best Actress and Best Director. 

The winners will be announced at a typically glitzy ceremony on the 24th February. In the mean time, check out the full list of nominations below and pick out who you think deserves to win.