The first episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1996 with the first of Jason’s three picks, Steve Buscemi’s Trees Lounge . Written and directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Buscemi, Mark Boone Junior, Chloë Sevigny, Anthony LaPaglia and Elizabeth Bracco, Trees Lounge was Buscemi’s debut feature as a writer and director. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/trees-lounge-1996 )...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 20Ep. 1
In this special intro episode for our retrospective 20th season, we’re drafting picks of movies from the years we’ve covered in previous seasons, to set the upcoming episode lineup. Josh, Jason and our producer Dave each pick three movies for us to talk about this season. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Awesome Movie Year on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/awesomemovieyear and follow us on Twitter @Awesomemoviepod You can find Jason onli...
Dec 04, 2024•45 min
In this special Thanksgiving holiday episode, we’re looking back to our recent season on the films of 1969, to talk about Arthur Penn’s Alice’s Restaurant . Directed and co-written by Arthur Penn and starring Arlo Guthrie, Pat Quinn, James Broderick and Michael McClanathan, Alice’s Restaurant is an adaptation of folk singer Guthrie’s signature song. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/alices-restaurant-1969 ), Andrew Sarris i...
Nov 27, 2024•50 min•Season 19Ep. 16
This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features Christopher Nolan’s Memento . Written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Memento was Nolan’s breakthrough film. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/memento-2001 ), Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times ( https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-16-ca-38285-story.html ), and A.O...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 18Ep. 17
In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1969, we talk about alternate movies we considered including in all of our different categories this season, and read suggestions from some listeners about their favorite 1969 movies. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Awesome Movie Year on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/awesomemovieyear and follow us on Twitter @Awesomemoviepod You can find Jason online at http://goforjason.com/ ...
Nov 13, 2024•28 min•Season 19Ep. 15
The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our audience choice poll winner, Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity. Directed by Bob Fosse (based on the Broadway production) and starring Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Chita Rivera, Ricardo Montalban and Paula Kelly, Sweet Charity defeated two other major Hollywood musicals in our audience choice poll. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/02/ar...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 19Ep. 14
The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, David Lowell Rich’s Eye of the Cat . Directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Michael Sarrazin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Eleanor Parker and Tim Henry, Eye of the Cat is the return to filmmaking for Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Howard Thompson in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/19/archives/horror-melodrama....
Oct 30, 2024•54 min•Season 19Ep. 13
The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our cult classic pick, Richard Lester’s The Bed Sitting Room . Directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by John Antrobus and starring Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Michael Hordern and Arthur Lowe, The Bed Sitting Room is adapted from the play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/29/arc...
Oct 23, 2024•59 min•Season 19Ep. 12
The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy. Directed by John Schlesinger from a screenplay by Waldo Salt (based on the James Leo Herlihy novel) and starring Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvia Miles and Brenda Vaccaro, Midnight Cowboy was the first and only X-rated movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www....
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 19Ep. 11
The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features one of the Venice International Film Festival’s major award winners, Federico Fellini’s Fellini Satyricon. Directed and co-written by Federico Fellini and starring Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born and Salvo Randone, Fellini Satyricon won the Pasinetti Award for Best Italian Film at the 1969 festival and was nominated for an Oscar. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rog...
Oct 09, 2024•54 min•Season 19Ep. 10
The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features Jason’s personal pick, Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch. Directed and co-written by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien and Jaime Sánchez, The Wild Bunch was nominated for two Oscars. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/26/archives/violence-and-beauty-mesh-in-wild-bunch.html ), Paul...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 19Ep. 9
The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our animation pick, Peanuts adaptation A Boy Named Charlie Brown . Directed by Bill Melendez from a screenplay by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and starring the voices of Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger and Andy Pforsich, A Boy Named Charlie Brown was the first theatrical feature film based on the Peanuts characters. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York T...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 19Ep. 8
The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our foreign film pick, Costa-Gavras’ Z . Directed and co-written by Costa-Gavras (from the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos) and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand, Jacques Perrin, Pierre Dux and Irene Papas, Z was nominated for five Oscars and won two. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/z-1969 ), Paul Schrader in Coast FM & Fine Arts ( h...
Sep 18, 2024•52 min•Season 19Ep. 7
The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features Josh’s personal pick, Ronald Neame’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie . Directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay by Jay Presson Allen (based on the Muriel Spark novel) and starring Maggie Smith, Pamela Franklin, Robert Stephens, Gordon Jackson and Jane Carr, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was nominated for two Oscars and won one. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times (...
Sep 11, 2024•57 min•Season 19Ep. 6
The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our documentary pick, the Maysles brothers’ Salesman . Directed by Albert and David Maysles with Charlotte Zwerin, Salesman is a key film in the direct cinema movement. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/18/archives/screen-salesman-a-slice-of-america.html ), Margot Hentoff in The New York Review of Books ( https://www.nybooks.com/...
Sep 04, 2024•48 min•Season 19Ep. 5
The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Lindsay Anderson’s If…. . Directed by Lindsay Anderson from a screenplay by David Sherwin and starring Malcolm McDowell, Robert Swann, Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan and David Wood, If…. is the first of three films Anderson directed featuring McDowell’s character Mick Travis. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( http...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 19Ep. 4
The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the year’s biggest flop, Carl Reiner’s The Comic . Directed and co-written by Carl Reiner and starring Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee and Mickey Rooney, The Comic was inspired by Van Dyke’s love of silent film comedians. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Greenspun in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/20/archives/comic-and-desperados-on-double-bill.html ), Jack Goff in The Holly...
Aug 21, 2024•52 min•Season 19Ep. 3
The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our pick for a notable filmmaking debut, Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer . Directed by Michael Ritchie from a screenplay by James Salter and starring Robert Redford, Gene Hackman and Camilla Sparv, Downhill Racer was filmed partially at actual Alpine Ski World Cup races. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/downhill-racer-1969 ), Roger Greenspun in Th...
Aug 14, 2024•43 min•Season 19Ep. 2
The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the highest-grossing film at the box office, George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . Directed by George Roy Hill from a screenplay by William Goldman and starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is based loosely on the true story of the notorious Wild West outlaws. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogereber...
Aug 07, 2024•58 min•Season 19Ep. 1
This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features William Dieterle’s adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame . Directed by William Dieterle from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell and Edmond O’Brien, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the first sound film adapted from Victor Hugo’s classic novel. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Frank S. Nugent in The New York Time...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 17Ep. 16
In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 2000, we talk about alternate movies we considered including in all of our different categories this season, and read suggestions from some listeners about their favorite 2000 movies. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Awesome Movie Year on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/awesomemovieyear and follow us on Twitter @Awesomemoviepod You can find Jason online at http://goforjason.com/ ...
Jul 26, 2024•37 min•Season 18Ep. 16
The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our audience choice poll winner, Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity. Directed by Stephen Frears (based on the novel by Nick Hornby) and starring John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black and Todd Louiso, High Fidelity defeated two other music-themed dramas in our audience choice poll. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/high-fidelity-2000 ), Stephen Holden in The New Y...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Season 18Ep. 15
The fourteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our cult classic pick, Ben Younger’s Boiler Room. Written and directed by Ben Younger and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Nicky Katt, Nia Long, Vin Diesel and Ben Affleck, Boiler Room was inspired by Younger’s experience interviewing for a job at a Long Island brokerage firm. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/boiler-room-2000 ), A.O. Scott in The New ...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 18Ep. 14
The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Mary Harron’s American Psycho. Directed and co-written by Mary Harron and starring Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Mathis, Justin Theroux and Chloë Sevigny, American Psycho is adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial 1991 novel. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/american-psycho-2000 ), Kenneth Turan i...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr•Season 18Ep. 13
The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou and Oliver Reed, Gladiator won five Oscars, including Best Picture. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gladiator-2000 ), Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times ( https://www.latimes.co...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr•Season 18Ep. 12
The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features one of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winners, Karyn Kusama’s Girlfight. Written and directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Michelle Rodriguez, Santiago Douglas, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderón and Ray Santiago, Girlfight was the first feature film for both Kusama and Rodriguez. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/girlfight-2000 ), A.O. Sco...
Jun 26, 2024•54 min•Season 18Ep. 11
The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features one of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winners, Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count on Me. Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan and starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Rory Culkin and Jon Tenney, You Can Count on Me was Lonergan’s first feature film after a successful career as a playwright. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/...
Jun 19, 2024•56 min•Season 18Ep. 10
The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features Jason’s personal pick, Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot. Directed by Stephen Daldry from a screenplay by Lee Hall and starring Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven and Stuart Wells, Billy Elliot was Daldry’s first feature film after a successful career in theater. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/billy-elliot-2000/ ), A.O. Scott in The N...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 18Ep. 9
The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our animation pick, Aardman Animations’ Chicken Run . Directed and co-written by Nick Park and Peter Lord and starring the voices of Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth and Benjamin Whitrow, Chicken Run was the first feature-length film produced by stop-motion studio Aardman. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chicken-run-200...
Jun 05, 2024•57 min•Season 18Ep. 8
The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our foreign film pick, Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . Directed by Ang Lee and starring Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-fat, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Cheng Pei-pei, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the first foreign-language movie to gross $100 million at the U.S. box office. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-20...
May 29, 2024•57 min•Season 18Ep. 7
