The tenth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1987 with the third of Jason’s three picks, family comedy Ernest Goes to Camp. Directed and co-written by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney, Victoria Racimo, Lyle Alzado, Iron Eyes Cody and John Vernon, Ernest Goes to Camp is the first of nine featu…

The ninth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1992 with the third of our producer Dave’s three picks, Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant. Directed and co-written by Abel Ferrara and starring Harvey Keitel, Frankie Thorn, Zoë Lund and Victor Argo, Bad Lieutenant premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festiv…

This bonus supplement to the eighth episode of our special retrospective 20th season features guests ML Compton and Skip King talking with Jason about their experiences in the punk scene and their thoughts on Wolfgang Büld’s 1977 documentary Punk in London. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Aweso…

The eighth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1977 with the second of Jason’s three picks, documentary Punk in London. Directed by Wolfgang Büld, Punk in London features influential early punk bands including The Jam and The Clash. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Time O…

The seventh episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 2003 with the second of our producer Dave’s three picks, Michael Bay’s Bad Boys II. Directed by Michael Bay and starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union and Jordi Molla, Bad Boys II was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2003. The co…

The sixth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1975 with the second of Josh’s three picks, Dario Argento’s Deep Red. Directed and co-written by Dario Argento and starring David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia and Macha Méril, Deep Red is considered a landmark of the giallo subgenre. The c…

The fifth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 2007 with the first of our producer Dave’s three picks, the Lonely Island’s Hot Rod. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Ian McShane, Jorma Taccone, Danny McBride and Bill Hader, Hot Rod was the first feature film from c…

The fourth episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 2012 with the second of two Christmas episodes, on Edward Burns’ The Fitzgerald Family Christmas. Written and directed by Edward Burns and starring Edward Burns, Michael McGlone, Kerry Bishé, Heather Burns, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Caitlin FitzGer…

The third episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1999 with the first of two Christmas episodes, on Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Directed and co-written by Stanley Kubrick (adapted from the novel by Arthur Schnitzler) and starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack and Todd Field, Eyes Wi…

The second episode of our special retrospective 20th season looks back to the awesome movie year of 1989 with the first of Josh’s three picks, J.F. Lawton’s Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death. Written and directed by J.F. Lawton (under the name J.D. Athens) and starring Shannon Tweed, Karen Mistal, Bill Maher and Adrienne Barbeau, Cannib…

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 …

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 sur…

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.…

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…

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 …

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 audie…

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 contem…

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 …

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 th…

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 Ita…

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 e…

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 fir…

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 contempor…

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 …

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.…

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 dire…

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 R…

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. Th…

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 loosel…

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 firs…

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 …

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 co…

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 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 nov…

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 thi…

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 Kusam…

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 featu…

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 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 s…

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. bo…

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features Josh’s personal pick, Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys. Directed by Curtis Hanson from a screenplay by Steve Kloves (based on the Michael Chabon novel) and starring Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr. and Katie Holmes, Wonder Boys was nominated fo…

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our documentary pick, Agnes Varda’s The Gleaners and I. Directed by and featuring Agnes Varda, The Gleaners and I is considered one of the greatest documentaries of all time. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/re…

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark. Written and directed by Lars von Trier and starring Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse and Peter Stormare, Dancer in the Dark also won the Best Actress award at Cannes for Björk’s lead perfo…

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features the year’s biggest flop, L. Ron Hubbard adaptation Battlefield Earth. Directed by Roger Christian from a screenplay by Corey Mandell and J.D. Shapiro and starring John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker and Kim Coates, Battlefield Earth was a passion project for Sciento…

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features our pick for a notable filmmaking debut, Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast. Directed by Jonathan Glazer from a screenplay by Louis Mellis and David Scinto and starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman and Cavan Kendall, Sexy Beast was nominated for an Oscar…

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2000 features the highest-grossing film at the box office, John Woo’s Mission: Impossible II. Directed by John Woo from a screenplay by Robert Towne and starring Tom Cruise, Thandiwe Newton, Dougray Scott, Ving Rhames, John Polson and Anthony Hopkins, Mission: Impossible II topped the wor…

This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features James L. Brooks’ Best Picture nominee Broadcast News. Written and directed by James L. Brooks and starring Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, William Hurt and Robert Prosky, Broadcast News was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. The contemporary reviews qu…

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1939, 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 1939 movies. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Awesome Movie Year …

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our audience choice pick, the Marx Brothers comedy At the Circus. Directed by Edward Buzzell from a screenplay by Irving Brecher and starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo), Kenny Baker, Florence Rice, Eve Arden and Margaret Dumont, At the Circus prevailed over two other…

The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our future cult classic pick, Universal horror sequel Son of Frankenstein. Directed by Rowland V. Lee from a screenplay by Willis Cooper and starring Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lionel Atwill and Josephine Hutchinson, Son of Frankenstein was the third mo…