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…

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Ritz Brothers comedy The Gorilla. Directed by Allan Dwan and starring the Ritz Brothers (Jimmy, Harry, Al), Patsy Kelly, Anita Louise, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi and Edward Norris, The Gorilla was the fourth film adaptation of Ralph Spence’…

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Civil War-era epic Gone With the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming and starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard and Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind won 10 Oscars including Best Picture. The contempor…

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features the New York Film Critics Circle Best Film winner, William Wyler’s Wuthering Heights. Directed by William Wyler from a screenplay by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht and starring Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, David Niven, Flora Robson, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Hugh Williams…

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features Jason’s personal pick, Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings. Directed by Howard Hawks from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, Rita Hayworth and Richard Barthelmess, Only Angels Have Wings is often considered one of Hawks’ gr…

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our foreign film pick, Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game. Directed and co-written by Jean Renoir and starring Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Roland Toutain, Gaston Modot and Jean Renoir, The Rules of the Game was considered a fail…

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features a special Valentine’s Day pick, Leo McCarey’s Love Affair. Directed and co-written by Leo McCarey and starring Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Maria Ouspenskaya and Lee Bowman, Love Affair was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. The contemporary reviews quoted in…

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features Josh’s personal pick, George Cukor’s The Women. Directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin and starring Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland and Joan Fontaine, The Women was based on the hit 1936 Broadway…

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our animation pick, the Fleischer brothers’ Gulliver’s Travels. Directed by Dave Fleischer, based on the novel by Jonathan Swift, and starring the voices of Sam Parker, Pinto Colvig, Jack Mercer, Tedd Pierce and Lovey Warren, Gulliver’s Travels was the first feature-length a…

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features the Cannes Film Festival winner, Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Directed by Frank Capra from a screenplay by Sidney Buchman and starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Thomas Mitchell, Eugene Pallette and Edward Arnold, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington w…

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features the year’s biggest flop, ice skating showcase The Ice Follies of 1939. Directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring James Stewart, Joan Crawford, Lew Ayres and Lewis Stone, The Ice Follies of 1939 was created as a showcase for the International Ice Follies touring ice show. Th…

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features our pick for a movie from a major filmmaker, John Ford’s Stagecoach. Directed by John Ford from a screenplay by Dudley Nichols and starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell and Louise Platt, Stagecoach was Wayne’s breakthrough film and…

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1939 features one of the highest-grossing films at the box office, fantasy musical The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming, based on the novel by L. Frank Baum, and starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Burt Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan, The Wizard of Oz was nomi…

In the second of two special holiday episodes for this year, we’re looking back to our season on the films of 2003, to talk about Japanese animated movie Tokyo Godfathers. Directed and co-written by Satoshi Kon and starring the voices of Toru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki and Aya Okamoto, Tokyo Godfathers was Kon’s third feature-length animated film. The…

In the first of two special holiday episodes for this year, we’re looking back to our season on the films of 1980, to talk about holiday horror movie Christmas Evil. Written and directed by Lewis Jackson and starring Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn and Dianne Hull, Christmas Evil was banned and vilified in its initial release but has since become a…

NOTE: This episode was a timed exclusive over on our producer David Rosen’s Patreon. Sign up to one of the tiers for access to bonus episodes and more great content from us, Piecing It Together and David Rosen. https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features the movie most req…

NOTE: This episode was a timed exclusive over on our producer David Rosen’s Patreon. Sign up to one of the tiers for access to bonus episodes and more great content from us, Piecing It Together and David Rosen. https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features Robert Altman’s Be…

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1987, 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 1987 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 1987 features our audience choice pick, Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop. Directed by Paul Verhoeven from a screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner and starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith and Daniel O’Herlihy, RoboCop prevailed over two other classic acti…

This bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features a special Thanksgiving pick, John Hughes’ Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Written and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin, John Candy and Laila Robins, Planes, Trains and Automobiles marked Hughes’ transition from teen movies to more adult fare. The contempora…

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features our future cult classic pick, Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths and Ralph Brown, Withnail and I was inspired by Robinson’s own experiences as a young man in the 1960s. The c…

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II. Directed and co-written by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks and Kassie Wesley, Evil Dead II helped launch the ongoing Evil Dead franchise. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episod…

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor. Directed and co-written by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O’Toole and Ying Ruocheng, The Last Emperor was nominated for nine Oscars and won them all. The contempo…

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features a special Halloween selection, Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys. Directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Dianne Wiest, Jami Gertz and Corey Feldman, The Lost Boys had a major influence on the development of the vampire genre. The …

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features a Sundance Film Festival award winner, Lizzie Borden’s Working Girls. Directed and co-written by Lizzie Borden and starring Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, Amanda Goodwin and Marusia Zach, Working Girls premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and…

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features Jason’s personal pick, Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. Directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon and Andre the Giant, The Princess Bride was adapted by Goldman from his own 1973 novel. …

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features our foreign film pick, Abbas Kiarostami’s Where Is the Friend’s House?. Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami and starring Babak Ahmadpour, Ahmed Ahmadpour and Khodabaksh Defai, Where Is the Friend’s House? is the first movie in Kiarostami’s acclaimed Koker trilogy. The…

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features Josh’s personal pick, Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck. Directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley and starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello, Moonstruck was nominated for six Oscars and won three. The contemporar…

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features our documentary pick, Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March. Directed by and featuring Ross McElwee, Sherman’s March won the documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 1987 Sundance Film Festival. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Vincent Canby in The New York Time…

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Maurice Pialat’s Under the Sun of Satan. Directed and co-written by Maurice Pialat, adapted from the novel by Georges Bernanos, and starring Gerard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, Maurice Pialat, Alain Artur and Yann Dedet, Under th…

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features the year’s biggest flop, Elaine May’s Ishtar. Written and directed by Elaine May and starring Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani and Charles Grodin, Ishtar was May’s final narrative film as a director. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Rog…

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features our pick for a notable filmmaking debut, Chris Columbus’ Adventures in Babysitting. Directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by David Simkins and starring Elisabeth Shue, Keith Coogan, Maia Brewton and Anthony Rapp, Adventures in Babysitting marked Columbus’ directorial…

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1987 features the highest-grossing film at the box office, family comedy Three Men and a Baby. Directed by Leonard Nimoy from a screenplay by Jim Cruickshank and James Orr and starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson, Three Men and a Baby is a remake of the French film Three …

This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2012 features David Gelb’s documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Directed by David Gelb and starring Japanese chef Jiro Ono, Jiro Dreams of Sushi has had a major influence on the development of food documentaries in TV and movies. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come …

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1975, we talk about alternate movies we considered including in all of our different categories this season, and read suggestions from some listeners about which movies they hoped we would cover. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear.com for more info about the show. Make sure to like Awesome…

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features our audience choice pick, Jack Hill’s Switchblade Sisters. Directed and co-written by Jack Hill and starring Joanne Nail, Robbie Lee, Monica Gayle and Asher Brauner, Switchblade Sisters prevailed over six other sexploitation movies in our 1975 audience choice poll. The contemporary…

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features our future cult classic pick, midnight movie staple The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Directed and co-written by Jim Sharman, based on the stage show by Richard O’Brien and starring Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn, The Rocky Horro…

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Blaxploitation classic Dolemite. Directed by D’Urville Martin from a screenplay by Jerry Jones and starring Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed, D’Urville Martin, Jerry Jones and West Gale, Dolemite was based on a character created by Moore in his w…

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Directed by Milos Forman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey and starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, William Redfield, Brad Dourif and Sydney Lassick, One Flew Over the C…

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features the Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear winner, Márta Mészáros’ Adoption. Written and directed by Márta Mészáros and starring Katalin Berek, Gyöngyvér Vigh and László Szabó, Adoption was the first movie by a female filmmaker to ever win the Golden Bear. The contem…

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features Jason’s personal pick, Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon. Directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by Frank Pierson and starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Penelope Allen and Sully Boyar, Dog Day Afternoon was inspired by the true story of a B…

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features our foreign film pick, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Written and directed by Chantal Akerman and starring Delphine Seyrig and Jan Decorte, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles was named the greatest film of all time i…

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features Josh’s personal pick, Ira Levin adaptation The Stepford Wives. Directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by William Goldman (based on Levin’s novel) and starring Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson and Patrick O’Neal, The Stepford Wives garnered mixed response b…

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features our documentary pick, the Maysles brothers’ Grey Gardens. Directed by David and Albert Maysles along with Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer and featuring “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, Grey Gardens premiered at the 1975 New York Film Festival. The contemporary review…

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1975 features a Cannes Film Festival award winner, Werner Herzog’s The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. Written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, and Brigitte Mira, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser won three awards at Cannes in 1975. The contemporary reviews quote…