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…

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 …