Awesome Movie Year

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1946 features one of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winners, David Lean’s Brief Encounter . Directed and co-written by David Lean and starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey and Cyril Raymond, Brief Encounter was one of 11 films to tie for the Grand Prix at the first-ever Cannes Film Festival. The conte...

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1946 features the year’s biggest flop, Buster Keaton comedy Boom in the Moon . Directed and co-written by Jaime Salvador and starring Buster Keaton, Ángel Garasa and Virginia Serret, Mexican production Boom in the Moon marked Keaton’s final leading role in a film. Check out more info and the entire archive of past episodes at https://www...

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1946 features our pick for a notable debut feature, Ingmar Bergman’s Crisis . Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Inga Landgré, Stig Olin, Marianne Löfgren and Dagny Lind, Crisis is adapted from a Danish radio play by Leck Fischer. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode ( https://www.ingmarbergman.se/en/producti...

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1946 features the box-office champion, King Vidor’s Duel in the Sun. Directed by King Vidor and starring Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten, Lillian Gish and Lionel Barrymore, Duel in the Sun was producer David O. Selznick’s effort to match his success and acclaim with Gone With the Wind. The contemporary reviews quoted in this...

This bonus episode for our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry . Directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson and John Vernon, Dirty Harry is the first of five movies featuring Eastwood as San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (...

This bonus episode for our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features Mel Stuart’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder, Peter Ostrum and Jack Albertson, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is based on the novel by Roald Dahl. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/willy-w...

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1985, 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 1985 movies. Check out more info and the entire archive of past episodes at https://www.awesomemovieyear.com and visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/awesomem...

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our audience choice pick, animated toy adaptation He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword . Directed by Ed Friedman, Lou Kachivas, Marsh Lamore, Bill Reed and Gwen Wetzler and starring the voices of John Erwin, Melendy Britt, Alan Oppenheimer and Linda Gary, He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword defeated two other animated...

The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our cult classic pick, Kurt Thomas action movie Gymkata . Directed by Robert Clouse and starring Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton and Buck Kartalian, Gymkata is the first and only film featuring world champion gymnast Kurt Thomas. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert and La...

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead . Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Mathews and Don Calfa, The Return of the Living Dead is the first installment in a long-running horror franchise. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode...

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa . Directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Michael Kitchen, Out of Africa is based on the life and writings of Karen Blixen. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (...

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Blood Simple . Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh, Blood Simple was the Coen brothers’ debut feature. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebe...

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features Jason’s personal pick, Richard Donner’s The Goonies . Directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus and starring Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen and Ke Huy Quan, The Goonies is based on a story by producer Steven Spielberg. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger E...

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our animation pick, Will Vinton’s The Adventures of Mark Twain . Directed by Will Vinton and starring James Whitmore, Michele Mariana, Gary Krug and Chris Ritchie, The Adventures of Mark Twain is the first and only feature film directed by stop-motion animation pioneer Vinton. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episod...

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our foreign film pick, Akira Kurosawa’s Ran . Directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa and starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu and Mieko Harada, Ran is adapted from William Shakespeare’s King Lear . The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogereber...

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features Josh’s personal pick, Susan Seidelman’s Desperately Seeking Susan . Directed by Susan Seidelman from a screenplay by Leora Barish and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, Madonna, Mark Blum and Laurie Metcalf, Desperately Seeking Susan marked the feature film debut of pop singer Madonna. The contemporary review quoted in...

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our documentary pick, Ken Burns’ The Statue of Liberty . Directed by Ken Burns and narrated by historian David McCullough, The Statue of Liberty was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The contemporary review quoted in this episode comes from John Corry in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.c...

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Emir Kusturica’s When Father Was Away on Business . Directed by Emir Kusturica and starring Moreno De Bartoli, Miki Manojlović, Mirjana Karanović, Mustafa Nadarević and Mira Furlan, When Father Was Away on Business was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Languag...

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features the year’s biggest flop, Jonathan Lynn’s Clue . Written and directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean and Lesley Ann Warren, Clue is based on the perennially popular board game. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Rog...

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features our pick for a notable debut feature, Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure . Directed by Tim Burton and starring Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Diane Salinger and Mark Holton, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is the first movie featuring Reubens’ long-running Pee-wee Herman character. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode...

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1985 features the box-office champion, Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future . Directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson, Back to the Future launched an enduring franchise that includes two sequels. The contemporary reviews quoted in this epi...

This bonus episode for our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features Richard Linklater’s Boyhood . Written and directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and Lorelei Linklater, Boyhood was filmed over the course of 12 years. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Manohla Dargis in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com...

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1971, 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 1971 movies. Check out more info and the entire archive of past episodes at https://www.awesomemovieyear.com and visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/awesomem...

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our audience choice pick, Harry Kümel’s Daughters of Darkness . Directed and co-written by Harry Kümel and starring Delphine Seyrig, Danielle Ouimet, John Karlen and Andrea Rau, Daughters of Darkness prevailed over six other horny lady vampire movies in our audience choice poll. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come...

The fifteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our future cult classic pick, Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack . Directed and co-written by Tom Laughlin and starring Laughlin, Delores Taylor, David Roya, Clark Howat and Julie Webb, Billy Jack was at one point the highest-grossing independent film of all time. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger E...