Awesome Movie Year

The fourteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our producer David Rosen’s personal pick, Ted V. Mikels’ The Corpse Grinders . Directed by Ted V. Mikels from a screenplay by Arch Hall and Joseph Cranston and starring Sean Kenney, Monika Kelly, Sanford Mitchell, J. Byron Foster and Warren Ball, The Corpse Grinders built a cult following that led to two sequels decade...

The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, William Friedkin’s The French Connection . Directed by William Friedkin, based on the book by Robin Moore, and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey and Tony Lo Bianco, The French Connection was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture....

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear winner, Vittorio De Sica’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis . Directed by Vittorio De Sica, based on the novel by Giorgio Bassani, and starring Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda, Helmut Berger and Fabio Testi, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Lang...

This special Christmas preview of our upcoming 1985 season features holiday favorite Santa Claus: The Movie . Directed by Jeannot Szwarc from a screenplay by David Newman and starring David Huddleston, Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, Judy Cornwell, Christian L. Fitzpatrick and Carrie Kei Heim, Santa Claus: The Movie was the final major release from Superman franchise producers Alexander and Ilya Salki...

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features Jason’s personal pick, Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude . Directed by Hal Ashby from a screenplay by Colin Higgins and starring Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Vivian Pickles and Charles Tyner, Harold and Maude was a critical and commercial failure that has since become an enduring classic. The contemporary reviews quoted in this epi...

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our animation pick, Fred Wolf’s The Point . Directed, animated and co-written by Fred Wolf and starring the voices of Mike Lookinland, Paul Frees, Lennie Weinrib, Bill Martin and Joan Gerber, The Point features songs from Harry Nilsson’s album of the same name. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Kevin...

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our foreign film pick, Bruce Lee in The Big Boss . Written and directed by Lo Wei and starring Bruce Lee, James Tien, Maria Yi and Han Ying-chieh, The Big Boss marked Lee’s return to Hong Kong cinema after launching his career in the United States. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from J. Oliver Prescott...

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features Josh’s personal pick, John D. Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death . Directed by John D. Hancock and starring Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O’Connor, Gretchen Corbett and Mariclare Costello, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death was Hancock’s debut feature following a career in theater. The contemporary reviews quoted in th...

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features our documentary pick, Bruce Brown’s On Any Sunday . Directed and narrated by Bruce Brown and featuring Mert Lawwill, David Aldana, Malcolm Smith and Steve McQueen, On Any Sunday is credited with helping popularize motorcycle sports in the U.S. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert ( https:/...

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Joseph Losey’s The Go-Between . Directed by Joseph Losey from a screenplay by Harold Pinter and starring Dominic Guard, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leigthon and Edward Fox, The Go-Between is based on the 1953 novel by L.P. Hartley. The contemporary reviews quoted in this...

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the year’s biggest flop, Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie . Directed and co-written by Dennis Hopper and starring Hopper, Stella Garcia, Don Gordon, Julie Adams and Tomas Milian, The Last Movie put Hopper’s directorial career on hold for nearly a decade. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (...

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 is a Halloween special featuring Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood . Directed and co-written by Mario Bava and starring Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso and Laura Betti, A Bay of Blood is a key early influence on the slasher genre. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Tim...

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the second of two picks for a notable debut feature, Steven Spielberg’s Duel . Directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Richard Matheson (based on his short story) and starring Dennis Weaver, Duel aired as an ABC TV movie in the U.S. and was released theatrically in Europe and Australia. The contemporary review quo...

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the first of two picks for a notable debut feature, George Lucas’ THX 1138 . Directed and co-written by George Lucas and starring Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Maggie McOmie and Don Pedro Colley, THX 1138 is based on Lucas’ student film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB . The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode...

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1971 features the box-office champion, Norman Jewison’s Fiddler on the Roof . Directed by Norman Jewison and starring Topol, Norma Crane, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Leonard Frey and Neva Small, Fiddler on the Roof is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical by Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. The contemporary reviews q...

This bonus episode for our season on the awesome movie year of 1941 features Alfred Hitchcock’s  Suspicion . Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Bruce, Cedric Hardwicke and Mae Whitty,  Suspicion  was loosely adapted from the novel  Before the Fact  by Francis Iles. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Bosley Crow...

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 2014, 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 2014 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/aw...

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features our audience choice poll winner, Liam Neeson thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones . Written and directed by Scott Frank (from the novel by Lawrence Block) and starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Brian “Astro” Bradley, Boyd Holbrook and David Harbour, A Walk Among the Tombstones defeated two other Liam Neeson thrillers in our audien...

The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features our cult classic pick, Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow . Directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson and Noah Taylor, Edge of Tomorrow is based on the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Manohla...

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch’s John Wick . Directed by Chad Stahelski and an uncredited David Leitch from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad and starring Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Willem Dafoe, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki and Ian McShane, John Wick launched one of the most successful...

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman . Directed and co-written by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis and Andrea Riseborough, Birdman was nominated for nine Oscars and won four, including Best Picture....

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash . Written and directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser and Melissa Benoist, Whiplash won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The contemporary reviews quoted...

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features Jason’s personal pick, Michael Tully’s Ping Pong Summer . Written and directed by Michael Tully and starring Marcello Conte, Myles Massey, Emmi Shockley, Joseph McCaughtry and Susan Sarandon, Ping Pong Summer premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Jeannette Ca...

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features our animation pick, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie . Written and directed by Lord and Miller and starring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman and Will Arnett, The Lego Movie is the first feature film inspired by Lego building toys. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode co...

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 2014 features our foreign film pick, Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure . Written and directed by Ruben Östlund and starring Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju and Fanni Metelius, Force Majeure premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The contemporary reviews quoted in this epis...