Awesome Movie Year

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’s play. The contemporary reviews quoted in this e...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Fran...

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, Wuthering Heights is the earliest surviving fil...

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’ greatest films. The contemporary reviews quoted in t...

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 failure until its restoration and rediscovery in the...

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 this episode come from Frank S. Nugent in The Ne...

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 play by Clare Boothe. The contemporary reviews q...

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 animated film from Fleischer Studios. The contempo...

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 was awarded the top prize at the 2019 recreation o...

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. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode com...

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 Western that Ford shot in Monument Val...

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 nominated for six Oscars and is considered one of the...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come...

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 cult classic. Visit https://www.awesomemovieyear...

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 requested by listeners on our social media page...

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 Best Picture nominee  Nashville . Directe...

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 on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/aweso...

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 action movies in our 1987 audience choice poll. The c...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come f...

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 episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert....

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Rog...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come...

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 won Special Jury Recognition at Sundance in 1987...

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 contemporary reviews quoted in this episode co...