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PODCAST

Awesome Movie Year

Awesome Movie Year

Awesome Movie Year is a podcast co-hosted by film critic Josh Bell and filmmaker and comedian Jason Harris. Each season looks at why a certain year was an awesome movie year. Each episode focuses on a different film from the year being investigated. Produced by David Rosen of the Piecing It Together Podcast for the All Points West Podcast Network

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:11:11

Muppets Christmas Double Feature (1977 / 1992 Holiday...

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/12/23

In this special holiday episode, we’re looking back to our seasons on the films of 1977 and 1992, to talk about two Christmas movies featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol. Both written by Jerry Juhl and featuring the Muppets, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas was directed by Jim Henson and The Muppet Christmas Carol was directed by Henson’s son Brian.The contemporary reviews for Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas quoted in this episode come from

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54:19

Tokyo Story (1953 Foreign Film)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/12/21

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features our foreign film pick, Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story. Co-written and directed by Yasujiro Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura and So Yamamura, Tokyo Story was released in Japan in 1953 but didn’t open in the U.S. until 1972.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tokyo-story-1953), Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles

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01:06:24

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 Josh’s Pick)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/12/14

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features Josh’s personal pick, Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Directed by Howard Hawks, adapted from Anita Loos’ novel and stage musical, and starring Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid and Tommy Noonan, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1953.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Bosley Crowther in The New York Times

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49:51

The Living Desert (1953 Documentary)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/12/07

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features our documentary pick, Disney’s The Living Desert. Directed by James Algar, The Living Desert won the Oscar for best documentary feature and was the first feature-length installment in Disney’s True-Life Adventures series.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Bosley Crowther in The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/10/archives/two-pictures-have-premieres-the-living-desert-a-disney.html),

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57:59

The Wages of Fear (1953 Cannes Palme d’Or Winner)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/11/30

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear. Directed and co-written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, based on the novel by Georges Arnaud, and starring Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli and Peter van Eyck, The Wages of Fear won the top prizes at both Cannes and the Berlin Film Festival in 1953.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Bosley Crowther in The New York

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51:42

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953 Box Office Flop)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/11/23

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features the year’s biggest flop, Dr. Seuss’ The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Directed by Roy Rowland from a concept and a screenplay co-written by Dr. Seuss and starring Tommy Rettig, Hans Conried, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was such a disappointment to Dr. Seuss that he vowed never to work in Hollywood again.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Bosley Crowther in The New York Times

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51:24

Fear and Desire (1953 First Feature)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/11/16

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features our pick for a notable filmmaking debut, Stanley Kubrick’s Fear and Desire. Directed by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay by Howard O. Sackler and starring Kenneth Harp, Frank Silvera, Steve Coit and Paul Mazursky, Fear and Desire was disowned by Kubrick and remained unavailable for decades following its premiere.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from A.H. Weiler in The New York Times

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01:02:18

The Robe (1953 Box Office Champ)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/11/09

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1953 features the highest-grossing film at the box office, Biblical epic The Robe. Directed by Henry Koster, based on the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas and starring Richard Burton, Victor Mature, Jean Simmons and Michael Rennie, The Robe was the first movie released in CinemaScope. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Abel Green in Variety, Richard L. Coe in the Washington Post, and Bosley Crowther in The New York Times

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01:11:33

A Few Good Men (1992 Bonus Episode)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/11/02

NOTE: This episode is a timed exclusive over on our producer David Rosen’s Patreon. Sign up to one of the tiers for access to this bonus episode and more great content from us, Piecing It Together, All Rice No Beans and David Rosen. https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen This special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men. Directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kevin

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01:08:11

The Shining (1980 Halloween Bonus)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/10/26

In the third of three special Halloween episodes this year, we’re looking back to our season on the awesome movie year of 1980 to talk about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Directed and co-written by Stanley Kubrick (based on the Stephen King novel) and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers, The Shining opened to mixed response but has since become a horror classic. The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Janet Maslin in The New York Times

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55:59

Idle Hands (1999 Halloween Bonus)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/10/19

In the second of three special Halloween episodes this year, we’re looking back to our season on the awesome movie year of 1999, to talk about horror comedy Idle Hands. Directed by Rodman Flender from a screenplay by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Jack Noseworthy and Vivica A. Fox, Idle Hands was a semi-finalist in our 1999 audience choice teen-movies tournament.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert

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01:06:44

Death Becomes Her (1992 Halloween Bonus)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/10/12

In the first of three special Halloween episodes this year, we’re continuing with 1992, the year we covered in our most recent season, to talk about Robert Zemeckis’ Death Becomes Her. Directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by David Koepp and Martin Donovan and starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini, Death Becomes Her won an Oscar for its pioneering special effects.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Rita Kempley in the Washington Post

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01:09:54

Raging Bull (1980 Bonus Episode)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/10/05

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/bydavidrosenThis special bonus episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1980 features Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty,

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41:58

1992 Epilogue

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/09/30

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1992, 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 Movie Year on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/awesomemovieyear and follow us on Twitter@AwesomemoviepodYou can find Jason online at

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01:13:14

Basic Instinct (1992 Audience Choice)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/09/28

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features our audience choice pick, Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct. Directed by Paul Verhoeven from a script by Joe Eszterhas and starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Jeanne Tripplehorn and George Dzundza, Basic Instinct prevailed over two other movies about femme fatales in our 1992 audience choice poll.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/basic-instinct-1992), Janet

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01:13:07

Shakes The Clown (1992 Future Cult Classic)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/09/21

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features our future cult classic pick, Bobcat Goldthwait’s Shakes the Clown. Written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Tom Kenny, Blake Clark and Adam Sandler, Shakes the Clown was a critical and commercial failure that has since been reappraised and appreciated by a cult audience.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert

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53:59

Dead Alive (1992 Dave’s Pick)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/09/14

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive. Directed and co-written by Peter Jackson and starring Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody and Ian Watkin, Dead Alive was Jackson’s third feature and the end of his “splatter” period.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from David Stratton in Variety (https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/braindead-1117901348/), Peter Rainer in the Los

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01:04:54

Unforgiven (1992 Best Picture)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/09/07

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. Directed by Clint Eastwood from a script by David Webb Peoples and starring Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Jaimz Woolvett, Richard Harris, Frances Fisher and Saul Rubinek, Unforgiven was nominated for nine Oscars and won four, including Best Picture.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Duane Byrge in The Hollywood Reporter

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57:26

In The Soup (1992 Sundance Award Winner)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/08/31

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Alexandre Rockwell’s In the Soup. Directed and co-written by Alexandre Rockwell and starring Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassel, Jennifer Beals, Will Patton and Pat Moya, In the Soup won two awards at Sundance in 1992.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times

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01:04:24

Peter’s Friends (1992 Jason’s Pick)

Awesome Movie Year ·

2022/08/24

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1992 features Jason’s personal pick, Kenneth Branagh’s Peter’s Friends. Directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman and starring Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton, Peter’s Friends was Branagh’s third film as a director.The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/peters-friends-1992), Janet Maslin in

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355 results

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