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PODCAST

Let"s Finally Watch This

Derailed Trains of Thought

A podcast for casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies. Hosts Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal guide you through film history as they highlight one movie from each decade for the last century, exploring how each film sits in its time period, why it"s well-known, and whether it"s actually worth your time. We"re finally getting around to movies we"ve always heard about. Why don"t you join us?

tv & film film history

All Episodes

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Episode 52 – Forbidden Planet (1956)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/10/09

The year is 1956. And you can’t have the 50’s without SCIENCE FICTION! Amid the plethora of sci-fi films released this year comes Forbidden Planet, which became an inspiration for many future projects and franchises, including Star Trek. The first film set completely on an alien planet, it combines unique visual and audio effects, futuristic gadgetry, and a psychological view of humanity to create an enjoyable, if somewhat dated, experience.What Forbidden Planet offers casual movie fans who have

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Episode 51 – The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/10/02

The year is 1946. The war is over, and the soldiers are coming home. Director (and veteran) William Wyler uses this moment in history to make The Best Years of Our Lives, a remarkably contemporary and multi-faceted drama featuring three men from different branches of the military and socioeconomic standings adjusting to civilian life. Each struggles with his own reentry into the world he left behind.What The Best Years of Our Lives offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic

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Episode 50 – Modern Times (1936)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/09/25

The year is 1936. The cinema world is filled with talkies. Sound has revolutionized the industry. But Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times revels in its almost-silent-film genius. The iconic Tramp tries to make an honest living for himself and his street urchin love in a world of machine-filled factories and hard-to-keep jobs, a gentle satire on a world not completely unlike our own modern times.What Modern Times offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: Charlie Chaplin,

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Episode 49 – The Black Pirate (1926)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/09/18

Theyearis1926.Themovieindustryisayearawayfromitsfirstbigsoundfilm,butanothermajortechnologicaladvanceisalsoslowlyadvancing–COLOR!TheBlackPirateisavitalearlysuccessofTechnicolor,dueinparttoactorDouglasFairbanks’sswashbucklingathleticism.Withitsvibrantuseofcolorandhighadventure,TheBlackPirateinfluencedmanyfuturepiratemovies.WhatTheBlackPirateofferscasualmoviefanswhohavealwaysmeanttowatchclassicmovies:asuccessfuluseofearlycolortechnology;excitingarchetypalcharactersandstorybeats;DouglasFairbanks’sex

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Episode 48 – Intolerance (1916)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/09/11

The year is 1916. It’s only been a decade since The Story of the Kelly Gang, but director D.W. Griffith has pushed the medium to new heights. With the same vision that created the cinematically groundbreaking (though racist) The Birth of a Nation (see episode 36), Griffith ushers audiences through four separate plotlines in what some have called the only “film fugue.” Intolerance sets out to tell “love’s struggle throughout the ages,” from present day troubles with crime and poverty to the downfall

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Episode 47 – The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2026/09/04

Welcome to Season 5 of Let's Finally Watch This, a podcast for casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies. We have another 12 exciting, decades-hopping episodes for you.First up, we're back in 1906, where moving pictures are still very much a technology in its infancy. This time we're in Australia, where the legend of Ned Kelly holds sway in the cultural imagination. Enter Charles Tait and his brothers, who produce what many consider the first dramatic, feature-length film,

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Season 4 Wrap-up & Epilogue

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/12/05

It’s time to wrap up our fourth season ofLet’s Finally Watch This. Looking back at our season of heavy-hitters (and a few oddballs), we consider some of the unexpected themes and this season's emphasis on directors. Then we dive into the heart of the episode–our Ranking of Essentialness for this season’s movies! We also share our personal favorites from the season.Thanks for joining us again for this exciting journey through the decades of film! Show Notes

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Episode 46 – Cinderella (2015)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/11/21

It's 2015. Franchises rule the box office. Disney, a powerhouse studio for decades, is in the middle of its current run of live-action remakes. This year's movie, Cinderella, is directed by Kenneth Branagh, known for his Shakespearean adaptations and portrayal of Hercule Poirot. The story itself is nothing new, but Branagh presents it with lavishly and directly, making it one of the best-reviewed of the modern remakes.What Cinderella offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch

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Episode 45 – King Kong (2005)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/11/14

It's 2005. Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, follows that triumph by remaking one of his favorite movies--King Kong. By taking the original, iconic 1933 film and expanding it with his own knack for special effects and epic-length storytelling, Jackson creates a version that, as critic Roger Ebert says, "is like the flowering of all the possibilities in the original classic film.”What King Kong offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: more of

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Episode 44 – Jumanji (1995)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/11/07

It's 1995. Combining the blockbuster era with CGI creates the opportunity for all sorts of movies--including ones with jungle creatures rampaging through city streets. Director Joe Johnston, who started his Hollywood career designing spaceships for Star Wars, utilizes computer and practical effects to bring a malevolent board game to life in Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, and a young Kirsten Dunst.What Jumanji offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic

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Episode 43 – Cocoon (1985)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/10/31

It's 1985. The culture is saturated with youth-targeted science fiction and fantasy films. And then there's Cocoon, directed by Ron Howard, a quirky movie featuring three elderly men as protagonists. Aliens disguised as humans are recovering cocoons from the ocean and storing them in the pool of a rented house when the old men discover that the water of the pool rejuvenates them. It's a fountain of youth, but will they share it? And will the aliens let them continue using it?What Cocoon offers

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Episode 42 – Jaws (1975)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/10/24

It's 1975. No one knows it yet, but this is when the Blockbuster Age begins. It starts with a movie called Jaws, directed by an up-and-coming director named Steven Spielberg. If you don't know, Jaws is about a killer shark. It's the reason an entire generation feared going into the water. At the time of its release, it became the highest-grossing film of all time--and also the blueprint for a revolution in the filmmaking business.What Jaws offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch

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Episode 41 – Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/10/17

It's 1965. Three years previous, director David Lean released his masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia. Now, he returns with another historical epic, exchanging desert vistas for the mountains of Russia and the society of Soviet Revolution-era Moscow. Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel, Doctor Zhivago follows the titular doctor (and poet) as his life and loves intersect with the violence and utopian dreams of the Bolshevik Revolution.What Doctor Zhivago offers casual movie fans who have always

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Episode 40 – Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/10/10

It's 1955. It's a time we look back at with nostalgia, thinking it a simpler, more peaceful time. But in one of first important "juvenile delinquent" films, Rebel Without a Cause, director Nicholas Ray and actor James Dean explore teen culture and find that the kids are not all right.Following a little over 24 hours of the lives of Dean's Jim Stark, the disturbed "Plato," and Judy, the bully's girlfriend, the movie shows the search for meaning and mentors that seem to plague a generation of

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Episode 39 – Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/10/03

It's 1945. VE Day was May 8, but the war continues in the Pacific. Meanwhile, MGM entertains Americans back home with musicals such as Anchors Aweigh, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as two navy sailors on a four-day shore leave near Hollywood. Hoping to spend time picking up girls, they find themselves involved in the life of aspiring singer "Aunt Susie." An eager boy and a lie are excuse enough to provide plenty of opportunities for romance, spectacle, and a happy ending.What Anchors

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Episode 38 – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/09/26

It's 1935. One source of escapism during the Great Depression was the big budget spectacle--and Mutiny on the Bounty was one of the most expensive of its time. Based on the books which were inspired by true events, it follows the voyage of the HMS Bounty to Tahiti under the draconian command of Captain Bligh, as the crew, especially executive commander Christian Fletcher, weigh whether such harsh treatment is worthy of mutiny.Filled with drama, danger, moral dilemmas, and island romance, Mutiny

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Episode 37 – Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/09/19

It's 1925. The Russian Revolution is over. Vladimir Lenin believes that “the cinema is for us the most important of the arts," leading the Soviet Union to create the world's first professional film school. With a genius for editing that is still discussed today, director Sergei Eisenstein creates a movie that was once considered the greatest movie ever made.Battleship Potemkin tells the inspired-by-a-true-story tale of the sailors of the titular battleship and their struggle against their

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Episode 36 – The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/09/12

It's 1915. Film is innovating, but some companies don't believe that longer features are viable. Enter director D.W. Griffith, who with The Birth of a Nation, pushed the medium forward with a three-plus-hour historical drama that is often considered the first film masterpiece.Featuring white Southerners as the heroes against uneducated, just-freed slaves, it is also undeniably racist and one of the most controversial films of all time. What The Birth of a Nation offers casual movie fans who

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Episode 35 – The Misadventure of a French Gentleman...

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/09/05

Welcome to Season 4 of Let's Finally Watch This.It's 1905. Movies are in their infancy, including Dutch film. This silent Dutch comedy, directed by Willy Mullens, begins with a man napping in a beach chair until he is surrounded by the incoming tide. And then he removes his pants to keep them dry. And then...well, the movie is less than 6 minutes long, so I don't want to spoil it. What The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach offers casual movie fans who

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The Consensus Movie Podcast Crossover

Let"s Finally Watch This ·

2025/01/03

Here's a surprise mega-length bonus episode for you! We join forces with Kordell Cabe and Justin Warfle, hosts of The Consensus Movie podcast, to journey through the last century of cinema history and share our favorite movies from each decade. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion of the movies that have impacted us from the 1920s on.

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