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
2d ago
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 episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harold-and-maude-1972 ), Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/21/archives/screen-harold-and-maude-and-lifehal-ashbys-comedy-opens-at-coronet.html ), and Richard McGuinness in The Village Voice . 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next episode, a special Christmas preview of our upcoming 1985 season, featuring Santa Claus: The Movie .
Dec 10
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 Thomas in The Los Angeles Times , Rick Du Brow of United Press International, and Lou Cedrone in The Baltimore Evening Sun . 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring Jason’s personal pick, Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude .
Dec 3
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 in the Tampa Bay Times , Andrew Reschke in the Syracuse Herald-Journal , and Geoff Wong in the Sacramento Union . 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring our animation pick, Fred Wolf’s The Point .
Nov 26
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 this episode come from Roger Greenspun in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/28/archives/screen-hippie-vampire-lets-scare-jessica-to-death-arrives.html ), Stanley Eichelbaum in The San Francisco Examiner , and Michael Kerbel in The Village Voice . 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring our foreign film pick, Bruce Lee in The Big Boss .
Nov 19
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://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/on-any-sunday-1971 ), Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/29/archives/on-any-sundaybruce-browns-documentary-studies-the-motorcyclists.html ), and Tony Mastroianni in the Cleveland Press ( https://www.clevelandmemory.org/mastroianni/tm409.html ). 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring Josh’s personal pick, John D. Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death .
Nov 12
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 episode come from Roger Ebert ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-go-between-1971 ), Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/30/archives/views-of-a-freudian-classic-and-an-arctic-venture-julie-christie.html ), and Tony Mastroianni in the Cleveland Press ( https://www.clevelandmemory.org/mastroianni/tm472.html ). 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring our documentary pick, Bruce Brown’s On Any Sunday .
Nov 5
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 ( https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-last-movie--chinchero-1971 ), Vincent Canby in The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/30/archives/screen-the-last-moviehopper-cast-as-a-mythic-film-cowboy-in-work-he.html ), and Stefan Kanfer in Time magazine ( https://time.com/archive/6843984/cinema-from-adolescent-to-puerile/ ). 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Joseph Losey’s The Go-Between .
Oct 29
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 Times , Edward L. Blank in The Pittsburgh Press and Jeffrey Frentzen in Cinefantastique . 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/awesomemovieyear You can find Jason on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JHarrisComedy/ , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jasonharriscomedy/ and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goforjason/ You can find Josh online at http://joshbellhateseverything.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joshbellhateseverything/ , on Bluesky at signalbleed.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/signalbleed/ If you’re a Letterboxd user and you watch any of the movies we talk about on the show, tag your review “Awesome Movie Year” to share your thoughts. You can find our producer David Rosen and his Piecing It Together Podcast at https://www.piecingpod.com , on Twitter at @piecingpod , on Bluesky at piecingpod.bsky.social and on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/bydavidrosen/ Join the Popcorn & Puzzle Pieces Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/piecingpod for more movie discussion and our Awesome Movie Year audience choice polls. All of the music in the episode is by David Rosen. Find more of his music at https://www.bydavidrosen.com Subscribe on Patreon to support the show and get access to exclusive content from Awesome Movie Year and Piecing It Together, plus music by David Rosen: https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1971 episode, featuring the year’s biggest flop, Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie .