Explore every episode of the podcast A Very Good Year

Screenwriter (“Heathers,” “Demolition Man,” “Batman Returns”) and encyclopedic cinephile Daniel Waters joins us to discuss 2008—a key year for him as a filmmaker and film lover, thanks to the likes of “Synecdoche, New York,” “Love Exposure,” and “The Dark Knight.” 

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Catherine Stebbins is intimately acquainted with the year of 1930 - because it was the subject of the most recent of her year-by-year movie ‘zines, which makes her an ideal (and overdue) guest. Join us as she discusses the nutty “King of Jazz,” the heartbreaking “City Girl,” the sublime “People on Sunday,” and more.

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

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Abby Olcese’s new book “Films for All Seasons” walks the reader through “the church year at the movies,” finding unexpected movies to tie in to the liturgical calendar; she joins us to explore the calendar year of 2018, including “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “First Reformed,” and “Eighth Grade.”

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Film critic, editor, and intrepid festival traveler Beatrice Loayza joins us for another probing look into the oft-dismissed 1950s—this time 1958, as we look at a Hitchcock classic (“Vertigo”), a pre-New Wave banger (“Elevator to the Gallows”), a hard-hitting social drama (“The Defiant Ones”), and more. 

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Charles Taylor is the author of one of our fave film books, “Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-In Near You,” so he joins us to discuss the “hinge year” of 1966, which included late films from old masters (“El Dorado”), manifestos from provocateurs (“Masculine-Feminine”), and electric shocks from cinematic wild men (“Tokyo Drifter”).

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

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Screenwriter (and former film critic and podcaster) April Wolfe joins us to talk up the postwar pleasures of 1947, so bring your nun’s habits (“Black Narcissus”), femme fatales (“Out of the Past”) and questionable Irish accents (“The Lady from Shanghai”).

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TV critic, author, podcaster, and television writer Emily St. James is the co-author (along with previous guest Noel Murray) of the book “LOST: Back to the Island” (out Tuesday), so she joins us to geek out with Mike over that show and discuss the unusual offerings of the very odd year of 2020, including “Wolfwalkers,” “Da 5 Bloods,” and “The Empty Man.” 

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 “Empire” magazine editor Nick de Semlyen’s most recent book, “The Last Action Heroes,” is a delightful history of ‘80s and ‘90s action cinema, so he joins us to discuss 1993, from the blistering action of “Demolition Man” to the action satire of “Hot Shots! Part Deux” to the pointed inaction of “The Remains of the Day.” 

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Author, filmmaker, and “Gaslit Nation” host Andrea Chalupa joins us to discuss 1984—an appropriate year for an Orwell scholar—in advance of the release of her new graphic novel “In the Shadow of Stalin.” Listen in as she gives much love to “Amadeus,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” and, of course, “1984.” 

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Film historian, podcaster, and Cine Journeys co-founder Jill Blake joins us to walk through the post-war euphoria and darkness of 1945, including “I Know Where I’m Going,” “Brief Encounter,” and “Leave Her to Heaven.”

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Independent filmmaker Zach Clark joins us in advance of the release of his new film “The Becomers” for a look at some of the most delightfully insane movies of 1972, including the stylized mayhem of “Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion,” the melodrama of “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” and the total decadence of “Pink Flamingos.” 

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Film critic and podcaster Josh Lewis explores the “sleaze canon” on his “Sleazoids” podcast, and he joins us to discuss the very sleazy year of 1981, from the gore of “The Beyond” to the paranoia of “Blow Out” to the surprising depth of “MS. 45.”

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Film critic and podcaster Stephanie Crawford usually dabbles in horror and exploitation cinema, but she is also obsessed with screwball comedy — so she joins us to discuss 1940, a banner year for the subgenre, thanks to “His Girl Friday,” “The Philadelphia Story,” and “Christmas in July.” 

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Film critic and author Chris Nashawaty’s latest book is “The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982,” so you’ll never guess what year he joins us to talk about! Hear us wax rhapsodic about the thrills of “Blade Runner,” the chills of “The Thing,” the Catholic guilt of “The Verdict,” and much more. 

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Film critic and O.G. AV Club member Noel Murray does not usually suffer from recency bias, but he thought it would be fun to glance back just five years to 2019, which gave us the hang-out pleasures of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” the stinging commentary of “Parasite,” and the shocks and thrills of “Us.”

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This week, we’re joined by the other co-author of the must-read new book “Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema”; film critic Caden Mark Gardner discusses the cinema of 1995, including such now-classics as “Safe,” “Heat,” and “Devil in a Blue Dress.” 

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“Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema” (out Tuesday) is one of our favorite film books of the year, and we’re welcoming both of its authors as consecutive guests. This week, film critic Willow Catelyn Maclay joins us to talk about the movies of 1969, from the ahead-of-its-time freedom of “Funeral Parade of Roses” to the Gotham grime of “Midnight Cowboy” to the delightful silliness of “Gamera vs Guiron.”

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The essayist, poet, and film critic Phillip Lopate joins us to discuss his new collection “My Affair with Art House Cinema” and the cinema of 1959, in which one series began with “The 400 Blows,” one series ended with “The World of Apu,” and Otto Preminger hit the courtroom in “Anatomy of a Murder.”

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Nobody we know knows more about silent cinema than film critic, historian, and social media mastermind Marya E. Gates. She joins us to talk about movies from literally a century ago, from the brilliance of “Sherlock Jr.” to the sexiness of “Forbidden Paradise” to the surrealism of “Ballet Mécanique.”

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Larry Karaszewski isn’t just an award-winning screenwriter and producer — he’s also a serious cinephile, as evidenced by the fact that we asked him for a top five for the year of his birth, 1961, and he came back with six double-features. We talk about them all on this super-sized episode, with inspired pairings of American independents, Natalie Wood vehicles, Marcello Mastroianni classics, and more. 

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Mark Harris has written three of the essential film books of our time, and one of them — “Pictures at a Revolution” — tells the story of Hollywood in flux by detailing the making of the five nominees for best picture of 1967. So he joins us to talk about that year, from the groundbreaking “The Graduate” to the nose-thumbing of “Bonnie & Clyde” to the sheer craft of “In the Heat of the Night.”

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Writer, editor, and director Carrie Courogen is the author of the breathtakingly good new book “Miss May Does Not Exist,” and since it’s a biography of Elaine May, she joins us to talk about 1987 — not only May’s unjustly maligned “Ishtar,” but the sheer perfection of “Broadcast News” and “Moonstruck.” 

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Film critic, historian, and TCM stalwart Ben Mankiewicz joins us, on the eve of a new season of his essential podcast “The Plot Thickens” to discuss the nuclear meltdowns of “Fail-Safe,” the political paranoia of “Seven Days in May,” the complex delights of “Marriage, Italian Style,” and more of the movies of 1964.

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Film critic, podcaster, and historian Alexandra West joins us to talk about her new book “Gore-Geous: Personal Essays on Beauty and Horror” and the movies of 1976, from the bloodbaths of “Carrie” and “Taxi Driver” to the erotic power plays of “In the Realm of the Senses.” 

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Screenwriter and director Richard Shepard’s new film is catnip to us (and probably you too, if you’re listening to his show): “Film Geek,” an essay film about growing up as a movie-crazy kid in NYC in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. He joins us to talk about 1983, including Scorsese’s “King of Comedy,” Fosse’s “STAR 80,” and Forsyth’s “Local Hero.” 

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Critic, podcaster, and author Alonso Duralde was just beginning his professional life in 1991, and witnessed the early pangs of what became known as the New Queer Cinema, a key point in his new book “Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film.” He joins us to talk about that moment, including the delights of “Madonna: Truth or Dare,” the coding of “Thelma & Louise,” and the genuine transgressiveness of “Poison.” 

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Glenn Kenny is the author of the new book “The World Is Yours: The Story of ‘Scarface,’ and is one of our favorite film critics and scholars in general. He’s here to talk about the mighty 1954, a less-discussed year that gave us everything from “The Seven Samurai” to “Rear Window” to “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” 

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Indiewire’s Kate Erbland was a literal child in the year 1990, but she luckily had parent who put very few viewing boundaries on her, which was how she ended up seeing “Die Hard 2,” “Ghost,” and one of her all-time favorite movies, “Pretty Woman.” She joins us to talk about those and MANY more.

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Film critic and journalist Tomris Laffly was just starting to figure out who she was as a filmgoer in 1997, so she joins us to share some of her favorite memories of that year: the heartache of “Good Will Hunting,” the dark humor of “The Ice Storm,” and the majesty of “Titanic.”

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In advance of Friday’s theatrical debut of his Sundance hit “Stress Positions,” comedian, actor, writer, and cinephile John Early joins us to discuss all things 2002, from the earnestness of “Crossroads” to the sexiness of “Unfaithful” to the status of his Toni Collette website. 

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Filmmaker, actor, TV writer, and film critic Siddhant Adlakha was in a moment of transition in 2013, and vowed to see as many new movies as possible for the sake of career clarity. He walks us through some of those discoveries, from the spectacle of “Ram-Leela” to the melancholy of “Inside Llewyn Davis” to the intimacy of “Short Term 12.”

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Daily Dead columnist Scott Drebit’s new book is “A Cut Below: A Celebration of B Horror Movies, 1950s-1980s,” so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he picked 1979, a banner year for horror. He joins us to discuss the working-class scares of “Alien,” the insanity of “Zombie,” the inexplicable PG rating of “Tourist Trap,” and more. 

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“Variety” TV critic Alison Herman had just moved to Los Angeles in the year of our lord 2017, and she joins us to recall, with fondness, the cockeyed comedy of “Phantom Thread,” the deft commentary of “Get Out,” and the totally not-divisive pleasures of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

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It’s a special MID-WEEK EPISODE, in honor of Friday’s release of acclaimed director Bob Byington’s latest, “Lousy Carter.” Join us as we talk with Bob about the current indie landscape and the films of 1994, from the art of “Red” to the commerce of “Speed” to the pleasures of “The Hudsucker Proxy.”

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For show number two from SXSW, we’re joined by the prolific film critic and RogerEbert.com Associate Editor Robert Daniels. He sings the praises of 1965, from the devastation of “The Pawnbroker” to the thrills of “Flight of the Phoenix” to the sweep of “Doctor Zhivago.”

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Back at SXSW, we’re joined by Austin’s own Jacob Knight, co-host of the “Secret Handshake” podcast, and lover of great movies and great trash. 1989 offered plenty of both, from the power of “The Abyss” to the inanity of “Jason Takes Manhattan” to the coke-dusted earnestness of “Road House.”

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Esther Zuckerman is an appropriate guest for Oscar Sunday, as she is the author of the fabulous book “Beyond the Best Dressed; A Cultural History of the Most Glamorous, Radical, and Scandalous Oscar Fashion.” She joins us to talk about famous Oscar spoiler “Shakespeare in Love,” the wildly underrated “Velvet Goldmine,” the one and only “Big Lebowski,” and more of the movies of 1998.  

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David Fear, chief film critic and senior editor at “Rolling Stone,” had not yet joined the living in the year 1968, but he’s always been fascinated by its contradictions and commentaries. He joins us to discuss the genius of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the majesty of “Once Upon a Time in the West,” and the stickiness of “Rosemary’s Baby.”

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The whip-smart and hysterically funny Katie Rife joins us to talk about the movies of 1978 — from the terrifying precision to “Halloween” to the sweaty muscularity of “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” to the impeccable formalism of “Les Rendez-vous d’Anna” — and why ‘70s genre cinema holds up so well. 

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Our Aussie invasion continues with this week’s guest, film critic and podcaster extraordinaire, Blake Howard, the mastermind of One Heat Minute Productions. Blake joins us to talk about unhealthy relationships with movies and his love for the films of 1970, from the gallows humor of “M*A*S*H” to the working class heroism of “Five Easy Pieces” to the unequalled cool (and Frenchness) of “Le Cercle Rouge.” 

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Sam Adams, writer and senior editor for Slate, was in the midst of his cinephile awakening in 1992, when he was taking in new indies and other risky delights at the SoNo Cinema. Join us as we walk through the vérité discomforts of “Husbands and Wives,” the radical queer art of “Edward II,” the biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you brilliance of “The Player,” and more.

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Film critic, author, “Fangoria” columnist, physical media mainstay, and recovering academic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas joins us for a jaunt through the dark laughs of “Little Murders” and “A New Leaf,” the knotty gender politics of “Straw Dogs,” and more of the disturbances and pleasures of 1971. 

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Brian Raftery is the host of the excellent narrative podcasts “Gene and Roger and Do We Get to Win This Time? for the Ringer and Spotify; he’s also SUCH an expert on the movies of 1999, he wrote an entire book about them: the wonderful “Best. Movie. Year. Ever: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen.” He joins us to talk about why “Election” still hits, why “Eyes Wide Shut” has had such a wild afterlife, how “Blair Witch” is somehow underrated, and much more. 

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We're talking about movies during the quiet time with the host of "Watch with Jen" and (relevant to our interests here) the co-host of "Midnight Run-Through," Film Intuition's Jen Johans. She's joining us to discuss the formative year of 1988, when her frequent babysitting gigs were highlighted by stacks of such VHS favorites as "Bull Durham" and "A Fish Called Wanda." Plus, BOGOSIAN!

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For season two, we’re wiping the slate clean and letting our guests pick any year they want, even if we covered it in season one. So first up, the very knowledgable and extremely affable host of the wonderful “Just the Discs” podcast, and the co-host of our beloved (and influential) “Pure Cinema Podcast” joins us to discuss the lovable losers of “Scarecrow,” the fast friends of “The Last Detail,” the witty whodunit “The Last of Sheila,” and more of the movies of 1973.

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For the first of our hiatus bonus episodes, we’re proud to welcome back one of the season’s most popular guests: indie guru John Pierson, who joined us back in April to talk about 1989. When we were discussing his appearance, he proposed talking about the year that he and his family spent a year operating the 180 Meridian Cinema, the most remote movie theater in the world. At this 288-seat venue on Tavueni Island in Fiji, the Piersons programmed a full year of programming, mostly new releases, as free nightly movies; the last month of that year was documented in the film Reel Paradise, directed by Steve James of “Hoop Dreams” fame. 

We are also joined by John’s wife Janet Pierson, an equally legendary figure on the indie film scene, thanks to her 15 years overseeing the vision, programming, and execution of the SXSW Film Festival. If you’d like to know more about their time in Tavueni, here’s a summary, in the Los Angeles Times, from right before the release of Reel Paradise..John also wrote two pieces for that publication about their time there, one in July of 2002, another that December.

Thanks for listening!

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Since she last joined us to talk about 2005 back in September, Alissa Wilkinson nabbed a new gig: she’s now a movie critic for the New York Times. So she joins us to talk about that transition and the films of the year that just ended – our favorites of ‘23, for starters, as well as some of the (mostly heartening) trends we’ve seen in moviemaking and moviegoing this year.

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

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We wrap up our first season — a full year of shows — in true season finale fashion: with a super-sized clip show, featuring some of our favorite segments from the past year, including our own Top 5 (of the best movies we watched for the first time for the show). Plus, a very good origin story, background on some of our most cherished episodes, and more!

The headlines segment is from Episode 11: 1975 with Sean Burns, which you can listen to here. 

Tracks is from Episode 6: 1976 with Noah Segan, which you can listen to here. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene is from Episode 27: 2011 with Kristen Meinzer, which you can listen to here. MMMM is available for digital rental or purchase.

Babo 73 is from Episode 15: 1964 with Frank Conniff, which you can listen to here. Babo 73 is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel. 

Stalker is from Episode 14: 1979 with Bradford Young, which you can listen to here. Stalker is currently streaming on HBO Max and the Criterion Channel. 

And Sunrise is from Episode 3: 1927 with Dana Stevens, which you can listen to here. Sunrise is currently streaming on Tubi, Hoopla, the Roku Channel, and Classix. 

The awards and box office segment is from Episode 30: 1972 with Judy Becker, which you can listen to here; the lightning round is from Episode 23: 1993 with Karina Longworth, which you can listen to here. 

Thank you so much for supporting us over the course of this first season!

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

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Our final guest of the season is a legend of film history and criticism who spent 30 years as film critic for “Entertainment Tonight,” 25 years (and counting) teaching at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and his entire career writing essential books including (but certainly not limited to) his standard-setting “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide.” He joins us to discuss the movies of 1935, including his favorite Alfred Hitchcock, his favorite Marx Brothers, and a particularly timely pick for the spooky season. 

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

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Matt Singer is a film critic, entertainment journalist, and author — and his latest book is a real treat for all you nerds who listen to this nerdy show. “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever” is a combination of dual biography, media history, and film commentary, so he joins us to talk about his love for Siskel & Ebert, and how it led him to this book. And they were active during his year of choice, 1984, so Matt not only shares his thoughts on his top five, but Gene & Roger’s as well. 

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.