Episodes

In this epilogue to our season on the awesome movie year of 1969, 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 1969 movies.

The finale of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our audience choice poll winner, Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity. Directed by Bob Fosse (based on the Broadway production) and starring Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Chita Rivera, Ricardo Montalban and Paula Kelly, Sweet Charity defeated two other major Hollywood musicals in our audience choice poll.

The thirteenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our producer David Rosen’s pick, David Lowell Rich’s Eye of the Cat. Directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Michael Sarrazin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Eleanor Parker and Tim Henry, Eye of the Cat is the return to filmmaking for Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano.

The twelfth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our cult classic pick, Richard Lester’s The Bed Sitting Room. Directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by John Antrobus and starring Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Michael Hordern and Arthur Lowe, The Bed Sitting Room is adapted from the play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus.

The eleventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the Academy Awards Best Picture winner, John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy. Directed by John Schlesinger from a screenplay by Waldo Salt (based on the James Leo Herlihy novel) and starring Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvia Miles and Brenda Vaccaro, Midnight Cowboy was the first and only X-rated movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

The tenth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features one of the Venice International Film Festival’s major award winners, Federico Fellini’s Fellini Satyricon. Directed and co-written by Federico Fellini and starring Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born and Salvo Randone, Fellini Satyricon won the Pasinetti Award for Best Italian Film at the 1969 festival and was nominated for an Oscar.

The ninth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features Jason’s personal pick, Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch. Directed and co-written by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien and Jaime Sánchez, The Wild Bunch was nominated for two Oscars.

The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our animation pick, Peanuts adaptation A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Directed by Bill Melendez from a screenplay by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and starring the voices of Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger and Andy Pforsich, A Boy Named Charlie Brown was the first theatrical feature film based on the Peanuts characters.

The seventh episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our foreign film pick, Costa-Gavras’ Z. Directed and co-written by Costa-Gavras (from the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos) and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand, Jacques Perrin, Pierre Dux and Irene Papas, Z was nominated for five Oscars and won two.

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features Josh’s personal pick, Ronald Neame’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay by Jay Presson Allen (based on the Muriel Spark novel) and starring Maggie Smith, Pamela Franklin, Robert Stephens, Gordon Jackson and Jane Carr, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was nominated for two Oscars and won one.

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our documentary pick, the Maysles brothers’ Salesman. Directed by Albert and David Maysles with Charlotte Zwerin, Salesman is a key film in the direct cinema movement.

The fourth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Lindsay Anderson’s If….. Directed by Lindsay Anderson from a screenplay by David Sherwin and starring Malcolm McDowell, Robert Swann, Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan and David Wood, If…. is the first of three films Anderson directed featuring McDowell’s character Mick Travis.

The third episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the year’s biggest flop, Carl Reiner’s The Comic. Directed and co-written by Carl Reiner and starring Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee and Mickey Rooney, The Comic was inspired by Van Dyke’s love of silent film comedians.

The second episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features our pick for a notable filmmaking debut, Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer. Directed by Michael Ritchie from a screenplay by James Salter and starring Robert Redford, Gene Hackman and Camilla Sparv, Downhill Racer was filmed partially at actual Alpine Ski World Cup races.

The first episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1969 features the highest-grossing film at the box office, George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Directed by George Roy Hill from a screenplay by William Goldman and starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is based loosely on the true story of the notorious Wild West outlaws.