A Very Good Year

Jason Bailey & Michael Hull

“Fun City Cinema” hosts Jason Bailey and Mike Hull proudly present “A Very Good Year,” a podcast with a simple premise: each week we invite a guest (filmmakers and actors, critics and historians, comedians and musicians) who loves movies, and ask them to select their favorite year of movies. Some pick a year from their movie-going past; some go deep into film history. Whichever the case, we spend (about) an hour talking about that year: we ask them to share their top five films of the year, and tell us why they love them; we look at the year’s news headlines, award winners, and box office champions; and we finish with a lightning round, where we talk about as many films as possible in as few minutes as possible.

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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Top 10 A Very Good Year Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best A Very Good Year episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to A Very Good Year for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite A Very Good Year episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

1924 with Marya E. Gates

A Very Good Year

06/23/24 • 76 min

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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1964 with Ben Mankiewicz

A Very Good Year

05/26/24 • 74 min

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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1976 with Alexandra West

A Very Good Year

05/19/24 • 75 min

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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1983 with Richard Shepard

A Very Good Year

05/16/24 • 76 min

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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1965 with Robert Daniels

A Very Good Year

03/24/24 • 64 min

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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1989 with Jacob Knight

A Very Good Year

03/17/24 • 63 min

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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1998 with Esther Zuckerman

A Very Good Year

03/10/24 • 63 min

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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1968 with David Fear

A Very Good Year

03/03/24 • 80 min

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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1978 with Katie Rife

A Very Good Year

02/25/24 • 70 min

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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1945 with Jill Blake

A Very Good Year

08/25/24 • 68 min

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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FAQ

How many episodes does A Very Good Year have?

A Very Good Year currently has 101 episodes available.

What topics does A Very Good Year cover?

The podcast is about Los Angeles, Film History, Film Interviews, Drama, Indie, Comedy, Podcasts, Movies and Tv & Film.

What is the most popular episode on A Very Good Year?

The episode title '1976 with Alexandra West' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on A Very Good Year?

The average episode length on A Very Good Year is 70 minutes.

How often are episodes of A Very Good Year released?

Episodes of A Very Good Year are typically released every 6 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of A Very Good Year?

The first episode of A Very Good Year was released on Oct 22, 2022.

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A Very Good Year

Jason Bailey & Michael Hull

Top 10 A Very Good Year Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does A Very Good Year have?

What topics does A Very Good Year cover?

What is the most popular episode on A Very Good Year?

What is the average episode length on A Very Good Year?

How often are episodes of A Very Good Year released?

When was the first episode of A Very Good Year?

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