Movie of the Year

This week's French Connection podcast episode covers one of the most thrilling and morally complicated films of 1971. Ryan, Mike, and Greg revisit The French Connection on Movie of the Year. William Friedkin's Best Picture winner changed what American cinema thought a hero could look like. In addition, this episode features a special Gene Hackman career retrospective.
Released in 1971, the film follows New York City detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle — based on real NYPD detective Eddie Egan, with partner Sonny Grosso inspiring the character of Russo. Doyle pursues a massive heroin operation with little regard for the law or the people around him. As a result, the film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. It remains one of the defining films of the New Hollywood era.
This Movie of the Year podcast episode is one of the most anticipated of the 1971 season. Before diving in, check out our recent episodes on The Last Picture Show and A Clockwork Orange.
Joining the Taste Buds for this episode is special guest C. Craig Patterson
A screenwriter, director, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. An alum of Columbia University, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Patterson brings serious cinematic credentials to the table. His short film Fathead won the Cannes Film Festival Best Student Short Award and earned an NAACP Image Award nomination. His scripts have been recognized by the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, The Black List, and the Academy's Nicholl Fellowship. Patterson also directed the critically acclaimed Roy Wood Jr. comedy special Imperfect Messenger for Paramount+. With projects currently in development at Paramount and Epic Games, he is one of the most exciting emerging filmmakers working today — and exactly the kind of guest who makes a film like The French Connection worth revisiting.
The French Connection 1971 Podcast: Popeye Doyle — Hero, Antihero, or Something Worse?
The central tension of this French Connection 1971 podcast discussion is what to make of Popeye Doyle. Gene Hackman plays him as a force of nature — relentless, racist, reckless, and completely compelling. He is not a good man, and he is barely a good cop. Nevertheless, the film frames his obsession as heroic, his instincts as genius, and his victory as worth celebrating.
Ryan, Mike, and Greg dig into what Friedkin and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman were doing with Doyle. Is the film a critique of the kind of law enforcement he represents? Or is it simply in love with him? The answer is probably both. Ultimately, that ambiguity is what makes the character so difficult and so fascinating fifty years later.
The Real Detectives Behind the Story
The real detectives, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, consulted on the film and even appear in small roles. Consequently, knowing the story is grounded in a real investigation makes Doyle's behavior harder to dismiss. These were not fictional excesses invented for dramatic effect, and the panel takes that seriously.
Gene Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role, beating out Peter Finch, Walter Matthau, George C. Scott, and Topol. Furthermore, it remains one of the most celebrated performances of the 1970s. The panel uses this episode to look back at Hackman's broader career and make the case for where he stands in the pantheon.
For more on Gene Hackman's career, visit the Internet Movie Database.
William Friedkin and the New Hollywood Crime Film
Director William Friedkin approached The French Connection as a documentary-style thriller. He shot on location in New York City with handheld cameras and natural light, refusing to glamorize either the city or its characters. As a result, the film feels unlike almost anything else from 1971 — raw, kinetic, and deeply uncomfortable.
The Taste Buds explore how Friedkin's direction shaped the film's identity. Most notably, the legendary car chase under the elevated train tracks in Brooklyn is widely considered one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. Friedkin shot it on live New York City streets without fully stopping traffic, with a camera mounted to the front of the car. For critical analysis of the chase, the Criterion Collection offers essential reading.
Friedkin After The French Connection
Just two years later, Friedkin directed The Exorcist, cementing his place as one of the defining filmmakers of the decade. The panel discusses what the two films share and what The French Connection reveals about Friedkin's sensibility. In both cases, his camera feels like it is barely keeping up with reality — and that is entirely by design.
For more on Friedkin's influence on American cinema, visit the American Film Institute.
The French Connection Podcast Discussion: Justice and Its Limits
At its core, The French Connection is about the gap between justice and the law. Popeye Doyle operates outside the rules, endangers civilians, shoots an unarmed man in the back, and ultimately fails to bring the main target to justice. Despite all of this, the film presents his pursuit not as tragedy but as the cost of doing business.
Ryan, Mike, and Greg examine what the film says about the American justice system in 1971 — a moment of profound national disillusionment. Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the early signs of Watergate were all in the air. Meanwhile, the "good guys" in this film are not good, the "bad guys" are not caught, and the audience is asked to root for the pursuit anyway.
Race and Policing in The French Connection
Moreover, the film's racial politics are impossible to ignore. Doyle's racism is presented as character texture rather than moral failing, and the film never fully grapples with the implications of the policing it depicts. That discomfort is an important part of the conversation this week.
For historical context on the real case, visit the DEA's history of the French Connection.
Gene Hackman Best Performances: A Career Retrospective
This episode includes a special segment on Gene Hackman's best performances. The Taste Buds make their case for the defining Hackman roles and debate his greatest work. In particular, they discuss what made him such an unusual screen presence: his everyman quality, his capacity for rage, and his refusal to tell the audience how to feel about his characters.
His breakthrough came in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and his Oscar followed here in The French Connection. Subsequently, classics like The Conversation, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums cemented one of the most extraordinary bodies of work in American cinema. This segment celebrates an actor who never got quite enough credit for how good he really was.
Why The French Connection 1971 Still Matters
More than fifty years later, The French Connection remains essential viewing. Beyond its technical achievements, it functions as a moral document — capturing a specific American mood: exhausted, suspicious, and uncertain about its own institutions.
Ultimately, this French Connection podcast episode revisits the film as a living argument about power, obsession, and the stories we tell about law enforcement. It asks hard questions, and this episode doesn't let them off the hook.
Related Episodes from Movie of the Year: 1971
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the rest of the Movie of the Year 1971 series:
The Last Picture Show — Bogdanovich, nostalgia, and a dying Texas town
A Clockwork Orange — Kubrick, free will, and the limits of the state
Browse all Movie of the Year episodes

FAQ: The French Connection Podcast and Film
What is The French Connection podcast episode about?
Ryan, Mike, and Greg discuss William Friedkin's 1971 Best Picture winner. Topics include Popeye Doyle, Friedkin's direction, justice, and a Gene Hackman career retrospective.
What is The French Connection about?
It follows NYPD detective Popeye Doyle, based on real detective Eddie Egan, as he pursues a massive heroin smuggling operation using methods that are often illegal and always reckless.
Who directed The French Connection?
William Friedkin directed the 1971...

Few films in the history of cinema have provoked as much discomfort — and as much genuine philosophical debate — as A Clockwork Orange. Stanley Kubrick's 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel arrives like a punch to the temple: stylized, brazen, and engineered to make you complicit in its protagonist's point of view before you've had a chance to object.
Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell with an almost seductive ferocity, is not an antihero in the conventional sense. He's a rapist and murderer who narrates his own crimes with lyrical delight. And yet Kubrick frames him with such wit, such visual command, that discomfort becomes almost pleasurable — which is, of course, entirely the point.
On this episode of Movie of the Year, we engage with the three central tensions that make the film impossible to dismiss: the philosophical minefield of morality and free will, the sheer sensory experience of watching it, and the film's deeply troubled relationship with women and sexuality.

Movie of the Year: 1971
The Last Picture Show
Revisiting The Last Picture Show
In this episode of Movie of the Year: 1971, Ryan, Mike, and Greg revisit The Last Picture Show, Peter Bogdanovich’s landmark film about youth, loneliness, and a fading Texas town.
Released in 1971, the film helped define the early New Hollywood era, blending classical Hollywood craftsmanship with a more modern emotional realism. From its black-and-white cinematography to its quiet performances, this portrait of small-town America remains one of the most discussed films of its decade.
Peter Bogdanovich and a Changing American Cinema
Director Peter Bogdanovich approached the film as both a tribute to classic cinema and a break from it. Drawing on older storytelling traditions while embracing the moral ambiguity of the 1970s, he created a work that feels suspended between eras.
The Taste Buds explore how Bogdanovich’s direction captures the melancholy of a town in decline and how his cinephile instincts shape the movie’s visual language. In doing so, the film becomes a bridge between old Hollywood nostalgia and the more personal filmmaking that defined the decade.
For more on Bogdanovich’s influence, see the American Film Institute:
https://www.afi.com
Love and Sex in The Last Picture Show
One of the film’s most enduring elements is its honest portrayal of intimacy. Love and sex are not romanticized; they are awkward, transactional, vulnerable, and deeply human.
Ryan, Mike, and Greg examine how the characters navigate desire and disappointment. Whether it’s teenage experimentation or adult loneliness, relationships in this story reveal more about isolation than fulfillment. That emotional candor is part of why the movie still resonates today.
For historical background and cast details, visit Turner Classic Movies:
https://www.tcm.com
The Generational Gap and a Fading Town
At its core, this 1971 drama is about transition. Older characters cling to memory and routine, while younger ones struggle to imagine their future beyond the town’s limits.
The panel discusses how the generational divide shapes the narrative, turning a coming-of-age story into a meditation on cultural change. The closing of the town’s movie theater becomes symbolic—a quiet acknowledgment that an era is ending.
IP Freely: Star Wars Meets 1971
This episode also debuts a new segment called IP Freely, where the panel imagines modern franchise films directed by filmmakers working in 1971. The Taste Buds pitch hypothetical Star Wars entries through the stylistic lens of early-70s auteurs.
The exercise highlights just how dramatically cinematic tone and scale have shifted since this film’s release.
Rushmore: 1971 It Girl
To close the show, Ryan, Mike, and Greg assemble a Mount Rushmore of the 1971 It Girl, celebrating the performers who defined the year’s screen presence and cultural energy.
Why The Last Picture Show Still Matters
More than five decades later, The Last Picture Show remains essential viewing. Its exploration of youth, longing, and generational change captures a moment when American cinema was reinventing itself.
This episode revisits the film not just as a classic of 1971, but as a living text that continues to influence how audiences understand small-town storytelling and emotional realism.
FAQ
What is The Last Picture Show about?
It follows teenagers and adults in a declining Texas town, exploring love, loneliness, and generational transition.
Who directed The Last Picture Show?
Peter Bogdanovich directed the 1971 film.
Why is it important?
It helped define the early New Hollywood movement and won multiple Academy Awards.
Is it based on a novel?
Yes, it is adapted from Larry McMurtry’s novel.

Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025
Best Movie of the Year
The Best Movies of 2025 Face Off
What are the Best Movies of 2025?
That question drives the biggest episode of the Movie of the Year season.
Hosted by Ryan and joined by Mike, Cassie, and Greg, this flagship episode brings together 25 of the most talked-about films of the year in a massive competitive bracket designed to determine one definitive answer: what is the Best Movie of 2025?
This is not a ranked list.
It’s not a polite retrospective.
It’s a full-scale movie showdown.
Twenty-five contenders enter the bracket.
One film leaves as Movie of the Year.
Why the Best Movies of 2025 Are Hard to Define
The Best Movies of 2025 come from everywhere: theatrical releases, streaming premieres, international cinema, prestige dramas, comedies, franchise entries, and bold originals. This year in film refuses easy categorization.
To qualify, a film simply had to:
release in 2025
make a real cultural or artistic impact
hold up under comparison with the year’s strongest work

Sequels compete with originals.
International films face studio giants.
Streaming releases battle theatrical spectacles.
Everything is on the table.
The 25-Film Bracket
The bracket for the Best Movies of 2025 includes a wide-ranging field representing the full landscape of modern cinema. Among the contenders:
One Battle After Another
Sinners, one of the most discussed films of 2025
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Weapons, a major genre standout
The Naked Gun
and many more filling out the 25-film field

Each matchup forces direct comparison. Reputation alone isn’t enough to advance.
Bracket Battles: How the Best Movies of 2025 Are Decided
Every round of the bracket asks the same core question:
Which film actually deserves to be remembered when we talk about the Best Movies of 2025?
Debates center on:
directing vision
performance strength
originality
cultural impact
rewatchability
long-term staying power

Ryan drives the bracket forward. Mike focuses on craft. Cassie champions bold swings and emotional impact. Greg looks for longevity and structural strength.
No film advances without a fight.
What Is the Best Movie of 2025?
As the bracket narrows, favorites fall, and unexpected contenders rise. Prestige releases collide with genre filmmaking. Big swings face meticulous craftsmanship. By the final round, only two films remain.
From there, one movie is crowned the Best Movie of 2025.
No spoilers here.
You’ll have to listen to find out which film survives.
Why the Best Movies of 2025 Matter
The movie landscape of 2025 is crowded and fragmented. Streaming, theatrical, and international releases compete for attention at a pace that makes it hard to keep up. This episode cuts through the noise.
By forcing direct comparisons, the bracket reveals which films truly defined the year and which simply dominated conversation. The result is a definitive snapshot of the Best Movies of 2025 and how they stack up against each other.
Other Major 2025 Episodes
If you’re exploring the full year in entertainment, continue with:
Best Horror Movies of 2025
Best Television Shows of 2025
Best Unscripted Shows of 2025
2025 Year in Review – Century of the Year
2025 Mixtape

Together, these episodes create a complete 2025 pop culture time capsule.
FAQ: Best Movies of 2025
What is the Best Movie of 2025?
This episode crowns one definitive winner after a full 25-film bracket.
Are streaming movies included?
Yes. All platforms and release types are eligible.
Are international films included?
Yes. Films from all countries compete equally.
Is this a ranked list?
No. It’s a competitive elimination bracket ending with one winner.
Final Verdict on the Best Movies of 2025
By the end of the episode, one film stands above the rest. Through argument, comparison, and elimination, the panel determines the Best Movies of 2025 and names the official Movie of the Year.
If you want the clearest possible answer to what defined cinema this year, this is the episode.
Listen, Subscribe, and Join the Debate
🎧 Listen now to hear the full Best Movies of 2025 bracket
📩 Email your picks: [email protected]
⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more year-end episodes

Movie of the Year: Best of the Year 2025
Best TV Show of the Year
The Best Television Shows of 2025 Enter the Arena
The Best Television Shows of 2025 didn’t rise to the top by accident. They survived hype cycles, second-season expectations, streaming saturation, and cultural overload.
In this episode of Movie of the Year, Greg hosts a 16-seed competitive bracket—with play-ins—to determine the Best Television Shows of 2025. Joining him are Cassie, Ryan, Mackenna, and Mike, ready to debate prestige drama, ambitious limited series, breakout comedies, and the year’s most talked-about streaming hits.
This isn’t just a 2025 TV year in review.
It’s a showdown.
Sixteen scripted contenders enter.
One show leaves as the best TV show of 2025.
What Counts as the Best Television Shows of 2025?
This bracket includes:
Returning seasons like Andor (Season 2) and Severance (Season 2)
Limited series such as Adolescence
Bold new scripted debuts
Comedy, drama, satire, and genre television
Network, cable, and streaming releases
International series (though primarily English-language)

If it aired in 2025 and was scripted, it was eligible. The goal: determine the top television series of 2025 across all platforms.
The 16-Seed Bracket and Play-In Rounds
Before the bracket locks, two play-in battles determine the final spots in the field. The play-ins ensure that no prestige favorite automatically advances and that breakout surprises earn their place.
Once finalized, the bracket includes:
The Pitt
Andor (Season 2), one of the most anticipated streaming shows of 2025
Pluribus
The Rehearsal (Season 2), pushing formal experimentation
Adolescence, a standout limited series of 2025
Severance (Season 2), a defining second season
The Lowdown
Dying for Sex
Long Story Short
The Studio

Every matchup forces hard choices. Reputation means nothing without performance.
Bracket Battles: Prestige vs Risk
As the eliminations unfold, several themes emerge:
Can a second season surpass its original impact?
Does a limited series compete differently from an ongoing drama?
Is cultural buzz equal to narrative achievement?
Do streaming shows dominate the best TV shows of 2025 conversation?

Greg maintains structure. Cassie pushes for ambition. Ryan defends emotional resonance. Mackenna highlights audience connection. Mike dissects craft and execution.
The format separates hype from longevity and distinguishes conversation from quality.
What Is the Best Television Show of 2025?
The central question of the episode becomes unavoidable:
What is the Best Television Show of 2025?
Through quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final clash, the bracket narrows. The discussion sharpens. The arguments become more precise.
Ultimately, one series emerges as the definitive winner among the Best Television Shows of 2025.
No shared podium.
No split vote.
One champion.
Why the Best Television Shows of 2025 Matter
Television in 2025 is fragmented across platforms, genres, and release models. Determining the best TV shows of 2025, ranked through competition, forces clarity.
Across the bracket, the standout series share:
narrative ambition
tonal confidence
strong ensemble performances
formal experimentation
staying power beyond premiere week

This episode serves as both a competitive bracket showdown and a thoughtful 2025 TV year in review.
FAQ: Best Television Shows of 2025
What is the Best Television Show of 2025?
The episode crowns one clear winner after a full 16-seed bracket.
Are limited series included?
Yes. Limited series like Adolescence compete alongside multi-season dramas.
How does the bracket work?
Play-in rounds finalize the field, followed by elimination matchups until one show remains.
Are streaming and international shows eligible?
Yes. All platforms and countries were eligible.
Internal Links for More 2025 Coverage
If you’re catching up on the full 2025 coverage, also check out:
Best Horror Movies of 2025
Best Unscripted Shows of 2025
2025 Year in Review – Century of the Year
2025 Mixtape

Together, these episodes form a complete 2025 year-in-review podcast slate.
Final Verdict: The Best Television Shows of 2025
When the dust settles, the bracket delivers a decisive answer to the season’s biggest question. This episode doesn’t hedge. It names the Best Television Show of 2025 outright.
If you care about prestige drama, bold streaming experimentation, or the evolution of limited series, this competitive showdown delivers clarity.
Listen, Subscribe, and Join the Debate
🎧 Listen now to hear the full Best Television Shows of 2025 bracket
📩 Email your picks (or outrage): [email protected]
⭐ Subscribe to Movie of the Year for more Best of the Year 2025 episodes