Movie of the Year

Movie of the Year: 1971The Panic in Needle ParkWhy Panic in Needle Park Still ResonatesIn this episode of Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, and Mike revisit Panic in Needle Park (1971), an unflinching and immersive portrait of addiction, intimacy, and desperation etched into the grit of New York in the 70s. The film’s stark realism and emotional rawness turn what might have been exploitation into something astonishingly human — and absolutely unforgettable.The Taste Buds explore how Schatzburg’s shots and the fraught dynamics of Bobby and Helen place Panic in Needle Park among the most honest depictions of addiction and dependency in American cinema.SCHATZBURG’S SHOTS: Cinematic Realism Without ArtificeDirector Jerry Schatzberg crafts Panic in Needle Park with a visual language that refuses escape. Rather than offering stylized glamour, Schatzburg’s shots are observational and immersive — handheld, close, and relentlessly present. These techniques force viewers into the characters’ world, where discomfort isn’t cinematic but immediate and visceral.The Taste Buds discuss how Schatzberg uses tight framing, real location shooting, and a documentary-like approach to blur the line between performance and lived experience — making addiction feel as suffocating onscreen as it must in reality.Bobby and Helen and Al: Love, Dependency, and CollapseAt the emotional core of the film lies the complex, destructive relationship of Bobby and Helen. Bobby and Helen’s relationship is not romanticized — it’s transactional, codependent, and shaped by survival on the margins. Al looms as both enabler and inevitability, a reminder that escape is always temporary.Ryan, Greg, and Mike explore how the film treats love and addiction as mirrors: Bobby and Helen cling not to hope, but to each other because they have nowhere else to turn. The cycle of dependency becomes the story’s most heartbreaking theme.New York in the 70s: A City That Sees It AllFew films capture New York in the 70s with the same unvarnished clarity as Panic in Needle Park. The city is at once backdrop and silent character — indifferent, worn, and sprawling. Parks, streets, and subways become interchangeable landscapes of desperation and anonymity.The Taste Buds discuss how Panic in Needle Park uses real locations to root its story in a specific urban moment — a New York fraught with economic hardship, social upheaval, and the grinding anonymity that shapes these lives.Guest Spotlight: Mark Searby — Scholar, Podcaster, and Al Pacino ExpertThis episode features special guest Mark Searby, a seasoned film critic, broadcaster, and author with deep expertise in character-driven cinema. Mark is best known as the host of All About Al: The Pacino Podcast, a series dedicated to exploring the film, television, and stage career of Al Pacino. The show offers in-depth discussions with critics, scholars, and collaborators about Pacino’s work and influence. AcastMark is also the author of Al Pacino: The Movies Behind The Man, a comprehensive guide to Pacino’s filmography that examines the actor’s artistic evolution — from his breakout performance in Panic in Needle Park through classics like The Godfather and Dog Day Afternoon. Apple...

Movie of the Year: 1971DuelWhy Duel Still Defines Steven SpielbergIn this episode of Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, and Mike hit the highway with Duel, the 1971 television movie that announced the arrival of Steven Spielberg as a filmmaker to watch. Long before Jaws turned Spielberg into a household name, Duel showcased his instinctive command of suspense, visual storytelling, and cinematic geography.Though made for television, Duel feels relentlessly cinematic. The Taste Buds explore how Steven Spielberg transformed a simple premise—a man pursued by a truck—into a nerve-shredding examination of fear, pride, and survival, and why Duel remains one of the most influential thrillers of the 1970s.Steven Spielberg’s Duel: The Blueprint for a Legendary CareerViewed today, Duel plays like a rough draft of Steven Spielberg’s entire career. Even at this early stage, Spielberg demonstrates the techniques that would come to define his work:crystal-clear visual storytellingtension built through movement rather than dialogueempathy for ordinary protagonistsaction staged with escalating precisionRyan, Greg, and Mike break down how Duel anticipates Spielberg’s later films, from Jaws to War of the Worlds, in which everyday people confront overwhelming, often mechanical forces. Duel is not just Spielberg’s breakthrough—it’s his mission statement.Duel, Masculinity, and the Fragile American MaleAt the center of the film is Dennis Weaver’s David Mann, a character whose name underscores the film’s obsession with masculinity. Spielberg presents masculinity not as strength, but as something brittle—constantly tested by humiliation, fear, and wounded pride.The Taste Buds analyze how Steven Spielberg uses the relentless chase to strip Mann of social niceties and self-image. Each confrontation with the truck becomes a confrontation with his own identity, forcing Mann to decide whether masculinity means dominance, endurance, or simply surviving long enough to escape.This uneasy portrait of masculinity would echo throughout Spielberg’s career, particularly in his depictions of anxious men pushed to emotional and physical extremes.America as a Hostile Landscape in DuelFew films capture the anxiety lurking beneath the promise of America’s open spaces as effectively as Duel. Spielberg transforms highways, diners, and gas stations into zones of menace, where authority is absent and help never arrives.Ryan, Greg, and Mike discuss how Steven Spielberg’s vision of America in Duel reflects a growing cultural unease: freedom becomes isolation, mobility becomes vulnerability, and technology becomes an anonymous threat. The truck itself is never humanized—it’s industrial, faceless, and unstoppable, embodying a uniquely American nightmare.Guest Spotlight: Eric Vespe (Formerly Quint) from The SpielThis episode features special guest Eric Vespe, a veteran film journalist and podcaster with decades of experience covering cinema and genre filmmaking. Eric is formally known to many longtime film fans as Quint, the byline he used during his...

Movie of the Year: 1971Action Figure Draft, Part 2The Chaos Continues in the Action Figure Draft 1971In this week’s Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, Mike, and Taylor conclude the most brutal, strategic, and downright unhinged draft of the season: the Action Figure Draft 1971.Every Taste Bud continues to choose characters from 1971 movies (or TV productions), imagining them as highly posable, battle-ready action figures. These figures must then be assigned to six RPG-inspired roles: bard, cleric, druid, fighter, wizard, and wild card.The goal?Build a team capable of winning an all-out fight against the other rosters.And the twist that changes everything:Once a character is drafted from a movie, no one else can draft anyone else from that same movie.No backups. No consolation picks. Once it’s gone, it’s GONE.If you thought last season’s drafts were chaotic…you ain't heard 1971.The Draft Rules: One Year, One Movie Per Pick, Zero MercyTo keep this battle as ruthless as possible, the Taste Buds lock in the following rules:Snake Draft FormatThe order reverses each round, forcing careful planning and last-second gambits.Draft RolesEach team must fill:Bard – charm, chaos, charismaCleric – healer, protector, mystical weirdoDruid – nature, magic, unpredictable energyFighter – the bruiser, tank, or martial artistWizard – supernatural, cerebral, or ranged powerhouseWild Card – whatever you dare unleashEligibility: 1971 Movies (and TV Productions) [and Musicians probably] OnlyIf it hit screens in 1971 (big screen, small screen, arthouse, grindhouse), it’s fair game.The Killer Rule: One Character Per MovieAs soon as a player drafts any character from a movie or TV title, that entire production is locked out forever.Pick a character from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The rest of Wonka’s weirdos vanish.Choose someone from A Clockwork Orange? Say goodbye to Alex’s droogs.Reach into The French Connection? No detective backup for anyone.This rule transforms the draft into a battlefield where stealing a movie is every bit as important as drafting the right character.The ObjectiveCreate a team of 1971 action figures capable of absolutely wrecking the others in a hypothetical battle royale.Selecting the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Wizard, and Wild CardThe Taste Buds dive deep into the weird, violent, soulful, experimental year that is 1971 cinema. With each category requiring a different kind of fighter, strategy becomes key:A bard might be a charming con artist, a manipulative cult leader, or someone who just screams enough to cause psychic damage.A cleric might heal, preach, or haunt.A druid might commune with nature or be a chaos gremlin.A fighter is your tank — your blunt instrument of violence.A wizard could be supernatural…or simply smarter and more dangerous than anyone else.And...

Movie of the Year: 1971Action Figure Draft, Part 1The Chaos Begins in the Action Figure Draft 1971In this week’s Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, Mike, and Taylor enter the arena for the most brutal, strategic, and downright unhinged draft of the season: the Action Figure Draft 1971.Every Taste Bud must choose characters from 1971 movies (or TV productions), imagining them as highly posable, battle-ready action figures. These figures must then be assigned to six RPG-inspired roles: bard, cleric, druid, fighter, wizard, and wild card.The goal?Build a team capable of winning an all-out fight against the other rosters.And the twist that changes everything:Once a character is drafted from a movie, no one else can draft anyone else from that same movie.No backups. No consolation picks. Once it's gone, it’s GONE.If you thought last season’s drafts were chaotic…welcome to 1971.The Draft Rules: One Year, One Movie Per Pick, Zero MercyTo keep this battle as ruthless as possible, the Taste Buds lock in the following rules:Snake Draft FormatThe order reverses each round, forcing careful planning and last-second gambits.Draft RolesEach team must fill:Bard – charm, chaos, charismaCleric – healer, protector, mystical weirdoDruid – nature, magic, unpredictable energyFighter – the bruiser, tank, or martial artistWizard – supernatural, cerebral, or ranged powerhouseWild Card – whatever you dare unleashEligibility: 1971 Movies (and TV Productions) OnlyIf it hit screens in 1971 (big screen, small screen, arthouse, grindhouse), it’s fair game.The Killer Rule: One Character Per MovieAs soon as a player drafts any character from a movie or TV title, that entire production is locked out forever.Pick a character from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The rest of Wonka’s weirdos vanish.Choose someone from A Clockwork Orange? Say goodbye to Alex’s droogs.Reach into The French Connection? No detective backup for anyone.This rule transforms the draft into a battlefield where stealing a movie is every bit as important as drafting the right character.The ObjectiveCreate a team of 1971 action figures capable of absolutely wrecking the others in a hypothetical battle royale.Selecting the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Wizard, and Wild CardThe Taste Buds dive deep into the weird, violent, soulful, experimental year that is 1971 cinema. With each category requiring a different kind of fighter, strategy becomes key:A bard might be a charming con artist, a manipulative cult leader, or someone who just screams enough to cause psychic damage.A cleric might heal, preach, or haunt.A druid might commune with nature or be a chaos gremlin.A fighter is your tank — your blunt instrument of violence.A wizard could be supernatural…or simply smarter and more dangerous than anyone else.And the wild card?Well, 1971 produced some bizarre characters. Anything can happen here.And because each movie gets only one character drafted, every pick is a race to snatch a film before someone else steals it out from under...

Movie of the Year: 1971McCabe and Mrs. MillerMcCabe and Mrs Miller and the Birth of the Revisionist WesternIn this episode of Movie of the Year, Ryan, Greg, and Mike dive into McCabe and Mrs Miller, one of the most enduring and atmospheric films of the 1970s. Hailed as a defining entry in The Revisionist Western, Robert Altman’s subversive frontier tale reshaped the genre with its melancholy tone, snowy landscapes, and the unforgettable chemistry of Beatty and Christie.More than 50 years later, McCabe and Mrs Miller still captivates audiences with its blending of realism, capitalism, romance, and tragedy. The Taste Buds explore how the film dismantles the myth of the cowboy and replaces it with something far more human — and far more haunting.McCabe and Mrs Miller and the Evolution of The Revisionist WesternAs one of the foundational films of The Revisionist Western, McCabe and Mrs Miller stands in opposition to classic Hollywood frontier mythology. Instead of rugged heroes conquering the wilderness, Altman gives us a world where power is fragile, capitalism is violent, and survival depends less on grit and more on negotiation, luck, and vulnerability.The Taste Buds analyze how the film:challenges Western tropes through vulnerability instead of bravadoreplaces heroic gunfights with corporate brutalityforegrounds community, compromise, and human frailtyuses McCabe’s tragic arc to critique capitalist expansionThis isn’t the West as legend — it’s the West as lived experience.Robert Altman and Gordon Willis: Sound, Snow, and Cinematic SubversionMcCabe and Mrs Miller bears the unmistakable imprint of Robert Altman, whose improvisational direction and overlapping soundscape helped reinvent American cinema in the 1970s. Working with cinematographer Gordon Willis, known for his moody, shadow-rich images, Altman transforms the Western into a dreamlike, fog-drenched meditation.The Taste Buds highlight how Altman and Willis shape the film’s signature aesthetic:Overlapping dialogue and naturalistic sound that create a bustling, lived-in communityDiffused, foggy lighting and filters that give the film its iconic “sepia snowdream” lookLong, drifting shots that emphasize the vulnerability of characters lost in a harsh landscapeLeonard Cohen’s mournful soundtrack, underscoring the film’s quiet despairAltman and Willis built not just a Western — but a world.Beatty and Christie: The Heart of McCabe and Mrs MillerAt the emotional center of the film are Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, whose complex, understated dynamic elevates McCabe and Mrs Miller into something approaching tragic romance.The Taste Buds explore:Beatty’s portrayal of McCabe as a man confused by his own legendChristie’s luminous, grounded performance as Mrs. Miller — the true brains of the operationThe subversion of the “cowboy and madam” tropeTheir crackling chemistry and the off-screen relationship that deepened their on-screen connectionTogether, Beatty and Christie redefine intimacy within the Western genre, offering partnership instead of power fantasy.Themes of McCabe and Mrs Miller: Capitalism, Community, and ControlRyan, Greg, and Mike unpack the themes that give McCabe and Mrs Miller its enduring...