Hey cool cats! It's an epic episode today as we delve into both the birth of Christ and the birth of Cool...it's 1959!

Get (chariot) racy with Charlton Heston as we praise William Wyler's massive BEN-HUR then sit back, relax and spin Miles Davis' genre-defining Modal Jazz classic, KIND OF BLUE.

*There will be minor plot spoilers for Ben-Hur so be warned*

YEAR OF THE WEEK

1959

FILM OF THE WEEK

Ben-Hur - dir. William Wyler

Discussion starts 01:32

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Kind of Blue - by Miles Davis, with Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Paul Chambers, James Cobb, John Coltrane, Bill Evans & Wynton Kelly

Discussion starts 37:18

We pick next episode's Year of the Week at 58:01

ALSO MENTIONED

Films/TV:

• Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - dir. David Lean
• Gone With The Wind (1939) - dir. Victor Fleming
• Cleopatra (1963) - dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Avatar (2009) - dir. James Cameron
• Ben-Hur (2016) - dir. Timur Bekmambetov
• The Room (2003) - dir. Tommy Wiseau
• War of the Worlds (2025) - dir. Rich Lee
• Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) - dir. Fred Niblo
• Ben Hur (1907) - dir. Sidney Olcott & Frank Oakes Rose
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) - dir. Victor Fleming
• Wicked (2024) - dir. Jon M. Chu
• Gladiator (2000) - dir. Ridley Scott
• Spartacus (1960) - dir. Stanley Kubrick
• Star Wars franchise (1977-)
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) - dir. George Lucas
• Doctor Who (1963-) - TV show
• Double Indemnity (1944) - dir. Billy Wilder
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) - dir. Nilly Wilder
• King of Kings (1961) - dir. Nicholas Ray
• El Cid (1961) - dir. Anthony Mann
• Une Femme Est Une Femme (1961) - dir. Jean-Luc Godard

Music:

• Berry Is On Top - 1959 album by Chuck Berry
• Go Bo Diddley - 1959 album by Bo Diddley
• Ah Um - 1959 album by Charles Mingus
• Round About Midnight - 1955 album by Miles Davis
• Charlie Parker - jazz saxophonist
• Sketches of Spain - 1960 album by Miles Davis
• My Favourite Things - 1961 album by John Coltrane
• Lady Day & John Coltrane - 1971 song by Gil Scott-Heron
• Ants From Up There - 2022 album by Black Country New Road
• A Love Supreme - 1965 album by John Coltrane
• The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady - 1963 album by Charles Mingus

Other folks we mention:

• Ridley Scott - film director
• Robert Downey Jr. - actor
• Gal Gadot - actress
• Alfred Hitchcock - film director
• Pablo Picasso - painter

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JJ Eringa

⁠⁠Sean Wade

Our IRL film club

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