Let's Finally Watch This

It's the end of Season 1. It's been a trip. Now it's time to look back at the constants and changes that accompanied a century of film. We'll also give our own Ranking of Essentialness for this season's movies. We've enjoyed this trip through cinema history, and we hope you've enjoyed this initial season of Let's FInally Watch This as well. See you next year!

It's 2012. Movies are experimenting with 3-D and Blu-ray is making inroads. This movie, considered a prime example of good 3-D storytelling, follows Pi, an Indian man whose story will, according to some, "make you believe in God." That story involves being adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger.

What Life of Pi offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: a gorgeous, visually brilliant experience, even in non-3-D; an exciting journey combined with spiritual questions; iconic shots of a man and a tiger stuck in a boat; and an ending that may change your view of the movie.

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Show Notes

It's 2002. Sequels and franchises are everywhere, and digital filmmaking is just beginning. This movie, however, is the exception that proves the rule. Gangs of New York, directed by Marin Scorsese, fully embodies 1862 New York as it examines tribalism, crime, and revenge in the relationships of immigrant and "native" Americans.

What Gangs of New York offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: an immersive, fully realized setting; exploration of a largely unexplored aspect of American history; an electrifying performance by Daniel Day-Lewis; and far too much reveling in the corrupt underbelly of Civil-War era New York.

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Show Notes

It's 1992. The Age of Blockbusters continues, but a wide assortment of genres are making their way to the box office. New independent filmmakers are up and coming. This movie, Unforgiven, is a revisionist western following a reformed outlaw and assassin as he decides to take on one last bounty to help provide for his two children.

What Unforgiven offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: a morally ambiguous story about justice and sins, current and past; scenes of beauty amidst a stark setting; a playing with and against western tropes; and Clint Eastwood.

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Show Notes

It's 1982. The era of blockbusters is upon us, movie technology is changing, and science fiction is popular. Into this mix comes Blade Runner, a visually groundbreaking sci-fi/noir set in far-off future of 2019, where detectives call blade runners track down and kill rogue replicants (androids) which have been outlawed on Earth.

What Blade Runner offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: a soul-weary Harrison Ford; a dark, gritty futurescape that left an indelible mark on science fiction; a uniquely 80s synth soundtrack; and (possibly) deep questions about what it means to be human.

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Show Notes

It's 1972. "New Hollywood" is in full swing with its loosening moral standards, greater artistic freedom, and more ambiguous endings. But it's also an era of disaster movies, with this episode's movie, The Poseidon Adventure, being a prime example, as passengers of the overturned ship struggle for survival.

What The Poseidon Adventure offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: an archetypal disaster plot; effective sets and suspense; themes of life and survival; and Ernest Borgnine and Gene Hackman screaming at each other.

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Show Notes

It's 1962. We're in early "New Hollywood Era," when movies begin to lean into more complex themes and ambiguity. This episode's movie is Lawrence of Arabia, an epic historical drama about British officer T.E. Lawrence and his time in the Ottoman Empire regions of Hejaz and Greater Syria during World War I.

What Lawrence of Arabia offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: incredible landscapes, epic scale, intriguing character study, and pushing four hours of film.

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Show Notes

It's 1952. TV is competing with movies, so movies are going color and going for spectacle. This episode's movie is Singin' in the Rain, a musical full of romance, comedy, and charm starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds.

What Singin' in the Rain offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: energetic dance numbers, laugh-out-loud humor, brilliant colors, and an all-around great time.

Show Notes

It's 1942. World War II looms large on the American mind--but not in this movie. This episode's movie is The Magnificent Ambersons, a family drama about changing times directed by Orson Welles.

What The Magnificent Ambersons offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: intricate cinematography, complex characterizations, and a behind-the-scenes story as interesting as the movie itself.

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Show Notes

It's 1932. Silent films are out. Talkies are in. This episode's movie is Horse Feathers, a Marx Brothers comedy (ostensibly) about a college president trying to recruit football players for the big game--but that's just an excuse for the humor.

What Horse Feathers offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: ridiculous hijinks, musical numbers, indiscriminate mockery, and one crazy football game.

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Show Notes