That 70s Movie Podcast

Jaksot

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  The Pledge 16.09.2026 1min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael go fishing for the 2001 neo-noir thriller, The Pledge. One of the podcast's founding credos is that not every '70s film was made in the 1970s—and few modern movies embody the ethos of '70s filmmaking quite like "The Pledge." Moral ambiguity, a flawed male protagonist, and a decidedly bleak ending ... The Pledge has it all! We were particularly impressed by Jack Nicholson's restrained, against-type performance, but dis...
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  Mean Streets 05.09.2026 1t 20min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That '70s Movie Podcast," Jonathan and Michael prepare to atone for their sins with the 1973 Martin Scorsese classic, "Mean Streets." While we both enjoyed the feel and craft of this movie, we had slightly mixed feelings about it. Michael saw it more as a vibe than a movie and felt it was largely a collection of vignettes organized around a plot—and Jonathan thought that is precisely what makes the film so great! Both of us had enormous praise for Scorsese's leg...
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  The Candidate 24.08.2026 1t 21min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That '70s Movie Podcast," Jonathan and Michael hit the hustings for the 1972 political satire, "The Candidate." With ten weeks to go until the midterms, what better time to revisit this classic take on the inner workings of a political campaign? We both loved Robert Redford's performance as Bill McKay, though we slightly disagreed on whether he is a sympathetic character caught up in the dog-and-pony show of electoral politics or a willing participant. We also w...
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  Dirty Harry 02.08.2026 1t 11min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That '70s Movie Podcast," Jonathan and Michael are on the prowl for the 1971 action-thriller "Dirty Harry." We had mixed feelings about this film, with Jonathan offering qualified praise for its first 71 minutes and Michael unequivocally labeling it a fascist movie. In fairness, Jonathan called the third act a "catastrophic train wreck," but he liked the night-for-night shooting and thought the first two-thirds of the movie was an extremely effective...
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  The Day Of The Jackal 28.07.2026 1t 22min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Michael and Jonathan play cat and mouse with the 1973 political thriller, "The Day of the Jackal." After several weeks of character-driven movies that led us to conclude plot-shmot, we both agreed that this movie leans into the plot and declares quite assuredly—character-schmaracter. We loved how the process in the film—both the assassination plan and the police investigation—is the payoff, and what a payoff it is! Even though we kn...
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  Night Moves 17.07.2026 1t 31min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That '70s Movie Podcast," Jonathan and Michael dive into the water for the 1975 neo-noir thriller, "Night Moves." This is one of Jonathan's favorite movies, and it shows! He talked with great passion about the enigma of Harry Moseby (played by Gene Hackman), his complicated relationship with Ellen, and Harry's consistent ability to connect the dots but miss the bigger picture. Michael enjoyed the movie as well, and while he particularly loved Alan Sharp's dialog...
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  Jaws 09.07.2026 1t 20min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Michael and Jonathan jump in the ocean for the 1975 thriller, "Jaws." Though we usually see eye to eye (or at least close to it), it was "disagreement" week on the podcast. Michael argued that Jaws is peak joyride filmmaking, with great character development, director Steven Spielberg's masterful ratcheting up of suspense and tension, and the film's bravura set-pieces. Jonathan praised the editing and cinematography, but found the movie a...
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  Love and Death & The "Early Funny Ones" 02.07.2026 1t 35min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That 70s Movie Podcast," Jonathan and Michael hit the frontlines for Woody Allen's 1975 comedy classic "Love and Death" and also his four other "early funny ones" - "Take the Money and Run," "Bananas", "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (*But Were Afraid to Ask)," and "Sleeper." It's not often we talk about five different films in one sitting, but tackling Allen's early comedy movies gave us a chance to chart his evolution as a filmmaker, chronicle ...
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  The Killing of a Chinese Bookie 18.06.2026 1t 12min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael are jumping in the phone booth for the 1976 crime drama, "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie." We loved the moral ambiguity at the heart of the movie, the focus on character over plot, the night-for-night shooting, and above all the extraordinary performance by Ben Gazzara as LA club owner -- and degenerate gambler -- Cosmo Vitelli. This movie is an underappreciated gem of '70s filmmaking -- and one of John Cassavetes' b...
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  Mikey and Nicky 09.06.2026 1t 20min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael climb the gate for the 1976 classic "Mikey and Nicky." We were thrilled to finally discuss a film directed by the legendary Elaine May -- one of the few female directors who cracked this glass ceiling in the male-dominated New Hollywood. We loved May's directorial choices and her razor-sharp script. We were wowed by the astonishing, emotionally wrought performances from co-leads John Cassavetes and Peter Falk, t...
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  Two Lane Blacktop 02.06.2026 1t 21min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael check under the hood for the 1971 cult classic "Two Lane Blacktop." We were joined this week by film critic extraordinaire and author of "Sofia Coppola: The Complete Unofficial Guide," Christina Newland. We talked with Christina about director Monte Hellman's existential approach to filmmaking, Mr. Warren Oates' wonderful performance, the more "wooden" acting from James Taylor and Dennis Wilson, and, most of all, the ...
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  Sex, Lies and Videotape 21.05.2026 1t 24min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on that '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael get brutally honest about the 1989 indie classic, "Sex, Lies and Videotape." One of the credos of the podcast is that not every '70s film was made in the 1970s, and "Sex, Lies and Videotape," written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, is the kind of small, personal, character-driven film that reflects the ethos of the New Hollywood. Plus, it's a fantastic movie and in a storied filmmaking career, Soderbergh's masterpi...
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  Dog Day Afternoon 10.05.2026 1t 21min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael wave the white flag for the 1975 classic "Dog Day Afternoon." This is 70s, New York filmmaking at its absolute peak. Phenomenal acting performances from Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, and Chris Sarandon, inspired direction from the underappreciated master Sidney Lumet, Dede Allen's brilliantly paced editing, a razor-sharp screenplay by Frank Pierson, and wonderful cinematography from Victor Kemper. It doesn'...
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  Marathon Man 20.04.2026 1t 35min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael go the extra mile for the 1976 thriller "Marathon Man." While we enjoyed many of the stylistic elements of this film, we had a blast discussing the many glaring plot holes (we came up with 12), including poorly placed carriage bombs, bad tonsorial choices, inexplicable post-stabbing decision-making, strangely bouncing soccer balls, and oddly timed baths. This was a fun one with laughs aplenty, so stick your stop...
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  Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 06.04.2026 1t 21min

  Send us Fan Mail ⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠! This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael pour a tall one for the 1966 classic "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" In this episode, we marveled at the GOAT-level performances from Elizabeth Taylor (Martha) and Richard Burton (George), praised Mike Nichols' highly cinematic take on a classic American play, and debated what this layered movie is trying to tell us. We also delved into the mystery of George and Martha's marriage, questioned the m...
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  Straight Time 27.03.2026 1t 20min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on "That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael go up the river for the 1978 crime drama "Straight Time." We loved this nuanced and thematically rich late '70s cult classic, particularly for Dustin Hoffman's grounded and bravura =performance as Max Dembo, an ex-convict trying to follow the straight and narrow ... and failing miserably. But we also had tons of praise for the supporting cast, including Gary Busey, Theresa Russell, and Mr. M. Emmet Walsh, as well as ...
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  Duel 20.03.2026 1t 14min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael hit the gas for Steven Spielberg's 1971 chase movie, "Duel." We talked at length about Steven Spielberg's legacy as a director and how "Duel" showcases his abundant skills but also shows a very un-Spielbergian edge. We praised the masterful ways Spielberg creates tension and suspense in the film, the numerous bad choices made by the main character, played by Dennis Weaver, and why the movie works best as an allegory.&...
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  Klute 10.03.2026 1t 36min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That '70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael press play for the 1971 psychological thriller, "Klute." We loved everything about this movie -- from Jane Fonda's unflinching portrayal of Bree Daniels, a Manhattan call girl caught up in a murder investigation led by Detective John Klute (played by Donald Sutherland), to Alan J. Pakula's inspired direction and Gordon Willis's magnificent cinematography. We discussed whether Klute is a feminist movie or if it's even ...
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  Days of Heaven & Remembering Robert Duvall 02.03.2026 1t 16min

  Send us Fan Mail This week on That 70s Movie Podcast, Jonathan and Michael separated the wheat from the chaff on the 1978 film "Days of Heaven" ... and we also remembered the career of Robert Duvall, who passed away last month. Both of us praised Duvall's extraordinary career and his roles in some of the greatest films of the 1970s. But we focused most of our discussion on his stellar performance in 1983's "Tender Mercies," for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. We had a bit less ac...
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  The Last Picture Show 23.02.2026 1t 21min

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jonathan and Michael grabbed some popcorn and headed to the local movie theater to check out the 1971 coming-of-age story "The Last Picture Show." We talked at length about the uniformly extraordinary acting performances in this movie, from Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson to Cybil Shepherd and Ellen Burstyn; praised Peter Bogdanovich's fantastic direction (but uneven filmography); debated who is the main character in the movie; and discussed how The Last Pict...