EPISODE 195: An American Original! – No apologies, no half-measures, all fire. (ft. Joe Buttice)
Episode Description: This week, Jason is joined by Joe Buttice (Reel Spoilers) to lock and load a ranking of five films tied to the myth, the man, the cigar-smoking cinema warlord: John Milius. Whether writing frontier survival epics or directing operatic war fantasies, Milius brought a thunderous, unapologetic voice to American film.
Strap in for manifest destiny, surfboard theology, Cimmerian steel, and teenage guerrilla warfare.
Films Ranked:
- Jeremiah Johnson (1972, writer) – The loner as legend in a snow-covered survivalist western.\
-
Dillinger (1973) – Milius’s directorial debut, mixing gangster cool with mythic Americana.
-
Big Wednesday (1978) – A lyrical, wave-soaked ode to brotherhood and the end of an era.
-
Conan the Barbarian (1982) – Barbarism, Nietzsche, and epic vengeance in the Hyborian Age.
-
Red Dawn (1984) – Wolverines! Teenage insurgents defend America in a Cold War fever dream.
IN THIS EPISODE:
-
Joe defends Red Dawn as both fantasy and prophecy
-
Jason meditates on Big Wednesday as the most personal of war films
-
The complicated politics, masculine myth-making, and the man behind the bombast
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.