The Prestige: Recent Episodes
KaijuFM
A podcast for cinephiles of all stripes. Join Rob & Sam, two life-long friends, one a veteran of the film industry, the other a Cambridge-educated writer on books, movies and graphic novels. Each week they talk about a film and some of the ideas it throws up.
Our Latin American journey leaves the South American mainland behind this week, and dips into Caribbean cinema with a 2007 film from the Dominican Republic, YUNIOL. After some reviews, we talk about class differences, telling multiple stories, and how this is not an ‘uneven’ film.
Recent Media
ALL OR NOTHING: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (2021): Rob Worsoff, Kyle Dubas, Will Arnett
STRANGER THINGS S4 (2022): Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Winona Ryder
Recommendations
HEROES (2007–09): Tim Kring, Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere
SHARKTOPUS VS. PTERACUDA (2014): Kevin O’Neill, Robert Carradine, Katie Savoy
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Michael Keaton
BLINDSPOTTING (2018): Carlos López Estrada, Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal
Footnotes
This week’s links:
- [where this film comes from, Part 1] www.barcelo.com/pinandtravel/en/from-the-godfather-to-jurassic-park-the-best-dominican-cinema
- [where this film comes from, Part 2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dominican_Republic_films
- [what this film could have been] www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/15-poetic-films-about-mundane-subjects
- [our episode about the film to which we compared this one] www.kaiju.fm/prestige/5-04-city-of-god-2002-corrupt-space
- [finally: yes this is about the UK, but it’s still a good article!] aaronguthrie.medium.com/the-representation-of-class-in-contemporary-british-film-and-tv-afc5882dd7d3
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The most recent film on our Latin American odyssey is the Venezuelan MY STRAIGHT SON (2012). After reviews — some more fervent than others — we talk about drama, found families, and whether or not we might have a Eurocentric view of this film’s politics.
Recent Media
GOLDENEYE (1995): Martin Campbell, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean
REACHER (2022–): Lee Child, Nick Santora, Alan Ritchson
Recommendations
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (2012): Stephen Chbosky, Logan Lernan, Emma Watson
BEAUTIFUL THING (1996): Jonathan Harvey, Hettie MacDonald, Linda Henry
[Sam’s last-minute, unexpected recommendation] THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal
THE LARAMIE PROJECT (2000): Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Stephen Belber
Footnotes
This week’s links:
- www.jstor.org/stable/26384822 (JSTOR subscription needed)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenovela
- www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-catharsis-definition
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_as_Folk_(British_TV_series)
- www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g9621178/best-gay-lgbt-films
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After something of a hiatus: we’re back! With the award-winning 2015 Colombian film EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT. After some reviews, we dive in with a reference to Rob’s favourite theatrical director, as well as exploring why it’s good that this film was made and how it might be important that some people don’t get on board with it.
Recent Media
THE HARDER THEY FALL (2021): Jeymes Samuel, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz
ENCANTO (2021): Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Stephanie Beatriz
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021): Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss
TITANE (2021): Julia Ducorneau, Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle
TICK, TICK…BOOM! (2021): Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Zendaya
THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE (2021): Richard Osman
The Jack Reacher Book Series (1997—): Lee Child, Andrew Child
Recommendations
THE MOTORCYCLES DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Gael García Bernal
NARCOS: MEXICO (2018–21): Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Michael Peña
A FIELD IN ENGLAND (2013): Ben Wheatley, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando
SORCERER (1977): William Friedkin, Georges Arnaud, Roy Scheider
Footnotes
Firstly, this is what we seem to be talking about a fair bit this episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism. As Rob mentions at the start, this film is two different versions of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Here’s the obligatory Brecht link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. It’s interesting that IMDB actually have this as a tag: https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=in-medias-res. This reviewer seems to have similar thoughts to Sam about the film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/embrace-of-the-serpent-2016. Finally, here’s a link to our FIELD IN ENGLAND episode, for more on a film like this one in several ways: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454/episodes/a-field-in-england-and-psyched-29626170.
Another Small Batch episode, looking at the the 2021 horror film, Titane
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The next stop on our journey through Latin America is 2005’s MADEINUSA. After some reviews, we talk about how this film is itself a disturbing experience for the viewers, to what extent it presents the main character as a ‘femme fatale', and why it works as a complete disruption of the ‘white saviour’ myth.
Next Up
The next film in our Latin American Odyssey is Colombia’s EL PASEO (2010).
Recent Media
MIDNIGHT MASS (2021): Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford
SQUID GAME (2021): Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo
Recommendations
LA MALA EDUCACIÓN (2004): Pedro Almodóvar, Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martínez
HIGH NOON (1952): Fred Zinnemann, Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly
THE PURGE (SERIES, 2013–21): James DeMonaco, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey
THE WICKER MAN (1973): Robin Hardy, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland
Footnotes
Rob mentions a few cinematic touchstones for some of the visual stylings of this film: kabuki (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki), the morality play (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_play), and anime (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime). Some of this film’s ideas are also reminiscent of the film noir (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir), particularly at the end. This is an interesting analysis of ‘white saviour’ films: movies.mxdwn.com/feature/a-critical-analysis-of-white-savior-films-and-why-you-should-avoid-them. Finally, Rob mentioned tourism, in the context both of this film and of CITY OF GOD; this is a useful article about this, focused on the film’s geographical setting: barbieri.wordpress.ncsu.edu/files/2020/07/2020_Peru_SusTmo.pdf.
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The title for this episode comes from something Rob says towards the end of this chat, which I think sums up this film brilliantly. After reviews (spoilers: we loved it), we talk about a number of things to do with the incredible artifice of this film, and its brutality, and (strangely enough) its use of architecture.
Next Up
Our next Latin American film is the Peruvian drama MADEINUSA, from 2005.
Recent Media
MONEY HEIST (2017–21): Álex Pina, Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte
MALIBU HIGH (1979): Irvin Berwick, Jill Lansing, Stuart Taylor
BLACK WIDOW (2021): Cate Shortland, Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh
Recommendations
THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005): Fernando Meirelles, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
THE NEON DEMON (2016): Nicolas Winding Refn, Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks
PREDATORS (2010): Nimród Antal, Adrien Brody, Topher Grace
ROMEO + JULIET (1996): William Shakespeare, Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo DiCaprio
Footnotes
Firstly, find out more about Rio favelas here: catcomm.org/favela-facts. Sam mentions how touristy Rio’s favelas have become in the last 30 or so years; this site shows you what he means: www.daytours4u.com/en/travel-guide/rdj4u/favela-tourism. Roger Ebert wasn't always on the money, but this is a pretty good review of the ‘churn[ing…] furious energy’ of the film: /www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-god-2003. And this is another good review about the story-telling genius at the heart of this movie: www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2004/06/the-movie-review-city-of-god/69527. Finally, this is a great piece (not only because the articles at Wallpaper are often very well-written) about architecture in film: www.wallpaper.com/architecture/architecture-in-film-through-the-decades.
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Our film this week is the slacker comedy/drama 25 WATTS, from Uruguay. Post-reviews, we talk about movies with which this shares obvious roots, as well as how this captures the experiences of disenfranchised youth, and some borderline-colonial-tourist-y speculation about why this was such an important touchstone in Uruguayan film.
Next Up
The next film on our cinematic journey through Latin America is the 2002 film CITY OF GOD.
Recent Media
KATE (2021): Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau
GODZILLA VS. KONG (2021): Adam Wingard, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown
SHIN GODZILLA (2016): Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, Hiroki Hasegawa
Recommendations
THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2010): David Robert Mitchell, Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton
waydowntown (2000): Gary Burns, Fab Filippo, Don McKellar
CLERKS (1994): Kevin Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT (1986): Spike Lee, Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks
Footnotes
Firstly, it would be remiss of me not to include a reference to our CLERKS episode, from way back in the mists of time (remember how the world was, before COVID and Trump and Brexit? Ahhh…): www.kaiju.fm/prestige/clerks-slacker-cinema. For more on the cinema of Uruguay, see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Uruguay. If you’re a fan of 25 WATTS, why not try one of these: www.guruguay.com/5-uruguayan-films. Given our discussion of nationality, and why this might be a particularly ‘Uruguayan’ film, this is a good book (for the whole of this mini-season, in fact): books.google.co.uk/books/about/Latin_American_Cinema.html?id=MB-hBAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y. Finally, I know it’s a comedy, not a drama, so doesn’t meet Rob’s criteria for authentic youth/university life on screen, but here’s a nice little summary of what made FRESH MEAT a good — and, it turns out, poignant — bit of tv: www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/28/fresh-meat-farewell-good-luck-in-the-real-world-its-terrible-out-there.
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After something of a hiatus from the main feed, this week the band is back together with our look at (the most recent, Rob) THE ACCUSED. We talk about how this film undercuts expectations, what it has to say about the experiences of children as opposed to adults, and the in some ways chilling ending of the movie.
Next Up
The next film on our Latin American road trip is 2001’s 25 WATTS from Uruguay.
Recent Media
EMPIRE RECORDS (1995): Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield
THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021): James Gunn, Margot Robbie, Idris Elba
Recommendations
THE ACCUSED (1988): Jonathan Kaplan, Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster
THE ACCUSED (1949): William Dieterle, June Truesdell, Loretta Young
THE REVENANT (2015): Alejandro Iñárritu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
STAGED (2020–21): Simon Evans, Michael Sheen, David Tennant
Footnotes
Normal footnote service will resume next time: I hurt my hand this morning, and typing’s painful; I could leave it to Rob, but who knows what this section would look like then...
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Another Small Batch, this week talking about FREE GUY and the return to the cinema!
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Another Small Batch episode, looking at the cinematic twins of White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen
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The first of our brand new Small Batch episodes, this week looking at the Pirates Of The Caribbean, all the from The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003) all the way to Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
As with the smaller shows, also smaller show notes, so enjoy!
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We launch into Season 5 (FIVE!!! madness, I tell you) and our ‘world tour’ with a film from the country at the southernmost tip of the Americas, Chile, and Pablo Larraín’s 2019 film EMA. After expressing awe at the visuals of the film and the impact that it had on us as viewers, we discuss the idea of new growth (‘seeds’ to be sown after fire, in a central metaphor of the film), the plan that Ema has, and how underestimating this is something that is not only done by Gael Garcia Bernal’s character, but by many (male) members of the audience.
Next Up
The next film in our journey up through the continent is the Argentinian film from a year earlier, THE ACCUSED.
Recent Media
THIS IS MY HOUSE (2021): Stacey Dooley
TIME (2021): Lewis Arnold, Jimmy McGovern, Sean Bean
FEAR STREET (2021): R.L. Stine, Leigh Janiak, Kiana Madeira
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 1/2 (2003/2006): Gore Verbinski, Ted Elliott, Johnny Depp
Recommendations
AS IF (2001–04): John Duthie, Paul Chequer, Emily Corrie
HARD CANDY (2005): David Slade, Elliott Page, Patrick Wilson
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004): Walter Telles, Ernesto Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001): Alfonso Cuarón, Maribel Verdú, Gael Garcia Bernal
Footnotes
Before we get into the serious footnotes, I just wanted to link to this review of Sam’s first choice of Recent Media this week, which is actually, bizarrely, quite good: www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/20/bbc-one-this-is-my-house-stacey-dooley. Onto the good stuff. Here’s our NEON DEMON episode, to link to a film mentioned early on this week: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-27-the-neon-demon-and-beauty-consumption, and here’s another one by the director Sam mentions at the start: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-17-21-grams-change-and-grief. There were some great reviews of this week’s film: www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/mesmerising-film-gives-us-a-vengeful-goddess-for-the-metoo-generation-20210511-p57qu9.html, www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/alex/13350302, and indeed anything on www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ema. Here’s more about the dance form that structures both Eta’s character and this film as a whole: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaeton. And finally, one of the film’s emotional climaxes (ha, ha) deserves to be on this list: www.vulture.com/2014/12/30-most-important-sex-scenes-in-movie-history.html.
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Some six years (not five, Rob! we’ve been doing this aaaaages) after our first episode — and fourteen years after the…’discussion’ that prompted us to start doing this podcast (eventually), we’re revisiting Zach Snyder’s 2007 epic 300. After we read through that fourteen-year-old transcript, we talk about how our views of the film have changed, its roots in Spartan propaganda, and the aesthetics of a piece that were very much of its time.
Next Up
Next, we begin Season 5 — watch this space!
Recent Media
A QUIET PLACE (2018): John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds
BO BURNHAM: INSIDE (2021): Bo Burnham, Josh Senior
Recommendations
WONDER WOMAN (2017): Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine
STEVE JOBS (2015): Danny Boyle, Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet
AUSTRALIA (2008): Baz Luhrmann, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman
KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017): Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
Footnotes If you’re not familiar with the battle on which this is based, then probably read up on that first, as this isn’t an incredibly historically accurate film: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae. (Although, as Sam mentions, the history in the film is actually better than you might think, as explained here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07n8p9m.) For more on the sometimes unsavoury career of Frank Miller, author of the original, see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Miller_(comics). A few links for our 2007 selves: www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book), www.jstor.org/stable/20455133 (on 300 and the ‘war on terror’; subscription needed). Finally, here’s that list of 2007 films, to highlight the point that 300 was unique (visually speaking, that’s quite an underwhelming top 10): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_film.
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The final film in our Disney-animation-and-remakes sub-season is the 2020 iteration of MULAN. After some reviews, we delve into discussions of Disney ‘humanisation’ (sometimes, you just want bad guys to be bad guys), the fact that this movie is aimed at a very different audience from the original, the changes that are made to make this more of a human film, and how honour and ch'i (two big concepts here) mean very different things for different (gendered) characters.
Next Up
The next episode is our 200th — stay tuned to find out what we have planned for this, which may be something of a retrospective.
Recent Media
ARMY OF THE DEAD (2021): Zack Snyder, Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell
STEELERS: THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY CLUB (2020): Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, Nic Evans, Simon Jones
PALM SPRINGS (2020): Max Barbakow, Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti
Recommendations
ROGUE ONE (2016): Gareth Edwards, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna
BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II (1989): Robert Zemeckis, Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
2046 (2004): Wong Kar-wai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong
THE ASSASSIN (2015): Hou Hsiao-hsien, She Qi, Chang Chen
Footnotes
To start with, almost in passing, Sam mentions the concept of magic(al) realism, when talking about the phoenix; more on that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism. When Rob mentions the film’s Wuxia moments, there’s a throwback both to the genre and to some episodes of The Prestige discussing this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia; particularly, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-assassin-and-cultural-tourism, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-05-come-drink-with-me-1966-and-war, and www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-08-the-legend-of-drunken-master-1994-and-comedy-action. Next, I looked at the title of this article and thought ‘uh-oh, we missed something significantly wrong with this film’; no, it’s just a terrible take: www.sceneandheardnu.com/content/2020/9/18/mulan-is-bad-and-that-was-inevitable. (It’s here to remind us all that other opinions do exist, which is rather the point of film…) Finally, here’s more on the ‘life force’ we discuss a lot in this episode (spelled in any number of ways in the English transliteration): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi.
Next episode is our 200th, and we want your help! - https://www.notion.so/The-Prestige-200th-Episode-0556dca9b5ea4821807e524bfe3be263
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Our final Disney film is 1998’s MULAN. After some reviews, we talk about the ways in which this film starts from a position of naivety, but grows into a much more adult movie: which leaves us both intrigued as to what the reboot will be like.
Next Up
Next time, for the last time, we turn to the live-action version of a Disney animation, with the 2020 MULAN.
Recent Media
SAFE (2012): Boaz Yakin, Jason Statham, Catherine Chan
NOMADLAND (2020): Chloé Zhao, Jessica Bruder, Frances McDormand
Recommendations
JURASSIC PARK (1993): Stephen Spielberg, Sam Neill, Laura Dern
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018): P.L. Travers, Rob Marshall, Emily Blunt
STREET FIGHTER (1994): Steven E. de Souza, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (2011): Sarah Smith, Barry Cook, James McAvoy
MR ROBOT (2015–19): Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Christian Slater
Footnotes
We start off (and end, actually) by talking about Disney sidekicks; this is a fun article, if only for nostalgic reasons, remembering all the films: www.buzzfeed.com/jamiespain/times-disney-sidekicks-were-terrible (While we’re on the subject of Disney sidekicks, I also quite enjoyed this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46XJImeQbc). Rob goes all academic (oooh, get him) and talks about the Greek chorus, of which more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_chorus. Here’s the promised link to Orientalism (from which this film is, refreshingly, remarkably free): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book). If like Sam — not Rob — you were a nerdy kid in the late 90s, you might remember this, around the time of MULAN: www.imdb.com/title/tt0188478 — not actually Shakespeare, but something even more academic……Here’s another reminder of one of the concepts Rob mentions towards the end of this episode: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey#:~:text=Summary%20%20%20%20Act%20%20%20,road%20back%20The%20resurrection%20Return%20wi%20...%20. Finally, as Rob says, neither of us are best placed to be authorities on the subject of Gender Studies; if you’re interested, here’s a short reading list to get you started: www.lse.ac.uk/gender/Studying-Gender-at-LSE/recommended-literature.
This week, after some...reviews of Disney’s most recent take on THE LION KING, we talk about how colour and contrast can make or break a film, the importance of myth to the original movie, and what it means to consider style versus substance when the film is as hyperrealistic as this one.
Next Up The final film in our Disney mini-season is 1998’s MULAN.
Recent Media
TED LASSO (2020–): Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudekis, Hannah Waddingham
PARKER (2013): Taylor Hackford, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez
Recommendations
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018): Ron Howard, Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams SWINGERS (1996): Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn THE AFRICAN LION (1955): James Algar, Winston Hibler
Footnotes Given that one of our opening topics was the use of colour in these films, there was surprisingly little from the former specialist in this area; this article redresses the balance somewhat: whatweknow.tinkertaylor.tv/post/102fg5e/what-is-colour-grading-in-film-and-why-is-it-so-important. Rob discusses the changes wrought on Scar’s ideology by these alterations in colour, and this is an interesting exploration of just what his intentions are: the-take.com/watch/in-the-lion-king-what-is-scars-political-ideology. We say a lot about the (admittedly stunning) VFX on this film, and you can see more here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bTjenLGj0 and read more here: www.animationboss.net/the-lion-king-vfx. Finally, for more reliable lion facts than provided by Sam this week, see here: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/african-lion.
Our film this week is the 1994 award-winning classic THE LION KING. After the usual reviews, we talk about Sam’s changing ideas about the film, how it may or may not be about the growth of a character, and what it says about the role of royal privilege (not, this week in particular, an entirely irrelevant topic!).
Next Up
It’s remake time! Next up is the 2019 version of the film.
Recent Media
LINE OF DUTY (2012–): Jed Mercurio, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure
COLD LASAGNE HATE MYSELF 1999 (2020): James Acaster
Recommendations
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995): John McTiernan, Jonathan Hensleigh, Bruce Willis
SISTER ACT (1992): Emile Ardolino, Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith
THE LION KING 1 1/2 (2004): Bradley Raymond, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella
GODZILLA (1998): Roland Emmerich, Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s what Rob was saying about the film’s iconic status: www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38312379. Rob mentions that there’s something of the morality play about what we see on screen; see here for more on this: www.britannica.com/art/morality-play-dramatic-genre. Sam refers to the etymology of the word ‘privilege’: www.etymonline.com/word/privilege. The writer of this piece is at least in agreement with Sam that the film is not based on Hamlet: www.fatherly.com/play/what-is-the-lion-king-based-on-the-answer-isnt-hamlet-shakespeare. The IMDB ‘trivia’ page for the film is a good read: www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. And finally, it wouldn’t be a 1990s Disney film without some racial controversy…: www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/12/14/676703629/swahili-speakers-horrified-by-disneys-trademark-of-hakuna-matata?t=1618171829034
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This week’s offering is the re-make of ALADDIN. After…mixed reviews, we talk about the ‘clean’ visuals, what it feels Disney wants from a re-make, and how watching this involves something of the same pretence shown by the characters themselves.
Next Up
Our next Disney film is the 1994 original version of THE LION KING.
Recent Media
THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933): Frank Capra, Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther
INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS WITH ALAN CARR (2021): Diccon Ramsay, Emma Taylor, Alan Carr
Recommendations
TRON: LEGACY (2010): Joseph Kosinski, Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund
TERRA NOVA (2011): Kelly Marcel, Craig Silverstein, Jason O'Mara
MEN IN BLACK (1997): Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY (2017): Tommy Wirkola, Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s a little reminder of the environment in which Rob’s ‘recent media’ film was made: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood. Onto our film of the week. Sam mentions a few of the film’s casting controversies, further explored here: deadline.com/2018/01/disney-aladdin-criticized-media-browning-up-1202237376 and here: www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/17/disney-aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott_a_23034316. And this is a really comprehensive article on the confused/confusing cultural politics of the film: www.vox.com/2019/5/24/18635896/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history (it also has a nod to Edward Said’s Orientalism, the ultimate text explaining many of the racial codings of cultural portrayals like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book)). Finally, it wouldn’t be an episode of The Prestige without a regular mention of Brecht! www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. And when it comes to films-as-stage-plays, although slightly off-topic, this was an interesting list: www.metacritic.com/feature/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-plays-and-musicals?page=1 (I’m strangely intrigued by the SJP film at number 1…)
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This time, our focus is on the 1992 Disney film ALADDIN. After some reviews, we discuss how this is a movie about people pretending to be something they’re not; we talk about what ‘diamond in the rough’ means (both to a 10-year-old Rob, and today); and we think about media depictions of class, from country-house dramas to inner-city soap operas.
Next Up
Next time (sticking to the format!), our focus turns to the 2019 live-action remake of ALADDIN.
Recent Media
THE DAWN WALL (2017): Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer, Tommy Caldwell
FREE SOLO (2018): Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Alex Honnold
THE ROCK (1996): Michael Bay, Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018): Bob Persichetti, Stan Lee, Shameik Moore
Recommendations
MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
AMADEUS (1984): Peter Shaffer, Milos Forman, F. Murray Abraham
TREASURE PLANET (2002): Ron Clements, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Gordon-Levittt
GALAVANT (2015–16): Dan Fogelman, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson
Footnotes
Here’s more about the Disney Renaissance, if like Sam (not Rob) you weren’t an aficionado: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance. When talking about the animation at the start of the film, Sam mentions STEAMBOAT WILLIE; if you don’t know about this Disney milestone, then this Wikipedia is worth reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie. As Rob makes the connection between the two films, I Googled ALADDIN + DEADPOOL, and there is actually a nice line in (slightly NSFW) t-shirts: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/591238257328225429. While we’re on the subject of ‘I can show you the world’, this is hands down my favourite version of this song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1TxCihvk (I challenge you to watch past two minutes). Finally, here’s that famous ‘class’ sketch, illustrating some of the ideas we talk about this week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppv97S3ih14.
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This week our focus is he 2017 live-action version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some…contrasting reviews, we talk about how this film is a lot darker and more serious than the original, how it has a lot more to it (both good and bad), and how it might be a different sort of fairy tale to the 1991 film.
Next Time
Next in line for our Disney focus is he 1992 version of ALADDIN.
Recent Media
HORTON HEARS A WHO! (2008): Theodor Seuss Geisel, Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (2019): Simon Kinberg, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender
SNOWPIERCER (2020–): Jacques Lob, Josh Friedman, Jennifer Connelly
THE TOWN (2010): Chuck Hogan, Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall
Recommendations
COLOSSAL (2016): Nacho Vigalondo, Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudekis
FAST & FURIOUS 6 (2013): Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker
A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997): Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz
MR HOLMES (2015): Bill Condon, Mitch Cullin, Ian McKellen
Footnotes
This is an interesting presentation on one of the ideas Rob mentions early on: prezi.com/tovwsqhae1zq/the-art-of-metacommentary. Here’s more about the character of LeFou (including his name): villains.fandom.com/wiki/LeFou. And here’s more on the openly gay take on this character, including a very interesting idea from the director himself about one possible allegorical interpretation of the film: people.com/movies/beauty-and-the-beast-disney-first-openly-gay-character-lefou. And here’s a good response from Josh Gad to some negative criticism of LeFou: edition.cnn.com/2017/03/07/movies/josh-gad-gay-beauty-and-the-beast-character/index.html. And the final line of this short piece is particularly good: www.vulture.com/2017/03/heres-the-exclusively-gay-moment-in-beauty-and-the-beast.html. (Can you tell I went down an ‘internet hole’ reading about LeFou’s modern incarnation??) Finally, Rob may not have especially warmed to the result, but this was a really interesting article about the CGI transformation of Dan Stevens: www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/beauty-and-the-best-movie-dan-stevens-special-effects.
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This week’s film is one of Rob’s favourite Disney films (so no pressure, there) 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some plot summarising and a little light reviewing, we talk about the distinctive way this film looks, its place as a subversive text, and the fact that this is actually two films in one — in a good way, promise.
Next Time The next movie in our Disney animation/live action sub-season is the 2017 remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Recent Media
- LUPIN (2021): George Kay, François Uzan, Omar Sy
- 6 UNDERGROUND (2019): Michael Bay, Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent
- THE OLD GUARD (2020): Gina Prince-Bythewood, Greg Rucka, Charlize Theron
- THE HUNT (2020): Craig Zobel, Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank
Recommendations
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946): Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Josette Day
- UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1992): Roland Emmerich, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren
- BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS (1971): Robert Stevenson, Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson
- JUMANJI (1995): Joe Johnston, Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst
Footnotes
Firstly, this article definitely chimes with what Rob was saying about Gaston: medium.com/@sjmyles79/can-we-have-movie-heroism-without-the-sexism-please-776bc291c65c. Here’s a little introduction to Busby Berkeley, to whom there are obvious references in the big song and dance numbers: filmschoolrejects.com/beginners-guide-to-busby-berkeley. While we’re talking about big beautiful film sequences, this article discusses the ballroom scene’s CGI: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/25-years-ago-cg-secrets-ballroom-sequence-beauty-beast-145174.html. Finally, here are a couple of enjoyable responses to the film: www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/the-enchantress-was-fcked-up and www.bustle.com/articles/195847-35-questions-i-still-have-about-beauty-the-beast.
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This week’s film is the Jon Favreau live action/CGI remake of the 1967 film. After some opening reviews (and Sam admitting that he might have given the film too much credit), we talk — in one of our more cerebral chats — about selfishness, understanding, and change, particularly in our reading of the end of the film.
Next Time
Our next film is Rob’s favourite Disney film, which Sam (gasp) hasn’t seen: 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Recent Media
FIRST COW (2019): Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond, John Magaro
ALL OR NOTHING: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2020): Anthony Phillipson, Tom Hardy, José Mourinho
Recommendations
IRON MAN (2008): Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr.
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993): Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley
PACIFIC RIM (2013): Guillermo del Toro, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam
CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s an article on the art of playing the pantomime villain: www.thesimplethings.com/blog/panto-villains; I know Shere Khan in the 1967 film wasn’t one of these in the strictest sense, but he was something of a more risible stereotype figure certainly than Idris Elba’s incarnation. Rob mentions the POV shot at the beginning of the film, and there’s more on this idea here: www.premiumbeat.com/blog/power-point-view-pov-shots. This short response to a trailer from the film focuses on a particular moment of comparison between the two films: www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jungle-book-2016-new-trailer-recreates-scene-where-kaa-tries-eat-mowgli-a6936251.html. When I was looking for content on the idea of individuality, I came across this video (not at all relevant to the film, but I can’t resist a TED video…): www.ted.com/talks/margot_amoyual_individuality_an_identical_twin_perspective. Finally, in another link that’s not entirely relevant...we mentioned the idea of transgression on screen, in talking about Mowgli and Shere Khan; this is a list of transgressive movies (see? I told you it wasn’t relevant…): whatculture.com/film/10-transgressive-movies-that-went-beyond-the-boundaries.
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The Best Of The Pandemic Year
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The first film in our final mini-season of Season 4 (we’re getting old!) is the 1967 Disney animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOK. Our discussion ranges from animation styles to PAW PATROL, and anthropomorphism to racial stereotyping; overall, though, we spend the most time thinking about how much this film is about the familial, paternal relationships in evidence here.
Next Time
It’s déjà vu! Next time we look at Jon Favreau’s 2016 version of THE JUNGLE BOOK.
Recent Media
THE MANDALORIAN (2019–): Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers DA 5 BLOODS (2020): Spike Lee, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors ENOLA HOLMES (2020): Harry Bradbeer, Nancy Springer, Millie Bobby Brown
Recommendations
ROBIN HOOD (1973): Wolfgang Reithermann, Brian Bedford, Phil Harris ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951): Clyde Geronomi, Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960): Wolf Rilla, George Sanders, Barbara Shelley ROAD TRIP (2000): Todd Phillips, Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott
Footnotes
Firstly, as this mini-season is all about adaptations of Disney animations, this article is a good place to start: ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/01/05/10-disney-movie-moments-that-changed-animation. And this take on technology and animation is interesting, too: memeburn.com/2013/06/how-technology-has-changed-animation-a-brief-history. (Then I got into a Google Hole [which is definitely what it’s called] finding out more about animation: 3d-ace.com/press-room/articles/twelve-animation-styles-you-should-know-about, www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation, blog.threadless.com/disneys-art-style-through-the-decades.) For the rest of this week’s Footnotes, I just want to list things to read about facial representation and literature and India, starting with this article: litreactor.com/columns/are-the-jungle-books-racist-or-not-and-why-you-should-read-them-either-way For balance, here’s the opposing view (although, to be honest, lots of this seems pretty far-fetched): sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-01/uncategorized/i-wanna-be-like-you-racial-coding-in-disneys-the-jungle-book/#:~:text=Especially%20in%20The%20Jungle%20Book%2C%20animals%20depict%20different,forest%20in%20search%20of%20Mowgli%2C%20the%20man%20cub.) Anne McClintock’s book on imperialism is great: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imperial_Leather.html?id=OurtAAAAMAAJ, as is Kumkum Sangari’s: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Politics_of_the_Possible.html?id=t5eX8VRhSgEC&redir_esc=y. Benedict Anderson is still worth reading: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imagined_Communities.html?id=4mmoZFtCpuoC&redir_esc=y; and there’s always the father (pun intended) of all ideas about postcolonialism, Edward Said: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Orientalism.html?id=66sIHa2VTmoC. Finally, though I haven’t read it, this looks good: books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kOzFBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT22&dq=postcolonial+cinema&ots=fUVkBx_Wxd&sig=qvdoebSS9nQpoL8LTTPE2eqlDxE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=postcolonial%20cinema&f=false
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The final film in our mini-season of heist film’s is Steve McQueen’s 2018 movie WIDOWS. After (ultimately, to be expected) differing reviews, we talk about ways in which this film deals with a number of different manifestations of loss — doing so even through the cinematography — and ultimately shows a certain amount of escape or relief in the endings of some of the characters.
Next Time
Our next mini-season will be looking at Disney animations and their recent live-action adaptations, and we begin with the 1967 classic THE JUNGLE BOOK (‘I wanna be like yoo-oo-oou…’).
Recent Media
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003): Peter Weir, Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
GET DUKED! (2019): Ninian Doff, Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (2020): Walter Tevis, Scott Frank, Anya Taylor-Joy
Recommendations
12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Solomon Northrup, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015): Guy Ritchie, Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer
GET OUT (2017): Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams
S.W.A.T. (2003): Clark Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell
BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE (2018): Drew Goddard, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo
Footnotes This is a good place to start, for facts about the director of this film: www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-McQueen-British-director-screenwriter-and-artist. Rob talks about the 7 stages of grief, and this is a good primer: www.medicinenet.com/loss_grief_and_bereavement/article.htm#:~:text=The%20seven%20emotional%20stages%20of%20grief%20are%20usually,be%20emotional%2C%20physical%2C%20social%2C%20or%20religious%20in%20nature. We don’t dwell on the awfulness of the killing of Marcus much, but this is a powerful interactive tool on police killings in the US: interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html. Looking for articles about 'moving on’ in cinema, as all the women have to do, I came across this list (not quite relevant, but it was interesting enough to include!): www.pajiba.com/guides/15-movies-about-moving-and-moving-on.php. Finally, here’s a link to our episode about a film which — as Sam discussed — shares a number of similarities with WIDOWS: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-17-21-grams-change-and-grief.
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Our penultimate heist film is the 2004 teen movie THE PERFECT SCORE. We talk about how this film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and doesn’t deserve the panning it got from the critics, as well as the idea that this is a mash-up of the heist film genre with teen films about progress of various kinds.
Next Time The last movie in our heist season is the 2018 film WIDOWS.
Recent Media THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (2018): Mike Flanagan, Shirley Jackson, Michiel Huisman
THE NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST (1975): Miguel Iglesias, Paul Naschy, Mercedes Molina
Recommendations
KNIVES OUT (2019): Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans
THE BIG SHORT (2016): Adam McKay, Christian Bale, Steve Carell
CHEATS (2002): Andrew Gurland, Trevor Fehrman, Matthew Lawrence
SHE’S ALL THAT (1999): Robert Iscove, Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachel Leigh Cook
WESTWORLD (2016–): Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan, Evan Rachel Wood
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s the Rotten Tomatoes page of pretty harsh reviews! https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/perfect_score Rob talks early on about the ‘competency porn’ involved in many heist films; there’s more on that, here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompetencePorn. In discussing Francesca’s novel at the end, and the character of Desmond throughout, metafiction comes up again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metafiction. The ‘Hero’s Journey’ is something we’ve discussed before, but it deserves another mention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Finally, as we mention both films in the course of our discussion, here are links to our episodes on THE MATRIX and THE BREAKFAST CLUB: https://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-matrix-and-spectacle and https://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-21-the-breakfast-club-1985-and-endings-or-not.
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Our film this time is Guy Ritchie’s 1998 break-out film, which spawned a host of not-always-successful imitators — even among the work of Ritchie himself! We talk about whether a film sometimes has to do no more than just look cool, what changed in pop culture around the time of the Millennium, and where the heist even is in this film.
Next Time
The penultimate film in our heist movie season is 2004’s THE PERFECT SCORE.
Recent Media
CRITTERS I-IV (1986-1992): Stephen Herek, Mick Garris, Kristine Peterson
THE AMERICAN BARBECUE SHOWDOWN (2020): Kevin Bludso, Melissa Cookston, Rutledge Wood
Recommendations ROUNDERS (1998): John Dahl, Matt Damon, Edward Norton
THE MECHANIC (2011): Simon West, Jason Statham, Ben Foster
REV. (2010-14): Peter Cattaneo, Tom Hollander, Olivia Coleman
EDDIE THE EAGLE (2015): Dexter Fletcher, Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman
GONE IN 60 SECONDS (2000): Dominic Sena, Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie
Footnotes
A couple of articles about the film, first of all: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/jason-flemyng-lifelong-friendships-lock-stock-two-smoking-barrels-060159681.html?guccounter=1 and https://ttliquor.co.uk/tt-cinema-king-of-soho-gin-lock-stock-review.
Oh, and there are some movie posters here: https://www.cinematerial.com/movies/lock-stock-and-two-smoking-barrels-i120735. Rob talks about dramatic irony; more on that, here: https://www.britannica.com/art/dramatic-irony. Here’s the music video that Sam mentions, also from 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va6nPu-1auE. Finally, as we end up referring to this film a fair bit, here’s our THE ITALIAN JOB episode, also part of our heist mini-season: https://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-34-the-italian-job-1969-nationalism.
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This week, we focus on a doubly discredited (director and star) but undeniably classic film: THE USUAL SUSPECTS. After some reviews (and you can guess what they’ll be, with this film), we talk about a fundamental change in the heist genre, how we’re still not sure what happens in this film, and the story of the first time we saw this, over 20 years ago.
Next Time
Our next offering is Guy Ritchie’s 1998 breakout film, the British gangster movie LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS.
Recent Media
DEADPOOL (2016): Tim Miller, Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin
MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003): Bong Joon-ho, Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung
WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019): Makoto Shinkai, Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori
Recommendations
ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998): Tony Scott, Will Smith, Gene Hackman
THE WAY OF THE GUN (2000): Christopher McQuarrie, Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro
SICARIO (2015): Denis Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin
BRASSED OFF (1996): Mark Herman, Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald
Footnotes
Firstly, there are some good points you may have missed in this article: https://whatculture.com/film/20-things-you-somehow-missed-in-the-usual-suspects. This piece is another good one: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/decider.com/2015/08/17/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-usual-suspects/amp. And this is good, too: https://screenrant.com/the-usual-suspects-behind-scenes-secrets-facts-trivia. (The film is a great one for a trivia rabbit-hole.) Here, for balance, given how effusive we are, is Roger Ebert’s decidedly lukewarm review: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-usual-suspects-1995. Here, finally, is a review of that extraordinary performance from a great acting talent that Sam saw a surprisingly long time ago now (I was genuinely really surprised by the date): www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/stage/2007/may/31/theatre
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This week’s film is an early one from Michael Mann, king of the crime genre: THIEF. After some reviews, we talk about whether Frank’s personal ethics are more like those in PARKS AND REC or OROCHI, as well as discussing the acting successes of Jim Broadbent, and thinking about the BREAKING BAD moments towards the end of the film.
Next Time
We move into the 90s with our next film — a significant one for us — THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995).
Recent Media
ZOMBEAVERS (2014): Jordan Rubin, Rachel Melvin, Hutch Dano
LOOKER (1981): Michael Crichton, Albert Finney, James Coburn
AD ASTRA (2019): James Gray, Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
REBELS OF THE NEON GOD (1992): Tsai Ming-liang, Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung
I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020): Charlie Kaufman, Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley
THE BIG FLOWER FIGHT (2020): Natasia Demetriou, Vic Reeves, Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht
Recommendations
HEAT (1995): Michael Mann, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro
ROLLERBALL (1975): Norman Jewison, James Caan, John Houseman
GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI (1999): Jim Jarmusch, Forest Whitaker, John Tormey MRS DOUBTFIRE (1993): Chris Columbus, Robin Williams, Sally Field
Footnotes We kick things off with a highbrow reference; read about Dante’s INFERNO here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante). Continuing the theme, here’s a link to the episode we did focusing on the idea of personal honour — and what can go wrong: http://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-01-orochi-and-futility. Incidentally, the number of websites that exist like this is astonishing: http://ryuc.info/sample/s_code_of_honor.htm
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This week’s film is the 1973 multiple-Oscar-winning classic THE STING. After (certainly not mixed!) initial reviews, we talk about how this film is more about a con not a heist, it’s links to more modern films like John Wick, and the use of obvious artificiality on screen.
Next Time
The next in our heist mini-season is 1981’s THIEF.
Recent Media
HAMILTON (2015): Lin-Manuel Miranda, Philippa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr.
WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS (2019): Mark Meyers, Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson
VFW (2019): Joe Begos, Stephen Lang, William Sadler
Recommendations CLUE (1985): Jonathan Lynn, Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry
SLAP SHOT (1977): George Roy Hill, Paul Newman, Strother Martin
BLUE HAWAII (1961): Norman Taurog, Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014): Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Chris Evans
JAWS (1975): Steven Spielberg, Roy Sheider, Robert Shaw
Footnotes
Firstly, this gets to the root of exactly why I (Sam) love this film: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/movies/the-sting-robert-redford-paul-newman.html. On the subject of screen artificiality, this article is really good: https://sites.lafayette.edu/fams202-sp15/2015/01/30/artificiality-of-cinema-vs-reality-of-production/. This is more about a film that we discuss as being related to this one, our namesake; but it is a really interesting piece: https://www.altaonline.com/the-pledge-the-turn-the-prestige/. When thinking about THE STING, the last line is especially pertinent: ‘How can you be certain you saw an illusion?’ This definitely isn’t a Brechtian film, as Rob says, but these films are: https://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/the-15-best-movies-influenced-by-bertolt-brechts-theater-techniques. (Ok, this link was a bit of a stretch, but I just didn’t want to link to the Brecht Wiki page again...) Finally, please do leave a review for the show, so we can keep doing what we love doing!
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This week, our focus turns to the 1969 classic THE ITALIAN JOB. After our usual opening reviews, we go on to talk about the development of the on-screen working-class criminals, British v Italians on film, and the continuing evolution of the heist genre.
Next Time
Our next film, much to Sam’s delight, is the 1973 crime classic (and recipient of the Best Picture Oscar, among many others) THE STING.
Recent Media
AGAINST ALL FLAGS (1952): George Sherman, Douglas Sirk, Errol Flynn
KNIVES OUT (2019): Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans
Recommendations
HARRY BROWN (2009): Daniel Barber, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2014): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Taron Egerton
SLEUTH (1972): Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier
THE ITALIAN JOB (2003): F. Gary Gray, Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron
Footnotes Firstly, here’s more info to bring you (and Sam, to be honest) up to speed on the historical events of the Great Train Robbery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Train_Robbery_(1963). Here’s more on framing in film, and why that’s important, after Rob’s discussion of the presentation of the mafia: www.hollywoodlexicon.com/frame.html. This article is interesting, on a film that will be unsurprising to anyone! www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/23/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-paul-newman-robert-reford. For your regular hit of theory, this book is recommended. And finally, here are the lyrics to ‘The British Grenadiers’, a tune which is used to such good effect in the film: https://genius.com/Traditional-the-british-grenadiers-annotated.
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This week we discuss the landmark historical film BONNIE AND CLYDE. Our reviews are followed by discussions about how this film was a cultural jumping-off point, and how it’s filled with examples of iconoclastically pushing back against society.
Next Time
The next in our heist mini-series is the original THE ITALIAN JOB, from 1969.
Recent Media
BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015): Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance
STAGED (2020): Simon Evans, Michael Sheen, David Tennant
GOOD OMENS (2019): Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Michael Sheen
Recommendations
CHINATOWN (1974): Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969): George Roy Hill, Paul Newman, Robert Redford
EASY RIDER (1969): Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson
UNFORGIVEN (1992): Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
Footnotes The Wiki entries on the historical figures Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow Gang are interesting, especially when compared with the description of the film — if only to see the discrepancies involved. Rob mentions the ‘Tommy Gun’; in case you’re unsure about this (so ‘Bugsy Malone Gun’ isn’t enough of a description), here’s more. Towards the end of the episode, we talk about the use of some surprisingly modern editing techniques in the film; this is a good article on ‘MTV editing’. Finally, here’s a reminder about another technique mentioned by Rob (‘Russian’ or ‘Soviet Montage’) in our discussion of this.
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This week we tackle the original OCEAN’S ELEVEN — over 40 years before the Soderbergh re-make, and set in a very different time. After…mixed reviews, we talk about this film’s military roots, why the focus on friendship is a poignant one, and how this is a heist film that’s probably not about the heist.
Next Time
Our next heist film is the genre-defining 1967 film BONNIE AND CLYDE.
Recent Media
SCANDAL (2012–18):Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, Henry Ian Cusick
ANT-MAN (2015): Peyton Reed, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly
THE EQUALIZER 1, 2 (2014, 2018): Antoine Fuqua, Richard Wenk, Denzel Washington
Recommendations
THE APARTMENT (1960): Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine
HARVEY (1950): Henry Koster, James Stewart, Wallace Ford
ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS (1964): Gordon Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin
RIO BRAVO (1959): Howard Hawks, John Wayne, Dean Martin
Footnotes
Firstly, the wikipedia page of the film is an interesting read, as is IMDB (especially the ’Trivia’): www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean's_11 and www.imdb.com/title/tt0054135. In light of our discussion of the changing face of Vegas, this is a good set of pictures: www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/vintage-photos-of-las-vegas-a4248276.html. And this [if the link works, Rob!] is a really [interesting essay] (watermark.silverchair.com/phr_2001_70_4_627.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAqkwggKlBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKWMIICkgIBADCCAosGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMdH8bS4I-YRPX1OV5AgEQgIICXKgBsvuzWdwwULuLzbXvUUQbxerQBlL0b07LY6lTyFyJE-fdahCuDYND17uU515tMuNy-8hL6LQwbFakRnTiEplgvrXNquouZqmieIxUJCIRFnYoS77VLLsnHhxhSP6cijKgKT67nCSbgtb8iNXwbL_g350P_J3VAgNUj67su5C_sQpAFka9KgaJ-GV87g2Es5A-ZmTKy_OqTvB13nekjA1UpuVGejWEXR8QIpctOSy_C-fcNqGjOgQnzfPh9XeHgc6n9CzYog3vVq6PLnYt3q_bUeUpOmuBHZluNFDXDIOSoIoAdocCD3znObqkoQSyG4IfIrl95sXzBV0kuudKdmLnVN5lhuHDbwlRHIk-aSzKRlMy82weVASOhsMmfLHlw1qC0pDBEOOa8hvMGuso0qQW97qoa3FYfg8paL0YPlOiv5cs9ry1KEVhwQMYOvC9oaC87N486NLbl2CwPzcN2_l6Ted7rFxh3BN8KK-KBMP05fqw6dRzXwq9trVZlI9ktMlHNujhHGKYTgkDvJyx3EITmawn-jgNgZrAxgpjKOALMpUnvI_8BOSew4bnFMCH1njzyVT4HochwzqnA-U_g3KfAFSpjbjMVMK79rnvdCGCK5JbBKpdr86vmLLjz-3uF6glBwwJ5DmhaQvjP_7ERWASDC_QvcepK5LF2i_T6BgKyfBjrEUPAwogbVVau0M2jnJ_Tai7iqZ8UDVvFYJUkJSCu7rtIJrDIXCNOao2oye1IgEzyXa_xy7b3qatAf6huFg3HecU2vhgqlwFLYNqq_T4HOxziRd3sxvB6TE). Finally, the story of Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra’s falling-out is explored in this biography of Lawford: www.ivy-style.com/luck-runs-out-the-rise-and-fall-of-peter-lawford.html.
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This week, we begin our heist movies mini-season with the 1955 French film noir RIFIFI. After our usual reviews, we get into what this film is really about — including a bit of a history lesson from Rob — as well as discussing how this film is less ‘shiny’ than many of the films it spawned, and is all the better for it.
Next Time
The next heist movie on our list is the original OCEAN’S ELEVEN (1960).
Recent Media
PARASITE (2020): Bong Joon-ho, Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-Kyun
THE SPANISH MAIN (1945): Frank Borzage, Maureen O’Hara, Paul Henreid
Recommendations
THE LADYKILLERS (1955): Alexander Mackendrick, Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker
BRIGHTON ROCK (1947): John Boulting, Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley
LA DOLCE VITA (1960): Federico Fellini, Marcello Masttoianni, Anita Ekburg
THE CONVERSATION (1974): Francis Ford Coppola, Gene Hackman, John Cazale
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s more on THE SPANISH MAIN (Sam wasn’t testing Rob; he was genuinely interested!): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Main. Here’s a useful introduction to film noir: https://ahhsfilm.weebly.com/film-noir.html. For more on the blacklisting of Jules Dassin, see here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Dassin#Hollywood_Blacklist. This is an interesting article on the film, particularly in light of the idea of Dassin’s feeling betrayed: https://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/culture/Rififi.htm. Finally, the IMDB trivia page on the film is a good read: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048021/trivia
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In this episode, Rob and Karin dive into the 2019 release, Aniara.
We recorded this back earlier in the year, but given the state of the world soon after, we held off on releasing it. Some time has passed and whilst the world isn't much better, we felt we could release it without inducing too much anxiety. But please, go into this episode knowing that this film is not a fun time...
Karin is a voice actor, podcaster and drama teacher. She creates and produces Y2K, an audio drama in 54 parts about love, identity and long-distance friendship set in two timelines on opposite sides of the world. She also produces and co-hosts Det nya svarta, a pop culture podcast in Swedish. Audio drama acting credits include Mirrors, Vampires of White Chapel, Copperheart, The White Vault and Hit the Bricks. Karin lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. You can find her on Twitter @karinheim and her shows @Y2Kpod and @nyasvarta
Recommendations
Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål), film https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150662/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Girl in Space, audio drama podcast https://www.girlinspacepodcast.com/
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The final film in our ‘high school’ sub-season is the Olivia Wilde film from last year BOOKSMART. After some reviews, we talk about the effectiveness of films that might not be ‘for us’ as an audience, and the division of high school films into movies about nostalgia, coming of age, or romance — and this discussion leads into a retrospective on the sub-season as a whole, for which this movie serves as an excellent conclusion, in a number of senses.
Next Time
We begin our sub-season of ‘heist’ movies with one that, arguably, kick-started the genre as a whole: RIFIFI (1955).
Recent Media
QUEER EYE: WE’RE IN JAPAN! (2019): David Collins, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown
UNCUT GEMS (2019): Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Adam Sandler
Recommendations
SANTA CLARITA DIET (2017–19): Victor Fresco, Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant
THE SPECTACULAR NOW (2013): James Ponsoldt, Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley
‘No Love Like Yours’ (2016): Olivia Wilde, Nico Aglietti, Stewart Cole
UNBELIEVABLE (2019): Lisa Cholodenko, Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Colette
LADY BIRD (2017): Greta Gerwig, Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf
Footnotes
Details of Olivia Wilde's ‘no assholes’ policy on-set are here: https://www.gamesradar.com/olivia-wilde-had-a-strict-no-asshole-policy-on-set-while-filming-her-directorial-breakthrough-booksmart. Here you have more on the conventional idea of the ‘romantic story arc’ against which the film works: https://diymfa.com/writing/structure-romance-writing. This is an interesting piece on the use of stereotypes in film story-telling, though it veers more into the arena of cultural/ethnic stereotyping: https://www.lbbonline.com/news/stereotyping-in-storytelling. Finally, who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned list? To finish off our time with ‘high school’ movies, here are a few we caught — and some we definitely missed (though some of the decisions are questionable…SUPERBAD higher than THE BREAKFAST CLUB??): https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/50-best-high-school-movies.
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This week we discuss the 2016 musical-comedy-drama-fantasy (who knows?) SING STREET. After some reviews, we talk about the ways in which this is a musical, the use of emotion on film, and how this is a creatively structured film about creative structure (this may or may not make sense). Oh, and how this is a love story, but the female lead isn’t even in the top 3 romantic protagonists.
Next Time
The last film of our high school miniseries is the 2019 film BOOKSMART.
Recent Media
SPACE FORCE (2020): Greg Daniels, Steve Carell, John Malkovich
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015): Guy Ritchie, Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer
Recommendations
DEXTER (2006–13): Jeff Lindsay, James Manos Jr., Michael C. Hall
SON OF RAMBOW (2007): Garth Jennings, Bill Milner, Will Poulter
FREE FIRE (2016): Ben Wheatley, Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer
SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003): Richard Linklater, Jack Black, Joan Cusack
Footnotes
Firstly, this is a good review of the film: https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/sing-street-125992.
Here’s the interview with John Carney that Rob mentions, in which he has something to say about the ending of the film: https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/21/11477490/sing-street-john-carney-interview-once-begin-again.
In discussing musicals, we talk about jukebox musicals; this is a good list: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-jukebox-musicals/amp.
As is this, about different sorts of musical: https://www.musicalstages.co.uk/different-types-musical.
Finally, in a reminder of this week’s pretentious note (to be expected from Sam!), here’s the wiki entry for the playwright J.M. Synge: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Millington_Synge.
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It’s the return of Sam! And we’re picking up where we left off, with a continuation of our mini-season of high school movies. This week, in a change (as explained in the episode) to the film we had been going to feature, it’s Emma Watson’s 2012 (post-HP) breakout role. After some reviews, we talk about how, refreshingly, this is a teen romance that’s actually not about its central relationship; the experiences of its female lead, both on-screen and off-; and filmed depictions of little griefs and in-spite-of-it-all positivity (something that we definitely need at the moment!).
Next Time
The penultimate movie in our ‘high school’ mini season is the 2016 musical comedy-drama SING STREET.
Recent Media
HUNTERS (2020): David Weil, Logan Lernan, Jerrika Hinton
OCEAN’S ELEVEN/TWELVE/THIRTEEN (2001-07): Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, Brad Pitt
NEW AMSTERDAM (2018–): Eric Manheimer, David Schulner, Ryan Eggold
KNIVES OUT (2019): Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans
SLEUTH (1972): Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Anthony Schaffer, Laurence Olivier
Recommendations
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (2011): Simon Curtis, Colin Clark, Michelle Williams
THE TRIBE (2014): Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Grygoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova
TRAINWRECK (2015): Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer, Bill Hader
ATONEMENT (2007): Joe Wright, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley
Footnotes
Firstly, in our now-regular mention of Brecht, here’s an interesting piece on alienation on stage and screen: https://beautifultrouble.org/theory/alienation-effect. Further to this, here are a few recommendations for other films about alienation: https://www.tasteofcinema.com/2018/10-great-movies-that-explore-human-alienation.
This is a good resource for thinking about on-screen outsiders: https://www.universalteacher.org.uk/gcsemedia/filmout.htm. If, like Sam (the real-life one, not the character), you haven’t seen THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, then this is a good place to start: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show_cult_following. Finally, for more on some of the debates surrounding Emma Watson, the proverbial internet rabbit hole starts here: https://www.kqed.org/pop/68229/why-does-emma-watsons-feminism-irritate-so-many-people (I came up with this article because I refused to Google ‘Emma Watson + sexualisation’; if you want to, though, be my guest! [And yes, that is an Emma Watson reference. Oooh: how clever...])
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With Sam off being a dad, Rob ropes in some guest hosts, this week Naomi from Power Word Roll talking up a storm about the gothic horror/love story, Crimson Peak
Naomi has had a fascination with the elements of story most of her life, from fairytales in her early years to film at university. Now Naomi makes audio drama podcast Power Word Roll, and helps introduce others to the power of stories the charity No More Damsels.
Power Word Roll is a London actual play podcast that sounds more like a radio play! We take out the boring stuff to leave you with high drama D&D, concentrated into only 30 minutes.
Recent Media
Silent Witness (TV Series 1996– ) Empire Records (1995)
Recommendations
The Shape of Water (2017)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) In a Valley of Violence (2016)
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This week’s film is the 2007 re-boot of the anarchic ST. TRINIAN’S franchise. Post-reviews, we talk about different takes on the male gaze, on this film as a period piece, and on the way in which such films can be heightened versions of universal truths.
Next Time
As Rob says in the episode, who knows what next time will be? We’ll let you know as soon as we do! (Well: Sam won’t…he’ll be otherwise occupied… #prayforsam)
Recent Media
ZOG (2018): Max Long, Julia Donaldson, Sir Lenny Henry
CHEER (2020): Greg Whiteley, Monica Aldama, La’Darius Marshall
TRIPWIRE (1999): Lee Child
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (2020): Adil & Bilall, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence
Recommendations
WESTWORLD (2016–): Jonathan Nolan, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton
THE VOICES (2014): Marjane Satrapi, Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton
PERSEPOLIS (2000, 2004): Marjane Satrapi
MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING (1997): P.J. Hogan, Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005): Joe Wright, Jane Austen, Keira Knightley
Footnotes
Firstly, the story of Ronald Searle’s initial cartoons about the school and their inspiration (and the sheer violence of those involved!) is well worth reading. (The plot of THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN’S [1954], on which some of the plot elements here are based, is also good.) This article — particularly given the number of ‘intertextual' references within the film — is a good one. Finally, this book doesn’t have ST. TRINIAN’S in it, but (removes tongue from cheek) it is worth a look if you’re interested in the topic of heists on film: .
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This week our high school season has reached the cultural zenith (no shade: it’s a culturally important film!) of MEAN GIRLS (2004). After some reviews, we talk about meta-commentaries on teenage slang, the refreshing absence of strong male characters, and why this might be a film about leaving the limitations of high school days behind.
Next Time
Our next film in the high school genre is the 2007 version of ST. TRINIAN’S.
Recent Media
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019): Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (2017–) Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones
Recommendations
UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT (2015–19): Tristram Shapeero, Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski
SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009): Guy Ritchie, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law
MACHETE (2010): Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo
500 DAYS OF SUMMER (2009): Mark Webb, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Footnotes
Rob mentions a test for female representation, which is described here: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Sexy_Lamp_Test. But that then sent me down a rabbit-hole of online descriptions of other tests, like this: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Bechdel_Test and this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mako_Mori_test. After that, it was a short step to reading other stories about gendered and racial representation on film, and scanning articles about the GamerGate and FakeFanGirls controversies, and then I realised that it was ten to 11 and I’ve got work tomorrow. Ho-hum. On the subject of teenage slang, any list like this https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g4589/slang-word-meanings is automatically going to sound like Amy Poehler as a mum in about 6 months, which has what has happened with this one, so it would be really unfair to laugh at it…wouldn’t it…oh well: life’s not fair. Finally, for anyone with a passing interest in steampunk, or Sherlock Holmes, or graphic novels, or Alan Moore, Sam’s lecture on all of this is available here: https://prezi.com/n2nbdgzs1gof/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share.
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Our focus this week is the now 21-year-old (gulp) film, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. We follow some reviews with some discussion about the iconic status of this film, the multiple (and sometimes surprising!) similarities to Shakespeare, and the fact that it’s sometimes just good fun to put politics aside and — like Kat *— enjoy yourself.
(* This is a great point, and I (Sam) am wishing I made it during the episode. Damn.)
Next Time
The next high school film we’re watching is the 2004 movie MEAN GIRLS.
Recent Media
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019): J.J. Abrams,
1917 (2019): Sam Mendes, George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman
DAYBREAK (2019): Brad Peyton, Colin Ford, Alyvia Alyn Lind
Recommendations
JUNO (2007): Jason Reitman, Ellen Page, Michael Cera
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005): Ang Lee, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal
SERENITY (2005): Joss Whedon, Nahan Fillon, Gina Torres
BAD BOYS II (2003): Michael Bay, Martin Lawrence, Will Smith
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s a plot summary of The Taming of the Shrew, the Shakespeare play on which this film is based. (On this note, this is a good article) [his has more on the process of editing a film to music (although, arguably, 10 THINGS… does what this article is trying not to do, and at times is almost deliberately like a music video). Here’s the plot of the play that inspired another classically influenced high school film, the ‘modern classic’ (R.Maythorne) SHE’S ALL THAT. Sam mentions the idea of ‘gaslighting' briefly, when talking about Kat’s conversation with Patrick; there’s more on that, here. Finally, here are a few of the promised links to Rob’s odes to the wonders of BAD BOYS II
Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/
Our next film in the high school genre is the 1996 horror/comedy/supernatural drama THE CRAFT. After some largely positive reviews, we talk about how this is ultimately a film about knowing your place, while also being a feminist revenge fantasy, and also discuss the way in which this film exists at the confluence of supernatural battles and teenage toxicity.
Next Time
The next ‘high school’ film in our series is the 1999 movie 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU.
Recent Media
THE BOYS (2019–): Eric Kripke, Karl Urban, Jack Quaid
HAPPY DEATH DAY (2017): Christopher Landon, Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (2017): John McPhail, Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming
Recommendations
ALMOST FAMOUS (2000): Cameron Crowe, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit
SCREAM (1996): Wes Craven, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox
TREMORS (1990): Ron Underwood, Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward
EMPIRE RECORDS (1995): Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield
Footnotes Firstly, as we’re well into our season now, it would seem to be a good time to mention this list. At one point in the episode, we spend some time talking about the racial abuse suffered by Rochelle; this article is pertinent to this. Sam talks about the links between this week’s film and one about a similar experience — although admittedly a very masculine-centred one — from the previous decade; our episode about THE LOST BOYS is here. Finally, on the subject of the particularly toxic elements of ‘nerd fandom’ culture, see here.
The next film in our ‘high school’ season is Richard Linklater’s DAZED AND CONFUSED, from 1993. After perhaps contrasting reviews, we go on to talk about fragmented teenaged memories, gender, and why rites of passage are important on screen.
Next Time
Our next ‘high school’ film is the 1996 film THE CRAFT.
Recent Media
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (2019): Joe Talbot, Jimmy Fails, Jonathan Majors
HANNIBAL (2013–15): Bryan Fuller, Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen
Recommendations
ARGO (2012): Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001): Ron Howard, Russell Crowe, Ed Harris
EMPIRE RECORDS (1995): Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield
THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2010): David Robert Mitchell, Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton
A SCANNER DARKLY (2006): Richard Linklater, Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (): Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s a reminder of a genre Rob talks about at the opening of the episode: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cinema. This is quite a serious explanation of ‘hazing’ (though, as we discussed, it’s something that the film in fact does take seriously, and does look negatively on): www.deanofstudents.umich.edu/article/what-hazing. When talking about gender stereotypes on film, this list is a nice antidote: www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/movies-that-defy-gender-stereotypes. For more reading matter on ritual, see www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nUxRDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=ritual&ots=kZvQU0ZuZI&sig=6VLoDnNQDqm25cg6cBwYEhO2hjM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=ritual&f=false, www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Y0h0OEe19pcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=rites+of+passage&ots=FpiGMVU_Ad&sig=8shoPc1HprTBABOtJuTFdOBGm88&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=rites%20of%20passage&f=false, www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EMkx0wbyTecC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=rites+of+passage&ots=qjrTkmWTb7&sig=OYWtIIj52pjIPlgFgsv941m9wms&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=rites%20of%20passage&f=false]. Finally, here’s our episode on MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER, one of Rob’s recommendations this week: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-myth-of-the-american-sleepover-and-adolescence.
Our film this week is the 1989 Peter Weir film (and Robin Williams vehicle) DEAD POETS SOCIETY. After our usual reviews, we talk about the aesthetics of this film and its evocative nature, how this film is not like either LOVE ACTUALLY or AVENGERS, and why high school films are often like dreams.
Next Time
Next time, our high school season continues with the 1993 Richard Linklater film DAZED AND CONFUSED.
Recent Media
MASTERCHEF: THE PROFESSIONALS (2008–): Franc Roddam, Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 — PARABELLUM (2019): Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry
Recommendations
HOUSE (2004–12): Greg Yaitanes, Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps
INSOMNIA (2002): Christopher Nolan, Al Pacino, Robin Williams
THE HISTORY BOYS (2006): Alan Bennett, Nicholas Hytner, Richard Griffiths
THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974): Peter Weir, John Meillon, Terry Camilleri
DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD (1991): Stephen Herek, Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy
THE SECRET HISTORY (1992): Donna Tartt
Footnotes Firstly, here’s Roger Ebert’s rather caustic review of the film: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dead-poets-society-1989. Then, somewhat in support of this — though not entirely, as we discuss — here are some clips of Robin Williams in full ‘stage comedian’ performance mode (including some full-length shows): www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnFbCCgTo4, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewtfs-T4aNM, www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ran3tHy6Q. This is a little more on the subject of Shakespearean tragedy: www.owlcation.com/humanities/Shakespearean-Tragedy-Definition-and-Characteristics-of-Shakespearean-Tragedy. And on the theme of transformation as explored in Midsummer Night’s Dream (for an English teacher, Shmoop is a godsend!): www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream/transformation-theme.html. Finally, here’s a little something on sequels in high school film; the fact that there are fewer than 10 successful franchises on this list (some of them really don’t count! especially those which are really straightforward re-boots) is telling: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_teen_films.
This week sees the start of our mini-season of high school movies, beginning with the seminal John Hughes film THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985). After some reviews, we talk about how character depth is important to a film about stereotypes, why detention really doesn’t work, and whether or not being a teenager is ever about having an ending (this makes sense in context, I promise...).
Next Time The next film in our high school season is 1989’s DEAD POETS SOCIETY.
Recent Media
FOR ALL MANKIND (2019): Ronald D. Moore, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman HYPOTHETICAL (2019): Josh Widdicombe, Tom Craine, James Acaster
Recommendations THE DARK KNIGHT (2008): Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986): John Hughes, Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck PITCH PERFECT (2012): Jason Moore, Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS (2004): Mark Hartley, Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus TEACHING MRS TINGLE (1999): Kevin Williamson, Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes THE DARK BACKWARD (1991): Adam Rifkin, Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton
Footnotes Firstly, Rob mentions in passing the idea of a ‘bottle’ episode; more on that, here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BottleEpisode. Here’s more on the difference between a stereotype and an archetype: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/91071/archetype-vs-stereotype. After we spent some time thinking about the adult characters in this film — and Sam watched it from the perspective of a teacher! — this article is interesting: https://guff.com/this-is-why-principal-vernon-is-the-true-hero-of-the-breakfast-club. Finally, this seems a good place to start our focus on the high school genre: https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/23070/1/the-pivotal-moments-in-any-teen.
Our focus on the vampire genre ends, suitably enough, with a movie that parodies many of the tropes that have formed this season: 2014’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. After a couple of short reviews of the film, we talk about everything from a focus on the humdrum nature of reality to the importance of Austin Powers, via discussions of mortality and the paradoxical fragility of vampires. How does this movie, in particular, work as a conclusion to our season of vampire films?
Next Week
In a bit of a palate cleanser after our dive into the vampire genre, our next film is the first in our ‘High School’ series; and, rather than starting with the birth of the genre, as we did with vampires/martial arts, we’re opening with the cultural behemoth that is THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985): let’s see where the genre goes from here.
Recent Media
LAND OF THE DEAD (2005): George A. Romero, Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper COMEDIANS GIVING LECTURES (2019): Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar, Tash Demetriou
Recommendations
BLACK SHEEP (2006): Jonathan King, Oliver Driver, Nathan Meister MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson MEGA TIME SQUAD (2018): Tim van Dammen, Morgan Albrecht, Yoson An JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017): Jake Kasden, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black
Footnotes
Firstly, the film Rob mentions a fair bit as a cultural touchstone — particularly for Viago’s character towards the beginning of the film — is one which we didn’t watch this season, but which is worth watching/reading about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview_with_the_Vampire_(film). Thankfully this list does have WWDitS on it (I thought it didn’t at first reading — phew): http://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2016/04/28/11-best-mockumentaries-all-time. While we’re looking at lists, this is an interesting one — though only 6 of our 10 movies make it: http://collider.com/best-vampire-movie. Here’s an interview with Daniel Craig on how a perfectly-positioned comedy vehicle can lead to a complete ‘genre re-set’, as happened with vampire films after WWDitS: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/daniel-craig-blame-austin-powers-for-the-super-104242883007.html. Finally, given the weighty topic of mortality on which the film touches towards the end, this list is a good read: www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-about-afterlife.
This week we take on the cultural and cinematic behemoth that is 2008’s TWILIGHT. After some…contrasting reviews, we have a surprisingly enjoyable (and extended: strap in, listeners!) time talking about genre mash-ups, missed moments of poignancy, the traumas of High School, and how this isn’t really a film about vampires at all.
Next Week
Our film next week, closing the genre of vampire movies, is the 2014 mockumentary WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS.
Recent Media
CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF (2019): Franc Roddam, Gregg Wallace, John Torode
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 1–3 (2012—18): Genndy Tartakovsky, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968): George A. Romero, Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones
Recommendations
AMERICAN ULTRA (2015): Nima Nourizadeh, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart
THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER (2015): Brady Corbet, Bérénice Bejo, Liam Cunningham
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999): Daniel Myrick, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard
WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019): J.M. Coetzee, Ciro Guerro, Mark Rylance
Footnotes Firstly, there are a number of Wikipedia ‘holes’ to disappear down with respect to this film: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quileute (Jacob’s tribe of Native Americans), and (one which is relevant in a later film in the series) www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhampir. We mentioned some other films which we’ve covered on the podcast, so here are links to our CLERKS and Linklater episodes: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/clerks-slacker-cinema, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/2-31-before-sunrise-1995-and-time, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/2-32-before-sunset-2004-and-memory, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/2-33-before-midnight-2013-and-change. We talked about the strong female-led legacy of this film, in the decade or so since its release, and this article covers just that: www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/02/ten-years-of-twilight-the-extraordinary-feminist-legacy-of-the-panned-vampire-saga. Finally, it seems appropriate, as we’re moving towards the end of our focus on this genre, to include this article: www.collider.com/best-vampire-movies.
This week we take on the classic vampire/superhero/martial arts (what even is it?) film, BLADE (1998). After some glowing reviews, we talk about subcultures in the 90s, before getting onto liminality, race, class, and the various oppressed groups explored in a vampire movie like this.
Next Time Our next film is the — culturally undoubtedly important, but cinematically maybe questionable (we keep fairly open minds) — behemoth that is TWILIGHT (2008).
Recent Media CAMP WEDDING (2019): Greg Emetaz, Kelley Gates, Sean Hankinson JACK WHITEHALL: TRAVELS WITH MY FATHER (S2-3, 2018-19): Jack Whitehall, Michael Whitehall
Recommendations THE TAO OF STEVE (2000): Jenniphr Goodman, Donal Logue, Greer Goodman IRON SKY (2012): Timo Vuorensola, Julia Dietske, Christopher Kirby LUKE CAGE (2016-18): Cheo Hodari Coker, Mike Colter, Simone Missick THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (graphic novel, 1999–2019): Alan Moore, Kevin O’Neill, Bill Oakley
Footnotes Firstly, this is pretty good on various on-screen subcultures, with quite a lot on the 1990s: http://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/HAKSqLV0xnOIKQ. Rob mentions anxiety surrounding the year 2000; this is an interesting interview about this anxiety in a Christian context (although I can’t find Part I, unfortunately): www.sbclife.net/article/385/y2k-a-christian-response. The Rodney King riots are covered in some detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots. Given our conversations about Stephen Dorff, this is a fun article (though SD himself is criminally absent): http://screencrush.com/the-25-hottest-bad-guys-in-movies-ranked. And finally, we mentioned in passing how one of the things this film does well is the portrayal of addiction; for other films which do this particularly well, see here: http://riseinmalibu.com/7-tv-film-depict-addiction.
This week’s film is the 1988 vehicle for a young Nicolas Cage: VAMPIRE’S KISS. After some mixed reviews (this episode is basically one of us trying to persuade the other of the merits of this film…), and a little discussion of aesthetics versus narrative, we talk about misogyny, corporate greed, and the changing symbolism of vampire movies.
Next Time Next up in our journey through the vampire genre is another film led by an iconic personality of modern Hollywood: the 1998 Wesley Snipes feature BLADE.
Recent Media
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2014): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Taron Egerton
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (2010–): Anna Beattie, Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding
Recommendations
KICK-ASS (2010): Matthew Vaughn, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Cage
FLASHDANCE (1983): Adrian Lyne, Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri
THE RUNNING MAN (1987): Paul Michael Glaser, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso
RUSSIAN DOLL (2019): Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vasquez
Footnotes
This is good on the concept of aesthetics on film, a la Rob: www.filmtheory.org/aesthetics-films, while this is more in Sam’s wheelhouse: www.study.com/academy/lesson/narrative-film-introduction-history.html. Here’s more about the idea of the yuppie, which we talk about quite extensively: www.study.com/academy/lesson/narrative-film-introduction-history.html/terms/y/yuppie.asp. Finally, having talked a fair bit about misogyny and masculine identity in crisis this week, this is a good book: www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=G5ll1ykr2IkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=info:heSUVrsrwmgJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=zEb85PzLPu&sig=jl1rG0bwlzsqs65WYODUD5U2SeE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.
This week we look at the 1973 film GANJA & HESS. After some pretty favourable reviews, we talk about the thoroughly confusing nature of the film, the idea of cinema as an immersive experience, and the different versions of the movie Bill Gunn was forced into making (and wanted to make) — all the while dancing around the idea of the ecstatic or out-of-body experience. (We don’t actually talk about it in the episode, but it seemed very appropriate as a theme for this week’s Prestige, given our discussions of religion, blood, sex, and race.)
Next Time
We move from the…well, not sublime to the ridiculous, but it is a change of tone! Our next film is the 1989 black comedy VAMPIRE’S KISS.
Recent Media THE GREAT BRITISH MENU (2006–): Jennie Bond, Mark Bazeley, Wendy Lloyd
THE CHEFS’ BRIGADE (2019–): Jason Atherton, Anna Maxwell Martin
JAMES ACASTER: REPERTOIRE (2018): James Acaster
Recommendations
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968): George A. Romero, Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea
VALHALLA RISING (2009): Nicolas Winding Refn, Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson
SCROOGED (1988): Richard Donner, Bill Murray, Karen Allen
GET OUT (2017): Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams
Footnotes
After our discussion of the importance of sound in this film, this seems a good article to start off with: www.popularmechanics.com/culture/movies/a19566/a-brief-history-of-sound-in-cinema. It turns out ‘ululation’ is the right word: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ululation. Rob mentions cinéma vérité when discussing the church scenes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinéma_vérité. This book is good on Blaxploitation cinema in general: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1EeSAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false, and this article has more on BLACULA in particular: https://film.avclub.com/blacula-blew-some-fresh-air-into-a-musty-genre-crypt-1826873409. Finally, given some of what we’ve been talking about in this episode, it seems pertinent to mention the #1619 Project from the NY Times, information on which can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html.
This week’s film is the 1963 anthology film BLACK SABBATH. In the course of our reviews, we talk about the two very different versions of the film (Italian and American), before going on to discuss the idea of cinematographic and soundscape intimacy, and lead up to a focus on some thoughts about male control in the vampire genre.
Next Time
Our next film is the 1973 film GANJA AND HESS.
Recent Media
THE GRIP OF FILM (2017): Richard Ayoade
NYPD RED 3 (2015): James Patterson, Marshall Karp
AMERICAN PIE (1999): Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Jason Biggs
Recommendations DR GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS (1966): Mario Bava, Vincent Price, Fabian TERROR TRACT (2000): Lance W. Dreesen, Clint Hutchison, John Ritter THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935): James Whale, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester
LA RAGEZZA CHE SAPEVA TROPPO (THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH) (1963): Mario Bava, John Saxon, Letícia Román
Footnotes Firstly, this book has a lot of information on the American film business — and the relationship with Italy — around this time: [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=plztfOxO1HoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false] . Rob mentions giallo horror at the start of the episode; more on this can be found here. For more on the techniques of locked-off camerawork that we discuss, see here (and this is an excellent piece on a number of effective, iconic cinematographic techniques). There’s more on the nuts-and-bolts of creating a cinematic soundscape here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOod07iWyE. Finally, this is an interesting thesis (probably don’t read all of it!) on a number of ways in which elements of gender and control play out in cinema: [http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5312&context=etd].
This week’s film, in an enforced change to our programming, is the 1959 movie CURSE OF THE UNDEAD. After some initial reviews, we talk about the film’s use of some changes in the vampire genre to focus on ideas of ‘good versus evil’, before talking about why this meeting of the vampire genre and the Western actually does work — and implications it might have for the rest of our mini-season.
Next Time
Our next film is the 1963 film BLACK SABBATH.
Recent Media
MUDBOUND (2017): Dee Rees, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke
CATCH-22 (2019): George Clooney, Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2012): Joss Whedon, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans
Recommendations RAWHIDE (1959–65): Thomas Carr, Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959): Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint
QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE (1958): Edward Bernds, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Laurie Mitchell
GALLOWWALKERS (2012): Andrew Goth, Wesley Snipes, Kevin Howarth
Footnotes Firstly, in discussing the predictability of certain film genres, we talked about the idea of stereotypes; this is a fun piece about the perpetuation of certain on-screen types (and Cracked is usually a fun read): www.cracked.com/article_20082_6-insane-stereotypes-that-movies-cant-seem-to-get-over.html. We also talked about iconography on film: www.slideshare.net/spingwoodmedia/iconography-in-film-and-television. And here is a piece on successful genre mashups: www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/15-great-genre-mashup-movies-that-are-worth-watching. Finally, here’s a review of Rob’s final ‘recommendation’ — which doesn’t actually sound that terrible: https://film.avclub.com/wesley-snipes-is-a-zombie-cowboy-or-something-in-the-1798241662. It could be worse; it’s not like it features Johnny Depp as a horribly racist Native American caricature, or anything.
This week’s film is the unofficial sequel to last time’s movie, RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (1943). After some not-entirely favourable reviews, we talk about the creation of a cinematic trope or stereotype, developments in film technology, and the idea of vampirism as infection — or lycanthropy as mental illness.
Next Time
Our next film takes our vampire genre in a Mexican direction, with EL VAMPIRO (1957).
Recent Media
THE CHEF SHOW (2019): Jon Favreau, Roy Choi, Annie Johnson
JESSICA JONES S3 (2019): Stephen Surjik, Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor
Recommendations
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940): Robert Z. Leonard, Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier
THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985): Dan O’Bannon, Clu Gulager, James Karen
FANTASIA (1940): Walt Disney, Joe Grant, Samuel Armstrong
DOG SOLDIERS (2002): Neil Marshall, Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd
Footnotes
Here’s the promised information on Hammer horror: www.hammerfilms.com. There’s more on ethics in cinema here: www.books.google.co.uk/books?id=QdP_xLImIugC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. This is an article on blocking/movement in cinema: www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/the-5-stages-of-blocking-a-scene, which came to mind when seeing the Andreas/Bruckner (or Tesla) or scenes. Finally, here’s that article on DOG SOLDIERS: https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/290637/gender-bashing-what-it-means-to-be-a-man-in-dog-soldiers/
The next film in our vampire sub-season is the first talkie: 1931’s DRACULA. We do some reviewing, some not-always-favourable comparison with NOSFERATU, and then talk about late-Victorian culture, temporal distance, and the fact that there are two very different sorts of vampire film.
Next Time
Our next film is another Bela Lugosi vehicle, from later in his career: THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (1943).
Recent Media
GHOSTS (2019): Tom Kingsley, Lolly Adefope, Matthew Baynton
VERONICA MARS (2004–06): Rob Thomas, Kristin Bell, Percy Daggs III
Recommendations
FREAKS (1932): Tod Browning, Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams
WHITE ZOMBIE (1932): Victor Halperin, Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy
THE MUMMY (1932): Karl Freund, Boris Karloff, Zita Johann
Footnotes Firstly, here’s a reminder of the 1897 source material for both this week’s film and last week’s: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula. After our discussion of some of the brilliant camerawork in this film, here’s some more on this: www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/30-movies-with-the-most-brilliant-camera-work and www.slideshare.net/joebsmedia/camerawork-and-cinematography-in-thriller-movies. For more on Jack the Ripper, there’s so much to read out there; this www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Jack-the-Ripper and this www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ripper_jack_the.shtml are good places to start. Finally, this is a pre-Code film; for more on what this means, as we’ve mentioned before, see here: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood.
In our first film in a new 'sub-season', we tackle the 1922 classic that kick-started the vampire film genre (no, it wasn’t absolutely the first, but it was the first ‘mainstream’ vampire movie, and has inspired so many others). We have a special guest this week, who talks to us about German Expressionism, how this film is a reflection of contemporary events, and how to get 17-year-olds interested in a silent film from the 1920s!
Next Time Our next vampire film is another cornerstone of the genre: DRACULA (1931).
Recent Media CHERNOBYL (2019): Craig Mazin, Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård SUMMER OF ROCKETS (2019): Stephen Poliakoff, Keeley Hawes, Linus Roache GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019): Michael Dougherty, Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga TRIPLE FRONTIER (2019): J.C. Chandor, Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac
Recommendations THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI (1920): Robert Wiene, Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt METROPOLIS (1927): Fritz Lang, Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008): Tomas Alfredson, Kåre Hedebrandt, Lina Leandersson THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (1999–2007): Alan Moore, Kevin O’Neill, Bill Oakley TABU: A STORY OF THE SOUTH SEAS (1931): F.W. Murnau, Matahi, Anne Chevalier BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935): James Whale, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive
Footnotes Before we get to this week’s film, the documentary film about Chernobyl that Jennifer mentions, to which the tv mini-series is indebted, is this. Firstly, then, there’s some important grounding in the genre of German Expressionism and in the story on which this film is based. This is a good introduction to the history of the time. This is the cinematographic technique to which Jennifer refers. And here’s more on the movement in medical thought, popular in the 17th century, which led Sam to have questions about the film’s history.
In our last episode of this mini-season, we have reached the end of our focus on the Martial Arts genre, with 2011’s THE RAID. After some perhaps surprising reviews, we talk about how who/where we are in life has a huge effect on our reception of the films we watch, as well as some discussions of cinematic violence and consequences.
Next Time Our next mini-season is vampire films, and we kick off with 1922’s seminal NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR. (It’s not the first vampire film, but it is the earliest ‘mainstream’ hit...and the first we could readily get hold of, for viewing purposes!)
Recent Media
WASHINGTON BLACK (2018): Esi Edugyan
MEGA TIME SQUAD (2018): Tim van Dammen, Morgan Albrecht, Yoson An
Recommendations THE NIGHT COMES FOR US (2018): Timo Tjahjanto, Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim
DREDD (2012): Pete Travis, John Wagner, Karl Urban
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015): J.J. Abrams, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill
OLDBOY (2003): Park Chan-wook, Garon Tsuchiya, Choi Min-sik
Footnotes Firstly, the Marlon James interview with Adam Buxton is here: (Marlon’s thoughts on filmed violence are towards the end, but the whole interview is an excellent listen). Here’s a reminder of that Jackie Chan video referred to in our DRUNKEN MASTER episode, and again today. This is worth reading, thinking about the idea of cinematic claustrophobia — as Rob mentions when talking about the way this film is shot. We also talked about the idea of the underdog — a through-line which you can see from a character like Jirokichi, nearly a hundred years ago, to Rama; you can read a lot more here
Finally, in a good place to end our focus on the Martial Arts genre, here’s a good summary article (including some films we’ve covered, and some we haven’t been able to).
The penultimate film in our Martial Arts season might be seen by some as rather loosely connected to the genre: the 2004 parkour movie DISTRICT 13. We talk a bit about the film more generally, before getting into discussions of space, class, and hierarchy (not for the first — or, I suspect — last time on the Prestige…)
Next Time
Our final Martial Arts film (and one Sam’s absolute favourites) is 2011’s THE RAID: www.amazon.co.uk/Raid-English-Subtitled-Iko-Uwais/dp/B00FZSB57O.
Recent Media AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019): Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Stan Lee
IRON MAN (2008): Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Robert Downey Jr.
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (2013—): Dan Goor, Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz
Recommendations THE HUNGER GAMES (2012): Suzanne Collins, Gary Ross, Jennifer Lawrence
THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997): Luc Besson, Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman
LA HAINE (1995): Matthieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé
RUN LOLA RUN (1998): Tom Tykwer, Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
CASINO ROYALE (2006): Martin Campbell, Daniel Craig, Eva Green
Footnotes
Looking for connections between THE HUNGER GAMES and DISTRICT 13, I could find very little of note; this reddit thread, while interesting, is a case in point: www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1ry6ma/hunger_games_location_of_district_13_spoilers. I’ll keep looking. On the innovative use of space in film, this is an interesting book: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QMvpybzKNAMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. The question of whether or not parkour is a martial art is addressed in numerous places online, including here: www.fightorflightacademy.com/blog/2017/12/3/martial-arts-vs-parkour and here: http:///teamfarang.com/blogs/news/do-martial-arts-and-parkour-go-together. Finally, the IMDB trivia for this film is a good read: /www.imdb.com/title/tt0414852/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv.
We continue our Martial Arts season with Rob’s favourite decade (not just in terms of Martial Arts films, nor even in terms of films…just ever): the 90s. After some reviewing, we look at Jackie Chan’s use of the world around him, the difference between Chan films and Bruce Lee vehicles, and the pleasingly anarchic quality that this movie has when it comes to other characters’ involvement.
Next Time
Our next film in the Martial Arts season is a potentially genre-defying one: DISTRICT 13 (2004). Find it here
Recent Media
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018): Rob Marshall, Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda
KILLING EVE (2018): Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh
Recommendations
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995): Stanley Tong, Jackie Chan, Anita Mui
SHANGHAI NOON (2000): Tom Dey, Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson
KUNG FU HUSTLE (2004): Stephen Chow, Danny Chan, Yuen Wah
A BETTER TOMORROW (1986): John Woo, Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung
Footnotes
(Apologies for the short footnotes this week: Easter-related, and it’s a busy time of year. Back on it next time!) The video about Jackie Chan’s action comedy is here. Here’s more on the hero’s journey, a trope which this film happens to avoid in large part. And finally, here’s an article about the extraordinary cultural impact of one of Rob’s recommendations this week.
We continue our move into the ‘Western’ arena with another modern (ish!) classic of the Martial Arts genre: THE KARATE KID. After contrasting reviews (and a confession from Sam…) we look at the film in terms of its surprising comment on class tensions in the US, the ‘finding a family’ narrative of the film, and the way in which this episode of the podcast is actually about two entirely different movies.
Next Time
(yes, it has taken me 7 episodes to work out that this title needed changing…)
Our Martial Arts odyssey continues with a film that goes by two names: DRUNKEN MASTER II, or LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER.
Recent Media (see above comment…)
BIRD BOX (2018): Susanne Bier, Josh Malerman, Sandra Bullock
CHEF’S TABLE (2015—): David Gelb, Brian McGinn, Clay Jeter
Recommendations OCEAN’S 11 (2001): Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, Brad Pitt
THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013): Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Toni Collette
THE MIGHTY DUCKS (1992): Steven Herek, Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland
MYSTERIOUS SKIN (2004): Gregg Araki, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet
Footnotes
We start by talking about the existence of this film as something of a pop culture artefact, rather than a conventional film; this article provides an interesting take on the place of film in US pop culture. An unfair comparison, maybe, but Sam would like to make sure everyone’s seen this. Should you too want to spend two and a half minutes finding out about this film (and then hating yourself for doing so), go ahead. Here’s the obligatory link to more on Rob’s favourite dramatist, and his influence in cinema. Finally, here’s a useful video on an idea Rob mentions at the very end of the episode.
This week our focus has shifted from the Japanese and Chinese films laying the groundwork for the Martial Arts genre, as we land in the realm of a classic of ‘Western’ cinema: ENTER THE DRAGON. There’s not a lot to say in terms of reviews — it’s ENTER THE DRAGON! — but we soon get onto discussions of breakout films, Western/Eastern editing, and a canny use of multiple cinematic genres.
Next Week
Next week sees us continue our movement Westwards, with another Martial Arts feature aimed at a Western audience: the 1984 classic (what a great year!) THE KARATE KID.
This Week’s Media
QUEER EYE S3 (2019): David Collins, Antoni Topolski, Tan France
THE LIMITATIONS OF THE MCU (2019): Patrick (H) Willems
Recommendations
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68): Sam Rolfe, E. Darrell Hallenbeck, Robert Vaughn
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996): Brian de Palma, Tom Cruise, Jon Voight
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984): Wes Craven, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley
MORTAL KOMBAT (1995): Paul W.S. Anderson, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Footnotes
First of all, the Patrick (H) Willems YT series on the MCU starts here. Onto this week’s episode...the wikipedia entry on Bruce Lee’s life is well worth reading. (I can’t stop reading, for example, about the various feuds and spats he had with people!) These reflections on Bruce Lee’s role in the film, from those involved in its making, are interesting. For more on the use of ADR in films, as mentioned by Rob this week, see here. (And this is a good article, also on the subject.) Finally, for more on the blaxploitation genre, which explains something of the Jim Kelly narrative in ENTER THE DRAGON, see here.
This week’s movie is the seminal Hong Kong wuxia piece COME DRINK WITH ME (1966). After some initial reviews, we get into discussions of fantasy and reality, wire work, and on-screen violence.
Next Week
The next film in our Martial Arts season, and possibly the most famous title we’ll be looking at, is the classic ENTER THE DRAGON (1972).
This Week’s Media
RUSSIAN DOLL (2019): Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez
MASTERCHEF (2019): Franc Roddam, John Torode, Gregg Wallace
MARVEL 1602 (2003-04): Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Scott McKowen
Recommendations
THE 14 AMAZONS (1972): Cheng Gang, Ivy Ling Po, Lisa Lu
DOUBLE TEAM (1997): Tsui Hark, Jean-Claude van Damme, Dennis Rodman
DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002): Lee Tamahori, Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry
KUNG FU PANDA (2008): Mark Osborne, Jack Black, Ian McShane
Footnotes
As we discuss International Women’s Day in the context of Cheng Pei-pei’s involvement in the film, here are a few interesting articles: 1, 2, 3. There’s more on wuxua films here:. The rumoured Tarantino remake is mentioned here (although it was green-lit by Harvey Weinstein, so it…probably won’t go ahead). Finally, the rumour about Jackie Chan’s involvement in this film (on which Sam based one of his recommendations!) can be found here.
This week our tour through Martial Arts movies has reached the 1950s, with SAMURAI SAGA (the Westernised title). After reviews of the film we launch into a discussion that ranges from 8 MILE to Kaiju movies, via US teen high-school drama…
Next Week
The next film in our Martial Arts season is 1966’s COME DRINK WITH ME, available here.
This Week’s Media
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018): Anthony Russo, Stan Lee, Robert Downey Jr.
THE AMERICAN MEME (2018): Bert Marcus, Paris Hilton, Josh Ostrovsky
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL (2019): Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, Rosa Salazar
Recommendations
SIERRA BURGESS IS A LOSER (2018): Ian Samuels, Shannon Purser, Kristine Froseth
THRONE OF BLOOD (1957): Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Minoru Chiaki
ROXANNE (1987): Fred Schepisi, Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah
GODZILLA (1954): Ishirō Honda, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi
Footnotes
The basic story of the source material is here. On day-for-night shooting, as discussed by Rob, see here. Here’s that astonishing-yet-wordless Heath Ledger performance. This is the most prominent Kevin Smith Q&A in which he refers to his weight (and his ‘ownership’ of this). Finally, here’s that piece of information about the link between Toshiro Mifune’s other films and the final scene of this one.
The next in our series of martial arts films — and the first ‘talkie’ — is 1943’s SUGATA SANSHIRO, the debut of our old friend Akira Kurosawa. After differing initial reviews — appropriate, given this week’s theme — we talk about everything from sports films to the MCU.
Next Week
Our martial arts film from the 1950s, in this decade-by-decade journey through the genre, is 1959’s SAMURAI SAGA.
This Week’s Media
SAS: WHO DARES WINS (2019): Ant Middleton, Jason Fox, Shaun Dooley
THE FINAL GIRLS (2015): Todd Strauss-Schulson, Taissa Farmiga, Malin Åkerman
Recommendations
THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958): Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara
FANTASIA (1940): James Algar, Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor
THE MIGHTY DUCKS (1992): Steven Herek, Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland
THE ASSASSIN (2015): Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Qi Shu, Chen Chang
Footnotes
Firstly, apologies for the mistakes in Sam’s introduction with respect to judo Dans, the origin of the biographical story, etc.; things are cleared up in these two articles: Sanshiro Sugata and Tomita Tsunejirō. For more on sports films, see here. This book is also good. Finally, on respect in Japanese society, read more here.
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Our next film in Season 4 is 1931’s JIROKICHI THE RAT, the second in our chronological journey through a century of martial arts films. Sam’s a little luke-warm to start with, but is won round in the end — via discussions of cinematic archetypes, innovative camera techniques, and what it means to be a samurai.
Next Week The next film we take on is the directorial debut of an auteur we featured on the podcast last year, Akira Kurosawa: SANSHIRO SUGATA (1943). Watch it through the BFI Player/Amazon, here: www.amazon.co.uk/Sanshiro-Sugata-Denjiro-Okochi/dp/B07116L3MQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1548627698&sr=8-2&keywords=sanshiro+sugata
This Week’s Media IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016): Ti West, Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga LES MISERABLES (2018): Tom Shankland, Adeel Akhtar, David Oyelowo
Recommendations RONIN (1998): John Frankenheimer, Robert De Niro, Jean Reno ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981): John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef RASHOMON (1950): Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969): George Roy Hill, Paul Newman, Robert Redford
Footnotes First, we should link to an explanation of so-called ‘tendency’ films, for which the director (Daisuke Itō) was famous at the time: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendency_film. This is a good book on the various changes in Japanese cinema around the time that OROCHI and JIROKICHI THE RAT were made, and the cultural aftermath of these: books.google.co.uk/books/about/A_Hundred_Years_of_Japanese_Film.html?id=s7-_Gon5-a0C&redir_esc=y. On the innovative use of camera movement in films, this is a good article: www.filmcomment.com/article/game-changers-camera-movement. Finally, this is an engaging piece about the idea of ‘the hero’s journey’, which Rob mentions this week (but which, actually, is a trope these films seem to undercut!): venngage.com/blog/heros-journey.
We kick off season 4 — and our chronological tour through martial arts cinema — with the 1925 film OROCHI. After some glowing reviews of the film, we talk about the number of ways in which it feels like a very modern piece of cinema: from some of the gender politics, to the stunning choreography of some of its fight scenes, and its almost nihilistic overall message.
Next Week
The next in our series of martial arts films, and the last silent movie for this genre, is the 1931 film whose English title is JIROKICHI THE RAT.
This Week’s Media
30 ROCK (2006—13): Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski
VENOM (2018): Ruben Fleischer, Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams
SUMMER OF 84 (2018): François Simard, Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis
Further Watching
47 RONIN (2013): Carl Rinsch, Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada
ENTER THE DRAGON (1973): Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee, John Saxon
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973): Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill
MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981): George Miller, Mel Gibson, Harold Baigent
Footnotes
For more on the traditions of Japanese cinema with which OROCHI was engaging, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki. A reminder that we covered DRUNKEN ANGEL, the 1948 Kurosawa film which certainly owes a debt to this one, in September 2017 (way back in the mists of time): http://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-05-drunken-angel-and-disease. This video shows some of the absurdly heightened editing that we see in later martial arts/action films; as Rob discusses, the absence of these techniques from OROCHI is really quite refreshing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRcfHkPDt5I. Finally, it seems appropriate to end an episode on this film, with its especially negative central message, with a note about where Sam thought this narrative was going: https://www.britannica.com/topic/seppuku.
Sam's List
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- Mary Poppins Returns
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- You Were Never Really Here
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- Black Panther
Honorable Mentions
- Deadpool 2
- Ladybird
Rob's List
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- Bad Times At The El Royale
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- Blindspotting
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- Revenge
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- Black Panther
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- Ready Player One
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- Annihilation
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- Mandy
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- Sorry To Bother You
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- Game Night
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- Avengers: Infinity War
Our Wonderful Guest:
Movie Morgue: The film autopsy podcast. Two nerds (and guests) review and dissect films new and old. The real treasure, however, is the friendships we made along the way.
https://moviemorgue.simplecast.fm/ twitter.com/MovieMorgueCast www.facebook.com/MovieMorguePodcast/
Vilna Bashi Treitler's "The Ethnic Project": https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=12123
The final Hitchcock film in our mini-series is his last motion picture, 1976’s FAMILY PLOT. After differing reviews — interesting, given our previous ideas about Hitchcock’s oeuvre — we talk about everything from camp thrillers to how this was nearly an example of slacker cinema, and how this may have been a response to a mid-1970s shift in cinematic output. We also close with something of a retrospective on Hitchcock’s work, and discuss how his previous work allowed him to in some ways reinvent himself in this movie.
Next Week Our show next week will be the first of our two play-offs, bringing Season 3 to a close: pitting our favourite 30 films (and 2 audience picks) against each other.
This Week’s Media DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1949, 2018): Arthur Miller; Sarah Frankcom, Don Warrington HALLOWEEN 4, 5, 6 (1988, 1989, 1995): Dwight H. Little, Dominique Othenin-Girard, Joe Chapelle
Recommendations ADDAMS FAMILY (TV: 1964–66): David Levy, Carolyn Jones, John Astin WEST SIDE STORY (film: 1961): Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Natalie Wood SILENT RUNNING (1972): Douglas Trumbull, Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts GROSSE POINT BLANK (1997): George Armitage, John Cusack, Minnie Driver
Footnotes We start this week’s episode — in particularly spoilerish fashion — by discussing the end of the film, which means that this article deserves another look: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall. When talking about the history of 1970s cinema, as Sam does at one point this week, consulting this is a good idea: books.google.co.uk/books?id=DsGTm5DfY1kC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. The reviews for FAMILY PLOT, as Rob says, are pretty good: www.rottentomatoes.com/m/family_plot, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/family-plot-1976, www.imdb.com/title/tt0074512/reviews. And here’s more on the alternative casting choices, as well as other trivia about the film: www.imdb.com/title/tt0074512/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. Finally, as a conclusion to this month’s films, here are 5 hours of interviews with the director, from various points in his career, dealing with many aspects of his cinematic output: www.openculture.com/2016/09/5-hours-of-free-alfred-hitchcock-interviews-discover-his-theories-of-film-editing-creating-suspense-more.html.
Our next Hitchcock film, coming a decade after last week’s offering, is his 1958 hit VERTIGO. After short reviews of the film, we talk about everything from how the movie creates distance in its audience to the creative endeavour evident in the Marvel films (it’s relevant, honest) — and we end with a Rob’sRantTM.
Next Week The final Hitchcock film this month — and the last in his career — is 1976’s FAMILY PLOT, available here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfLiZcDAIdc
This Week’s Media HALLOWEEN 1, 2, 3 (1978, 1981, 1982): John Carpenter, Rick Rosenthal, Tommy Lee Wallace DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978): George A. Romero, David Emge, Ken Foree TASKMASTER (S7): Alex Horne, Greg Davies, Kerry Godliman
Recommendations SAUL BASS: TITLE CHAMP (2008): Gary Leva, Saul Bass, Martin Scorcese MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001): David Lynch, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring BULLITT (1968): Peter Yates, Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959): Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint
Footnotes For more on the noir genre of film — that we touch on here — this is a good resource: www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2013/an-amateur-academics-intro-to-film-noir. On cinematic stock characters, as mentioned by Rob, see here: screencraft.org/2017/07/09/99-archetypes-and-stock-characters-screenwriters-can-mold. More information on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents tv shows, that were running at the time of the movie — and while Hitchcock was at the height of his powers — can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock_Presents. There’s more on the ‘dolly zoom’ technique pioneered in the film (incidentally, I should mention here, because we don’t in the episode, that this was the work of Director of Photography Robert Burks) to represent Scottie’s acrophobia here: nofilmschool.com/2014/01/everything-need-know-dolly-zoom and here: boingboing.net/2015/01/26/watch-23-of-the-best-dolly-zoo.html (here’s the video linked to this article, which is well worth a watch: vimeo.com/84548119). Finally, though I can’t track down the full interview, here’s a series of GIFs celebrating Lucy Liu’s particular sort of creative freedom: imgur.com/gallery/MdA04.
The next in our Hitchcock mini-series is his 1948 masterpiece (can you guess whether or not our reviews were positive?) ROPE. We talk about the importance of the script, the marrying of form and function, and what happens when reality meets philosophical thought experiments.
Next Week Our Hitchcock season reaches its zenith with the 1958 classic VERTIGO, available here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpEj8i2y7Y.
This Week’s Media THE GRIP OF FILM (2017): Richard Ayoade RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (2012): Paul S.W. Anderson, Milla Jovavich, Michelle Rodriguez
Recommendations THE SECRET HISTORY (1992): Donna Tartt ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944): Frank Capra, Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane HARVEY (1950): Henry Koster, James Stewart, Wallace Ford IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946): Frank Capra, James Stewart, Donna Reed STRANGE DAYS (1995): Kathryn Bigelow, Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett
Footnotes For details on the length of a shot, as outlined by Rob (1000m of film on a reel = approximately 11 minutes), see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reel. Here are a couple of articles on the film as a ‘triumphant experiment in innovative recording techniques’: lwlies.com/articles/rope-alfred-hitchcock-masterpiece and www.nytimes.com/1984/06/03/movies/hitchcock-s-rope-a-stunt-to-behold.html. On function as a necessary part of form in cinema, this is an interesting piece: nomapneeded.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/5-principles-of-film-form — and this, msufilmandarchitecture.wordpress.com/2015/11/03/function-versus-form, although it talks about a film made nearly 20 years later, is also a good read. Finally, this is an introduction to some of the philosophical theories that get perverted by Brandon and Phillip in the film: https://study.com/academy/lesson/nietzsches-bermensch-concept-theory.html.
The first in our final directorial mini-season of Season 3 is Alfred Hitchcock’s debut feature, the 1926 silent film THE PLEASURE GARDEN. After a couple of short reviews, we talk about why this film’s importance outweighs the extent to which it’s ‘a good watch’, representing transgression on-screen, and the way in which the film uses tropes of suspense and mystery without necessarily being a thriller.
Next Week Our Hitchcock season continues with the 1948 classic ROPE, available on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Gpm6kLZLk.
This Month's Media THE NUN (2018): Corin Hardy, Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga JESSICA JONES S2 (2018): Melissa Rosenberg, Kristen Ritter, Rachael Taylor SUGAR RUSH (2018): Ariel Boles, Hunter March, Candace Nelson INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009): Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD (2017): Patrick Hughes, Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson THIS IS GOING TO HURT (2017): Adam Kay
Recommendations 42ND STREET (1933): Lloyd Bacon, Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels METROPOLIS (1927): Fritz Lang, Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm
Footnotes (Firstly, we should just say that, in discussing transgression in cinema, we don’t mean to refer to the term coined by avant-garde film-maker Nick Zedd in the 1980s to refer to an underground New York film scene. If you’re desperately interested in this, knock yourself out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Transgression. If not, ignore this.) On the matter of politically progressive cinema, this paper is good: raley.english.ucsb.edu/wp-content/Engl800/MHansen.pdf. For more on the Motion Picture Production Code (more popularly known, given that the president of the MP Association at the time was Will H. Hays, as ‘The Hays Code’), see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_Code. The detective story to which Sam refers, in which the solving of the mystery turns on the barking (or not) of a dog, is the Sherlock Holmes tale ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze’ (1892): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_Silver_Blaze. Finally this week, the director and choreographer to whom Rob refers in the context of backstage musicals is the inimitable Busby Berkeley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby_Berkeley.
Remember to vote for your favourite film to join our end-of-season bracket! http://www.kaiju.fm/bracket/
Rob & Chris delve deeper into Wes Anderson with his 2014 film, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.
Rob & Chris continue their wade into the whimsical world of Wes Anderson, looking at his 2004 film, The Aquatic Life Of Steve Zissou
With Sam off being bigger and better things for a month, we're roped in Chris from The Space Jam Continuum to fill in his shoes, as we discuss Wes Anderson's debut hit, Bottle Rocket.
This Week
Over The Garden Wall (2014)
Goliath (2016)
Queer Eye (2018)
Recommendations
Palookaville (1995)
Fargo (1996)
Whip It (2009)
We conclude our Ben Wheatley season with his most recent offering, 2016’s FREE FIRE. After our initial responses to the film, we go on to talk about claustrophobia, empathising with the IRA (!), and whether or not Wheatley has made the ‘step up’ to Hollywood (CA) direction.
Next Week
Our next director is one on which Sam will sadly (good luck, Rob!) be missing out: Wes Anderson. The first film recommended by Sam’s very able replacement, Chris MacLennan, is his debut, 1995’s BOTTLE ROCKET. Get hold of it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bottle-Rocket-Luke-Wilson/dp/B00ET02BX6
This Week’s Media
THE HANDMAID’S TALE (2017–): Margaret Atwood, Bruce Miller, Elizabeth Moss
STATH LETS FLATS (2018): Tom Kingsley, Jamie Demetriou, Robert Popper
MORTIMER AND WHITEHOUSE: GONE FISHING (2018): Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse
Recommendations
KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017): Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
28 WEEKS LATER (2007): Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne
DISTRICT 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, David James
BABY DRIVER (2017): Edgar Wright, Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal
Footnotes
For an introduction to Cecil B de Mille and some of his spectacular early Hollywood blockbusters, see this book: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YLPTleQHkrUC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false On the use of space in cinema, this article is good: https://filmanalysis.coursepress.yale.edu/mise-en-scene Should you want to brush up on your knowledge of some of the paramilitary organisations who may or may not be represented in the film, knock yourself out: https://www.thoughtco.com/guide-to-the-irish-republican-army-3209135 , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaner_Weerstandsbeweging , https://www.history.com/topics/black-panthers And finally, here’s more on the ‘180 Degree Rule’ that Rob talks about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4wX_dmh8_g
Back after a hiatus, we delve further into Ben Wheatley’s oeuvre, with his 2013 historical horror A FIELD IN ENGLAND. Our reviews are mixed, but then we do get into some very interesting discussions about genre collisions, social structure, and whether or not Ben Wheatley will be a success as a blockbuster Hollywood director with his…interesting use of generic and visual ideas!
Next Week
Our final Ben Wheatley film is his latest offering, FREE FIRE (2017), available here: https://www.amazon.co.
This week’s film is the incredibly disturbing — don’t watch it if your constitution is in any way delicate; it will stay with you — Ben Wheatley film KILL LIST. We talk about how this film takes a while to get going, but when it does — oh boy! Also on the agenda today: social realism, Lovecraftian horror, and religious symbolism.Next Week
Our next Ben Wheatley film is A FIELD IN ENGLAND, available here: This Week’s Media
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988): Robert Zemeckis, Bob Hoskins, Christopher LloydJURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018): J.A. Bayona, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas HowardTROLLPLAY (2018): Alice Fraser, Cal Wilson, Sami ShahRecommendationsUTOPIA (2013—14): Marc Munden, Adeel Akhtar, Paul HigginsSTRIKE (2017–): J.K. Rowling, Tom Burke, Holliday GraingerDOOMSDAY (2008): Neil Marshall, Rhona Mitra, Bob HoskinsTHE WICKER MAN (1973): Robin Hardy, Edward Woodward, Christopher LeeFootnotesFirstly, there’s more on social realism in cinema here: http://www.screenonline.
The first film in our Ben Wheatley season is his cinematic debut, DOWN TERRACE. We offer contrasting reviews in perhaps surprising directions (given our PP form), and then spend time talking about different attitudes to masculinity, what it means to be part of a family unit, and how this film — for all its apparent parochialism — could in fact be a comment on the political situation in 2008.Next WeekOur next film is the incredibly brutal KILL LIST (2011). If you’re prepared to give it a go (and please do skip it if you’re at all averse to...hard-hitting movies), then watch it here: https://www.amazon.co.
This week we conclude our Baz Luhrmann season with his most recent film, 2013’s THE GREAT GATSBY. We have disparate opinions on this — and differing levels of familiarity with the story — but then we move onto a discussion of the movie’s presentation of different ideas about wealth, concepts of class and race on-screen in various countries, and the extent to which the film works as a presentation of the very social dislocation that is its subject.
Next Week
Next week we begin our Ben Wheatley season with his 2009 film DOWN TERRACE — find it here: https://www.amazon.co. uk/Down-Terrace-Julia-Deakin/ dp/B00FYO0A0W.
This Week’s Media
R.I.P.D. (2013): Robert Schwentke, Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds
DEADPOOL 2 (2018): David Leitch, Ryan Reynolds, Josh Broli
Recommendations
GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002): Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (2017): Luc Besson, Dane DeHaan, Cara Delivigne
THE DEPARTED (2006): Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon
THE ICE STORM (1997): Ang Lee, Kevin Kline, Joan Allen
Footnotes
For more on the original 1925 novel, see here: https://en.m.wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby. As a reminder of the Brechtian separation we were talking about with ROMEO + JULIET the other week, there’s this: https://en.m.wikipedia. org/wiki/Separation_of_the_ elements. Here are articles on ideas of dramatic archetypes and dramatic dislocation: http:// dramaticapedia.com/2012/08/17/ the-8-archetypal-characters-2 and http://tvtropes.org/ pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ DramaticDislocation. This book is good on twentieth-century history, including The Great Depression and The American Dream: https://books.google. co.uk/books/about/America_in_ the_Twentieth_Century.html?id= sJ2KPwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y. And this is good on outsiders in US history: https://books.google. co.uk/books/about/Deportation_ Nation.html?id=irgpGACppy0C& redir_esc=y. Finally, Sam mentions THE BIRTH OF A NATION; if you really want to depress yourself, check out the 1915 original (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/ wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation) or the 2016 remake (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/ wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation_( 2016_film)).
This week our focus shifts to Luhrmann’s sweeping Antipodean magnum opus, AUSTRALIA. We sort of already know what there is to be said about this film, so we spend a lot of time talking about the movie’s politics, its visuals, and how it tries to do many different things, but doesn’t always succeed — and how this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Next Week
Our final Baz Luhrmann film is his latest: the 2013 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY, available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Gatsby-Leonardo-Dicaprio/dp/B00IHS048U
This Week’s Media
JESSICA JONES S2 (2018): Melissa Rosenberg, Kristen Ritter, Rachael Taylor
THE MACHINE GIRL (2008): Noboru Iguchi, Minase Yashiro, Asami
Recommendations
THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS (2003): the Wachowskis, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne
THE SEARCHERS (1956): John Ford, John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter
PADDINGTON (2014): Paul King, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins
RABBIT-PROOF FENCE (2002): Paul Noyce, Everlyn Sampi, Kenneth Branagh
Footnotes
Firstly, this book is particularly good on the postcolonial ethics behind some of the debates in this film: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=difIAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=info:pOGIhm_SRvAJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=vjWkvAM_7a&sig=X6s8WO9L1LED6xQgI-Q3xO_HzXI#v=onepage&q=Stolen%20generations&f=false (Chapter 4 is especially good on the Stolen Generations). There’s more here: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5zHAGNPTkqIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=info:zNarV2dx7-MJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=PRKYmalN5f&sig=_hpxr3pmZr49SzWeVbAjMyA6uTM#v=onepage&q&f=false. We don’t have space to focus on MOULIN ROUGE this month, but it’s the only Luhrmann film we don’t deal with, and is an...interesting watch! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ET1OQ2E For some alternative viewing — and some other touchstones we mention this week — have a look at CROCODILE DUNDEE (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00FYO5KIE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527329695&sr=8-4π=PI_PJPrime-Sash-Extra-Large-2017,TopLeft,0,0_AC_SX118_SY170&keywords=crocodile+dundee+video&dpPl=1&dpID=61y8Q6LV0-L&ref=plSrch) or BUTCH CASSIDY (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00YI9PSY2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527329750&sr=8-1π=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=butch+cassidy+video&dpPl=1&dpID=51v0SQEjnVL&ref=plSrch). Here’s the apology to the Stolen Generations issued by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008: https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples. Finally, this is a good treatment of the epic film genre: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pxCRAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Our next foray into Luhrmann territory is his version of the 16th-century play: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO + JULIET (1996). Sam goes off on one about one of his pet topics, and we take things further by discussing the playful and inventive qualities of the play brought out by Luhrmann — along with his innovative use of pop culture and the art of the soundtrack.Next WeekThe next Baz Luhrmann film sees us jumping into the next decade, with AUSTRALIA (2008), available here: https://www.amazon.com/
This week we embark on our next directorial mini-season with the work of Baz Luhrmann. We start with his cinema debut, 1992’s STRICTLY BALLROOM. After opening reviews, we talk about mockumentaries, cinema aesthetic, and artistic frustration — both in the film and in Luhrmann’s direction itself.
Next Week
Our Luhrmann mini-season continues with the next movie in his ‘Red Curtain Trilogy’: 1996’s ROMEO + JULIET. Watch it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Shakespeares-Romeo-Juliet-Sorvino/dp/B00FZA99RA
This Week’s Media
TASKMASTER (2015–): Alex Horne, Andy Devonshire, Greg Davies
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018): Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr.
Recommendations
BASKEKETBALL (1998): David Zucker, Trey Parker, Matt Stone
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (1994): Stephen Elliott, Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving
CONFETTI (2006): Debbie Isitt, Martin Freeman, Olivia Coleman
AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (1999): Jay Roach, Mike Myers, Heather Graham
Footnotes
Firstly, this is an interesting article on the mockumentary form in which the film starts: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/apr/05/mockumentary-british-comedy-tom-kingsley
Here’s a reminder of the theatrical convention of the fourth wall, to which Sam refers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall
(And, while we’re at it, here’s a short piece on a few more theatrical conventions to which Luhrmann the theatrical director and Luhrmann the film auteur may have been reacting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_convention )
Here’s the IMDB page for last year’s THOR RAGNAROK, which Rob mentions as a comparator this week: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3501632
And finally, for more camerawork titbits (this time not from Rob!), head here: https://indiefilmhustle.com/types-of-lenses-camera-lenes
The final Coppola film in our mini-series is her latest, the 2017 re-make of THE BEGUILED. After our reviews, we talk about horror, tension, and the revision of traditional gendered values. This leads us on to a final discussion of Sofia Coppola’s oeuvre, when we take a look back at some new perspectives we’ve seen over the past month.Next WeekNext week we embark on our next director, Baz Luhrmann, and his first film, 1992’s STRICTLY BALLROOM: https://www.amazon.
(The audio from Rob gets better about 7 min in...)
Our next Sofia Coppola film is her 2006 historical biopic MARIE ANTOINETTE. We talk about decadence, loneliness, and why this film tries to several very interesting things — but doesn’t quite succeed in pulling them off.
Next Week
We conclude our Coppola mini-season with her most recent film, 2017’s THE BEGUILED. Will it be LOST IN TRANSLATION, mark 2, or another MARIE ANTOINETTE? Find out here: https://www.amazon.co.
This Week’s Media
ELLA MINNOW PEA (2001): Mark Dunn
WESTWORLD (2016–): Jonathan Nolan, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandi Newton
Recommendations
THE DREAMERS (2003): Bernardo Bertolucci, Michael Pitt, Eva Green
THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (2004): Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennett, Dylan Sprouse
CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash
SPY (2015): Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne
Footnotes
Firstly, here are the Wikipedia pages we mentioned that you could before (or during!) this movie: https://en.wikipedia.
Next in our Sofia Coppola season is another of Rob’s all-time-favourite films: 2003’s LOST IN TRANSLATION. Reviews are more or less predictable, but we quickly get into talking about what it means to be privileged yet isolated, balance in cinematography, and whether or not this film ends in the right way.Next WeekOur Coppola series continues with her big-screen follow-up to LOST IN TRANSLATION, on a very different theme: 2006’s MARIE ANTOINETTE (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/
This week, as Sam returns from intensive Dadding, we start on our next director: Sofia Coppola. Our first focus is on her debut, her adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’s novel THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. After we’re both really taken by surprise by this film, we talk about nostalgic film-making, ethereal screen presences, and what it is to remember (and mis-remember) things as a teenager.
Next Week
Our next film, and the next in Coppola’s oeuvre, is LOST IN TRANSLATION, available here: https://www.amazon.co.
Due to massive over-consumption of Easter Eggs, we're taking a break from our scheduled progamming to bring you a previously Patreon-only episode, The Films Of Our Lives
We conclude our NWR season with an episode focusing on his most recent film, the 2016 horror/psychological thriller/social commentary THE NEON DEMON. After similar reviews of the film, we look at the film’s exploration of beauty, the creepiness of both female and male gazes in this film, and what Refn has to say about a particularly...cut-throat industry. We also end with a retrospective on NWR’s work, and how it’s developed from the early days of PUSHER.Next WeekOur next director mini-season looks at the work of Sofia Coppola. We begin with her breakout film, 1999’s THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. Watch it here: https://www.amazon.co.
The next in our NWR mini-season is his 2011 film DRIVE. One of us has radically changed his stance on the film (spoiler alert: Rob won’t be tearing down his poster)—after a few minutes of reviews, we get stuck into psychopathy on screen, subverting type, and just why this film is s tense.
Next Week
Our NWR mini-season concludes with his most recent feature, 2016’s THE NEON DEMON (available here: https://www.amazon.co.
(Quick apology for some of the audio this week, between missing microphones and babies, it has some issues, bear with us, it will get better...)This week’s film — and the next in our Nicolas Winding Refn mini-season — is one close to Rob’s heart: VALHALLA RISING (2009). We get the inside scoop on some of the decisions made by the director, as well as considering some of the mythical/religious ideas behind the film — and if this is a film about giving or withholding answers. Next WeekOur next NWR film is 2011’s DRIVE. Watch it online, ready for next week’s episode, here: https://www.amazon.co.
The next director at whose oeuvre we take a look is Nicolas Winding Refn, and we start with his 1996 feature-film debut PUSHER. After similar reviews of the film, we talk about what Refn might have been trying to do with this film, the division between narrative and aesthetics, and the ways in which this shines a light on consumerist attitudes of the time.
Next Week
Our Nicolas Winding Refn mini-season continues with his 2010 film VALHALLA RISING: https://www.amazon.co.
This Week’s Media
CASE (2015): Baldvin Zophoníasson, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, Magnús Jónsson
UGLY DELICIOUS (2018): Morgan Neville, Eddie Schmidt, David Chang
Recommendations
TRAINSPOTTING (1996): Danny Boyle, Irvine Welsh, Ewan McGregor
KILL LIST (2011): Ben Wheatley, Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring
FORBRYDELSEN (2007–12): Søren Sveistrup, Sofie Gråbøl, Søren Malling
BROEN (2011–): Hans Rosenfeldt, Sofia Helin, Kim Bodnia
Footnotes
We should start this week with a biography of Nicolas Winding Refn, taking note of his film-editing genealogy: http://www.imdb.
Our final Spike Lee joint is 2015’s CHI-RAQ: based on an Ancient Greek play, and set in modern-day gangland Chicago, this is both very different from and yet — at least in terms of its racial politics — remarkably similar to last week’s film. We have contrasting reviews of the film, but go on to talk about the contemporary resonances of the movie, what it tries but fails to do with some of its characters, and how watching Spike Lee’s genius over this past month has been eye-opening for both of us!Next WeekNext we embark on a new director: Nicolas Winding Refn. Our first Winding Refn picture is 1996’s PUSHER, available here (remember we’re only looking at the first film): https://www.amazon.co.uk/
After a significant disclaimer this week, we launch — somewhat trepidatiously — into our next Spike Lee joint: BAMBOOZLED (2000). We talk about how this film didn’t get the critical love it deserved, the camera shots that make it, and the sad deficiencies of contemporary African-American on-screen representation.
Next Week
We conclude our Spike Lee month with his most recent film, 2015’s CHI-RAQ
This Week’s Media
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007): Tim Story, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba
BLACK PANTHER (2018): Ryan Coogler, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan
Recommendations
DEEP BLUE SEA (1999): Renny Harlin, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane
SCREAM 2 (1997): Wes Craven, David Arquette, Neve Campbell
LAST ACTION HERO (1993): John McTiernan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham
THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003) and THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS (2003): The Wachowskis, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne
Footnotes
Firstly, the Spike Lee film on which we didn’t have time to focus this month, but from which this film takes its name, is the Denzel Washington vehicle MALCOLM X, available here. This book is a good introduction to the history of blackface in American popular culture, and this has interesting things to say about race, class, and minstrelsy. Here are a couple of interesting reviews of the film. This is similar to the infamous picture at which Pierre Delacroix looks, and which Sam mentions. This is the former NAACP leader to whom Rob refers. And finally, here’s a really enjoyable review of the film with which Rob started (and we finished).
Spike Lee Month continues with his 1989 classic DO THE RIGHT THING. We’re both (spoiler alert) very positive about the film, before getting into discussions of right and wrong, racial tension, and police brutality (keeping it light!), as well as EMPIRE RECORDS, DIE HARD 3, and the very sad continued relevance of Lee’s film.
Next Week
Next in the Spike Lee mini-series is 2000’s BAMBOOZLED, available on DVD here
This Week’s Media
BUNKS (2013): Jennifer Pertsch, Dylan Schmid, Atticus Mitchell
SAS: WHO DARES WINS (S2): Shaun Dooley, Ant Middleton, Colin Barr
Recommendations
LEON (1994): Luc Besson, Jean Reno, Gary Oldman
OKJA (2017): Bong Joon-ho, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016): Raoul Peck, James Baldwin, Rémi Grellety
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992): James Foley, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon
Footnotes
As Sam said, we could easily spend much longer on this film; we do have to move on, though, so here are a few notes on this week’s episode. First up, here’s a link to Immanuel Kant’s philosophy (Rob started with the big hitters, this week). Next, here is a primer on the (perceived) MLKJr/Malcolm X dichotomy. This is a good article on the making of the film. And this has some interesting things to say about the scary timelessness of the movie.
Our next director is a Goliath of American film: Spike Lee. We start with his 1986 ‘joint’ SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT: reviews, tentative thoughts on African-American cinema, and why this film was ahead of its time.
Next Week
Our next Spike Lee joint is possibly his most famous movie, DO THE RIGHT THING (1989), which is available on YouTube
This Week’s Media
ALL TOGETHER NOW (2018): Rob Beckett, Geri Horner, James Fox
NOW YOU SEE ME (2013): Louis Leterrier, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo
Recommendations
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991): James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN (1991): Matty Rich, George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders
CLERKS (1994): Kevin Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES (2003): Jim Jarmusch, Bill Murray, Tom Waits
Footnotes
It’s a book-heavy week this week (unsurprising, given the political and racial concerns of our directorial subject). This is a good introduction to black American cinema. We don’t talk much about Lee’s musical segment in this film, but this is enlightening. After Rob’s thoughts on independent cinema, this is a good article on some of the films which came in the decade after SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT. Finally, thanks to @sean_batten again for his help with the Prestige audio.
Our last Iñárritu film is 2014’s BIRDMAN, OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (don’t worry: that’s the last time we’ll use the subtitle). We offer fairly similar reviews, before talking about style over substance and the director’s views on the superhero genre — and we end with some concluding thoughts on Iñárritu’s oeuvre.
Next Week
Our next mini-season is all about Spike Lee — we start with his 1986 breakout SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT, available here.
This Week’s Media
ANTFARM DICKHOLE (2011): Bill Zebub, Mike Nastri, Jessica Mazo
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (2017–): Akiva Goldsman, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones
MCMAFIA (2018–): James Watkins, James Norton, David Strathairn
Recommendations
ROUNDERS (1998): John Dahl, Matt Damon, Edward Norton
THE REVENANT (2015): Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
THE TREE OF LIFE (2011): Terrence Malick, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn
VICTORIA (2015): Sebastian Schipper, Laia Costa, Frederick Lau
Footnotes There’s an intro to the basics of magic(/al) realism here. Here’s our standard link to something on the subject of Chekov’s Gun, a concept that gets another airing this week. There are some interesting thoughts on social media notoriety here and here. Finally, the IMDB page for Emmanuel Lubezki is worth a read, if only to marvel at the extent of his body of work, particularly as cinematographer
The next Ińárritu offering — and the last in a ‘trilogy’ that began with AMORES PERROS — is the 2006 film BABEL. We have fairly similar takes on the movie, and this is followed by broader discussions about language, Westernisation, and the purpose of the film.
Next Week
Our final Ińárritu film is 2014’s BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VALUE OF IGNORANCE), available on Amazon
This Week’s Media
HOW NOT TO BE A BOY (2017): Robert Webb
THE BABYSITTER (2017): McG, Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving
Recommendations
PACIFIC RIM (2013): Guillermo del Toro, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam
THE NEON DEMON (2016): Nicolas Winding Refn, Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks
13 ASSASSINS (2010...not 2013, as confidently asserted): Takashi Miike, Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada
UTOPIA (2013-14): Marc Munden, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins
Footnotes
First this week, I’ve searched long and hard for the origins of the ‘Trilogy of Death’ label, to no avail; answers on a postcard... This review is broadly positive, at least with respect to the Japanese narrative strand of the movie. This is a good introduction to the idea of ‘the idiot plot’. Finally, here’s more on the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, to which the title refers.
Our next Iñárritu film sees him move from Spanish to English (although the change of language doesn’t indicate a change in mood!) with 21 GRAMS (2003). We talk about screen presentations of grief and the way that the impact of cinema changes over time — and one of us changes his mind a little about the movie...
Next Week
Iñárritu stays in English for the last in his ‘Death Trilogy’: BABEL (also available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/BABEL-Cate-Blanchett/dp/B00FYNX6TU
This Week’s Media
TOKYO TRIBE (2014): Sion Sono, Ryōhei Suzuki, Riki Takeuchi
BACK (2017): Simon Blackwell, David Mitchell, Robert Webb
F.R.I.E.N.D.S (1994-2004): David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Jennifer Aniston
Recommendations
SWINGERS (1996): Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn
THE WORLD’S END (2013): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
SICARIO (2015): Denis Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro
BIG EYES (2014): Tim Burton, Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz
UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1929): Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Pierre Batcheff
Footnotes
First, this week, apologies if Sam’s audio is even more ropey than usual (which, incidentally, isn’t for lack of trying! apparently even a fancy new mic didn’t quite do the trick): blame the whirrings of an ancient computer fan. Second, on the subject of revisiting cultural artefacts and one of the TV shows we talk about this week, this is an interesting and funny take on some of the relationships in FRIENDS: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/amp11807508/joey-rachel-friends-together. This is an in-depth piece on one of the greatest practitioners of the ‘mosaic film-making’ style Rob describes: https://cinephiliabeyond.org/filmmakers-masterclass-with-andrei-tarkovsky-cinema-is-a-mosaic-made-of-time. Here’s a reminder of the details of the ‘bleach bypass’ technique: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_bypass. Finally, here’s more on the artistic movement that spawned Rob’s final recommendation: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism
The first in our season of films by Alejandro González Iñárritu (the accents are getting a workout this month!) is his 2000 breakout feature film, AMORES PERROS. We talk about differing reactions to the movie (two of them from one person, over 15 years!), the way that its violent themes often inform the way that it’s put together, and the essentially very optimistic ending.
Next Week
The next Iñárritu film is the 2003 follow-up, 21 GRAMS (available on Amazon video: http://amzn.to/2CBrJiP)
This Week’s Media
THE BOY IN THE DRESS (2014): Matt Lipsey, David Walliams, Billy Kennedy
DIRTY GRANDPA (2016): Dan Mazer, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (2017): Michael Gracey, Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron
Recommendations LA HAINE (1995): Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé
200 CIGARETTES (1999): Risa Bramon Garcia, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck
Y TU MAMA TAMBIÉN (2001): Alfonso Cuarón, Maribel Verdú, Gael Garcia Bernal
LA MALA EDUCACIÓN (2004): Pedro Almodóvar, Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez
Footnotes
Firstly, this week, here’s a link to the episode on the predecessor we discuss: http://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-08-dodeska-den-1970-and-dreams/. Then, this is an interesting piece on a (previously mentioned) movement to which Rob refers:http://learnaboutfilm.com/soviet-montage. Here are two good articles on the various aspects of film editing covered in Iñárritu’s work: https://www.raindance.org/the-6-stages-of-editing-as-a-film-director & https://www.filmcomment.com/article/the-close-up-films-that-changed-filmmaking.
In this week’s episode we reveal our Top 5s. Will there be any overlaps, or is there some characteristic Prestige disagreement?
Happy 2018, everyone
The band’s back together! Sam’s back from new-baby intensiveness, just in time for a festive episode for the end of the year — and it’s a film which may or may not (don’t mention that Bruce Willis film) be a Christmas movie: LOVE ACTUALLY. Rob was expecting more negativity from Sam — maybe fatherhood has mellowed him — but we’re both broadly positive about the film; notwithstanding its faults, which we discuss towards the end of the episode, along racial and gender lines.
Next Week
If we can manage it, next week will be our Review of 2017 (or, in Sam’s case, Review of the First Ten Months of 2017…)
This Month’s Media THE PUNISHER (2017): Steve Lightfoot, Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
LA LA LAND (2017): Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017): Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher
THE GOOD PLACE (2016—): Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper
Recommendations KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2014): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson
THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998): Peter Weir, Jim Carrey, Laura Linney
THE HOLIDAY (2006): Nancy Meyers, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet
GOOD OMENS (2018): Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Adria Arjon
Footnotes
The other storylines Richard Curtis proposed for the film are here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-23/richard-curtis-reveals-the-love-actually-storylines-he-left-out. The four types of Greek love, which Sam shamefully couldn’t bring to mind, are these: https://totescute.com/four-types-of-love-greek-style. This article has all the Easter Eggs Emma Freud revealed, as mentioned by Sam: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/love-actually-film-secrets-facts-7061864. And finally, here’s a good piece on the different sorts of textuality that are (or may be) at play in the movie: https://www.decodedscience.org/what-is-transtextuality-understanding-the-meaning-of-the-words-we-read/28891/2
Merry Christmas! It’s good to be back. :)
Rob and his 1st guest host, Anna, relive their respective childhoods, get lost in Hook's luxurious facial hair and fawn over RU-FI-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(Look folks, Sam does the show notes and he's great at it. I'm really not, so they are going to be a bit shorter for the next month. Bare with me!)
Our Schumacher mini-season concludes with the 2003 biopic VERONICA GUERIN. For a second week running (savour it), we’re largely in agreement with our reviews of the film, and then we talk about how these events passed us by, the difficulties in bringing a real life to screen, and the parallels between the protagonist and a quite surprising tortured genius.
Next Week’s Film Sam’s off on parental duty, so the next month sees Rob — with a number of guest hosts — get stuck into the oeuvre of Steven Spielberg, starting with the 1991 ‘classic’ (Sam’s quotation marks) HOOK.
This Week’s Media
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009): David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint MINDHUNTER (2017—): Joe Penhall, David Fincher, Jonathan Groff
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (2017—): Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones
Recommendations
CON AIR (1997): Simon West, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack
IN BRUGES (2008): Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson
HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992): Chris Columbus, Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci
PUSHING TIN (1999): Mike Newell, John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton
Footnotes
In the vein of starting with a light-hearted subject, our first link for this episode is to Tim Murphy’s book Rethinking the War on Drugs in Ireland: books.google.co.uk/
Our next Schumacher offering is 1999’s 8MM. We have fairly similar reviews of the film, before embarking on a discussion of what makes human do what they do, the voyeurism inherent in modern life, and why Keanu Reeves wouldn’t have been able to save this movie.
Next Week’s Film
VERONICA GUERIN (2003): pending certain events in Sam’s house, we’ll be concluding our Schumacher season.
This Week’s Media
THE WISE MAN’S FEAR (2011): Patrick Rothfuss
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007): David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint
Recommendations
MONEYBALL (2011): Bennett Miller, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill WALK THE LINE (2005): James Mangold, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
PREACHING TO THE PERVERTED (1997): Stuart Urban, Guinevere Turner, Tom Bell
TOMORROWLAND (2015): Brad Bird, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie
Footnotes
Light-heartedly enough, the first link is to a book exploring one of the concepts we address early on this week, the nature of evil: https://books.google.co.uk/
The Joel Schumacher season continues with the 112-minute cry of rage and frustration that is FALLING DOWN. We talk about the film’s presentation of different sides of modernity in America, its use of borders and locations, and various takes on its ideas of diversity and alienation: basically, we get stuck in to a good old-fashioned discussion!
Next Week’s Film
8MM (1999): another popular (thus easily available) one for our third Schumacher film
This Week’s Media
W1A (2014—): John Morton, Hugh Bonneville, Monica Dolan
BLADERUNNER 2049 (2017): Denis Villeneuve, Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford
Recommendations
TOTAL RECALL (1990): Paul Verhoeven, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin
SAVAGE STREETS (1984): Danny Steinmann, Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley
IE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995): John McTiernan, Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons
WONDER BOYS (2000): Curtis Hanson, Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire
Footnotes
Sam mentions a possible cultural forerunner of Bill Foster, in Willy Loman: https://en.wikipedia.
We kick off our Joel Schumacher mini-season with a look at his 1980s ‘classic’ (Sam’s inverted commas) THE LOST BOYS. There are…conflicting initial reviews, but we unite in discussions of being out of time, vampirism, and puberty.
Next Week’s Film FALLING DOWN (1993): Schumacher month continues with possibly his most commercially available film (good for watching purposes).
This Week’s Media COMING TO AMERICA (1988): John Landis, Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall
JACK WHITEHALL: TRAVELS WITH MY FATHER (2017): Jack Whitehall, Michael Whitehall, Hilary Whitehall
Recommendations
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992): Fran Rubel Kuzei, Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (2014): Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Addison Timlin, Travis Tope
BLADE (1998): Stephen Norrington, Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990): Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder
Footnotes
Rob mentions the pre-eminent vampire drama of recent years, TRUE BLOOD; for much more on this, there’s a whole wiki: http://trueblood.wikia.com/wiki/True_Blood_Wiki. These two books are both good on subcultures (the first is particularly good about music, which we discuss in passing): https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=II19ilADqGEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=subcultures&ots=t0zG7b30Yt&sig=WwTcjQB41ychVfV8YtQXNnrCEAw#v=onepage&q=subcultures&f=false, https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OgfyekgkpwwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1914&dq=subcultures&ots=G8PUd7Ndfx&sig=iEHptTDQpequsWSuVf6pCVjCB-0#v=onepage&q=subcultures&f=false. The IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093437) has some good info on the movie, though for its homoerotic connotations you’d be better heading here: http://www.horror-movies.ca/2014/09/new-perspective-lost-boys-homosexual-film. Finally, here’s some good stuff about vampire stereotypes (that this film was often in the vanguard of establishing): http://vampirefunstuff.blogspot.co.uk/p/vampire-cliches.html.
Our final Kurosawa offering is one of Rob’s favourites: 1970’s DODES’KA’DEN. Sam liked it, too (though with some caveats), and we go on to discuss the director’s use of colour, sound, and film in general — with a look back at his oeuvre, as explored over the past month.
Next Week’s Film THE LOST BOYS (1987): we kick off a look at Joel Schumacher with his 1987 comedy; it’s generally pretty available, whether streamed or on DVD.
This Week’s Media
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (2017): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore
AN UNLIKELY HERO / PAPER MAN (2009): Kieran Mulroney, Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone
Recommendations
CITY OF GOD (2002): Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, Alexandre Rodrigues
RISING SUN (1993): Michael Crichton, Philip Kaufman, Sean Connery
THE OMEGA MAN (1971): Boris Sagal, Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe INLAND EMPIRE (2006): David Lynch, Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons
Footnotes
The critical reception received by the film (including Kurosawa’s reaction to this reaction) is documented in the following book: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C2z3otM-y5kC&pg=PA460&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. The IMDB page on the film is good, particularly on the ‘Committee of the Four Knights’ group of Japanese directors: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065649/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. I don’t know how reliable this site is, but it’s still a potentially interesting exploration of the meanings of various colours in Japan: https://www.color-meanings.com/color-meanings-japan. Rob mentions the following as a possible corollary for the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889. Finally, this is the first part of the Youtube video Rob talks about in the course of his recommendations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP468k1u_Mk.
The next Akira Kurosawa film is probably his best-known — and certainly most-imitated — film: SEVEN SAMURAI (1954). We both really enjoyed this (one more predictably so than the other); after some general discussions of community feeling and individuality, we get more specific about the social hierarchies of the film, dive into Kurosawa’s cinematography once more, and end with a good, old-fashioned nerd-off.
Next Week’s Film
DODES’KA-DEN (1970): Kurosawa’s first film in colour. Get the DVD for £5.34, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DodesKa-Den-Junzaburo-Ban/dp/B00ABAYWIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506152619&sr=8-1&keywords=dodeskaden.
This Week’s Media
WONDER WOMAN (2017): Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine
THE DEFENDERS (2017): Douglas Petrie, Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter
Recommendations
BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980): Jimmy T. Murakami, Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn
HEROES (2006—10): Tim Kring, Santiago Cabrera, Jack Coleman
THRONE OF BLOOD (1957): Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada
13 ASSASSINS (2010): Takashi Miike, Kōji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada
Footnotes
There’s more on the visuals of Kurosawa and this film’s influence in cinema, here: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/seven-samurai-akira-kurosawa-masterpiece-influence-filmmakers-mad-max-fury-road-1201811690/. Here’s that book on class and aesthetics in Japan, again: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=10krbGkGMyoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=class+in+japanese+history&ots=SMdOiQbPSf&sig=eAq53yCWiBvqsQE7uIJqqw_YfBQ#v=onepage&q=class%20in%20japanese%20history&f=false. This article has a useful introduction to the history of the samurai in Japan: http://www.history.com/topics/samurai-and-bushido. Finally, while the visual presentation of this website is truly horrible, there’s some interesting stuff on the objective/subjective shots that Rob discusses this week: http://www.videoeditingsage.com/camera-angles-objective-and-subjective.html. (Oh, and the podcast in which Sam is cheating on Rob [but not really: it’s TV, not film] is a forthcoming episode of THE BOX SET POD: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-box-set-pod-the-boxset-podcast/id948417371?mt=2.)
Our next offering of the season is Akira Kurosawa’s breakout movie, RASHOMON (1950). After some positive reviews, we spend lots of time on the particular visuals of the film — including the way in which things are seen through other things — and end with a discussion of what the last scene might mean in the context of the film as a whole.
Next Week’s Film
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954): you need to sign up for the BFI player for £4.99 after a week's free trial, but if classic films aren’t your thing, then just cancel before the week is out: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Samurai-Takashi-Shimura/dp/B00P4OHWTO/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1505411259&sr=1-1&keywords=seven+samurai
This Week’s Media
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Michael Keaton
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME II (2017): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana
Recommendations
M. BUTTERFLY (1993): David Henry Hwang, David Cronenberg, Jeremy Irons MEMENTO (2000): Christopher Nolan, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss STREET OF SHAME (1956): Kenji Mizoguchi, Yoshiko Shibaki, Machiko Kyō ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S (2001): Harald Zwart, Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon
Footnotes This is a good primer on ‘the hero’s journey’, which Rob mentions early on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. The production, music, and script on this video are terrible, but there is some useful info about the different types of camera movement! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45e1XuA-oLY There’s more on the gate in question, which lends its name to the film — as Sam discusses — here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajōmon. Here are a couple of good books on (1) the films of Kurosawa, and (2) class and aesthetics in Japan: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vdchVqMSiDEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=influences+on+akira+kurosawa&ots=D7Tq-c1G1f&sig=7FA76g1iigwjWS1fQXEAqlM2YA4#v=onepage&q=influences%20on%20akira%20kurosawa&f=false, and https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=10krbGkGMyoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=class+in+japanese+history&ots=SMdOiQbPSf&sig=eAq53yCWiBvqsQE7uIJqqw_YfBQ#v=onepage&q=class%20in%20japanese%20history&f=false. Finally, here’s your regular reference to the concept of the MacGuffin, which is probably not employed in this film: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGuffin.
The second director of Season 3 is Akira Kurosawa; the sequence of his films begins with his 1948 breakthrough, DRUNKEN ANGEL. Initial discussions centre on its viability as a cinematic — rather than theatrical experience — and then we delve into post-war Japan, Kurosawa’s relationship with gangster culture, and this film’s positioning as a metaphor for some of these ideas.
Next Week’s Film
RASHOMON (1950): rent it on Amazon for $3.99 (still probably just about affordable, post-Brexit) at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004D3ICOG
This Week’s Media
STRIKE (2017–): Robert Galbraith, Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger
NARCOS, SEASON 3 (2017): Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
Recommendations
NOSFERATU (1922): F.W. Murnau, Max Schreck, Greta Schröder
CARANDIRU (2003): Héctor Babenco, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Rodrigo Santoro
BRIGHTON ROCK (1947): John Boulting, Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley
TOMBSTONE (1993): George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer
Footnotes
Firstly, for more on the specifics of the yakuza (general introduction), have a look at this. This thread also has some interesting discussions of the yakuza’s place in Kurosawa’s work. Actors like the ever-wonderful Buster Keaton (to whom Sam refers at one point) are celebrated in this interesting article. For more on the history of post-war Japan, this is good. Finally, this is the film that Rob mentions in passing along with NOSFERATU as a visual fore-runner of this movie
Our final Kathryn Bigelow offering is the 2008 multiple-Oscar-winning THE HURT LOCKER (2008). After initial (and not entirely favourable) reviews, we discuss the film’s sparse qualities, the way in which Bigelow subverts expectations, and one particularly…interesting stylistic choice. We conclude with a look back at her filmography, as explored over the past month, focusing on the various ways in which she has explored the ‘individual versus the world’ theme.
This Week’s Media
TRAINWRECK (2015): Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer, Bill Hader
BAYWATCH (2017): Seth Gordon, Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron
Recommendations
THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996): Anthony Minghella, Ralph Fiennes, Juliet Binoche
MAN ON A LEDGE (2012): Asger Leth, Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks
LOCKOUT (2012): Luc Besson, Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace
BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001): Ridley Scott, Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor
Footnotes
First, here’s our TRAINWRECK small-batch episode, from a couple of years ago: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/small-batch-trainwreck/id990653468?i=1000382263538&mt=2. Then, here’s a link to the IMDB pages of the (delightful) Mark Boal, and the film itself (containing some interesting trivia): http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1676793/?ref_=tt_ov_wr, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/?ref_=nm_knf_i1. This is more on the actual term ’the hurt locker’, which Rob mentions in passing, but we don’t actually explain: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8555318.stm. This is the game Eldridge plays (we’re completely not advocating this, but its levels of violence are very interesting in the light of what this film says about war): https://gearsofwar.com/en-us. And finally, here’s that Dustin Hoffman speech against the idea of individualism in the film industry, which seems a nice place to end our mini-series on Bigelow’s artistic endeavours (skip to about 3 minutes in to get past the nominations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhDmNRQgKLM.
Welcome to world of The Other, what makes a character The Other and some films that highlight that
Our latest Kathryn Bigelow offering is the 2002 thriller based on a true story, K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER. We discuss its editing, pacing, and narrative, in a discussion that ranges from the way in which Bigelow tries to tease out relationships on different social levels to more on her depiction of masculinity, particularly in a military context
This Week’s Media
THE PINK CHIQUITAS (1987): Anthony Currie, Frank Stallone, Bruce Pirrie
ATONEMENT (2007): Joe Wright, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley
Recommendations
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016): Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt
MADMEN (2007—15): Matthew Weiner, Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss
NKNOWN (2011): Jaume Collet-Serra, Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger
THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005): Fernando Meireilles, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Footnotes
Firstly this week, here’s a link to the historical narrative adapted into Bigelow’s film (the ’Nuclear accident’ section is particularly relevant): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_K-19. Then, here’s a fairly basic piece explaining the building blocks of camera technique, a number of which KB uses in the cramped space of the submarine: http://www.elementsofcinema.com/cinematography/camera-movement. This is an interesting book collecting some essays on post-World-War-II nuclear diplomacy: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=79RJheQYvq8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=russian+cold+war+party+camaraderie&ots=gOKV934XTD&sig=qVst45eyi3bXblB66eDeVVnY9yg#v=onepage&q&f=false. This gives a better explanation of a ‘match cut’ than Sam offered! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_cut. And finally, here’s more on the composer who did so much to help build tension aurally in the film (Sam meant to wax lyrical about him, and forgot): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Badelt.
Season 3 continues with the next in our Kathryn Bigelow mini-season: 2000’s THE WEIGHT OF WATER. One of us is more in favour of the film than the other, but we settle into a good discussion of the representation of past events on film, novel—movie adaptation, and valuing ‘a valiant effort’ above ‘safe and uninspiring’ when it comes to films that don’t quite hit the mark.
This Week’s Media
SELFLESS (2015): Tarsem Singh, Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez
GAME OF THRONES, Season 7 (2017): George R.R. Martin, David Benioff, Peter Dinklage
BLADERUNNER (1982): Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer
Recommendations
THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012): James Watkins, Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds
21 GRAMS (2003): Alejandro González Ińárritu, Sean Penn, Naomi Watts
GO (1999): Doug Liman, Taye Diggs, William Fichtner
EDTV (1999): Ron Howard, Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman
Footnotes
We start with the obligatory Chekov’s gun (or ‘Chekov’s flaming bazooka’) link: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsGun. Here a couple of interesting articles on the use of black and white photography in cinema: https://www.infoplease.com/features/movies-tv-and-music/movies-and-film-aesthetics-black-and-white-and-color and http://www.unl.edu/english/black-white-cinema-colorful-history-monochrome-movies. Rob uses the phrase ‘in medias res’ in passing, and if you’re not familiar with it this might be worth a look: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InMediasRes. Finally, this is an explanation of the Anita Shreve with which Bigelow was working: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weight_of_Water (complete with reference to the Janeses’ ambiguously named child!).
We kick off Season 3 with a fresh approach: we’re going director-by-director, for four weeks at a time. The subject of our first four weeks — the director of our first four films — is the fêted director of ZERO DARK THIRTY, subject of an early PP episode, and the forthcoming DETROIT: Kathryn Bigelow.
We’re starting at the other end of Bigelow’s career, though, with her 1991 breakthrough POINT BREAK. A surprisingly progressive film, given its era, we talk about the particularly ‘female’ way it’s shot, the breathless editing style, and how the characters may be archetypes that reach beyond the movie itself.
This Week’s Media
DESPICABLE ME 3 (2017): Pierre Coffin, Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig
MULAN II (2004): Darrell Rooney, Mark Moseley, Ming-Na Wen
GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017): Rupert Sanders, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Carmen Pitt
Recommendations
SCRUBS (2001–10): Bill Lawrence, Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke
TOMBSTONE (1993): George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer
TANK GIRL (1995): Rachel Talalay, Lori Petty, Ice-T
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001): Rob Cohen, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel
Footnotes
On the subject of Kathryn Bigelow, here’s our ZDT episode, from Season 1: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/zero-dark-thirty-the-other/id990653468?i=1000382263499&mt=2. To make up for the fact that Sam got the lead actor confused, here’s a link to this summer’s ATOMIC BLONDE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2406566. (Though, on a side note, if they were going for 80s pop chic, why does the trailer use a Eurythmics song rather than the open goal of Blondie’s ‘Atomic’??). Here’s a whole book on the ‘hard body’ action films of the 80s: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Bodies-Hollywood-Masculinity-Reagan/dp/0813520037. These are various editing tips, some of which — as explained this week — chime with KB’s work: https://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/12-tips-for-better-film-editing. For more on gender studies and ‘the female gaze’, the work of Anneke Smelik (as advocated on previous PPs) is a good place to start: http://www.annekesmelik.nl. Finally, this is a good primer on the historical (but quasi-folkloric) figure of Johnny Appleseed: http://mentalfloss.com/article/62113/9-facts-tell-true-story-johnny-appleseed.
To mark our 100th episode, we go back to the film that in part gave the podcast its name: yes, it’s The Prestige on The Prestige! We talk about how this film works as an allegory for a magical illusion, some theories about how the movie might represent parts of Christopher Nolan’s psyche, and how this technique really works in this film whereas in others it probably/definitely (depending on whether you ask Sam or Rob) doesn’t.
This Week’s Media
DHEEPAN (2015): Jacques Audiard, Anthonythasan Jesuthasan, Thomas Bidegain
BABY DRIVER (2017): Edgar Wright, Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey
Recommendations
MEMENTO (2000): Christopher Nolan, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
LABYRINTH (1986): Jim Henson, David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly
CARRIERS (2009): Àlex Pastor, David Pastor, Lou Taylor Pucci
THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995): Bryan Singer, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne
Footnotes
A lot of what we talk about this week has the idea of meta-cinema behind it, which we’ve talked about a lot before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacinema. (We do so most obviously in the last episode of Season 1, on JOHN DIES AT THE END: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/john-dies-at-the-end-and-meta/id990653468?i=1000382263507&mt=2). Sam’s fact about jump-cuts in the film comes from the IMDB page on the film, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571, which also has the (quite short) section on production gaffes. This is a good article about some of the cinematic trickery of the movie: http://www.avclub.com/article/prestige-plays-trick-its-audience-hiding-secret-pl-232247. Finally, here are a couple of videos: an interview with Nolan himself about the film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOD4d--mztc, and a longer ‘making of’ video, taken from the DVD extras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOD4d--mztc.
We’ve done it! It’s the end of the franchise season! Peter Jackson’s fantasy behemoth comes to a close — or does it? We talk about that feeling of ‘what now?’, the way in which the narrative shifts perspectives, and the visual cinematic genius of Jackson.
This Week’s Media
MR ROBOT S2 (2017): Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Charly Chalkin
HAPPY ENDINGS (2011—13): David Caspe, Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert
Recommendations
TOY SOLDIERS (1991): Daniel Petrie Jr., Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton
AUSTRALIA (2008): Baz Luhrnmann, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman
STAR TREK (2009): J.J. Abrams, John Cho, Ben Cross
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011): Joe Johnston, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones
Footnotes
Once again, our footnotes start with links to the Wikipedia and ‘Tolkien Gateway’ entries for the film. This is the video of Andy Serkis’s transformation for the new APES film (which really doesn’t look worth watching, except possibly for him): https://www.youtube.com/
Our concluding franchise continues, with the film that’s a bit of a ‘difficult second album’. We get onto a theme much earlier, talking about who is loyal to whom, why the bad guys seem particularly unnatural, and links with other franchises: from K.K. Rowling to Ridley Scott.
This Week’s Media
MARS (2016—): André Bormanis, Jihae, Alberto Ammann
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013): Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine
WONDER WOMAN (2017): Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine
Recommendations
THE THIN RED LINE (1998): Terrence Malick, Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn
CHILD’S PLAY (1988): Tom Holland, Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon
THE AVIATOR (2004): Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett
KING KONG (2005): Peter Jackson, Naomi Watts, Jack Black
Footnotes
Not much in the way of footnotes this week, though trawling the Wikipedia article for TTT is an enjoyable way to waste quarter of an hour. Should you want more detail, the ‘Tolkien Gateway’ can help. On a different note, referring back to ’This Week’s Media', here are a few glowing features on WONDER WOMAN: 1, 2, and 3. And here’s one of those ‘surprising information’ articles (although, if you’ve seen the film, several of the points aren’t really that surprising…). Finally, given all this, it’s fitting that this is the week that we have the highest number of women in our list of directors/actors (above); at 8 out of 21, though (38%), it’s still not amazing...
The last franchise of Season 2 is a bit of a behemoth: it’s the Jackson/Tolkien epic. We don’t get round to talking about our theme till very late on, but we do talk a lot about the mechanics of this film: including just what makes the ring itself so impressive.
This Week’s Media
THE CRACKED PODCAST (2013—): Alex Schmidt, Michael Swaim, Dan O'Brien
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016): Raoul Peck, James Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson
Recommendations
DEAD ALIVE/BRAINDEAD (1992): Peter Jackson, Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005): David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello
THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1995): Luc Besson, Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman
MR HOLMES (2015): Bill Condon, Ian McKellen, Laura Linney
Footnotes
The episode of the CRACKED podcast Sam recommends is here. If you’re the sort of full-on fantasy fan (I won’t use the N or the G word, as everyone’s a bit like that…) who’s interested the nitty-gritty in authors’ world-building, then here’s an introduction to the nittiest of grittiest background works (that Rob briefly mentions): . Here’s quite a good basic introduction to the 3-act dramatic structure that we discuss this week. And here’s more on Tolkien himself, for those (including the two of us!) who might want to do some reading up on the author before we continue with the franchise.
Here’s the sequel to the Spheeris/Myers/Michaels smash hit. Discussion ranges from movie references to franchise-level production decisions, via ‘good v. bad’ spoofs (yes, it’s another of Rob’s Theories…)
This Week’s Media
HOUSE OF CARDS, Season 5 (2017): Beau Willimon, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright
THE THREE CABALLEROS (1944): Norman Ferguson, Homer Brightmen, Clarence Nash
Recommendations
A VIEW TO A KILL (1985): John Glen, Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts
WHIP IT (2009): Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden
TRUE LIES (1994): James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis
LOCK, STOCK... [TV] (2000): Ralph Brown, Daniel Caltagirone, Scott Maslen
Footnotes
There isn’t much in the way of footnotes this week, so here are a few references to some of the TV/films we mention: BATMAN; any John Hughes film; TERMINATOR 2; THE GRADUATE; and AIRPLANE!. Finally, a short piece on the story behind the film’s writing (though it’s surprisingly pro- the movie!).
This week’s ‘palate cleanser’, post-Batman, is the iconic Mike Myers vehicle (iconic, but unwatched for one of us!). We talk about the conventions with which the film is fairly obviously playing, touch on its meta-filmic nature, and think about the extent to which this is a genuinely funny comic film with very few jokes.
This Week’s Media
TAMPOPO (1985): Juzo Itami, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2014): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson
Recommendations
PARKS AND RECREATION (2009—2015): Greg Daniels, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones
BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989): Stephen Herek, Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter
THE CLASS OF 1999 (1990): Mark L. Lester, Bradley Gregg, Traci Lind
JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (2001): Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck
Footnotes
Firstly, here’s more on the concept around which we’ve based this episode. Rob spends some time talking about Myers and camera angles; this gives more info on the details of this. This is the American TV series that required some Googling from us(!). And this is a good piece on some of the stories behind WW that we may not have had time to explore.
We conclude our tour through the Batman universe (except for That Of Which We Do Not Speak [see footnotes]) with Christopher Nolan’s 2012 film. We talk about a visually impressive but ultimately pretty unsatisfying movie, earning narrative weight, and the dubious politics of Bruce Wayne.
This Week’s Media
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana
GET OUT (2017): Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Alison Williams
THEIR FINEST (2017): Lone Scherfig, Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin
Recommendations
THE REVENANT (2016): Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Leonardo di Caprio, Tom Hardy
INCEPTION (2010): Christopher Nolan, Leonardo di Caprio, Ken Watanabe
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015): George Miller, Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron
ONE DAY (2011): Lone Scherfig, Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess
Footnotes
First of all, here’s our ‘small batch’ episode on the most recent Batman film, Zack Snyder’s 2016…effort. Here’s that Nerdwriter video Rob mentions (and his video on the evolution of Gotham is also apposite, as we come to the end of the franchise). We discuss two comic series, ‘No Man’s Land’ and ‘The Dark Knight’. And finally, I do enjoy these videos (there are some impressively thorough ones about more recent blockbusters, too).
The ‘Nolanverse’ rolls on, as we focus on THE DARK KNIGHT. Sam’s view of the film may not be as predicted, before we talk about the origins of the Joker, what it means to really be chaotic, and the young loss of a phenomenal acting talent.
This Week’s Media
JOHN WICK (2014): Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, Keanu Reeves
AMERICAN GODS (2017): Neil Gaiman, Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning
Recommendations
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005): Ang Lee, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal
SPECTRE (2015): Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz
HEAT (1995): Michael Mann, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928): Paul Leni, Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt
Footnotes
Rob mentions that one of his recommendations this week is a piece of German Expressionism; read more about this movement here, here and here. Speaking of which, here’s that eerily Joker-esque picture of Conrad Veidt. Not much else to add this week, apart from a great piece on Heath Ledger. And this is a fun article (not on movie mistakes, despite the page’s title).
We’re back, after a week off, and it’s the first in the ‘Nolanverse’: BATMAN BEGINS. After predictably quite different opinions on the film(!), we come together to talk about fear, horror aesthetics, and how real Batman can be.
This Week’s Media
BLUE RUIN (2013): Jeremy Saulnier, Macon Blair, Devin Ratray
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana
Recommendations
28 DAYS LATER (2002): Danny Boyle, Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (2011): John Madden, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy
THE BIG SHORT (2015): Adam McKay, Christian Bale, Steve Carell
HARRY BROWN (2009): Daniel Barber, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer
Footnotes
Rob mentions the visual design of the Tumbler; if high-spec car stuff is your thing, then this article will be right up your alley. This is a good introduction to the Italian giallo genre. This is a reminder of the MacGuffin trope that Rob mentions. And finally, the links Rob made between medievalism and horror made me (Sam) think about this guy, whose artwork is beautiful and horrific and intriguing and bonkers.
Our Caped Escapades continue, with BATMAN AND ROBIN. Is this a film about who is or isn’t in control? And, most importantly, who is in control of this hot mess of a movie??
This Week’s Media
ROGUE ONE (2016): Gareth Edwards, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016): Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt
Recommendations
BLAST FROM THE PAST (1999): Hugh Wilson, Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001): Ron Howard, Russell Crowe, Ed Harris
KILL BILL, VOLUME 1 (2003): Quentin Tarantino, Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu
CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Barry M. Berg, Alicia Silverstone
Footnotes Again, not much in the way of further reading this week. The first thing to link to is Rob’s article on the film. Then, here’s another (though not entirely different) take. Here’s a readable list of hidden/not-so-hidden ‘gems’. And finally, here’s another link to a good book on feminism in pop culture, which the film sort of addresses, towards the end.
The next in the franchise — and the first Joel Schumacher film — is the 1995 commercial hit BATMAN FOREVER. Rob and Sam have…differing views of the film, but then we dive into comic-book adaptations, colour symbolism, and casting decisions.
This Week’s Media
FANBOYS (2009): Kyle Newman, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011): David Fincher, Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara
Recommendations
TOMBSTONE (1993): George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer
FALLING DOWN (1993): Joel Schumacher, Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007): the Coen brothers, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem
WEST SIDE STORY (1961): Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, Natalie Wood
Footnotes Not much further reading this week, but here’s that article about the various choices made in the process of getting the film produced. This looks like a version that one of us would have much preferred. Rob mentions Watchmen; to remove any doubt, he meant the comic, the first in the series of which is one of the greatest books ever written, rather than the distinctly lacklustre film version. And finally, this is a good article (and video) on the symbolic uses of color in film.
Who’s in a position of power, and who isn’t? Our respective assessments of this film may surprise you; Rob’s diversion into the world of feminist theory certainly will!
This Week’s Media
POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR (2013—): Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR (2016—): David Guggenheim, Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone
THE PERFECT SCORE (2004): Brian Robbins, Erika Christensen, Chris Evans
Recommendations
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016): David Yates, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002): Stephen Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks
CELEBRITY (1998): Woody Allen, Hank Azaria, Kenneth Branagh
ALL SUPERHEROES MUST DIE (2011): Jason Trost, Lucas Till, James Remar
WEIRD SCIENCE (1985): John Hughes, Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Footnotes
Rob mentions the phrase ‘beyond the pale’, right at the start, which is an interesting phrase to use when talking about power, duality, and exclusion; this is a good introduction. There’s more on the etymology of the name Shreck/Schreck/Shrek (also seen in cartoon form). As Rob explains, the name may well be a reference to German actor Friedrich Gustav Maximilian ‘Max’ Schreck. Finally, there is a LOT about feminism and femininity on film to get your proverbial teeth stuck into — the following are good places to start: 1, 2, 3, and (for an older take) 5.
We embark on another franchise, kicking off with one of Rob’s favourite directors. We get geeky about comics history, talk about why fairy-tales make parts of this film unsatisfying, and say just why the visuals and audio are brilliant.
This Week’s Media
MR ROBOT (SEASON 1; 2015): Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Carly Chaikin
JUNK FOOD CINEMA (2014): Brian Salisbury, C. Robert Carsgill
Recommendations
CHINATOWN (1974): Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
BIG EYES (2014): Tim Burton, Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz
GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (1987): Barry Levinson, Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker
BRAZIL (1985): Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Pryce, Robert de Niro
Footnotes
If you want more comics geekery, about the 1954 Comics Code, the ‘Golden Age’ v. ‘Killing Joke’/‘Dark Knight’, etc., then these are some good links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This is an interesting article about the links between horror and comedy that Rob mentions. Here’s a re-cap on what we mean by ‘the fourth wall’ (and 'breaking' it), and you can read more about a prominent theatrical tradition Rob talks about, here. Finally, Sam talks about why ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ is such a good theme in the film; you can get more on this, here.
The classic Zemeckis trilogy concludes, with talk of the many movie references in the film and discussion of what makes a parody a parody, as well as Another of Rob’s Theories about how cinema works.
This Week’s Watching
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (2015—): Frank Spotnitz, Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans
DAREDEVIL (2015—): Drew Goddard, Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll
APOLLO 13 (1995): Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon
Recommendations
UNFORGIVEN (1992): Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
INLAND EMPIRE (2006): David Lynch, Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons
PHILADELPHIA (1993): Jonathan Demme, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960): John Sturges, Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach
Footnotes The GIF of Pauline Johnson on the train ledge in 1929 is here (courtesy of an interesting Twitter account). This is an interesting article, which covers many of the references we discuss. This is a piece espousing an opinion which you may think, after listening to this episode, may not be far from ours! The authors Rob mentions are Jules Verne and, unwittingly(!), H.G. Wells. And, finally, here’s a description of the TV series that sort of follows on from the franchise (but not quite).
We continue the franchise with the next Zemeckis installment, and it’s a divisive one! We talk American politics (inevitably), Spaghetti westerns (less inevitably), and how this is an interesting re-establishing of the first film.
This Week’s Watching
KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017): Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
IRON FIST (2017): Scott Buck, Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick
Recommendations
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995): Rob Reiner, Michael Douglas, Annette Bening
PIRANHA 3D (2010): Alexandre Aja, Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott
THE FACULTY (1998): Robert Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Clea Duvall
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988): Robert Zemeckis, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd
Footnotes
Firstly, Sam mentions the Marx brothers when we discuss the opening diner scene; this, as the URL suggests, is a fairly comprehensive resource! Here’s a summary of the ‘Dollars’ trilogy, for those unfamiliar with Biff’s favourite film. Back on BTTF territory, here’s an article we really should have linked to last week. Finally, here are a couple of vindications of Sam’s half-remembered Zemeckis—Spielberg connection (see? he was an EP!)g. (There are, sadly, no vindications of his theory that Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom are secretly the same person.)
Our next franchise is a Robert Zemeckis classic. We talk about different kinds of time travel (Rob has A Theory!), history repeating itself, and how this is a very different film on later viewing.
This Week’s Watching
THE RAID (2011): Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim
THE MARTIAN (2015): Ridley Scott, Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain
Recommendations
SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987): Howard Deutch, Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson
BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989): Steven Herek, Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter
THE GOOD WIFE (2009–2016): Robert King, Michelle King, Julianna Margulies
ADDAM’S FAMILY VALUES (1993): Barry Sonnenfeld, Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá
Footnotes
The Indonesian martial art whose name Sam so thoroughly butchered is Pencak Silat; for more on this, see here. This BFI list has some good lesser-known exponents of the time travel genre in film. Here’s a short introduction to the Oedipus complex, for those unfamiliar with it. And, finally, here’s a good working definition of dramatic irony, a concept that we touch on towards the end of today’s episode ('GCSE Bitesize’ might seem a bit of a basic resource, but it can actually be really useful).
Podcasts
We’re supporting the ‘trypod’ initiative this month (or at least we are when we remember!) Here are our recommendations (though Sam might change his PCHH tip after hearing this week’s level of snark about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST…)
‘The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast’ (COMEDY/PERFORMANCE: @comcompod) ‘The Partly Political Broadcast’ (POLITICS: @parpolbro)
‘NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour’ (POP CULTURE: @pchh)
‘Lift-off’ (SPACE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING: from @_relayfm)
‘D&D is for Nerds’ (D&D: from @sanspantsradio)
‘The British History Podcast’ (HISTORY: @britishpodcast)
These Twitter links should take you to iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, or however you consume podcasts. (Sam likes Overcast, but that may just be because he thinks the logo’s cool.) Have a listen to those that take your fancy — and remember to recommend THIS podcast (very important!) using the hashtag #trypod.
The franchise concludes as we return to Jesse and Céline’s relationship after another 9-year hiatus. We talk a little bit about how the film could have made more sense, but a lot about the beauty of Linklater’s film-making and the way that he draws out the links with the other films.
This Week’s Watching
BROADCHURCH (2013—): Chris Chibnall, David Tennant, Olivia Coleman
WESTWORLD (2016—): Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Evan Rachel Wood
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (2014—): Peter Nawalk, Viola Davis, Billy Brown
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016): Chris Renaud, Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet
Recommendations
500 DAYS OF SUMMER (2009): Mark Webb, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962): Tony Richardson, Alan Sillitoe, Tom Courtenay
ZORBA THE GREEK (1964): Michael Cacoyannis, Nikos Kazantzakis, Anthony Quinn
THE LOBSTER (2015): Yorgos Lanthimos, Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz
Footnotes
Firstly, here are a couple of articles about a fourth film (which we hope doesn’t happen). On meta-cinema again, this is a good reference work. Here’s a refresher on the Minotaur, to add to our discussion of mythology. And finally, here’s Walter Lassally’s IMDB page (the newspaper articles linked to are great).
The franchise continues with the 80-minute (check that out!) follow-up to Richard Linklater’s first film. We talk about meta-filmic cinema, how this film is like Berthold Brecht crossed with Arthur Miller, and why the film is a reflection on the process of creating memories.
This Week’s Watching
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017): Chris McKay, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis
MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
Recommendations
DODES’KA-DEN (1970): Akira Kurosawa, Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai
BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER (1999): Jamie Babbit, Natasha Lyonne, Clea Duvall
DEAD POETS’ SOCIETY (1989): Peter Weir, Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke
MARY AND MAX (2009): Adam Elliot, Bethany Whitmore, Toni Collette
Footnotes
Firstly, an interesting introduction to meta-cinema. Secondly, here are links to the playwrights we mention this week, in an episode that looks more at dramatic than filmic convention. Finally, here are a bunch of articles on the process of creating memories, that seemed particularly pertinent to this week’s discussion: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
This week we embark on a new franchise, spending time with the first film in Richard Linklater’s trilogy. We talk about the passage of time, why this might have made a better play than a movie, and how the film might just be a metaphor for the whole industry.
This Week’s Watching
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING (2016): Akiva Shaffer, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone
THE MAZE RUNNER (2014): Wes Ball, Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario
Recommendations
LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003): Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson
SLACKER (1991): Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Mark James
THREE COLOURS: BLUE (1993): Krzysztof Kieślowski, Juliette Binoche, Benoît Régent
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013): the Coen brothers, Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan
Footnotes
If you haven’t seen anything of the ‘Lonely Island’ crew, do yourself a favour and dive into their work on YouTube. Otherwise, there aren't a lot in the way of footnotes, this week, apart from an article on a recent political stand taken by Richard Linklater as well as a link to his biography.
The franchise comes to a conclusion and our — well, Rob’s — work is done. We talk about deaths of all kinds: physical darkness, mental endings, you name it. How technical can Rob get, how metaphysical can Sam be, and — crucially — did the guinea pig enjoy this series??
This Week’s Watching
DEEPWATER HORIZON (2016): Peter Berg, Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell
NO OFFENCE (2015—): Paul Abbott, Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy
Recommendations
SKYFALL (2012): Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem
THE LADY IN THE VAN (2015): Nicholas Hytner, Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings
ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991): Kevin Reynolds, Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2002): Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen
WHAT IF (2013): Michael Dowse, Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan
Footnotes
Firstly, the obligatory ‘Chekhov’s gun’ link (in TV rather than film, but still some good examples)s. Then, a shout-out for JKR’s other literary projects, which are brilliant (the ‘Cormoran Strike’ series) and here
As we move towards the conclusion of the franchise, we talk about friendship, fading to black, and, bizarrely, Formula 1.
This Week’s Watching
ROMEO + JULIET (1996): Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo di Caprio, Claire Danes
THE SEARCHERS (1956): John Ford, John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter
Recommendations
STAND BY ME (1986): Rob Reiner, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix
EASY RIDER (1969): Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (2011): Tomas Alfredson, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth
METROPOLIS (1927): Fritz Lang, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Footnotes
Just a few footnotes this week, starting with an article about Baz Luhrmann’s qualities an a film-maker: http://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/baz-luhrmann-essential-filmmaker. This is a list of the differences between the book and the film (although, as the article explains, the film is particularly faithful): www.cinemablend.com/new/10-Big-Differences-Between-Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Book-Movie-21819.html. Finally, here’s a little something about the various different types of transitions in cinema, which Sam briefly mentions: www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/types-of-transitions.
The franchise is back on form: the sixth instalment, we agree (a Prestige rarity!) is a belter. Rob gets technical; Sam gets metaphorical. Business as usual!
This Week’s Watching
HEAT (1995): Michael Mann, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino
TABOO (2017): Tom Hardy, Edward Hardy, Steven Knight
Recommendations
HOT FUZZ (2007): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
THE PRESTIGE (2006): Christopher Nolan, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale
GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002): Martin Scorcese, Leonardo di Caprio, Daniel Day-Lewis
THE ROAD (2009): John Hillcoat, Cormac McCarthy, Viggo Mortensen
Footnotes
Firstly, a few technical notes: about tilt-shift and its use in photography. (Also, here’s one of our favourite directors on his use of the technique, in a film we’ve discussed here before) This is an example of the sort of model-village stuff Rob mentions. And this is good on the link between colour palette and mood in film. Finally, Sam’s been thinking about the neologistic word Horcrux, which is pretty central to this film; here’s a fun little article on a number of the coinages J.K. Rowling has come up with over the course of the franchise, some of which we’ve already praised for their inventiveness.
The next film in the franchise is the first David Yates vehicle. Rob and Sam talk about why this may be slightly unsatisfactory as a film, but not as a narrative — and how this movie is a great take on the slipperiness of different versions of the truth.
This Week’s Watching
NO LIMIT (2012—): Luc Besson, Vincent Elbaz, Anne Girouard
RIVERDALE (2017): Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, K. J. Apa, Lili Reinhart
Recommendations
ABOUT A BOY (2002): the Weitz brothers, Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant
WAG THE DOG (1997): Barry Levinson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert de Niro
THAT DAY WE SANG (2014): Victoria Wood, Michael Ball, Imelda Staunton
CALVARY (2014): John Michael McDonagh, Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd
Footnotes
This explains the concept of the MacGuffin that Sam briefly mentions: . There are several useful introductions to the central tenets of fascism available online; this is a good place to start. This link has some interesting parallels between the film and contemporary ‘quirky quest[s] for social justice’. And finally, here’s more on the use of point of view in film, as mentioned by Rob.
Is this the best film yet? It’s certainly the most ‘grown up’, whatever that means; we talk about being no longer a kids’ franchise, the role of Robert Pattinson, and a whole host of different transitions.
This Week’s Watching
SCANDAL (2012—): Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn modern family (2009—): Christopher Lloyd, Steven Levitan, Ed O'Neill
Recommendations
JESSICA JONES (2015—): Melissa Rosenberg, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter
PUSHING TIN (1999): Mike Newell, John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton
DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993): Richard Linklater, Jason London, Wiley Wiggins
THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER (2015): Brady Corbet, Bérénice Bejo, Liam Cunningham
Footnotes
Another sparse week for footnotes, other than more about Peter Pettigrew, whose identity we discovered last week (although to be avoided if you’re not keen on spoilers, it looks like). This is good about the topic of transition in film — particularly in teen film — which we touched on with our discussions of adolescence. Finally, don’t forget to check out our umbrella podcast network at Kaiju FM — subscribe to your favourite! (Well, second favourite, obviously.)
The third in the franchise is interesting for various reasons: we discuss innovative cinematography, how Dumbledore provides a tagline for the film, and why this is a movie about transformation on a number of different levels.
This Week’s Watching
NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (2016): Jon M. Chu, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo
HOUSE OF CARDS (2013–): Beau Willimon, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright
Recommendations
LÉON: THE PROFESSIONAL (1994): Luc Besson, Jean Reno, Gary Oldman
SPACED (1999—2001): Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson, Edgar Wright
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001): Alfonso Cuarón, Maribel Verdú, Gael Garcia Bernal
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008): Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Footnotes
Not that many footnotes this week, apart from that Nerdwriter video about the film, (his whole channel’s pretty good, if you enjoy that). Rob mentions retconning, which is explained in more detail here, and there’s some good stuff about Cuarón’s direction here, here, and here. (Also, if you happen to have access to an academic subscription [ok, it’s a long shot, but also only academics ever read to the end of footnotes, anyway, right?], then this looks like it could be good)
The next in the HP franchise is the second (and last) Chris Columbus vehicle. Sam theorises tenuously about why multiculturalism may have had a hand in the focus of the narrative, and we talk about why this film makes more sense if you’ve seen them all, the concept of wizarding purity, and the theme of home or belonging.
This Week’s Watching
THE NEON DEMON (2016): Nicolas Winding Refn, Elle Fanning, Karl Glusman
MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
Recommendations
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989): Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Denholm Elliott
THE PATRIOT (2000): Roland Emmerich, Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger
RABBIT-PROOF FENCE (2002): Phillip Noyce, Doris Pilkington, Everlyn Sampi
GATTACA (1997): Andrew Nichol, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman
Footnotes Firstly, definitive proof of the pronunciation of J.K.’s surname. There’s a good article on recent political developments with links to the ‘no blacks or Irish’-type signs in 1960s Britain, here. This is a great book about purity and other things in fantasy literature (and contains a reference to the linguistically brilliant neologism ‘mudblood’). And, for those unfamiliar with it, there’s more on the ‘Deus Ex Machina’ concept Rob mentions, here. Finally, here’s an article positing that Hermione is in fact the hero(ine) of the series (although these sorts of article are not recommended for those who want to avoid spoilers about the series as a whole).
We kick off 2017 with a new franchise, and it’s one of Rob’s favourites! After some discussion of why Sam may or may not be a fan, we get into some talk about establishing narratives, introductions, and why the story involves a great meta-textual metaphor for growing up.
This Week’s Watching
ROGUE ONE (2016): Gareth Edwards, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016): Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt
Recommendations
THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE (2005): Andrew Adamson, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977): Stephen Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr
MRS DOUBTFIRE (1993): Chris Columbus, Robin Williams, Sally Field
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001): Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen
Footnotes
J.K. Rowling’s literary predecessor, whom Sam mentions at the start, is the late Diana Wynne Jones, whose Chrestomanci series of books covers some of the same ground as HP. On the subject of books, we also mentioned Jill Murphy and The Worst Witch. There’s a good introduction (hah!) to the panning shot Rob talks about, as well as various other camera techniques, here. Here’s more on J.K. Rowling’s meticulous approach to plotting and, finally, a plug for Peter Jackson’s NZ film company (not that he needs one!), where Rob worked in the mid-2000s.
This week sees the conclusion of the ALIEN franchise. We discuss its shortcomings — clunky storyline, overzealous editing, Sigourney Weaver as an actor/producer — but then we get stuck into what makes this film really interesting: from French philosophy to cinematographic trickery.
This Week’s Watching
THE KING’S SPEECH (2010): Tom Hooper, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush
SUICIDE SQUAD (2016): David Ayer, Will Smith, Jared Leto
Recommendations
DRIVE (2011): Nicolas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan
THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995): Brian Singer, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne
LUKE CAGE (2016): Cheo Hodari Coker, Mike Colton, Mahershala Ali
HELLBOY (2004): Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair
SERENITY (2005): Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk
Footnotes
An explanation of Foucault’s ‘panopticon’ principle can be found here (the ‘panopticon’ article takes you to the philosophical origins of Foucault’s ideas, so you might prefer to start here). There’s more on the ‘bleach bypass’ cinematographic technique used by Darius Khondji, and an interesting article — one of a series — that features the work of a variety of cinematographers, Khondji included. We didn’t have time to go into the idea of cyclical narratives, but this is good. Finally, proof that Sam’s Simone Missick story isn’t just the ravings of someone who’s watched (and written about) faaar too much LUKE CAGE.
The ALIEN franchise continues, as we try to make sense of a film that may not always make sense. As well as talk of sacrifice and religion, we have some not entirely un-negative discussions, including what sort of film this isn’t, ways in which it wasn’t filmed, and why Sam and Rob saw different versions.
This Week’s Watching
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016): David Yates, J.K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne
SAS: WHO DARES WINS (2015—): Anthony Middleton, Jason Fox, Matthew Ollerton
Recommendations
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011): David Fincher, Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara
INCEPTION (2010): Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
A TIME TO KILL (1996): Joel Schumacher, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson
LAST ACTION HERO (1993): John McTiernan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham
Footnotes
These are all really good articles about the troubled production of ALIEN 3, mentioned by Rob: 1, 2, 3, and 4. 'Den of Geek' also has the following list of unused story ideas, which includes the ‘monks on a wooden planet’ narrative. Finally, here’s a list of the differences between the versions of the film.
Rob and Sam carry on with the ALIEN franchise, and look at James Cameron’s sequel. We cover the ways in which reproduction is explored in this film, its relationship with the first movie, the ways in which different portrayals of femininity are managed, and its comments on the sexual politics of fairy-tales.
This Week’s Watching
HUMANS (2015—): Sam Vincent, Emily Berrington, Gemma Chan
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1960): Ken Annakin, John Mills, Dorothy McGuire
Recommendations
INTERSTELLAR (2014): Christopher Nolan, Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997): Paul Verhoeven, Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer
ROBOCOP (1987): Paul Verhoeven, Peter Weller, Nancy Allen
CHERRY FALLS (2000): Geoffrey Wright, Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr
Footnotes
There’s lots on gender to explore with this week’s episode. There’s the Bechdel-Wallace Test, which we didn’t discuss — but which this film passes with flying colours. (And here’s the website of Alison Bechdel, whose work popularised the concept) For more on gender in fairy-tales, see here and here. On the film itself, there’s more here, including some interesting stuff on a potential earlier version of the film. Finally, this is a really interesting piece about a completely different angle on the movie.
Sam and Rob emerge from a terrifying, tense, body-horror blood-bath into something completely diff—oh. Still, it’s something a whole lot better than last week! We talk about gender politics, camerawork and musical changes, and why this isn’t really a science fiction film. Sort of.
This Week’s Watching
CRITICAL ROLE (2015—): Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey
SUITS (2011—): Doug Liman, Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams
Recommendations
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974): Tobe Hooper, Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain
EVENT HORIZON (1997): Paul Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill
ALONG CAME A SPIDER (2001): Lee Tamahori, Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter
FROM HELL (2001): the Hughes brothers, Johnny Depp, Heather Graham
Footnotes
Read more about Felicia Day — whose 'Geek & Sundry' network is behind Rob’s viewing choice this week — here. Sam mentions the conversation between Harry Dean Stanton and Ridley Scott about Ten Little Indians, which you can find here. The Alien wiki is good, and has quite a lot on the sexual imagery of the film that Rob mentioned towards the end of today’s episode. He talked briefly about Giger, too, whose concept art for the film is frankly terrifying. Finally, as a part of Sam’s mini discourse on the movie’s racial politics, he referred to his own article, which talks about ‘blaxploitation’ and racial stereotypes in the context of pop culture.
We conclude our look at the EVIL DEAD franchise — and emerge, blinking, out the other side of Hallowe’en horror season — with Fede Álvarez’s 2013 remake/redux/re-boot. We discuss all these terms, have a think about the way in which Raimi and Álvarez revisit supernatural memes, and consider why this film is more interesting than good.
This Week’s Watching
DR STRANGE (2016): Scott Derrickson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor
ASH VS EVIL DEAD (2015—): Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago
Recommendations
THE ASCENT (2010): Steven James Creazzo, Josie Davis, William McNamara
SPRING (2014): Justin Benson, Lou Taylor Pucci, Nadia Hilker
OLDBOY (2003):* Park Chan-Wook, Choi Min-Sik, Yoo Ji-Tae
SAW (2004): James Wan, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover
Footnotes
First, this site is good on the ASH VS EVIL DEAD TV series. Then, here’s some background on meme theory and redux. This is an interesting discussion of the status of the film in the context of Raimi’s originals. Here are some references to the originals, some of which we mentioned. Finally, here’s the obligatory Chekov’s gun link (though some contributors have a hard time thinking of CG moments).
The ‘Evil Dead’ franchise continues, but not after Rob mourns the passing of a cultural touchstone from our screens. Then things take a lighter turn: the usual disagreements, versions of Sam Raimi’s vision, and nostalgia for the early days of stop motion.
This Week’s Watching
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (2010–): Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins, Mary Berry
RED (2010): Robert Schwentke, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman
Recommendations
SHAWN OF THE DEAD (2004): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003): Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush
CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981): Desmond Davis, Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier
GALAVANT (2015—16): Dan Fogelman, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson
Footnotes
Here’s a reminder of that Edgar Wright video. (And, while we’re on the subject of action comedy, RED makes it to a respectable number 7 on this list.) Again, the fan wiki for this film is interesting, and there are a few more good bits of trivia here. Finally, after Rob mentions him in his recommendations, here’s a fun list of some of the creations of the late Ray Harryhausen.
It’s a ‘month of scare’ special! Hot on the heels of our discussion of the first film in the franchise, we take a look at the 1987 sequel: EVIL DEAD II. Sam and Rob are in definite agreement about the film itself (if not a certain other director), and we talk about innovative cinematography, Sam Raimi’s knowledge of film, and — strangely enough — comic subtlety.
This Week’s Watching
METROPOLIS (1927): Fritz Lang, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frölich
PARKS AND RECREATION (2009—15): Greg Daniels, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones
Recommendations
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012): Drew Goddard, Joss Whedon, Kristen Connolly
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010): Edgar Wright, Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
THE EXORCIST (1973): William Friedkin, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990): Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder
Footnotes Not many references this week, but these are all worth diving into (slash descending into an internet-hole over). The IMDB page for the film has an interestingly long list of filmic connections, pretty much none of which we mention (though we did talk about a fair few others). The fan page also has some interesting filming and post-production references, like the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET/HILLS HAVE EYES/JAWS link at the end. Finally, Rob mentions the various videos about Edgar Wright’s camerawork and visual comedy; this is a great one, by the same bloke Sam mentioned when talking about Jackie Chan the other week.
We kick off this year’s Hallowe’en festivities — a week to go! — with a classic horror franchise, starting with Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic THE EVIL DEAD. Rob and Sam discuss innovative cinematography and narrative, take a rather long diversion on gender politics in film, and talk about hubris and the ‘rules' of horror cinema.
STAY TUNED FOR MORE HORROR GOODNESS, LATER TODAY.
As you can tell from the apostrophe, Sam wrote this.
Except don’t, because this isn’t twentieth-century radio.
This Week’s Watching
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR (2016—): David Guggenheim, Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone
PADDINGTON (2014): Paul King, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins
Recommendations
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999): Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, Heather Donahue
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968): George A. Romero, Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones
DELIVERANCE (1972): John Boorman, Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978): George A. Romero, David Emge, Ken Foree HELLRAISER (1987): Clive Barker, Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins
Footnotes Sam mentions one of our favourite dramatic touchstones, Chekov’s gun. This article provides an interesting overview of gender in cinema in the 1970s and 80s; although Molly Haskell’s book first came out in 1974, the second edition covers the period in question here. This is a good list of horror ‘rules’, and Rob mentions H.P. Lovecraft in the course of his discussion of these.
This week, we conclude our focus on the Matrix franchise with the Wachowskis’ 2003 conclusion to the trilogy. We talk about exile, decisions, sympathy versus empathy, and what the series boils down to.
This Week’s Watching LUKE CAGE (2016): Cheo Hodari Coker, Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY — PART 2 (2015): Francis Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson
HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING (2016): Tom Tykwer, Tom Hanks, Alexander Black
Recommendations
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011): Joe Johnston, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968): Stanley Kubrick, Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood
MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985): George Miller, Mel Gibson, Tina Turner
CITY OF EMBER (2008): Gil Kenan, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway
Footnotes (Audio issues abound this week, I'm afraid: there are gremlins on Sam's line, and then there's no audio clip of the film. Never mind. YouTube'll sort you out.) For more on the frankly bizarre reaction to LUKE CAGE as ''''racist'''' (there aren’t enough quotation marks in the world), see here. Covering what Sam mentions at the start of the episode, the website involving changed movie names and funny cartoons is here and the Jackie Chan video is here. The latter is well worth a watch for anyone interested in fight choreography, or even just in acting/directing more generally. Read more on ‘temet nosce’ here. Finally, the reference to the blinding of Neo opening up a whole world of allusion to Greek mythology is best explained by this. (And there’s the sex-changing aspect of this character, which is a whole different kettle of fish…but this episode was long enough without that particular rabbit hole! One last MATRIX reference for you, there.)
We continue our forays into the world of the Matrix, with the Wachowskis’ 2003 sequel. The reviews are unsurprisingly different, and we then get into some interesting discussions of viruses, narrative bloat, how much choice is involved in the narration (and indeed consumption) of the film, and why this movie becomes about love of different kinds (fatherhood has turned Rob into the sentimental type).
This Week’s Watching
ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN (2013–): Anthony Bourdain
TRAVEL MAN (2015–): Richard Ayoade
SICARIO (2015): Denis Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro
Recommendations
IRRÉVERSIBLE (2002): Gaspar Noé, Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassell
JUPITER ASCENDING (2015): Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Channing Tatum
V FOR VENDETTA (2006): James McTeigue, the Wachowskis, Natalie Portman
JOHNNY MNEMONIC (1995): Robert Longo, Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren
Footnotes
The Wachowskis (see last week’s footnotes for a discussion of whether or not they were brothers at the time of these early films…) share their thoughts on the choices made by an audience here. Sam was about to go off on one about the dystopian depictions of Zion, Hieronymus Bosch, and Fritz Lang’s 1927 film METROPOLIS, before we had a recording malfunction; you can either offer thanks for the fact everyone was spared this, or read more here and here. There are some contributions to discussions on some of the themes of this week’s episode, of varying quality, here and here. Finally, names: more on 'Merovingian', ‘Persephone’ and ‘Morpheus’.
The band’s back together…After last week’s interlude, franchise season continues with the Wachowskis’ 1999 movie THE MATRIX. Both Rob and Sam have a different take on this film than their teenaged selves; we talk technical experiences, cinematic turning-points, and dystopian worlds.
This Week's Viewing
ROLLERBALL (1975): Norman Jewison, James Caan, John Houseman
MEMENTO (2000): Christopher Nolan, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–): Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (2001): Chris Columbus, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint
RECOMMENDATIONS
AVATAR (2009): James Cameron, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana
BOUND (1996): the Wachowskis, Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon
GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995): Mamoru Oshii, Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ōtsuka
FIGHT CLUB (1999): David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton
FOOTNOTES First of all, Sam would like to make it clear that any mention of the Wachowskis as 'brothers' on his part was a reference to the pre-transition state in which they lived while the first film was being shot. For more on their status as Hollywood's first openly transgender directors, see here (number 2) and here. Sam starts the episode by mentioning a stunning comic about film history and technology (it’s a whole lot better than that makes it sound), Edward Ross’s Filmish (2015). The Wachowski Sisters have stated their indebtedness to Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacres et simulation (1981) — this isn’t just Sam drawing unfounded academic conclusions; Neo actually uses a copy of the book as a hiding-place at the beginning of the film, and you can read about the directors insistence that all the actors familiarised themselves with the work, here. If it really tickles your fancy, here’s the original. This article has an explanation of the ‘bullet time’ effect we discuss. And finally, this is a thorough analysis, including references to many interesting aspects of the film.
This week, Rob’s on fathering duties, so Sam is joined by Tiernan Douieb (from the ‘Partly Political Broadcast’ podcast) and Mat Wandless (‘The Longest Pleasure’). We have a chat about a film released twenty-one years ago this week: David Fincher’s SE7EN. What have been its influences in pop culture? From where has it drawn inspiration? Do we miss having someone on the podcast who’s actually seen some films? (Yes, definitely. Come back, Rob!)
Footnotes
Here’s a list of the films/tv mentioned this week (^deep breath^):
THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
SAW I—VII (2004–10)
LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN (2009)
LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
CRIMSON TIDE (1995)
TERMINATOR 2 (1991)
SIN CITY (2005)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
FARGO (1996)
THE GODFATHER (1972)
COMMUNITY (2009–15)
STAR WARS IV: A NEW HOPE (1977)
RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
HOUSE OF CARDS (2013—)
THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992)
SWIMMING WITH SHARKS (1994)
AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
You can find and download Mat’s podcast here (do, it’s really good — particularly the musical interludes...). He’s on Twitter as @TLPPodcast or @mojopriest. Tiernan’s similarly excellent podcast is here. He’s @ParPolBro or @TiernanDouieb on Twitter. And you can download his latest stand-up show at his website; either fall on your keyboard and hope you hit the right vowels, or go here.
The last in the Bourne franchise (for now, at least) is this week’s topic. A couple of epic rants are followed by some more reasoned discussion about why films get made in the way they do, what makes a movie ‘mainstream’ — and why this isn’t good for the Bourne films.
This Week’s Watching
HOOK (1991): Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams
PRISON BREAK (2005–09): Bobby Roth, Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller
Recommendations
SALT (2010): Phillip Noyce, Angelina Jolie Pitt, Liev Schreiber
THE DANISH GIRL (2015): Tom Hooper, Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander
LA HAINE (1995): Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé
ELEMENTARY (2012–): Robert Doherty, Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu
Footnotes
The interview in which Steven Spielberg explains that he is interested in going back to see if there’s anything he actually likes about HOOK is here (the relevant part starts about 19’20”). The review of JASON BOURNE that Sam first mentions, referring to Damon’s character as both a quasi-superhero and a psychological mess, is here. And this is the second review, which describes the plot of the movie as basically an extended HR exercise. Finally, here’s the CGP Grey video that’s the source of Sam’s Las Vegas trivia.
We move onto the fourth in the Bourne franchise, 2012’s LEGACY. It’s one of those fun episodes where we have…differing opinions on the film, but we come together for discussions of Bourne films more generally, more on franchises, and why certain scenes left us wanting more. (This is Sam's first go at editing and uploading [ooh, the power] due to obvious recent Maythorne developments; go easy on him.)
This Week’s Watching SUICIDE SQUAD (2016): David Ayer, Will Smith, Jared Leto APEX (1994): Philip J. Roth, Richard Keats, Mitchell Cox
Recommendations MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL (2011): Brad Bird, Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner ABOUT A BOY (2002): Chris Weltz, Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant MAGNOLIA (1999): Paul Thomas Anderson, Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise PACIFIC RIM (2013): Guillermo del Toro, Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba
Footnotes First of all, the overwhelming maleness of the films we mentioned needs addressing; 0 out of 18 names being female is pretty poor. Our fault, or that of Hollywood? Hmmm. This is a good review, encompassing both our perspectives on LEGACY: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/aug/09/the-bourne-legacy-review. This article has some intriguing information on the relationship between Greengrass and Gilroy (and Damon), dating from the release of the fourth film: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matt-damon-bourne-identity-tony-gilroy-275137. And finally, here’s some good news on the depiction of women in films, which we mention at the end of the episode: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/movies/fall-arts-preview-representation-of-female-characters-in-movies-is-improving.html?_r=0.
This week, it’s the third in the Bourne franchise, and Paul Greengrass is back in the saddle for the 2007 film. Sam is distracted by a roomful of boxes, but Rob keeps things on track with discussions of shifts in narrative tone, how this is a very different movie from the first one, and why the ending could have been edited better.
This Week’s Watching
MONEYBALL (2015): Bennett Miller, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill
STRANGER THINGS (2016): Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Winona Ryder
Recommendations
THE WORLD’S END (2013): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
SUCKER PUNCH (2011): Zack Snyder, Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens
DAREDEVIL (2015–): Drew Goddard, Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio
FACE/OFF (1997): John Woo, John Travolta, Nicholas Cage
Footnotes
This book has a great chapter on ULTIMATUM, and connections with Alfred Hitchcock. It makes a great point about Greengrass’s use of CCTV at the start of the film, which we entirely failed to mention. Rob muses on whether it’s time to retire the ‘American officialdom = The Bad Guys’ trope; this site has a list of films where Americans really are the enemy. Finally, this interview has Zack Snyder talking about the ending of BvS.
Join Sam and Rob for a discussion of the next Bourne instalment: Paul Greengrass’s 2004 movie. We spend a while thinking about film technology (colour, tone, and use of cameras), before we think more about what makes a franchise, and end with some ideas about why this JB is the interestingly human face of black-ops spying.
This Week’s Watching
THE BFG (2016): Steven Spielberg, Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill
EDDIE THE EAGLE (2016): Dexter Fletcher, Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman
DOPE (2015): Rick Famuyiwa, Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori
Recommendations
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (2011): George Nolfi, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (2013): Paul Greengrass, Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi
PROOF OF LIFE (2000): Taylor Hackford, Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe
PLEASANTVILLE (1998): Gary Ross, Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels
This week we embark on a new franchise. Is Doug Liman’s 2002 film a cultural game-changer, a weirdly paced mish-mash, a refreshing dose of reality, or all three?
This Week’s Watching
MR ROBOT, Season 2 (2016): Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Carly Chaikin
SHERLOCK, Season 1 (2010): Mark Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman
THOR (2011): Kenneth Branagh, Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman
Recommendations
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (1996): Brian De Palma, Tom Cruise, Jon Voigt
BEFORE SUNRISE (1995): Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
RUN LOLA RUN (1998): Tom Tykwer, Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
SWINGERS (1996): Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn
Footnotes
We talked a lot about the James Bond/Austin Powers link, which is a fairly obvious one; this link, though, has a comprehensive list of just how many pastiches there were in the AP films. Sam mentioned PTSD briefly when talking about SHERLOCK, and it also appears in BOURNE (towards the end, and in the later films); read more here and here. Finally, if you’re interested in soundscapes and film, then this is a good resource.
Brace yourselves: it’s time for the fourth Indy film. We talk about fun heist-themed romps, moody art-house montages, and classic comedy capering; sadly, that’s in the first five — blissfully CRYSTAL SKULL-free — minutes. Oh dear.
This Week’s Watching
BETTER OFF DEAD (1985): Savage Steve Holland, John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers
KOYAANISQUATSI (1982): Godfrey Reggio, Ron Fricke, Philip Glass
NOW YOU SEE ME (2013): Louis Leterrier, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo
Recommendations
HOLES (2003): Andrew Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voigt
DEATH BECOMES HER (1992): Robert Zemeckis, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis
ALIEN (1979): Ridley Scott, Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver
BABEL (2006): Alejandro González Iñárritu, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Footnotes We mentioned Eisenstein again: check out STRIKE (1925) and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925), among many others. There’s a good article on Steven Spielberg and aliens, here. And there’s more on a concept that Rob mentioned in passing, but that we didn’t have time to go over, here. Finally, an update on IJV (please don’t bring Ford back).
Round 3 of Indiana Jones, and we’re back on well-loved solid ground. One of us talks about myth and narrative structure, and the other talks about cinematic nuts-and-bolts — surprise! It’s not the way round you think…
This Week’s Watching:
THE WEST WING (1999—2006): Aaron Sorkin, Rob Lowe, Moira Kelly
HART OF DIXIE (2011—15): Leila Gerstein, Rachel Bilson, Jaime King
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: THE MOVIE (2016): Mandie Fletcher, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley
Recommendations:
JAWS (1975): Steven Spielberg, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw
THE ROCK (1996): Michael Bay, Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage
BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015): Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance
ROLLERBALL (1975): Norman Jewison, James Caan, John Houseman
This week, it’s the second instalment in our Indiana Jones series. In the style of one of this week’s recommendations, it’s a bit of a tussle: dubious politics versus excellent cinematography; inexcusable racism versus comprehensible pop culture references. Fight!
This week’s watching:
INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (2016): Roland Emmerich, Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum
SPOTLIGHT (2015): Tom McCarthy, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana
Recommendations:
DUEL (1971): Stephen Speilberg, Richard Matheson, Dennis Weaver
STREET FIGHTER (1994): Steven E. de Souza, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raúl Juliá
HELP! (1965): Richard Lester, John Lennon, Paul McCartney
FAN (2016): Maneesh Sharma, Aditya Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan
Next on our list of franchises is Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones’ films. We discuss adventure, racism, postcolonial revisionist history, and why we like action heroes to be competent enough to succeed — but only just.
This Week’s Watching:
THE HUNTED (2003): William Friedkin, Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio del Toro
LA RUE CASES-NÈGRES (1983): Euzhan Palcy, Garry Cadenat, Darling Légitimus
Recommendations:
THE BODYGUARD (1992): Mick Jackson, Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston
SCROOGED (1988): Richard Donner, Bill Murray, Karen Allen
ROMANCING THE STONE (1984): Robert Zemeckis, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner
HOT FUZZ (2007): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
(Incidentally, 5 out 18 directors and principal actors is the highest proportion of women we’ve had, since I’ve been listing recs here. 28%. Gender representation in the film industry is rubbish…)
This week we complete our first (mini-)franchise of the summer, with the sequel to last week’s cult classic. Sam gets very serious, very quickly, and we have some great discussions about cultural change, playing it safe in cinema, and our old friend nostalgia.
Recommendations
¡THREE AMIGOS! (1986): John Landis, Steve Martin, Randy Newman
MATINEE (1993): Joe Dante, John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984): Ivan Reitman, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE (1978): John Landis, John Belushi, Tim Matheson
Episode 50 is here! (No, we didn’t think so, either.) Join us for a discussion of Rob’s favourite film of all time, the undermining of convention, and early-twentieth-century Russian cinema. (Yes, really!)
Recommendations
WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954): Michael Curtiz, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye
AIRPLANE! (1980): Jim Abrahams, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty
TRADING PLACES (1983): John Landis, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007): Julie Taymor, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess
THE WORLD’S END (2013): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (2006): Liam Lynch, Jack Black, Kyle Gass
BUBBA HO-TEP (2002): Don Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis
THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION! (1984): W.D. Richter, Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin
This week we talk about a 2014 animated superhero-comedy from Don Hall and Chris Williams, BIG HERO 6. Hear us discuss what makes a kids’ film, how we portray real human loss on screen, and why superhero adaptation doesn’t always quite work.
Recommendations
WRECK-IT RALPH (2012): Rich Moore, John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman
SERENITY (2005): Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk
INSIDE OUT (2015): Pete Docter, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith
DESPICABLE ME (2010): Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Steve Carell
Join Rob and Sam for a discussion of 2015 Cannes winner Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s THE ASSASSIN, as they talk about depth in cinematography, anti-piracy tactics, and Orientalist approaches to cinema.
This week we continue our throwback to the 90s with the 1991 classic from Jonathan Demme (however you pronounce it). Along the way we talk about butterflies, camerawork, and why Sam needs to have a think about some of the comparisons he uses for personal weirdness…
Recommendations
HANNIBAL (2001): Julianne Moore, Anthony Hopkins, Ridley Scott
PANIC ROOM (2002): Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, David Fincher
SE7EN (1995): Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, David Fincher
EVOLUTION (2001): David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Ivan Reitman
This week, we go back nearly 20 years (ugh), with GOOD WILL HUNTING: teacher-slash-mentor movies, film-making parallels, and what happens when the colour palette of a film really works.
This week, we turn our attention to the Hughes brothers’ 2010 film THE BOOK OF ELI. After a fairly detailed take on the plot, we step back to look at religious pilgrimage, opera, and sunglasses.
This week we take a look at a recent release, offering you our (complimentary? you decide) thoughts on Zack Snyder’s big 2016 blockbuster BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE.
This week, it’s another Mark Ruffalo film…and, indeed, another David Fincher vehicle…wait: are we getting too predictable?? ZODIAC (2007): movie references, digital filming, and Western-culture-related whimsy.
This week, Rob and Sam talk about the Wes Craven 1996 classic SCREAM: postmodernism, horror movie tropes, and occasions when Hollywood really got it wrong.
Sam redeems himself with this week’s choice: Bennett Miller’s 2014 film FOXCATCHER. After contrasting reviews, we delve into American history, choreography, and different kinds of nostalgia.
Rob brings some sanity to our film choices this week with the excellent BRICK — we talk about film noir, post-war Americana, and why writers create new languages.
This week, Sam did a bad thing.
We watched THE LONE RANGER (so you don’t have to) — listen to us talk about racism, history on film, and misplaced slapstick.
This week, Sam and Rob get whimsical. Musings on the human need to preserve nature, to thoughts on what makes a space film ‘iconic’, to considerations of 9/11 film-making: we’ve got it all.
Join Rob and Sam for a discussion of the critically lauded WHIPLASH: abusive relationships, the creation of genius, the adaptation of music history, and film-editing facts galore (yes, that is two lots of trivia: we’re spoiling you, this week).
New year, new episode… Rob and Sam discuss the film event of last year, STAR WARS (EPISODE VII): various types of science fiction, the merits of JJ Abrams, and where the series goes from here.
What could be more appropriate for that post-Christmas, pre-New Year slump? No, it’s not turkey sandwiches AGAIN; it’s our lists of Top 5 Films of 2015. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
We end our festive season with a look at a movie that Rob and Sam see a little differently (mainly just because it confuses one of us): Franz Capra’s 1946 classic IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Hee haw and Merry Christmas!
Rob and Sam get all nostalgic for the late 90s for a change, with the 1999 film GO: sex, drugs, and mistletoe.
The Prestige Christmas season starts with a film that needs no introduction: Rob and Sam discuss the 1990 classic HOME ALONE, family, the spirit of Christmas, and why Wile E. Coyote is an idiot.
Sam and Rob talk about David Robert Mitchell’s 2010 film THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER and what it means to be a teenager, in a rambling discussion that moves from THE SOUND OF MUSIC to LOST IN SPACE and beyond... Ahhh, teenaged years. :)
This week’s light-hearted knockabout comedy (ha) is the 2015 film BEASTS OF NO NATION: Rob and Sam talk about African politics, war, youth, and why HOOK is an underappreciated gem/genuinely terrible*.
- Delete as applicable.
This week’s episode focuses on the 1979 Lucio Fulci film ZOMBI 2, the zombie/schlock-horror genre, and the Western fear of ‘otherness’ in pop culture.
In today’s (not-so-)small-batch episode, we talk* about the new Bond film, SPECTRE.
Rob talks; Sam rants
To kick off our Hallowe’en-themed fright fest, this week’s episode looks at THE BABADOOK (2014) and conveying traumatic experiences — and Sam gets lessons in horror cinema!
Films recommended this week:
THE OTHERS (2001)
CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)
PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971)
LA MAISON ENSORCELEE
’THE WITCH HOUSE’, or ’THE HAUNTED HOTEL'(1907)
LE LOCATAIRE DIABOLIQUE
example of Georges Méliès short (1909)
This week, in a rather more spoiler-heavy episode than normal, Sam and Rob talk about Ridley Scott’s latest film, THE MARTIAN: with talk of survival against the odds, cross-racial casting, and some typically argumentative recommendations, they basically science the sh*t out of this podcast.
This week, Rob and Sam keep the focus on the representation of truth, but also embrace the topic of mental health — it’s the 1999 adaptation of Susanna Kaysen’s memoir, GIRL, INTERRUPTED.’
‘Disclaimer: though the two of us have some small experience of a few of the aspects of mental health/illness presented in this film, we’re certainly not medically qualified to talk about it.
So a) if this is the sort of thing that you find discussion of troubling then it’s probably an idea to give this one a miss, and b) anything that we say in this episode is going to be focused on the cultural portrayal of mental illness, rather than the mechanics, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness itself.’
Whose truth is valid? Probably not ours. This week’s focus is the 2010 movie THE SOCIAL NETWORK — listen as Sam and Rob delve into friendship, fact, and the intricacies of film editing.
Intrigue, violence, dramatic pauses, and a whole heap of swearing: it’s the next Prestige episode! (No, really: Rob and Sam talk about the 2000 British crime drama SEXY BEAST.)
This week Rob and Sam look at the 2000 Nick Hornby/Stephen Frears classic HIGH FIDELITY, music and pop culture in films, and what makes a good soundtrack.
In a special small-batch edition of the show Rob and Sam take a brief look at this summer’s TRAINWRECK, celebrity, humanity, and the return of the rom-com.
This week Rob and Sam talk about the 2013 film WORLD WAR Z — looking at disease, allegory, expansion, and what really works (and what maybe doesn’t) about a big-budget zombie film.
This week, Rob and Sam discuss 2012’s BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD — looking at its expressive and naturalistic presentation of childhood, considering various allegorical interpretations, and marvelling at a couple of stunning début performances.
Rob & Sam watch the sci-fi mind-bender, LOOPER and talk about what makes something sci-fi, hard vs soft and the nature of identity when faced with yourself.
Sam & Rob watch the indie gen, STATION AGENT and talk about isolation on film, the use of colour and walking the right of way.
Rob & Sam dive back into the MCU with Antman, talking about what makes a good origin story, what makes a bad one and Sam finally admits the glory of She's All That.
Rob & Sam explore The Monuments Men, the ideas of who owns art and Rob drops some big name stories...
Rob & Sam discuss American Imperialism, Dogme 95, What is Art and Twilight, as they watch DEAR WENDY.
Show Notes:
Dogme95 - http://www.dogme95.dk/the-vow-of-chastity/
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5mmFPyDK_8
Recommendations:
Elephant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htlsOf3PnGY
The Host: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoYURokHuZ4
3:10 To Yuma www.youtube.com/watch?v=AecMZH1a1z0
Butch Cassidy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X41Ylp02NRs
Son Of Rambow: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnVt0tqT7YQ
Join Rob & Sam, two life-long friends, one a veteran of the film industry, the other a Cambridge-educated writer on books, movies and graphic novels. Each week they talk about a film and some of the ideas it throws up. This week, Sam is off on holibobs and so Rob has roped in some Podcast buddies to help out!
All thanks to ScareTrack, 3Bods1Pod and WGMABPD for pitching in!
Rob & Sam delve into the world of nostalgia and it's dangers in this week's episode on Jurassic World!
In which Rob & Sam disagree about Mad Max: Fury Road and they talk about mythical text, metatext and subtext….
In which we discuss WARRIOR, when a sports film isn’t a sport film and the acting talents of Vinnie Jones…
In which we discuss the 1991 classic, Reservoir Dogs, pop culture riffs and films about films...
Welcome to world of The Other, what makes a character The Other and some films that highlight that
This week, we dive into Marvel's latest offering, AVENGERS 2 and what makes a good sequel, how to avoid making a bad sequel and some of our favourite part twos.