Episode 442: The Conversation (1974)

Guest Co-Hosts: Vincenzo Natali, Jamey Duvall

Noirvember 2019 continues with a look at The Conversation (1974). Sandwiched between the first two Godfather films, The Conversation is writer/director Francis Ford Coppola’s paean to European art films of the 1960s, most notably Antonioni’s Blow-Up.

Instead of swinging London, however, The Conversation is set in San Francisco and stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a schlubby nudnik whose life revolves around audio surveillance, his own privacy, and violating the privacy of others.

Vincenzo Natali (In the Tall Grass) and Jamey Duvall (Movie Geeks United) join Mike to discuss the film and its spiritual sequel Enemy of the State (1998).

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 442: The Conversation (1974)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy The Conversation on Blu-Ray
Buy The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje
Buy In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing by Walter Murch

Music:
"The Conversation" - Twilight Singers

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Episode 397: Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Special Guests: Sandy King Carpenter, W.D. Richter
Guest Co-Hosts: Vincenzo Natali, Tony Black

John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986) tells the story of Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), a restaurateur whose finance, Miao Lin (Suzee Pai), gets kidnapped by the nefarious forces of David Lo Pan (James Hong), a seemingly innocent old man who is actually the embodiment of the evil spirit of Lo Pan, a demon who needs a woman with green eyes in order to become corporeal again and begin his reign of terror on earth.

And, there are some other white people involved in the story, too.

Tony Black and Vincenzo Natali join Mike to discuss this bizarre mash-up of Chinese mysticism and American action that only W.D. Richter could write.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 397: Big Trouble in Little China (1986)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Big Trouble in Little China on Blu-Ray
Buy The Official Making of Big Trouble in Little China by Tara Bennett & Paul Terry
Learn more about Storm King productions
Learn more about the Big Trouble comic books
Listen to our interview with Gary L. Goldman

Music:
Music from the Original Soundtrack recording

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Episode 306: Fantastic Planet (1973)

Guest Co-Hosts: Vincenzo Natali, Jeffrey Babcock

Vincenzo Natali and Jeffrey Babcock join Mike to look at the 1973 film from René Laloux, Fantastic Planet .

Also known as La Planète Sauvage, this animated film was based on a book by Stefan Wul called Oms en série with visuals designed by Roland Topor of the Panic Movement. The film tells the tale of a world where exist as pets and pestilence to the Draags, 39 feet high blue-skinned creatures who enjoy meditation.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 306: Fantastic Planet (1973)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Fantastic Planet on Blu-Ray
Buy Fantastic Planet by Stefan Wul
Read Looking back at the animated films of Rene Laloux by Aliya Whiteley
Learn more about the Panic Movement

Music:
"Generique" - Alain Goraguer
"Pets" - Porno for Pyros
"Ter Et Tiwa" - Alain Goraguer

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Episode 292: The Shining (1980)

Special Guests: Douglas Milsome, Garrett Brown, Rodney Ascher, Rob Ager
Guest Co-Hosts: Keith Gordon, Vincenzo Natali

Adapted from a novel by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick The Shining (1980) tells the tale of Jack (Jack Nicholson), Wendy, (Shelley Duvall) and Danny (Danny Lloyd) Torrance, a family who spend a winter at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Jack plans on writing a book but, instead, battles the inner demons of alcoholism and anger, slowly going mad perhaps with the help of the ghosts of the Overlook...

Directors Keith Gordon and Vincenzo Natali join Mike to discuss Stanley Kubrick and The Shining as well as the many interpretations of the films (as presented in works like Rodney Ascher's Room 237 and Rob Ager's Collative Learning series).

Along with Ascher and Ager, cameraman Douglas Milsome and Steadicam operator (and inventor) Garrett Brown reminisce about working with Stanley Kubrick.

Listen / Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 292: The Shining (1980)" on Spreaker.

Show Me The Meaning: Subliminally Sublime


The Shining 237: Spilling the Advocaat

Links:
Buy The Shining on Blu-Ray
Buy Room 237 on DVD
Buy Studies in the Horror Film: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining edited by Danel Olson
Buy the The Shining Mini-Series
Buy The Shining by Stephen King
Buy Dr. Sleep by Stephen King
Buy The Shining (BFI Film Classics) by Roger Luckhurst
Visit the official Garrett Brown website
Visit the official Rodney Ascher website
Read MAZES, MIRRORS, DECEPTION AND DENIAL by Rob Ager
Subscribe to Collative Learning on YouTube
Visit The Overlook Hotel
Listen to The Shining: The Musical
Read What The Shining miniseries reveals about the King/Kubrick divide by Tasha Robinson
Read Is Stephen King justified in hating Kubrick's vision for The Shining? by Ryan Vlastelica
Compare the US vs. International Cuts of the Shining
Read What do Delbert Grady and Tony have in common? on the Shining FAQ
Read Here's Horror: Why 'The Shining' Still Terrifies Us by Lisa Rosman
Read THE MAKING OF 'THE SHINING': 'A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THIS PARTICULAR HOTEL' by Paul Gallagher
Read The True Story Behind the Legendary “Lost Ending” of THE SHINING By Stephen Johnson
Read STANLEY KUBRICK'S ORIGINAL TREATMENT FOR 'THE SHINING' from Cinephilia Beyond
Watch Free Documentary View from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining Looks at How Kubrick Made “the World's Scariest Movie”

Music:
"The Rock Mountains" - Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind
"Nocturnal Valse Triste" - Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind
"Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta: Adagio" - Bela Bartok
"Midnight, The Stars and You" - Al Bowlly & Ray Noble and His Orchestra
"Come and Play with Us, Danny" - Smearballs

Watch:

Room 237: trailer from Rodney Ascher on Vimeo.

The Shining minus Delbert Grady from Richard Trammell on Vimeo.

THE CHICKENING from Nick DenBoer on Vimeo.

Episode 215: Splice

Special Guest: Vincenzo Natali
Guest Co-Host: Jamie Jenkins

We discuss the 2009 film from Vincenzo Natali, Splice. Genetic scientists Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrien Brody) work for a pharmaceutical company making a new creature that could help lead to new drugs. They end up creating DREN (Delphine Chanéac) and problems ensue...

We're joined once again this week by the podcast hostess with the mostest, Jamie Jenkins.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "TPB: Splice" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Splice on streaming, digital download
Buy Splice on DVD, Blu-Ray
Buy The Biotech Century by Jeremy Rifkin
Hear more of Vincenzo Natali on The Projection Booth
Hear more of Jamie Jenkins on The Projection Booth
Listen to the Talk without Rhythm episode on Splice

Music:
“Frankenstein” - Edgar Winter
“DNA” - Danny Brown
“I Think I’m a Clone Now” - Weird Al Yankovic

Watch:

Episode 168: The Devils

Special Guest: Richard Crouse

It's fun for the whole family as we talk about Ken Russell's controversial 1971 film “The Devils”. Censored for over 40 years because of content, The Devils tells the tale of Urbain Grandier – the priest of Loudun, France who in 1634 was persecuted through an unholy mix of Church, State and Sex.

Joining us is special guest co-host filmmaker Vincenzo Natali.

Our special guest this week is film critic/author Richard Crouse discussing his book “Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of the Devils.”

Listen/Download Now:
Listen to "TPB: The Devils" on Spreaker.

Links:
Visit the official Richard Crouse website
Buy Raising Hell by Richard Crouse
Listen to the director's commentary
Buy on DVD (UK version)
Buy "The Devils" on DVD (unofficial release)
Buy "The Devils" official (cut) U.S. VHS Release
Buy "The Devils of Loudun" by Aldous Huxley
An original writing on "The Devils of Loudun" by Edmund Goldsmid (1887)
Buy "Mother Joan of the Angels" on DVD
Buy "The Devils of Loudun" – the opera by Krzysztof Penderecki
"The Devils" UNCUT discussion
Mark Kermode's BBC Blog about "The Devils"
Mark Kermode's podcast "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review"
Check out Vincenzo Natali's work on "Darknet"
Vincenzo Natali's pilot for "Darknet"
Listen to our previous episodes with Vincenzo Natali "Cube" and "Blue Velvet"
Listen to our previous episode about another controversial religious film "The Last Temptation of Christ"

Music:
"Sin" by Nine Inch Nails
"Heretic" by Soundgarden

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Episode 104: Blue Velvet

Special Guest: Paul M. Sammon

Logs, logs, logs. We're going to Lumberton, USA this week to talk about David Lynch's Blue Velvet, a neo-noir that examines the dark underbelly of idyllic small town life.

Joining Mike and Rob is special guest co-host Vincenzo Natali, director of Cube, Splice, and the upcoming release, Haunter.

Links:
Listen to our episode on Vincenzo Natali's Cube
Listen to our episode on David Lynch's Dune
Buy Blue Velvet on Blu-Ray
Visit the official David Lynch website
A great German David Lynch site
Another great David Lynch site
Yet another David Lynch site
Buy the Blue Velvet soundtrack
Hear more David Lynch soundtrack mash-ups at Mashed in Plastic
Visit the Blue Velvet Project at Filmmaker Magazine
Read “David Lynch should be shot”: Looking back on the madness and chaos of “Blue Velvet” and Ronald Reagan’s '80s by Dennis Lim

Listen/Download Now:
Listen to "TPB: Blue Velvet" on Spreaker.

Bonus: Music Mix


Music:
Music used in this episode
"Honky Tonk" by Bill Doggett
"Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton
"Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil
"In Dreams" by Roy Orbison
"Blue Rigby" by Wax Audio
"Blue Velvet" by Lana Del Rey
"Frank's Here" by The Who Boys
"Tricky Mystery Cruise" by Robbie D
"Mysteries of Love" by Julee Cruise

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Episode 50: Cube (1997)

Special Guest: Vincenzo Natali
Guest Co-Host: Rod Lott

Cube (1997), a low-budget character study from Canada, kick-started Vincenzo Natali's career in creating intelligent science fiction films (Splice, Nothing, Cypher, etc).

Joining Mike is Rod Lott of the zine Hitch and the websites Bookgasm and FlickAttack!


Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "TPB: Cube" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Cube on DVD
Buy Cube: Inside the Making of a Cult Film Classic by A.S. Berman

Watch: