July 18, 2025

Episode 753: Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

Episode 753: Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) Special Guest: Allan Holzman
Guest Co-Hosts: Father Malone, Chris Stachiw

Sci-Fi July rolls on with Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), Roger Corman’s ambitious space opera directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and written by a pre-Lone Star John Sayles. This wild interstellar remix of The Seven Samurai stars Richard Thomas as Shad, a naive farm boy turned cosmic recruiter who must assemble a team of eccentric mercenaries to defend his planet from the tyrannical Sador—played with ruthless relish by .

Mike is joined by Father Malone and Chris Stachiw to dig into the film’s unforgettable cast of characters, James Horner’s rousing score (which sounds suspiciously like his work for Star Trek II), and the early visual effects work of James Cameron. Special guest Allan Holzman, the film’s editor (and future director of Forbidden World), offers behind-the-scenes insights from the golden age of Corman’s New World Pictures. Low-budget spectacle, recycled spaceship sets, and alien oddballs abound in this scrappy cult favorite.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Battle Beyond the Stars on Blu-Ray

Music:
Soundtrack - James Horner

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July 16, 2025

Special Report: Superman (2025)

Special Report: Superman (2025) Guest Co-Hosts: Father Malone, Chris Stachiw

Mike is joined by Father Malone (Midnight Viewing) and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) to discuss James Gunn's first foray as the head of the "DCU" with his 2025 film, Superman. It's a new interpretation of the Man of Steel as David Corenswet takes to the skies as the lone son of Krypton watches over the people of Earth, much to the chagrin of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). It's a surprisingly decent entry from DC that may pave the way to a less-dour vision of superheroes.

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Become a supporter of The Projection Booth

Music:
"Superman" - The Clique

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July 14, 2025

Episode 752: Metropolis (1927)

Episode 752: Metropolis (1927) Guest Co-Hosts: Ranjit Sandhu, Federico Bertolini

Sci Fi July launches with a titan of cinematic futurism: Metropolis (1927), Fritz Lang’s visually stunning epic set the blueprint for dystopian science fiction, blending Gothic horror, political allegory, and machine-age spectacle. Co-written with , the film envisions a divided city of soaring towers and subterranean toil, where Freder--the privileged son of master planner Joh Fredersen--awakens to injustice through his encounter with the spiritual leader of the working class, Maria.

Mike is joined by Ranjit Sandhu and Federico Bertolini to discuss the many versions of the film, its fraught production, the complex legacy of Lang and von Harbou, and why Rotwang's lab never goes out of style. From Giger to Gaga, Metropolis casts a long, haunting shadow.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Metropolis by Thomas Elsaesser
Buy Fritz Lang: Nature of the Beast, A Biograph by Patrick McGilligan
Buy Metropolis on Blu-Ray
Buy Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis on Blu-Ray
Buy Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis on Blu-Ray
Read Metropolis: An Historical and Political Analysis by Ann J. Drummond
Read Aitam Bar-Sagi, The Film Music Museum: “Metropolis” around the World
Read The Human Drift by King Camp Gillette
Watch a video about Taylorism
Buy German Film Architecture 1918-1933 ed. by Nadejda Bartels
Watch the BBC2/PBS version
Watch a lecture about Metropolis by Professor Leigh Morrisey
Read Michael Organ's Metropolis website
Watch Aitam Bar-Sagi, Metropolis (1927) - the three Negatives
Watch Aitam Bar-Sagi, Metropolis (1927) - the three negatives Nr. 2
Multiple negatives were common in the silent days — and early talkie days, too — partly because nitrate negatives were so fragile that they would not be able to withstand running through the printer enough times to make sufficient prints. So prints for different territories were made from different negatives. When negatives got damaged, replacements were pulled from cans of spares (alternative takes that had never been shown before, that were kept on file just in case). Or, if all else failed, they were pulled from copy negatives or even dupes.

Watch the Australian nitrate print dating from April 1928 (one of five)
Australia probably received only a single print, and this was it, and the distributor abridged it prior to releasing it. The video transfer was made at about 17fps. This is very similar to the edition shown in the US from August 1927 until the end of its run in probably the early 1930’s, except that it was printed from a different negative, of course. Michael Organ uploaded this.

Watch the first half of the June 1928 New Zealand nitrate
Watch a counterfeit copy of Metropolis
Watch another one

Music:
"Metropolis" - Kraftwerk

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July 7, 2025

Episode 751: A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Episode 751: A Man for All Seasons (1966) Guest Co-Hosts: Spencer Parsons, Robert Bellissimo

By request from Patreon supporter Peter Rogers, we’re tackling A Man for All Seasons (1966), Fred Zinnemann’s acclaimed adaptation of ’s stage play. Joining Mike are Spencer Parsons and Robert Bellissimo to explore this portrait of Sir Thomas More, played with quiet defiance by Paul Scofield in an Oscar-winning performance. The film follows More’s moral and political stand against King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage, a position that would cost him his freedom—and ultimately his life. We unpack the film’s legacy, its courtroom drama structure, and how it reflects shifting power, faith, and integrity during a pivotal moment in English history.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Listen to Not Just the Tudors podcast
Buy A Man for All Seasons on Blu-Ray
Buy A Man for All Seasons by Robeert Bolt

Music:
"Man For All Seasons" - The Bee Gees

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July 2, 2025

Episode 750: Gloria (1980)

Guest Co-Hosts: Judith Mayne, Andrew Rausch

John Cassavetes may be known for his raw, improvisational indie dramas, but with Gloria (1980), he delivered something entirely different—a gritty urban thriller with a heart, starring the incomparable Gena Rowlands who plays the titular Gloria, a tough, no-nonsense woman with mob ties who suddenly finds herself the reluctant guardian of a young boy targeted by gangsters after his family’s brutal murder. Armed with nothing but attitude and a pistol, Gloria hauls the kid through the hostile streets of New York City, dodging bullets, hitmen, and her own complicated past.

Mike is joined by returning guests Judith Mayne and Andrew Rausch to explore the film’s unconventional blend of gangster tropes, maternal instinct, and Cassavetes’s offbeat sensibilities. We dig into Rowlands’s powerhouse performance, the film’s strange place in Cassavetes’s career, and its legacy as a cult favorite that paved the way for countless “reluctant protector” thrillers.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Gloria on Blu-Ray
Buy Cassavetes on Cassavetes by Ray Carney

Music:
"Gloria" - Laura Branigan

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June 25, 2025

Episode 749: O Pagador de Promessas (1962)

Episode 749: O Pagador de Promessas (1962) Guest Co-Hosts: Robert Bellissimo, Philip Marinello

Mike is joined by Robert Bellissimo and Philip Marinello to explore O Pagador de Promessas (1962), the landmark Brazilian drama from director Anselmo Duarte. Also known internationally as The Given Word, the film adapts 's acclaimed stage play into a sharp critique of institutional power.

The story centers on Zé do Burro (Leonardo Villar), a simple farmer who treks over 20 miles into Salvador while bearing a heavy cross—honoring a vow to Saint Barbara after his donkey, Nicholas, falls ill. What begins as a devout act of gratitude becomes a battleground of bureaucracy, media exploitation, and religious gatekeeping. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Duarte’s film remains a bold and timely meditation on class, faith, and the politics of devotion.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy O Pagador de Promessas on DVD
Subscribe to Robert Bellissimo at The Movies
Listen to The Substance podcast

Music:
"Candomblé" - Mariana Aydar

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June 18, 2025

Episode 748: The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Episode 748:  The Exterminating Angel (1962) Guest Co-Hosts: Rob St. Mary, Miguel Llanso

What happens when a lavish dinner party refuses to end? Mike is joined by filmmaker Miguel Llansó (Crumbs, Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway) and critic Rob St. Mary to unpack the surreal social satire of Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Ange (1962). In this sharp and strange masterwork, a group of upper-crust guests find themselves mysteriously unable to leave a post-opera gathering—days pass, civility erodes, and Buñuel’s absurdist lens skewers class, ritual, and the thin veneer of order.

From sheep in the parlor to the creeping dread of inaction, we discuss the film’s dream logic, religious and political interpretations, and its place in Buñuel’s legendary career. Whether you’re trapped by tradition, status, or just polite company, The Exterminating Angel remains one of cinema’s most biting allegories—and we’re not letting you leave until we’ve talked it through.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy The Exterminating Angel on Blu-Ray

Music:
"Exterminating Angel" - The Creatures

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June 11, 2025

Episode 747: Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972)

Episode 747:  Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumber (1972) Special Guests: Jeff Copeland, Sandra Scoppettone
Guest Co-Hosts: Rahne Alexander, Elizabeth Purchell

We wrap up Maudit May with a look at Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972), a once-lost independent musical that’s recently been restored and released on Blu-ray by the American Genre Film Archive. Directed by Robert J. Kaplan and written by , the film stars Holly Woodlawn as Eve Harrington, a young woman from Kansas who moves to New York City in search of something more—only to find herself in a strange world of characters who, like her, share names with familiar figures from classic Hollywood.

Joining Mike to explore the film’s unconventional structure, layered references, and cultural significance are co-hosts Elizabeth Purchell and Rahne Alexander. The episode also features interviews with screenwriter Sandra Scoppettone and Jeff Copeland, author of Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn, who help contextualize the film’s production and its star’s place in the broader history of queer and underground cinema.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers on Blu-Ray

Music:
"Get it On" - Bette Midler and Mike Lincoln
"Strawberry, Lilac, and Lime" - Bette Midler

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