Special Guests: John Dahl, David Warfield Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Rob Spencer
Rob Spencer joins Mike and Jedidiah Ayres -- our full-time co-host for this Val-halla series -- as we discuss some Val Kilmer films. We start with the neo-noir Kill Me Again (1989). Written by David Warfield and John Dahl (who also directed), it stars Kilmer as a private detective who's hired by the two-timing Fay (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) who's on the run from the psychotic Vince "Vega" Miller (Michael Madsen).
Dahl and Warfield speak about the making of the film and the struggle to get their visions to screen.
Special Guest: Daniel Pyne Guest Co-Hosts: Andrew Nette, Jedidiah Ayres
Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to look at the 1992 neo-noir film from director Roger Donaldson, White Sands. The film stars Willem Dafoe as Ray Dolezal, a small town Sheriff who tries to solve the murder of a man in his jurisdiction by assuming the dead man’s identity and getting embroiled in a world of arms dealing,
We speak to the film's screenwriter, Daniel Pyne (The Hard Way, The Sum of All Fears, Where's Marlowe?) about the film's journey from page to screen.
Special Guests: Willem Dafoe, M. Scott Smith Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Andrew Nette
#Noirvember2020 concludes with a look at William Friedkin's To Live & Die in L.A. (1984). The film pits Treasury agent William Petersen as Richard Chance against Willem Dafoe as artist and forger Rick Masters. Based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Petievich, it’s an unexpected cat and mouse story bathed in the harsh light of Los Angeles.
#Noirvember2018 kicks off with the 1972 film from director Sam Peckinpah, The Getaway. Based on the novel by
Jim Thompson and adapted by Walter Hill, the film stars Steve McQueen as Doc McCoy and Ali MacGraw as Carol McCoy, two young lovers with nothing better to do than rob a bank with the duplicitous Rudy Butler (Al Lettieri) and the barely-a-character Jack Dodson (Bo Hopkins). Let’s just say that things don’t go as well as they should.
Special Guest: James Ellroy Guest Co-Hosts: Richard Edwards, Eric Cohen
Eric Cohen and Richard Edwards return to take a ride in a convertible time machine, be-bopping back to the year 1997 to look at Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential. Starring more folks from down under than you can shake a boomerang at, this jazzy flick plays with many classic noir tropes while playing fast and loose with the third book of James Ellroy's first L.A. Quartet.
We examine how Hanson and co-writer Brian Helgeland masterfully condensed Ellroy's compelling and complicated story to craft a Neo-Noir that some rank among the best. The film features dazzling performances from "newcomers" Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.
Special Guest: Mark Browning & John Hodge Guest Co-Host: Jeff Meyers
Noirvember 2015 concludes with a little murder among friends in Danny Boyle's 1994 feature debut Shallow Grave which stars Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, and Christopher Eccleston as three prats looking for a new flatmate. When they find him and he dies, he leaves a suitcase full of money and a world of problems.
We talked to the film's screenwriter, John Hodge, as well as author Mark Browning (Danny Boyle: Lust for Life: Critical Analysis of All the Films from Shallow Grave to 127 Hours). We're joined once again by journalist and filmmaker Jeff Meyers.
Special Guests: Tim Palmer & Sara Piazza Guest Co-Host: Peter Rozovsky
Noir November returns with a quartet of unusual titles. We kick off the month with a double dose from Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai.
Our guests include Sara Piazza, author of Jim Jarmusch: Music, Words and Noise and Tim Palmer, Professor of Film Studies at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and author on many pieces on Jean-Pierre Melville/French Cinema. Our guest co-host, Peter Rozovsky, is the author of Detectives Beyond Borders.
Special Guests: James Foley & Robert Redlin Guest Co-Host: Robert Polito
Based on a novel by hardboiled scribe Jim Thompson, James Foley's After Dark My Sweet is a neo-noir from 1990 starring Jason Patric, Bruce Dern, and Rachel Ward. The film tells the tale of Kevin "Kid" Collins, a punchdrunk palooka who falls in with a kidnapping scheme.
We're joined by Professor Robert Polito, author of the definitive Jim Thompson biography, Savage Art.
In The Ice Harvest,
Charlie (John Cusack) is a mob lawyer in Wichita, Kansas who decides to rip off his boss (Randy Quaid) of just over $2 million. Charlie decides to bring in his pal, Vic (Billy Bob Thorton) to help on this Christmas Eve caper. Soon the partnership between Charlie and Vic starts to crack as a femme fatale gets into the mix.
Special Guests: John Dahl, David Warfield
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Special Guest: Nat Segaloff
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Special Guest: Scott Phillips