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086 The Elephant Man (1980)
“I’M NOT AN ANIMAL! I’M A HUMAN BEING!”As you may already know, we lost one of the great ones this year. In honor of David Lynch, we decided to go back to one of the earlier films in his career, The Elephant Man from 1980, starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, a critical and commercial success in what would have been David Lynch’s second film and put a lot of eyes on his future, incredibly influential body of work. However, despite Lynch being Austin’s favorite director of all time, he has never seen The Elephant Man! Well, on this episode, we fix that.The Elephant Man is not known to be an incredibly surreal film, but we discuss the various similarities and signature iconography Lynch can’t help but include in all his films, including The Elephant Man. We talk about the use of dreams, the use of sound, and how his sense of humor shines through in a film that more linear than his other body of work.We also talk about how the film approaches the topic of how society treats an outcast with a deformity/disability. It’s not uncommon for the Academy to pay attention to this genre of film, but something about The Elephant Man is very different. What might be contrived and cliche in other films feels deeply moving in this one. How does The Elephant Man stand out and distinguish itself from “Oscar bait“ films?We also talk about the way the film was made and how the film differs from the reality of life for Joseph Merrick, the real life person who lived with this condition that lead people to refer to him as The Elephant Man. How does David Lynch go from making a surrealist art film, Eraserhead, to a narratively linear biopic that tugs on the heart? How does comedy legend Mel Brooks go from making Blazing Saddles to producing The Elephant Man? How did a babysitter get her boyfriend nominated for an Oscar? How did this movie invent an entirely new category the Academy had to pay attention to? We talk about all of this and more!This episode was very special for us and took a little bit of time to brew. With the changes in technology one would think more films would be more accessible to view at our convenience, but in fact that not the case for some films that are culturally significant like The Elephant Man. As of recording the episode we couldn’t find the film digitally streaming/renting anywhere, but with luck we did manage to find the film on DVD at a reasonable price. After watching the film we might actually spring for that premium Criterion Collection version, because this film really is that special. In fact, the late John Hurt said in the making of documentary “If anyone isn’t moved by the end of the film, I don’t think I’d want that person in my life.“ We hope you enjoy this episode and seek the film out yourself, or hit us up about a potential screening!Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.Artwork by @jannelle_o
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2:10:53
085 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
“MY FAMILY HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN MEAT.”We hope you had a great Halloween! We know we are late, but over spooky season Jorge and Austin figured it was time to return to the horror genre, with one of the films that started it all! The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper, released in 1974.While The Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn’t the first horror film, it certainly laid the blueprint out for modern horror cinema to copy from. From low budget to big profit, makes killers, found footage-esque grimy texture, “based on a true story” opening crawl, the final girl.. it all came from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Given that so many horror films borrowed from this film, how well does it hold up if you seen all of those other films first? This will be Austin’s experience, as despite 34 years on this earth as a film fan, he’s never seen it.Even though this film came out 50 years ago, during our watch for the episode we found a lot of things to talk about how it relates to our world today. Ideas of how divided the country is, the threat of capitalism and automation on the working class, the ethics of the meat industry, and the futile adherence to societal norms in a world that’s crumbling apart. We also get into some of the behind the scenes on how the movie was made. Yes, no one actually got chainsawed while making the film.. but by the end of filming some may have wanted to chainsaw Tobe Hooper. We hope you enjoy this episode, and that you are excited for the next film we cover: Beetlejuice!Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.Artwork by @jannelle_o
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2:23:37
084 Once Were Warriors (1995)
“WHY’S EVERYTHING SO BLACK, TOOT?“(CONTENT WARNING: Although this movie was very good, we do have to warn you that it might not be for everyone. The subject matter is difficult and might be triggering for some, as it deals with domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide.)On this episode, we explore mid 90’s New Zealand Maori cinema in the critically acclaimed Once Were Warriors, directed by Lee Tamahori. The film stars Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, and Cliff Curtis, and it is based on the first entry of Alan Duff’s book trilogy. We went into this movie blind, only really knowing Temuera Morrison from playing Jango/Boba Fett in Star Wars, and seeing Cliff Curtis show up everywhere from Avatar 2 to Training Day. We took it up after one of Austin’s streamer friends RasNoMas, a native Hawaiian, recommended it to cover the podcast. The film was a huge hit in New Zealand when it was originally released in 1994, drawing more at the NZ box office than Jurassic Park! It was released to the states the following year, and almost 20 years later we both watched it for the first time.The film is about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Jake, played by Temuera Morrison is at first very charming, but has a violently abusive side to him that terrorizes his whole family. Beth, played by Rena Owen, is trying to be there for her children but is slowly losing them one by one. Throughout the course of the film, we see the family take refuge in parts of the Maori heritage and culture.The great thing about watching films from different periods, from different parts of the world, and from different cultures, is that we get a good luck at what it’s like to live in someone else’s shoes. Once Were Warrior succeeds here, as it doesn’t portray our characters as one dimensional archetypes, but as complex people brought to life by truly phenomenal acting.We hope you enjoy this episode!Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.Artwork by @jannelle_o
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2:24:48
083 Mad Max 2 (1981)
“AND IT WAS HERE, IN THIS BLIGHTED PLACE, THAT HE LEARNED TO LIVE AGAIN.“On this episode of the podcast we talk about one of the most influential post-apocalypse films of all time. One that’s legacy has just been extended in an incredible prequel film that hit theaters on this year’s Memorial Day weekend. We are talking about Mad Max 2, also known as The Road Warrior, directed by George Miller, starring Mel Gibson. We are also honored to have a guest, Nebula, who is a streamer, and a big Mad Max fan. In fact, Nebula was on our FIRST Mad Max episode: here. This is Jorge’s first time watching the film, having only seen Fury Road and the first Mad Max film, so we were curious to see how he would react to George Miller’s second attempt at depicting Australia at the end of the world.Sequels are often regarded as derivative, and “cash grabs“ of a previously successful movie. What makes Mad Max 2 different? We talk about how the film demonstrates how much George Miller has gotten as a film maker, being more deliberate with cinematography, making use of the bigger budget, and building a world without relying on heavy dialogue. There is so much to look at in this film, so much character, and for what little dialogue there is, some absolutely classic lines that we will remember forever. To this day, George Miller continues to grow as a filmmaker, challenging audiences and everyone crazy enough to be in his movies. And despite all of that, everyone seems to enjoy working with him.We talk about the iconic look of this film. Mad Max 2 is often used as the blue print for how people dress in the apocalypse, and maybe how some depictions of the gang might not hold up as well when we consider the history of how queer characters are represented in film. We nerd out about the stunts and the effect of real danger being caught on film, and what steps they took to keep people safe. And of course, we talk about Dog, the Australian cattle dog that acted as Max’s companion in the Wasteland, but was rescued from an animal shelter in real life!We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you haven’t yet, consider seeing Furiosa in theaters! Austin got a chance to see it and highly recommends to any one looking for a great theatrical experience by one of the greatest living filmmakers!Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.Artwork by @jannelle_o
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2:34:34
082 Twilight (2008)
“YOU BETTER HOLD ON TIGHT SPIDER MONKEY.“On this Valentine’s Day, we decided to cover a romance movie that captured the attention of an entire generation of girls, contributed to the YA adaptation craze, and gave us vampire baseball. Today, we are talking about 2008’s Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. When the film franchise was making its rounds at the box office, we remember that this was a thing that was very popular for adolescent boys to hate on. Austin hasn’t even seen the film, despite being a fan of vampire films as we talked about on the Horror Movie Genre Tier List episode on our Patreon. We talk about how our tastes have evolved and why we might be more open to this film, despite not being in its target audience. Will we still find something to enjoy about it, or will we struggle to say nice things? Just in case, we will have a Twilight fan, Elle Parker as a guest to let us know what makes the film so special to her.We talk about the films commitment to the moody, blue aesthetic. How Hardwicke opted to shoot on location in the Pacific Northwest to capture the rain and the greenery. We talk about how significant her absence was in the following films, and give her praise for her craftsmanship and dedication to translating the essence of Stephanie Meyer’s novel into a film. We also talk about the reasons she may not have been invited back to direct the sequels. We talk about the way the camera moves, the on point musical cues and soundtrack, the attention to mise en scene, the comedy, the practical effects and the relentless commitment to telling the story of a boy and girl who feel so tortured despite having pretty great lives. Seriously, even the step dad has a good relationship with Bella. Regardless of how you feel about Twilight, there is a reason why it had such an irrevocable hold on its fans. After watching the film and talking about it, it was very easy and fun to find out why!We hope you enjoy this episode!Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.Artwork by @jannelle_o
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2:27:36