Cinema Cinema Cinema

S02E16: Heavy (1995)

Shane and Matthew reach the end of season 2 with a wonderful slice-of-life Americana from James Mangold; his debut and mini-masterpiece 'Heavy' from 1995.

Notes:

Mangold's filmmaker tips: https://filmschoolrejects.com/filmmaking-tips-james-mangold-9c10355d5a88/

Mangold on Mackendrick: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/logan-director-james-mangold-discusses-183056098.html

9 Movies where Shelly Winters dies in the middle: http://cassavafilms.com/list-of-9/nine-movies-in-which-shelley-winters-dies-in-the-middle

 

S02E15: Radio On (1979)

Matthew and Shane buckle up for a classic British road movie that foregoes the tropes of the genre and instead offers a mesmerising cinematic scrapbook of late 70's music, images and philosophy.

Notes:

Locations then and now: https://www.reelstreets.com/films/radio-on/

Film Comment review: https://www.filmcomment.com/article/vision-radio-on/

2013 Interview with Chris Petit: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/man-on-the-outside-27967.html

Further reading:

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/chris-petit-radio-on-interview

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview13

 

https://www.closeupfilmcentre.com/vertigo_magazine/volume-4-issue-1-autumn-winter-2008/germany-and-england-england-and-germany-proposal-for-a-film/

 

https://psychogeographicreview.com/film-of-the-month-march-2012-radio-on/

 

https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/spirit-of-the-bauhaus-in-electronic-sounds

 

S02E14: Paris, Texas (1984)

Shane is joined by Sam Baws for a surprisingly tender road trip across the US. Harry Dean Stanton stars as a man trying to reconcile the destructive effects of his past mistakes in Wim Wender's visually striking 'Paris, Texas' from 1984.

Notes:

Info on Paris Texas: https://wimwendersstiftung.de/en/film/paris-texas-en/

NY Times period review: https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/movies/paris-texas-from-wim-wenders.html

Article on Wenders' Stills Photography: https://www.vogue.com/article/paris-texas-film-wim-wenders-photographs

 

S02E13: Shattered Glass (2003)

Shane and Matthew investigate the fishy true life tale of journalist Stephen Glass and his work for The New Republic in Billy Ray's highly recommended newsroom thriller 'Shattered Glass' from 2003.

Notes:

Buzz Bissinger's Vanity Fair article: https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/09/bissinger199809

The New Republic's 2014 Glass article: https://newrepublic.com/article/120145/stephen-glass-new-republic-scandal-still-haunts-his-law-career

 

S02E12: Keane (2004)

Matthew and Shane try to catch their breath with Lodge Kerrigan's intense portrait of a man on the precipice of a mental health collapse. Arresting, unnnerving and unforgettable.

Notes:

Trailer for Keane: https://youtu.be/6QhY17g8QBs

Interview with Lodge Kerrigan: https://www.indiewire.com/2005/09/on-the-edge-lodge-kerrigan-talks-collapse-and-chance-in-keane-77998/

Interview with Damian Lewis: https://www.damian-lewis.com/2016/01/18/19968.php

All images are copyright the original owners.

S02E11: Babylon (1980)

Matthew and Shane get embroiled with a reggae sound system in South London in the late seventies in Franco Rosso's blistering Babylon from 1980.

Notes:

Trailer for Babylon: https://youtu.be/t_xhN87G8bk

Incredible archive for Babylon: https://www.uncarved.org/babylon/

Babylon locations then and now: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/babylon-franco-rosso-locations-london

 

S02E10: At Close Range (1986)

Shane is joined by Adam Lowes to discuss James Foley's 1986 classic 'At Close Range' starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken as an estranged father and son reunited to embark on a life of crime in this bloody violent, true-life thriller.

Notes:

Rogert Ebert's period review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/at-close-range-1986

Trailer for At Close Range: https://youtu.be/nANVblfeTH4

Madonna's video for 'Live To Tell': https://youtu.be/IzAO9A9GjgI

 

S02E09: A Midnight Clear (1992)

The Christmas 2020 Special. Matthew and Shane find themselves on opposing sides in this wartime battle for the spirit of Christmas and the soul of man. Good will is in short supply.

Notes:

Fascinating article on Keith Gordon: https://longreads.com/2018/01/25/the-many-acts-of-keith-gordon/

Roger Ebert's review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-midnight-clear-1992

Mark Isham's 'My Wife With Champagne Shoulders': https://youtu.be/UDV4cVMN9HE

 

S02E08: He Got Game (1998)

Matthew and Shane go toe-to-toe on the court of cinema. Shane attempts to slam-dunk Spike Lee's 'He Got Game' as a bona-fide (but flawed) masterpiece. Matthew rebounds with a vicious counter and a couple of fouls. This one is gonna need a time out.

Links:

He Got Game Trailer: https://youtu.be/h4uJ6938buE

Vanity Fair 20th Anniversary Article: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/he-got-game-20th-anniversary

Roger Ebert's 1998 Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/he-got-game-1998

S02E07: Top Secret (1984)

Shane and Matthew celebrate an outrageous 80's comedy classic with Zucker, Zucker & Abrahams' irresistible mad mess Top Secret (1984).

Trailer for Top Secret: https://youtu.be/-DQ3URc4KiM

An evening with Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams: https://youtu.be/jauruv4ZPto

Swedish Bookstore Scene reversed: https://youtu.be/czuC1LWcPMc

All images are copyright the original owners.