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

 

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  

Shane and Matthew look for their dignity as they join The Party of Dynamic Erection in a bid to better understand British male... stuff.

Trailer for Little Malcolm: https://youtu.be/K3DseWf-Nlc

Article from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/30/george-harrison-little-malcolm-handmade

Mike Leigh on David Halliwell: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jul/07/mike-leigh-on-playwright-david-halliwell-little-malcolm

For the 2020 Halloween Special Shane and Matthew head to Pittsburg to drink some blood with George A. Romero's 'Martin' from 1977.

Notes:

A guided tour of the locations from 'Martin': http://martinthereisnomagic.blogspot.com/

Matthew's reading recommendation: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Martin-Midnight-Movie-Monographs-Winship/dp/1786360527

Original trailer for 'Martin': https://youtu.be/NNIGTSdKPl0

Shane and Matthew flash their assets and high-kick their way through Michael Ritchie's exquisite beauty pageant satire 'Smile' from 1975. 

Notes:

Trailer for Smile: https://youtu.be/tbdKZQcxKYM

BFI Championing Bruce Dern: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/championing-bruce-dern-king-marvin-gardens

Local history of 'Smile' from Santa Rosa: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/gaye-lebaron-when-smile-made-santa-rosans-do-anything-but/?artslide=2

Shane is joined by Adam Lowes for a bloody violent trip to the South Korean underworld in Kim Jee-woon's breathtaking A Bittersweet Life (2005).   Notes:   Trailer for A Bittersweet Life: https://youtu.be/q5O2tfiaTxU   Comparison of DC & Theatrical: https://www.movie-censorship.com/repo...   Period Variety review from Cannes 2005: https://variety.com/2005/film/markets...   All images are copyright the original owners.

Matthew and Shane duke it out in the back streets of Hell's Kitchen, trying to survive on peanuts, salami and some goofy one-liners.

 

Notes:

Trailer for Paradise Alley: https://youtu.be/mxXdouKmoOY

1978 NY Times review: https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/10/archives/movies-rocky-goes-to-limbo-in-paradise-alleyrocky-as-wrestler.html

 

Matthew and Shane get lost in Germany with Wim Wender's astonishing and tender road trip classic from 1974.   Notes:   Trailer for 'Alice In The Cities': https://youtu.be/MoRe7srFtZ8   MOMA archive footage of Wuppertal Suspended Railway from 1902: https://youtu.be/MoRe7srFtZ8   Wim Wenders interview with BFI: https://youtu.be/FbzFZ0CjEVY

Matthew and Shane go crazy scrutinising their masculinity with Donald Cammell's 'White of The Eye' (1987).

Notes:

Trailer for 'White of The Eye': https://youtu.be/u4WMa5SfqJg

'White of The Eye' at the IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094320/

Arrow Films release info: https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/white-of-the-eye-dual-format/FCD900

Kermode's excellent intro for 'White of The Eye' on BFI Player: https://youtu.be/QbOFXh2CW1Q

 

Shane and Matthew are cursed to battle for eternity as they slice through Kihachi Okamoto’s The Sword of Doom from 1966.

Notes:

2017 article on Tatsuya Nakadai: https://www.filmcomment.com/article/tastuya-nakadai-the-sword-of-doom/

The Sword of Doom at Criterion: https://www.criterion.com/films/925-the-sword-of-doom

The Sword of Doom HD Trailer: https://youtu.be/FGhpT8PGslA

 

Matthew and Shane get their brains sucked dry by David Cronenberg's horror/thriller Scanners from 1981.

Notes:

Scanners at the IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081455

Stephen Lack interview at Film Comment: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-stephen-lack/

UK 'X' certificate trailer for Scanners: https://youtu.be/tqvPviqbb4c

 

The Xmas Special: Matthew and Shane sit down for a holiday movie that ticks all the boxes. Paul Newman stars in Robert Benton's adaptation of Nobody's Fool (1994).

Notes:

Nobody's Fool at the IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110684/

The locations of Nobody's Fool: www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/rob/?p=2262

NY Times period review: https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/23/movies/film-review-paul-newman-in-blue-collar-gear.html

 

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

 

Shane and Matthew get kicked around East London by Peter Sellers whilst watching John Guillermin's brutal British crime classic Never Let Go (1960).

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/gfH4KzWbSVk

Never Let Go at the IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054115/

Full film of Never Let Go on youtube: https://youtu.be/ITVbGJ0Unn8

Never Let Go filming locations database: https://www.reelstreets.com/films/never-let-go/

John Guillermin's obituary: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/01/john-guillermin-british-director-of-towering-inferno-dies-aged-89

 

Matthew and Shane discover a lost classic and are blown away by Robert Mulligan's crime thriller The Nickel Ride from 1974.

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/bA9NLEyMO7k

Adam Zanzie's authorative video essay on the making of The Nickel Ride: https://youtu.be/pbavxuk-1rY

The Nickel Ride at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073451

The Nickel Ride trailer: https://youtu.be/-PiNYkL4JcU

 

Matthew and Shane have nervous breakdowns discussing Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson's all too human animation Anomalisa from 2015.

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/6En86_PQzOo

Anomalisa on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401878/

Trailer for Anomalisa: https://youtu.be/WQkHA3fHk_0

Interview with Tom Noonan: https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-noonan-voicing-anomalisa-characters-2016-3

Interview with David Thewlis: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/10/david-thewlis-on-anomalisa-the-world-is-enormously-dangerous-and-scary

 

Shane and Matthew fight over turf in NYC with Phil Joanou's 1990 crime saga State of Grace.

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/20YRCUdrj0c

Phil Joanou's Vimeo HD trailer for State of Grace: https://vimeo.com/378846060

IMDB listing for State of Grace: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100685/

Sean Penn Biography that Shane quotes from: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jan/15/film.biography

Interview with Phil Joanou: https://filmmakermagazine.com/94831-we-lost-u2-what-about-ennio-morricone-phil-joanou-on-state-of-grace-making-heavens-prisoners-and-working-for-blumhouse

State of Grace locations: http://onthesetofnewyork.com/stateofgrace.html

 

Shane and Matthew clash over The Exorcist III, William Peter Blatty's sequel to his own groundbreaking novel/film The Exorcist, via the much maligned Exorcist II. The power of Christ compels them to discuss.

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/fhDJszUJZzI

The Exorcist III on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099528

Trailer for The Exorcist III: https://youtu.be/BXsj26KH4jk

Wiki link to Legion (novel): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_(Blatty_novel)

 

Matthew and Shane head behind the iron curtain to post-war Poland and are seduced by Pawel Pawlikowski's masterful Cold War from 2018.

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/pbcfhj7cGIE

Trailer for Cold War: https://youtu.be/BvPkDdFeTk8

IMDB listing for Cold War: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6543652/

Interview with Pawel Pawlikowski: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/09/pawel-pawlikowski-poland-cold-war-ida

Matthew and Shane surrender to the Nazi occupation of England in Kevin Browlow's terrifyingly current It Happened Here from 1964.

----more----Notes: 

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/U--B5_u3T9A

IMDB listing for It Happened Here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055024/

Trailer for It Happened Here: https://youtu.be/XxeTSFSWMLY

BFI article on the making of It Happened Here: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/it-happened-here-kevin-brownlow

 

Shane and Matthew look over Sidney Lumet's corruption saga Prince of The City (1981).

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/rBF_YVQlnSU

Trailer for Prince of The City: https://youtu.be/CUz8HKTGsPM

Prince of The City at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082945/

 

Shane and Matthew look at Michael Ritchie's surprisingly fresh sports movie Downhill Racer from 1969.

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/5lwqWxcEbTg

Downhill Racer trailer: https://youtu.be/Qg3zdWb8LGc

Downhill Racer at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064253

Interview with Robert Redford: https://youtu.be/fD3vdZAL2Fo

Shane and Matthew review Brian Gibson's 1980 British rock opera Breaking Glass.

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/vL07ZkI_MNo

Hazel O'Connor's website: http://www.hazeloconnor.net/

Breaking Glass trailer: https://youtu.be/FKLp8Y5RlQ8

Breaking Glass at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080469

 

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

 

Shane and Matthew look at James William Guercio's 1973 misunderstood police epic Electra Glide in Blue.

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/7lZSHll2RJk

Trailer for Electra Glide in Blue: https://youtu.be/_ql3l9C_qQ4

Electra Glide in Blue at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070022/

 

In the pilot episode Shane and Matthew look at Ken Russell's 1980 sci-fi horror Altered States.

 

Notes:

Video enhanced version of this episode: https://youtu.be/3Fd-KAHBRH0

Trailer for Altered States: https://youtu.be/0XNVQ4ILPBA

IMDB listing for Altered States: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/

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.

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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.