The Cinematologists Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In the final episode of the latest season – Neil’s solo adventure – Neil talks to filmmaker, writer and comedian Scott Tanner Jones about collecting physical media. In an episode with a similar approach to the previous one with Kat Flint-Nicol, Neil brings to the podcast a conversation about themes and ideas that permeate his thinking around a particular area of film, and wider popular culture. In this episode Neil and Scott discuss their approaches to collecting films (and records) in physical form.

The conversation takes in areas such as curating what you watch, interest in particular physical media boutique labels, how physical media isn’t the be all and end all, cataloguing the year in film in different ways, studio interest and care in their back catalogues, Scott’s favourite places in his adopted hometown of LA to watch movies, the demand on our eyeballs and they answer the question, is David Lynch quirky?

Films discussed in this episode include Cocoon, Something Wild, Midnight Cowboy, E.T., Midnight Run, MaXXXine, La Chimera, Evil Does Not Exist and Hit Man.

To close out the episode and season, Neil shares some of his thoughts on his favourite releases of 2024 so far, and his first half of the year in film watching more broadly.

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You can listen to The Cinematologists for free wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.

We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

You can become a member for only £2.

We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we’ll mention it), and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.

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Music Credits:

‘Theme from The Cinematologists’

Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing.

In the penultimate episode of the season, Neil sits down with friend and colleague Kat Flint-Nicol to think through British cinema. The aim was to focus on regionality, but the conversation is much-more wide ranging than that. It captures the complex intersectionality of place, class, genre, industry gatekeeping, and the relationship between industry and culture. 

Films, places and texts discussed in this discursive chat include Rochester and Dickens, and David Lean’s Great Expectations, Terence Davies, The Commitments, Nick Love, Sexy Beast and the crime cinema that followed it, Muscle and Hyena, Guy Ritchie, Last Orders, Ray Winstone, Rose Glass and Shane Meadows. 

It is fascinating conversation and hopefully provides insight into Neil and Kat’s current thinking about the complexities of British Cinema historically and contemporarily.

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You can listen to The Cinematologists for free wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.

We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

You can become a member for only £2.

We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we’ll mention it), and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.

Huge thanks to the publicist Chris Lawrance for making this conversation happen.

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Music Credits:

‘Theme from The Cinematologists’

Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing.

In the first episode of season 19 Neil takes the reins solo, with Dario on sabbatical, for a conversation with one of the UK’s leading filmmakers Jeanie Finlay, ahead of her popular and powerful new documentary Your Fat Friend, released in UK cinemas on Feb 9, 2024.

Jeanie returns to the podcast having recorded a live conversation about her career to date and previous release, Seahorse (2019), at the film festival Neil co-directed in Luton, Filmstock. This conversation is wide-ranging. It covers her craft and cinematic process, her evolution and growth as a filmmaker, her commitment to creating more visibility for key emerging filmmaking roles around mental health and wellbeing, Fatness, the Internet, bias, being tender to yourself, embodiment and ethics. There is also moment where talk turns to her great friend Tom Butchart, the owner and star of Sound It Out [the shop and the film].

Your Fat Friend tells the story of Aubrey Gordon following her emergence as a writer on medium [here’s a link to her first post as YrFatFriend, which Jeanie mentions in the conversation), through publishing her first book and becoming a hugely successful podcaster. It provides a profound, moving and challenging insight into a life lived online in a body that society takes umbrage with, showcasing Aubrey’s courage to keep having a vital conversation about Fatness in the face of vitriolic hate and violence and the real cultural change she is at the vanguard of as a result. Like all of Jeanie’s films, this is a film about those who are looked at but not seen and, like Seahorse, is a film about coming into being in a fuller way than was previously imagined by an incredible human being.

For more information on the film and where to see it. Visit https://www.yrfatfriendfilm.com/

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You can listen to The Cinematologists for free wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.

We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.

We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it), and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.

----

Music Credits:

‘Theme from The Cinematologists’

Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing.

In the final episode of season 10, we look back over 2019 with film highlights we wanted to discuss again. This is not a ranking or a best of, merely a celebration of the year in film and our personal choices of the work we think should be seen and discussed. Here's a list of all the films on our agenda:

Ad Astra; Amazing Grace; Apollo 13; Atlantics; Bait; Burning; Capernaum; Dolemite is My Name; Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Happy as Lazzaro; Her Smell; High Flying Bird; High Life; If Beale Street Could Talk; The Irishman; Knife and Heart; Madeline's Madeline; Rolling Thunder Review; Three Faces; Transit.

We very much appreciate the loyalty of our audience throughout the year. It is one of the key motivators for doing on the show the way we do as we continue to grow. As you probably know, one of the issues for independent podcasts, which don't have 'stars' and the automatic audience that brings, is visibility and discoverability. We hope you continue to find value in the show and we really appreciate it when you share and recommend our episodes on social media:

Twitter: @Cinematologists;

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinematologists/?ref=bookmarks;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecinematologists/

If you ever have time to review the podcast on your podcast player of choice, this also helps with expanding the audience. For those who want to go a stage further please consider signing up for our Patreon membership: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. It is only $2.50 per month and you get our monthly newsletter along with bonus content and extended interviews with our guests. We are committed to keeping the show ad-free and this small support really helps with running costs and production improvements that we are always looking to make.

All the best for 2020 and thank you for your continued support. Lots of love, Dario and Neil.

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

The second of instalment of our BFI Musicals two-parter sees Neil and Dario take a deep dive into the glorious world of Barbra Streisand. Neil was invited to Plymouth Arts Centre to take part in the Reclaim The Frame screening of Funny Girl (a film neither Neil nor Dario had seen), hosted by Mia Bays and the brilliant Birds Eye View organisation.

This episode sees Neil and Dario discuss the stardom and career of Streisand, alongside an interview between Neil and Mia, Mia’s introduction to the screening and the post-screening panel featuring Neil, director and music video legend Andrew ‘Wiz’ Whiston and Professor of Performance Studies at the University of Plymouth, Prof. Roberta Mock.

Thanks to Annabel Grundy and the team at BFI National Seasons for the opportunity and support.

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

The first of our episodes in partnership with the BFI’s Blockbuster season on Musicals finds us discussing our relationship to the genre and its descendants as well as responding to a series of interviews conducted by Neil over the last couple of months. Guests on this special episode are the critic/historian Pamela Hutchinson who gives a brilliant overview of the musical form and suggests some gems to look out for, writer Tom MacRae who talks about the process of adapting his own West End smash Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for the screen, and Justine Waddell from Kino Klassika, an amazing organisation bringing Russian and Soviet Cinema to the screen, talks about their stunning programme of Soviet Musicals touring cinemas from January 2020.

To really celebrate the Movie Musical, this episode features a plethora of musical delights. You will be hearing (in order) – Leonard Bernstein’s overture from West Side Story, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas sung by Judy Garland, from Meet Me In St. Louis, Elvis Presley singing Trouble, from King Creole, the official trailer for the West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the title song from Leto (Summer), Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga singing Shallow, from A Star Is Born, and Science Fiction Double Feature from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, sung by Richard O’Brien. 

Thanks to Annabel Grundy and the team at BFI National Seasons for the opportunity and support.

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

Today's episode features a raft of interviews recorded a Filmstock12, the Luton film festival organised by Neil with his long-time collaborator Justin Doherty, which returned this year after a 10-year hiatus. Fiercely proud of his Luton roots, Neil talks to Dario about the origins of the festival, the programming ethos, why it came back this year, and what it represents as a cultural marker for Luton.

While Neil and Justin were organising and presenting the festival Dario acted as roving interviewer at large, speaking to 5 of the filmmakers who were screening films:

1. Dan Schneidkraut, a Minneapolis based filmmaker with a provocative and unique filmmaking sensibility who actually had 3 films playing at the festival: Wish You Were Here; Shooting at the O.K. Corral & Father's Day.

2: Christine Franz the Producer and director of Bunch of Kunst the documentary about British Punk duo The Sleaford Mods.

3: Toby Matthews won the youth jury award for his Tati inspired comedy Holiday!, set in Cornish coastal town of Mousehole.

4. Lutonian Gillian Harker the actor turned writer/director talks about her intimate debut short Cross.

5. Edwin Miles screened a poignant film about the relationship he has with his Grandma, the subject of his short Rose. 

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

In another first for the Cinematologists, we are hugely excited to present The Lobster with a live score from the classical group the Solem Quartet and in association with Picturehouses cinemas. Live cinema events featuring musical accompaniments are becoming more prevalent as part of the auditorium experience; they echo cinema's past but also a look to the future as audiences seek out material experiences that go beyond or add onto traditional screenings, and perhaps look for a break from the digital. This event took place at the beautiful Gate Cinema in Notting Hill, to a packed house, with Dario introducing the event and discussing the production with the musicians in a post-screening Q&A.

Devised, arranged and performed by The Solem Quartet the screening included classic pieces including Beethoven op. 18/1, Shostakovich Quartet no. 8, Schnittke Quartet no. 2, Schnittke Quintet for Piano and Strings, Stravinsky 3 Pieces for String Quartet, Britten Quartet no. 1, Strauss Don Quixote. The music underscores beautifully the dark humour and surrealist milieu of Lanthimos' social satire. 

Winner of the 2014 Royal Over-Seas League Ensemble Competition, the Solem Quartet was formed in 2011 at the University of Manchester. The Quartet takes its name from the university's motto "arduus ad solem", meaning "striving towards the sun". The quartet enjoys a busy concert schedule performing at venues both across the UK – including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Bridgewater Hall and Holywell Music Room – and internationally. In keeping with its name, the Solem Quartet’s first project was to play the Haydn Op. 20 “Sun” Quartets. Their repertoire is extensive, spanning the period from early Haydn to a broad spectrum of living composers including Larry Goves, Anna Meredith, John Luther Adams and Emily Howard, whose quartet ‘Afference’ they performed in a BBC Proms Extra broadcast, live on BBC Radio 3.

 There are still dates available for upcoming live scorings of The Lobster. Click here for details 

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

In our first episode from Filmstock 12 - the Luton based film festival organised by Neil in collaboration with Justin Doherty - we are delighted to welcome back on the podcast director Mark Jenkin. In this live Q&A Mark talks to Dario about his incredible year and the success of Bait, which has been met with universal critical acclaim and considerable box office success. That a black and white hand-processed experimental film about Cornish fisherman has become the stories of the year in film, is a testament to a filmmaker who has never compromised on his politics and artistic sensibility. Mark also discusses his career including his first feature Golden Burn and his recent diary film Vertical Shapes on a Horizontal Landscape, along with inspirations such as Robert Bresson, Nick Darke and Andrew Kötting. It's great to have Mark back to his spiritual podcast home. 

Shownotes

Watch Golden Burn Here.

Peter Bradshaw's Review from Berlinale

Mark's interview with Philip Concannon in Sight and Sound

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists

For episode 90 Dario and Neil go old school for the film and the format. In this classically structured episode the focus of attention is on the 1994 action classic Speed, screened for the Film at Falmouth 2019 Freshers audience at The Poly in Falmouth.

The discussion ranges across contemporary and classic action movies and stars including Harrison Ford, Arnie, The Stath, Cruise, Aliens, Dredd and much more, as well as the film as in service of pure spectacle, the uniqueness of Keanu and the special chemistry he shares in this film with co-star Sandra Bullock.

Thanks to The Poly, and Dr Verena Von Eicken for co-hosting the live event.

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Here's a link to Neil's piece on Doc 'n Roll Fest for the Quietus that he discusses early on this episode.

You can also listen to The Cinematologists here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cinematologists-podcast/id981479854?mt=2

Our Website: www.cinematologists.com

PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/series-2416725

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0RjNz8XDkLdbKZuj9Pktyh

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists