ROGUE COMMENTARY – Details, episodes & analysis

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes. 

For this episode, I’m joined by Damien Lewis, author of the non-fiction book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the first third of which is now a major motion picture directed by Guy Ritchie.

I read – no, devoured the book before I saw the film, but if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered how many ‘based on a true story’ captions came up before the film started, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it – the story was just too deliciously outrageous to be true. But it is. Surely no human could possibly be as larger-than-life as Anders Lassen? Surely Operation Pitchfork, the truth about which was only declassified in 2016, couldn’t possibly have happened? It was like something out of James Bond, except Churchill was behind it, with both M and Ian Fleming in the room.

It took me a minute to vibe with the Commando comic/boys’ own adventure tone of the film, but once I’d tuned in to its wavelength, I had what can only be described as an outrageously good time with the film, and I’m sure, if you’re listening, you did too. Thanks to Damien’s page-burner – a page-turner where you turn the pages so fast they risk igniting – I already knew the background of the story, but I still wanted to dig deeper, and although time constraints meant Damien couldn’t go the full two-hour film commentary, much less what would have been a reductive and redundant scene-by-scene breakdown, he did give us 90 minutes of gold, smuggled out not of Fernando Po or even Lisbon – that’ll make sense when you listen to the commentary – but from his study in Dorset, where he’s working on a new book, based – if you can believe this – on an even more unbelievable yet true story from the Second World War.

Enormous thanks to Damien, of course, but also Sophie Ransom and Poppy Delingpole for helping to set it up.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes. 

For this episode, we’re joined by Swiss director Peter Luisi for a fascinating discussion about his new film The Last Screenwriter, the first film scripted entirely by A.I. – specifically ChatGPT4.0

Now, before you grab your pitchforks and burning torches and lay siege to Rogue Commentary HQ, hear me out: I’m staunchly, even militantly anti-A.I. in the arts. But when I heard that London’s beloved Prince Charles Cinema had called off what was to be the world premiere of The Last Screenwriter because of blowback it receive online, I was disheartened, because it seemed that Peter’s film was a genuine attempt to engage with the question of A.I. in film specifically, and that we desperately needed to have the kind of conversation the film should have, and would have, provoked. Instead, by shelving the screening, conversation as shut down. As I said in my subsequent piece for Time Out, I don’t think the screening would have been cancelled if the film was being presented as an experimental film by a known quantity such as a Michael Winterbottom, a Steven Soderbergh or Mike Figgis.

While not exactly a household name in his native Switzerland, Peter co-wrote his country’s excellent Oscar entry for 2007, Vitus, and is the writer, director and producer of last year’s Bonjour Switzerland, the 8th most successful Swiss film of all time, and the biggest-grossing film in Switzerland since the advent of streaming.

The Last Screenwriter is now available online, for free, at lastscreenwriter.com and there’s no need to have seen it before listening to Peter’s commentary, but whether or not you’ve seen the film – and I would urge you to give it a watch – I think you’ll find Peter’s commentary as fascinating as I did.

Thanks Peter!

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome esteemed critic and essayist Priscilla Page for a walk through Phil Alden Robinson’s unimprovable 1992 classic Sneakers.

The commentary was recorded for Plumeria Pictures’ formidable 30th anniversary Blu-ray release, which also includes two other commentaries and a brilliant 45-minute video interview with the writer and director. It's available more or less exclusively from PlumeriaPics.co.uk with worldwide shipping available.

Huge thanks to Priscilla and Plumeria for allowing us to air this super informative commentary from not only one of the leading voices in film criticism, by which I mean analysis and knowledgeable enhancement, but arguably the world’s biggest Sneakers fan.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

On this episode, we take a deep dive into Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 thriller Cape Fear, itself based on John D. MacDonald’s 1957 novel The Executioners, in which lawyer Sam Bowden and his family are terrorised by Max Cady, a violent rapist whom Sam testified against in a trial that helped put him in prison for more than a decade. In crafting his own exceptional take on the source materials, screenwriter Wesley Strick twists the knife still further, by making Sam Bowden the lawyer who defended Cady, rather than merely testifying against him, burying testimony that could potentially have exonerated Cady, despite his guilt. In addition, Strick added marital infidelity into the mix, muddying the moral and ethical waters of the story and enhancing the female roles of Sam’s wife and daughter, played here by Academy Award® winner Jessica Lange and newcomer Juliette Lewis, as well as adding a brand new character, Lori, played by Scorsese’s then girlfriend Illeana Douglas.

Leading the cast are Nick Nolte as Sam and Robert De Niro as Max Cady, while three members of Thompson’s cast – Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam – make cameo appearances, Elmer Bernstein retools Bernard Herrmann’s original score for the new production, and the whole thing is shot by veteran British cinematographer Freddie Francis. Even on paper, it’s quite a heady mix.

Everything in Scorsese’s remake, originally intended to be directed by Steven Spielberg, is turned up to 11, but although many assume that this was Scorsese’s influence, much of what we see in the film was present in Strick’s very first draft, and I’ve always been fascinated by the evolution of the story from its relatively straightforward dual source material as straight thriller to grand guignol monster movie, so I was thrilled when Wes kindly agreed to join me for his first full audio commentary for the 1991 film, now that, as he points out, more time has passed since his version was released than the 29 years that passed between the original and remake.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome author Paul Tremblay for a walk through M. Night Shyamalan’s film Knock at the Cabin, adapted from Paul’s novel The Cabin at the End of the World. Being a fan of the book before I saw the film, I was fascinated by the story divergences between the source and the adaptation, and was absurdly excited when Paul agreed to record a commentary discussing the ideas behind the book and his thoughts about the film. I was even more thrilled when Paul told me he’d be joined on his commentary by friend and fellow horror writer John Langan, award-winning author of The Fisherman (currently unavailable on hive in the UK). I would always recommend you taking the trouble to cue the commentary up to the film, but this works brilliantly as a stand-alone listen, and – if you haven't read the book, which you should – you'll be pleased to hear there are no book spoilers here (but plenty of film ones, for obvious reasons).

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

This is our first episode to feature a documentary, which is not surprising because documentaries normally speak for themselves. But I think Electric Malady is such a unique presentation, I was really keen to discover the story of how it came to be, and some of the techniques that were used to film it so sensitively. I assume you’ve seen the BAFTA nominated film if you’ve made it this far, but if you haven’t, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Like most people, I hadn’t really heard of electrosensitivity until I saw the storyline about Michael McKean’s character in Better Call Saul, and Electric Malady came along at just the right time to explore the condition through the eyes of someone with first hand experience. So huge thanks to Marie and Michael for talking us through their experiences making Electric Malady, which – if you haven’t seen yet – is now hitting streaming services, starting with Curzon Home Cinema.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome back my screenwriting hero and mentor Steven de Souza, who not only wrote some of our all-time favourite action movies – Die Hard, 48 Hours, Commando and, yes, The Running Man – but also several early, formative drafts of the infamous 1991 action-romantic-comedy-trainwreck Hudson Hawk, subsequently rewritten by Daniel Waters and an ad-libbing Bruce Willis.

It's well known that Hudson Hawk went wildly off the rails during production, but whether you love it or loathe it – for me it’s a little from column 'A', a little from column 'B' – it’s fascinating to unpick the story of how Steven’s drafts devolved into the film that crash-landed in cinemas in the summer of 1991.

Steven was an early guest on Rogue Commentary, for our Die Hard episode back in Christmas 2021, and it remains, as you’d expect, our biggest hit. I’m thrilled that he’s come back to join me for a walk through one of cinema’s greatest examples of a curate’s egg.

Thanks to Paul Randles for dedicated research!

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

This episode is sponsored by boutique Blu-ray label Plumeria Pictures, whose latest release is The Big Man, aka Crossing the Line, an underrated 1990 drama with a blistering lead performance by Liam Neeson, and a cast that includes Joanne Whalley, Ian Bannen, Billy Connolly, Hugh Grant, Peter Mullan and more. The Blu-ray contains not one but three new audio commentaries, from producer Stephen Woolley, director David Leland and screenwriter Don Macpherson. Check out this and other Plumeria exclusives at PlumeriaPics.co.uk and use code ROGUE10 at checkout to get 10% off storewide.

For this, our 25th episode, I’m delighted to welcome Academy Award® nominated screenwriter, director, podcaster and famous non-reader of scripts Josh Olson, for a walk through A History of Violence, David Cronenberg’s 2005 adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.

Olson received his first Oscar® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film, and if you’ve read the source material, it's easy to see why, as he distilled the essence from Wagner and Locke’s neo-noir page-turner – which is almost impossible not to read in a single sitting – into a film that goes fathoms deeper in its exploration of how violence infects ordinary people, as insidiously, inescapably and devastatingly as any of the physiological effects in Cronenberg’s body-horror oeuvre.

I’m immensely grateful to Josh for joining me on this journey, not least because his episode-by-episode deconstruction of The West Wing in his and Dave Anthony’s podcast The West Wing Thing, was key to making lockdown bearable. I’m also a long time fan of his other podcast, The Movies That Made Me, and I’m now juggling episodes of that with episodes of his brilliant audio drama podcast Bronzeville, starring Laurence Fishburne, Lorenz Tate, Mekhi Pfeiffer, Lance Reddick and many more, with his new politics podcast The Audit. In short, it’s all Josh all the time on my podcast player.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to the latest edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

This episode is sponsored by boutique Blu-ray label Plumeria Pictures, whose latest release is The Big Man, aka Crossing the Line, an underrated 1990 drama with a blistering lead performance by Liam Neeson, and a cast that includes Joanne Whalley, Ian Bannen, Billy Connolly, Hugh Grant, Peter Mullan and more. The Blu-ray contains not one but three new audio commentaries, from producer Stephen Woolley, director David Leland and screenwriter Don Macpherson. Check out this and other Plumeria exclusives at PlumeriaPics.co.uk and use code ROGUE10 at checkout to get 10% off storewide.

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome one of my favourite film critics, Walter Chaw, author of the new book A Walter Hill Film: Tragedy and Masculinity in the films of Walter Hill, published by MZS Press. Chaw’s insights opened up a whole new perspective for me on Walter Hill’s filmography, and when I decided to open up the Rogue Commentary concept beyond filmmakers, Chaw immediately came to mind. So without further ado, here he is with an exclusive audio commentary for Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire, which you can find here (UK) and here (US).

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2023 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to the latest edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Hayley Schore, co-screenwriter of Call Jane, Carol director Phyllis Nagy’s under-appreciated 2022 film about the "Janes", the underground group that gave Chicago women access to abortions in the pre-Roe v Wade years. Needless to say the film, which stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Chris Messina and Kata Mara, took on a horrible new resonance when the Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022.

I really enjoyed Call Jane – which can be found here (UK) and here (US) – but I was particularly struck by the clever construction of the screenplay, which is why I wanted Hayley to walk us through it. If you haven’t seen the film, I urge you to track it down, and then come back and listen to hear how development took shape, and the decisions that informed its gestation across 28 screenplay drafts.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a tweet.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A Synchronicity production. Conceived, written and presented by David Hughes. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

All content © 2022 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.