The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

For the Suggestion Box entry to the "Musicians on Film" cycle, Julian, Madeline and Emilio emerge from seed pods and go one louder for a conversation about 'This is Spinal Tap', Rob Reiner's hilarious and influential mockumentary from 1984 chronicling the US tour of England's loudest band.  The trio dig into the film's origins, the improvised acting, the ways in which the movie both lampoons and embraces the music industry, the things it borrowed from and what it foreshadowed about music history, as well as the film's absolutely essential commentary track.  It's a lively discussion that touches on the many things that  make 'This is Spinal Tap' such a fun film for musicians and non-musicians alike.

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Julian, Madeline, and Emilio are joined by writer, performer, cultural connoisseur, and Julian's longtime friend Michaela Brady, for a bonus episode on Emerald Fennell's recent shock-laden estate film "Saltburn." Aided by Michaela's regional expertise as an alum of Oxford University (and current resident in said city), the group dive into the workings of this anti-hero-centric film, praising such details as its visuals and soundtrack while devoting careful attention to its narrative details. Throughout this experience, they consider the film's treatment of themes such as shock value and social class in the UK, as well as its place in the broader "Estate" genre, and how it compares to other films of a similar sort... 

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Follow Michaela Brady on IG @mnbawriter or @jane_n_jeff, and check out her writing and blog at michaela-n-brady.com.

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Julian, Madeline, and Emilio are joined by Lily Desmond of the band Sloppy Jane to venture into the midnight realm with a discussion on the new film "I Saw the TV Glow." The group dive into its portrayals of such themes as media obsession, personal identity crisis, and co-dependency, along with its abundance of music, aided by Lily's perspective on Sloppy Jane's presence in the film. They also discuss which experiences in their lives most closely resemble main character Owen's relationship with the Pink Opaque, and reminisce about the television shows with clear homages in the film, bookended by comparisons both apparent and "unlikely..." 

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Listen to Lily Desmond's music on Spotify and Bandcamp, and follow them on IG @lilygoddamndesmond

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This week, The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast joins forces with Down the Yellow Brick Pod hosts Emily Kay Shrader and Tara Tagliaferro, two of the world's leading experts on all things Oz, to discuss one of the more bizarro films ever to be influenced by 1939's classic 'The Wizard of Oz' - the third and final installment of John Waters' trash trilogy, 1977's 'Desperate Living'.  Emily and Tara come to this film with plenty of Oz-related background, and weigh in on several of the homages that Waters seems to have snuck into this film: a demented "Over the Rainbow", dropped "houses", an "effed-up" Oz/Munchkinland, witches wreaking havoc, villains having a lot of fun, and much, much more!  

Please check out our conversation with Emily and Tara on Down the Yellow Brick Pod about 2018's 'Crazy Rich Asians' and the Oz-related themes that its director John M. Chu, who's directing the theatrical release of 'Wicked', managed to knowingly or unknowingly incorporate.   

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Emilio, Madeline, and Julian continue their High School Movies cycle with a "Mise-Unseen" entry on Alan Parker's 1980 classic, "Fame." Coincidentally a film that none of the trio had seen previously, they look in depth at its ensemble-based depiction of a full four years at New York City's High School of the Performing Arts. Amidst their many talking points, Julian brings a unique perspective to the film as the native New Yorker of the group, while Emilio spins a discussion from the film's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" sequence, and Madeline grades the vowels of every choir singer we see on screen. All three also continue relating their own high school experiences to those shown in the film, and revel in the details of its iconic "Hot Lunch Jam" and street-dancing sequences. They hope it'll be the best experience possible, but whatever you think, one thing's for sure: they just wanna dance!

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Alright, Alright, Alright!  This week Julian, Madeline and Emilio kick off their newest cycle of High School movies by revisiting a 90s favorite about the 70s, Richard Linklater's 'Dazed and Confused'.   The trio looks back on their own time in high school, and discuss what this movie gets right about this time in life.  What signature Linklater touches are present in this movie?  Which of the film's impressive ensemble performances stand out, and which ones leave something to be desired?  What's the deal with all the hazing?  Is Milla Jovovich really playing that guitar?  Which of the several great needle drops is most satisfying?  And which of these characters do each of the co-hosts relate to the most?   

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Bonus episode! Emilio, Madeline and Julian are joined by esteemed NYC musician and bandleader Matt Friedman to discuss one of his favorite films, M. Night Shyamalan's 'Unbreakable'.  The quartet dig into the many fun aspects of this film - the great camera work and the influence comic book imagery has throughout, its status as a revisionist superhero movie, the abundant color symbolism, how its twist ending is still so effective (in spite of being there the whole time in retrospect), and much more.  The group end with a highlight round of Unlikely Shared Universe, that features leaps in time, actual leaps, and a particular brand of nautical nonsense.     

Spoiler alerts for this film, as well as M. Night's related films 'Glass' and, to a lesser extent, 'Split'.

Be sure to check out Matt and his fantastic band Stiletto on IG:
@stilettobandnyc

and at the band's website:
www.stilettobandnyc.com

If you haven't yet, please consider writing us a positive review on the podcast platform of your choice. It really helps us find new listeners, and you'll be doing a nice thing too :)

Email us at sleeplesscinematicpod@gmail.com
Follow us here on IG and on Tik Tok! 
@sleeplesscinematicpod

On Letterboxd?
Follow Julian at julian_barthold and Madeline at patronessofcats

To wrap up their cycle on "Unique Best Picture Winners," Julian, Emilio, and Madeline take a deep dive into the life and work of the great actor John Cazale. Best known as Fredo Corleone in "The Godfather" Parts I and II, Cazale appeared in only five feature films in the 1970s before his untimely passing. However, all five of those films became iconic, both in and beyond his lifetime, and made Cazale a mainstay of the Best Picture Oscar category in the process. On top of the first two "Godfather" films, Cazale also starred in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" (1974), Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), and made his final appearance in Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter" (1978). The trio touch on all five films, focusing in depth on three of them, to appreciate the immense quality of Cazale's acting in the limited quantity of his career, and make external connections and speculations of what Cazale may have gone on to do had he lived longer.      

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For our Unique Best Picture Winner "Two-Shot" episode, Madeline and Julian finally see (and Emilio rewatches) two of the more upsetting upset winners of the Academy Award's last twenty years, Paul Haggis' passion project 'Crash' and Peter Farrelly's mismatched-buddy-road-trip picture 'Green Book'.   They reflect on what social conditions existed that might have led to their ascension to Best Picture consideration, as well as what was internal (and in some cases endemic) within the Academy that put these films  over the top.  The trio is firmly in agreement that the racial themes of 'Crash', while important to consider, are handled so poorly and lazily rendered on screen.  With very few exceptions, the redeeming qualities of 'Crash' are practically non-existent.   And while Emilio agrees with the others that 'Green Book' is not Best Picture worthy, he makes a case for why this movie is a little better than its current reputation would have you think it is. 

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Madeline, Julian, and Emilio continue their cycle on Unique Best Picture Winners with a "Suggestion Box" episode on the 1969 classic "Midnight Cowboy," the first and only X-Rated film to win the top Oscar. As the oldest film the trio have covered to this point, they each think it holds up spectacularly in numerous ways, such as its frenetic dual portrayals of youthful desire and repressed trauma, its iconic needle drops with Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'," and Dustin Hoffman's inimitable overbite. Aided by myriad anecdotes along the way on the film's production and release, director John Schlesinger's greater filmography, and, as it just so happens, Emilio's freshman year at NYU, the trio follow in the footsteps of Joe Buck and Rico "Ratso" Rizzo (luckily without being forced to yell "I'm walkin' here!") and go where the filmic sun keeps shining through the pouring rain.

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider writing us a positive review on your podcast platform of choice. It really helps us be shared and enjoyed by others!

Follow us on IG and TikTok! @sleeplesscinematicpod

Send us an email at sleeplesscinematicpod@gmail.com!

On Letterboxd? Follow Julian @julian_barthold and Madeline @patronessofcats