Explore every episode of the podcast Twin Features

In this episode our focus is on Heroes & Villains and our Twin Feature is Happy Gilmore (1996) & The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007).

When thinking of classic character types, there is a good chance the hero and the villain are the first that come to mind. Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Batman & The Joker, Chief Martin Brody & The Shark who terrorised Amity Island. Instantly recognisable archetypes that have become ingrained in the media we watch. And when looking at cinema through this structuralist context, it's easy to see how those underlying narrative concepts are present, and incredibly similar, even in the most unassuming of places, namely a brash 90s sports comedy, and a niche arcade gaming documentary.

Sources:

Hayward, S. (2006), Cinema Studies: Key Concepts. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge

Campbell, J. (2008), The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 3rd Edition. Novato, CA: New World Library

Levi-Strauss, C. (1983), The Raw and the Cooked: Mythologiques, Volume 1. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press

Lacey, N. (2000), Narrative and Genre: Key Concepts in Media Studies. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press

Propp, V. (1971), Morphology of the Folktale. 2nd Revised Edition. Edited by Louis A. Wagner. Translated by Laurence Scott. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press

In this episode our focus is on Voyeurism and our Twin Feature is Wings of Desire (1987) & Under the Skin (2013).

These films take place predominantly from the perspective of otherworldly beings, inconspicuously observing everyday lives in order to understand the human condition. Both take quite a left-field approach to the traditional notion of voyeurism and more specifically the 'gaze', subverting it in similar ways while also being wholly original and unique texts in relation to their contexts of production.

Sources:

Mulvey, Laura. (1975). "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Screen

Hayward, S. (2006), Cinema Studies: Key Concepts. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge

Mella, R. (2022). 'To Be Alien: The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer'. Available at: https://www.odgmagazine.com/essere-lalieno-il-cinema-di-jonathan-glazer/

Ellwood, G. (2014). ‘Did Scarlett Johansson really walk around Scotland unnoticed filming ‘Under the Skin?’. Available at: https://uproxx.com/hitfix/did-scarlett-johansson-really-walk-around-scotland-unnoticed-filming-under-the-skin/

Leigh, D. (2014). ‘Under the Skin: why did this chilling masterpiece take a decade?’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/06/under-the-skin-director-jonathan-glazer-scarlett-johansson

In this episode our focus is on Stardom, and our Twin Feature is The Third Man (1949) & Pale Rider (1985).

With Orson Welles in The Third Man and Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider, both films use their stars presence (or a notable lack of it) in similar ways. Two titans of cinema, Welles and Eastwood loom over these films, both as their characters within the story, and in the wider context of the film's productions. We take a look at just how impactful these stars are in regards to each films production, filmmaking, and audience perception of their characters.

Sources:

Rossenbaum, J. (2007). Discovering Orson Welles. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press

McDonald, P. (2013). Hollywood Stardom. Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell

Dyer, R. and McDonald, P. (1998) [1979]. Stars. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute

Bogdanovich, P. Welles, O. (1993). This Is Orson Welles. Edited by Rossenbaum. London: HarperCollins

Neibaur, J. L. (2015). The Clint Eastwood Westerns. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield

Hayward, S. (2006), Cinema Studies: Key Concepts. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge

Ebert, R. (1985). 'Pale Rider movie review & film summary'. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pale-rider-1985