Episoder
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In Part 2 of my 3-part exploration of the brilliance, humor, and bravura filmmaking of Marty Scorcese's 'Goodfellas', I talk about iconic scenes from the film's first half, including:
The Bamboo Lounge Crew Introduction scene with Pete The Killer, Freddie No-Nose, and Jimmy Two Times.
The Jimmy/Henry "I'm a clown" scene.
The Copa Entrance scene.
The Bruce beat-down scene.
Morrie's Wigs
The Billy Batts Shinebox scene.
Tommy's Mom's House.
The Spider sequences.
This brings us to the halfway point of the film, and the Spider killing represents the turning point, away from the idolization of gangster gods and deathly into the dark heart of the reality of low-level mob-guy life.
In Part 3, we'll cover the rest of the film's scenes, including the stupendous extended cocaine sequences.
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This is the first of at least 2 episodes about Martin Scorcese's 1990 masterpiece 'Goodfellas'. Let's be honest: it'll probably take three episodes to cover all the genius onscreen in this epitome of the perfect film.
In this episode, I explore the film's roots in Nick Pileggi's classic non-fiction book 'Wiseguy', and the early involvement of vital creative participants in the film like producer Irwin Winkler, actors Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino, and Lorraine Bracco, and production team members like Micheal Ballhaus and Thelma Schoonmaker.
In Episode 2, we'll get into the film itself, covering the iconic scenes, the score, the film's reception and legacy, and more.
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Mangler du episoder?
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RIP Teri Garr.
Star Trek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfAP6fJZ1is After Hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPMDA9N1itk Tootsie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3nln2xans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0pUtIIwGHo Michael https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y6NM7Ax9hk Mr. Mom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvQctA3xsoE Young Frankenstein https://youtu.be/H4seOhR5ChI?feature=shared&t=8 -
I'm traveling for work this week so in lieu of a typical episode I'm taking a wild flyer on something new; maybe it'll work maybe it won't! It's a watch-along episode. It's like sitting next to me at a screening of 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and me talking all the through the movie with salient interjections like "Oh I love this part" and "How cool is Brad??". THIS IS HOW I FIND THE REAL FCAC HEADS!
Should you actually want to watch along with me...there's a countdown a couple minutes into the episode where you can press play on the media of your choice. We should be in sync then. But no watching is required, you can enjoy this like you would listen to a DVD Commentary as a podcast. What, you don't listen to DVD Commentaries as Podcasts???
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Director Mary Herron and her co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner did what 'American Psycho' author Bret Easton Ellis thought was impossible: made a film of his controversial, considered-unfilmable 1991. novel.
And the lens through which they espied Patrick Bateman proved exactly the right way to gain something meaningful out of what, frankly, is a pretty unreadable and repetitive novel.
The astonishing lead performance from Christian Bale catapulted him to the stardom and rarified air he continues to occupy as an actor today. And the performance is a wonder to dissect, if you'll pardon the pun.
Featuring a wonderful assortment of supporting actors like Willem Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny, Justin Theroux, Reese Witherspoon, Reg E. Cathey, Josh Lucas, Matt Ross, Jared Leto, Cara Seymour and Samantha Mathis, the film is one of the most essential films about NYC in the 80's.
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Brains addled after 'Megalopolis', I attempted and then discarded the idea to do 'Blazing Saddles' but was left wanting. So then, in a way I don't fully understand, but probably having to do with the idea of films that are said to be 'so bad they're good', I somehow arrived at the idea of doing Iain Softley's 1995 film 'Hackers' starring Angelina Jolie in her first onscreen role, Johnny Miller, and pre-fame Wendell Pierce and Felicity Huffman.
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I went and saw Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' so you don't have to. You're welcome.
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Actor Kathy Baker joins the podcast this week for a very special episode about her 1988 film 'Clean and Sober'.
Director Glenn Gordon Caron probably needed a stiff drink or 20 after coming off the tumultuous four-season run of 'Moonlighting' with its famously fractious co-stars. Instead he chose to direct one of the most underappreciated film gems of the 80's in 'Clean and Sober', co-produced by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, and M Emmet Walsh in the story of a commercial real estate broker spiralling into...and reluctantly out of...cocaine and alcohol addiction.
Incisively ritten by Tod Carroll, a National Lampoon writer with only two other film credits to date, 'Clean and Sober' was Keaton's first foray into a non-comedic film role, a fact that caused the studio some consternation at the time. Freeman and Baker were coming off of award-winning roles in 'Street Smart', a Golan-Globus production about a NYC journalist intertwined with a pimp and prostitute, and everyone in the cast of 'Clean and Sober' turned in absolutely phenomenal performances...even Oscar-worthy performances...yet the studio didn't really know how to market or release a film they considered hard-to-define and after only 3 weeks of a summetime release, the film was largely abandoned in the marketplace.
In this special episode of the Full Cast and Crew podcast, I talk with Kathy Baker about her indelible role as Charlie, her experiences making the film, and her approaches to acting and the collaborative nature of filmmaking.
Join us as we spend some well-deserved time giving 'Clean and Sober' its due as still the best film ever made about the tricky early days of sobriety and digging into Kathy's experiences making the film.
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After two episodes about 'The Shining' and a couple weeks wondering what to do for Episode 200 of the podcast....events at the Presidential Debate pointed me in the direction of 'Peanuts' and the relatively terror-free childhood presented specifically in the 1972 Election special 'You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown'.
In this Special, Charlie Brown neither runs for office nor is or isn't elected. But the satirical pleasures abound otherwise in this still-incisive takedown of political and campaign mores and realities.
As ever, the incredible music of Vince Guaraldi and his Trio provide accompaniment. Musings range far and wide in this episode.
Thank you for listening for 200 episodes!
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In Episode 197, I covered much of the backstory and making-of history behind 'The Shining'.
In this episode, I cover many of the scenes in the film that I didn't get to in Part 1, along with other commentary and observations about the film, Kubrick, 'Doctor Sleep', and 'Room 237'. Come and play with us, for ever...and ever...and ever.
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I went from not really ever wanting to watch 'The Shining' again...to now doing my first-ever two-part episode!
Funny how often the answer to 'why did that film affect me so much as a child?' turns out to be 'DUH!'.
Part 1 covers the origin story of the film, some of the King/Kubrick interplay over the years, the casting, the sound design, the music, and some cinema speculation on what it's all about.
Will post all episode materials and links when I post Part 2, which will cover the design and build of the sets, specific scenes, and MORE.
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Paul Brickman's 'Risky Business' is one of the greatest films of the 80's and is so much more than the "teen sex comedy" many people thought they were getting at the time. Frame by frame, it's really a masterpiece with so many aspects and elements of brilliance. The score by Tangerine Dream, Tom Cruise at NINETEEN, Rebecca De Mornay, the genius editing of Richard Chew...on and on...what an incredible film. And Paul Brickman would direct only ONE more feature film in his career to date. Astounding. Worthy of a rare Saturday pod!
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Little-seen but worthy, the 1985 John Candy comedy 'Summer Rental' is due for a little revisit and respect!
On the news of a forthcoming and hopefully definitive John Candy documentary directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, I stumbled across this film (which I'd never even heard of) and found myself gleefully experiencing an expertly-cast superior comedy of its era with a typically warm, truthful, harder-than-it-looks John Candy performance at its center. It's a pleasant surprise of a great family movie and I hope you'll see it out!
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I gave up drinking. I gave up drugs. I don't smoke. BUT I CAN'T QUIT DEAD & COMPANY! And I hope I never do!
With the wife and daughter overseas on a girl's trip, I went back to Vegas for Week Seven of the Dead and Company shows over the 4th of July Weekend at the Sphere Las Vegas.
This short (18 minutes) episode is not an inside-Dead show rundown, but a paen to the joys of live music played at this incredible level of proficiency and a call-to-arms to all musicians especially to make the trek before it's too late!
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Well, it's not really a summer movie but nonetheless I ended up appreciatiating the weird-in-a-good-way 'Vision Quest'. Join me, won't you?
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Peter Yates' 'Breaking Away' is the greatest Townie Movie of all time.
A heart-warming, feel-good film with an extraordinary sense of place.
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Say hello to my little podcast about Brian DePalma and Oliver Stone's 1983 Cocainesterpiece, 'Scarface'.
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Before I get to Oliver Stone and Brian DePalma's 1983 Miami-set remake of 'Scarface'...here's a background episode about the 1932 'Scarface', written by Ben Hecht and directed by Howard Hawks, the Steven Spielberg of the 1930's and 40's.
From that still-vital, seminal gangster film, I also found my way to some others:
Little Caesar is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film distributed by Warner Brothers, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Glenda Farrell, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
The Public Enemy (Enemies of the Public in the UK)[6] is a 1931 American pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Donald Cook and Joan Blondell. Underworld (also released as Paying the Penalty) is a 1927 American silent crime film directed by Josef von Sternberg[1] and starring Clive Brook, Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft. The film launched Sternberg's eight-year collaboration with Paramount Pictures, with whom he would produce his seven films with actress Marlene Dietrich. Journalist and screenwriter Ben Hecht won an Academy Award for Best Original Story.[2]Watch Scarface on Amazon Prime.
Watch Underworld for free here.
Watch The Public Enemy on YouTube.
Watch Little Caesar on YouTube.
Read about the fascinating life of Ben Hecht.
Read the BFI 10 Classic 1930's Gangster Films Article.
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One of the stranger and most poorly-marketed films of the 70's is Nicholas Gessner's adaptation of Laird Koenig's 1974 novel 'The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane'. Far from the horror film the poster and trailer tried to sell audiences on, it's instead an unsettling but realistic portrait of a young girl in an uncertain situation, and a film that I find particularly resonates with people who themselves were 10 or 12 years old in the late 70's.
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It's almost Memorial Day Weekend in the States and that means it's time for Yacht Rock!
The term didn't exist before the 2005 web series of the same name was written, directed, and produced by J. D. Ryznar, David Lyons, Hunter D. Stair, and Lane Farnham.
You can revisit their highly specific genius here.
Before that, music of the type we now refer to as 'Yacht Rock' was known as "The West Coast Sound" and that meant it had characteristics such as being recording in Los Angeles between, roughly, 1972 and 1982, or that heavy session musicians played on the tracks, tracks that often featured electric piano, lyrical tales of romantic failure and ennui, layered backing vocals, and light jazz and R&B elements.
In this episode I recount my journey from a Yacht Rock generalist, to someone who now believes there is a pure YR essence, discernible in the tracks I reference in this episode...and there are other songs considered Yacht Rock that don't really belong in the canon. For example, by my analysis, Steely Dan and Hall & Oates: Not Yacht Rock due to a combination of not being recorded in Los Angeles and being outside the scope lyrically and compositionally. But as my friend and YR Guiding Light Rick Brown says: half the fun is debating what belongs and what doesn't.
In preparing the episode I came to believe strongly in the qualitative superiority of the tracks recorded in Los Angeles. I think it's demonstrable upon hearing them. For the sake of your ears, I prepared two Spotify Playlists:
Yacht Rock: Recorded In LA
And
Yacht Rock: Nyacht From LA
I also explore a few examples of really fun outlier tunes from unexpected sources and encourage you to suggest additional songs that do or don't fit the criteria.
Thanks for listening, and do me a favor and share this or your favorite episode with one or two friends who you think might enjoy it! Jason - Se mer
