Words and Movies

In this half of our episode we lighten the tone just a little bit for another Carl Franklin joint, Out of Time, starring Denzel Washington again (of course) along with Eva Mendes, Dean Cain and the always-delightful John Billingsley. In this film Denzel plays a police chief in Florida who needs to clear a murder before he, himself, becomes a suspect. COMING ATTRACTIONS:Our next episode is titled The Magnificent Andersons, as we review films directed by Paul Thomas, and then Wes, Anderson. We'll start with Magnolia (1999), and finish with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Join us, won't you?

This is the second of two episodes in which we look at films in which Denzel Washington is a lawman of some kind. We start with the 1995 neo-noir Devil in a Blue Dress, directed by Carl Franklin and co-starring the likes of Don Cheadle and Jennifer Beals. It's a period piece, set in post-WW2 California, and it deals with a man looking for a job but finding a mystery instead. Stay tuned--in Part 2 we look at 2003's Out of Time (not to be confused with 1987's No Way Out, which has a few plot similarities.)

In the second half of our episode, Denzel returns to the United States, and to New York City for Inside Man (2006), a Spike Lee joint. This is a crime thriller that has Denzel's character matching wits with a bank robber. There are lots of twists and turns and you're never sure who the titular "inside man" is until you're very close to the end—although there are lots of breadcrumbs to help you figure it out. If, that is, you know how to read them. COMING ATTRACTIONS: From the modern-day pieces of today's episode, we're going to jump to a period piece. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) is set in post-war California. There's a mystery to be solved, and Denzel's the man to solve it. Finally, we wrap this package up with Out of Time (2003), which returns Denzel to the present day, but he's back in a tropical (well, subtropical, anyway) location to solve a murder before it can be pinned on him. Join us, won't you?  

This is the first of two episodes we'll be doing, featuring Denzel Washington as a law enforcement officer of some kind. We open up with The Mighty Quinn, a 1989 film that Washington made right on the heels of his stint in the television show St. Elsewhere. (Don't mistake it for his film debut, though.) Denzel is a police officer on a Caribbean island and there are some strange doings happening, which point to a good friend of his as the culprit. It's a story of comedy, corruption, government interference, voodoo, cool drinks and hot music as he works to crack the case. In Part Two we come back to the states for Inside Man, from 2006.

In Part 2 of our triumphant return (shrug), we look at 2015's The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott. This film is set on two different planets: one of them has billions of people on it, and the other has...one. And we manage to jump back and forth between the two with tension and humor, and it's a fun ride the entire way. Does it make awesome scientific sense? Mostly, and the places where it doesn't, even the author (whose work is rather faithfully reproduced for this film) concedes that he needed to pull a couple of fast ones to get the story to work out. COMING ATTRACTIONS: We hope you like Denzel Washington, because we'll be seeing a bunch of him. First up is The Mighty Quinn, where he's fresh out of St. Elsewhere (but this isn't his film debut by a long shot). From there we check out The Inside Man, a movie with an ending you probably didn't see coming.

The show returns to begin 2025 with a look at a pair of films that, on their surface, couldn't possibly be more different from one another--but in fact they have more in common than you'd think. Both of them owe some debt to Howard Hawks, whether in visual style or dialogue patterns, or something else. And we start with 1994's Speed, directed by Jan de Bont in his American directorial debut. Quick wit combined with action sequences make this a tight thriller with a light rom-com overlay. In Part 2, we'll jump to 2015...and beyond!

In this half of the episode, we look at Bergman Island (2021), written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. It stars Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps as a couple who have come to Faro Island as fans of Ingmar Bergman and want to take the tourist view while they complete their own work in a house they've rented. Like some Bergman films, as the characters move deeper into the story, the line between the audience and the actors begins to dissolve, and we're reminded that we're watching a movie starring these actors-as-characters. It's hard to describe in writing but Bergman fans will understand instantly when they see the film. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Next time around, the directorial inspiration is Howard Hawks, with a couple of fairly recent films: Speed (1994) directed by Jan de Bont, and The Martian (2015), directed by Ridley Scott. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In our last episode we took a look at films that followed Alfred HItchcock's filmmaking style. This time around we're looking at films that have deep echoes of the work of Ingmar Bergman. We start with Away From Her (2006), written and directed by Sarah Polley. Julie Christie plays a woman whose Alzheimer's is starting to advance, and her husband (Gordon Pinsent) has to deal with the guilt, the loneliness and all the other unexpected complications that come with placing her in a facility. It's probably one of the best films about Alzheimer's you'll see, and it's simultaneously sad and uplifting. In Part 2, we'll talk about a movie that's a little more on the nose, with Bergman Island. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this half of the episode, we're looking at Tell No One, a French film from 2006 directed and co-written by Guillaume Canet. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode we go from Hitchcock to Bergman, as we look at a pair of films styled after that director. We start with Away From Her (2006) and then to the aptly-named Bergman Island (2021). Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In today's episode we explore films that look like they could be produced by Alfred Hitchcock, but they weren't. We start with Diva, from 1981. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this half of the episode, we're reviewing the 1969 film Z, directed by Costa-Gavras. In this film we're in a European country that totally isn't Greece, and we see both sides of an ideological war between two extreme factions. It's a gripping story with an ending that's all too familiar, if you're politically cynical. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Episode 81 will be the first of three episodes where we look at films which are made in a very specific style. Perhaps it's homage to a director, perhaps it's unconscious imitation. Find out with us as we review 1981's Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. From there we move to 2006 and Tell No One, directed by Guillaume Canet, both of which appear to be shot in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this episode, we'll be taking a look at a pair of political thrillers, both of them based on real-life events. (It should be noted, however, that one of them is definitely fiction. Thinly-disguised fiction, but fiction nonetheless.) We start with The Battle of Algiers (1966), co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. We're not talking about a military battle here so much as a story of terrorism and counter-terrrorism at work. In Part 2 we'll be looking at 1969's Z (or Zed, if you prefer). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We conclude this overstuffed episode with a look at 1976's Network, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring William Holden, Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway. Finch plays a television news anchor who decides to say exactly what's on his mind, and the audience reaction comes as a huge surprise to everyone. His bosses are only too happy to capitalize on this renewed popularity. But even though he's starting to show signs of mental instability, they continue to exploit him...until it stops paying off. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode we take a look at a pair of political thrillers from overseas. We start with The Battle of Algiers (1966), and move on to 1969's Z (or Zed, if you prefer). Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Both Sean and I like both of these films so unabashedly that we wound up with a truly overstuffed episode. This time around we're looking at a pair of films that turned out to be oddly prophetic in their vision, although one of them missed the mark, but only slightly. In this part of the episode we examine the 1957 film A Face in the Crowd, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith as two people whose lives become intertwined when one of them becomes a media sensation. It's a brilliant examination of the "absolute power corrupts absolutely" ethos and leaves us wondering what happens next. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this half of the episode, we look at When Harry Met Sally... and we learn that not all rom-coms are alike, even if most of them look alike and--unfortunately--sound alike. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Next time around we take a look at the dark side of television, starting with A Face in the Crowd (1957) and finishing up with Network (1976). Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We're wrapping up our brief series of films that can definitely be enjoyed on the individual level, but the ripple effects they caused tend to make the films that follow in their wake to be somewhat less than amazing. And this week we begin with Halloween, from 1978 and directed by John Carpenter. Jamie Lee Curtis is a teenager who has some truly supernatural adventures in babysitting. This film set some of the slasher film template, but alas some people just have to color outside the lines. In the next segment we'll find out what happened When Harry Met Sally... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, we review The Accidental Tourist (1986), directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring William Hurt and Geena Davis. Hurt plays a man who's learning to navigate his life after a broken heart, a broken marriage and a broken leg. It's a truly delightful, quiet film that will warm your heart...but there's still an unfortunate side effect to deal with. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Next time around we view a pair of films that are wildly different in both tone and content. We begin with the original Halloween from 1978, directed by John Carpenter and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance.  From there we go to 1989 for Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Join us, won't you?  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

This is the first of two episodes where we look at a pair of films that don't have a ton in common with one another, but instead have created some cultural ripples that haven't always had a positive effect. We begin with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), the first time we've ever gone to the 1939 well after more than 140 films reviewed. This film, directed by Frank Capra, stars James Stewart as a rather naive young man who finds himself at the center of a political storm. Stick around for Part 2, when we talk about The Accidental Tourist. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this episode we review the 1981 film Thief, directed by Michael Mann and starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld. Caan plays a safecracker who's finding it quite impossible to break out of his life of crime. On the other hand, maybe he does find a way... COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode we'll be looking at a pair of beloved films that have had unfortunate side effects. We'll start with 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and then move on to 1988's The Accidental Tourist, a film Claude has loved ever since he attended a showing in which he was one of four people in the audience (but that wasn't a knock on the film--tune in and find out the whole story). Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Both Episode 75 and 76 (this one) have been called "allegory" episodes, but in the interest of transparency we should note that in both cases they're specifically anti-Capitalist allegories. Last time around it was Westerns, and this week we're looking at Gangster movies. And we begin with The Long Good Friday (1981), directed by John Mackenzie and starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Hoskins is a man who learns that respectability doesn't necessarily mean legitimacy. In Part 2, we'll be reviewing Thief, from 1980. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, The Claim (2000) was directed by Michael Winterbottom and stars Peter Mullan, Sarah Polley, Wes Bentley and Milla Jovovich. This one has a similar theme to McCabe, though the romance side is pushed a little more forward. But there are many striking similarities between the two films, as different as they are. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In Reel 76, we look at another pair of allegorical films. We begin with Thief (1981), directed by Michael Mann, and move on to The Long Good Friday (1982), directed by John Mackenzie. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

This week (and next) we'll be looking at films that use genre as an overlay for their larger message. And we begin with two films that use the Western genre to convey their messages. We start with McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), directed by Robert Altman and starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, along with several others from the Altman stable of actors. We often see this film listed as an "anti-Western" because it inverts so many tropes in the genre, and we can't really argue with that. In Part 2, we'll look at a perhaps lesser-known film, The Claim, from 2000. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, we look at There Will Be Blood (2007), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, along with Paul Dano and Kevin J. O'Connor. Day-Lewis is one of the early oil tycoons whose greed takes him down a strange and destructive path. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode, we look at Westerns being used as an anti-Capitalist allegory. What? Yes, indeed, just come along for the ride. We start with McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and finish up with The Claim. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Never mind what Gordon Gekko told you, for lack of a better term. Greed almost invariably leads to a downfall of some kind, and in some cases people learn their lesson and in others, they don't. In this episode we see both sides of that coin, and we start with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt and Walter Huston. They're three Americans who are after a remote gold mine in the Sierra Madre Mountains. They encounter hardship getting there and back, and in between there's all kinds of adventures. In Part 2 we jump to 2007 and There Will Be Blood, part of which is contemporary to Sierra Madre. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, we look at A Most Wanted Man, a 2014 film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright, and a host of others. Again, a powerful cast of actors. Hoffman stars as the head of a covert German team that's trying to root out Islamic terrorist cells. While it's not a Cold War story specifically, there is some Russian involvement and Hoffman is at odds with German and American security officials regarding the ultimate goal. In addition to being a tremendous film, it's also notable for being the last film that Philip Seymour Hoffman starred in before his untimely death. (He'd completed work for the last two Hunger Games films but we're not counting those as starring vehicles for him.) COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode, we explore the wages of greed, starting with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and finishing with There Will Be Blood. They're a pair of films that feature a couple of famous lines that have been endlessly parodied, and we'd bet few people know the original source. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We conclude our series of spy films with another pair of movies based on the novels of John LeCarre. In Episode 72 we had a strictly Cold War vibe going on; this time it's more of a mixed bag. So we'll start with a Cold War story with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the 2011 film directed by Tomas Alfredson and featuring an amazing ensemble cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch and many more. It's a tense story that deals with a potential mole in MI-6 who may have been operating for many years. In Part 2, we'll look at the Islamic terrorist threat to the UK in A Most Wanted Man. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, we look at 1990s The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. This film, directed by Fred Schepisi, features Connery as a British Intelligence agent (wait...what?) who's looking for the author of a sensitive Soviet manuscript whose contents, if true, could mean a great deal to the Intelligence Community. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Next time, we stick with LeCarre novels rendered on film, with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and A Most Wanted Man (2014), Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Our look at Spy films takes a more serious turn with this look at a pair of movies based on John LeCarre novels. We start with The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965), directed by Martin Ritt and starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. It's a tale of a spy who chooses one more mission instead of coming in after a Cold War mission goes wrong. In Part 2, we'll move on to The Russia House, from 1990. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In the second half of our episode, we're reviewing the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker parody Top Secret! starring Val Kilmer playing an Elvis/Beach Boys pop star who is invited to perform in East Germany as a means of distraction from a plot to destroy NATO submarines. Typical of most ZAZ films, it's chock full of weird sight gags, bent cliches and multi-layered jokes that don't distract (much) from the main story's ability to make progress and give you an outcome you didn't realize you were invested in. COMING ATTRACTIONS: We stick with the spy genre for a while, but on a less-comedic note as we visit several movies based on John LeCarre novels. In our next episode we start with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) and from there we visit The Russia House (1990). Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

What happens when you're an Ordinary Schmoe who suddenly gets sucked into the spy game? This is what we're exploring this week, as we look at a pair of films dedicated to the proposition that anyone can become a spy, if they're stupid enough. We start with The In-Laws, from 1979 and directed by Arthur Hiller. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are soon-to-be in-laws who get caught up in an international incident shortly before their children get married. In Part 2, we'll take a peek at Top Secret! from 1984. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part Two of our episode, we review Cold War, a film from 2018 that follows a couple that can't seem to get their act together, not until the very end, when it's far too late to do anything about it. Wiktor and Zula find themselves on opposite sides of several things, ultimately on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. He's smitten enough to return to Communist Poland, sacrificing his freedom and delaying their reunion for years. She finds a way to get him released early, which ends up being a huge sacrifice for her as well. Whether it was worth it for the two of them to be together, we'll leave it for you to decide. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Episodes 71-73 will cover--or maybe it's "undercover" spy films, but we're going to start off light, with a pair of spy comedies. First up will be The In-Laws, from 1979, starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk. After that we'll look at Top Secret!, a 1984 spoof that asks what might happen if Elvis did a spy movie. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Welcome Back! Sean and Claude took a little Spring Break and we hope you were able to do the same. For our 70th episode, we take a peek at two films that involve couples dealing with life on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Part One features The Unbearable Lightness of Being, directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin. In this film we have a couple who find themselves going from the Prague Spring to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the events afterward. How they deal with life, love and the things that are thrown their way, you'll find quite touching. In Part Two, we'll look at a rather star-crossed couple that finds itself on opposite sides of many different lines, in 2018's Cold War. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this half of the show, we jump to the early 1960s as four more icons come together ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...(2020). This meeting is a little more contentious than in INSIGNIFICANCE, and while this meeting didn't happen, the characters and their reactions have a truthful feel that allows you to believe it would have been exactly like this. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Next time around, we look at love during wartime, as we screen THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988), a story that takes place in the late 1960s in Prague and Switzerland. Then we skip back to post-WW2 Poland for COLD WAR (2018). Both films have similar endings but how they get there is vastly different. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We stick with the fantasy thing for one more week, but with a different spin, as we examine a pair of films that have more of a "What If?" thing going on. In the first half of our episode we have INSIGNIFICANCE (1985), based on the play of the same name by Terry Johnson and directed here by Nicolas Roeg. We see four almost-unnamed famous people come together in a very interesting way in the late 1950s. Whether you believe the events here could have happened is up to you, but you'll be entranced nonetheless. In Part 2, we'll see another quartet of icons meeting in the early 1960s, in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...(2020). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this half of the episode we're talking about Hanna, directed by Joe Wright and starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role. This is truly a modern-day story, with story beats that have fairy-tale aspects to them...and a couple of scenes that are more overtly related to fairy tales. This film was the basis for the Amazon Prime TV series of the same name, and we spend a little time exploring the differences between the two. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We continue our series of modern-day fairy tales with The Bride With White Hair, from 1993. It's a Wuxia film with a star-crossed lovers element, and while it might be a little confusing early on, stick with it and you'll be glad you did. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In this second half of the episode, we're reviewing Mona Lisa, a film from 1986 directed and co-written by Neil Jordan. Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson are an unlikely pair doing unlikely stuff. And if you've noticed that I haven't drawn the specific parallels to the fairy tales involved, you'd be correct. You'll have to listen to the episode for that. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In Reel 68, we'll be checking out another pair of modern fairy tales, but they'll be foreign-based and a little more esoteric. First we'll screen The Bride With White Hair (1993), a Hong Kong film directed by Ronny Yu. After that we go to Scandinavia for Hanna (2011), directed by Joe Wright and the inspiration for the 2019 Netflix series. Join us, won't you? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

This is the first of two episodes where we look at fairy tales told through a modern lens. In this half, we start off with Ball of Fire (1941), directed by Howard Hawks and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper and a host of character actors. Stanwyck plays a woman hiding out from the police because she's a material witness to a crime. She finds herself staying with a house full of scholars who are putting together an encyclopedia of all human knowledge. In exchange, she gives them some lessons in modern-day language and pop culture in general. And, of course, hijinks ensue when she starts falling for one of the scholars. In the second half of the episode, we'll be looking at 1986's Mona Lisa. See you over there. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We conclude our short series with a look at Ocean's Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and a Cast of Thousands. In both films everybody seems to be having some breezy fun, but the purpose of that fun is kind of different, and it works better here. Again, that's in our humble opinions. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Ordinarily, when we see a film that's a remake of a previous movie, we tend to say that the original was better. But in this second of two episodes, we discuss a pair of films in which the remake was the superior version, at least in our humble opinions. Here in Part One, we're looking at The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), directed by John McTiernan and starring Pierce Brosnan and René Russo. There are several differences between the two, but most noticeable is the chemistry between the two leads. In Part Two, we'll be reviewing the 2001 version of Ocean's Eleven. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part 2 of our episode, we go to 1988 and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, directed by Frank Oz. It's the second of FOUR different versions of this story: the original from 1964, this version, and then two which involved gender flips. Of the four, this is the best one, so say we. COMING ATTRACTIONS:  We continue this remake conceit with another pair of films that worked out better when they were remade. First up, from 1999 it's The Thomas Crown Affair, then we move forward a couple of years to Ocean's Eleven, from 2001. Join us, won't you?  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We so often complain that Hollywood has no original ideas, but then we're also forced to concede occasionally that from time to time, the remake actually does a better job of telling the story. We don't enjoy conceding that, but that's the way it goes sometimes. With that in mind, this is the first of two episodes taking a look at films whose remakes surpassed the originals. First one up is The Man Who Knew Too Much, from 1956. This Alfred Hitchcock-directed film leans heavily on weird coincidences to get the story rolling, but you'll feel the tension from the moment the characters do. You may not even hate hearing Doris Day sing what became her signature song. In Part Two we'll jump to 1988 to talk about Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Here in Part Two, we look at the 2016 edition of Loving. This film, which was directed by Jeff Nichols, stars Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, the real-life couple who turned their relationship into a Federal case. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Our next episode is the first of two in which we examine remakes that surpassed their originals. And we start with The Man Who Knew Too Much, from 1956, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, from 1988. See you soon! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We return to the well of two films whose only commonality is their title. In this episode we look at Loving, from 1970 and 2016. The first half of our episode stars George Segal and Eva Marie Saint, and was directed by Irvin Kershner. Segal stars as a freelance artist who's attempting to revitalize his career just as his marriage to Eva Marie Saint begins to fall apart. It's a serious story with a comic overlay and you'll wonder why it doesn't get more attention these days. In Part 2 we'll look at a different film with a very different theme. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

Our conversation jumps to 1987. This No Way Out stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman and Sean Young in a story of Cold War intrigue. We practically guarantee that you'll be caught off-guard by the way everything resolves. Strap yourself in; we had a LOT to say. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

For the next two episodes, we'll be looking at films whose only commonality is their title. In this episode we're screening two films titled No Way Out. In the first half, it's the 1950 version starring Sidney Poitier in his feature film debut, along with Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell and Stephen McNally. Poitier is a doctor who runs into race issues and a medical complication during his first night in a new assignment. The issue snowballs until there's a full race riot going  on. Poitier's character comes up with an interesting tactic to prove he did the right thing that first night, but it nearly backfires on him.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In Part Two of our episode, it's Starship Troopers, from 1997. Paul Verhoeven takes us to a far future society in which everyone is free so long as you're a Fascist. There are a lot of elements of Robert A. Heinlein's original story in there, but it's definitely a different plot line and a different mentality that, in hindsight, may have been more prescient than anyone suspected at the time. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In our next episode, we take a peek at a pair of films where the only thing they have in common is their title. After that, all bets are off. We'll be screening the films No Way Out, from 1950 and from 1987. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

We've covered several different kinds of adaptations, and the one thing that they have in common is that they're in some way faithful to their source material. This time around, not so much. And that's why this episode is titled "Subversive Adaptations." In these two films, the intent of some portion of the original story has been turned on its head to give you a similar story, but perhaps with a different point of view, or to present a different message from the source. We begin with Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955. Robert Aldrich set out specifically to attack the right-wing ethos of Mickey Spillane's story, and we benefit from a constant romp of action and intrigue from beginning to end. In Part Two, we'll look at 1997's Starship Troopers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

...nope, still ain't done. From Texas we come to Boston and 2003's Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood. It's a powerful film about a trio of boys, one of whom is caught up in a bad situation. Many years later, this event still haunts all three of them. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Join us as we take on a couple of subversive adaptations. First up is Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955. Then we jump to 1997 or, if you prefer, the far future, with Starship Troopers. Were they good? Bad? Weird? Or did you just not get the message they were sending? Stay tuned! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

...but it sure ain't done with us. And that's what's going on with this week's extra-packed episode. We have a couple of films wherein the characters are trying to deal with events in the distant past. We start it off with Lone Star, from 1996. John Sayles directed this film about a sheriff who's living in his father's shadow in a small Texas border town, and a murder from many years ago. In Part Two, we head to Boston for a dip in the Mystic River. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support

In the second half of our episode, we're looking at the Oscar-winning film PARASITE, co-written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. In this film, a poor Korean family slowly infiltrates themselves into the lives of a wealthy family. That they do so isn't necessarily bad; how they do it is a little on the questionable side. But there are a lot of twists and turns in this dark comedy, and every time you think you know what's going to happen next, you'll find yourself surprised. COMING ATTRACTIONS: In Reel 61 (remember, we're a wee bit out of order, here), we visit a couple of towns where the residents think they're done with the past, but it isn't necessarily done with them. We have LONE STAR from 1996, and MYSTIC RIVER, from 2003. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wordsandmovies/support