Podcasts about bfi film classics

The focus of this 60th episode of Edinburgh Film Podcast is Wanda, the only feature film directed by American actor-filmmaker Barbara Loden. Released in 1970, the film is set in rural Pennsylvania and tells of a working class woman (Loden) who leaves her husband and young children for a life on the road. She eventually drifts into a fraught, uneasy relationship with petty thief Norman Dennis (Michael Higgins) as he plans a bank robbery. Joining host Dr Pasquale Iannone to talk about Wanda is Dr Elena Gorfinkel, author of a new book on the film which is part of the long-running BFI Film Classics series. Elena is Reader in Film Studies at King's College London. Specialising in underground and independent cinema, her many publications include the 2017 volume Lewd Looks: American Sexploitation Cinema in the 1960s. Her articles and book chapters include pieces on filmmakers such as Andy Warhol, Doris Wishman, Kira Muratova and Kelly Reichardt. Elena is also the curator of a major season currently running at London's BFI Southbank titled Wanda and Beyond: The World of Barbara Loden. In their detailed, wide-ranging conversation, Elena tells Pasquale about her first encounter with Wanda and how she approached the writing of her new book. Discussion then moves on to the film itself, before turning to the curation process for the BFI Loden season. Wanda (2025) is published by Bloomsbury and is out now. The BFI Southbank season Wanda and Beyond: The World of Barbara Loden runs throughout the month of June. For more details, please see the BFI website.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead! For full detailed show notes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here: https://www.everyscififilm.com/watch This is a special crossover episode with The Lorehounds podcast. To learn more about The Lorehounds and their extensive coverage of multiple TV series you can visit their website here. DescriptionIt has been 45 years since the first Alien (1979) film released in the cinema receiving lukewarm reviews. Perhaps the impact of a different kind of science fiction film was completely lost on film critics having to deal with the many clasher films of the 70s and a slew of Star Wars rip offs? But since then, Alien has cemented its reputation as a sci-fi film classic. Although there were many sci-fi horrors in the 1950s B-movies this film was different. There is no dashing hero, no damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, no bug eyed monster that takes away from the gritty realism of the film. This film set science fiction cinema on a different course. The ExpertsRoger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He specialises in literature, film, and cultural history from the 19th century to the present. He has written/edited a crazy number of articles and books including the BFI Film Classics book on Alien. Jason Eberl is a Professor for Health Care Ethics at St Louis University with a special interest in biotechnology, human enhancement and the philosophy of human nature. He has also written extensively including a range of books that examine the philosophy of various mainstream media such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. Co-Host David is one third of The Lorehounds and is joining as co-host for this special crossover episode. Chapters00:00 Intro to the show and Alien's bad reviews 02:55 The Origins of Alien 06:22 Why was Alien such a success? 08:06 Alien's departure from the slick sci-fi aesthetic 09:15 Truckers in Spaaaace! Grittiness and the late 1970s political landscape 17:13 The protagonist: breaking away from gender stereotypes 24:00 Giger's art and the Xenomorph's life cycle 26:50 A lack of eyes, Charles Darwin and Francis Bacon 30:31 The ship and the alien 33:43 The other monsters: Ash the android and the company 39:39 The history of heads speaking the truth 41:12 The Company: The factory line, Joseph Conrad & Belgians in the Congo 46:17 Jones the cat 51:22 The Philosophy of Alien 53:38 Recommendations 58:02 OutroNEXT EPISODE!Next episode we have a discussion about a long-lost pioneer of science fiction literature from the late 19th Century. Robert Duncan Milne's work had largely vanished despite a book drawing attention to him in 1980. Milne was born in Scotland and died in San Francisco just before the dawn of the 20th century. Much of his legacy and work is thought to be lost due to the huge earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. My two wonderful guests are working hard to have him and his work recognised. 

For Chris Marker, writing came before filmmaking. A decade after Marker's death, critics continue to rediscover his remarkable oeuvre, which comprised writing, photography, film, video, radio, and digital media. Associated with the Left Bank subset of the French New Wave, Marker is perhaps best recognized for directing La Jetée (1962). To celebrate the publication of the first English translation of Marker's early writings (published between 1948 and 1955), Steven Ungar, the editor of Chris Marker: Early Film Writings, with translator Sally Shafto, have joined Jean-Michel Frodo and Sam Di Iorio in conversation.“The French Cinema has its dramatists and its poets, its technicians, and its autobiographers, but only has one true essayist: Chris Marker.”—film theorist Roy ArmesChris Marker (born Christian Hippolyte François Georges Bouche-Villeneuve, 1921–2012) was a French writer, artist, and director. His time-travel film La Jetée (1962) is one of the most celebrated shorts ever made. A true polymath, his later creations ranged from videos and the interactive CD-ROM Immemory to the multimedia digital platform Second Life.Steven Ungar is professor emeritus of cinematic arts, French, and comparative literature at the University of Iowa. He is author of several books including Critical Mass: Social Documentary in France from the Silent Era to the New Wave.Sally Shafto is a French film scholar and translator and assistant professor of English at Framingham State University. She is author of The Zanzibar Films and the Dandies of May 1968, and her translations include Jean-Marie Staub and Danièle Huillet's Writings. She teaches at Framingham State University.Jean-Michel Frodon is a journalist and one of the most influential film critics and film historians in the world. He is author or contributor of several books including The World of Jia Zhangke and Le Cinéma Français de la Nouvelle Vague a Nos Jours, and wrote the foreword to “Night and Fog”: A Film in History by Sylvie Lindeperg. Frodon blogs at Projection Publique.Sam Di Iorio is Associate Professor of French at Hunter College and Deputy Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in French at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has written about postwar films and filmmakers, political theory, and cultural history for Screen, Trafic, Film Comment and the Criterion Collection. His essay “Comolli's Detours: Free Jazz, Film Theory, Cinéma Direct” is forthcoming with Amsterdam University Press. EPISODE REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READING:-André Bazin-Robert Cannon's Gerald McBoing-Boing-Alain Resnais-Agnès Varda-Jean Rouch-René Leibowitz-Joseph Rovan (born Joseph Adolph Rosenthal)-Nicole Védrès-Eternal Current Events (translated by Jackson B. Smith)-Le Dépays / Chris Marker-Camera Obscura piece by Ivan Cerecina translating Nicole Védrès's “Les feuilles bougent” (“The Leaves Are Stirring”) and an accompanying essay-Republic of Images / Alan Williams-Le Cinéma Français de la Nouvelle Vague a Nos Jours / Jean-Michel Frodon-The Fragile Present: Statues Also Die with Night and Fog by Sam Di Iorio; article in South Central Review.-Trafic N°105 (Printemps 2018), with article by Sam Di IorioMORE CHRIS MARKER:chrismarker.chGorgomancy.netThe Criterion ChannelChris Marker: Early Film Writings is available from University of Minnesota Press."One of the pleasures of Chris Marker's films is the singular literary voice of his inimitable commentaries, in all its wit and quicksilver intelligence. That voice is present here, being honed through contact with others' images and before Marker moved from the page to the screen himself. This groundbreaking collection introduces aficionados old and new to work likely unknown to them and allows us all to discover another dimension of this prodigious artist: Marker the film critic."—Chris Darke, author of La Jetée (BFI Film Classics)

We are used to entering cinematic fantasy worlds in which we learn the rules of how the world works and then watch our hero navigate through it: think of Star Wars, Dune, The Matrix, and The Wizard of Oz, and Lord of the Rings. But Spirited Away (2001) works differently than these, with a logic that seems just out of reach and which we, like the hero, try to discern. Join Mike and Dan for an appreciation of a film about childhood that works like the real thing; the film feels as if it were created by children, and they mean that as the highest compliment. Along the way, the guys talk about left brain / right brain film structure and how Spirited Away resembles John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. So hop on the train with No-Face, and give it a listen! Interested in a short critical study of the film? Check out Andrew Osmond's volume in the BFI Film Classics series. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

We are used to entering cinematic fantasy worlds in which we learn the rules of how the world works and then watch our hero navigate through it: think of Star Wars, Dune, The Matrix, and The Wizard of Oz, and Lord of the Rings. But Spirited Away (2001) works differently than these, with a logic that seems just out of reach and which we, like the hero, try to discern. Join Mike and Dan for an appreciation of a film about childhood that works like the real thing; the film feels as if it were created by children, and they mean that as the highest compliment. Along the way, the guys talk about left brain / right brain film structure and how Spirited Away resembles John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. So hop on the train with No-Face, and give it a listen! Interested in a short critical study of the film? Check out Andrew Osmond's volume in the BFI Film Classics series. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are used to entering cinematic fantasy worlds in which we learn the rules of how the world works and then watch our hero navigate through it: think of Star Wars, Dune, The Matrix, and The Wizard of Oz, and Lord of the Rings. But Spirited Away (2001) works differently than these, with a logic that seems just out of reach and which we, like the hero, try to discern. Join Mike and Dan for an appreciation of a film about childhood that works like the real thing; the film feels as if it were created by children, and they mean that as the highest compliment. Along the way, the guys talk about left brain / right brain film structure and how Spirited Away resembles John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. So hop on the train with No-Face, and give it a listen! Interested in a short critical study of the film? Check out Andrew Osmond's volume in the BFI Film Classics series. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of the films production and reception. The book explores the key themes of the film situating ideas of class, gender, race, and sexuality in both a historical context as well as thinking through the contemporary and continuing relevance of the film. Adding new insights to an overview of the existing critical responses, the book will be of interest across the arts and humanities, as well as for anyone interested in one of British cinema's most important films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of the films production and reception. The book explores the key themes of the film situating ideas of class, gender, race, and sexuality in both a historical context as well as thinking through the contemporary and continuing relevance of the film. Adding new insights to an overview of the existing critical responses, the book will be of interest across the arts and humanities, as well as for anyone interested in one of British cinema's most important films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of the films production and reception. The book explores the key themes of the film situating ideas of class, gender, race, and sexuality in both a historical context as well as thinking through the contemporary and continuing relevance of the film. Adding new insights to an overview of the existing critical responses, the book will be of interest across the arts and humanities, as well as for anyone interested in one of British cinema's most important films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of the films production and reception. The book explores the key themes of the film situating ideas of class, gender, race, and sexuality in both a historical context as well as thinking through the contemporary and continuing relevance of the film. Adding new insights to an overview of the existing critical responses, the book will be of interest across the arts and humanities, as well as for anyone interested in one of British cinema's most important films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

What makes a film a classic? In A Taste of Honey (Bloomsbury, 2023), published as part of the BFI Film Classics series, Melanie Williams, a Professor of Film and Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, tells the story of the films production and reception. The book explores the key themes of the film situating ideas of class, gender, race, and sexuality in both a historical context as well as thinking through the contemporary and continuing relevance of the film. Adding new insights to an overview of the existing critical responses, the book will be of interest across the arts and humanities, as well as for anyone interested in one of British cinema's most important films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

In this author interview, I speak with Suzanne Ferriss whose first book about Sofia Coppola The Cinema of Sofia Coppola: Fashion, Culture, Celebrity was published in February 2021 and she edited The Bloomsbury Handbook to Sofia Coppola, which was published in early 2023. She joins me today to talk about her latest book, Lost in Translation from BFI Film Classics about Coppola's film that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Listen to hear about Suzanne's approach to writing about Coppola's work, the wealth of films she recommends, and thoughts on who might be a good fit to cast in Lost in Translation if it were made today.  Books mentioned in this episode include:The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey EugenidesThe Bloomsbury Handbook to Sofia Coppola edited by Suzanne FerrissSofia Coppola: The Politics of Visual Pleasure by Anna Backman RogersSofia Coppola: A Cinema of Girlhood by Fiona HandysideThe Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley RobinsonThe Overstory by Richard PowersInterior Chinatown by Charles YuThe Sympathizer by Viet Thanh NguyenGood for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren FleshmanFilms mentioned in this episode include:Virgin Suicides directed by Sofia CoppolaAn Affair to Remember directed by Leo McCareyManny & Lo directed by Lisa KruegerGirl with a Pearl Earring directed by Peter WebberAsteroid City directed by Wes AndersonGroundhog Day directed by Harold RamisRushmore directed by Wes AndersonOn the Rocks directed by Sofia CoppolaPast Lives directed by Celine SongRear Window directed by Alfred HitchcockParasite directed by Bong Joon-hoSomewhere directed by Sofia CoppolaThe Thin Man directed by W. S. Van DykeParty Girl directed by Daisy von Scherler MayerSilver Linings Playbook directed by David O. RussellPsycho directed by Alfred HitchcockGrand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes AndersonThe Shining directed by Stanley KubrickJohn Kacere on Wikipedia, inspiration for the opening shot of Lost in Translation.Video for Shawn Mendes's sons "Lost in Japan", inspired by Lost in Translation.

If you would like to buy your own copy of The Empire Strikes Back, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located. Rebecca Harrison is a Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Glasgow, UK and author of our BFI Film Classics book on The Empire Strikes Back. In part two of this episode, be talking about the relationship between fandom and franchise, including the ways profit-making gets in the way of storytelling and the impact that fans can have on casting or the plot of a movie. Then we'll be turning back to the franchise that started it all to discuss how it directly gave life to the Marvelization of the film industry, how the Star Wars fandom continues to affect the “cannon,” and the ways that the meaning and reception of this movie has shifted over the past 40 years.

If you would like to buy your own copy of The Empire Strikes Back, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located. Rebecca Harrison is a Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Glasgow, UK and author of our BFI Film Classics book on The Empire Strikes Back. In part one of this episode, we contextualize the film in its time to discuss its political theme and the ways the original trilogy revolutionized special effects practices. Then, we take a step back to talk about the industry at large, including how franchises or big movie sensations deal with diversity, the ways that the most recent trilogy deals with nostalgia and how this connects to the current Hollywood trend of remakes, and much more. Take a listen.

On this episode of The James Bond A-Z Podcast hosts Tom Butler and Brendan Duffy are joined by film historian Dr Llewella Chapman, author of Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007. Dr Chapman joins us to talk about her excellent new book on the costumes of James Bond, her upcoming BFI Film Classics book about From Russia With Love, and much much more. For 35% off Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007, order it from www.bloomsbury.com and use the following discount code before the end of February 2022. UK: BONDUK, North America: BONDUS, Australia: BONDAU On this episode Dr Chapman discusses how her new book came together, discusses the James Bond tailors that she interviewed, and her experiences reading the original Ian Fleming manuscripts. She also discusses the importance of costuming in From Russia With Love and the Bond films at large, her hopes for the future of 007, and much, much more. Follow Llewella on Twitter: @LlewellaChapman Follow Llewella on Instagram: @LlewellaChapman James Bond will return... in next week's James Bond's A-Z Podcast. Find us on Twitter: twitter.com/jamesbondatoz Find us on Instagram: instagram.com/jamesbondatoz Email us on: podcast@jamesbondatoz.co.uk Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hitchcock's first American picture and one of the most gorgeous Gothic thrillers ever to come out of Hollywood, "Rebecca" remains as fascinating and seductive as more than 80 years ago. Join us as we explore the film with Patricia White, author of the recent BFI Film Classics book on "Rebecca".

A new auteur episode this time looking at the films directed by Kathryn Bigelow. For this episode, I have been joined by Dr. Stacey Abbott, a reader in Film & Television Studies at Roehampton University who has written the BFI Film Classics book on Bigelow's film Near Dark. Enjoy!

Babette's Feast, released in 1987, was the first Danish submission to win the Oscar for best foreign language film and it's the subject of Julian Baggini's recent book in the BFI Film Classics series. A short, engaging essay on the film that won't take you much longer to read than the film's running time. Babette's Feast is based on a short story by Karen Blixen, best known as the author of Out of Africa. It's set in the 19th century an austere part of northern Denmark in an equally austere Christian community, into which comes Babette, once a celebrated Parisian chef, now fleeing the counter-revolutionary violence of the Paris Commune in 1871.What could have been merely a pointed satire on the rigidity of a certain kind of religious life or a gentle culture-clash comedy, is, Julian suggests, something much deeper and much more thought-provoking: an example of film as philosophy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast… Detour (1945) 11.22.19 Featuring: Austin, Maxx Commentary track begins at 16:35 — Notes — We watched the Criterion Collection release of Detour for our show this week. It’s a wonderful version of the film, and it’s got lots of fun bonus supplemental features as usual. As of the posting of this episode (11.26.19), Detour is also available on The Criterion Channel. “Some Detours to Detour” by Robert Polito from The Current “Ulmer, Edgar G.” by Erik Ulman from Senses of Cinema Detour by Noah Isenberg — The BFI Film Classics book on Detour is as insightful and useful as you’d expect. Isenberg manages to pack in a lot of information and lead introduce lots of additional criticism on the film. “Perennial Detour: The Cinema of Edgar G. Ulmer and the Experience of Exile” by Noah Isenberg from Cinema Journal — Here’s the link a PDF file of this essay. Isenberg discusses Ulmer’s entire career and his life as an Austrian-born émigré in the US, highlighting the ways in which Ulmer’s work can be seen as exploring concepts of exile. It’s a wonderful read. Britton on Film: The Complete Film Criticism of Andrew Britton by Andrew Britton, Ed. Barry Keith Grant — Here’s the link to a published collection of Andrew Britton’s film criticism. This was the first time we’ve relied on Britton’s writing in our preparation for the show, and the precision of his insights are genuinely remarkable. Britton avoids over-reliance on structuralist language, and the clarity of his arguments make his writing very enjoyable. We’ll include some of the relevant passages from his essay ‘Detour’ below: “The whole meaning of Detour depends on the fact that Al is incapable of providing the impartial account of the action which convention leads us to expect in first-person narratives… O’Hara and Marlowe [other male noir narrators] are to be thought of simply as speaking the truth, both about themselves and about the narrative world in general. They may be mistaken, but they never equivocate, and their impersonality is never questioned for a moment. Al’s commentary, however, though it is not hypocritical – he plainly believes every word of it – is profoundly self-deceived and systematically unreliable… In fact, Al’s memory of the past is in itself a means of blotting it out, and his commentary, far from serving as the clue which leads us infallibly to the meaning of the narrative action, is like a palimpsest beneath which we may glimpse the traces of the history he has felt comepelled to rewrite” (195). “[Al] has simply concluded this is the way life must be, and the willed (if unconscious) defeatism implicit in his attitude to his blighted career is the first sign of his habitual tendency to attribute his own choices, and their disastrous consequences, to forces external to himself… Ulmer uses these brief, and extraordinarily elliptical, expository sequences to define his hero as a man who lacks all sense of aim and purpose, who is essentially indifferent to everything but what he takes, at a given moment, to be his own interests, and who, above all, instinctively rationalizes his convenience on all occasions, either by absolving himself of responsibility for his actions completely or by providing himself with a spurious but flattering account of his motives” (195-96). “[Vera] clearly sets out to ‘rook’ Al in exactly the way he rooked Haskell, who was in turn preparing to rook his own father, but her spontaneous rapaciousness is actually quite different in kind from that of her male antagonists. The most obvious indication of this difference is the hectoring aggressiveness of her manner. Vera is not a trickster like Al and Haskell, and she does not try to deceive, disarm, or win the confidence of her chosen victim. On the contrary, she goes straight for the jugular in order to dispel any illusion that her womanhood makes her susceptible either to physical violence or to seduction. It is not enough for her to present herself as Al’s (or any man’s) equal… Vera needs to establish that the inequality of the sexes has been reversed, not eliminated, and her every word and action is designed to convince Al that she can do exactly what she likes with him… and to rub his nose in the humiliating fact of his complete subordination to her… Ulmer unmistakably invites us to take pleasure in the comeuppance of this obtuse pusillanimous egotist at the hands of a woman of such formidable wit, energy, and intelligence” (200). “Ulmer embodies the contradictory concept of the savage, or nonsocial, society in his use of the metaphor of the road. This metaphor recurs frequently in American narratives, and it is almost invariably used to celebrate individual resistance to the constraints of an intolerably oppressive, conservative, and regimented culture. Actually existing American society is seen as an insuperable impediment to the full self-realization of the individual, and the road becomes the last sanctuary of the true American spirit, which can survive only by taking flight from the social world constructed in its name. This use of the road metaphor turns the mythic American ideals on their head. It employs exactly the same terms of reference – heroic individualism and democratic society – but takes the irreversible debasement of the latter for granted and goes on to affirm the former through characters whose refusal to participate in social life comes to signify a rebellious vindication of America in spite of itself. By contrast, Ulmer preserves the connection between individualism and American social institutions established by the original myth, and he uses the metaphor of the road to argue that this connection manifests itself in practice, not as a democracy of heroes but as an exceptionally inhumane and brutal capitalism. Ulmer’s road is not a refuge for exiles from a culture in which America’s ideals have been degraded; it is a place where the real logic of advanced capitalist civil society is acted out by characters who have completely internalized its values, and whose interaction exemplifies the grotesque deformation of human relationships by the principles of the market. Al, Vera, and Haskell are isolated vagabonds whose lives are dedicated to the pursuit of private goals which they set themselves ad hoc, in the light of their own immediate interests, and who collide with one another in a moral vacuum where human contacts are purely contingent, practical social ties have ceased to exist, and other people appear as mere values to be exploited at will” (204). “All Lost in Wonder: Edgar G. Ulmer” by Tag Gallagher from Screening the Past More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts by James Naremore — One of my favorite books discussing the noir genre. Naremore only spends a few pages discussing Detour specifically, but the book is an wonderful examination of the genre at large. “Film Theory’s Detour” by Tania Modleski from Screen — We didn’t bring it up much during our conversation, but Modleski’s writing brings a psychoanalytic angle to our discussion of the femme fatale archetype. Recommended reading for anyone who takes interest in psychoanalytic criticism.

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast… Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 8/1/19 Featuring: Austin, Maxx Commentary track begins at 18:19 — Notes — We watched this 20th Century Fox bluray release of Sunrise for the show this week. Once again, we watched the Movietone version of the film. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans by Lucy Fischer — Here’s the link to the BFI Film Classics primer on Sunrise, and it’s a useful introduction and critical guide. If nothing else, BFI Film Classics primers are always a fantastic guide to further reading, and you’ll find a lot more resources on Murnau after reading this book. Film Comment Summer 1971 Issue — This issue of Film Comment tackles Murnau – in addition to Welles and Ophuls – and provides insightful essays on each of his films. Molly Haskell wrote the essay discussing Sunrise.