Exploring the intersections of cinema
After the collapse of the Production Code, filmmakers now had the ability to put anything and everything in their movies, so they did. Today Alex and Jonathan discuss three films which take comedy beyond rational proportions and talk about The Producers (1967), Airplane! (1980), and The Mask (1994). We discuss the history of absurdist comedy,… Continue reading Ep 170. COMEDY CINEMA 3: The Absurdists
With the arrival of sound in Hollywood, a new subgenre of comedy arose, so today Alex and Jonathan discuss the history of the "screwball comedies" while looking at Trouble in Paradise (1932), His Girl Friday (1940), and Some Like it Hot (1959). We talk about how screwballs differed from standard romantic comedies, the emphasis on… Continue reading Ep 169. COMEDY CINEMA 2: The Screwballs
To wrap up the tragedy series, Alex and Jonathan look at three films characterized by the ways in which the characters' difference of perspectives causes the primary conflict in part or whole: A Woman Under the Influence (1974), The Elephant Man (1980), and The Farewell (2019). We discuss whether or not the term "tragedy" is… Continue reading Ep 167. TRAGEDIES of Misunderstanding
As we move into stories of interpersonal tragedies, today Alex and Jonathan discuss three films which deal with themes of betrayal as it applies to family relationships, as in Tokyo Twilight (1957), romantic relationships, as in In the Mood for Love (2000), and friends/allies, as in RRR (2022). We discuss Aristotle's concept of discovery, the… Continue reading Ep 166. TRAGEDIES of Betrayal
In one of the saddest episodes of the show (besides Episode 105), Alex and Jonathan look at films in which the protagonists struggle to navigate circumstances outside of their control with three tragedy classics: Ikiru (1952), Grave of the Fireflies (1988), and Titanic (1997). We discuss Aristotle's conception of the reversal of fortune – known… Continue reading Ep 165. TRAGEDIES of Fate
From power to societal marginalization to prejudicial greed, in this episode Alex and Jonathan talk about three films in which the subject characters are faced with various forms of injustice: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Umberto D. (1952), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). We discuss the ways tragedy films evoke feelings… Continue reading Ep 164. TRAGEDIES of Injustice
The downfall. The tragic flaw. Today Alex and Jonathan kick off a new series about tragic cinema with three stories where the protagonist is ultimately responsible for their own misery: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Brief Encounter (1945), and Tár (2022). We discuss Aristotle's six elements of tragedy, why tragedy doesn't necessarily have to have a… Continue reading Ep 163. TRAGEDIES of Self
When discussing the history of the Western genre, there is no escaping the name or work of John Ford, so today Alex and Jonathan dive in to three of Ford's landmark films: My Darling Clementine (1946), The Searchers (1956), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). We talk about the ways Western films elevate actual… Continue reading Ep 149. WESTERNS 101: John Ford’s Golden Era
Travelling back to the Golden Age, Alex and Jonathan take a look at one of the early masters of the budding film medium, Ernst Lubitsch, through his films Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), To Be or Not to Be (1942), and Heaven Can Wait (1943). We discuss Lubitsch's history as a German… Continue reading Episode 128. Long Live Lubitsch
In the spirit of Halloween, Alex and Jonathan look at the works of John Carpenter, one of the most iconic names in the contemporary horror genre. We watch Halloween (1978), Escape from New York (1981), and The Thing (1982) and discuss the origins of modern horror tropes, world-building, and stellar practical effects. https://youtu.be/ByIWMC9i000?si=aM2BkPqPeoMeTV16 https://open.spotify.com/episode/0DTuqTLf5rdfATTmuY6Yqo?si=dVrMLM07S_Sx2qNGNEk3Iw Also… Continue reading Episode 97. Creepy Carpenter
Our Patrons voted on which silent film star we should cover, so today Alex and Jonathan look into Mary Pickford's incredibly influential career in front of and behind the camera. We watch The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917), Sparrows (1926), and Coquette (1929) and discuss the "little girl" persona often portrayed by Pickford, the extent… Continue reading Episode 96. Pickford’s Power: The First Queen of Hollywood
Heavens! Today Alex and Jonathan wrap up the Films de Femmes series and look at the varied career of the well-rounded filmmaker and entertainer Elaine May in her films A New Leaf (1971), Mikey and Nicky (1976), and Ishtar (1987). We talk about her background in improvisational comedy, her range of directing styles from comedy… Continue reading Episode 95. Films de Femmes Trois: Elaine May
The grand human dramas of Golden Age director John Huston are the topic today as Alex and Jonathan look at The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975). We talk about how Huston incorporates real life experience into his writing and directing, how he… Continue reading Episode 94. Huston’s Hollywood
Our Patrons voted recently on what film remake they'd like to hear more about so Alex and Jonathan get into the weird world of Roger Corman's sci-fi classic The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and Frank Oz's musical remake Little Shop of Horrors (1986). We talk about the way Roger Corman mixes comedy and horror… Continue reading Episode 93. Little Shop of Remakes
The swashbuckling genre takes Alex and Jonathan from medieval England to the Caribbean to a galaxy far far away as we look at The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). We talk about the… Continue reading Episode 92. Swashbucklin’ Cinema
Jonathan sits down with Hayden Chauffe today to discuss the career of the modern filmmaker's filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino, in the films Reservoir Dogs (1992), Inglourious Basterds (2009), and The Hateful Eight (2015). We talk about Tarantino's literary story structure, the controversies that tend to follow his films, and the way he breaks various rules of… Continue reading Episode 91. Quintessential Quentin Feat. Hayden Chauffe
After the studio system ended in the 1960s a new era of American cinema was born known as the American New Wave. Today Alex and Jonathan take a look at three milestones of that era: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The French Connection (1971), and The Deer Hunter (1978). We talk about how Bonnie and Clyde… Continue reading Episode 90. The American New Wave
As the holidays approach and the second season of The Filmlings Podcast comes to an end, Alex and Jonathan take a look at three different adaptations of Charles Dickens' classic story in A Christmas Carol (1951), Scrooged (1988), and A Christmas Carol (2009). We discuss adaptations driven by performance, shock value, and graphics appeals, why each of us love different versions… Continue reading Episode 75. A Charles Carol
Diving into maybe the darkest genre in film-history, Alex and Jonathan take a look at the moral complexity of film noir in The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Touch of Evil (1958). We talk about the increasing darkness of the subject matter as the period goes on, common elements like the femme fatale, and the continuing… Continue reading Episode 71. Detectives, Dames, and Deception
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's directing team known as "The Archers" is the topic of discussion today as Alex and Jonathan take a look at The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), and Black Narcissus (1947). We talk about the way the Archers formed and resolved to make films, how they blend… Continue reading Episode 68. The Artsy Archers: A Portrait of Powell and Pressburger
The game is afoot this week as Alex and Jonathan take a look at three adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), The Sign of Four (1987), and Sherlock's "A Study in Pink" (2010). We discuss the different personality traits of Sherlock Holmes that are emphasized in each… Continue reading Episode 67. Hundreds of Holmes
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