Talking Images

Can watching too many films cause you to lose your love of cinema? Our surprise guest, who watches well over 100 films every month, says no.

The 80s was the decade Jean-Luc Godard was suddenly back on everybody's lips. He did talk shows in the US, huge stars were lining up to work with him, he pissed off the Catholic church, and perhaps more importantly for the fans, he made what he deemed his "2nd first film". Yes, critics called it a comeback with good reason.

It is insane to think that as the 80s rolled in, JLG had alienated both old friends and ardent fans. For more than a decade he had dedicated himself to political activism and essay films, and the people who cared about his new films, or were even aware he was making them, were dwindling. And then: It all changed.

In this episode, we look at 5 of his biggest and most acclaimed films of the 1980s, which you can jump to via the timestamps below, and try to explore what we love, like, and dislike with these films, not to mention who they are for.

Every Man For Himself: 00:09:32

Passion: 00:24:24

First Name: Carmen: 00: 34:44

Hail Mary: 00:52:24

A Surprise Bresson Takeover: 1:05:45

Detective: 1:09:14

JLGs Other 80s Films: 1:18:24

Yes, there is no denying that JLG's 80s work has a bit more of a niche following than his 60s films, but should you check them out, and if so, where should you start? Listen in and find out.

P.S. If you are interested in JLGs 70s work, we have an episode on these films already in our archive.

Are you prejudiced against shorts? You are not alone! From actively avoiding them to finding them unratable, to championing "separate but equal" rhetoric, the panelists of this episode are fired up with outrageous short film bigotry.

BUT: Can that change over the course of this episode?

Join us as we explore where we think shorts may fall ... short, whether they are even truly films, and if there are any shorts we love at all.

What, if anything makes them different from features, can they hold the same power and impact and are there some stories and concepts that are simply far more suited for a shorter running time?

The ending may surprise you, as we set aside our differences and explore what can actually be done to make shorts appeal to audiences again.

In this episode, we get personal as we discuss if any of us would be able to stand up to 11 angry jurors and hold our ground. Would we have the courage to stand alone, and would we be able to argue our case? 

Who would we have been in the juror room? Would we have changed our minds? Do we believe the accused is innocent? The answers may surprise you. 

We will also dive head first into how a film set almost exclusively in one room, with our protagonists sitting around a table, manages to be as powerful as it is, step out of its teleplay origins and become truly cinematic. 

Two of us are also fresh from viewing the 1954 original 1-hour teleplay and will dive into how they compare, how good this earlier version is, and even drag in the 1997 remake. 

Oh, and is the title at all honest? How many of these men are actually angry? 

Burkina Faso is one of the most respected cinema nations in Africa, mainly heralded for their films in the 80s, 90s and early 00s. In this episode, we go through the key films of the nation, explore the works of Idrissa Ouedraogo and Gaston Kaboré, and list our favourites.

We will also ask why everything suddenly went so quiet, look at the current state of Burkinabe cinema, and explore how European/Western funding and distribution may colour how we see the cinematic contributions from the country.

Is stress actually a good thing, an experience worth seeking out, even paying for? Our answer seems to be: YES! 

Join us as we explore the joys of stress and whether what we have lovingly dubbed the "Stresser" has been missing from our lives as a staple genre all these years. After all, the horror genre is huge. Fear sells! Why should stress be any different?

Doubling the Canon is one of the most established internet projects designed to expand the cinematic canon. 

In this episode, we are joined by Lee Price, the founder of the DtC project to discuss everything from its origins, how it differs from They Shoot Pictures Don't They, voting strategies and the elephant of the room: if DtC is in trouble now that TSPDT lists 2,000 films. 

Oh, and is the system flawed for favouring less-seen films?

Can smiles and nods make us cry? For decades Yasujiro Ozu pointed his camera towards Japanese society, exploring its facade and values with a subtly critical eye. Politeness is the rule, appearance is key and traditions must be followed - but is it right, and does it make our protagonists happy?

Behind the smiles, nods and politenesses we do time and time again see the heartbreak and sharp critique, and occasionally, from the mouth of children, harsh truths will be brought home.

In this episode, we are breaking down Ozu's 4 biggest films:

Incredibly, these 4 films, his most acclaimed, take us from his breakthrough film until his very last, and allow us to explore his work in 4 different decades: the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

We will also take a detour into [b]Early Summer[/b] (1951), to complete the Noriko trilogy, as well as a quick pit-stop at [b]Good Morning[/b] (1959), the colourful re-imagining of some of his ideas from I Was Born, But ...

We will trace the development of his style and how he became the Ozu we know and love, as well as highlight our favourites, talk through the heartbreaks and discuss why he affects us the way he does.

Special episode: RIP Michael Snow.

In this episode, we'll look back at his key experiments, discuss whether they actually work, explore why he is an important artist, and dive into his 7 biggest films.

We'll also make a case for why even those who disliked Wavelength and La region centrale should not bail on his later films, with Sol making one rather extraordinary claim, that 1 of Mr Snow's films is the best of its century.

Oh, and we'll also drive home the rarely-mentioned point that Michael Snow's films are filled with comedy and humour!

"Every few months someone will mention a film and I don't know what's going on and I feel like an old person!" - One of our hosts utter this about his awareness of hype, but are we all that immune?

Have you seen any film on the IMDb bottom 100? We have! In this episode, we explore why we go dumpster diving, and of course, the less extreme side of the same coin - why we watch films we know we probably won't like.   

You have done it too! Everyone has. There comes times, no matter how rare, that you sit down and tune into a film you just KNOW you won't like. Are you a masochist? Are we? Are we hoping to be proven wrong? Do we need to see bad cinema to know what good cinema is like? Follow along as we try to answer these and many more pressing questions, resulting in some of the most shocking revelations in Talking Images history: blood will be spilled.You have done it too! Everyone has. There comes times, no matter how rare, that you sit down and tune into a film you just KNOW you won't like. Are you a masochist? Are we? Are we hoping to be proven wrong? Do we need to see bad cinema to know what good cinema is like? Follow along as we try to answer these and many more pressing questions, resulting in some of the most shocking revelations in Talking Images history: blood will be spilled.

(well, ok ... not literally, but Adam's feelings will be hurt)

In this episode, we explore how Everything Everywhere All at Once was suddenly everything everywhere ... all at once.

Have you seen any of these? (ICMFFF2022 is here!)

Timestamps:

In this episode Matthieu, Sol, Tom and Chris reveal their number 1 film favourite film of 2021 (and of course, it is 4 very different films).

Lean back as we take you through each of our personal top 10 lists from 2021, and this time with a rather shocking twist: There are absolutely no overlaps within our top 5s!

Once again we also went way overboard on length just because of how much we love these films (and again, the total lack of overlaps), so stay tuned for part 2.

Why does Sol hate the owners of IMDb? Does it hurt Letterboxd that many of the best features are behind a paywall? Oh, and to get back to the topic at hand: which of these two services is better?

Letterboxd and IMDb are like night and day. One is young, elegant and social, the other probably the most complete database of cinema that exists: so which of them wins? Which could we not live without, and where do they fall short?

And what about the other film websites out there like iCheckMovies, Criticker and Filmchart? Can any of them measure up and do any of them offer up something IMDb and Letterboxd can't provide?

In this episode, we sit down with Stephanie Pham, star, producer and co-owner of Art School Dropouts to talk about their style of low to zero budget filmmaking, as well as their secret upcoming VR feature.

The Straight Story is a film so straightforward that the fact that David Lynch is the man behind it feels almost surreal. In this episode, we dive into how and why the film engages and touches us as much as it does, ponder what made Lynch choose to pick this collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures to begin with, and marvel at just how wonderfully weird it is that this film, based on a real story, exists at all.

Hollywood loves to flex accents, some decent, some terrible. In this episode, we see if we are able to buy the illusion or if film after film has been destroyed by bad accents. 

We will also take a look at the far more extreme examples of films set in "foregnia", but with all the characters speaking in English with a twink of local accent to sell it all home. Does this work ... at all?!

Oh, and Ridley's Scott recent House of Gucci will keep popping out throughout as Matthieu is quite convinced Jared Leto is imitating Super Mario.

Do you agree with Sol that found footage is the worst thing to have ever happened to cinema? Join us to see if we can find hidden ground (did Sol like any found footage film?!) and explore the insane wave of Found Footage films starting with The Blair Witch Project. We'll explore everything from its very inception in the 1960s (yes, that's right!), why it took nearly 40 years to become a force to be reckoned with, and explore the rise, fall, best films and whether its moment is truly done.

How do Chinese blockbusters stand up against Hollywood blockbusters? In this episode, the gang dive into 4 of the biggest recent Chinese mega hits - each in a different instantly recognizable blockbuster genre - and give our verdicts.

So, what films are we looking at? (Timestamps)

The action sci-fi disaster film: The Wandering Earth - 13.03

The franchise starting buddy comedy: Detective Chinatown - 26.24

The "motivational" sports drama: Pegasus - 41.12

The most successful animated film in Chinese history: Ne zha - 54.30

Did we pick the wrong films? Are there better Chinese blockbusters we need to seek out ASAP? Go to ICMForum.com and let us know.

Welcome to the episode where Chris realizes he's the only Leos Carax fan in the podcast and even he found Annette thoroughly middling. Join us as we explore just how it let us down and debate the merits of artificiality, THAT puppet and much, much more.

And remember, if you disagree with us you can go to ICMForum.com and tell us just how wrong we are.

In this episode, we take a close look at the early films of Andrey Tarkovsky, from his early student efforts to his first passion project.

We will briefly touch on The Killers (1956) and There Will Be No Leave Today (1959) before we go into depth on his first three solo efforts, The Steamroller and the Violin (1961), Ivan's Childhood (1962) and Andrey Rublev (1966).

Yes, we will dissect their endings, but don't you worry, if you have not seen one of them there will be a clear spoiler warning allowing you to use the timestamps below to skip to the next film.

Timestamps:

00.00.00 - Intro

00.02.06 - Our views on the progression of Andrey Tarkovsky

00.06.56 - The Killers

00.10.11 - There Will Be No Leave Today

00.12.22 - The Steamroller and the Violin

00.33.29 - Ivan's Childhood

01.03.20 - Andrey Rublev

Are sequels almost exclusively soulless cash-ins we should not be excited about, or do many truly deliver? In this episode, we look at the sequels that, at least according to us, did the unthinkable in becoming even better than the first film! How do you feel about our choices?

It has been 10 years since Vertigo unseated Citizen Kane as the Greatest Films of All Time in Sight & Sounds once-in-a-decade poll of filmmakers, critics and academics. With the 2022 edition coming up, and the real possibility that Vertigo could be unseated, we ask the pressing question: Does Vertigo actually deserve to be number 1?

Note: Since recording this episode it has been revealed that the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All-Time list will be revealed in their November issue, so we still have quite a few months of anticipation.

In our very first cross-over episode we are joined by (Dr.) David Hartley from the Autism Through Cinema podcast to discuss Hal Ashby's classic "Being There", starring Peter Sellers in a role generally read as being on the autism spectrum.

We'll explore why it makes some of us a little uncomfortable, whether the film mocks Peter Sellers' character or the, mostly, wealthy individuals he interacts with,  attempt to decipher the message, try our best to unpack that infamous ending - and just explore our general reactions.

We will also hear from David about what Being There gets right (if it is indeed about a neuro-divergent character), hear about the Autism Through Cinema project as a whole and why their podcast and why it is worth checking out.

Get ready for our possibly most controversial episode to date as we try to answer the hot topic issues of the art vs. artist debate.

We will explore just how much we can separate between the art and artist, and how knowledge from their life and possible misdeeds affect how we see their work.

You will get exclusive insights into our psyche and hear just who puts us off or make us feel uneasy. You will also discover which film Matthieu snuck into so that he would not give the director a cent of his own money.

The question of morality, both by those working with possibly immoral audiences, and even us, the audience that consumes their work, will be questioned!

HOWEVER: We will also flip the script we punch back against the set narrative and argue that knowledge of immorality can actually make the films more intriguing.

Listener discretion is advised.

Join in as Clem, Matthieu, Sol and Chris reveal their second and number one favourite films of 2017.

Are your favourites mentioned? What are the most glaring omissions? Will we convince you to watch some 2017 films you still haven't seen? Join in as Clem, Matthieu, Tom, Sol and Chris break down their favourite films of 2017. 

Get ready to jump more than 8,000 years into the future as Matthieu, Tom and Chris dive into one of 2021s most acclaimed blockbusters: Dune! 

Join us as we marvel at the set design, cringe at a few of the jokes and discuss what worked, what didn't and why. 

We will also explore Denis Villeneuve's rise as a sci-fi and blockbuster director, what his cold and meticulous style bring to blockbusters and whether or not Dune: Part II will deliver.

Oh, and yeah, as you might expect we can not stop ourselves from the obligatory comparisons to David Lynch's 1984 version. Will we stand tall and declare it as better? Listen in and find out!

In our first episode of season 3, Sol sits down with Like Dog director Randy Van Dyke and producer Kelly Faltis to discuss their recent horror movie LIke Dogs (2021) and their experience with making and distributing an indie horror film during the pandemic.

Van Dyke and Faltis will take you through everything from how the pandemic, restrictions and lockdowns affected their production, and how a very smart decision gave them more exposure than if they had been a little more trigger happy. 

They will also take you under the hood of how a film ends up on streaming services, including the more frustrating details of who actually gets royalties and how many are made in the current model - and of course they will discuss everything about the film itself.

In our Season 2 finale of Talking Images, we look at how after 2 years of the Pandemic something good may be coming out of it after all - extra exposure for the 1963 sci-fi comedy Omicron.

This "body-horror" meets satire, explores humanity in all its bodily functions, and offers an eerie and still extremely relevant and sobering assessment of the world we live in.

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word "remake"? Is it an industry entirely out of ideas? Is it desperate or greedy execs trying to make a quick buck? Or is it perhaps just a non-verbal sigh?

In this episode, we'll try to get away from all the negativity and look at the remakes that not only delivered but ended up being even better than the original.

We may ruffle some feathers here, so do shout out if you disagree with any of our choices. All complaints can be sent via ICMForum.com.

In this episode Matthieu, Sol, Tom and Chris talk about their number 1 favourite film of 2020. Of course, none of them agree.

Yes, it's that time! Finally! The Talking Images team is ready to open up and talk through our top 10 favourite films of 2020 - granted, with a cliffhanger.

Is Psycho's ending actually terrible? Is Whiplash an evil movie made by evil people? Is Taxi Driver's ending even real?

Join us as we clash over iconic endings, break down the formulas and share our picks of best movie endings of all time.

Timestamps:

00:00: Spoiler-Free Discussion

20.36: The Spoilers Begins - Formulas / What Works & What Doesn't

57.48 - Films Saved by their Endings

1.09.29 - Films That Are All About Their Endings

1.15.29 - Endings That Almost Ruined the Film

1.25.30 - Our Favourite Endings of All Time

Spoiler note:

There will be extensive spoilers for The Grey, Phoenix, The Last Laugh, Taxi Driver, Whiplash, The Holy Girl, Jacob's Ladder, Inception, Chronicle of a Summer, A.I., Psycho, Signs, The Usual Suspects, Z, Life of Brian, All That Jazz - as well as milder spoilers for many others.

How much can you strip away? How far can you go? Robert Bresson did not just create his own cinematic language. He created his own cinematic ideology - striving to tear film away from the theatre, strip away all artifice and create something you could only experience through cinema.

Over his 13 feature films, and one standalone short, his career spanned from 1934 to 1983. In this episode, we will talk you through each and every single one of his films, look at what they minimised, try to understand why and above all try to express just how it makes us feel - and why it works ... or doesn't.

This is the story of how Bresson became Bresson, and how his minimalist world developed, evolved, reached dead ends and rejuvenated itself.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
02:26 - Our first reaction to seeing a Bresson film
03:25 - Bresson, the canon and the French New Wave
07:21 - Things to Know Before Seeing Your First Bresson
10:59 - Short film: Affairs Publique
14:45 - Angels of Sin
18:10 - Les dames du Bois de Boulogne
22:40 - Diary of a Country Priest
29:05 - A Man Escaped
37:04 - Pickpocket
47:46 - The Trial of Jean of Arc
54:24 - Au hasard Baltazar
1:02:32 - Mouchette
1:10:46 - A Gentle Woman
1:21:17 - Four Nights of a Dreamer
1:28:00 - Lancelot du Lac
1:32:38 - The Devil Probably
1:35:55 - L'Argent
1:51:07 - Filmmakers Inspired by Bresson

Get out your spreadsheets fellow film nerds, this episode is dedicated to you! 

It will for once be decided if the answers are truly written in the stars, or if the good old 10/10 system is more than enough.

In our effort to discover the best rating systems and make sense of some of the universe's greatest questions we will also, of course, insult every fan of Rotten Tomatoes and At the Movies.

IMDb's 10/10 scale vs. Letterboxd's 5/5 scale will be examined, and hell, even good old Criticker will get a mention.

We will also discuss some of the rarer and dear systems, such as the classic Norwegian die role, and ask: just extreme can we be. 

Don't be surprised, some of us have used the 100/100 scale, and there are still active promoters of 20/20.

Above all though, we will ask the key question: Are ratings actually a worthwhile form of communication?

In this episode we sit down with independent Japanese cinema producer and distributor Adam Torel, the Head of Third Window Films, to hear about his upcoming films, his work with Shinya Tsukamoto and Sion Sono, and what it takes to get people to watch independent cinema in Japan. The answer to the latter in particular may both shock and entice you.

It is origin story time, again! 

In our very first episode, the original hosts detailed exactly how they got into cinema. Now, it is time to hear from those who have joined us since then.

Listen in as Matthieu, Adam (from New York), Lauren and Sol tell you exactly how they got into cinema.

Be shocked, as Matthieu reveals he's a child of DVDs not VHS.

Discover who actually studied film, who edited Forrest Gump and Die Hard together and who went to science camp.

And of course, marvel as Sol details his love of gamification.

It is all here in our part 2 of how we got into cinema.

In this episode, we will look at what happened when the fantastical dream that was space exploration became reality - and the future became the past.

Opening with a full-on discussion of what could be called "the first modern space exploration film", Ikarie XB 1 - we will continue to explore how the subgenre developed after Jurij Gagarin became the first human to leave our planet.

While it still feels a little odd to say it, space exploration is no longer exclusively science fiction. We will actually look at documentaries and biopic, such as For All Mankind, First Man and Space Walk - looking at events sometimes more than 50 years in the past.

We will also look at the biggest films taking up the mantle of 2001 and Solyaris - to various levels of success - with Interstellar and High Life - not to mention horror and/or found footage films like Alien and Europa Report - and much, much more.

And throughout all of this we will look back at the question from our previous episode, namely what films are actually using the space exploration subgenre to do.

Is it about creating a true sense of exploration - which we saw in the early films of fantasy. Is it about exploring concepts, such as 2001? Or is it about exploring the human psyche, as in Solyaris.

We have found examples of each - not to mention overlaps.

So strap yourself in as we take on all modern space exploration.

Do let us know what you think we missed. We know, we know, there's several.

And do visit us on ICM Forum.com to let us know what your favourite space exploration films are - and why! 

We can't wait to hear from you.

-

Ikarie XB1 and Europa Report will have spoiler warnings. Simply jump to the next film using the time codes below when this happens:

Ikarie XB 1: 2:21

For All Mankind: 18:15

First Man: 23:07

Space Walk: 28:36

Alien: 33:05

2010: 38:59

Interstellar: 41:48

On Silver Globe: 47:30

Europa Report: 53:07

Prometheus: 1:07:39

Gravity: 1:11:29

Sunshine: 1:15:39

The Martian: 1.17.32

High Life: 1.22.30 

Get your battle helmets on - we're doing this.

2001 vs. Solaris.

Kubrick vs. Tarkovsky.

Oh, and ... all of cinematic history, well ... in space anyways,

Yes, that's right - in this glorious two-part episode (did we mention that were will be a follow-up?!) we will look at ALL of space exploration history - going all the way back to A Trip to the Moon.

Early films excluded, which, can almost be seen as fantasy as opposed to science fiction - we have a bold proclamation to make - and that is that 2001 and Solaris exemplify the two clear paths most late space exploration films take. 

Essentially, there is the idea - and within this episode we may get closer to figuring out if it is true - that great films of space exploration do one of two things:

1. Use space exploration to explore grand themes and concepts.

2. Use the idea of space exploration to discover truths about the human psyche.

And of course - as always, there is an overlap.

In this episode, we will cover the early days of Space Exploration, and the debate itself.

And for a quick sneak peek - in the next episode we will essentially dive into all the major space exploration films that came later - and not only talk through them - but see them in the context of 2001 and Solari - and discuss which path they chose to follow, and which, if any, break free from this binary.

Happy listening, and please join in the discussion at ICMForum.com.

Why would filmmakers go through the excruciating trouble and pain of creating their films without a single cut - any mistake being detrimental - every shoot non-stop?

Why put yourself through all that pain? Why put your actors through all that pain? Why put the actual person carrying a camera for 90 minutes through all that pain? Why?

Can single-take films do things regular films can't?

Our answer is a resounding yes!

Listen in as we talk you through the ludicrously small selection of single-take films, including the "fakes", and look at just what each of them manages to achieve.

-

Skip directly to the films that interest you the most

Rope: 8:33

Macbeth: 18:21

Russian Ark: 28:24

Birdman & Gaspar Noe: 38:49

Victoria: 44.40

Utøya 22. juli: 49:41

1917: 58:41

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open: 1:09:54

In this episode we will not just discuss the magical work of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, or the mediocre work of everyone else - we will look at how their careers developed in contrast to each other from their first double feature, to their last.

That is to say, the 1988 double feature that in so many ways showcased what Studio Ghibli could do:

And the studio's, at the time, proposed swansongs of 2013:

Almost every film before, in between and after will also get a mention - some in detail - as we marvel at just how these two giants of cinema changed the landscape of anime.

We will also push the arguably already accepted claim that Studio Ghibli - rather than being the Japanese Disney, really was a platform for two great artists to develop their own unique style - screw everyone else!

The fact that the studio has been withering away, is as such no true fall - but a showcase of how it truly was Takahata and Miyazaki holding it all together - and with the older Miyazaki coming out of retirement - and the lesser Miyazaki (Goro) seemingly fumbling into 3D, Studio Ghibli is at an odd place in its own history.

But regardless of where they may go, and if this is really the end - it has been an incredible journey. One we hope to pay tribute to and honour.

Strap yourself in for a Christmas and end-of-the-year episode that will be something out of the ordinary!

Yes, we will talk about our favourite Christmas films: including Sol telling us all how Home Alone traumatised him for life!

And yes - we will also be a bunch of non-Americans thoroughly confused about the appeal of a Christmas Story (sorry).

But above all we are interested in just how different Christmas traditions are born - and how people around the world celebrate Christmas (Jul) and New Year!

Get ready to learn all about nisser, goats, people who hate Germany ... as we also try to investigate:

The crime against new years.

 Where is the New Year Movie Industrial Complex? Where?!!

(Oh, and get ready for a lot of self-promotion about Scotland as well)

So, from all of us here at Talking Images, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Get ready for one heck of a claustrophobic rollercoaster ride as Chris, Sol and Tom go through some of the biggest (and some of the most underrated) single location - and primary location - films of all time!

Spoiler Warning: We will spoil Coherence (with a clear warning) - jump to 1:01:00 if you do not want to get the concept spoiled.

We will cover:

Adapted Plays:

Secret Honor: 00:08:33

Street Scene: 00:14:32

Carnage and Roman Polanski: 00:15:35

Sacha Guitry: 00:17:30

Huis Clos: 00:19:10

Claustrophobia:

Exterminating Angel: 00:21:50

Rear Window: 00:25:27

Mother!, Evridiki BA 2037 and Repulsion: 00:29:05

Rolf de Heer's Alexandra's Project and The Quiet Room: 00:36:28

Isolation/loneliness:

Music Room: 00:42:30

All is Lost: 00:47:07

Low budget:

Stalled: 00:48:56

Pontypool: 51:10

LFO: 52:59

Coherence: 00:57:39 - Spoilers end: 1:01:00

Man From Earth: 1:01:00

Bigger Films:

Lifeboat: 1:04:14

12 Angry Men: 1:06:50

Experimental Films:

Michael Snow: 1.11.14

Marcel Hanoun's Autumn: 1.17.23

Most extreme cases

Buried: 1.19.44 

Locke: 1:24:00

1:27:13

Winifred Wagner: 1.28.40

ATM: 1.31:21

Haze: 1:33:26

Outro: 1:35:37 

Recording in the midst of ICMFF2020, Chris, Matthieu and Tom break down the main slate and the highlights from the festival so far.

John Guillermin, the director of Rapture, The Towering Inferno, King Kong, Never Let Go, Guns at Batasi and a long line of other films is best known for his bad temper, and there have been no comprehensive books on his work.

This has changed: His wife Mary Guillermin has launched a large project to do John's work justice, and the book: John Guillermin: The Man, The Myth, The Movies is now out.

We sat down with her before the release, and had an absolutely fantastic chat about John's life and work: and learned so much!

Did you for instance know that Patricia Gozzi did not know English when she played the lead in Rapture and learned all her lines phonetically?

Or that he really did not want to do King Kong 2, and tried to talk his producer out of it.

We get the answers to several of your listener questions, leaned why he seemed to accept any movie (he really did!) and heard so many stories, including why he disliked Paul Newman but loved Steve McQueen.

I know we all had so many exciting moments here - including some films we had no idea we would discuss - and great insight into John Guillenmin as both a man and filmmaker.

Yes It is time for that chat ... Is Questin Tarantino the most unoriginal man in Hollywood, a petty thief with no soul - or is he a great auteur playing around with cinematic conventions and form?

Regardless of how you feel about QT however, he loves cinema, and is likely the most vocal film buff of any living director, not to mention listmaker and promoter. 

No living director appears to be more vocally focused on what he is leaving behind than Questin Tarantino. His promise is clear: His next film will be his last.

He wants to leave behind a perfect set, a work to be proud of - he does not want to grow state or lose touch - but - did he ever have the touch - or was he always a hack? Has he ever had an original idea or made a remotely great film? 

In this episode Chris, Clem and Matthieu will throw their hats in the ring, talk through his filmography - in particular Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction - and also try to answer the burning question: Will he actually be able to stop? 

Are you easily scared? In this episode Chris, Matthieu, Lauren and Sol talk us through the films that traumatized them. Hell, Radio even gets a mention!

Listen in to hear the run-down of the scariest movie monsters, not to mention the silliest movie monsters. We will, of course, talk about the scariest films of all time, but beyond that we will try to unpack just what it is about them that scares us.

In 1967, Jean-Luc Godard made a film called Weekend, famous for its beautiful tracking shot of a traffic jam and the collision that caused it.

To many fans of Godard's work up to this point it is as if he was one of the casualties, or more potent: that this car crash is an apt metaphor for the next 12 years of his career.

But why?

Why do even ardent Godard fans, including those who followed and loved his work in the 80s, 90s, and throughout the 21st century hate or dismiss his 70s work?

Why did he lose mainstream appeal?

Why did he go from participating in Cannes to protesting Cannes and getting the festival shut down?

What happened?

In this episode we will try to answer this very question, and look at how the one of the worlds most esteemed "auteurs" went on to become a "collaborator".

We will look at the two partnerships that defined his career in the 70s, namely the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collective the Dziga Vertov Group, and his long time partner and collaborator Anne-Marie Mieville. 

We will also discuss 3 of the films he made in this period in great detail:

Are they worth seeing? Listen in, and find out.

Chris, Lauren, Sol and Tom try to decipher the power of rewatches. We will talk about:

The time has come to reveal our very favourite films of 2019.

In this episode Chris, Clem, Matthieu, Sol and Tom go through their top 5 films in detail.

We also give each film more and more time to each film as we get closer to the top.

The big shock here is that there were only 3 films that are on two lists, and even more shocking, no films were on more than 2 lists.

There were 25 possible slots, and in this episode, we will cover 22. Pretty incredible, and some really big films did not make it into the episode either - don't be mad.

Warning: In this episode Chris will compare Shane to Funny Games ...

Hi all, 

In this episode Chris, Adam and Tom pull out their guns and join one of the Internets (and pre-Internets) longest standing shoot-outs - the battle between classic westerns and spaghetti westerns.

You may also end up reaching for your guns and aiming them at us actually ...

Why?

Because we have picked two films to compare and contrast and neither are by John Ford or Sergio Leone.

We will center today's episode on the most common western tropes of all: the stranger!

Our focus will be on Shane and The Great Silence, two films that would seem made for a perfect double feature. 

We will compare these two films, not just to each other, but to the rest of classic of spaghetti westerns - and explore their relationships, their differences and similarities.

Worried about spoilers? Don't worry, each film has their own spoiler section you can easily skip. (There will also be a spoiler for Django in the Spoiler section for The Great Silence).

Intro: 00:00
Spaghetti Westerns vs. Classic Westerns: 01:53
Shane: 10:45
The Great Silence: 37:00
Outro: 1:07:36

Have you ever been in a situation where you realized that you were losing control? That you were watching too many films and that is was negatively affecting your life? Worse yet, have you ever experienced literal withdrawal symptoms?

In this episode Tom, Sol, Lauren and Adam take on the somewhat gruelling topic of film addiction, and explores the difference between cinephilia and genuine addiction, and talk about how they manage their film obsessions.

Can anything really go wrong if you just want to chat about films? Well ... yes it can!

In this episode ICMForum.com co-founders Adam & Lauren are back to talk about the bizarre origins of ICMForum.com.

In this episode we talk about a topic near and dear to our hearts: The Decline of Film Forums.

Once upon a time there was an endless horde of IMDb forums, each with their own subculture. We had Mubi (the auteurs), RottenTomatoes and many, many more.

Then, they slowly started to disappear, to the point that only ICMForum.com, and a few others, mostly the IMDb clones, which have copied the archives and kept some of the same users, are active and popular.

What happened?

Fittingly, both the co-founders of the ICMForum is with us, one of them (Lauren) for the very first time.

Join in as we put on our detective hats, and talk openly of our own loss and traumas.

In this episode we will explore the idea of "Disturbing Cinema", and try to figure out exactly what disturbing even means.

To do this we will go on a personal journey exploring what disturbs us and why, and of course, to do this we will indeed list: The Most Disturbing Films We Have Ever Seen.

So, please do disturb, as Tom takes the host's chair to explore his love for disturbing cinema!

In part 1 we looked at the first 3 films of the cycle:

We saw how each of these 3 films built and expanded on the same conflict of love and relationships between men and women. Honestly, they would have worked perfectly as a trilogy in their own right.

However, one of the most exciting things about Rohmer's cinema is one of contradiction - thesis - antithesis - synthesis. Each of the three first films had this inherent dialectic within them, but it is not until the second half of the cycle that the films start to directly contradict and be the antithesis to the previous films.

In part 2 we will look at the final 3 films of the cycle:

And see if the contradiction can be resolved, if some kind of harmonious consensual love in indeed possible.

SPOILER WARNING:

Our discussions are in two sets - one based on the basic plot and early development of the story - and then a dissection of the ending and the films as a whole. [b]There will be a clear spoiler warning[/b] at the halfway point.

If you have not seen the films in question [b]you can then skip to the next film[/b], the starting times are:

Introduction: 00:00

Full Moon in Paris: 02:07

The Green Ray: 23:53

My Boyfriend's Girlfriend: 48:17

Conclusion and Summary: 1:10:56

In this episode we will talk through all of the major contemporary silent films, or rather, the few there are:

And ask the following questions:  

1. Are silent films simply the result of [b]unfortunate technical limitations[/b], which the medium luckily overcame - or are they a [b]unique style with its own merits[/b].

2. Why did it take such a long time from the decline of silents to any kind of larger silent film project.

3. What do we wish to see from silent cinema in the future.

Timestamps:

Intro: 00.00

Is it valid to make silents today: 3.09

Why did it take 30-40 years for the first post-silent era silent: 4.45

Early Films With Silent Elements: 8.03

Experimental Cinema, Warhol and At Sea:10.01

Silent Movie: 13.32

Juha: 22.05

The Call of Cthulhu: 26.58

Brand Upon the Brain: 31.36

Dr Plonk: 39.38

La Antena: 50.51

The Artist: 57.07

Blanchieves: 1.03.57

Conclusion and the future of contemporary silent cinema: 1.09.55

In this episode Tom, Sol and Matthieu attempts to figure out what "Mainstream Cinema" even is.

SPOILER WARNING:

Our discussions are in two sets - one based on the basic plot and early development of the story - and then a dissection of the ending and the films as a whole. There will be a clear spoiler warning at the halfway point.

If you have not seen the films in question you can then skip to the next film, the starting times are:

Introduction to the Cycle: 00:00

The Aviator's Wife: 10:00

A Good Marriage: 35: 25

Pauline at the Beach: 55:00

How do you feel about spoilers?

Can they actually hurt your viewing experience?

Does even knowing a film has something "spoilable" about them have the potential to affect you?

What lengths (if any) do you go to in order to avoid spoilers?

Should you even avoid reading up on films before watching them, or can films also be hurt by going into them them "blind"?

In this episode we will cover these topics, and much, much more.

Spoiler Warning:

In this episode we will spoil: The Sixth Sense, Psycho, Scream and Titanic. Many other films will be mentioned in passing, but the spoiler(s) will not be revealed.

We will also end the episode on an indepth, spoiler-ridden discussion of The Crying Game, which 3 of the co-hosts just watched, two for the first time.

What is the main reason you would not watch a film?

Are there any films you actively avoid?

Are there any films you are embarrassed to not have seen?

In this episode we will answer the above questions and more, and dive deeper into the psychology that goes into not actually seeing a film.

In this episode we cover two great existential questions:

The format is simple, Gary, Sol, Tom and Chris each take their turn describing their favourite film, before the floor is opened with comments from the others.

The films discussed:

Gary: Seven Samurai

Sol: Fanny och Alexander and Videodrome

Tom: A Clockwork Orange

Chris: Stalker and Last Year at Marienbad

In this episode we will attempt to talk you through the entirety of Spanish horror film history, starting from Jesus Franco's The Awful Dr. Orlof and The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus (the first ever two Spanish horror films!), and continueing on through 60s, 70s and 80s Eurohorror onto In a Glass Cage, Anguish, The Day of the Beast, Thesis, The Orphanage, Timecrimes, [REC], Kidnapped and so much more.

Also, get excited: We finish up with a detailed discussion of the recent super-hit The Platform, and our thoughts on the future of Spanish horror.

AKA: The Klaus Kinski episode. 

Kinski is one of cinema's most controversial icons, and left us with a set of legendary films, especially his set of 5 collaborations with Werner Herzog, but also a long, long line of B- and C-grade paycheck films.

In this episode we will dissect his career through two films, one representing his highest achievements, one representing his lowest gutter trash, and he just happens to be playing the very same character in both of them: Nosferatu (perhaps his most iconic role).

In this episode Chris, Tom, Adam, Clem, Gary and Joke talk about the films and experiences that made them fall in love with cinema

In this pilot episode Chris and Adam discover that, like everyone else, they no longer watch The Simpsons, sparking the questions: Who on earth are still watching it, is it on air for anything but sentimental or nostalgic reasons and could the new episodes actually be good?!