Blockbusters and Birdwalks

In this idiosyncratic history of post-World War II movies, we continue with “The Killers” and Ambiguity. Future podcasts in this series: “Rashomon” (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (Howard Hawks, 1953) “The Seventh Seal” (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) “North by Northwest” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) “Midnight Cowboy” (John Schlesinger, 1969) “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” (Lau Kar-leung, 1978...

In this idiosyncratic history of post-World War II movies, we begin with “Rome, Open City” and the birth of the Atomic Age.  Future podcasts in this series: “The Killers” (Robert Siodmak, 1946) “Rashomon” (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (Howard Hawks, 1953) “The Seventh Seal” (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) “North by Northwest” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) “Midnight Cowboy” (John Schlesinger,...

This is the third part of an eight-part series about difficult movies.  Part 1 focused on S. Craig Zahler’s “Dragged Across Concrete”. Part 2 focused on Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris”. Part 4 will focus on Paul Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct”. Part 5 will focus on Terry Jones’s “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. Part 6 will focus on Martin Scorsese’s “Last Temptation of Christ”. Part 7 will...

This is the second part of an eight-part series about difficult movies.  Part 1 focused on S. Craig Zahler’s “Dragged Across Concrete”. Part 3 will focus on Don Edmonds’s “Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS”. Part 4 will focus on Paul Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct”. Part 5 will focus on Terry Jones’s “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. Part 6 will focus on Martin Scorsese’s “Last Temptation of Christ”. Part 7 wil...

This is the first part of an eight-part series about difficult movies.  Part 2 will focus on Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris”. Part 3 will focus on Don Edmonds’s “Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS”. Part 4 will focus on Paul Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct”. Part 5 will focus on Terry Jones’s “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. Part 6 will focus on Martin Scorsese’s “Last Temptation of Christ”. Part 7 w...

"Gentlemen, the hopes and dreams of an entire town are riding on your shoulders. You may never matter again in your life as much as you do right now."

"Half my life is over and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing. I'm a thumbprint on the window of a skyscraper. I'm a smudge of excrement on a tissue surging out to sea with a million tons of raw sewage."

This is the sixth part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 1 focused on John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”. Part 2 focused on James Fargo’s “The Enforcer”. Part 3 focused on Michael Ritchie’s “The Bad News Bears”. Part 4 focused on John Cassavetes’s “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. Part 5 focused on Brian De Palma’s “Obsession”. *** Referenced media: “King Kong” (Merien C. Cooper...

"It looks like we're up chocolate creek without a Popsicle stick!"

This is the fifth part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 1 focused on John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”. Part 2 focused on James Fargo’s “The Enforcer”. Part 3 focused on Michael Ritchie’s “The Bad News Bears”. Part 4 focused on John Cassavetes’s “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. Part 6 will focus on John Guillermin’s “King Kong”. *** Referenced media: “Old Boy” (Park Chan-wood...

"Forgive them, Father. They know not what they do."

EXTREMELY PROFANE QUOTATION OF EXTREMELY PROFANE MOVIE AHEAD!

This is the fourth part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 1 focused on John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”. Part 2 focused on James Fargo’s “The Enforcer”. Part 3 focused on Michael Ritchie’s “The Bad News Bears”. Part 5 will focus on Brian De Palma’s “Obsession”. Part 6 will focus on John Guillermin’s “King Kong”. *** Referenced media: “Rosemary’s Baby” (Roman Polanski, 1968) “Th...

"A rare beauty in the North. She's the finest lady on earth. A glance from her, the whole city goes down. A second glance leaves the nation in ruins. There exists no city or nation that has been more cherished than a beauty like this."

"The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."

This is the third part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 1 focused on John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”. Part 2 focused on James Fargo’s “The Enforcer”. Part 4 will focus on John Cassavetes’s “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. Part 5 will focus on Brian De Palma’s “Obsession”. Part 6 will focus on John Guillermin’s “King Kong”. *** Referenced media: “Bless the Beasts and Childre...

"My darling, my blood."

"War is always good for certain companies that are in the war. The business of war."

"When you can't escape, and you constantly rely on everyone else, you learn to cry by smiling."

This is the second part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 1 focused on John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”. Part 3 will focus on Michael Ritchie’s “The Bad News Bears”. Part 4 will focus on John Cassavetes’s “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. Part 5 will focus on Brian De Palma’s “Obsession”. Part 6 will focus on John Guillermin’s “King Kong”. *** Referenced media: “Dirty Harry” (...

"Random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap."

"They don't make mistakes. They don't do random. There's always an objective. Always a target."

This is the first part of a six-part series about American movies from 1976.  Part 2 will focus on James Fargo’s “The Enforcer”. Part 3 will focus on Michael Ritchie’s “The Bad News Bears”. Part 4 will focus on John Cassavetes’s “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. Part 5 will focus on Brian De Palma’s “Obsession”. Part 6 will focus on John Guillermin’s “King Kong”. *** Referenced media: "Rocky...

"I wake up like this every morning."

A Pizza Hut / A Pizza Hut / Kentucky Fried Chicken / And a Pizza Hut.