Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

"This movie should not exist" is one of the first things Dan says about James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma--and he means it as a high compliment. A western in 2007 that isn't "about" the western? A mid-budget movie without superheroes yet still with bankable star power? And Peter Fonda in a cameo? Mike and Dan talk about how the film is a dry run for Logan, which Mangold made ten years later and how he...

In their 200th episode, Mike and Dan talk about a movie about people who like movies: Preston Sturges's 1941 masterpiece Sullivan's Travels. What's an artist to do when he becomes weary of grinding out "product" and wants to make a statement? Is he merely pretentious or just not seeing the big picture on the screen? Singin' in the Rain, Animal House, Airplane, The Deer Hunter, The Grapes of Wrath,...

"Rewatchable Murder Mysteries" is a genre with Billy Wilder's 1957 Witness for the Prosecution as one of its best; the film does all we desire from a mystery but, in the hands of Billy Wilder, so much more. Join Mike and Dan as they talk about the ways in which the film transcends its many incredible surprise endings--as Mike says, it has more endings than The Return of the King, but all of them a...

What makes the Mission Impossible franchise so solid--and so much better than others? In this short episode, Mike and Dan talk about Tom Cruise as a stuntman, and all that that implies. Mike also has one of his finest moments as he explains why the Mission Impossible movies are superior to anything in the Marvel universe; Dan compares the series to Seinfeld.  So jump on your motorcycle, ride again...

Everything you've heard about Heaven's Gate (1980) is wrong.  Join Mike and Dan in this short episode in which they talk about the difference between the theatrical release of the film and the restored Criterion edition: Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate.  As Dan says, "We watch things all the time and ask, 'When is this going to get good?' I kept watching and asking, 'When is this going to get bad?'...

What is it like to be accused of a crime one didn't commit--when you're not Cary Grant in North by Northwest or Robert Donat in The 39 Steps? Mike and Dan talk about Hitchcock's one film based on a real event: The Wrong Man (1956). Joining them is Jason Isralowitz, author of Nothing to Fear: Alfred Hitchcock and the Wrong Man.  The three of them discuss the actual case upon which the film was base...

We've all seen and loved military family reunion videos--but what happens sometimes after the video ends and life continues? Mike and Dan talk about William Wyler's 1945 masterpiece The Best Years of Our Lives and how it answers this question with a beautifully geometric screenplay and incredible performances. It's a longer episode, but the film deserves it--just like Homer Parrish deserves to eat...

"It ain't about how hard you hit."  But the strength of Rocky Balboa (2006) is how hard it hits even the most cynical viewers.  Join Dan in this short episode as he talks about why Rocky Balboa is the second-best of the Rocky films and how its ideas about aging and dignity resonate after the 16-year break between this and Rocky V.  So tell Paulie you love him and give it a listen!   Terrific bumpe...

In this short episode, Mike defends one of his guilty pleasures from the 1990s: Randall Wallace's much-maligned Man in the Iron Mask (1998).  Why do the movies we see as kids stick with us like they do?  And why can't we celebrate the cheesy soundtrack played over the credits?  Mike can!  All for one!   Terrific bumper music:  Bluebird by E's Jammy Jams Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported—...

Listeners, film fanatics, Criterion Channel subscribers--lend us your ears! Mike and Dan come to praise the greatness of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1953 adaptation of Julius Caesar. Everyone talks about Brando in this--and rightly so--but there are many terrific performances in what Dan calls Shakespeare's Oceans 11.  So ignore that soothsayer and give it a listen--it's not the Ides of March, anyway! ...

In this short "The 90s in 90" episode, Mike talks about Kindergarten Cop as a great 90s movie that makes everyone pine for the days of insane plots and the novelty of Arnold in street clothes.  It's not a tumor--so relax and give it a listen! Terrific bumper music:  Bluebird by E's Jammy Jams Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music prov...

In their kickoff to Season 9, Mike and Dan examine another pair of star-crossed lovers: Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis in Peter Weir's 1995 Witness.  The many ways that this movie could have been ruined by sentimentality, the ways in which the film never cheats, and its resemblance to High Noon all come into the conversation. So put on that milking hat and give it a listen! Please subscribe to t...

In this short episode, Mike and Dan look back and select the three movies from this year's shows that they are especially glad they discovered.  At the end, they each also name one movie they saw this year that they didn't use for the show but wish they had.  Thanks for listening, everyone! Terrific bumper music:  Bluebird by E's Jammy Jams Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 ht...

Last December, Dan was lucky enough to speak to Sir Sean Connery about his fondest Christmas memories.  (You can listen to that here: https://fifteenminutefilm.podbean.com/e/one-shot-dan-interviews-sean-connery/ ) We're thrilled to announce that Dan has scored another interview with the legend, who shares more memories of Christmas and also a few of his favorite songs.  Don't miss this one!   Lear...

How might a director dramatize the possession of forbidden knowledge? And how might the examination of a mystery simply reveal even more mysteries? Join Mike and Dan for a conversation about Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), a horror film (you read that correctly) that reminds them of 2001, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and Don't Look Now. So memorize that poem, take off those gloves, a...

In this short episode, Dan and Tim talk about Mark Robson's The Harder They Fall (1956), know by its alternate title, Bogart's Last Movie.  But, as they both say, there's no reason to give this one a pity recommendation: it's solid stuff, a terrific look at a man who leaves his shell of cynicism to do the right thing, as we've seen in that other, lesser-known Bogart film.  The fix is in--give it a...

What would you give to create a work of art that dazzled everyone who saw it? What would you sacrifice? Mike and Dan talk about Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006) and how artistic creation and technology are like magic. So grab that chisel, bite down on the dowel, and give it a listen!   Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterbo...

What would happen if you took a dial and turned up the consequences of the kind of drinking we see in movies all the time? You'd have Blake Edwards' Days of Wine and Roses (1962), his harrowing look at a marriage torn apart by alcoholism. "The journey to recovery" genre is still decades away, and Mike and Dan praise Jack Lemmon's, Lee Remick's, and Jack Klugman's performances in a film that stands...

If you were a producer and a writer pitched a script to you that was a thriller about the delivery of apples, would you greenlight it? Mike and Dan praise Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway (1949) as one of the best examples of a film that shouldn't work but does, because it follows every rule of terrific screenwriting, directing, and acting. The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Road Warrior...

Join Mike and Dan for a conversation about This Gun for Hire, the 1942 breakout film for Alan Ladd and one of his many great collaborations with Veronica Lake. How the stars keep us fascinated by a plot so preposterous and how the writers of The Simpsons had to have this film in mind when creating Springfield's local villain come into play. So put on that gas mask and give it a listen!   Please su...

Why haven't more people seen--or been impressed by--Hoffa, Danny DeVito's 1992 film written by David Mamet and starring Jack Nicholson as the controversial President of the Teamsters? Mike and Dan offer no reasons--only enthusiasm for this terrific movie that, yes, is a wholly Hoffa-friendly portrayal, but also a terrific portrait of a man always onstage. Mike contends that Nicholson's Hoffa tops...

What would happen if you took the kid from Shane and had him wander in a world without Shane? Martin Ritt's Hud (1963) shows us the answer. Join Mike and Dan for a conversation about the danger of Paul Newman's charisma and how this terrific film set in 1963 Texas evokes King Lear, Death of a Salesman, and, of course, Shane.  Put that radio in your pocket so you can listen as you look for your wom...

On this Halloween, join Mike and Dan for a conversation about Tod Browning's 1931 Dracula, the often-imitated adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel and the template for dozens of films. How the film can be viewed as a portrayal of addiction similar to The Man with the Golden Arm, how Van Helsing and Dracula stand as enemies, and how Dracula-inspired films mark the history of movies all come into play-...

We expect lust, greed, and all kinds of deadly sins in our movies--but how do we react to a portrait of goodness? To what degree does a moment of sin undo the millions of others in a person's life? And why aren't people talking about this movie more than they are--which is basically not at all? Join Mike and Dan for a conversation about Bernie (2011), Richard Linklater's second film with Jack Blac...

Mike and Dan tackle their third Werner Herzog movie of the season--and their second Nosferatu.  Join them as they talk about what makes Herzog's 1979 remake of what he called the greatest German film of all time and what Mike and Dan praise as the best of all the Dracula films. Mike calls Herzog "the Mozart of stilted time," Dan compares this film to part of Gulliver's Travels, and the two of them...