Film Conversations

Hello everyone and welcome to Film Conversations. We took a bit of a hiatus but are back, refreshed and with an updated roster: co-host RC Charles Roberts has moved on to other pastures but we are very pleased to announce the addition of animator and film maker Samantha Youssef to the Film Conversations team.   In today's show, Samantha, who has nearly twenty years of experience working as an anim...

Hello everyone, this is the Film Conversations episode for March, 2026. In this show, we discuss the 1947 Film Noir classic, Out of the Past. Here's a synopsis from Wikipedia: Out of the Past (billed in the United Kingdom as Build My Gallows High) is a 1947 American film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Geoffrey Hom...

Hello everyone welcome to another episode of the Film Conversations podcast. In this episode, which is part three of our discussion about the impact of the movies we've viewed on our political leanings, Dennis takes the lead. He discusses films such as The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie that influenced his thinking. Below, you'll find links to the films we talked about and realted things.   Ref...

Hello everyone, this is Dwayne Monroe, the host, along with Dennis Claxton and RC Charles Roberts of the Film Conversations podcast. In today's show, we continue a conversation we started in the previous episode: the ways film shapes political views and the value of film to understanding politics.    This has turned out to be a rich topic and so, we're planning a third episode to give Dennis a cha...

Hello everyone, this is Dwayne Monroe, one of the hosts, alongside Dennis Claxton and RC Charles Roberts, of the Film Conversations podcast. In today's episode, we talk about the films that shaped our political views. Or, I should say, we intended to talk about this but global events intervened and we found ourselves talking about geopolitics and war (with relevant US domestic politics included fo...

Welcome back to another episode of Film Conversations. After a bit of a hiatus, we're back and at full force, so to speak: RC Charles Robert is back at the table. Today's film is FW Murnau's silent masterpiece, released in 1926: Faust. To set the scene, here's an excerpt from the Criterion article on the film: Criterion Excerpt https://criterioncast.com/column/for-criterion-consideration/for-crite...

In today's episode, we discuss the 1966 Italian film, the Battle of Algiers. The film, based on events that occurred during the Algerian war against French occupation (1954-62) and specifically, the battle in the capital city of Algiers, depicts the actions of the various groups that fought against, and with each other during that war.  Here is a synopsis from Criterion:   "One of the most influen...

On July 26 of 2024, a story was published by entertainment industry trade magazine Variety about Francis Ford Coppola's alleged behavior on the set of his film, Megalopolis.  Here is an excerpt from the article:   Video has surfaced of director Francis Ford Coppola that shows the legendary director trying to kiss young female extras on the set of his ambitious sci-fi epic. Variety has obtained two...

In this episode, we discuss 1997's The Edge starring Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Harold Perrineau and Elle Macpherson, written by David Mamet and directed by Lee Tamahori.   Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:   " The Edge is a 1997 American survival thriller film written by David Mamet and directed by Lee Tamahori starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. The plot follows wealthy bus...

In today's episode, we speak with our Dennis Claxton and his daughter Miranda about their personal histories of film viewing. Both are Angelinos who have taken advantage of the still existing film culture of Los Angeles (small cinemas, revivals of older films and other lovely things).   There isn't a fixed film under review but Hithcock's The Birds and Vertigo make prominent appearances.   Enjoy.