Film Generations

This still shocking and wildly popular movie, which birthed the slasher genre and yet is still perhaps the deepest, most complex example of it, was maestro Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest hit, even though it was the lowest budget film he made in America.  Psycho broke so many rules, in such a riveting way, that it’s never stopped being talked about in the 63 years since its release. It blew the door of...

Terry Gilliam’s 1985 dystopic science fiction comedy Brazil had a difficult release that mirrored its themes of bureaucracy, denial, mindless consumerism, and relentless propaganda. The head of the Studio tried to neuter the film’s dark, humanistic message, worried it wouldn’t play to his target audience of 17-to-29 year-olds. And, indeed, this now-classic satire was a box-office flop. So what do...

With exteriors shot in war-ravaged Vienna, this iconic film noir thriller boasts writing, cinematography, editing and music comparable to Citizen Kane, winning it the Palm D’Or at Cannes, the British academy award for Best Picture of 1949, as well as an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White). Its unique zither score rose to #1 on the Billboard Charts. In 1999, the British Film Institute v...

In 1939, a golden year of Hollywood filmmaking, legendary director John Ford returned to the almost defunct genre that had launched his career, the Western. Stagecoach brought a new sophistication to Westerns, made the 32-year-old John Wayne a movie star, and won Academy Awards for both its stirring musical score and supporting actor Thomas Mitchell. (John Ford eventually won 4 best directing Osca...

After some modest early success, Spike Lee announced the arrival of a major new voice with his 1989 film Do the Right Thing.  Funny, controversial, and prescient – anticipating many of the issues that would dominate the next 33 years - this film took a freewheeling look at race relations and violence by both police and protesters in an age long before “woke” culture became mainstream. Our panel of...

Long after the silent film era ended, Charlie Chaplin returned to make his final silent picture, Modern Times.  Not only is it #8 on IMDb’s funniest comedies of all time, but it’s a commentary about homelessness, alienation in the machine age, over-policing, poverty, and other social issues still debated today.  The film is 87 years old but has retained a viewership over nearly a century.  Is it p...

Midnight Cowboy exploded Hollywood in 1969, as a gritty, X-rated drama dealing with homelessness, the oppression of gay men, the perversion of the American Dream, the cynical decline of New York City, and the emergence of a new, optimistic generation unaware of its own hypocrisy.  This film launched the career of Jon Voight and allowed Dustin Hoffman to transform the definition of a movie star. It...

Get ready for a unique movie review podcast, where two film lovers from the 20th Century introduce a classic film to a panel of young film lovers every week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices