Film Stories
Wild, Wild Podcast
Join Adrian Smith and Rod Barnett as they explore a wide range of Italian genres, one filone at a time. Follow us here: https://linktr.ee/wild_wild_podcast A proud part of the Film Stories Podcast Network: www.filmstories.co.uk
Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: twitter.com
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Episodes
Ranking Donald Pleasence in Italy 21.10.2026 29:53
And now, the end is near, and now we face the final curtain... Yes, just what will Rod and Adrian decide as they rank the eleven films from this season? Will they fall out over Pumaman ? And is Warrior Queen really all that bad? Tune in to find out. This season is dedicated to that great quiet man of British cinema, Donald Pleasence, who spent a great deal of time in the 1980s in Italy. We would l...
Paganini Horror (Luigi Cozzi, 1989) 13.10.2026 1:06:30
Known as the Devil's violinist, Paganini was so evil that he used something really unconventional to string his violin, and it wasn't spaghetti. How can a late-eighties rock band with a love of Bon Jovi hope to stand up against this most diabolical of musicians, whilst trying to shoot a video clip that could be better than Michael Jackson's Thriller ? In this episode, Adrian and Rod fi...
Nosferatu in Venice (1988, Augusto Caminito) 04.10.2026 1:00:58
Venice is stalked by an aging madman with a perverse attraction to beautiful young women, and then they turned the cameras on and started filming Nosferatu in Venice . Yes, this is that one where Klaus Kinski turned up and made impossible demands on an under pressure film crew, and it is a miracle that there was any kind of finished film at the end. But what will Rod and Adrian make of it? And jus...
Last Platoon (Angel Hill: l'ultima missione, Ignazio Dolce, 1988) 05.09.2026 1:11:46
Rod and Adrian are heading back into the jungle for one last mission - to make a podcast about a film most regular people haven't heard of. It's possible that neither will make it out alive. And even if they do, can Donald Pleasence get the rescue chopper to them in time? This season is dedicated to that great quiet man of British cinema, Donald Pleasence, who spent a great deal of time in the 198...
Phantom of Death (Off Balance, Ruggero Deodato, 1988) featuring Luigi Cozzi and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua 11.08.2026 1:36:06
Have you been feeling tired and listless lately? Has your hair started falling out? Have you found yourself befriending shaggy old dogs in the park and taking them home? Are you feeling off balance? Then maybe you are suffering from 'Phantom of Death' syndrome, a rare disease which causes accelerated aging, psychosis and an increased desire to taunt policemen. Listening to this episode of Wild, Wi...
Double Target ( Bruno Mattei, 1987) 02.07.2026 1:19:03
Double targets can only mean double trouble for Rod and Adrian! Come with them back to the jungles of Vietnam/ the Phillippines for some exciting action and hair-raising helicopter business. Miles O'Keefe plays Bob Ross, a man on a mission to save his son and kick some commies off a cliff, with only his special skills, lightning reflexes and sparkling wit to keep him alive. This season is dedicate...
Django Strikes Again (Django 2 - Il grande ritorno, Nello Rossati, 1987) 22.05.2026 1:20:46
We always knew he would be back, and this time he is - back! Yes, he may have had his hands brutally mangled twenty years ago, but after a long convalescence, some quality time with the woman he loves and a period as a novitiate in a local monastery, it's time for Django to dig up his machine gun and get back to what he does best. The only official Django sequel, Django Strikes Again sees Franco N...
Specters (Spettri, Marcello Avallone, 1987) 05.05.2026 1:29:12
Archaeology is a dangerous business, as we discover the hard way in this latest episode where we are taken deep into the catacombs underneath Rome. Donald Pleasence's Professor Lasky leads a well-funded but under-staffed dig to find a two thousand-year-old tomb which may or may not be evil. It is evil, and something nebulous is unleashed with the power to do whatever the special effects budget wil...
Warrior Queen (Chuck Vincent, 1987) 19.04.2026 1:05:46
Slave auctions, lavish orgies and gladiatorial combat at the dinner table; no, it's not the Tory Party Conference, it's American adult film director Chuck Vincent's straight-to-video Pompeii-set Warror Queen, starring Donald Pleasence, Sybil Danning and David Brandon. Pleasence is having fun, Danning looks thoroughly bored and Brandon is doing his best, so will Warrior Queen live up to the expecta...
Cobra Mission (Fabrizio De Angelis, 1986) 28.03.2026 1:29:01
We've all been bored at a family wedding before, but it's unlikely that we've decided to leave early and head off to Vietnam to rescue some guys who got left behind, with nothing but some misplaced courage and a few guns that a French priest kept in his vestry. In this episode Wild, Wild Podcast goes back into the jungle to try and decipher Donald Pleasence's dodgy accent, whilst coming to terms w...
Phenomena (Dario Argento, 1984) 27.02.2026 1:20:52
An ill wind is blowing in the Swiss Alps, and it's going to take the combined might of a psychic teenager, a Scotsman in a wheelchair and a chimpanzee called Inga to do something about it - if they can hear themselves think over Iron Maiden being played at full blast. Rod and Adrian are tackling the maestro Dario Argento for the first time, but thankfully it's one of his more restrained efforts to...
Pumaman (Alberto De Martino, 1980) 11.02.2026 1:26:55
When the gods delivered a golden mask to the Aztec people on a mountain plateau thousands of years ago, little did they know that one day a man in black leather would steal it, and it would be up to an unsuspecting American paleontologist working at the Natural History Museum in London to stop him, calling upon his inate super powers to do so. Becuase he is the PUMAMAN! He can fly! He can teleport...
StageFright (Michele Soavi, 1987) 07.01.2026 1:17:38
In this final episode of our Women in Italian Cinema mini-season, we focus on the unsung hero of Filmirage, Donatella Donati. She worked for many years with Joe D'Amato as a producer, production manager, screenwriter, script girl, and even set design on occasion. The most high-profile film she produced was StageFright, which also served as Michele Soavi's directorial debut after he had worked for...
The Year of the Cannibals (I cannibali, Liliana Cavani, 1969) 18.11.2025 1:19:46
In a dystopian Milan, a failed revolution has left the Fascists in charge and the streets littered with dead rebels. Antigone (Britt Ekland) seems to be the only sane person left, determined to defy the authorities and her parents to retreive the body of her brother and give him a proper burial. When she meets a mysterious man who has great hair but speaks an unknown language (played by Pierre Cle...
Rita the Mosquito (Lina Wertmüller, 1966) 25.10.2025 1:19:15
Italian star Rita Pavone is a mischevious schoolgirl with a confusing crush on her sleepy music teacher, who is living a double-life as a singer in a beat band. Can she stop pranking him long enough to make it as a new ye-ye pop sensation whilst navigating the exclusive private school life and these new romantic feelings? And sing loads of songs as she goes along? After a brief break we are back w...
Bonus Episode: Ranking the Rapiers and the Ruffles 16.09.2025 31:00
Join Rod and Adrian as they agonise over how to rank the films from the Rapiers and Ruffles season. Will they agree, or will there be rapiers at dawn? If you have been watching along throughout the season, do contact us and let us know which have been your favourites. The podcast is also open to suggestions for future seasons! You can get in touch with us, follow us on social media, buy our merch,...
Zorro in the Court of England ( Franco Montemurro, 1969) 04.09.2025 59:48
They seek him there, they seek him there, they seek the mysterious masked hero everywhere - but they will never find him thanks to his cunning use of a luxurious moustache! We've reached the final film in our Rapiers and Ruffles season, and the good news is that you can find Zorro in the Court of England on YouTube with excellent English subtitles, if you need them. You can get in touch with us (a...
Zenabel (Ruggero Deodato, 1969) 20.08.2025 1:24:35
Wild, Wild Podcast have jumped forwards in time from the safe, family-friendly adventures of the early 1960s to the hedonistic, anything goes year of 1969 to meet Zenabel, sometimes known as "The Naked General." Here we reach almost the end of our Rapiers and Ruffles season, and also perhaps Rod's tether, with this Italian sex comedy from the director of House at the Edge of the Park, Phantom of D...
Zorro and the Three Musketeers (Luigi Capuano, 1963) 14.07.2025 1:11:58
What is Zorro doing in Spain, thousands of miles away from home? Why are they called the Three Musketeers when there's actually four of them? Why does the King of Spain sound like he was voiced by Paul Frees? Some of these questions may or may not get answered in this thrilling installment of Wild, Wild Podcast! You can get in touch with us (we love hearing from you!), follow us on social media, b...
The Invincible Masked Rider (L'invincibile cavaliere mascherato, Umberto Lenzi, 1963) 23.06.2025 1:19:45
Who is that mysterious masked hero? Sarge? No. Rosemary, the telephone operator? No. Penry, the mild-mannered janitor? Could be! Then again, it could also be Robin Hood, so don't be too sure. Join us once again as we huddle together inside the nearest large castle for protection against the plague whilst doing our best to unmask the eponymous hero. We also discuss Weird Worcester, the UK's newest...
The Women of Devil's Island (Le prigioniere dell'isola del diavolo, Domenico Paolella, 1962) 05.06.2025 1:10:59
It's adventure on land and on sea as we chart a course to Devil's Island! It's the time of the French Revolution and tempers are running high, quite literally, as we visit those poor female prisoners of Devil's Island, who are forced to pan for gold by day in the hot South American sun, and then entertain the prison guards in improvised brothels by night. If only there was a dashing young captain...
The Executioner of Venice ( Il boia di Venezia, Luigi Capuano, 1963) 05.06.2025 1:09:53
Grab your carnival mask, strap on your rapier and jump into a passing gondola, so that you can travel with us through 17th century Venezia, where evil schemes are afoot, pious nuns need rescuing from wicked pirates, and strong men swing big choppers with abandon. The Executioner of Venice is another fine example of the Rapiers & Ruffles sub-genre of Italian costume adventure films, and a great-qua...
The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (Il colpo segreto di d'Artagnan, Siro Marcellini, 1962) 24.04.2025 1:09:31
Wild, Wild Podcast is back from the commentary track-induced wilderness to talk about another fine film in our Rapiers and Ruffles season. This time we're in France as we go on a non-canonical adventure with D'Artagnan and Porthos, two of the legendary Musketeers. No one knows where the other two are. If you want to watch the film (and you should) you can find it on YouTube. You can get in touch w...
Bonus Episode: An Interview with Thorsten Benzel of Creepy Images 24.04.2025 37:34
In this special episode Adrian talks with publisher and writer Thorsten Benzel about his magazine Creepy Images and his new books Giallo Movie Posters, as volume 2 has just been published. They also discuss Thorsten's other book projects and his love of poster collecting. To find out more or to order copies of his books go to the Creepy Images website. Wild, Wild Podcast will be back soon with the...
Tiger of the Seven Seas (La tigre dei sette mari, Luigi Capuano, 1962) 20.02.2025 1:00:42
Has the man you love ever killed your father and stolen your pirate ship? Have you ever seduced a Spanish governor to gain access to his private dungeons? Have you ever dug for buried treasure whilst under attack from your enemies? If so, you might not want to listen to this week's episode. But if all that sounds kind of fun, then join Adrian and Rod for the latest episodes in our new season Rapie...
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