Tag: 1950’s

Apr 01 2014

Episode 20 – Sunset Boulevard

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Sunset BoulevardThis week, we dive into Billy Wilder for a walk along Sunset Boulevard!  William Holden and Gloria Swanson guide us through a wonderfully cynical look at Hollywood.  We go down the meta rabbit hole as we discuss the casting on this film.  We also spend far too much time talking about the horrible musical that was inspired by the film.  Accept no substitutes!

Our next episode, on April 15th, will be about the 2014 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave!

Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Sunset Blvd. poster Rating: 8.4/10 (235,907 votes)
Director: Billy Wilder
Writer: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
Runtime: 110 min
Rated: Passed
Genre: Drama, Film-Noir
Released: 04 Aug 1950
Plot: A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.

Feb 15 2014

Episode 17 – Seven Samurai

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Seven SamuraiIt is time for some Reel Education subtitled action courtesy of the great Akira Kurosawa’ s masterpiece, Seven Samurai! While Jena speculates there will be flips in this film, she finds nary a one.  Instead, she finds one of the greatest films ever along with some truly racist Japanese accents courtesy of Melissa and Tim!  Seven Samurai enter!  How many leave?  That would be a spoiler!

Seven Samurai (1954)
Seven Samurai poster Rating: 8.6/10 (365,525 votes)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
Runtime: 207 min
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Action, Drama
Released: 19 Nov 1956
Plot: Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.

Our next episode will be all about The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

Jan 02 2014

Episode 14 – Vertigo

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VertigoFor our first episode of 2014, we watched the greatest movie ever made!  At least that is what the Sight & Sound 2012 poll says.  Hitchcock’s Vertigo was projected onto the big screen at the Parkway theatre and we enjoyed Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in all their 35MM glory!  What did Jena think of Hitchcock’s most psychologically messed up masterpiece?  Listen to find out!

Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo poster Rating: 8.3/10 (424,475 votes)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel A. Taylor, Pierre Boileau
Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Runtime: 128 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Released: 09 May 1963
Plot: A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.

Join us on the 15th when we’ll be watching Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times!

Oct 15 2013

Episode 9 – Rear Window

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Rear WindowOnce again, we were able to record an episode live at Pepito’s Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis.  This time, we watched the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Rear Window.”  Not only had Jena never seen this film before, it was her first Hitchcock film ever.  And she got to see it on the big screen!  The print was amazing and you should all feel really bad that you missed it.  However, you can console yourself by listening to this episode where we dump love all over the master and one of this best films.

Our next episode will air on November 1st and we’ll talk about “The Abominable Dr. Phibes.”

Our next live recording at Pepito’s will be on Sunday, November 17th.  We’ll be watching John Carpenter’s “The Thing!”

Rear Window (1954)
Rear Window poster Rating: 8.5/10 (520,286 votes)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: John Michael Hayes, Cornell Woolrich
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
Runtime: 112 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Released: 01 Sep 1954
Plot: A photographer in a wheelchair spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.

 

Sep 01 2013

Episode 6 – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

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The 7th Voyage of SinbadYes, we know that we really should have waited for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad until episode 7 but it didn’t happen that way.  Get over it.  We recorded this episode approximately one week after special effects Genius Ray Harryhausen passed away.  Jena, as usual, had absolutely no knowledge of the film or of Harryhausen.  This was a problem Tim and Melissa gleefully solved.  As a bonus, both Tim and Melissa have stories about actually meeting Ray Harryhausen!  Envy us!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster Rating: 7.0/10 (14,659 votes)
Director: Nathan Juran
Writer: Ken Kolb, Ray Harryhausen
Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
Runtime: 88 min
Rated: G
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
Released: 23 Dec 1958
Plot: When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.

Jul 01 2013

Episode 2 – Singin’ in the Rain

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Singin' in the RainFor our second episode, our permanent co-host Melissa Kaercher joins the party to enjoy one of the greatest movie musicals ever made – Singin’ in the Rain.  We don’t know how Jena managed to go this long without experiencing “Make ’em Laugh” but that horrible oversight has now been rectified.  Enjoy the episode and remember to jauntily tip your cap to Gene Kelly!

And keep an ear out for our next episode on the 15th of July when we look at 2012 Best Picture, Argo.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Singin' in the Rain poster Rating: 8.3/10 (259,384 votes)
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Writer: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Runtime: 103 min
Rated: G
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Released: 10 Apr 1952
Plot: A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.