100 Things we learned from film

This week we're doing Werewolves, Cujos, Gremlins and Avengers as we talk about 1981's The Howling.

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The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed and edited by Joe Dante. Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the film follows a news anchor who, following a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, visits a resort secretly inhabited by werewolves. The cast includes Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and Elisabeth Brooks.

The Howling was released in the United States on March 13, 1981, and became a moderate success, grossing $17.9 million at the box office. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for the makeup special effects by Rob Bottin. The film won the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and was one of the three high-profile werewolf-themed horror films released in 1981, alongside An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen.

Its financial success aided Dante's career, and prompted Warner Bros. to hire Dante and Michael Finnell as director and producer, respectively, for Gremlins (1984). A series consisting of seven sequels arose from the film's success.

This week we're back in the USSR and we know just how lucky we are, Boy!

We're talking, Concertos, Communism and laying in state.

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Death of Stalin was picked by our Patron Lee Davis, and grateful we are too.

He pays us a quid a month and gets bonus episodes as well as being able to tell us what we are watching.

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The Death of Stalin is a 2017 political satire black comedy film written and directed by Armando Iannucci and co-written by David Schneider and Ian Martin with Peter Fellows. Based on the French graphic novel La Mort de Staline (2010–2012), the film depicts the internal social and political power struggle among the members of the Soviet Politburo following the death of leader Joseph Stalin in 1953. The French-British-Belgian co-production stars an ensemble cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Dermot Crowley, Paul Chahidi, Adrian McLoughlin, Paul Whitehouse, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The film premiered on 8 September 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in the United Kingdom by Entertainment One Films on 20 October 2017, in France by Gaumont on 4 April 2018, and in Belgium by September Film Distribution on 18 April 2018. It received critical acclaim and various accolades, including nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, one of which was for Outstanding British Film, and 13 British Independent Film Awards, four of which it won. There was fierce opposition to the film in Russia, where it was seen as "anti-Russian propaganda", and it was banned there, as well as in Kyrgyzstan, for allegedly mocking the Soviet past and making fun of the USSR.[4][5]

Plot

On the night of 1 March 1953, Joseph Stalin calls the Radio Moscow director to demand a recording of the just-concluded live recital of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. The performance was not recorded; not wanting to anger Stalin, the director hurriedly refills the now-half-empty auditorium, fetches a new conductor to replace the original one, who has passed out, and orders the orchestra to play again. Pianist Maria Yudina initially refuses to perform for the cruel dictator, but ultimately is bribed to comply.

Meanwhile, Stalin is hosting a tense, but rowdy, gathering of Central Committee members at his home, the Kuntsevo Dacha. As Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov leaves, NKVD-head Lavrentiy Beria reveals to Nikita Khrushchev and Deputy Chairman Georgy Malenkov that Molotov is to be part of the latest purge. When the concert recording arrives, Stalin finds a note Maria slipped in the record sleeve, admonishing Stalin and expressing hope for his death. He reads it, laughs, and suffers a cerebral haemorrhage. Despite hearing him fall, Stalin's guards, fearful of being punished for disturbing him, do not enter his office.

Stalin's housemaid discovers him unconscious the next morning. The members of the Central Committee each learn about the situation through their own networks and rush to the dacha. Beria, the first to arrive, finds Maria's note. Once Malenkov, Khrushchev, Lazar Kaganovich, Anastas Mikoyan, and Nikolai Bulganin arrive, the Committee finally decides to send for a team of doctors. Most of the best doctors in Moscow have been arrested for being part of an alleged plot, thus the doctors who can be found are not impressive. After a brief bout of terminal lucidity, Stalin dies. While the members of the Committee return to Moscow, Beria's order for the NKVD to take over the Soviet Army–held security postings across Moscow is carried out.

Beria and Khrushchev vie for the support of Molotov and Stalin's children, Svetlana and her unstable, alcoholic brother Vasily. Beria has Molotov removed from the list of those to be rounded up, and has Molotov's wife released from prison. The Committee names Malenkov chairman. Essentially a puppet of Beria, Malenkov further exerts control by hijacking Khrushchev's proposed reforms, such as releasing political prisoners and loosening clerical restrictions. Khrushchev is relegated to planning Stalin's funeral.

After Beria learns Khrushchev and Maria are casually acquainted, he threatens Khrushchev with Maria's note. To create problems for the NKVD, Khrushchev reverses Beria's order to halt all transportation into Moscow. When 1,500 arriving mourners are killed, the Committee wants to blame junior NKVD officers. Beria angrily dissents, believing that would amount to blaming him, and threatens his colleagues with documents detailing their involvement in various purges.

Irate over the supplanting of the military by the NKVD, Marshal Georgy Zhukov agrees to support Khrushchev in a coup against Beria, provided it occurs after Stalin's funeral the next day and Khrushchev can get the rest of the Committee on board. With time running out, Khrushchev cannot get Malenkov to discuss his plan, but he tells everyone else that the decision is unanimous, and they commit themselves. Khrushchev gives Zhukov the greenlight, and the Soviet Army reclaims its posts from the NKVD. Zhukov, assisted by a group of soldiers led by Kiril Moskalenko, storms into a meeting of the Committee and arrests Beria.

Malenkov does not intervene and reluctantly signs Beria's death warrant, horrified at what he had done to his victims. At Beria's emergency trial, Khrushchev accuses him of counter-revolutionary activities, sexual assault, and pedophilia, and immediately declares him guilty after evidence of the final accusation is delivered by the Soviet army. Beria begs for his life but is summarily shot in the head, and Zhukov has his body burned in the courtyard. Despite Svetlana's protests, Khrushchev sends her to Soviet-occupied Vienna, while keeping Vasily in Russia, where he can be watched. He concurs with Kaganovich that Malenkov is too weak to lead.

In 1956, Maria is the soloist at another performance of Concerto No. 23. Having triumphed over other members of the Committee to become the new leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev attends. Brezhnev, who will succeed Khrushchev in 1964, eyes Khrushchev from his seat.

Join us this week for shops real and made up, Non-Union Johnny Five and why you shouldn't miss leg day.

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Chopping Mall is a 1986 American independent techno-horror film co-written and directed by Jim Wynorski, produced by Julie Corman, and starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Barbara Crampton. It focuses on three high-tech security robots turning maniacal and killing teenage employees inside a shopping mall after dark.

The film was test-screened under the title Killbots by its distributor, Concorde Pictures. After it performed poorly with test audiences, the film was re-titled Chopping Mall, and approximately 19 minutes were excised.

In the years since its release, Chopping Mall has gone on to develop a cult following, and been subjected to film criticism for its perceived themes of human consumption and excess during the Reagan Era in the United States.

They said it couldn't be done! Or that it shouldn't be done... one of those things was definitely said.

Yet here it is, the live recording of our Live show debut. Shrek!

We'll learn about The muffin man, the history of the boxing ring, that onions DON'T have layers and loads more!

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I don't know what to put in this bit now we don't have a live show to promote

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Shrek is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book of the same name by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson (in their feature directorial debuts) and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, it is the first installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. In the film, an embittered ogre named Shrek (Myers) finds his home in the swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures banished by the obsessive ruler Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek makes a pact with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.

After purchasing rights to Steig's book in 1991, Steven Spielberg sought to produce a traditionally-animated film adaptation, but John H. Williams convinced him to bring the project to the newly founded DreamWorks in 1994. Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with Williams and Aron Warner, began development on Shrek in 1995, immediately following the studio's purchase of the rights from Spielberg. Chris Farley was cast as the voice for the title character, recording most of the required dialogue, but died in 1997 before his work on the film was finished; Myers was hired to replace him, and gave Shrek his Scottish accent. The film was initially intended to be created using motion capture, but after poor test results, the studio hired Pacific Data Images to complete the final computer animation. Shrek parodies other fairy tale adaptations, primarily animated Disney films.[7]

Shrek premiered at the Mann Village Theatre In Westwood, and was later shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or,[4][8] making it the first animated film since Disney's Peter Pan (1953) to be chosen to do so.[9] The film was theatrically released by DreamWorks Pictures in the United States on May 18, 2001, and grossed over $492 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2001. It was widely praised by critics for its animation, voice performances, soundtrack, writing and humor, which they noted catered to both adults and children. Shrek was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

The film's major success helped establish DreamWorks Animation as a competitor to Pixar in feature film computer animation. Three sequels have been released—Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010)—along with two spin-off films—Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)—with other productions, notably Shrek 5, in development. It is also regarded as one of the most influential animated films of the 2000s and one of the greatest animated films ever made. The United States Library of Congress selected Shrek for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2020, becoming the first animated film of the 21st century to be preserved.

This week the boys are off down the docks to listen to Jean Michel Jarre and visit serial killer Dennis Nilsen's murder house.

It's Clive Barker's classic Sexy horror, Hellraiser!

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Also on our Patron Planty reading Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.

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Dont forget to join us at Megacon Carlisle on 17th August where we will be performing our first ever live show on the subject of Shrek.

£5 + Booking. Get your ticket here:

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/58993

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Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut,[7] Based on Barker's 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart, the film’s plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic beings who cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure. It stars Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and Doug Bradley as the leader of the Cenobites, identified in the sequels as "Pinhead"

The film was followed by nine sequels, the first seven of which featured Bradley reprising his role as Pinhead. A franchise reboot, also titled Hellraiser and executive produced by Barker, was released in 2022.

This week we're dropping a bunch of facts and nonsense regarding Vietnam, Go Pros and Drug montages with Joe from Hallmark of Greatness. We'll be back next week with a full length fil-um episode so hold tight!

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"White Rabbit" is a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It draws on imagery from Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass.

It was released as a single and became the band's second top-10 success, peaking at number eight[6] on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was ranked number 478 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[7] in 2004, number 483 in 2010, and number 455 in 2021 and appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]

This week the boys are heading back to 1996 with the Patron's Choice.

Thanks to Gadget, not only for supporting us but picking an absolute belter.

We're learning about the invention of the Bicycle Bell, Schlemiels, Giant Satellite arrays and that all you need is love.

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This is a Patron's choice episode picked by loyal supporter of the pod, Gadget

You can support us for just a quid at:

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Dont forget to join us at Megacon Carlisle on 17th August where we will be performing our first ever live show on the subject of Shrek.

£5 + Booking. Get your ticket here:

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/58993

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Independence Day (also promoted as ID4) is a 1996 American science fiction action film[2][3] directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Emmerich and the film's producer Dean Devlin, and stars an ensemble cast that consists of Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Vivica A. Fox, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by a powerful extraterrestrial race. With the other people of the world, they launch a counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.

While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich conceived the film while answering a question about his belief in the existence of alien life. Devlin and Emmerich decided to incorporate a large-scale attack having noticed that aliens in most invasion films travel long distances in outer space only to remain hidden when reaching Earth. Shooting began on July 28, 1995, in New York City, and the film was completed on October 8, 1995.

Considered a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster, Independence Day was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and sci-fi resurgence of the mid-late 1990s. It was released worldwide on July 3, 1996, but began showing on July 2 (the same day the film's story begins) in original release as a result of a high level of anticipation among moviegoers. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances, musical score and visual effects, but criticism for its characters. It grossed over $817.4 million worldwide,[2] becoming the highest-grossing film of 1996 and the second-highest-grossing film ever at the time, behind Jurassic Park (1993). The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound.[4]

This week the boys are ringing you on the landline to ask what's your favourite scary movie?

We're talking Budweiser adverts, Fubu and how to dispose of a body in a bid to get some of those sweet true crime podcast downloads.

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This is a Patron's choice episode picked by loyal supporter of the pod, Ali

You can support us for just a quid at:

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Ali is also the current custodian of Carlisle Megacon, where we will be performing our first ever live show on the subject of Shrek.

£5 + Booking. Get your ticket here:

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/58993

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Scary Movie is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, and Dave Sheridan, it follows a group of teenagers who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body in a lake, and swear to secrecy. A year later, someone wearing a Ghostface mask and robe begins hunting them one by one.

The film is a parody of multiple genres including the horror, slasher, and mystery film genres. Several 1990s films and TV shows are also spoofed, and the script primarily follows the plot of the slasher films Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Some films and TV shows like Halloween, The Shining, Friday the 13th, The Usual Suspects, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, The Matrix and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were also parodied in some scenes.

This week we're heading to Val Verde with John Matrix and all the one liners you can fit in to a 90 minute Arnold Film.

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Don't forget to grab your tickets to out live show at Megacon Carlisle. £5 + Booking fee.

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/58993

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Commando is a 1985 American action thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester and produced by Joel Silver. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, alongside Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Vernon Wells, Bill Duke and Dan Hedaya. The musical score was composed by James Horner.

Commando was released in the United States on October 4, 1985, where it received praise for the action sequences and humor.

This week the Patreon wheel spun and landed on Gavin from The Be There With Belson Podcast.

He picked what is equally the best and worst film we've ever watched for the podcast.

we'll be doing the usual why must films lie to us as well as David Niven convincing no one about his age and GONGMAN TM.

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Be There with Belson Podcast is two brothers trying to make sense of the world or at least make each other laugh.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/be-there-with-belson/id1484563935

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Don't forget to grab your tickets to out live show at Megacon Carlisle. £5 + Booking fee.

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/58993

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A Matter of Life and Death is a 1946 British fantasy-romance film set in England during World War II.

Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title Stairway to Heaven, which derived from the film's most prominent special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife.

In 1999, A Matter of Life and Death placed 20th on the British Film Institute's list of Best 100 British films.[6] It ranked 90th in The Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012[7] poll, regarded by some as the most authoritative in the world, and 78th in 2022.[8]