Your cinematic sleuths are back at it! This week, we are giving you something a little different. Back in 2022, Luke and Matt took to YouTube Live to chat about their love of film noir and hardboiled fiction. Two years later, Mean Street emerged from that chat. We hope you enjoy looking back at the first discussion between Luke and Matt.

Your cinematic sleuths are back at it! This week, we are giving you something a little different. Back in 2022, Luke and Matt took to YouTube Live to chat about their love of film noir and hardboiled fiction. Two years later, Mean Street emerged from that chat. We hope you enjoy looking back at the first discussion between Luke and Matt.

Friend of the podcast Stephanie Czajkowski, who was featured on our LAST SEDUCTION episode, has produced an incredible new podcast with her husband called CALIGULA: PACKAGE OF EXCELLENCE. It's a deep-dive exploration into the complicated making of this movie. We've loved it and wanted to share it with you, our listeners!

This week, Cinema Sleuths investigates Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding (2024), the stylish and unpredictable erotic neo-noir thriller starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian and Ed Harris.

Set against the backdrop of the American Southwest in the late 1980s, Love Lies Bleeding follows gym manager Lou and ambitious bodybuilder Jackie as their passionate relationship becomes entangled with violence, family secrets and a dangerous criminal underworld.

In this episode, your cinematic sleuths investigate what makes Love Lies Bleeding such a distinctive modern neo-noir. We examine Rose Glass’s direction, the film’s strange blend of romance, crime, thriller and dark comedy, and the performances of Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian at the centre of its increasingly wild story.

We explore the film’s themes of obsession, ambition, violence, sexuality and family, as well as its striking visual style and unpredictable twists. We also ask whether Love Lies Bleeding successfully pushes the boundaries of the modern crime thriller — or goes too far.

Directed by: Rose Glass

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*

Your cinematic sleuths are back at it! This week's case is 2024's superhero noir, BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER, starring Hamish Linklater, Jason Watkins, Krystal Joy Brown, Eric Morgan Stuart, Diedrich Bader, Minnie Driver, Christina Ricci, and Jamie Chung. Created by Bruce Timm and produced by Matt Reeves and J J Abrams.

FIND US HERE: ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mean-streets-the-film-noir-podcast/id1733189837 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0mMUeJThoZk6mj0T2-BAEA Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeanStreetsPC Mean Streets is produced by Luke Deckard and Matthew Booth. Edited by Luke Deckard Music by Luke Deckard Logo by Phil Dragash

This week, Cinema Sleuths heads to Newcastle for one of British cinema’s coldest and most ruthless crime thrillers: Get Carter (1971).

Starring Michael Caine, Mike Hodges’s Get Carter is a landmark of British gangster cinema and crime film, following London gangster Jack Carter as he travels north after his brother's suspicious death.

Carter isn’t interested in theories. He’s interested in finding out who killed his brother — and making them pay.

Based on Ted Lewis’s novel Jack’s Return Home, Get Carter is a brutally stripped-back revenge story filled with corruption, violence, organised crime and betrayal. Unlike the glamorous gangsters of many earlier British crime films, Carter operates in a grim and morally rotten world where almost everyone has something to hide.

In this episode, your cinematic sleuths examine Michael Caine’s iconic performance, the film’s bleak depiction of 1970s Britain, its unforgettable locations and its influence on generations of British crime movies.

We explore the film’s neo-noir influences, revenge narrative, violence and atmosphere, while asking why Get Carter has remained such an influential British gangster classic more than five decades after its release.

Directed by: Mike Hodges

Special Guest on this episode is Nick Triplow, author of Getting Carter, which you can purchase here: https://tinyurl.com/gettingcarter 

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*

Liam Neeson is back on the case — but this time, he’s hunting killers through the darkest corners of New York City.

This week, Cinema Sleuths investigates Scott Frank’s A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens and David Harbour.

Based on the bestselling novel by crime writer Lawrence Block, the film follows former NYPD detective and unlicensed private investigator Matthew Scudder, who is hired to track down a pair of brutal kidnappers operating in New York’s criminal underworld.

In this episode, your cinematic sleuths investigate whether A Walk Among the Tombstones is too self-aware as a neo-noir and wrapped up in Liam Neeson hype to come close to matching the grit of the novel. 

Directed by: Scott Frank

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*

This week, Cinema Sleuths investigates David Leitch’s The Fall Guy (2024), the action-packed romantic comedy starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Based on the classic 1980s television series, The Fall Guy follows Colt Seavers, a former stuntman who is pulled back into the dangerous world of Hollywood when a movie star mysteriously disappears. What begins as a search for a missing actor quickly becomes a wild investigation involving conspiracy, romance, explosions and some seriously impressive stunt work.

In this episode, we examine the film’s action sequences, practical stunts, comedy, romance and Hollywood satire, while asking whether The Fall Guy deserved to become a much bigger theatrical hit.

Is this one of the most entertaining action movies of the 2020s? Or did audiences simply fail to show up for the stunt?

Directed by: David Leitch

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*

This week, Cinema Sleuths investigates James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984), the groundbreaking science-fiction action thriller that turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into one of cinema’s most iconic villains and launched one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises.

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn, The Terminator combines neo-noir, science fiction, horror and relentless action into a deceptively simple story.

But does the original Terminator still hold up?

In this episode, your cinematic sleuths investigate what made The Terminator such an influential 1980s movie. We examine James Cameron’s direction, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s terrifying performance as the T-800, Linda Hamilton’s transformation as Sarah Connor and Michael Biehn’s Kyle Reese.

Before there was Skynet, Judgment Day or the T-1000, there was one relentless machine with one mission.

Is The Terminator still one of the greatest science-fiction action movies ever made?

Directed by: James Cameron

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*

This week, Cinema Sleuths investigates Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil (1958), a towering example of film noir starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and the man himself, Orson Welles.

Based on Whit Masterson’s novel Badge of Evil, Touch of Evil follows Mexican police officer Mike Vargas (questionably cast as Heston) as he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation that exposes corruption, manipulation and the disturbing methods of a veteran American detective.

In this episode, your cinematic sleuths put Touch of Evil under the magnifying glass, exploring Orson Welles’s direction and performance, Charlton Heston’s problematic casting as Mike Vargas and Janet Leigh’s Susan Vargas.

We also explore the film’s troubled production and ask whether Welles’s vision was fully understood when the movie was released — and why its reputation has grown so dramatically over the decades.

Directed by: Orson Welles

Is Touch of Evil a noir masterpiece — or has its legendary reputation made the case impossible to solve?

Cinema Sleuths (Formerly Mean Streets) is produced by Luke Deckard & Matthew Booth 

Edited by Luke Deckard 

Theme song by Luke Deckard 

Logo by  Phil Dragash 

DISCLAIMER

All content presented in this podcast episode is the property of the podcast creator and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, and review. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.

*All movie and TV clips used in this episode are the property of their respective copyright holders and are used here for the purpose of review and commentary under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended.*