Enter The Void

Today Renan and Bill lose their neorealist chains and grapple with the 1963 Federico Fellini film 8½, hailed by armchair film scholars as one of the greatest films of all time. More than 50 years on, how does it hold up? Undoubtedly and deservedly a classic, 8½ today looks different than it did in the 1960s, or even the 1990s. In this episode: 8½'s attitudes toward women; Pauline Kael's critical review; Guido's heirs including Don Draper; Fellini's virtuosic filmmaking; whither the imperial film director; and other films about filmmaking. Also, Bill offers some hot Sundance tips, and we highlight a listener's electronic music project providing an alternate score to Eraserhead.

Episode links:

• 8½ on IMDb
• 8½ on Wikipedia
• Pauline Kael original 8½ review
• Stanley Kaufman original 8½ review
• Roger Ebert 8½ review from 2000
• Michael Newton 8½ essay from 2015
• Criterion dream sequence roundup
• Tullio Kezich essay on Fellini and 8½
• Bilge Ebiri on 8½'s influence at 50
• Brian Morton on reading old books in NY Times
• Henry alternate Eraserhead soundtrack on Bandcamp

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We're back with the first of our last run of episodes, and today's episode is a two-for-one deal: we mostly discuss Terry Gilliam's 1996* time travel thriller 12 MONKEYS, with Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt, and weave throughout discussion of the 1962 French featurette that inspired it, LA JETÉE. Discussed in this episode: how does time travel work (or not) in these movies? What do we think happens after the events of 12 Monkeys? Is there anything La Jetée does better? What lessons do these movies have for modern audiences? Did you find all the character actors from The Wire in 12 Monkeys? How about the Nas Illmatic posters? And, what are we to make of Terry Gilliam's career overall?

Episode links:

• 12 Monkeys on IMDb
• 12 Monkeys on Wikipedia
• La Jetée on IMDb
• La Jetée on Wikipedia
• Roger Ebert 1996 12 Monkeys review
• Scott Tobias 12 Monkeys appraisal for New Cult Canon
• Scott Tobias review for Criterion release of La Jetée
• Vulture essay on 12 Monkeys' continued relevance
• Den of Geek essay revisiting 12 Monkeys in 2012
• Criterion essay on La Jetée by Jonathan Romney
• Little White Lies on 12 Monkeys, La Jetée and Vertigo
• Uproxx trivia tidbits about 12 Monkeys
• Philly and Baltimore locations from 12 Monkeys
• Tour of Port Richmond Power Station
• Lebbeus Woods lawsuit against 12 Monkeys
• The Devil's Advocate re-edit for similar reasons
• Time Travel at the Movies, by Isaac M Steinholz
• Novikov self-consistency principle on Wikipedia

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Well, what have we here—it's the tenth season of ENTER THE VOID! Your patience has been rewarded: Bill and Renan are back for what we are gratuitously terming "Season X". (Multiple pronunciations accepted.) This time, we're doing things a little bit differently. The good news: we'll be doing 10 films instead of 8; we're going bimonthly, which may be bad if you need your fix, or good if you already have a lot of podcast obligations (we know the feeling); and we're doing a couple of bonus episodes, including a long-overdue discussion of mindfuck television, plus a finale / retrospective / wrap-up. And here's the bad: yep, about that finale—this will be the last season of ETV, at least for awhile, as Bill and Renan turn their attentions to new projects after this. We're not saying goodbye, we're saying "indefinite hiatus". But we're excited to go out with a bang, hit 100 total episodes, and we hope you'll come along for the ride. Here are the films we've got in store for you this season:

1. 12 Monkeys (Gilliam) / La Jetée (Marker)
2. 8½ (Fellini)
3. Inception (Nolan)
4. Being John Malkovich (Jonze)
5. The Fly (Cronenberg)
6. Fight Club (Fincher)
7. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie / Un Chien Andalou (Buñuel)
8. Perfect Blue (Kon)
9. Groundhog Day (Ramis)
10. Blue Velvet (Lynch)

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At last, it's the season 9 finale, and we go out with a bang: THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER by writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Filippou is one of the most searing film experiences of the last few years. Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan star in this family drama / suspense thriller / haunted house / horror film, which despite being a tough hang that no one's really sure what it's about, was also widely praised upon release in 2017. In this episode, your hosts discuss their experiences watching it a second time, the story's roots in Greek mythology, Lanthimos' cold but invigorating style, and appraise the slippery career of one Mr. Farrell. Also: RIP FilmStruck, the streaming service that was too good to live.

Episode links:

• The Killing of a Sacred Deer on IMDb
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer on Wikipedia
• Brian Tallerico review for RogerEbert.com
• Anthony Lane review for The New Yorker
• Kevin Lincoln review for NY Mag
• A.O. Scott review for NY Times
• Iphigenia in Aulis at Wikipedia
• Trailer for Lanthimos' The Favourite
• Wired on the untimely end of FilmStruck

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For the penultimate episode of season 9, your hosts alter their consciousness and explore ALTERED STATES, a 1980 sci-fi horror film written by Paddy Chayefsky, directed by Ken Russell, and today known as much for its far-out story as for its creators' infamous feud. William Hurt stars as Eddie Jessup, an academic whose experiments with sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic drugs lead him to "regress" to an earlier evolutionary state. (Literally!) Fully committed and totally bonkers, Altered States is something you have to experience for yourself, especially the wild, sexually charged religious visions; the preposterously verbose dialogue; not to mention that whole thing with the acrobatic caveman. Plus: did this movie make anyone else think of Ghostbusters? Episode links:

• Altered States on IMDb
• Altered States on Wikipedia
• Altered States on TV Tropes
• Roger Ebert 1980 review
• NY Times 1981 story on Russell vs. Chayefsky
• 366 Weird Movies overview
• Dangerous Minds Altered States scrapbook
• Acidemic 2009 essay
• Den of Geek 2013 review
• Nerdist 2014 review
• Frieze essay on John Lilly
• John C. Lilly on Wikipedia
• SBS (Australia) 2017 essay

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In today's episode, your hosts grapple with the Danny Boyle-directed, Alex Garland-written 2007 science-fiction horror-thriller SUNSHINE. A commercial failure at the time, with a mixed reception among critics, the film has over the past decade gained an appreciable cult following. But what do your hosts think? Is it a spooky, contemplative outer space film with some third act troubles? Is it a stylish but conceptually thin entertainment that needed a major rethink? Maybe both! You'll just have to listen and find out. Also discussed: which story elements worked and which ones didn't; how much we should care about scientific accuracy, the career arcs of Boyle and Garland; and whether it's ever a good idea for smart characters to do dumb things.

Episode links:

• Sunshine on IMDb
• Sunshine on Wikipedia
• Roger Ebert 2007 film review
• Manohla Dargis 2007 reivew
• AV Club 2007 film review
• Anthony Lane 2007 review
• Mark Kermode 2007 review
• Vanity Fair 2009 essay on Sunshine
• Popular Mechanics Brian Cox interview
• IFC Danny Boyle interview
• Eye for Film Danny Boyle interview
• The Dissolve Alex Garland interview
• TechCrunch 2017 film retrospective
• Empire Online 2017 feature story
• "Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor)" on YouTube

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Once nearly impossible to find and now... still pretty tough to obtain via legitimate means, Dalton Trumbo's JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN—the 1971 film he wrote and directed based on his own 1939 novel—is both legendary and forgotten at the same time. It tells the disturbing tale of a young soldier who loses his limbs and nearly all of his senses, but whose mind remains intact as he's trapped inside his own body in a military hospital. Adapted into Metallica's music video "One" and rubbing shoulders with the great anti-war and surrealist films, Johnny Got His Gun is not easy to watch. Also discussed: the film's most effective techniques; Trumbo's career and politics; other adaptations on stage and film; and its maybe-possible influence on Better Call Saul. Plus: does Metallica really own the film outright?

Episode links:

• Johnny Got His Gun on IMDb
• Johnny Got His Gun (film) on Wikipedia
• Johnny Got His Gun (novel) on Wikipedia
• Roger Ebert 1971 film review
• New York Times 1971 film review
• TCM overview of Johnny Got His Gun
• PopMatters review of 2009 DVD release
• Keith Phipps in AV Club on 2009 release
• Lee Miller in Santa Fe Reporter on the novel
• New York Times review of 1982 stage version
• New York Times review of 2008 McKenzie film
• Variety review of 2008 McKenzie version
• Metallica "One" music video at YouTube
• Metallica "One" music video on Wikipedia
• Column asserting Metallica owns film rights
• Pitchfork retrospective on "One" video

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Alan Parker's 1987 ANGEL HEART contains explicit sex, voodoo rituals, amnesia, chickens, and a few shocking twists that your hosts figured out at different points. In today's episode, they reveal when they knew what and compare their impressions of this not-quite-successful but still semi-legendary Hollywood thriller, now more than thirty years old. Combining elements of gothic horror and film noir, featuring performances from early period Mickey Rourke, mid-period Robert DeNiro, and only-period Lisa Bonet, Angel Heart is worth considering for its religious motifs, keen historical detail, uncomfortable datedness, sometimes horrifying imagery, sometimes goofy dialogue, and its relationship to films like Devil's Advocate, Jacob's Ladder (which we covered in season 3) plus Sixth Sense and even Big Lebowski.

Episode links:

• Angel Heart on IMDb
• Angel Heart on Wikipedia
• Roger Ebert 1987 review
• Little White Lies on Angel Heart
• Dread Central on Angel Heart
• Den of Geek on Angel Heart
• EitDoH on Angel Heart
• Angel Heart screenplay
• Alan Parker production diary
• On Angel Heart and Memento
• On Angel Heart and Bioshock Infinite

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Our third episode this season is about the semi-obscure but recently-Criterioned 1973 French animated film FANTASTIC PLANET, or La Planète Sauvage (literally, "wild planet"), from the minds of René Laloux and Roland Topor, with music by Alain Goraguer, based on a novel by Stefan Wul. It's a psychedelic audiovisual trip, and tells the story of an advanced alien society of blue people who like to meditate almost as much as they like to toy with the fates of the comparatively-tiny humanoids who roam their planet. It's a film about interplanetary race relations, or maybe it's unfamiliar environmentalism, or telling the difference between pest control and genocide. Also discussed in this episode: what other animated works would you like to see get a Criterion release?

Episode links:

• Fantastic Planet on IMDb
• Fantastic Planet on Wikipedia
• Fantastic Planet on Filmstruck
• New York Times review from 1973
• AWN obituary for René LaLoux
• Senses of Cinema review in 2005
• LA Weekly evaluation in 2011
• Weird Fiction Review in 2013
• Criterion essay on Fantastic Planet
• Criterion essay on Roland Topor
• Slant review upon 2016 Criterion release
• PopMatters review upon Criterion release
• AV Club review upon Criterion release
• Nerdist review upon Criterion release
• Fantastic Planet trailer on YouTube
• Alain Goraguer score on Spotify

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Is Julia Ducornau's 2016 film RAW (French: Grave) a coming of age film about cannibalism? A body horror film about family relationships? A tale of sexual discovery and veterinary practices? Yes, no, and maybe—but not necessarily in that order! In this episode, Bill and Renan consider a film they might not otherwise have been drawn to... with sexy results! Discussed: what the film has to say about cannibalism and teenage sexuality, not to mention college hazing rituals; whether Raw is a true horror movie or something else; references to Kubrick, PTA, and Cronenberg; other films about bloodthirsty teenage girls (and veterinarians); what would people say about Raw if a man directed it; and, Bill's own recent up-close experience with wild horses.

Episode links:

• Raw on IMDb
• Raw on Wikipedia
• Variety Raw review
• Vulture Raw review
• Collider Raw review
• AV Club Raw review
• Vanity Fair Raw review
• RogerEbert.com Raw review
• Ducournau Film Comment interview
• Ducournau Independent interview
• Ducournau BFI interview
• Ducournau GQ interview
• 1,2,3 WTF!? scene breakdown
• AtZ Show YouTube explainer

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