Terry Gilliam’s 1985 dystopic science fiction comedy Brazil had a difficult release that mirrored its themes of bureaucracy, denial, mindless consumerism, and relentless propaganda. The head of the Studio tried to neuter the film’s dark, humanistic message, worried it wouldn’t play to his target audience of 17-to-29 year-olds. And, indeed, this now-classic satire was a box-office flop.

So what do today’s 20-somethings make of Brazil? Do themes of authoritarianism, constant surveillance, and the loss of individuality resonate with a generation saturated in new surveillance technology? Is what was funny in 1985 still funny 38 years later?

Our young and old film-lovers discuss Monty Python, Robert De Niro, if the love-struck Jonathan Crane is sympathetic or a creepy stalker, and whether this visually stunning, handmade tour-de-force still dazzles in an age of easy CGI.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik 

Panelists: Grace Chapman & Olive Goldberg

An ElectraCast Production

Winner 1985 L.A. Film Critics Awards Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director

Not on any AFI top films lists

Original Video Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKPFC8DA9_8

Imdb with New Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_brazil

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film)

Pauline Kael Review: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/brazil

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With exteriors shot in war-ravaged Vienna, this iconic film noir thriller boasts writing, cinematography, editing and music comparable to Citizen Kane, winning it the Palm D’Or at Cannes, the British academy award for Best Picture of 1949, as well as an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White). Its unique zither score rose to #1 on the Billboard Charts. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted it the greatest British film of all time.

The story, by celebrated novelist and spy Graham Greene, is full of mystery, intrigue, irony, fraught relationships, and action. Joseph Cotten plays the American plunged into a world beyond his understanding, with Alida Valli as the beautiful, jaded woman beyond his grasp. Orson Welles turns in a knock-out performance as the mysterious title character.

Our panel of film-lovers young and old discusses the films they love that owe their roots to this classic, which parts of it are still cool and what now seems dorky, and why people today would want to watch black & white movies at all.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik

Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis

Guest Panelist: Ann Michelle

An ElectraCast Production

AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #57

IMDb with restored trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Man

Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1949/film/reviews/the-third-man-1117795637/

Guardian Review: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/the-third-man-review-philip-french

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In 1939, a golden year of Hollywood filmmaking, legendary director John Ford returned to the almost defunct genre that had launched his career, the Western. Stagecoach brought a new sophistication to Westerns, made the 32-year-old John Wayne a movie star, and won Academy Awards for both its stirring musical score and supporting actor Thomas Mitchell. (John Ford eventually won 4 best directing Oscars – still today more than any director in history.)

With its stellar cast, expert action sequences and location shooting in Monument Valley, Stagecoach brought an epic scope to what would have been merely an intimate drama in another director’s hands.  But a lot has changed culturally in the past 84 years. 

Our panel of film-lovers young and old discusses the archaic sexual mores of the time (the film is set in 1880), changing attitudes toward Native Americans and conceptions of masculinity, and whether the endless imitation of this classic has made Stagecoach seem stereotypical or seminal.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik

Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis

An ElectraCast Production

AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36

Restored Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjXnoXdyA7k

IMDb with original trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031971/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagecoach_(1939_film)

Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/stagecoach-1200412191/

Original New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1939/03/03/archives/the-screen-a-fordpowered-stagecoach-opens-at-music-hall-mickey.html

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After some modest early success, Spike Lee announced the arrival of a major new voice with his 1989 film Do the Right Thing.  Funny, controversial, and prescient – anticipating many of the issues that would dominate the next 33 years - this film took a freewheeling look at race relations and violence by both police and protesters in an age long before “woke” culture became mainstream.

Our panel of movie lovers young and old discuss how this powerful film affected them, how current it feels a third of a century later, and what it’s like to see so many iconic stars early in their careers — Samuel Jackson, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Martin Lawrence and the young writer, director, producer and star, Spike Lee.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik

Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis

An ElectraCast Production

AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36

Original Trailer (restored): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAD4fYRcvA

IMDb (with low-res trailer): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_the_Right_Thing

Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1989/film/reviews/do-the-right-thing-review-1200428009/

Original New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/30/movies/review-film-spike-lee-tackles-racism-in-do-the-right-thing.html

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Long after the silent film era ended, Charlie Chaplin returned to make his final silent picture, Modern Times.  Not only is it #8 on IMDb’s funniest comedies of all time, but it’s a commentary about homelessness, alienation in the machine age, over-policing, poverty, and other social issues still debated today.  The film is 87 years old but has retained a viewership over nearly a century.  Is it possible that such an old film might still feel relevant to today’s young generation?

Our panel of film lovers young and old discusses how this classic has aged, what ways it still feels illuminating and even timely, what falls flat for younger viewers, and what the icon of Chaplin’s tramp means in the 21st Century.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik

Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis

AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36

IMDb listing with newer Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027977/

Original 1936 Trailer: https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/modern-times-trailer

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)#:~:text=Modern%20Times%20is%20a%201936,in%20the%20modern%2C%20industrialized%20world.

Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1936/film/reviews/modern-times-2-1200411268/

Roger Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/modern-times-1972

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Midnight Cowboy exploded Hollywood in 1969, as a gritty, X-rated drama dealing with homelessness, the oppression of gay men, the perversion of the American Dream, the cynical decline of New York City, and the emergence of a new, optimistic generation unaware of its own hypocrisy. 

This film launched the career of Jon Voight and allowed Dustin Hoffman to transform the definition of a movie star. It was the surprise winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, and changed studio filmmaking forever.

Our panel explores how the film holds up today. Is it still relevant, shocking and spellbinding? After 53 years of indie films probing similar ground, what does Midnight Cowboy say to a new generation watching it for the first time? How does 1969 appear to people born 30 years later? Find out on our premiere episode of Generation Film.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik

Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis

AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36

Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/o29GST0Lj28

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Cowboy

Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/midnight-cowboy-review-1200421996/

Original New York Times Review: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/cowboy-re.html

On ElectraCast: https://electracast.com/podcast/generation-film/

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Get ready for a unique movie review podcast, where two film lovers from the 20th Century introduce a classic film to a panel of young film lovers every week.

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