Film Gold

One of the films that ushered in the new century, Requiem For A Dream is a virtuoso powerhouse from director Darren Aronofsky, featuring a remarkable lead performance by Ellen Burstyn. Although primarily dealing with drug addiction, it hits all kinds of other points of social and emotional impact, such as the power of television, the pain of loss, the fragility of dreams and the human need for love and attention.

For the first time on this podcast, Antony flies solo, expanding on the notes he made when appearing as a guest on one of Film Gold regular Scott Phipps's podcasts, The Stinking Pause. It goes without saying that there are spoilers here so I recommend taking the plunge and watching the film first. Although harrowing at times, it's also a film full of hope and can serve as an inspiration even as the main characters plunge into a hellish world of dependency and degradation. Redemption is always possible.

Listen out for two clips of John Lennon and some music by the Rolling Stones

We hope you enjoy the show!

Film Gold is on all the major podcast platforms

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter page

https://twitter.com/FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Antony's John Lennon podcast

https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/

episode links

Requiem For A Dream IMDB page

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180093/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_requiem%2520for%2520a%2520dream

Requiem For A Dream: The Structure of Self-Destruction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkDL50mXbbI

Audio commentary by director Darren Aronofsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPW2ewGGCI

Anatomy of a scene with Darren Aronofsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdlg-vYmpbA

The story of HMS Bounty and the mutiny that took place aboard it is a compelling narrative that has not surprisingly been the subject of many film adaptations and other creative endeavours. In this discussion from 2020 that originally went out on the Stinking Pause podcast, regular Film Gold collaborator Scott Phipps is joined by myself and Steven Byford for a long and expansive discussion of the 1962 film version of the story and its troubled production, as well as the other film versions and their relationship to the real-life events.

A lot of the discussion, from my end at least, focuses on the enigmatic character that was Marlon Brando, who I describe as 'a fascinating mixture of deep and shallow'. His antics on the set had a detrimental effect on his career and his relationship with Hollywood, but there are some magic moments to be found in the film, many of them courtesy of arguably the most important actor in film history.

If you're interested in a 2-part deep dive on Brando, please listen to episodes 11 & 12 of this podcast.

We hope you enjoy the show!

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- ⁠https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod⁠

Twitter- ⁠https://twitter.com/FilmGold75⁠

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

⁠https://www.antonyrotunno.com⁠

Antony's John Lennon podcast

⁠https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/⁠

links to Scott's podcasts

https://⁠rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast⁠

https://⁠directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia⁠

https://⁠directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/stinkingpause⁠

episode links

The 'History By Hollywood' podcast compares the real story with the various film adaptations

https://historybyhollywood.com/2017/04/08/episode-6-mutiny-on-the-bounty/

2 key scenes from the film (Bligh vs Christian)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPa8iQyK5mQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyEHIOZf5yE

A fascinating short documentary by the Maysles Brothers (who'd made a film about The Beatles a year earlier) which shows Brando the reluctant and sometimes mischievous star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU7Gwv4PRNE

Antony joins frequent collaborator Scott Phipps to take a deep dive (sans canoe) into a true 1970s classic, as part of 'The Stinking Pause' 10th anniversary celebrations. The making of this film is almost as mind-blowing as the movie itself. Insurance, who needs it?

Enjoy!

The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural pristine areas of the state, which will soon change with the imminent building of a dam on the river, which in turn will flood much of the surrounding land.

As such, four Atlanta city dwellers, alpha male Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger, decide to take a multi-day canoe trip on the river, with only Lewis and Ed having experience in outdoor life. They know going in that the area is isolated.

Their relatively peaceful trip takes a turn for the worse halfway through with river rapids and unwelcoming locals. The four need to battle their way out of the valley and are asked to do things they never thought possible within themselves…

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- https://twitter.com/FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Antony's John Lennon podcast

https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/

links to Scott's podcasts

https://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/stinkingpause

episode links

Deliverance: Nature's Revenge (film analysis)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wIrQvyguFY

Behind The Scenes featurette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXI3JDpeiAs

Deliverance: The Cast Looks Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrlHTWTNs1Y

Dueling Banjos full audio track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6UG1Jlwiow

We complete our Michael Caine tribute, a joint presentation of the 'Film Gold' and 'The Stinking Pause' podcasts, as the great man turns 90. Antony Rotunno and Scott Phipps count down their top 5 Caine performances and also discuss his ultimate legacy after 60 years as a film star. There are audio clips galore to complement the conversation, including Michael reading from the first of his many memoirs and also offering a few acting tips!

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- https://twitter.com/FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Antony's John Lennon podcast

https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/

links to Scott's podcasts

https://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/stinkingpause

show links

Scott's podcast on the making of Zulu

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/rainbowvalley/id/23567510

Sleuth (complete film- must watch!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjRCnwNR0yk

Our 'Film Gold' review of Sleuth

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/filmgold/episodes/Episode-13--Sleuth-1972-e1afv44

Michael Caine's film acting masterclass (1980s)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZPLVDwEr7Y

Michael Caine top 50 performances (worst to best)

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/14/michael-caine-best-films-ranked

Michael talks about his 5 favourite films (of his)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8h9vDpK88s

Roy Budd plays his 'Get Carter' theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kMhcf8eyiA

Michael Caine, born as Maurice Micklewhite, has been acting for 70 years and been a star for nearly 60. This 2-part joint presentation of the 'Film Gold' and 'The Stinking Pause' podcasts celebrates the life and career of a true cinematic icon as he approaches his 90th birthday.

In this first part, Antony Rotunno and Scott Phipps look at Caine's upbringing and give an overview of his career before beginning to count down their top 10 Caine performances (10-6) and also discussing Caine catchphrases and the many parodies of the great man. There are audio clips galore to complement the conversation, including Michael reading from the first of his many memoirs.

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- https://twitter.com/FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Antony's John Lennon podcast

https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/

links to Scott's podcasts https://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia

https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/stinkingpause

show links

Michael Caine's first memoir audiobook, read by the man himself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icBiFHAsdKc

Michael Caine: Breaking The Mold (documentary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxAHYSIoT-I

Brydon and Coogan (The Trip) do Caine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vukpjl44Yo0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeC0-tj_IMA

Michael Caine parodies himself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0F3kY3uxU

'The Other 1960s'- a podcast about the normal part of the 60s

https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/episode-23-the-other-1960s-with-frances-rotunno

The Self-Preservation Society: Making The Italian Job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4euNwH6OImY

Originally recorded for 'The Mind Renewed' podcast and hosted by Julian Charles, this is a four-way discussion, also including Mark Campbell and Frank Johnson, about the 1978 conspiracy thriller Capricorn One, starring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Branda Vaccaro and Hal Holbrook and written and directed by Peter Hyams.

About to embark upon the first crewed mission to Mars, three NASA astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston and OJ Simpson) find themselves suddenly removed from their command module, minutes before lift-off, and flown to a secret desert base. There they learn of an outrageous plan, hatched by establishment conspirators, to fake the Mars landing using a TV studio, props and themselves as actors—a deception in which they are forced to be complicit. Picking up on the trail of the conspiracy is news reporter Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould), who goes further and further down the proverbial Rabbit Hole as he tries to make sense of the increasing anomalies. But not all goes well—(or, perhaps, not all seems to go well)—with the plan. Upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, the astronauts' (crewless) module breaks up. Now, they are officially dead—their existence a threat to the lying narrative. Their only hope is to escape and reveal the plot to an incredulous world.

[Podcast theme music: "Crabs Up North" by KODOMASAN from the album "Capricorn One"; used with kind permission]'

Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- https://twitter.com/FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

episode links/show notes (created by Julian Charles)

https://themindrenewed.com/episodes/2020-21/14-episodenotes/1460-ep060n

We continue the boxing theme with a look at the black-and-white 'anti-Rocky', starring the dynamite team of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Based on the book by Jake La Motta and Pete Savage, this filmic masterpiece looks at La Motta's life and struggles in and out of the ring as well as the punishment he dishes out to those around him. In this film, boxing is the backdrop but 'the ring' is everywhere in the traps that are imposed on us and which we also set for ourselves.

This episode was originally produced in 2020 for 'The Stinking Pause' podcast and is hosted by master podcaster and former 'Film Gold' guest (see Episode 13) Scott Phipps

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- @FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

links to Scott's podcasts https://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/stinkingpause

show links

A series of fascinating featurettes about the making of 'Raging Bull'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83LRIZYCpIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GydR2vV7ahw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-qendwrNQI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL8rpMIjyPk

Robert De Niro wins his Oscar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH5c-WeE07c

Superb documentary about the 1970s Hollywood 'New Wave' period of cinema

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqVzFEeMVOQ

The Rocky films, for better or worse, have become an instantly recognisable part of popular culture. The original 1976 film, as you will hear, went through a gradual period of evolution but Sylvester Stallone's script was born in a unique time of 'realistic' Hollywood films. The finished product was an unlikely success and a marriage of this gritty realism and crowd-pleasing triumphalism, all against the backdrop of that most primal of sports, boxing.

Antony is joined by fellow podcaster and Rocky fan Martin 'Marv' Quibell to deep dive mainly on the original film, but we also discuss and count down the 5 Rocky sequels up to 2006 (the more recent 'Creed' films are also mentioned in passing).

So lace up your proverbial boxing gloves and enjoy!

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- @FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

links to Marv's podcasts

https://marvsmooth.podbean.com

https://redcircle.com/shows/p2-podcast-blues-a-harrison-podcast

show links

The Rocky Saga (documentary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLlupHLXgvU

Stallone and Ali at the 1977 Oscars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3g7kclmm0I

Bill Conti on composing for Rocky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFEckIt-h8

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (documentary on 1970s Hollywood)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqVzFEeMVOQ

Taxi Driver's master filmmaking and complex psychology have made it a key film in the classic 'Easy Riders/Raging Bulls' period dominated by the Hollywood of the 70s. Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader were, in Schrader's words, 'all looking for something', and along came this script and story and they embarked on a filmic and personal journey that would become a landmark in American cinema. I'm joined to discuss this film by Jon Davenport, a film student and also creator of the 'Under The Covers' music podcast (link below)

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- @FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

show links

Jon's podcast site and his 2020 discussion with Antony about John Lennon's best covers

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/under-the-covers-podcast/id1483627995

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/best-john-lennon-covers-guest

Taxi Driver commentary with Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep72KyEbUD

Taxi Driver recut trailer (as a romcom- 2 trailers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_UaVUPsLsM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWnQbu3qwk

Kino Corner you tube channel on Taxi Driver and A Clockwork Orange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sa_GWPZ3as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NolDa75fPZE

Film analyst extraordinaire Rob Ager returns to 'Film Gold' podcast to help Antony pick through the many layers of the seminal 'zombie film' from 1968, which also has elements of horror & sci-fi and makes numerous comments on the society of the time We go through the plot, characters and themes of the film, talk about its influence and throw in a couple of tangents along the way...

Links to Rob's work can be found below and there's also a link to the original uncut video version of this podcast, which includes footage of the film to complement the conversation

Enjoy!

'Film Gold' is on all the main podcast platforms.

Feedback to [email protected]

Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/filmgoldpod

Twitter- @FilmGold75

Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts)

https://www.antonyrotunno.com

Rob's website and 3 you tube channels

http://www.collativelearning.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/robag88

https://www.youtube.com/user/robag555

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG0_...

Video version of this podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAJmtHzTN8

show links

The trailer and full film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Xwr...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ8ZK...

Rob's analysis of the film (see his website for information on the full version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xb_D...

Further analysis of the film and its importance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2nhV...