Film School

Framing devices can be a powerful storytelling tool...but what ARE they? What is an "epistolary," or a "flashback" or an "unreliable narrator"? And whyyyy would we use them? What effect can they have on a story? We talk about it!

Also, Josh recommends the animated series Justice League which is currently on Netflix and Max, and Ira recommends Andor, which is currently on Disney+.

Goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that?

Peter Lorre. That's the first thing to know about this movie: Peter. Lorre. Hitch teams up with his first truly enduring star, someone we still know to this day, and they're off on an adventure of spies, murders, conspiracies, and kidnappings. Off the heels of what even he calls his lowest point career-wise and artistically, Alfred scores a massive hit, a film frequently referred to as his 'breakthrough.' So...does Hitch FINALLY know who he is as a filmmaker? Can he keep it up from here??? We watch to find out!

We all know the power of a personal story when we encounter one. Nothing cuts like the truth. But, turning that lens to our own work...just how personal should our own work be? Is it possible to be too personal? Sure seems like it is. By the same token, it seems even easier to not be nearly personal enough, which leaves our audience cold and confused. So, how to we navigate getting personal with our work? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Rifftrax on PlutoTV, and Ira recommends Babylon 5 and Red Dwarf both currently on Tubi.

And now the polka, you worms.

Hitchcock makes a musical! ...kinda. It's an operetta, which were very much in fashion at the time; a little music, a little dancing, and a love story at the center. This one centers around a highly-fictionalized version of how "The Blue Danube" was written in 19th-century Vienna. So, can Hitchcock do song and dance? We watch and find out!

Who are the heroes that got under your skin, that live with you well past watching or reading the story, the heroes that changed you? Why? Why did they stick with you? And in thinking about/asking those questions, how can we apply the answers to our own storytelling? This week, we dive in on how to create a great protagonist.

Also, Josh recommends WWE Wrestling on Peacock, and Ira recommends Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.

Ya don't have to do nothin' in this 'ere house - ya stand still and things happen!

Cutting to the chase here: this miiight be Hitchcock's first truly terrible film. It's a bit baffling how clumsy it is given how many films he's made before this, several of them decent, and perhaps one or two of them even good. But this one...it's so convoluted, so full of cliche, non sequitur, reveal, and reverse uno after reverse uno that it ends up completely nonsensical. This week, we dive into Hitchcock's (first?) tire fire of a film?

Do you have a time of day (or night) where you find that you're the most creative? What about times that are consistently free? Or have the least number of distractions? Finding a reliable pocket of your day in which you can do your creative work can be a superpower. On this episode, Josh and Ira discuss what's worked and not worked for them.

Also, Josh recommends Star Trek: Voyager on PlutoTV, and Ira recommends Buried on Netflix.

I want some of the good things of life...

Hitch definitely tries something a little different with this one: it's a comedy drama this time--not nearly the silly farces he's tried to this point on the comedy side, and certainly nothing as dark as murder on the drama side. It's a rags to riches to rags tale with the beating heart of a love story. So, does it work? Let's watch and find out!

There's much ado these days about making your villain's point of view a sympathetic one. After all, everyone is the hero of their own narrative. But...what about all those villains who are just, you know, assh*les? DO you have to make your villain sympathetic??? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Seinfeld on Netflix, and Ira recommends Cheers on PlutoTV.

What's gentility worth if it can't stand fire?

This film is about the revolution in "Industrial Revolution." An old school landowning family finds their idyllic country world being invaded by a young-money industrialist. A feud develops. And grows. And grows until it sucks everyone down into the muck. It's very...high-minded, prestige-type fare for the young Hitch. How does he handle it? We watch and find out!