Flixwise Podcast

Today is Canadian National Aboriginal Day. To show our solidarity, we are putting Zacharias Kunuk's 2001 film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner up for consideration in the Flixwise Favorites list.  Atanarjuat, the debut feature from Isuma Productions, is a retelling of a centuries-old Inuit legend. It recounts the story of a pair of rival families from Igloolik Village, and the curse that unravels their tenuous peace agreement.

Lady P is joined by Emma Guerard and our resident Canuck, Martin Kessler, to weigh in on whether or not Atanarjuat is truly one of the greatest films ever made. Along the way, they discuss why filmmakers should treat diversity as a gift, not a burden; and they talk about the best lens through which to view stories from cultures that are markedly different from one's own.

Update: Our next episode will be the 48th film on the Sight and Sound list: Jean-Luc Godard's Histoire(s) du Cinema. It's about 5 hours long, so best get on it just as soon as you're done catching up with Atanarjuat.

On today's show, Lady P is joined by co-producer, Martin Kessler, and Flixwise regular, Kristen Sales, to talk about the 48th film on the Sight and Sound Critics Poll, Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 feature: The Battle of Algiers. In the years since its release Algiers has become infamous more for its use as a training video rather than its cinematic legacy. It's been cited by everyone from The Black Panthers to the United States Military as a blueprint for both engaging in and combatting guerrilla-style warfare. However, our panel attempts to separate Pontecorvo's initial vision from the thorny political aftermath by focusing more on the film's cinematic sensibilities and directorial choices. We talk about whether Algiers deserves more attention for its artistry, or if it should primary be remembered as an effective piece of agitprop.

Then, for the second topic, the panel uses the depictions of bloodshed in The Battle of Algiers as a jumping off point for a wider discussion about violence in cinema. We know what you're thinking: "If you're so against violence, why do you insist on beating this dead horse." While it's true that every time a certain notable genre-masher/foot-fetishist releases a movie we get a fresh flurry of think piece about the wider repercussions of movie violence. But for our discussion we're going to leave the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching to the experts, and talk about instances where we think violence was used effectively. And in case you're wondering, yes, Mr. Tarantino does come up.

On today's show, Pinnland Empire editor, Marcus Pinn, tell listeners why he thinks Ben Stiller's 1996 comedy The Cable Guy is one of the greatest films of all time.  He's got to convince host Lady P, and panelists Emma Guerard and Martin Kessler that Stiller's widely-dismissed, critically-panned, box-office disappointment, is actually a misunderstood masterpiece. Prior to its releaseThe Cable Guy was already made infamous due to the staggering payday allotted to the film's star Jim Carrey, so when ticket sales under-performed, the culture was to primed to lambast the film as Carrey's great folly. However, Marcus is here to set the record straight. He claims that the film not only delivers on the laughs, but it also offers a powerful critique of American media consumption. Will the panel buy into Marcus' arguments, or are they too defensive about their own TV viewing habits to appreciate The Cable Guy's pitch-black media satire? Listen up to find out.

On today's show, Lady P is joined by CriterionCast contributor, David Blakeslee, and Professor of Islamic History at Penn University/ Film Blogger, Paul M. Cobb to talk Abbas Kiarostami's 1990 film, Close-Up. The Sight and Sound Critic's Poll is littered with works that are about film and/or making films (see 8 1/2, Les Mepris, Sunset Blvd, etc.) It's no wonder then that Close-Up, a film about an impassioned movie enthusiast who cons a family into believing he's a famous director, found its way into the 43rd spot on the Critic's Poll. However, the main draw of Close-Up isn't necessarily it's subject matter, but the way that the subject matter is presented. The film uses elements of both documentary and narrative film-making to deconstruct the artifice of the medium, leaving the audience to question which parts of the film actually happened and which parts were exaggerations or even inventions of the filmmaker. It's always important, when watching a movie, to think about how the filmmakers have shaped the a story, especially when a film goes around calling itself a "documentary". But did our panel actually enjoy Kiarostami's exploration of cinematic manipulation? Listen up to find out.

After Close-Up, the panelists turn the lenses on themselves to reveal "The Films That Made Them". They talk about which movies from their childhoods left the greatest impressions, plus which films inspired them to start writing/blogging/podcasting about movies. (Shout-out to Joshua Wilson for inspiring the topic.)

On today's show, Flixwise co-producer Martin Kessler and

Next, Anne Marie offers listeners a primer on this year's TCM

On today's show, we have our first Flixwise Favorites entry of 2016! Flixwise Co-Producer, Martin Kessler, is on hand to tell Lady P and Emma Guerard why August Blom's 1916 Danish disaster movie, THE END OF THE WORLD, is one of the greatest films of all time. Blom's work is not as widely seen as the early silent films of the infamous American film pioneer D.W. Griffith. However, Martin thinks that Blom is equally, if not more worthy, than Griffith of critical acclaim. Along the way, they discuss comparisons between Blom and Lars von Trier, and they delve into the cinematic history of the disaster flick. Listen up to hear if Lady P and Emma agree that THE END OF THE WORLD is groundbreaking enough to merit a spot on the Favorites List. 

On today's show, Lady P is joined by screenwriter, author, and film historian Professor Joseph McBride to discuss Billy Wilder's 1959 film, SOME LIKE IT HOT. SOME LIKE IT HOT is the rare comedy that manages to be both uproariously funny and also critically acclaimed. McBride and Lady P talk about how this gangster-genre parody snuck past film snobs' humor filters and nabbed the 43rd spot on the Sight and Sound Greatest of All Time List. They also delve into the film's subversive gender dynamics, and marvel at how a sex farce from the Hays Code Era  still manages to shock and delight contemporary audiences.

After the Wilder discussion, McBride gives listeners an update on some of his recent book projects. First up, there's his recently published memoir, THE BROKEN PLACES, which chronicles a period in his late-adolescence when he had a mental breakdown, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and subsequently fell in love with a fellow patient named Kathy Wolf. McBride tells listeners why he felt he needed to investigate his troubled childhood, and describes what it was like to revisit memories of this difficult time. 

Finally, they close things out with an update on McBride's upcoming critical study of the famed German filmmaker, Billy Wilder's mentor, Ernst Lubitsch.

On today's show, Lady P chats with author, Patrick McGilligan, about his latest biography, Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane.

According to McGilligan, it was a mixture of fate and pedigree that lead Orson Welles into life of creative endeavor. McGilligan goes into detail about Orson's childhood in Kenosha, Wisconsin - including his early notoriety as "child-genius" and his pre-adolescent enthusiasm for the arts. He also delves into Welles' family lineage, and the role his biological and adoptive parents played in the shaping of Orson's gifts. And of course, McGilligan talks about Orson's multiple career triumphs, up to and including, CITIZEN KANE.

On today's show, we're touring around the dystopic Paris of the future featured in Jacques Tati's 1967 film, PLAYTIME. Joining host, Lady P, and Flixwise co-producer, Martin Kessler, to talk Tati are two stalwarts of the classic film blogosphere: David Blakeslee of Criterion Reflections and The Eclipse Viewer podcast, and Aaron West of Criterion Blues and the Criterion Close-Up podcast. Together, the panel marvels at the immaculately constructed city that Tati had built from scratch, and they laugh recounting how Tati's famous Hulot character bumbles his way through this world, leaving a path of destroyed bourgeois nonsense in his wake.

PLAYTIME is one of the very few comedies in the Sight and Sound Top 50 - it's sitting pretty (ie barely functional) at #43. But in typical critic fashion, Sight and Sound has awarded a comedy that also works as a pointed social satire. As audience members, we wonder why some of the laughs get stuck in our throats. Perhaps it's because some of those laughs are at our expense.

Then, since we have two bonafide Criterion aficionados in the house, we thought we'd take this opportunity to talk about The Criterion Collection. Digital streaming services have become more and more convenient and ubiquitous in recent years. So why then do folks like David and Aaron continue not only to collect, but also write and podcast about Criterion. We discuss the enduring appeal of the Criterion brand, and whether or not physical media will continue to have a following in this increasingly cloud based world.

On today's show, Monica Castillo, contributor for RogerEbert.com, IBTimes, and whole host of other prestigious publications, makes her debut appearance on our little podcast. She's joining Lady P and Martin Kessler for a discussion about the 43rd film on the Sight and Sound Critic's Poll, Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 feature PIERROT LE FOU. This is Godard's third appearance on the S&S list - the first two being BREATHLESS (#13)  and LE MEPRIS (#21). The panelists discuss the ways in which Godard uses PIERROT LE FOU to comment on his past achievements, while still attempting to tackle more contemporary political subject matter.

And speaking of contemporary subject matter, the 88th Academy Awards Ceremony is coming up on Sunday, Feb 28th. For our second topic, we're taking a break from our usual cinema history analysis to talk about the annual awards show - though one could make the case that the Oscars are more of a relic of movie history than any of the films we discuss on this show. The Academy has come under fire in recent years for it's lack of diversity and its myopic focus on films that appeal largely to an older white audience. They've recently taken steps to try and bring a new crop of younger people of varying ethnicities into the fold, but will that be enough to renew interest in the show? They discuss.