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Today’s show is a discussion and review of the 2021 American Neo-Noir Psychological Thriller Nightmare Alley.

In 1946, Author William Lindsay Gresham, published his novel Nightmare Alley, which was a study of the lowest depths of showbiz and its sleazy inhabitants - the dark, shadowy world of a second rate carnival filled with hustlers, scheming grifters, and Machiavellian femmes fatales.  Gresham’s book is considered to be one of the finest American novels of the 20th century.  Pulitzer-Prize winning book critic Michael Dirda stated, “I was utterly unprepared for its raw, Dostoevskian power…it’s not often that a novel leaves a weathered and jaded reviewer like myself utterly flattened, but this one did…it’s more than just a steamy noir classic.  As a portrait of the human condition, Nightmare Alley is a creepy, all-too-harrowing masterpiece”.

In 1992, actor Ron Perlman, who also stars in the film, gave Guillermo del Toro a copy of William Lindsay Gersham’s 1946 novel, “Nightmare Alley”.  After reading the book, del Toro acknowledged it would be nearly impossible to put everything contained in the book in a feature film, but his adaptation would be “just a straight, really dark story”.
Contrary to what folks believe, del Toro blends a style of fantasy with somber tones and a blend of whimsy and wonder.  This dark story is a departure from his previous films in that there is no supernatural element like In the Shape of Water, The Strain, Hellboy, and Pan’s Labyrinth.

One final note before we get into our feature film is that del Toro claims his film adaptation of Gersham’s book has no relation to the 1947 film of the same, although both are born of the same book.  So for today, we are going to forgo comparisons to the first film adaptation and focus solely on del Toro’s film on its own merit.  Afterall, this film received 4 Oscar noms, so let’s see what this film has to offer.
   
In this show, we do more than a movie review by delving into the lives of the cast and crew, fan theories, trivia, scene breakdowns, and anything related to the film itself.  Needless to say, our shows are a little longer than your average movie review show, but we can assure you that our shows are jam packed with entertaining and interesting discussions.  If that sounds like your sort of bag, hang out with Kenny and Del as they get into Nightmare Alley.

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Theme song "Loli'ana" written and performed by award-winning musician Kamuela Kahoano.   Listen to more of Kamuela's music on iTunes and https://kamuelamusic.com/.  Also, "Loli'ana" performed live at The Ko'olau Banquet Hall can be seen here https://youtu.be/YDJ1NNJgEiA  

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