POP ART

Feeling a bit trapped? Longing to escape? So are the characters in the latest installment of my podcast series POP ART. So what better time to sit down and indulge? For this episode, my guest movierob selected the epic John Sturges WWII prison escape film The Great Escape. I in turn chose the more austere, minimalist Robert Bresson WWII prison escape film, A Man Escaped, both based on true stories. And in this episode we cover such topics as: Did the Simpsons do it? Why was Steve McQueen not chosen most popular actor on the set of The Great Escape? What liberties did the writers take for The Great Escape? Why is anti-cinema at times more emotional than cinema? And what does A Man Escaped have to do with The Incredible Hulk? So come along with us as we explore man in captivity.

What better time to discuss two films that take place during a plague? For this episode of Pop Art, my guest Jay Cluitt chose the brilliant comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail and I, in turn, chose the great Ingmar Bergman’s art house hit The Seventh Seal. And in this episode we answer such questions as: Who is the best Monty Pythoner; which movie has the best insult scenes; how does an acting troupe survive in a plague; where have all the existentialists gone; and what is the connection between Bergman and Twister?

For this episode of Pop Art, my guest Richard Kirkham chose the James Bond blockbuster Goldfinger and I, in turn, chose the brooding, dark adaptation of John Le Carre's spy novel The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. John Le Carre called Bond an "international gangster" and in this episode we answer such questions as: how did the screenwriter resolve a major hole in the original Ian Fleming story; what line from Goldfinger was removed for censorship purposes; can someone actually die from being painted gold; what is an Oskar Werner and would you want to be one; who makes the best spy, Bond,James Bond, or Alec Leamus?

The concept of Pop Art is for my guest to chose a movie from pop culture and I will chose a film from the art/classic side that has a connection to it. This time, my guest Donald McKinney chose the blockbuster epic Raiders of the Lost Art and I chose the John Huston/Humphrey Bogart classic The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Join us as we talk about both films and discuss such issues as: Does Indian Jones effect the outcome of the story at all? Who or what is a Denholm Elliott? How did Fred Dobbs die in Treasure...? What major star plays the kid selling lottery tickets?