This man, though not a real Native American, has a great head of hair

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I've once again teamed up with the King of Commentaries himself, Tysto, to talk through another great western. We find much to like, love, and laugh at in John Ford's VistaVision classic. Discussion wanders between the winds like an eye-less Comache to cover the long shadow of influence cast by the film (Star Wars, Scorsese, Buddy Holly), the liabilities of Jeffrey Hunter's performance, and Tysto's fascinating family history (his ancestors once kidnapped Natalie Wood's sister!). We also extol the virtues of wearing suspenders with jeans (well, I do) and stare longingly at Mose Harper's ripped-to-shreds six-pack abs. Why not take off your spurs and join us?

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Zen and shiftlessness are often indistinguishable from one another

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Now that the National Film Registry has deemed Lebowski "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," I thought it the perfect time to delve into the Coen's 1998 comedy/noir/half-assed thinkpiece on Reagan-era zeitgeist. I get lost in the beautiful shadow work of Deakins, point out relevant tropes found throughout the Coen's work, and speculate about what people will remember the day John Turturro dies. After explaining exactly what I think the movie's themes are, I decide that it doesn't matter because the Coens don't really mean any of it.

Documentary about Lebowski culture

William Kunstler documentary

The Wikpedia page for Ron Kuby actually mentions his being name-checked in the film (I didn't mention that he and Kunstler were friends)

Brunswick actually makes all kinds of shit, not just bowling and billiards

Roger & Gene's original review

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The late Eli Wallach, the star of and secret sauce in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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Reflect on the recent passing of Eli Wallach by re-watching his finest hour. Which was actually three hours. I team up with the grand poo-bah of fan commentaries, Tysto, for an appraisal of Sergio Leone's classic. We converse about firearms, Steve McQueen (Bullitt, not 12 Years a Slave), and the movie's leisurely-but-cinematic storytelling. We also laugh at the antics of Tuco and at the over-representation of characters named "Shorty."

Show Notes

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Tony in the pool. No ducks.

RC-2013-118: The Sopranos (S1E1) "The Sopranos" (1999)

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With the recent passing of James Gandolfini, I felt it'd be a good time to do something I'd been meaning to do: a commentary on The Sopranos. I begin by candidly acknowledging my love for the show, ladling praise on David Chase and the late Gandolfini before explaining the series' significance. The show had a truly unique sense for the surreal and a wonderful sense of humor, I decide, and that's what set it apart in its genre. While describing how the pilot episode is different from the body of the series, I find time to wax nostalgic about how perfectly of its time The Sopranos was and explain the family's intricate hierarchy. Then I drop a bunch of Italian curse words. Salud!

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Mars makes money

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Grab a cuestick (hopefully a non-graphite one) and let's play some with the greatest pool movie of all time! Well, okay, it's a pool movie, anyway. And just as Mars Callahan's directorial debut vacillates between Farrelly brothers-style comedy and over-cranked melodrama so too does my commentary shift from poolroom subculture nitpicking to a slightly more charitable assessment of the script. Along the way, I take time to marvel at the surplus of supporting characters, sigh at the zany plot contrivances, and gripe about the film's inconsistent ethos regarding the N-word. Forget pool—this movie had me at Ernie Reyes Jr.

I screened the Region-1 DVD. To sync, hit "pause" when the Gold Circle Films logo fades to black, then hit "play" on my countdown. 

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(Jeremy: Thanks for everything.)

Kirk Douglas, Porter Hall, and Jesus Christ debate journalistic ethics in Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (Douglas had top billing)

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More thrilling than going over Niagara Falls in Kirk Douglas' barrel chest, Ace in the Hole stands tall among the giants of Wilder's career. I praise the wittiness of the dialogue and marvel at the depravity of Douglas' character, Chuck Tatum. Musings about journalistic ethics give way to my ranking of the movie near the top of Wilder's filmography. Do I successfully spot all the nods to Double Indemnity? Does Douglas' topless scene have artistic merit? And does the boyish Herbie character moonlight as Captain Marvel? Listen to the track to find out. You deserve answers.

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Paul Newman's takes a lickin' but keeps on kickin' as a quasi-Christ figure in his signature role

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Cool Hand Luke was a timely allegory for 1960s-era tumult, and I discuss why Paul Newman—and not Brando—makes a perfect Lucas Jackson. After rattling off some prison movie tropes, I compare CHL favorably to I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and hate on its ill-advised efforts to siphon profundity from Judeo-Christian imagery. Dennis Hopper's specialness gets called out, as does the film's early embrace of Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Put 'Em on a Glass" concept. I manage to talk about George Kennedy without mentioning The Naked Gun movies—until the very end, when I make a predictable O.J. joke.

Show Notes

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Robert Redford discusses strategy for the staring contest he's about to have with the camera

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Perhaps the greatest typewriter fetishist movie ever! Focusing on storytelling, I describe how Goldman's script hinges on scene-by-scene conflict and speculate about the mysterious Ephron-Bernstein draft. I argue that Woodstein's reporting was unbiased, then revel in my own bias by audibly scoffing at the idea that Nixon was a "complicated" figure who "also did some good things." Amid analysis of the actual movie, I explain why Nixon was a racist, astonishingly petty, and hopelessly corrupt scoundrel who got off easy. Gordy Willis and John Dean get praised. G. Gordon Liddy and the Intelligent Design-promoting crybaby known as Ben Stein get criticized. I screened the Blu-Ray. To sync, hit "pause" when the Warner Bros. logo fades to black.

When I said Nixon was "a horrible human being," I was referring to him doing things like...

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Paul Newman and Katherine Ross, dodging raindrops

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William Goldman researched the story for years, and director George Roy Hill toiled through the production with a bad back so that now, years later, some creep on the Internet can blithely say that their fim doesn't seem as great to him as it used to. Yes, I used to like it so much more than I do now, and throughout the commentary I analyze the diminishing returns, taking the time to parse the difference between movies that are nostalgic about the old west and movies that are nostalgic about movies about the old west. I like Burt Bacharach but think his song is one of the oddest choices ever made in an otherwise solid film. There is much laughter at the heroes' leap off the cliff, and much eye-rolling at Newman's bicycle gags. Sync up by hitting "pause" after the 20th Century Fox logo has faded to black, then wait for the countdown.

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Gene Tierney was so hot that she could make a frumpy rain hat look sexy

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Otto Preminger's Laura is beloved by many a noir aficionado, and I'm out to figure out why. (Could it have something to do with Gene Tierney being nuclear hot? Hells yeah.) I have fun with the movie, lamenting the fact that the opening titles sequence wasn't created by Saul Bass and declaring that Preminger's directorial style is "slick." Listeners might begin to suspect that there isn't an actor from the 30s and 40s that I don't adore as I swoon over the verbal acuity of Clifton Webb, the implacable demeanor of Dana Andrews, and the radioactive...uh, talent of Tierney. Along the way, I analyze the bizarro story story structure, discuss Daryl F. Zanuck's alleged homophobia, and examine the lapels on Vinny Price's double-breasted suits. Due to the Rank Speculation software I have running on my brain, I also speak about how Laura may have weighed heavy on the mind of David Lynch when he made Mulholland Dr. and how Preminger's picture also has similarities to Gilda, Vertigo, and a couple other classics the posters for which are hanging in my bathroom.

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