Second Features

Second Features

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Second Features episodes

  • El Vampiro y el Sexo (Santo in the Treasure of Dracula, 1968) with Dolores Tierney

    In this episode we go in search of Dracula's treasure with a Mexican masked wrestler and Dr Dolores Tierney, head of Film Studies at the University of Sussex. You can watch El Vampiro y el Sexo with English subtitles on Archive.org if you want to play along at home.


    Dolores wrote an excellent article on this film for the journal Porn Studies which you can find HERE, and the book chapter referred to in this episode can also be found HERE.


    Do get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please also leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 5 min
  • Pumping Iron (1977) with guest Dr Adam Locks

    In this episode we are joined by Dr Adam Locks as we enter the sweaty world of bodybuilding and witness the birth of a Hollywood legend care of the fascinating documentary Pumping Iron (1977, George Butler & Robert Fiore).


    The documentary can be streamed via Amazon Prime, and the other documentary we mention, Raw: The Making of Pumping Iron, is available on YouTube.


    You can get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please also leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 11 min
  • The Man Who Saved the World (Turkish Star Wars) with guest Iain Robert Smith

    For this episode we are exploring the wild world of Turkish exploitation cinema with the help of Dr Iain Robert Smith. If, like Laura, you have ever struggled to get through The Man Who Saved the World (Dünyayi Kurtaran Adam, 1982, Çetin Inanç), perhaps this deep dive will help encourage you to have another go!


    You can find the film in full, with English subtitles, on YouTube

    Ed Glaser's really great short documentary can also be found on YouTube

    This article on The Guardian is also pretty helpful: "Attack of the killer Jedi! The bizarre story of Turkish Star Wars"

    Here's a great review from Michael Brooke, who saw the restored version on its UK tour


    You can get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please also leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 10 min
  • Smashing Time (1967) with guest Melanie Williams

    Join us and our special guest Professor Melanie Williams of the University of East Anglia as we discuss a somewhat forgotten 1960s classic! Be warned however, that some of the songs from Smashing Time will get stuck in your head for days...


    If you would like to find out more about the 1960s British Cinema project mentioned in the show you can find their fascinating blog here: 60sbritishcinema.wordpress.com


    You can get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please also leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 22 min
  • Sexmission (Seksmisja, 1984) with guest Michal Oleszczyk

    Stagger out of your hibernation pod and join us in a dystopian Polish future world where all men have been wiped out as the result of an experimental chromosome bomb. In an underground world run entirely by women, what are two guys from an extinct age supposed to do? Listen to this latest Second Features episode on Sexmission (Seksmisja, Juliusz Machulski) to find out! To understand this unique post-apocalypse we are joined by Michal Oleszczyk, a teacher in film at the Liberal Arts department at the University of Warsaw.


    You can get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please also leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 20 min
  • Slumber Party Massacre (1982) & Slumber Party Massacre 2 (1987) with guest Dr Alice Haylett Bryan

    Just what exactly is a feminist slasher film, and do these two fit the bill? Get your pyjamas on, order yourself a pizza, lock all the windows and doors and then join us and our guest Dr Alice Haylett Bryan as we dissect Slumber Party Massacre and Slumber Party Massacre 2 and try to figure this out!


    You can get in touch with us via Twitter @secondfeatures or our email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 31 min
  • Shogun Assassin (1980) with guest Jonathan Wroot

    Join us for a blood-soaked discussion on this classic video nasty, an American remix of two equally classic Japanese films Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (both 1972, Kenji Misumi).

    Our guest this month is Dr Jonathan Wroot, an expert in Japanese cinema, and he gives us a fascinating overview of the history of this film, the original Lone Wolf series and its brother-in-arms, Zatōichi. Along the way we talk hip hop, blood pressure, Andy Warhol and killer penises. Just a regular episode of Second Features.


    You can contact us by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @secondfeatures


    Please remember to leave us a review or rate the podcast on your app of choice!


    Reading List (generously supplied by Jonathan):


    A review (Jasper Sharp, 2001) of Sword of Vengeance, scenes of which appear in Shogun Assassin


    A feature article (Robin Gatto and Tom Mes, 2005) on Kenji Misumi, who directed the footage that appears in Shogun Assassin


    FrameRated review of the Lone Wolf and Cub film series by Remy Dean (2020) including the different DVD releases

     

    Derek Johnston’s research paper on the transcultural impact of Lone Wolf and Cub


    And so you can hear RZA talk about Wu-Tang Clan far more eloquently than Adrian can:

    Wu-Tang’s RZA Breaks Down 10 Kung Fu Films He’s Sampled



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 16 min
  • The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) with guest Caz Rickards

    This month we discuss the Roger Moore-starring The Man Who Haunted Himself, which leads to us talking about eyebrow acting, James Bond (naturally), safari suits and knitwear modelling. We also welcome Dr Carolyn Rickards to tell us about her involvement in the AHRC-funded project 'The Eastmancolor Revolution and British Cinema, 1955-1985)', and the striking use of colour in this month's film.


    You can read Dr Rickard's excellent chapter "The Rise and Fall of the Colourful Corporate Fantasy in 1960s British Cinema" in the book Sixties British Cinema Reconsidered

    You can find out what Dr Rickards is up to currently by following her on Twitter: @caz_rickards

    The Eastmancolor Revolution and British Cinema, 1955-1985 also has an excellent blog: eastmancolor.info


    You can email us at [email protected] with any feedback on this episode, or with suggestions for future shows.

    You can also contact us on Twitter:


    Dr Laura Mayne - @LauraJaneMayne

    Dr Adrian Smith - @retroramblings


    The Man Who Haunted Himself is available on blu ray from Network


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    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 9 min
  • Eskimo Nell (1975) with guest Professor Sue Harper

    Here at last is the second episode of Second Features, featuring a lengthy discusion on Eskimo Nell (1975, Martin Campbell, UK), being embarrassed easily, the British sex comedy and whether it really was all that bad for the British film industry in the 1970s. Our guest is Professor Sue Harper, who has been involved in some fascinating research projects in this area. Her book, co-written with Justin Smith, is called British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure, and is essential reading.


    Although she was too polite to mention it, Professor Harper is also an author of short stories, and you can find more details about those here: www.sueharper.co.uk


    Eskimo Nell is available on blu ray and DVD from 88 Films

    The published screenplay by Michael Armstrong is available from Paper Dragon Productions


    The music for this episode is a cover version of The Edgar Wallace Mysteries theme, performed by Oscar.


    You can email us at [email protected] with any feedback on this episode, or with suggestions for future shows.

    You can also contact us on Twitter:


    Dr Laura Mayne - @LauraJaneMayne

    Dr Adrian Smith - @retroramblings


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 11 min
  • Death Line (1972) with guest Paul Dobraszczyk

    Welcome to the first episode of Second Features, where we discuss the British horror classic Death Line (1972) and wonder why more people don't talk about how great it is. We are also joined by Paul Dobraszczyk, a lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, who has written and researched the spaces under London extensively. Could cannibals really exist down there? Just what is going on in those dozens of abandoned train tunnels and tube stations? Join us to find out.


    You can find out more about Paul's research on his website: www.ragpickinghistory.co.uk


    The music for this episode is a cover version of The Edgar Wallace Mysteries theme, performed by Oscar.


    You can email us at [email protected] with any feedback on this episode, or with suggestions for future shows.

    You can also contact us on Twitter:


    Dr Laura Mayne - @LauraJaneMayne

    Dr Adrian Smith - @retroramblings


    Buy Death Line (2972) on blu-ray from Network On Air


    Reading List:

    Chris Alexander (2017), ‘How Marlon Brando was Almost the Monster in Death Line’

    Laura Mayne (2019), ‘Mind the Doors! Death Line (Gary Sherman, 1972)’

    Roger Ebert (1973), ‘Raw Meat’ review,

    Diabolique Interview with Gary Sherman




    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 12 min

About Second Features

From the publisher's feed


A journey down the lesser-known byways and alleyways of cinema, with a focus on British and American cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. Join Dr Laura Mayne and Dr Adrian Smith for insightful…