The Cinematologists Podcast

Our intense desire for, and identification, with film characters and stars comes under the spotlight in this weeks' podcast. Neil is joined by filmmaker James Dean to introduce Pablo Larraín's unique and brutal Tony Manero (2008) about Chilean criminal who is obsessed with John Travolta's character from Saturday Night Fever. It is simultaneously bleak, shocking and unsettling with allusions to the darkest parts of human identity. Also on the podcast Dario interviews Professor Will Brooker from Kingston University about the year he is spending embodying the iconic David Bowie. 

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Season 2 of the podcast kicks off with a bumper freshers edition featuring a screening of Sydney Lumet's 1957 social drama 12 Angry Men. A heavyweight cast of character actors led by Henry Fonda argue over the evidence of what appears to be straightforward guilty verdict. Neil and guest presenter Kingsley Marshal introduce what is canonical film studies text. Dario and Neil also discuss their experiences of studying film and hopefully offer some helpful guidelines to those who are coming into university to study what is a changing discipline.

Neil interviews a range of guests on our second episode from the Port Eliot Festival

Listen to part 1 of our Port Eliot 2015 special. Dario is on Holiday so Neil is joined by filmmaker and academic Mark Jenkin to present and discuss John Boorman's 1967 classic Point Blank starring Lee Marvin. A massive influence on the likes of Steven Soderbergh the film is a lean and taut pulp crime thriller following Marvin's 'Walker' as he attempts to recover money stolen from him on a double cross. Point Blank was released in a zeitgeist year for crime cinema that also included Arthur Penn's Bonnie & Clyde, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai and Seijun Suzuki's Branded To Kill and it stands equal to those illustrious peers. This episode also features an interview with writer Tom Shone about his latest book Woody Allen: A Retrospective. Dario and Neil also make some announcements about the future of the podcast.

In what promises to be a no-holes-barred, apocalyptic battle of the ages Neil and Dario face off in a cerebral clash of wills over a film that represents the most overt cinematologist's disagreement: Pacific Rim. Don't miss episode 2 of the sci-fi double bill.

In the first of a Science Fiction podcast double bill Neil and Dario discuss their introductions to four films screened at the Poly, Falmouth as part of the BFI season Days of Fear Wonder. The Fly, Demon Seed, The Thing and Rollerball are all discussed in the context of how they reflect core themes of the science fiction genre. Neil and Dario touch upon topics such as hard v soft sci-fi, artificial intelligence, the fear of technology, metaphors of alien invasion and control of reproduction, along with many other fundamental elements of science fiction.

Episode 6 of the Cinematologists featuring: Introduction and audience discussion of Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-Liang). In the last of the current season Neil and Dario discuss the concept of the cinema experience and how this has been affected by the arrival of the digital age. This theme also frames Dario's interview with Dr. Sarah Atkinson of the University of Brighton on her recently published book Beyond the Screen: Emerging Cinema and Engaging Audiences

Episode 5 of the Cinematologists featuring: Introduction and audience discussion of Bronson (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2008). Neil questions Dario about his article on Bronson entitled Punishing Bodies: British Prison Film and the Spectacle of Masculinity analysing the prison as aesthetic space and (de)constructions of masculinity made possible by the prison genre. Neil also interviews Dr Johnny Walker about his work on the contemporary British Horror film.

Episode 4 of the Cinematologists featuring: Introduction and audience discussion of Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961). Dario interviews British film Director Mark Herman about his career including the films Brassed off, Little Voice and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Neil and Dario discuss the gaps in their cinematic canon and can there be any real, definitive criteria for judging a 'great' film.

Introduction and audience discussion ofWhip It (Drew Barrymore, 2009) with guest speaker Dr Laura Canning. Dario interviews Prof. Linda Ruth Williams and Dr Shelley Cobb about their AHRC funded research project investigating the status and role of women filmmakers. Neil and Dario further discuss issues of gender with regards to the film industry and academia. Show Notes: Whip It at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/?ref_=nv_sr_1 PhD Studentship page for the Women in Contemporary UK Film project: https://www.jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=499514F4