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The Prestige
By KaijuFMTV & Film
The Prestige episodes
- 3.14 - LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) & Romance
The band’s back together! Sam’s back from new-baby intensiveness, just in time for a festive episode for the end of the year — and it’s a film which may or may not (don’t mention that Bruce Willis film) be a Christmas movie: LOVE ACTUALLY. Rob was expecting more negativity from Sam — maybe fatherhood has mellowed him — but we’re both broadly positive about the film; notwithstanding its faults, which we discuss towards the end of the episode, along racial and gender lines.
Next Week
If we can manage it, next week will be our Review of 2017 (or, in Sam’s case, Review of the First Ten Months of 2017…)This Month’s Media
THE PUNISHER (2017): Steve Lightfoot, Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-BachrachLA LA LAND (2017): Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, Emma StoneSTAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017): Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill, Carrie FisherTHE GOOD PLACE (2016—): Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, William Jackson HarperRecommendations
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2014): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Samuel L. JacksonTHE TRUMAN SHOW (1998): Peter Weir, Jim Carrey, Laura LinneyTHE HOLIDAY (2006): Nancy Meyers, Cameron Diaz, Kate WinsletGOOD OMENS (2018): Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Adria ArjonFootnotes
The other storylines Richard Curtis proposed for the film are here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-23/richard-curtis-reveals-the-love-actually-storylines-he-left-out. The four types of Greek love, which Sam shamefully couldn’t bring to mind, are these: https://totescute.com/four-types-of-love-greek-style. This article has all the Easter Eggs Emma Freud revealed, as mentioned by Sam: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/love-actually-film-secrets-facts-7061864. And finally, here’s a good piece on the different sorts of textuality that are (or may be) at play in the movie: https://www.decodedscience.org/what-is-transtextuality-understanding-the-meaning-of-the-words-we-read/28891/2Merry Christmas! It’s good to be back. :)
33 min - 3.13 - HOOK (1991) & Childhood
Rob and his 1st guest host, Anna, relive their respective childhoods, get lost in Hook's luxurious facial hair and fawn over RU-FI-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(Look folks, Sam does the show notes and he's great at it. I'm really not, so they are going to be a bit shorter for the next month. Bare with me!)
32 min - 3.12 - VERONICA GUERIN (2003) & Fear
Our Schumacher mini-season concludes with the 2003 biopic VERONICA GUERIN. For a second week running (savour it), we’re largely in agreement with our reviews of the film, and then we talk about how these events passed us by, the difficulties in bringing a real life to screen, and the parallels between the protagonist and a quite surprising tortured genius.
Next Week’s Film
Sam’s off on parental duty, so the next month sees Rob — with a number of guest hosts — get stuck into the oeuvre of Steven Spielberg, starting with the 1991 ‘classic’ (Sam’s quotation marks) HOOK.This Week’s Media
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009): David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint MINDHUNTER (2017—): Joe Penhall, David Fincher, Jonathan GroffSTAR TREK: DISCOVERY (2017—): Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug JonesRecommendations
CON AIR (1997): Simon West, Nicolas Cage, John CusackIN BRUGES (2008): Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell, Brendan GleesonHOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992): Chris Columbus, Macaulay Culkin, Joe PesciPUSHING TIN (1999): Mike Newell, John Cusack, Billy Bob ThorntonFootnotes
In the vein of starting with a light-hearted subject, our first link for this episode is to Tim Murphy’s book Rethinking the War on Drugs in Ireland: books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9e2KT-zW6bcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=drugs+in+ireland&ots=bS3Lal7lQB&sig=Q3E4nnS0hhbv1Cew7QeGy_H2bsw#v=onepage&q=drugs%20in%20ireland&f=false. Veronica Guerin’s life makes for an interesting read (although the jury’s out on the film): books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Pm37P54fAzMC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=veronica+guerin&ots=vDl85zPDa6&sig=zP1aC2D1YBaqTRUm9EbAFJTG7QU#v=onepage&q=veronica%20guerin&f=false. This account of her funeral (included at the very end of the film) is good: www.independent.co.uk/news/tears-and-applause-at-journalists-funeral-1339427.html. The IMDB Trivia page, as usual, is a good one: www.imdb.com/title/tt0312549/trivia. And finally, Rob mentions considering Guerin as a tragic protagonist or ‘hero'; for more on this, this is a useful — if very basic — source: http://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/tragic-hero33 min - 3.11 - 8MM (1999) & Voyeurism
Our next Schumacher offering is 1999’s 8MM. We have fairly similar reviews of the film, before embarking on a discussion of what makes human do what they do, the voyeurism inherent in modern life, and why Keanu Reeves wouldn’t have been able to save this movie.
Next Week’s Film
VERONICA GUERIN (2003): pending certain events in Sam’s house, we’ll be concluding our Schumacher season.This Week’s Media
THE WISE MAN’S FEAR (2011): Patrick RothfussHARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007): David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert GrintRecommendations
MONEYBALL (2011): Bennett Miller, Brad Pitt, Jonah HillWALK THE LINE (2005): James Mangold, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese WitherspoonPREACHING TO THE PERVERTED (1997): Stuart Urban, Guinevere Turner, Tom BellTOMORROWLAND (2015): Brad Bird, George Clooney, Hugh LaurieFootnotes
Light-heartedly enough, the first link is to a book exploring one of the concepts we address early on this week, the nature of evil: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=oUfHAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=the+nature+of+evil&ots=jCSup0M8NJ&sig=6gxqqHOnoZ1OHVVrIjVAqlue4b8#v=onepage&q=the%20nature%20of%20evil&f=false. Here’s the IMDB page for Andrew Kevin Walker, writer of this and other 90s staples FIGHT CLUB and SE7EN: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001825/?ref_=tt_ov_wr. Here are two interesting articles about voyeurism in cinema, and a list of other films on the subject: https://mubi.com/lists/a-hidden-eye-voyeurism-surveillance-in-cinema, https://humanities.byu.edu/the-dual-meaning-of-cinematic-voyeurism, and http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/25-great-voyeuristic-movies. Finally, this is a good piece on social media and voyeurism, a subject on which we ended this week: http://www.sutherlandlabs.com/blog/social-media-and-a-culture-of-voyeurism34 min - 3.10 - FALLING DOWN (1993) and America
The Joel Schumacher season continues with the 112-minute cry of rage and frustration that is FALLING DOWN. We talk about the film’s presentation of different sides of modernity in America, its use of borders and locations, and various takes on its ideas of diversity and alienation: basically, we get stuck in to a good old-fashioned discussion!
Next Week’s Film
8MM (1999): another popular (thus easily available) one for our third Schumacher filmThis Week’s Media
W1A (2014—): John Morton, Hugh Bonneville, Monica DolanBLADERUNNER 2049 (2017): Denis Villeneuve, Ryan Gosling, Harrison FordRecommendations
TOTAL RECALL (1990): Paul Verhoeven, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel TicotinSAVAGE STREETS (1984): Danny Steinmann, Linda Blair, Linnea QuigleyIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995): John McTiernan, Bruce Willis, Jeremy IronsWONDER BOYS (2000): Curtis Hanson, Michael Douglas, Tobey MaguireFootnotes
Sam mentions a possible cultural forerunner of Bill Foster, in Willy Loman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman. Foster’s plight is further explained in the idea of the ‘soured’ American Dream, a concept explored in these two books, written either side of the film: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hqafM0xZjqIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=american+dream&ots=1nYMaswH1d&sig=jR7R4UiQIfLCnVZjkf5DVIp_ZhM#v=onepage&q=american%20dream&f=false and https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=PTF0mlZE26AC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=american+dream&ots=nIDzdsXxDg&sig=xDqKx2Zh-mSHDhaH8LwQAqw5qPA#v=onepage&q=american%20dream&f=false. While the title of this article is a little obvious, it has some interesting stuff in it: http://www.laweekly.com/film/falling-down-25th-anniversary-michael-douglas-was-the-villain-8164453. Finally, the film’s IMDB page (particularly the trivia section) is worth a look: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856.37 min - 3.9 - THE LOST BOYS (1987) & Subcultures
We kick off our Joel Schumacher mini-season with a look at his 1980s ‘classic’ (Sam’s inverted commas) THE LOST BOYS. There are…conflicting initial reviews, but we unite in discussions of being out of time, vampirism, and puberty.
Next Week’s Film
FALLING DOWN (1993): Schumacher month continues with possibly his most commercially available film (good for watching purposes).This Week’s Media
COMING TO AMERICA (1988): John Landis, Eddie Murphy, Arsenio HallJACK WHITEHALL: TRAVELS WITH MY FATHER (2017): Jack Whitehall, Michael Whitehall, Hilary WhitehallRecommendations
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992): Fran Rubel Kuzei, Kristy Swanson, Donald SutherlandTHE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (2014): Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Addison Timlin, Travis TopeBLADE (1998): Stephen Norrington, Wesley Snipes, Stephen DorffEDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990): Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Winona RyderFootnotes
Rob mentions the pre-eminent vampire drama of recent years, TRUE BLOOD; for much more on this, there’s a whole wiki: http://trueblood.wikia.com/wiki/True_Blood_Wiki. These two books are both good on subcultures (the first is particularly good about music, which we discuss in passing): https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=II19ilADqGEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=subcultures&ots=t0zG7b30Yt&sig=WwTcjQB41ychVfV8YtQXNnrCEAw#v=onepage&q=subcultures&f=false, https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OgfyekgkpwwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1914&dq=subcultures&ots=G8PUd7Ndfx&sig=iEHptTDQpequsWSuVf6pCVjCB-0#v=onepage&q=subcultures&f=false. The IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093437) has some good info on the movie, though for its homoerotic connotations you’d be better heading here: http://www.horror-movies.ca/2014/09/new-perspective-lost-boys-homosexual-film. Finally, here’s some good stuff about vampire stereotypes (that this film was often in the vanguard of establishing): http://vampirefunstuff.blogspot.co.uk/p/vampire-cliches.html.32 min - 3.8 - DODES’KA-DEN (1970) & Dreams
Our final Kurosawa offering is one of Rob’s favourites: 1970’s DODES’KA’DEN. Sam liked it, too (though with some caveats), and we go on to discuss the director’s use of colour, sound, and film in general — with a look back at his oeuvre, as explored over the past month.
Next Week’s Film
THE LOST BOYS (1987): we kick off a look at Joel Schumacher with his 1987 comedy; it’s generally pretty available, whether streamed or on DVD.This Week’s Media
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (2017): Matthew Vaughn, Colin Firth, Julianne MooreAN UNLIKELY HERO / PAPER MAN (2009): Kieran Mulroney, Jeff Daniels, Emma StoneRecommendations
CITY OF GOD (2002): Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, Alexandre RodriguesRISING SUN (1993): Michael Crichton, Philip Kaufman, Sean ConneryTHE OMEGA MAN (1971): Boris Sagal, Charlton Heston, Anthony ZerbeINLAND EMPIRE (2006): David Lynch, Laura Dern, Jeremy IronsFootnotes
The critical reception received by the film (including Kurosawa’s reaction to this reaction) is documented in the following book: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C2z3otM-y5kC&pg=PA460&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. The IMDB page on the film is good, particularly on the ‘Committee of the Four Knights’ group of Japanese directors: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065649/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. I don’t know how reliable this site is, but it’s still a potentially interesting exploration of the meanings of various colours in Japan: https://www.color-meanings.com/color-meanings-japan. Rob mentions the following as a possible corollary for the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889. Finally, this is the first part of the Youtube video Rob talks about in the course of his recommendations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP468k1u_Mk.31 min - 3.7 - SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) & Class
The next Akira Kurosawa film is probably his best-known — and certainly most-imitated — film: SEVEN SAMURAI (1954). We both really enjoyed this (one more predictably so than the other); after some general discussions of community feeling and individuality, we get more specific about the social hierarchies of the film, dive into Kurosawa’s cinematography once more, and end with a good, old-fashioned nerd-off.
Next Week’s Film
DODES’KA-DEN (1970): Kurosawa’s first film in colour. Get the DVD for £5.34, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DodesKa-Den-Junzaburo-Ban/dp/B00ABAYWIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506152619&sr=8-1&keywords=dodeskaden.This Week’s Media
WONDER WOMAN (2017): Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Chris PineTHE DEFENDERS (2017): Douglas Petrie, Charlie Cox, Krysten RitterRecommendations
BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980): Jimmy T. Murakami, Richard Thomas, Robert VaughnHEROES (2006—10): Tim Kring, Santiago Cabrera, Jack ColemanTHRONE OF BLOOD (1957): Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada13 ASSASSINS (2010): Takashi Miike, Kōji Yakusho, Takayuki YamadaFootnotes
There’s more on the visuals of Kurosawa and this film’s influence in cinema, here: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/seven-samurai-akira-kurosawa-masterpiece-influence-filmmakers-mad-max-fury-road-1201811690/. Here’s that book on class and aesthetics in Japan, again: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=10krbGkGMyoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=class+in+japanese+history&ots=SMdOiQbPSf&sig=eAq53yCWiBvqsQE7uIJqqw_YfBQ#v=onepage&q=class%20in%20japanese%20history&f=false. This article has a useful introduction to the history of the samurai in Japan: http://www.history.com/topics/samurai-and-bushido. Finally, while the visual presentation of this website is truly horrible, there’s some interesting stuff on the objective/subjective shots that Rob discusses this week: http://www.videoeditingsage.com/camera-angles-objective-and-subjective.html. (Oh, and the podcast in which Sam is cheating on Rob [but not really: it’s TV, not film] is a forthcoming episode of THE BOX SET POD: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-box-set-pod-the-boxset-podcast/id948417371?mt=2.)33 min - 3.6 - RASHOMON (1950) & Storytelling
Our next offering of the season is Akira Kurosawa’s breakout movie, RASHOMON (1950). After some positive reviews, we spend lots of time on the particular visuals of the film — including the way in which things are seen through other things — and end with a discussion of what the last scene might mean in the context of the film as a whole.
Next Week’s Film
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954): you need to sign up for the BFI player for £4.99 after a week's free trial, but if classic films aren’t your thing, then just cancel before the week is out: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Samurai-Takashi-Shimura/dp/B00P4OHWTO/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1505411259&sr=1-1&keywords=seven+samuraiThis Week’s Media
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Michael KeatonGUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME II (2017): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe SaldanaRecommendations
M. BUTTERFLY (1993): David Henry Hwang, David Cronenberg, Jeremy IronsMEMENTO (2000): Christopher Nolan, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne MossSTREET OF SHAME (1956): Kenji Mizoguchi, Yoshiko Shibaki, Machiko KyōONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S (2001): Harald Zwart, Liv Tyler, Matt DillonFootnotes
This is a good primer on ‘the hero’s journey’, which Rob mentions early on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. The production, music, and script on this video are terrible, but there is some useful info about the different types of camera movement! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45e1XuA-oLY There’s more on the gate in question, which lends its name to the film — as Sam discusses — here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajōmon. Here are a couple of good books on (1) the films of Kurosawa, and (2) class and aesthetics in Japan: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vdchVqMSiDEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=influences+on+akira+kurosawa&ots=D7Tq-c1G1f&sig=7FA76g1iigwjWS1fQXEAqlM2YA4#v=onepage&q=influences%20on%20akira%20kurosawa&f=false, and https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=10krbGkGMyoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=class+in+japanese+history&ots=SMdOiQbPSf&sig=eAq53yCWiBvqsQE7uIJqqw_YfBQ#v=onepage&q=class%20in%20japanese%20history&f=false. Finally, here’s your regular reference to the concept of the MacGuffin, which is probably not employed in this film: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGuffin.36 min - 3.5 - DRUNKEN ANGEL (1948) & Disease
The second director of Season 3 is Akira Kurosawa; the sequence of his films begins with his 1948 breakthrough, DRUNKEN ANGEL. Initial discussions centre on its viability as a cinematic — rather than theatrical experience — and then we delve into post-war Japan, Kurosawa’s relationship with gangster culture, and this film’s positioning as a metaphor for some of these ideas.
Next Week’s Film
RASHOMON (1950): rent it on Amazon for $3.99 (still probably just about affordable, post-Brexit) at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004D3ICOGThis Week’s Media
STRIKE (2017–): Robert Galbraith, Tom Burke, Holliday GraingerNARCOS, SEASON 3 (2017): Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug MiroRecommendations
NOSFERATU (1922): F.W. Murnau, Max Schreck, Greta SchröderCARANDIRU (2003): Héctor Babenco, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Rodrigo SantoroBRIGHTON ROCK (1947): John Boulting, Richard Attenborough, Hermione BaddeleyTOMBSTONE (1993): George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russell, Val KilmerFootnotes
Firstly, for more on the specifics of the yakuza (general introduction), have a look at this. This thread also has some interesting discussions of the yakuza’s place in Kurosawa’s work. Actors like the ever-wonderful Buster Keaton (to whom Sam refers at one point) are celebrated in this interesting article. For more on the history of post-war Japan, this is good. Finally, this is the film that Rob mentions in passing along with NOSFERATU as a visual fore-runner of this movie31 min
About The Prestige
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A podcast for cinephiles of all stripes. Join Rob & Sam, two life-long friends, one a veteran of the film industry, the other a Cambridge-educated writer on books, movies and graphic novels. Each…
week they talk about a film and some of the ideas it throws up.