The Prestige

The Prestige

By KaijuFMTV & Film
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The Prestige episodes

  • 2.5 - INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008) &Reality

    Brace yourselves: it’s time for the fourth Indy film. We talk about fun heist-themed romps, moody art-house montages, and classic comedy capering; sadly, that’s in the first five — blissfully CRYSTAL SKULL-free — minutes. Oh dear.

    This Week’s Watching

    BETTER OFF DEAD (1985): Savage Steve Holland, John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers
    KOYAANISQUATSI (1982): Godfrey Reggio, Ron Fricke, Philip Glass
    NOW YOU SEE ME (2013): Louis Leterrier, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo

    Recommendations

    HOLES (2003): Andrew Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voigt
    DEATH BECOMES HER (1992): Robert Zemeckis, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis
    ALIEN (1979): Ridley Scott, Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver
    BABEL (2006): Alejandro González Iñárritu, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

    Footnotes

    We mentioned Eisenstein again: check out STRIKE (1925) and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925), among many others. There’s a good article on Steven Spielberg and aliens, here. And there’s more on a concept that Rob mentioned in passing, but that we didn’t have time to go over, here. Finally, an update on IJV (please don’t bring Ford back).

    35 min
  • 2.4 - INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) & Myth-Making (II)

    Round 3 of Indiana Jones, and we’re back on well-loved solid ground. One of us talks about myth and narrative structure, and the other talks about cinematic nuts-and-bolts — surprise! It’s not the way round you think…

    This Week’s Watching:

    THE WEST WING (1999—2006): Aaron Sorkin, Rob Lowe, Moira Kelly
    HART OF DIXIE (2011—15): Leila Gerstein, Rachel Bilson, Jaime King
    ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: THE MOVIE (2016): Mandie Fletcher, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley

    Recommendations:

    JAWS (1975): Steven Spielberg, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw
    THE ROCK (1996): Michael Bay, Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage
    BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015): Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance
    ROLLERBALL (1975): Norman Jewison, James Caan, John Houseman

    40 min
  • 2.3 - INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984) & Orientalism

    This week, it’s the second instalment in our Indiana Jones series. In the style of one of this week’s recommendations, it’s a bit of a tussle: dubious politics versus excellent cinematography; inexcusable racism versus comprehensible pop culture references. Fight!

    This week’s watching:

    INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (2016): Roland Emmerich, Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum
    SPOTLIGHT (2015): Tom McCarthy, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton
    GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014): James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana

    Recommendations:

    DUEL (1971): Stephen Speilberg, Richard Matheson, Dennis Weaver
    STREET FIGHTER (1994): Steven E. de Souza, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raúl Juliá
    HELP! (1965): Richard Lester, John Lennon, Paul McCartney
    FAN (2016): Maneesh Sharma, Aditya Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan

    31 min
  • 2.2 - INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) & Adventure

    Next on our list of franchises is Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones’ films. We discuss adventure, racism, postcolonial revisionist history, and why we like action heroes to be competent enough to succeed — but only just.

    This Week’s Watching:

    THE HUNTED (2003): William Friedkin, Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio del Toro
    LA RUE CASES-NÈGRES (1983): Euzhan Palcy, Garry Cadenat, Darling Légitimus

    Recommendations:

    THE BODYGUARD (1992): Mick Jackson, Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston
    SCROOGED (1988): Richard Donner, Bill Murray, Karen Allen
    ROMANCING THE STONE (1984): Robert Zemeckis, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner
    HOT FUZZ (2007): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

    (Incidentally, 5 out 18 directors and principal actors is the highest proportion of women we’ve had, since I’ve been listing recs here. 28%. Gender representation in the film industry is rubbish…)

    32 min
  • 2.1 - BLUES BROTHERS 2000 (1998) & Change

    This week we complete our first (mini-)franchise of the summer, with the sequel to last week’s cult classic. Sam gets very serious, very quickly, and we have some great discussions about cultural change, playing it safe in cinema, and our old friend nostalgia.

    Recommendations

    ¡THREE AMIGOS! (1986): John Landis, Steve Martin, Randy Newman
    MATINEE (1993): Joe Dante, John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty
    GHOSTBUSTERS (1984): Ivan Reitman, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd
    NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE (1978): John Landis, John Belushi, Tim Matheson

    30 min
  • 1.50 - THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) & Pop Culture Musicals

    Episode 50 is here! (No, we didn’t think so, either.) Join us for a discussion of Rob’s favourite film of all time, the undermining of convention, and early-twentieth-century Russian cinema. (Yes, really!)

    Recommendations

    WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954): Michael Curtiz, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye
    AIRPLANE! (1980): Jim Abrahams, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty
    TRADING PLACES (1983): John Landis, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy
    ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007): Julie Taymor, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess

    32 min
  • 1.49 - JOHN DIES AT THE END (2012) & Meta

    THE WORLD’S END (2013): Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

    TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (2006): Liam Lynch, Jack Black, Kyle Gass
    BUBBA HO-TEP (2002): Don Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis
    THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION! (1984): W.D. Richter, Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin

    27 min
  • 1.48 - BIG HERO 6 (2014) & Loss

    This week we talk about a 2014 animated superhero-comedy from Don Hall and Chris Williams, BIG HERO 6. Hear us discuss what makes a kids’ film, how we portray real human loss on screen, and why superhero adaptation doesn’t always quite work.

    Recommendations

    WRECK-IT RALPH (2012): Rich Moore, John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman
    SERENITY (2005): Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk
    INSIDE OUT (2015): Pete Docter, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith
    DESPICABLE ME (2010): Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Steve Carell

    32 min
  • 1.46 - SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) & Transformation

    This week we continue our throwback to the 90s with the 1991 classic from Jonathan Demme (however you pronounce it). Along the way we talk about butterflies, camerawork, and why Sam needs to have a think about some of the comparisons he uses for personal weirdness…

    Recommendations

    HANNIBAL (2001): Julianne Moore, Anthony Hopkins, Ridley Scott
    PANIC ROOM (2002): Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, David Fincher
    SE7EN (1995): Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, David Fincher
    EVOLUTION (2001): David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Ivan Reitman

    32 min

About The Prestige

From the publisher's feed

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…