The Prestige

The Prestige

By KaijuFMTV & Film
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The Prestige episodes

  • 4.48 - THE LION KING (2019) & Hyperrealism

    This week, after some...reviews of Disney’s most recent take on THE LION KING, we talk about how colour and contrast can make or break a film, the importance of myth to the original movie, and what it means to consider style versus substance when the film is as hyperrealistic as this one.

    Next Up

    The final film in our Disney mini-season is 1998’s MULAN.

    Recent Media

    TED LASSO (2020–): Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudekis, Hannah Waddingham
    PARKER (2013): Taylor Hackford, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez

    Recommendations

    SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018): Ron Howard, Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson
    12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams
    SWINGERS (1996): Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn
    THE AFRICAN LION (1955): James Algar, Winston Hibler

    Footnotes

    Given that one of our opening topics was the use of colour in these films, there was surprisingly little from the former specialist in this area; this article redresses the balance somewhat: whatweknow.tinkertaylor.tv/post/102fg5e/what-is-colour-grading-in-film-and-why-is-it-so-important. Rob discusses the changes wrought on Scar’s ideology by these alterations in colour, and this is an interesting exploration of just what his intentions are: the-take.com/watch/in-the-lion-king-what-is-scars-political-ideology. We say a lot about the (admittedly stunning) VFX on this film, and you can see more here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bTjenLGj0 and read more here: www.animationboss.net/the-lion-king-vfx. Finally, for more reliable lion facts than provided by Sam this week, see here: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/african-lion.

    31 min
  • 4.47 - THE LION KING (1994) & Privilege

    Our film this week is the 1994 award-winning classic THE LION KING. After the usual reviews, we talk about Sam’s changing ideas about the film, how it may or may not be about the growth of a character, and what it says about the role of royal privilege (not, this week in particular, an entirely irrelevant topic!).

    Next Up

    It’s remake time! Next up is the 2019 version of the film.

    Recent Media

    LINE OF DUTY (2012–): Jed Mercurio, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure
    COLD LASAGNE HATE MYSELF 1999 (2020): James Acaster

    Recommendations

    DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995): John McTiernan, Jonathan Hensleigh, Bruce Willis
    SISTER ACT (1992): Emile Ardolino, Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith
    THE LION KING 1 1/2 (2004): Bradley Raymond, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella
    GODZILLA (1998): Roland Emmerich, Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno

    Footnotes

    Firstly, here’s what Rob was saying about the film’s iconic status: www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38312379. Rob mentions that there’s something of the morality play about what we see on screen; see here for more on this: www.britannica.com/art/morality-play-dramatic-genre. Sam refers to the etymology of the word ‘privilege’: www.etymonline.com/word/privilege. The writer of this piece is at least in agreement with Sam that the film is not based on Hamlet: www.fatherly.com/play/what-is-the-lion-king-based-on-the-answer-isnt-hamlet-shakespeare. The IMDB ‘trivia’ page for the film is a good read: www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. And finally, it wouldn’t be a 1990s Disney film without some racial controversy…: www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/12/14/676703629/swahili-speakers-horrified-by-disneys-trademark-of-hakuna-matata?t=1618171829034

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    34 min
  • 4.46 - ALADDIN (2019) & PRETENCE

    This week’s offering is the re-make of ALADDIN. After…mixed reviews, we talk about the ‘clean’ visuals, what it feels Disney wants from a re-make, and how watching this involves something of the same pretence shown by the characters themselves.

    Next Up

    Our next Disney film is the 1994 original version of THE LION KING.

    Recent Media

    THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933): Frank Capra, Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther
    INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS WITH ALAN CARR (2021): Diccon Ramsay, Emma Taylor, Alan Carr

    Recommendations

    TRON: LEGACY (2010): Joseph Kosinski, Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund
    TERRA NOVA (2011): Kelly Marcel, Craig Silverstein, Jason O'Mara
    MEN IN BLACK (1997): Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
    WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY (2017): Tommy Wirkola, Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close

    Footnotes

    Firstly, here’s a little reminder of the environment in which Rob’s ‘recent media’ film was made: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood. Onto our film of the week. Sam mentions a few of the film’s casting controversies, further explored here: deadline.com/2018/01/disney-aladdin-criticized-media-browning-up-1202237376 and here: www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/17/disney-aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott_a_23034316. And this is a really comprehensive article on the confused/confusing cultural politics of the film: www.vox.com/2019/5/24/18635896/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history (it also has a nod to Edward Said’s Orientalism, the ultimate text explaining many of the racial codings of cultural portrayals like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book)). Finally, it wouldn’t be an episode of The Prestige without a regular mention of Brecht! www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. And when it comes to films-as-stage-plays, although slightly off-topic, this was an interesting list: www.metacritic.com/feature/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-plays-and-musicals?page=1 (I’m strangely intrigued by the SJP film at number 1…)

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    31 min
  • 4.45 - ALADDIN (1992) & Worth

    This time, our focus is on the 1992 Disney film ALADDIN. After some reviews, we discuss how this is a movie about people pretending to be something they’re not; we talk about what ‘diamond in the rough’ means (both to a 10-year-old Rob, and today); and we think about media depictions of class, from country-house dramas to inner-city soap operas.

    Next Up

    Next time (sticking to the format!), our focus turns to the 2019 live-action remake of ALADDIN.

    Recent Media

    THE DAWN WALL (2017): Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer, Tommy Caldwell
    FREE SOLO (2018): Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Alex Honnold
    THE ROCK (1996): Michael Bay, Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage
    SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018): Bob Persichetti, Stan Lee, Shameik Moore

    Recommendations

    MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
    AMADEUS (1984): Peter Shaffer, Milos Forman, F. Murray Abraham
    TREASURE PLANET (2002): Ron Clements, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Gordon-Levittt
    GALAVANT (2015–16): Dan Fogelman, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson

    Footnotes

    Here’s more about the Disney Renaissance, if like Sam (not Rob) you weren’t an aficionado: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance. When talking about the animation at the start of the film, Sam mentions STEAMBOAT WILLIE; if you don’t know about this Disney milestone, then this Wikipedia is worth reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie. As Rob makes the connection between the two films, I Googled ALADDIN + DEADPOOL, and there is actually a nice line in (slightly NSFW) t-shirts: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/591238257328225429. While we’re on the subject of ‘I can show you the world’, this is hands down my favourite version of this song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1TxCihvk (I challenge you to watch past two minutes). Finally, here’s that famous ‘class’ sketch, illustrating some of the ideas we talk about this week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppv97S3ih14.

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    34 min
  • 4.44 - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) & Loneliness

    This week our focus is he 2017 live-action version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some…contrasting reviews, we talk about how this film is a lot darker and more serious than the original, how it has a lot more to it (both good and bad), and how it might be a different sort of fairy tale to the 1991 film.

    Next Time

    Next in line for our Disney focus is he 1992 version of ALADDIN.

    Recent Media

    HORTON HEARS A WHO! (2008): Theodor Seuss Geisel, Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
    X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (2019): Simon Kinberg, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender
    SNOWPIERCER (2020–): Jacques Lob, Josh Friedman, Jennifer Connelly
    THE TOWN (2010): Chuck Hogan, Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall

    Recommendations

    COLOSSAL (2016): Nacho Vigalondo, Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudekis
    FAST & FURIOUS 6 (2013): Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker
    A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997): Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz
    MR HOLMES (2015): Bill Condon, Mitch Cullin, Ian McKellen

    Footnotes

    This is an interesting presentation on one of the ideas Rob mentions early on: prezi.com/tovwsqhae1zq/the-art-of-metacommentary. Here’s more about the character of LeFou (including his name): villains.fandom.com/wiki/LeFou. And here’s more on the openly gay take on this character, including a very interesting idea from the director himself about one possible allegorical interpretation of the film: people.com/movies/beauty-and-the-beast-disney-first-openly-gay-character-lefou. And here’s a good response from Josh Gad to some negative criticism of LeFou: edition.cnn.com/2017/03/07/movies/josh-gad-gay-beauty-and-the-beast-character/index.html. And the final line of this short piece is particularly good: www.vulture.com/2017/03/heres-the-exclusively-gay-moment-in-beauty-and-the-beast.html. (Can you tell I went down an ‘internet hole’ reading about LeFou’s modern incarnation??) Finally, Rob may not have especially warmed to the result, but this was a really interesting article about the CGI transformation of Dan Stevens: www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/beauty-and-the-best-movie-dan-stevens-special-effects.

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    38 min
  • 4.43 - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) & The Outsider

    This week’s film is one of Rob’s favourite Disney films (so no pressure, there) 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some plot summarising and a little light reviewing, we talk about the distinctive way this film looks, its place as a subversive text, and the fact that this is actually two films in one — in a good way, promise.

    Next Time

    The next movie in our Disney animation/live action sub-season is the 2017 remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

    Recent Media

    • LUPIN (2021): George Kay, François Uzan, Omar Sy
    • 6 UNDERGROUND (2019): Michael Bay, Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent
    • THE OLD GUARD (2020): Gina Prince-Bythewood, Greg Rucka, Charlize Theron
    • THE HUNT (2020): Craig Zobel, Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank

      • Recommendations

      • BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946): Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Josette Day
      • UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1992): Roland Emmerich, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren
      • BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS (1971): Robert Stevenson, Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson
      • JUMANJI (1995): Joe Johnston, Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst

        • Footnotes

        Firstly, this article definitely chimes with what Rob was saying about Gaston: medium.com/@sjmyles79/can-we-have-movie-heroism-without-the-sexism-please-776bc291c65c. Here’s a little introduction to Busby Berkeley, to whom there are obvious references in the big song and dance numbers: filmschoolrejects.com/beginners-guide-to-busby-berkeley. While we’re talking about big beautiful film sequences, this article discusses the ballroom scene’s CGI: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/25-years-ago-cg-secrets-ballroom-sequence-beauty-beast-145174.html. Finally, here are a couple of enjoyable responses to the film: www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/the-enchantress-was-fcked-up and www.bustle.com/articles/195847-35-questions-i-still-have-about-beauty-the-beast.

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        0 min
      • 4.42 - THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016) & Individuality

        This week’s film is the Jon Favreau live action/CGI remake of the 1967 film. After some opening reviews (and Sam admitting that he might have given the film too much credit), we talk — in one of our more cerebral chats — about selfishness, understanding, and change, particularly in our reading of the end of the film.

        Next Time

        Our next film is Rob’s favourite Disney film, which Sam (gasp) hasn’t seen: 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

        Recent Media

        FIRST COW (2019): Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond, John Magaro
        ALL OR NOTHING: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2020): Anthony Phillipson, Tom Hardy, José Mourinho

        Recommendations

        IRON MAN (2008): Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr.
        SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993): Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley
        PACIFIC RIM (2013): Guillermo del Toro, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam
        CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash

        Footnotes

        Firstly, here’s an article on the art of playing the pantomime villain: www.thesimplethings.com/blog/panto-villains; I know Shere Khan in the 1967 film wasn’t one of these in the strictest sense, but he was something of a more risible stereotype figure certainly than Idris Elba’s incarnation. Rob mentions the POV shot at the beginning of the film, and there’s more on this idea here: www.premiumbeat.com/blog/power-point-view-pov-shots. This short response to a trailer from the film focuses on a particular moment of comparison between the two films: www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jungle-book-2016-new-trailer-recreates-scene-where-kaa-tries-eat-mowgli-a6936251.html. When I was looking for content on the idea of individuality, I came across this video (not at all relevant to the film, but I can’t resist a TED video…): www.ted.com/talks/margot_amoyual_individuality_an_identical_twin_perspective. Finally, in another link that’s not entirely relevant...we mentioned the idea of transgression on screen, in talking about Mowgli and Shere Khan; this is a list of transgressive movies (see? I told you it wasn’t relevant…): whatculture.com/film/10-transgressive-movies-that-went-beyond-the-boundaries.

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        0 min
      • Top 5 of 2020

        The Best Of The Pandemic Year

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        35 min
      • 4.41 - THE JUNGLE BOOK (1967) & Fatherhood

        The first film in our final mini-season of Season 4 (we’re getting old!) is the 1967 Disney animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOK. Our discussion ranges from animation styles to PAW PATROL, and anthropomorphism to racial stereotyping; overall, though, we spend the most time thinking about how much this film is about the familial, paternal relationships in evidence here.

        Next Time

        It’s déjà vu! Next time we look at Jon Favreau’s 2016 version of THE JUNGLE BOOK.

        Recent Media

        THE MANDALORIAN (2019–): Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers
        DA 5 BLOODS (2020): Spike Lee, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors
        ENOLA HOLMES (2020): Harry Bradbeer, Nancy Springer, Millie Bobby Brown

        Recommendations

        ROBIN HOOD (1973): Wolfgang Reithermann, Brian Bedford, Phil Harris
        ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951): Clyde Geronomi, Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn
        THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960): Wolf Rilla, George Sanders, Barbara Shelley
        ROAD TRIP (2000): Todd Phillips, Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott

        Footnotes

        Firstly, as this mini-season is all about adaptations of Disney animations, this article is a good place to start: ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/01/05/10-disney-movie-moments-that-changed-animation. And this take on technology and animation is interesting, too: memeburn.com/2013/06/how-technology-has-changed-animation-a-brief-history. (Then I got into a Google Hole [which is definitely what it’s called] finding out more about animation: 3d-ace.com/press-room/articles/twelve-animation-styles-you-should-know-about, www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation, blog.threadless.com/disneys-art-style-through-the-decades.) For the rest of this week’s Footnotes, I just want to list things to read about facial representation and literature and India, starting with this article: litreactor.com/columns/are-the-jungle-books-racist-or-not-and-why-you-should-read-them-either-way For balance, here’s the opposing view (although, to be honest, lots of this seems pretty far-fetched): sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-01/uncategorized/i-wanna-be-like-you-racial-coding-in-disneys-the-jungle-book/#:~:text=Especially%20in%20The%20Jungle%20Book%2C%20animals%20depict%20different,forest%20in%20search%20of%20Mowgli%2C%20the%20man%20cub.) Anne McClintock’s book on imperialism is great: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imperial_Leather.html?id=OurtAAAAMAAJ, as is Kumkum Sangari’s: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Politics_of_the_Possible.html?id=t5eX8VRhSgEC&redir_esc=y. Benedict Anderson is still worth reading: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imagined_Communities.html?id=4mmoZFtCpuoC&redir_esc=y; and there’s always the father (pun intended) of all ideas about postcolonialism, Edward Said: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Orientalism.html?id=66sIHa2VTmoC. Finally, though I haven’t read it, this looks good: books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kOzFBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT22&dq=postcolonial+cinema&ots=fUVkBx_Wxd&sig=qvdoebSS9nQpoL8LTTPE2eqlDxE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=postcolonial%20cinema&f=false

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        0 min
      • 4.40 - WIDOWS (2018) & Loss

        The final film in our mini-season of heist film’s is Steve McQueen’s 2018 movie WIDOWS. After (ultimately, to be expected) differing reviews, we talk about ways in which this film deals with a number of different manifestations of loss — doing so even through the cinematography — and ultimately shows a certain amount of escape or relief in the endings of some of the characters.

        Next Time

        Our next mini-season will be looking at Disney animations and their recent live-action adaptations, and we begin with the 1967 classic THE JUNGLE BOOK (‘I wanna be like yoo-oo-oou…’).

        Recent Media

        MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003): Peter Weir, Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
        GET DUKED! (2019): Ninian Doff, Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie
        THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (2020): Walter Tevis, Scott Frank, Anya Taylor-Joy

        Recommendations

        12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Solomon Northrup, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor
        THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015): Guy Ritchie, Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer
        GET OUT (2017): Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams
        S.W.A.T. (2003): Clark Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell
        BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE (2018): Drew Goddard, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo

        Footnotes

        This is a good place to start, for facts about the director of this film: www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-McQueen-British-director-screenwriter-and-artist. Rob talks about the 7 stages of grief, and this is a good primer: www.medicinenet.com/loss_grief_and_bereavement/article.htm#:~:text=The%20seven%20emotional%20stages%20of%20grief%20are%20usually,be%20emotional%2C%20physical%2C%20social%2C%20or%20religious%20in%20nature. We don’t dwell on the awfulness of the killing of Marcus much, but this is a powerful interactive tool on police killings in the US: interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html. Looking for articles about 'moving on’ in cinema, as all the women have to do, I came across this list (not quite relevant, but it was interesting enough to include!): www.pajiba.com/guides/15-movies-about-moving-and-moving-on.php. Finally, here’s a link to our episode about a film which — as Sam discussed — shares a number of similarities with WIDOWS: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-17-21-grams-change-and-grief.

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        39 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…