The Prestige

The Prestige

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The Prestige episodes

  • 3.33 - STRICTLY BALLROOM and Convention

    This week we embark on our next directorial mini-season with the work of Baz Luhrmann. We start with his cinema debut, 1992’s STRICTLY BALLROOM. After opening reviews, we talk about mockumentaries, cinema aesthetic, and artistic frustration — both in the film and in Luhrmann’s direction itself.

    Next Week

    Our Luhrmann mini-season continues with the next movie in his ‘Red Curtain Trilogy’: 1996’s ROMEO + JULIET. Watch it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Shakespeares-Romeo-Juliet-Sorvino/dp/B00FZA99RA

    This Week’s Media

    TASKMASTER (2015–): Alex Horne, Andy Devonshire, Greg Davies

    AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018): Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr.

    Recommendations

    BASKEKETBALL (1998): David Zucker, Trey Parker, Matt Stone

    THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (1994): Stephen Elliott, Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving

    CONFETTI (2006): Debbie Isitt, Martin Freeman, Olivia Coleman

    AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (1999): Jay Roach, Mike Myers, Heather Graham

    Footnotes

    Firstly, this is an interesting article on the mockumentary form in which the film starts: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/apr/05/mockumentary-british-comedy-tom-kingsley

    Here’s a reminder of the theatrical convention of the fourth wall, to which Sam refers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall

    (And, while we’re at it, here’s a short piece on a few more theatrical conventions to which Luhrmann the theatrical director and Luhrmann the film auteur may have been reacting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_convention )

    Here’s the IMDB page for last year’s THOR RAGNAROK, which Rob mentions as a comparator this week: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3501632

    And finally, for more camerawork titbits (this time not from Rob!), head here: https://indiefilmhustle.com/types-of-lenses-camera-lenes

    27 min
  • 3.32 - THE BEGUILED (2017) and Gendered Values
    The final Coppola film in our mini-series is her latest, the 2017 re-make of THE BEGUILED. After our reviews, we talk about horror, tension, and the revision of traditional gendered values. This leads us on to a final discussion of Sofia Coppola’s oeuvre, when we take a look back at some new perspectives we’ve seen over the past month.Next WeekNext week we embark on our next director, Baz Luhrmann, and his first film, 1992’s STRICTLY BALLROOM: https://www.amazon.com/Strictly-Ballroom-Gia-Carides/dp/B00622BF40.This Week’s MediaJUSTIFIED (2010–15): Graham Yost, Timothy Oliphant, Nick SearcyTHE SPACE JAM CONTINUUM (2017—): Cal Noble, Chris MacLennanRecommendationsÁ LA CONQUÊTE DU POLE (1912): George Méliès, Charles Pathé
    WONDER WOMAN (2017): Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine
    PHONE BOOTH (2002): Joel Schumacher, Colin Farrell, Kiefer SutherlandTIGERLAND (2000): Joel Schumacher, Colin Farrell, Matthew DavisTHE OTHERS (2001): Alejandro Amenábar, Nicole Kidman, Fionnula FlanaganFootnotesHere’s the link to Á LA CONQUÊTE DU POLE, available for free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOGuRCwVCD0. It’s not as short as Sam suggested, but it’ll still only take half an hour of your time. Have a read about the 1971 version of the film, based on Thomas P. Cullinan’s novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beguiled_(1971_film). This has more information about shooting with a long lens, as explored by Rob this week — interestingly enough, as a part of wildlife film-making (which maybe says something about the film that we should have discussed more this week): http://www.untamedscience.com/filmmaking/advanced-filmmaking/shooting-long-lens. There’s more on Lord of the Flies here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies. And finally, here’s an simple introduction to the elements of preordained dramatic tragedy, that we were moving towards at the end of the episode: http://www.cameron.edu/~johnh/shakespeare/critical/tragedy.htm.
    32 min
  • 3.31 - MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006) and Anarchy

    (The audio from Rob gets better about 7 min in...)

    Our next Sofia Coppola film is her 2006 historical biopic MARIE ANTOINETTE. We talk about decadence, loneliness, and why this film tries to several very interesting things — but doesn’t quite succeed in pulling them off.

    Next Week

    We conclude our Coppola mini-season with her most recent film, 2017’s THE BEGUILED. Will it be LOST IN TRANSLATION, mark 2, or another MARIE ANTOINETTE? Find out here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074P9VGN4.

    This Week’s Media

    ELLA MINNOW PEA (2001): Mark Dunn

    WESTWORLD (2016–): Jonathan Nolan, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandi Newton

    Recommendations

    THE DREAMERS (2003): Bernardo Bertolucci, Michael Pitt, Eva Green

    THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (2004): Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennett, Dylan Sprouse

    CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash

    SPY (2015): Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne

    Footnotes

    Firstly, here are the Wikipedia pages we mentioned that you could before (or during!) this movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_consorts, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_monarchs, and (if you’re Sam) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window. This is a good book on the representation of anarchy in culture: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fRR8eWzRhbYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=anarchy+politics&ots=9Qg-eG03Ia&sig=QNjqdX-8VuFeHx2SOEaQ9QYpcWU#v=onepage&q=anarchy%20politics&f=false, and these are both good on the relationship between anarchy and punk (self-consciously alluded to by the opening titles, as we discussed): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sXeFAgAAQBAJ&dq=anarchy+punk&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s and https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vRtLRAmcNF0C&dq=anarchy+punk&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Finally, here’s a list of alternatives to this week’s film, if you’re interested in the period: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-set-18th-century.

    31 min
  • 3.30 - LOST IN TRANSLATION and Benign Isolation

    Next in our Sofia Coppola season is another of Rob’s all-time-favourite films: 2003’s LOST IN TRANSLATION. Reviews are more or less predictable, but we quickly get into talking about what it means to be privileged yet isolated, balance in cinematography, and whether or not this film ends in the right way.Next WeekOur Coppola series continues with her big-screen follow-up to LOST IN TRANSLATION, on a very different theme: 2006’s MARIE ANTOINETTE (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B00FZM35H8).This Week’s MediaJUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017): Jake Kasdan, Dwayne Johnson, Jack BlackORDEAL BY INNOCENCE (2018): Sandra Goldbacher, Morven Christie, Anthony BoyleRecommendationsTHE JUNGLE BOOK (2016): Jon Favreau, Neel Sethi, Bill MurrayBROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005): Ang Lee, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath LedgerJUST FRIENDS (2005): Roger Kumble, Ryan Reynolds, Amy SmartGOD’S POCKET (2014): John Slattery, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard JenkinsFootnotesWe begin this week with an interesting article about Coppola: https://www.vogue.com/article/sofia-coppola-5-things-you-didnt-know. Rob mentions how the director’s personal experience of the city informed the film, and there’s more on this here: http://www.indiewire.com/2004/02/sofia-coppola-talks-about-lost-in-translation-her-love-story-thats-not-nerdy-79158. This book has more on the isolating experiences of mis-translation: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gTdIAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=translation+in+film+and+literature&ots=wgLepJ9Ein&sig=sh5JW_QbbRu7TnktWTkssbljZT0#v=onepage&q=translation%20in%20film%20and%20literature&f=false. And there’s more on the framing of characters on film, as explored by Rob on this week’s episode, here: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b0b1/8dfd6f94c0603cd1ff22f008a8e9e111c3dd.pdf.
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    33 min
  • 3.29 - THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and Teenage Memory
    This week, as Sam returns from intensive Dadding, we start on our next director: Sofia Coppola. Our first focus is on her debut, her adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’s novel THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. After we’re both really taken by surprise by this film, we talk about nostalgic film-making, ethereal screen presences, and what it is to remember (and mis-remember) things as a teenager.
    Next Week
    Our next film, and the next in Coppola’s oeuvre, is LOST IN TRANSLATION, available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Translation-Bill-Murray/dp/B00ESQGHTA.
    This Week’s Media
    PADDINGTON 2 (2017): Paul King, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins
    GHOSTBUSTERS (2016): Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig
    Recommendations
    STAND BY ME (1986): Rob Reiner, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix
    THE FACULTY (1998): Robert Rodriguez, Elijah Wood, Jordana Brewster
    INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994): Neil Jordan, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt
    LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (2006): Paul McGuigan, Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman
    Footnotes
    Firstly this week, have a look at the Wikipedia pages for the original book (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_Suicides) and Coppola’s version (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_Suicides_(film)). (There’s also an article on the film’s score, which Sam discusses briefly at the start of today’s episode as contributing to the sense of other-worldliness about the movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_Suicides_(score).) Here’s the film that Rob talks about working on: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1137436. And here is more on the era that he (and Coppola, here) was creating: http://www.filmsite.org/70sintro.html. We didn’t talk much about home movies, but this is more on (the recreation of) those: http://www.thebattles.net/video/8mm_restoration.html. Finally, this is a good book on the representation of female adolescence on screen: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ywsajx7jqAMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA125&dq=cinema+gender+teenaged&ots=wOetdOfKQ3&sig=P6UQQKm6MiyawI86Yf9P9ORoav4#v=onepage&q=cinema%20gender%20teenaged&f=false.
    33 min
  • Films Of Our Lives

    Due to massive over-consumption of Easter Eggs, we're taking a break from our scheduled progamming to bring you a previously Patreon-only episode, The Films Of Our Lives

    29 min
  • 3.27 - THE NEON DEMON and Beauty/Consumption
    We conclude our NWR season with an episode focusing on his most recent film, the 2016 horror/psychological thriller/social commentary THE NEON DEMON. After similar reviews of the film, we look at the film’s exploration of beauty, the creepiness of both female and male gazes in this film, and what Refn has to say about a particularly...cut-throat industry. We also end with a retrospective on NWR’s work, and how it’s developed from the early days of PUSHER.Next WeekOur next director mini-season looks at the work of Sofia Coppola. We begin with her breakout film, 1999’s THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. Watch it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Virgin-Suicides-Kirsten-Dunst/dp/B06W57135C.This Week’s MediaGODZILLA (2014): Gareth Edwards, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken WatanabeREJUVENATRIX (1988): Brian Thomas Jones, Vivian Lanko, John MacKayDERRY GIRLS (2017–): Lisa McGee, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Nicola CoughlanRecommendationsTHE HUNGER GAMES (2012): Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Jennifer LawrenceJOHN WICK (2014): Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves, Michael NyqvistGREEN ROOM (2015): Jeremy Saulnier, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots
    MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015): George Miller, Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron
    FootnotesRob mentions quite a few names by way of comparison at the start of this episode: Giallo horror (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giallo), Dario Argento (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dario_Argento), Grand Guignol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Guignol), and David Cronenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg). (And Sam adds one of his favourite films of last year, GET OUT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Out.) Here’s more on the myth of Narcissus, which is behind some of what we talk about: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Narcissus-Greek-mythology. Rob talks about the triptych visual form of one of the episodes involving the models: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/t/triptych. Finally, for those of you unfamiliar with the story behind one of Keanu Reeves’s moments of peak creepiness, have a read about Lolita: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita.
    24 min
  • 3.26 - DRIVE and Tension
    The next in our NWR mini-season is his 2011 film DRIVE. One of us has radically changed his stance on the film (spoiler alert: Rob won’t be tearing down his poster)—after a few minutes of reviews, we get stuck into psychopathy on screen, subverting type, and just why this film is s tense.
    Next Week
    Our NWR mini-season concludes with his most recent feature, 2016’s THE NEON DEMON (available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neon-Demon-Elle-Fanning/dp/B01MAV25IZ).
    This Week’s Media
    LADY BIRD (2018): Greta Gerwig, Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf
    ANNIHILATION (2018): Alex Garland, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh
    Recommendations
    RONIN (1998): John Frankenheimer, Robert De Niro, Jean Reno
    CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE. (2011): Glenn Ficarra, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
    AN EDUCATION (2009): Lone Scherfig, Lynn Barber, Carey Mulligan
    INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Oscar Isaacs
    Footnotes
    (Almost 50% female representation in our ‘This Week’ and ‘Recommendation’ sections, this time. Shortly after International Women’s Day, and we’re getting there…) Firstly, here are the IMDB pages for some of the playing-against-type actors that we mentioned this week: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0331516 (Ryan Gosling), http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0186505 (Bryan Cranston), http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000579 (Ron Perlman). This is an interesting article on the incredibly dangerous stunt performers’ industry, and tragic related fatalities: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/18/film-stunt-performers-injuries-deaths-hollywood. After Rob mentioned horror films, and why they work, it got me thinking about this piece: http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-horror-films-scary-fear-neuroscience-psychology-2016-10. Finally, this isn’t a single-location film, but as we didn’t really have time to discuss, LA plays a big role in the background of this film, both literally and metaphorically; here’s a list of other good location-focused pieces: http://www.vulture.com/2017/04/the-best-one-location-movies-from-green-room-to-buried.html.
    32 min
  • 3.25 - VALHALLA RISING and Answers
    (Quick apology for some of the audio this week, between missing microphones and babies, it has some issues, bear with us, it will get better...)This week’s film — and the next in our Nicolas Winding Refn mini-season — is one close to Rob’s heart: VALHALLA RISING (2009). We get the inside scoop on some of the decisions made by the director, as well as considering some of the mythical/religious ideas behind the film — and if this is a film about giving or withholding answers. Next WeekOur next NWR film is 2011’s DRIVE. Watch it online, ready for next week’s episode, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Ryan-Gosling/dp/B00NSLMWF4. This Week’s MediaSHE’S THE MAN (2006): Andy Fickman, Amanda Bynes, Laura RamseyLOVE, NINA (2016): S.J. Clarkson, Nina Stibbe, Faye Marsay RecommendationsFLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (2016): Stephen Frears, Meryl Streep, Hugh GrantPSYCHO (1960): Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Perkins, Janet LeighAMERICAN GODS (2017-): Chris Byrne, Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning
    GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002): Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron DiazFootnotesThe footnotes are a little sparse this week, owing to the intervention of a third presenter during the time Sam is usually writing them (4 months old, and already podcasting!). This is a good starting-point for some of the mythology which may or may not be behind this story: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology. This is also a good primer: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christianity. Finally, for more on what Rob was doing to get such brilliant (in all senses of the word) visuals, see here: https://nofilmschool.com/2014/09/colorist-really-films-video-takes-look. And here: https://ideas.ted.com/how-color-helps-a-movie-tell-its-story/amp. And here: https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/film-movies-color-psychology.
    28 min

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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…