Trylove

Francis Ford Coppola’s war epic coasts from the formulaic to the surreal so smoothly, it’s almost hard to pinpoint the point of no return. On its face, it’s obviously anti-war; in the director’s own words, it’s “anti-lie”; and in many ways, it excoriates Hollywood portrayals of war themselves. The Final Cut, as discussed on this episode, puts a finer point on the film’s specific criticisms of the imperialism and colonialism that resulted in the war in Vietnam while streamlining its most visceral sights and sounds for maximum dreamlike effect.

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Closing music: Not from this movie, but spiritually in it.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 252: APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

2:37 - The episode actually starts

6:23 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

10:35 - The many directions you could take discussing APOCALYPSE NOW

30:41 - “One of the best-looking films to watch”

42:50 - The visual communication of information and theme

58:55 - What Kurtz “represents”

1:14:46 - Chief, Mr. Clean, race, and the “asshole of the world”

1:22:58 - Other Loves We’ve Tried: 1979

1:24:24 - The Junk Drawer

1:32:22 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:36:44 - Cody’s Noteys: Try-pocalypse Love (famous movie quotes trivia)

One of Brian De Palma and Robert De Niro’s earliest features (a big movie for famous guys with “De” in their last names) is a De Mented, De Praved, De Tached experimental film that De Tails (I’m done) voyeurism, vicarity, and white liberal apologia in the Civil Rights era. When Vietnam vet Jon Rubin (De Niro) fails to convey his desire for authenticity through both filming porn and marrying one of his subjects, he trades in his 8mm camera for a TV set (see, he’s no longer just the one who SEES, but the one who is SEEN in return!). That puts him on the trail of a black theater troupe engaged in the interactive piece “Be Black, Baby!”, which, through De Palma’s shaky, uncut, hurried lens, reaches an extreme fever pitch that seems to accept the limits of white American storytelling without settling for ‘not saying anything.’

“Hi Mom!: Smile for the Camera” by Nick Kouhi for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/27/hi-mom-smile-for-the-camera/

“Turn Your Gaze Upon This Wretched Thing: The Schismatic Spectacle of Brian DePalma’s Hi, Mom!” by Courtney Kowalke for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/27/turn-your-gaze-upon-this-wretched-thing-the-schismatic-spectacle-of-brian-depalmas-hi-mom/

“Coercive Theater” by Philippa Snow for Artforum: https://www.artforum.com/columns/philippa-snow-on-brian-de-palmas-_hi-mom_-1970-242133/

Check out more Cult Film Collective screenings at the Trylon: https://www.trylon.org/films/category/cult-film-collective/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. "Main Theme” by Eric Kaz from the HI, MOM! soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 251: HI, MOM! (1970)

3:17 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

5:42 - Blunt, effective transgression

12:41 - A membranous meta humor on top of ‘serious’ topics

19:11 - De Palma’s voyeuristic drive

23:45 - Jon Rubin’s pursuit of… what, exactly?

39:11 - The “Be Black, Baby!” middle act and De Palma’s frustrated filmmaking

57:31 - The Junk Drawer

1:04:18 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:08:10 - Cody's Noteys: Trylibs – Mommies

Content warning: Depictions of abuse and violence toward women and transgender people.

The atrocities committed by Buffalo Bill, a serial killer known for skinning his victims, make up only some of the injustices outlined in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, director Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel. Among the others: Stunted actualization, systemic removal of agency, and a culture-wide lack of empathy.

In this episode, we discuss the motivations of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in his most iconic role) as he shepherds Clarice Starling (a thoroughly empathetic Jodie Foster) along the path to Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine in plurality). In achieving full actualization – a comprehensive marriage of form and theme – THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS casts a stylized and sensational, pointed and restrained (but not always fair or friendly) eye toward the people who are ‘allowed’ to capital-B Become and those who must do it the hard way.

“A Farewell to Horses” by Natalie Marlin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/22/a-farewell-to-horses/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus as featured in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 250: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

2:00 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises

3:17 - Humanizing

8:59 - Film mechanics in concert with its themes

14:57 - Learning about the monster(s) with a sense of restraint

20:59 - Recognizing agency (or the absence of it) in others

39:21 - Clarice Starling

50:52 - Mom said it’s my turn on the Actualization

58:12 - The Junk Drawer

1:05:31 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:11:57 - Cody’s Noteys: Darlove, a Movie Poo-dcast (Darla the acting Bichon Frise trivia)

With Maddy Sheehy, Emma Youndtsmith, Abbie Phelps, and Natalie Marlin!

How did YOU come across THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT? Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s found footage horror film kicked off a genre before the turn of the millennium, and it still holds a freaky deaky power over audiences today. Four voices are distinctly absent from this episode of Trylove, but the four who’ve replaced them have a lot to say about its provenance, use of negative space, and missing baddie.

Find Maddy…

- On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/corndogmaddy/

- On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kaijumaddy/

Find Emma…

- On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/quiltedquads/

- Volunteering at the Trylon every other Friday

- On Trylove Episode 220: WATERSHIP DOWN (1978)

Find Abbie…

- On Twitter at https://twitter.com/goodhunterabbie

- On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goodhunterabbie/

- On Trylove Episode 184: DRIVE ANGRY (2011), Episode 209: WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005)

Find Natalie…

- On Twitter at https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt

- On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/framingthepic/

- On Trylove Episode 162: THE THIRD MAN (1949), Episode 182: CHESS OF THE WIND (1979), Episode 197: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985), Episode 210: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), Episode 239: MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001)

Get tickets to “The Nightmarish Nineties” (October 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/the-nightmarish-nineties/

“Horror without Borders: My Blair Witch Project” by Chris Ryba-Tures for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/13/horror-without-borders-my-blair-witch-project/

“From Sundance to Box Office Gold: The Story of The Blair Witch Project” by Kevin Maher for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/14/from-sundance-to-box-office-gold-the-story-of-the-blair-witch-project/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Draining Faces" by Skinny Puppy from Josh's Blair Witch Mix, the official soundtrack accompaniment to the release of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 249: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

2:36 - The Patented Abbie Phelps Summary

4:18 - Maddy’s thoughts

5:47 - Emma’s thoughts

6:55 - Natalie’s thoughts

9:28 - Abbie’s thoughts

11:16 - The use of negative space and avant garde framing choices

17:36 - Learning – and breaking – the rules of filmmaking

19:13 - Daytime sequences

27:22 - The performances and building tension through conflict

37:25 - What makes Heather a complicated female character

40:47 - Comparing THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT to other found footage horror movies

46:23 - The BLAIR WITCH version of reality

54:46 - CURSE OF THE BLAIR WITCH and the moral implications of lying to your audience

1:02:00 - Where the cast is today

1:04:21 - Final thoughts

Who would you be if not for destiny? What kind of person are you holding yourself back from becoming? George Sluizer’s psychological thriller is best known for its morbidity and shock ending, but on this episode of Trylove, we focus on the stuff in the middle. At its heart, THE VANISHING is two parallel tales of men driven to pursue a new version of themselves: An aggrieved ex-husband and a sociopath who takes a leap into the unthinkable.

Watch THE VANISHING on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6BTffFzrHc

Get tickets to “The Nightmarish Nineties” (October 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/the-nightmarish-nineties/

“Gothic, Dull and Sharp: George Sluizer’s The Vanishing” by MH Rower for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/07/gothic-dull-and-sharp-george-sluizers-the-vanishing/

“Golden Eggs Flying Through Space: The Horrific Dream Logic at the Heart of The Vanishing” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/10/07/golden-eggs-flying-through-space-the-horrific-dream-logic-at-the-heart-of-the-vanishing/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Main Theme" from the THE VANISHING soundtrack by Henny Vrienten.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 248: THE VANISHING (1988)

1:50 - The episode actually starts

2:00 - Nevermind it’s Aaron’s Twitter Update

5:47 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

11:13 - A cold, bleak, comedic tone

23:30 - Form, mechanics, and its “matter-of-fact” framing

33:24 - What is Rex REALLY in pursuit of?

42:06 - The ending, nihilism, and humor in the face of death

52:50 - The Junk Drawer

59:34 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

Turns out there’s still a bunch to say about SCREAM, the movie that saved the horror genre by one of the guys who almost killed it. Go figure! From generational moral panic to metacommentary on slasher media to the impact of consumer technology on the way movies tell stories, this episode unpacks Wes Craven’s third wall-breaking classic that started a scary movie revolution.

Get tickets to “The Nightmarish Nineties” (October 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/the-nightmarish-nineties/

“You Can’t Get Rid of the Telephone” by ​​Chelli Riddiough for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/29/you-cant-get-rid-of-the-telephone/

“It’s All Just One Big Movie: I Always Had a Thing For You, Scream” by Jake Rudegeair for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/29/its-all-just-one-big-movie-i-always-had-a-thing-for-you-scream/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "[Don't Fear] The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult from the SCREAM soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 247: SCREAM (1996)

2:22 - The episode actually starts

4:59 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

18:17 - SCREAM as slasher metacommentary

31:10 - The opening scene as tone-setter

38:08 - Generational moral panic and teen coming-of-age

51:33 - It’s ‘cause you be always on that damn cordless phone

58:29 - The Gay Shit

1:01:34 - The characters and performances

1:05:02 - The Junk Drawer

1:10:50 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:15:04 - Cody’s Noteys: Mostface Filler (shared cast + crew trivia)

Content warning: This episode includes references to sexual violence as discussed in PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK.

Public reaction to three missing schoolgirls and their teacher during a field trip to Hanging Rock – a prehistoric monolith – ranges from shock to guilt to pocket-watching. But how the citizens of Victoria react sometimes belies their true feelings: The girls who were spared their classmates’ fate are giddy with drama; the police fear what their inability to solve the incident means for their authority; and headmistress Ms. Appleyard may harbor more jealousy than guilt over the girls’ freak disappearance.

This episode delves into the colonial, historical, sexual, and gender-centric throughlines of Peter Weir’s PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, focusing on Ms. Appleyard as a vector for the girls’ frivolous nature, their austere environment, and the imposition of British rule over the First Nations of Australia.

Watch PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975

“The Loss of Posture in Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Yuval Klein for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/24/the-loss-of-posture-in-picnic-at-hanging-rock/

“The Presence of Romantic Absence in Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/22/the-presence-of-romantic-absence-in-picnic-at-hanging-rock/

Roger Ebert’s 1998 review of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: 'Doina Sus Pe Culmea Dealului' (Main Theme) by Gheorghe Zamfir from the PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 246: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975)

2:54 - The episode actually starts

5:36 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

24:57 - How PICNIC foregrounds its tone to resist a clear reading

37:45 - Mrs. Appleyard

52:37 - The ending

1:00:20 - The Junk Drawer

1:08:10 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:12:52 - Cody’s Noteys: The Try is Out There

Part FITZCARRALDO (1982), part APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), part Lord of the Flies, THE MOSQUITO COAST was Harrison Ford’s wily villainous turn and one of Peter Weir’s most cynical movies to that point in his career. Allie Fox’s Nicaraguan sojourn – an ill-conceived plot to bring ice to the jungle – is cut short by his hubris, his family’s increasing skepticism, and the harsh realities of jungle living that put a cap on his seemingly limitless madman optimism.

On this episode, we talk about America’s self-sabotaging right-wing movement, whether or not the movie begs our empathy for Allie’s detachment from reality, and the unflappable resolve of those who would see the world built in their image.

“Mosquito Coast: Or, Man Absolutely Loses it in a Hardware Store” by Michael Wellvang for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/15/mosquito-coast-or-man-absolutely-loses-it-in-a-hardware-store/

“Ice is Back With My Brand New Invention” by Lucas Hardwick for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/15/ice-is-back-with-my-brand-new-invention/

“A Harrison Ford filmography: The actor looks back at some pivotal roles” in Entertainment Weekly: https://ew.com/article/1992/06/12/harrison-ford-filmography/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Allie's Theme" by Maurice Jarre from the THE MOSQUITO COAST soundtrack.

With returning guest Seth Zarate!

Listening note: This episode sounds different from our usual productions. Cody, Seth, and Jason were all in a room together, while Aaron joined remotely. Jason had precious little editing time. Our apologies for any disruptions.

One of Peter Weir’s earliest feature length films, THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS bears some of his hallmarks (genre-mixing, dualities, subcultures, cars cresting hills menacingly) and also some surreal, batshit filmmaking in the same conversation as MAD MAX (1979) (obviously) and DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) – and also the movies of the Coen Brothers? Check it out!

Find Seth…

- On Twitter at https://twitter.com/snzarate

- On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/snzarate

- On Trylove episodes about ASTEROID CITY/DIAL OF DESTINY/DEAD RECKONING/BARBIE/OPPENHEIMER (2023), LOOPER (2012), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), THE CONVERSATION (1974), TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003), BATMAN RETURNS (1992), Horrorthon V: Son of Horrorthon (2021), RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995), THE SACRIFICE (1986), THE FACULTY (1998), TIME BANDITS (1981), A GOOFY MOVIE (1995) Table Read, TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985), 12 MONKEYS (1995), and THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997)

“The Cars That Ate Paris and the Bone-Shaking Consequences of the Past” by Chris Ryba-Tures for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/08/the-cars-that-ate-paris-and-the-bone-shaking-consequences-of-the-past/

“Dude, Where’s My Car? Car Culture Examined in The Cars That Ate Paris” by Matthew Lambert for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/09/08/dude-wheres-my-car-car-culture-examined-in-the-cars-that-ate-paris/

Watch THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/the-cars-that-ate-paris-1974

Get tickets to the Peter Weir series at the Trylon: https://www.trylon.org/films/category/peter-weir/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Main Theme” by Bruce Smeaton from the THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS soundtrack.

Content warning: This episode contains references to sexual violence as discussed in THE PLUMBER.

Peter Weir’s 1979 made-for-TV 16mm creeper is a short parable about two people from the same part of the world but two different parts of society (a lower-middle-class plumber and a member of the liberal intellectual elite) becoming the worst versions of themselves to survive the other.

Max is the itinerant tradesman making frequent uninvited appearances at the home of Jill, an anthropologist without a job. A combative, highly suggestive relationship forms between the two: Jill dreads Max’s very presence, especially while her husband Brian is away pursuing his career; Max, entitled and bullish, leaves a trail of shattered tiles and bent pipes in his wake; and with the lines so clearly drawn, chances of reconciliation between the two sit comfortably at zero while the pressure builds in the small flat.

Watch THE PLUMBER on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/the-plumber-1978

Get tickets to the Peter Weir series at the Trylon: https://www.trylon.org/films/category/peter-weir/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “I’m Me, Babe” from THE PLUMBER (1979).

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 243: THE PLUMBER (1979)

3:23 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.)

4:18 - Harry saw this movie because of his job!

12:03 - The Cowpers and threats to the liberal intellectual class

25:29 - The movie monster vs. the modern woman

37:10 - Predatory dynamics

44:51 - Class

50:04 - The ending and a wry turning of the tables

1:09:39 - The Junk Drawer

1:17:52 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:24:28 - Cody’s Noteys: Maybe the Trylove Ate Your Baby