In this half of the episode, we look at Bergman Island (2021), written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. It stars Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps as a couple who have come to Faro Island as fans of Ingmar Bergman and want to take the tourist view while they complete their own work in a house they've rented. Like some Bergman films, as the characters move deeper into the story, the line between the audience and the actors begins to dissolve, and we're reminded that we're watching a movie starring these actors-as-characters. It's hard to describe in writing but Bergman fans will understand instantly when they see the film.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Next time around, the directorial inspiration is Howard Hawks, with a couple of fairly recent films: Speed (1994) directed by Jan de Bont, and The Martian (2015), directed by Ridley Scott. Join us, won't you?

In our last episode we took a look at films that followed Alfred HItchcock's filmmaking style. This time around we're looking at films that have deep echoes of the work of Ingmar Bergman.

We start with Away From Her (2006), written and directed by Sarah Polley. Julie Christie plays a woman whose Alzheimer's is starting to advance, and her husband (Gordon Pinsent) has to deal with the guilt, the loneliness and all the other unexpected complications that come with placing her in a facility. It's probably one of the best films about Alzheimer's you'll see, and it's simultaneously sad and uplifting.

In Part 2, we'll talk about a movie that's a little more on the nose, with Bergman Island.

In this half of the episode, we're looking at Tell No One, a French film from 2006 directed and co-written by Guillaume Canet.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In our next episode we go from Hitchcock to Bergman, as we look at a pair of films styled after that director. We start with Away From Her (2006) and then to the aptly-named Bergman Island (2021). Join us, won't you?

In today's episode we explore films that look like they could be produced by Alfred Hitchcock, but they weren't. We start with Diva, from 1981.

In this half of the episode, we're reviewing the 1969 film Z, directed by Costa-Gavras. In this film we're in a European country that totally isn't Greece, and we see both sides of an ideological war between two extreme factions. It's a gripping story with an ending that's all too familiar, if you're politically cynical.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Episode 81 will be the first of three episodes where we look at films which are made in a very specific style. Perhaps it's homage to a director, perhaps it's unconscious imitation. Find out with us as we review 1981's Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. From there we move to 2006 and Tell No One, directed by Guillaume Canet, both of which appear to be shot in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. Join us, won't you?

In this episode, we'll be taking a look at a pair of political thrillers, both of them based on real-life events. (It should be noted, however, that one of them is definitely fiction. Thinly-disguised fiction, but fiction nonetheless.)

We start with The Battle of Algiers (1966), co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. We're not talking about a military battle here so much as a story of terrorism and counter-terrrorism at work.

In Part 2 we'll be looking at 1969's Z (or Zed, if you prefer).

We conclude this overstuffed episode with a look at 1976's Network, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring William Holden, Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway.

Finch plays a television news anchor who decides to say exactly what's on his mind, and the audience reaction comes as a huge surprise to everyone. His bosses are only too happy to capitalize on this renewed popularity. But even though he's starting to show signs of mental instability, they continue to exploit him...until it stops paying off.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In our next episode we take a look at a pair of political thrillers from overseas. We start with The Battle of Algiers (1966), and move on to 1969's Z (or Zed, if you prefer). Join us, won't you?

Both Sean and I like both of these films so unabashedly that we wound up with a truly overstuffed episode.

This time around we're looking at a pair of films that turned out to be oddly prophetic in their vision, although one of them missed the mark, but only slightly.

In this part of the episode we examine the 1957 film A Face in the Crowd, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith as two people whose lives become intertwined when one of them becomes a media sensation. It's a brilliant examination of the "absolute power corrupts absolutely" ethos and leaves us wondering what happens next.

In this half of the episode, we look at When Harry Met Sally... and we learn that not all rom-coms are alike, even if most of them look alike and--unfortunately--sound alike.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Next time around we take a look at the dark side of television, starting with A Face in the Crowd (1957) and finishing up with Network (1976). Join us, won't you?

We're wrapping up our brief series of films that can definitely be enjoyed on the individual level, but the ripple effects they caused tend to make the films that follow in their wake to be somewhat less than amazing.

And this week we begin with Halloween, from 1978 and directed by John Carpenter. Jamie Lee Curtis is a teenager who has some truly supernatural adventures in babysitting. This film set some of the slasher film template, but alas some people just have to color outside the lines.

In the next segment we'll find out what happened When Harry Met Sally...