Episodes

  • 207. Fight Club (1999)

    207. Fight Club (1999)
    Sep 4 2024
    In 1999, David Fincher’s Fight Club opened to bad reviews and disappointing box office. 25 years later, it widely considered one of the best, most entertaining films of the last quarter century, a perennial 800-pound gorilla in the world of internet chat. It solidified the reputation of David Fincher, an auteur who (like many) has put his work ahead of any efforts to promote his image as an artist. Younger viewers often came to this film early in life, perhaps too early to understand its sarcasm and humanistic ideology, but they know far better than boomers do how relevant it is to today’s culture. It is, among other things, a Rorschach test that appeals to and excites people across all IQs, political persuasions, and personal identities. Listen in as young and old grapple with one of the final classics of the 20th century. An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight Club_(film) Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdJKm16Co6M Currently imdb’s 12th best movie of all time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • 206. Out of the Past (1947)

    206. Out of the Past (1947)
    Jul 22 2024
    In 1947 RKO studios made a surprise classic with OUT OF THE PAST, directed by journeyman Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer near the start of their careers. For film noir fans, this movie’s reputation has never stopped growing since. Combining snappy dialogue, a double-crossing femme fatale and an unusual flashback structure, this sexy and suspenseful movie heats up fast and never takes its foot off the gas. But does this film still burn as hot for young audiences, with actors they may have never heard of and a censorship code that, no matter how far the filmmakers pushed it, leaves a lot more to the imagination than we’re used to today? Find out on this episode of Film Generations. An ElectraCast Production. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Past IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039689/ BFI / Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time (#157): https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time Roger Ebert “Great Movies” Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-out-of-the-past-1947 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins
  • 205. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

    205. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
    Jun 19 2024
    Horror films do not typically win Academy Awards but Ruth Gordon won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the Upper West Side NYC witch-next-door in the terrifying thriller that defined lead actress Mia Farrow’s career, Rosemary’s Baby. Based on the best-selling novel by Ira Levin and cementing the legendary status of director Roman Polanski, this movie was a huge box office hit and generated endless articles debating its feminist message, in one of the most chilling gaslighting stories of all time. Since its release we’ve seen the horror genre grow increasingly bloody, gruesome and explicit. So while Rosemary’s Baby focuses on the psychological body-horror of something evil growing inside of an expectant mother, does it still have the same impact on today’s audience that it had over half a century ago. Find out what if our panel of young film-lovers got those same chills from this horror classic. An ElectraCast Production. • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary's_Baby_(film) • IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063522/ (#9 Top Horror Film of All Time) • The Guardian: The 25 best horror films of all time (#2) • American Film Institute 100 Most Thrilling American Films (#9) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins
  • 204. The General (1926)

    204. The General (1926)
    May 7 2024
    One of the highest regarded silent films, The General appears as #18 on AFI’s most recent list of the greatest American films of all time. Yet, the film flopped in its initial release, fell into the public domain in 1954 when the studio didn’t even bother to renew the copyright, and didn’t appear anywhere on AFI’s original list. Why was this seminal comedy neglected so long, only to end up canonized as one of the greatest films ever? And is it being forgotten all over again? The General’s action sequences inspired scores of modern action masters including Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise and George Miller, but is its own extended chase scene still inspiring? And how about its apolitical treatment of the Civil War – is that a non-starter in today’s politically polarized world? Find out what our panel of young film-lovers think after seeing The General for the very first time, on Film Generations. An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_(1926_film) IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/ On Roger Ebert’s Top Ten Greatest Films Ever list. Sight & Sound 10th Best Film of All Time (1982 survey). American Film Institute 18th Best American Film of All Time (2nd best silent film). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • 203. Blue Velvet (1986)

    203. Blue Velvet (1986)
    Mar 18 2024
    Following the big budget failure of Dune, director David Lynch went back to his surrealistic roots with a controversial vision of American suburbia’s dark underbelly, Blue Velvet. This movie put actors Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern on the map as a young couple searching for clues, featured Isabella Rossellini as a sexually blackmailed lounge singer, and revived the career of counter-culture icon Dennis Hopper as the terrifyingly unpredictable Frank Booth. Considered extremely edgy for a mainstream studio release in 1986, does this psycho-sexual coming of age story still pack the same transgressive yet highly engrossing punch that it once did? Find out what our panel of young film-lovers think after seeing Blue Velvet for the very first time, in a post-Twin Peaks world that has already absorbed so much of Lynch’s style and sensibility. An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Velvet_(film) Rerelease Trailer: https://youtu.be/k_BybDB_phY?si=9Dn5vrLyjFB-Zsqj American Film Critics 4th Best Film of the 1980’s Sight & Sound 5th Best Film 1975-2000 American Film Institute 8th Best Mystery of All Time American Film Institute 36th Best Villain of All Time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • 202. The Lady Eve (1941)

    202. The Lady Eve (1941)
    Feb 8 2024
    1941’s outrageous screwball romantic comedy, The Lady Eve brought together three of Hollywood’s most dynamic and unstoppable forces: Barbara Stanwyck, in her peak year with five starring roles, including also Ball of Fire (Oscar nominated for Best Actress), and Meet John Doe; Henry Fonda, hot off his award-winning turns in Grapes of Wrath and Young Mr. Lincoln; and perhaps riding highest of all, Preston Sturges, who was in the middle of a run of seven giant hits as writer/director in the space of only three years – a feat that remains unequaled in Hollywood even to this day. Sturges was so hot that he became the 3rd-highest-paid employee in the world, and yet when the streak ended in 1944, his career crashed like no other. What remarkable ingredients fueled his artistic rise and fall? Why is his name only occasionally  recalled when the likes of Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, John Lasseter, Wes Anderson, and the Coen Brothers point to his enormous influence?  And why are these cheeky, offbeat, incredibly witty films that delight critics and audiences so unfamiliar to Millennials? Can a Preston Sturges classic still resonate in today’s culture? Find out in this episode of Film Generations. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Jake Flowers, Kylee LaRue & Olive Goldberg An ElectraCast Production NY Times’ Best Film of 1941 Top 100 lists: #28 AFI Greatest Romances, #55 AFI Greatest Comedies, #52 WGA Greatest Screenplays, #59 Entertainment Weekly Greatest Films Ever IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033804/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_Eve   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • 201. The Wild Bunch (1969)

    201. The Wild Bunch (1969)
    Jan 4 2024
    In 1969 this audacious western drove a nail into the coffin of the old studio system, recasting the West along with classic Hollywood stars including William Holden and Robert Ryan into a newly violent, gritty and cynical image reflective of the Vietnam War era. The movie was a huge success and had a major impact on the Baby Boomer generation. But 54 years later, after numerous filmmakers have built on the graphic elements of the film, what does it still have to say, if anything, to today’s generation? Our panel of young film-lovers discusses the film’s violence, its male-centered world, its depiction of 1913 Mexico, the revolutionary spirit that sets this action film so far from movies made even just a few years earlier, and what to make of the hard-drinking director, often accused of misogyny and cruelty, the legendary Sam Peckinpah? Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman, Kylee LaRue & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Bunch https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1059489-wild_bunch 52nd on The 100 greatest American films by BBC 63rd on The 80 Best-Directed Films by Directors Guild of America (DGA) 80th on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time by American Film Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • 112. Citizen Kane (1941)

    112. Citizen Kane (1941)
    Nov 28 2023
    Known for the better part of its 82 years as the greatest movie ever made, can Citizen Kane still live up its reputation with today’s generation?  Everything revolutionary about the film - its deep-focus cinematography, experimental editing, innovative sound design and non-linear storytelling - has all been imitated hundreds of times. So is this movie only great because it was ahead of its time, or does it still shine brightly in its own right?  And is the character of Charles Foster Kane just tied to the faded memory of legendary news mogul William Randolph Hearst, or is he newly relevant in the age of Citizens Murdoch and Trump? Join our panel of young film lovers as they bring fresh eyes to this classic. What will they rediscover in Citizen Kane, and what new revelations might they offer from their generation’s perspective? Also in this episode, a look back on our first season: find out which of the 12 classics are our panelist’s favorites and why. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Kylee LaRue, Grace Chapman & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production. Current AFI Greatest Films List: #1 One of the top 3 films ever made: Sight & Sound, DGA, BFI, BBC, NY Film Critics, & many others Why filmmakers rate Kane the G.O.A.T.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSk7MAKiWZw Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min