And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
O’Bannon isn’t a household name, but his contributions to the Alien franchise and zombie lore alone make him as influential as anyone you are likely to find working in genre films. But then, the Academy isn’t fond of genre films, so why should they be fond of Dan O’Bannon?
So in this episode James and I tackle five of his films as our own way of honoring a man who has made movie watching just so damn enjoyable for us over the years. You may not know who he is, but you’ll be hard pressed to avoid his influences in modern film. He was an incredible talent, and film making is a lesser medium with his loss, and a whole lot less fun. But hopefully you’ll take the time to try out some of his films and finally see just what you’ve been missing.
House of the Devil is a bit of a favorite around the site, so much so that James and I devoted one of our few Spoiler Alert podcasts (Download Here) to it, and it is with great pleasure and excitement that I discovered a few days ago that it would be released today on DVD. And not just DVD but Blu-ray as well. And while I’m not a fan of Blu-ray I have to admit the film should look fabulous in that format.
But in a rather shocking twist, I also found out that House of the Devil can also be purchased on VHS! Oh that’s right, for just a few dollars more you can have your very own VHS copy of this film along with your DVD copy. And unlike Blu-ray I am a huge fan of VHS and this kind of release is sheer brilliance considering the style and tone of the film. Kudos to whomever came up with the idea, you’ve totally sold me.
And now, just when I thought VHS was dead and buried I now have a reason to dust off the old head cleaner and fire up the VHS player. Scha-weet!
And we’re back! James and I sit down as we attempt to maintain a robust and brisk pace of one episode of High and Low (Brow) each month. Rather than stick to the standard numbering of episodes numerically we’ve decided to go to a seasonal format to hopefully confuse everyone even further. Thankfully, that’s not the only possible change we might have in store for you.
In this episode James and I watch and review two films that are based on legends or fairy tales, those being the 1940 fantasy epic The Thief of Bagdad and the 1972 film The Pied Piper. The first is a multiple Academy Award winner while the second has people in funny hats. Well, more than just funny hats, but you really need to see those things to truly believe them.
Besides the main review we read some viewer mail, plug my recent appearance on the Movie Club Podcast and discuss the possibility of James and I devoting an upcoming podcast to a director who’s films that we both enjoy. Will it become a regular feature? Who knows but it certainly is being considered. Rounding out the show we have our selection process for the next episode and this marks a return to our standard format as I once again pick the theme and films for James to choose from.
If you have any recommendations for films we could watch for the podcast, or want to suggest a potential theme for us to use, feel free to email us and tell us your ideas. If you enjoy the show make sure to subscribe through iTunes or our RSS feed so you can catch every new episode. Also, please friend James on Facebook. Because it will frighten and confuse him.
One more thing, if you enjoy the show feel free to donate to it through PayPal in either a single installment or as a recurring donor. We’d love to upgrade some of our equipment and anything you donate will go directly towards us getting some decent mics and perhaps even pop screens that aren’t made out of cotton balls.
Make your way over to the site where you can listen to us discuss whether or not Griffin Dunne is an asshole or just a guy who wants to get home, as well as if the director’s cut of The Warrior’s ruins the film, or that Jay is an idiot for thinking a 1979 film should look like a 1950’s comic rather than a 1986 comic.
In an effort to help promote the group venture that is The Movie Club Podcast as well as keep all discussion on the films over on that site, I’ve locked comments on this post and ask you swing on bye The Movie Club Podcast and download a few episodes and hear what you’ve been missing. And make sure to vote in the poll for the next film to be featured on the podcast.
James and I sit down to record our final podcast of the year, this time covering the newest James Cameron phenomenon, Avatar. But not just that, we also cover our year end lists for High and Low (Brow) giving our top 5 favorites (Highs) and our 5 worst (Lows) that we watched this year. For those of you who haven’t had enough lists, James and I also give our top 5 moments for the year as well.
And as if that isn’t enough, somewhere around the one hour mark things get totally weird when we abandon any and all formats and free form for what seems like an hour, probably because it is. Is it a good idea? Not really, but at least you get to hear about how James wishes he was Mark Hamill. Hope you enjoy this oddly overlong edition. Feel free to email us with questions, comments and complaints about this episode, from the cold open to the year end format.
And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
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