Classic Movie Musts

In this episode we discuss Spike Lee's masterpiece, Do the Right Thing (1989), starring Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, and John Turturro. Do the Right Thing is currently #96 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. Timestamps: Opening Credits 1:47 Feature Presentation: 6:26 Buzz from the Backlot: 21:58 Ending Credits: 24:18

In this episode we dance our way through Rouben Mamoulian's innovative early musical, Love Me Tonight (1932), starring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, and Myrna Loy.  Tune-in to hear why this musical was so ahead of it's time, and represented a capstone to Paramount Studio's classical musical cycle. Timestamps: Opening Credits: 1:47 Feature Presentation: 4:19 Buzz from the Backlot: 21:22 End Credits: 25:43

In this episode we welcome back Ted Walch to discuss Peter Bogdanovich's coming of age drama, The Last Picture Show (1971), starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybil Shepherd, Ben Johnson, and Cloris Leachman. Timestamps: 1:37 Opening Credits 6:08 Feature Presentation 1:07:22 Final Segment

In this episode we breakdown one of Stanley Kubrick's early films, the noir influenced heist caper, The Killing (1956).  Starring Sterling Hayden and a great ensemble of supporters, this film represents an early experiment in non-linear storytelling, and is an all-time great heist film.

In this episode, we discuss sound design and editing in Bob Fosse's iconic musical, All That Jazz (1979), starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, and Ann Reinking.

In this episode, Max welcomes Raquel Stecher from Out of the Past blog and Quelle Movies blog to discuss Robert Wise's noir boxing drama, The Set-Up (1949).  Starring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter, this hybrid noir boxing drama is both compelling in its own right, as well as an inspiration for many Hollywood classics.

In this episode, we discuss a film suggested and selected by our Patreon community, Gilda (1946), directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.  Join us we breakdown the constant sexual tension in this film noir musical romance.

In this episode, we discuss Otto Preminger's courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Murder (1959), starring James Stewart, Lee Remick, and George C. Scott.  Join us as we examine the combination of objectivity and ambiguity that makes Preminger's film so gripping.

In this episode, we discuss Roman Polanski's horror film, Rosemary's Baby (1968), starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon.  We examine how Polanski transforms such a mundane world into a deeply disturbing reality.

In this episode, Max welcomes back Ted Walch to tackle the Orson Welles masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941).  Starring Orson Welles himself, this film combines and layers cinematic technique with such deliberate sophistication that it is clearly one of the most important films of all-time. Citizen Kane is currently #1 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.

In this episode we welcome Myke Emal from the CineMusts Podcast to help breakdown the historical context and artistic excellence of The Manchurian Candidate (1962).  Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury, this is a timeless political thriller, filled with paranoia and deception.  

In this episode we discuss Howard Hawks's Red River (1948), starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, and dissect the evolution of the male persona in postwar America, as well as a subverting of western genre myths.

In this episode we discuss Billy Wilder's infamous, Sunset Boulevard (1950), starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, and breakdown Wilder's scathing criticism of Hollywood.   Sunset Boulevard is currently #12 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.