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Listen along as two amateur film buffs make their way through the vast Criterion Collection one title at a time, all from the comfort of the couch.
Episodes
Sunday Aug 27, 2017
Sunday Aug 27, 2017
In episode #7 we discuss Terrence Malick's first full-length film: Badlands. Kit, a captivating loner from "the wrong side of town" falls in love with Holly before beginning a murderous crime wave. Based on the real life story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. Starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek.
SHOWNOTES
Badlands - Criterion Collection
Directed by Terrence Malick who has several other films in the Criterion Collection including
Days of Heaven (1978)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The New World (2005)
Malick’s The Tree of Life starring Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt is NOT in the Criterion Collection
Martin Sheen stars as Kit
Sissy Spacek stars as Holly
Sissy also starred in The Help (2011) along with Allison Janney who appeared as C.J. Cregg on The West Wing with Martin Sheen
Badlands was based on the real life story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate
The movie Natural Born Killers also depicted the sensationalism surrounding a pair of serial killers
Kit (Martin Sheen) has a heavy resemblance to James Dean
The plastic trash bag was invented in 1950
Warren Oates played the role of Holly’s father
Warren also starred as Sergeant Hulka in Stripes with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and John Candy
Another great example of a memorably narrated movie is The Shawshank Redemption
Martin Sheen dancing in Badlands sort of resembles The Bluths doing their best impressions of a chicken
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is another movie that follows two outlaws on the run from the authorities
Gassenhauer by Carl Orff was also used in Finding Forrester and Monster (starring Charlize Theron)
Kit and Holly dance in the dark to A Blossom Fell by Nat King Cole
The Sheen’s have a strong family resemblance
Martin Sheen was 32 during the filming of Badlands
Platoon featured Martin Sheen’s son Charlie Sheen aged 21
Apocalypse Now featured Martin Sheen aged 36
Martin Sheen’s other son Emilio Estevez starred in The Mighty Ducks at age 29 and The Breakfast Club at age 22
Saturday Aug 05, 2017
Saturday Aug 05, 2017
In episode #6 we discuss Wes Anderson's comedic drama The Royal Tenenbaums. With a star studded cast, this detailed world delves in the dysfunctional lives of the Tenenbaum family. Starring Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Danny Glover.
SHOWNOTES
The Royal Tenenbaums - Criterion Collection
The Apple Cube
Wes Anderson movies:
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Wilson brothers
Andrew Wilson (who appeared in Whip It with Ellen Page)
Narrated by Alec Baldwin
A compilation of Wes Anderson slow motion shots
Eric Chase Anderson (brother of Wes Anderson)
Some of Eric Anderson’s drawings
Bill Murray plays Margo’s husband
Stars as Bob Harris in Lost in Translation
Stars as Peter Venkman in Ghosbusters
Anjelica Huston plays Etheline Tenenbaum
Danny Glover plays Henry Sherman, Etheline’s love interest
Futura Bold is the font of choice in this movie.
Also used exclusively by Field Notes
Music from The Royal Tenenbaums Soundtrack
Hey Jude - The Mutato Muzika Orchestra
111 Archer Avenue - Mark Mothersbaugh (Royal Tenenbaum Theme)
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Paul Simon
Christmas Time is Here - The Vince Guaraldi Trio
These Days - Nico (Not to be confused with Neko Case)
Gymnoépdie No. 1 by Éric Satie
Goodbye Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones
Baz Luhrmann also has very stylized films
FilmStruck - One of the easiest ways to stream Criterion movies online
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
In episode #5 we discuss one of Alfred Hitchcock's first major films: The Man Who Knew Too Much. On vacation in Switzerland, Bob and Jill Lawrence get caught up in a secretive world of spies and assassins. With time running out, they must follow a cold trail to save their daughter and prevent a world war. Starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.
SHOWNOTES
The Man Who Knew Too Much - Criterion Collection
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation
The character’s name is Bob Lawrence, not Bill
Chekhov’s Gun (not to be confused with Pavel Chekhov)
The Jazz Singer (first film with sound, a talkie)
National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration commercial
Glasses without earpieces are known as Pince-nez glasses
Remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much (starring Jimmy Stewart)
THX 1138 starring Robert Duvall
Wipe Transition intentionally used in Star Wars and Raiders of The Lost Ark
Leverage (S03E04) - The Scheherazade Job
Rear Window and Psycho are not Criterion Collection
The Woody Allen movie Shadows and Fog (starring John Cusack)
Also stars the Julie Kavner who does Marge Simpson’s voice (and who is Not in Sleepless in Seattle)
Saturday Jul 08, 2017
Saturday Jul 08, 2017
In episode #4 we discuss the comedic dystopia "Brazil" from director Terry Gilliam. Sam Lowry, an average employee at the Ministry of Information, gets caught up in a quest to solve a bureaucratic mistake while simultaneously searching for the literal woman of his dreams. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro and Kim Greist.
SHOWNOTES
Terry Gilliam directed Brazil (as well as Twelve Monkeys starring Bruce Willis)
Back to The Future Part I (directed by Robert Zemeckis) did not show a dystopian future
Back to The Future Part II did show a dystopian future
The Ministry of Information in Brazil should not be confused with the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter
Monty Python - Dead Parrot sketch
Gilliam has referred to Brazil, Time Bandits, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as his Imagination Trilogy
Blade Runner (starring Harrison Ford) was based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The Hudsucker Proxy - starring Paul Newman, Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Sucker Punch - starring Emily Browning also featured a battle with a giant samurai
Clue starring Tim Curry (which was also released in 1985) featured a young Jane Wiedlin as a singing telegram girl
Chris Tucker’s character (Ruby Rhod) in The Fifth Element (which also starred Iam Holm and Bruce Willis and was directed by Luc Besson) had a similar outfit as Katherine Helmond (Mrs. Ida Lowry) in Brazil.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote Cat’s Cradle, another ironic look at a dystopian future
George Orwell’s 1984 popularized the phrase Big Brother in reference to surveillance
The Hunger Games starring Jennifer Lawrence made dystopian futures popular again
While Jonathan Pryce (Sam Lowry) is known for his work in the Pirate’s of The Caribbean and Game of Thrones series, his most memorable role (per Adam) was as media mogul Elliot Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies
In order, the Pierce Brosnan / James Bond movies were:
1995 - GoldenEye (which also became a classic Nintendo 64 game) featuring Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp
1997 - Tomorrow Never Dies featuring Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin
1999 - The World is Not Enough featuring Denise Richards as Christmas Jones
2002 - Die Another Die featuring Halle Berry as Jinx Johnson
Terry Gilliam screened the entirety of Brazil for a film class at the University of Southern California
Robert De Niro played Harry Tuttle the “Heating Engineer”
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith starred in Bad Boys
Michael Palin (Jack) was a regular in Monty Python
Other regulars from Monty Python such as John Cleese, Terry Jones and the late Graham Chapman (who died in 1989) were not in Brazil
Peter Vaughan (Mr. Helpman) also played Uncle Alfie in Death at A Funeral and Master Aemon in Game of Thrones
American Psycho featured Christian Bale as lovable serial killer Patrick Bateman
The weird monsters in Sam’s dreams looked like skeksis from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal
The scene where Sam unmasks the samurai seemed similar to the unmasking of Darth Vader in the swamp in Empire Strikes Back
Ian Holm (Mr. Kurtzmann) is well known for his roles as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of The Ringsand Sir William Gull in From Hell
The music in Brazil was scored by Michael Kamen who also scored the Lethal Weapon movies (with Eric Clapton) as well as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (which featured the song Everything I Do, I Do It for You by Bryan Adams
The mythology of Oedipus
The mythology of Icarus
Sam Lowry’s face looked suspiciously similar to Ziggy Stardust
Sunday Jun 18, 2017
Sunday Jun 18, 2017
In episode #3 we discuss the romantic dark comedy drama "Harold and Maude." A young man, fascinated with death, meets a venerable woman who teaches him what life is really about. Starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort.
SHOWNOTES
- While this movie (and episode) deals with the topic of suicide in a humorous manner, if you or someone you know is struggling with suicide please visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call 1-800-273-8255
- Harold and Maude - Criterion Collection
- Not to be confused with Maude starring Bea Arthur
- Cat Stevens composed and performed the soundtrack including the two hits If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out and Miles from Nowhere
- The 4 non-Cat Stevens songs:
- Velveeta cheese commercial - Velveeta Melts Better Than Cheddar
- The Jaguar driven by Harold was a 1965 Jaguar XK-E; the hearse was a 1959 Cadillac Superior 3-way
- Jay Leno’s incredible car collection
- Nathan Hale was the first American Spy to be captured and executed
- A&E’s Turn: Washington's Spies is a war drama NOT a documentary
- We can all agree that black licorice is disgusting
- The police officer was played by Tom Skerritt who also starred as Viper in Top Gun
- Bud Cort (Harold) appeared as Pvt. Lorenzo Boone in the movie MASH
- Suicide Is Painless (written by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman) was the theme to both the movie and TV series M*A*S*H
- The Omen was NOT a prequel to Harold and Maude (however writer Colin Higgins did imagine a prequel called Grover and Maude)
- Music and Films:
- Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead scored the music for There Will Be Blood and The Master
- Trent Reznor collaborated with fellow NIN member Atticus Ross for the soundtracks of The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(2011), and Gone Girl
- Sondre Lerche composed the majority of the music for Dan in Real Life(starring Steve Carell)
- Carly Simon is credited with the soundtrack to Working Girl (starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith, and Joan Cusack) including the theme song “Let the River Run”
- John Williams composed and conducted the music for Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The soundtrack to Real Genius (starring Val Kilmer) featured multiple artists including Don Henley, Bryan Adams, and Tears for Fears
- Arthur B. Rubinstein scored the music for WarGames starring Matthew Broderick
- Melancholia (written and directed by Lars von Trier) heavily features the prelude to Tristan und Isolde by German composer Richard Wagner
- Mychael Danna and the band DeVotchKa wrote the score for Little Miss Sunshine, however the soundtrack also featured the songs No Man’s Land and Chicago by Sufjan Stevens (who is NOT related to Cat Stevens)
- Butterflies Are Free starring Goldie Hawn is another fantastic 1970s dramedy
Friday Jun 02, 2017
Friday Jun 02, 2017
In episode #2 we discuss Lawrence Kasdan's classic "The Big Chill." The death of one of their own reunites seven former college friends for a weekend of memories, music, sorrow and love. Starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt and Kevin Kline.
SHOWNOTES
The Big Chill - Criterion Collection
The Big Chill - Soundtrack on vinyl
More Songs from The Big Chill on vinyl
Joy to The World by Three Dog Night
Saginaw, Michigan (NOT an island)
I Heard it Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye
Life As A House - starring Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen
You Can’t Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones
Simpsons episode #132 “Bart Sells his Soul” where Bart tricks the church organist into playing In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly
When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge
Jeff Goldblum starred in both The Fly and Jurassic Park (sans glasses)
Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Rutledge Fellowship at the University of Michigan
The Raiders March - theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Death at a Funeral - starring Matthew Macfadyen
Lawless Heart - starring Bill Nighy
This is Where I Leave You - starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey
Almost Famous - starring Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson
Dreyer’s Ice Cream is REAL!
High Waisted Men’s Pants by Historical Emporium
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
In our inaugural episode we discuss Sidney Lumet's classic drama 12 Angry Men where high stakes lead to high tensions and a sole dissenter fights to save an accused man.
SHOWNOTES
12 Angry Men - The Criterion Collection
12 Angry Men - 1997 Remake starring Jack Lemmon.
Juror 8 - Henry Fonda
Juror 5 - Jack Klugman starred in both The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E.
Juror 7 - Jack Warden starred in The Replacements
12 Angry Men was originally broadcast as a Teleplay in 1954
Nine ways to get out of Jury Duty - Business Insider
The first modern electrical air conditioner was invented in 1902 but did not become common in U.S. homes until the 1960s
A brief history of capital punishment in New York City
Juror 3 - Lee J. Cobb
Juror 9 - Joseph Sweeney
The Greatest Generation refers to those who grew up during the Great Depression and fought and served during WWII and the war effort
The style of speech used by actors in older movies is called the Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic accent
Transformers - directed by Michael Bay
Taxi Driver and The Departed - directed by Martin Scorsese
If a juror becomes incapacitated during a trial, an alternate juror will take his/her place on the jury
Runaway Jury - starring John Cusack
Jury Duty - starring Pauly Shore
Juror 6 - Edward Binns
Juror 1 (The Foreman) - Martin Balsam
Jim’s poor decision to wear a tie with a polo shirt
Giant brand bakery cookies, the unofficial cookie of Criterion On The Couch
Juror 12 - Robert Webber
In 1957 the Civil Rights Act gave women the right to serve on federal juries, but they were not able to serve on state level juries in all fifty states until 1973
Juror 11 - George Voskovec
The Marvel Symphonic Universe by Every Frame a Painting
Juror 2 - John Fiedler
Sidney Lumet IMDB page