Episode Sixteen - 2013 Review

2013 has been a massive year for Masters of Cinema. The releases have come thick and fast with a host of classics and unknown gems thrown in for good measure. It would be only fitting therefore the Masters of Cinema Cast take a look back over the year and have a good natter about the highs and lows with special guests James Marsh and Craig Skinner.

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Episode Fifteen - Time Masters

Rene Laloux returns to The Masters of Cinema Cast with special guest Ryan Gallagher from The Criterion Cast in tow.

Time Masters isn't the kind of animated film that is easily forgotten - in an age when Pixar seems intent on simply mining its own franchises for lesser sequels Laloux's film is a timely reminder and indeed message from the past of the importance of daring and innovation.

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Episode Fourteen - The Murderer Lives at Number 21

Sometimes described as the French Hitchcock, Henri-Georges Clouzot is a director who criminally small filmography  would perhaps he could have been something altogether greater. Made during the bleak years of World War Two The Murderer Lives at Number 21 is a minor marvel of a film given the fact it was made at all.

In this episode Farran Nehme joins The Masters of Cinema Cast to share her thoughts on the intriguing film.

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Episode Thirteen - Onibaba

Kaneto Shindo is no stranger to The Masters of Cinema collection and one the joys in recent years has been seeing his works born again on Blu Ray. Onibaba is a rare type of film; critics have argued over its particular genre for years and unlike many Japanese period pieces Onibaba features strong female characters and with visual imagery directly influenced by the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki it has stood the test of time as one of the most unique films of its era.

For this discussion Joakim is joined by journalist James Marsh.

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Episode Twelve - House

How many times do you watch a film and know exactly what is going to happen in the end? With cinema comes conventions, form and to an extent predictably. Nobuhiko Obayashi's House is one of those rare films in which it take you along for the ride; it can legitimately be called unique, daring and brave but this mean it is actually any good?

In this episode we are joined by Rudie Obias, co-host of the Auteurs Cast and all round film blogging powerhouse to discuss what makes House worth your time.

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Episode Eleven - Sunrise

Often considered one of the greatest films ever made; FW Muranu's Sunrise is a film that seems to unite critics and audiences alike in universal praise and acclaim. Made toward the end of the silent era Sunrise was Muranu's first American film and having given complete control over production by studio Fox he crafts a film of such technical grandeur it easily ranks amongst the Avatars of film history as one of the most ambitous films ever produced.

In this episode we are joined by Sam Inglis from 24 Frames Per Second to delve into why we love Sunrise so much.

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Episode Ten - Harakiri

The Samurai film is a sub genre of cinema that once bitten is almost impossible guaranteed to spark and interest that will never leave you. With so much films made in the 40s, 50s and 60s there can be a tendency for them to blur into one with the iconography of swords, windswept landscapes and extremely stern looking men glaring into the camera.

Masaki Kobayashi Harakiri is one of the exceptions. A stylistic tour de force form the beginning it Kobayashi didn't set out to make just another genre film for the masses; Harakiri is one for the ages and in this episode we are joined by Craig Skinner from Bleeding Cool for an in depth look at the film and why region coding is stupid.

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Episode Nine - Salesman

The importance of documentary cinema is sometimes lost a great majority of those who follow cinema yet the fact remains its influence of contemporary culture cannot be downplayed. Documentary film and television has in the past helped freed wrongfully convicted men, launch careers, destroy careers, save lives and end lives.

So it may seem a little underwhelming that on first appearances Salesman turns its eye to a group of down and out middle age men flogging Bibles to people who simply can't afford them. Yet Salesman is far from your average film; it made conventions and broke them and in this episode we take a look at why this film matters.

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Episode Eight - Lifeboat

Propaganda films can be a mix bag often ranging from the sublime to the quite frankly awful. Alfred Hitchcock; according to some the greatest director of all time, also joined the fray with his 1944 film Lifeboat.

It may not be one Hitchcocks most famous film but is certainly one of his most interesting. In this episode Joakim and I dig into this slice of wartime fun, and no we don't think he is the greatest director of all time....

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Episode Seven - Touch of Evil

One question I am often asked about podcasting is why do it? There's no financial reward to speak off and in fact in most cases it actually ends up costing you. The answer is of course its for the sheer love of doing and when Joakim invited the truly great West Anthony from the Auteurs Cast on to talk about the Orson Welles masterpiece Touch of Evil the sheer joy podcasting took over and it was only hunger that could stop us from talking.

To date this is our longest episode and special mention needs to go out to Joakim for a truly class job in getting this one ready.

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Episode Six - Floating Weeds

We return with a look at Yasujiro Ozu's 1959 film Floating Weeds and in order to help us navigate our way through we have once again enlisted some help. David Blakeslee joins us from hugely popular Criterion Cast, Eclipse Viewer and of course author of his very own (and one of our favorite sites) Criterion Reflections Blog to discuss and share his learned thoughts on this intriguing film.

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Episode Five - Fantastic Planet

Its not often you can say 'I have never seen anything like that before' come the end of a given film. 's Fantastic Planet might just be one of those films however; in age where directors can literally do and put anything on screen achieving the desired 'wow' factor has become an increasingly rare thing. Laloux didn't have 3D or CGI at his disposal in 1971; just some extremely talent cartoon artists a seriously funky score and some extremeley crazy ideas and still manages to leave jaws on the floor.

It maybe easy to dismiss Fantastic Planet as some post Hippy movement nonsense complete with psychedelic imagery barely concealable political allegories and although it maybe very much a product of its time it remains a compelling and indeed visionary odity.

In this episode we dig into why this film maybe of interest and try not to lose ourselves down the rabbit hole by thinking too much about it....

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Episode Four - Two-Lane Blacktop

Monte Hellman's 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop is rare film. Judging by appearances it is a typical road movie, fast cars, cool guys, pretty girls and endless roads yet Easy Rider this is not. Its two main characters have no names other than The Driver and The Mechanic - they barely say a word and when they do its just about cars anyway. For light relief we have Warren Oates in the kind of role that only Warren Oates could play but for those wanting something a little more deeper or indeed a little more...well anything then Two-Lane Blacktop maybe something of a slog.

It simply refuses to act like a film should. The main plot is not that gripping, you don't really get to know the characters in any great depth and its doesn't even have a score to tap you foot too. But sometimes cinema is about those moments of silence between characters, that reflective look out the window and where that story you have seen many times before should be is something altogether different.

In this episode Joakim and Tom and joined by Hunter Duesing from the Midnight Movie Cowboys Podcast to discuss this cult oddity as well as go on a fair number of tangents. Enjoy.

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Episode Three - M.

A colleague of mine recently asked about 'that film that used to be on with Peter Lore'. I instantly replied 'M'; it wasn't some smug retort to show how film literate I was it, was because of the simple fact M is not shown on television anymore. Why? Well I dare say the answer may have something to do with the fact that despite being made in 1931 it is as shocking today as it was upon its original release. Indeed, M is one of the rare films to never lose its relevancy, to never cease asking the type of questions that society chooses to ignore.

Fritz Lang didn't just make a film about a serial killer and a police investigation designed to thrill audiences, he made a film that probed areas of psychology and the world we live that wasn't just native to the films country Germany; but one that transcends national boundaries and more worryingly time.

In this episode we delve into M share our thoughts on what makes it such an important addition to the Masters of Cinema collection.

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Episode Two - Mad Detective

The Hong Kong film industry is one of the marvels of cinema. How such a small place can often put out more films than most countries over the course of a given year is not only impressive; it is also maddening. I say maddening because more often than not a great deal of these films never make it it out of the tiny cultural enclave in which they are born.

Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai's 2007 Mad Detective was one of the few that landed on western shores having been a hit upon its domestic release. In a collection that so often thought of as being about the past Masters of Cinema often shines a light on more contemporary offerings with Mad Detective being one.

It is a fairly simple story, a cop loses his gun and there maybe some corruption in the force. Sounds fairly familiar doesn't it? Well, that is until you watch the film and realise Mad Detective like its title suggests is a little more left field than you might think.

In this episode Joakim and Tom try and get to grips with a film that like its lead character is slightly more hardwork than your average cop thriller.

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Episode One - Punishment Park

Peter Watkins is arguably one of the most underrated and under appreciated filmmakers of all time. His documentary approach to fictional filmmaking is both unique and challenging in a way many modern audiences may have become unaccustomed too.

Watkins career never saw him become a mainstream director, his one studio production 1967’s Privilege was not a commercial success although it did not stop Watkins from making several more films.

In this first episode of the Masters of Cinema Cast Joakim and I will be discussing the Blu Ray re-release of his 1971 film Punishment Park.

It is a film that could hardly be described as easy going wearing its political heart well and truly on its sleeve. It is possibly the most angry of Watkins films too, the 60’s had come and gone and the cultural and sociological revolution many had anticipated had failed to materialise. Vietnam was still raging and even the Apollo moon landings were now barley making the news.

Yet Punishment Park is not merely a relic of its time. Even today it is still frightening pertinent and in the wake of the War on Terror and the blurring of the lines of morality remains as powerful now as it was on its release.

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A few things before we begin.

Welcome to The Masters of Cinema Cast. Before we begin with the shows here is a few things about the show.

The idea behind this new podcast venture was to shine a light on the excellent releases of Masters of Cinema. For those of you who don't know Masters of Cinema are a UK based distributor of contemporary and classic cinema; much like Criterion, Masters of Cinema release titles that in many cases would not see the light of day were it not for them.

Distributors such as Criterion and Masters of Cinema deserve to be celebrated which is exactly what Joakim and I intend to do with this new podcast. Much like the excellent Criterion Cast each episode of The Masters of Cinema Cast will pick a release and review the film as well as taking a look at what special features the release has along with news and rumors.

This blog space is very much a holding page with a more detailed and functional site to come soon. In the meantime enjoy the show and please let us know your thoughts.

Tom and Joakim.