Film Generations

On the heels of last episode’s Double Indemnity (1944), Film Generations examines the 1981 film noir Body Heat, an update of the genre for the then youthful baby boom generation. This was the directorial debut of writer/director Lawrence Kasdan, an unknown who leapt into prominence when he co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back (now Star Wars V) and Raiders of the Lost Ark in the same year. 

Among Body Heat’s era-appropriate updates to film noir are explicit sexuality, a liberated femme fatale and buckets of body sweat, all in living color. This approach turned heads in in 1981 but does it get a rise from a young generation in 2026?

Find out as our panel reveals all, only on Film Generations.

 

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists:  Guy Lewis, Olive Goldberg & Sonia Howell

An ElectraCast Production

 

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Heat

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082089/

Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1002830-body_heat

Roger Ebert: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-body-heat-1981
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Double Indemnity, as much as any other movie, invented the film noir genre and is possibly the most imitated, spoofed and remade classic of all time. Yet, on re-watching it, we as hosts were  truly surprised: Double Indemnity defies expectations, and as much as being a template for the Film Noir genre it helped birth, it is also a template for the singularly witty and cynical voice of the great Billy Wilder.

Wilder’s record-breaking writer/director career defied genre expectations with satiric comedies, ground-breaking dramas and films like The Apartment that walk a tightrope between the two. With Double Indemnity, he took a lurid news story about a homicidal wife and, with screenwriter Raymond Chandler, turned it into a taboo-crossing tale of sex and betrayal that spotlights darkest Los Angeles while casting shade on modern American life.

Do these qualities pierce through eight decades of parody, imitation and meme? To judge by our young panel’s responses, the answer is both yes and no. Hear for yourself if and how this 20th century classic survives 21st century perception.

 

Hosts: Mark Netter, David Tausik

Panelists: Guy Lewis, Olive Goldberg, Sonia Howell, Brennan Guntang

An ElectraCast Production

 

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Indemnity

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/

Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/double_indemnity

Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKrrAa2o9Eg
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh off his surprise hit M*A*S*H, Robert Altman headed out to the snowy Northwest with stars Warren Beatty and Julie Christie to make this quirky anti-western whose reputation grew along with Altman’s career.  Our young panel was divided on this one, from the 1971 depiction of sex workers to the to the hyper-realist flourishes that have informed yet remain at odds with American filmmaking in 2026.

So does McCabe & Mrs. Miller stand the test of time as a classic of its era? Tune in and find out how this Vietnam-era reimagining of the American frontier plays for a new generation.

 

Hosts: Mark Netter, David Tausik

Panelists: Guy Lewis, Sonia Howell

An ElectraCast Production

 

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCabe_%26_Mrs._Miller

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067411/

The Criterion Collection: https://www.criterion.com/films/28712-mccabe-mrs-miller

Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-mccabe-and-mrs-miller-1971
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frequently named by filmmakers and critics as one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir’s classic tale of French soldiers in a World War I German POW camp and their daring escape is now almost 90 years old. Its importance to film history is certain — but is it still fun to watch? 

While much of Grand Illusion is unique, especially its bittersweet farewell to the pre-WWI European aristocratic order, it has directly influenced countless movies, including The Great Escape and The Shawshank Redemption, does it offer any surprises or unexpected delights to a new generation?

Get set for an impassioned discussion across generations where one thing becomes clear: this film’s preoccupations are immensely relevant to our world today.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik 

Panelists:  Guy Lewis, Kylee LaRue, Cohlie Brocato

An ElectraCast Production

Trailer: https://youtu.be/vcO8rEjoG0c

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Grande_Illusion

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028950/reference/

97% on Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/la_grande_illusion

Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-grand-illusion-1937

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1976 All the President’s Men was released to an audience eagerly awaiting Hollywood’s take on the story of the decade: the Washington Post investigation that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. The all-star team of producer Robert Redford, screenwriter William Goldman and director Alan Pakula had the task of adapting a highly complicated best-seller by reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein into a movie, but could rely on the fact that contemporary audiences knew the story well.

With the help of The Godfather cinematographer Gordon Willis and a superb cast, they succeeded in creating a film worthy of the hype. But does it hit with a new generation of viewers whose understanding of Watergate may be understandably murky at best? Can a film this topical still pack a punch almost 50 years after its release?

Find out as our panel of young film lovers contends with the revolutionary changes in journalism, politics, and the media that have occurred since 1976 — and ask whether a pair of intrepid reporters could topple a corrupt President today.

Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik 

Panelists:  Guy Lewis, Jake Flowers, Anika Mathur

An ElectraCast Production

 Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2958664729/?playlistId=tt0074119&ref_=tt_ov_pr_ov_vi

 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_President%27s_Men_(film)

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074119/

MetaCritic: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/all-the-presidents-men/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices