Which classic films still work for audiences today? On Film Generations, two guys born in the middle of 20th Century movie culture select a classic film to shar...
On the heels of Annie Hall, which catapulted Woody Allen from the role of a beloved thinking-man’s clown to the highest echelons of cinema, the writer/director/star made Interiors, an excellent film which nonetheless baffled even his most ardent fans. He came back to comedy with 1979’s Manhattan, the beginning of a string of 35 films in 35 years, all written and directed by Allen, and all pushing beyond the slapstick sight gags that originally made him a star.
Embroiled in a scandal since 1992, Woody Allen has increasingly found himself canceled despite being the most honored screenwriter of all time and possessing an unparalleled track record among writer/directors of quality and productivity. Our young film lovers never knew a time when Allen’s career wasn’t synonymous with scandal. How does that color their reaction to this 46-year-old critical and commercial hit, which aims dead center at the Allen controversy due to its storyline centering around the then 42-year-old star’s relationship with a 17-year-old high school student?
You won’t want to miss the young panel’s reaction to this film, a perfect bellwether of profound cultural changes since the 1970s.
Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik
Panelists: Guy Lewis, Kylee LaRue & Steven Renteria
An ElectraCast Production
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEoEGW4Hb9w
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_(1979_film)
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079522/
Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-manhattan-1979
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1:01:45
208. Vagabond (1985)
Agnès Varda’s docufiction about a troubled – and troubling – young homeless woman roaming the French countryside was singular when released in 1985, but it anticipated a slew of 21st century films depicting women marginalized by their rejection of traditional roles. The film does not, however, cater to contemporary political morality. She is neither a hero nor a villain, nor are the people who try to help or exploit her.
Is this unjudgmental approach simply un-Hollywood, or is it in some way old fashioned, a relic of a less fully politicized time? How will our young panelists understand this portrayal of a disempowered victim that refuses to valorize her victimhood?
Listeners unfamiliar with the stellar career of Agnès Varda, perhaps the greatest female director to date, shouldn’t miss this chance to discover this extraordinary film.
An ElectraCast Production.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagabond_(1985_film)
Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac-OohOehOw
Winner 1985 Golden Lion, Honorary Oscar, 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
Winner 1986 Césars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress
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46:40
207. Fight Club (1999)
In 1999, David Fincher’s Fight Club opened to bad reviews and disappointing box office. 25 years later, it widely considered one of the best, most entertaining films of the last quarter century, a perennial 800-pound gorilla in the world of internet chat. It solidified the reputation of David Fincher, an auteur who (like many) has put his work ahead of any efforts to promote his image as an artist.
Younger viewers often came to this film early in life, perhaps too early to understand its sarcasm and humanistic ideology, but they know far better than boomers do how relevant it is to today’s culture. It is, among other things, a Rorschach test that appeals to and excites people across all IQs, political persuasions, and personal identities.
Listen in as young and old grapple with one of the final classics of the 20th century.
An ElectraCast Production.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight Club_(film)
Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdJKm16Co6M
Currently imdb’s 12th best movie of all time
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1:00:16
206. Out of the Past (1947)
In 1947 RKO studios made a surprise classic with OUT OF THE PAST, directed by journeyman Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer near the start of their careers. For film noir fans, this movie’s reputation has never stopped growing since. Combining snappy dialogue, a double-crossing femme fatale and an unusual flashback structure, this sexy and suspenseful movie heats up fast and never takes its foot off the gas.
But does this film still burn as hot for young audiences, with actors they may have never heard of and a censorship code that, no matter how far the filmmakers pushed it, leaves a lot more to the imagination than we’re used to today?
Find out on this episode of Film Generations.
An ElectraCast Production.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Past
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039689/
BFI / Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time (#157): https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time
Roger Ebert “Great Movies” Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-out-of-the-past-1947
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57:54
205. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Horror films do not typically win Academy Awards but Ruth Gordon won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the Upper West Side NYC witch-next-door in the terrifying thriller that defined lead actress Mia Farrow’s career, Rosemary’s Baby. Based on the best-selling novel by Ira Levin and cementing the legendary status of director Roman Polanski, this movie was a huge box office hit and generated endless articles debating its feminist message, in one of the most chilling gaslighting stories of all time.
Since its release we’ve seen the horror genre grow increasingly bloody, gruesome and explicit. So while Rosemary’s Baby focuses on the psychological body-horror of something evil growing inside of an expectant mother, does it still have the same impact on today’s audience that it had over half a century ago.
Find out what if our panel of young film-lovers got those same chills from this horror classic.
An ElectraCast Production.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary's_Baby_(film)
• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063522/ (#9 Top Horror Film of All Time)
• The Guardian: The 25 best horror films of all time (#2)
• American Film Institute 100 Most Thrilling American Films (#9)
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Which classic films still work for audiences today? On Film Generations, two guys born in the middle of 20th Century movie culture select a classic film to share with a panel of young film lovers — and see how it plays for today's generation.
Along the way we discuss the making of each film, the state of the world when it was made, its reception by critics and public when originally released, and how its reputation has grown over the years. Discussions cover changes in representation, storytelling styles and the world itself since each film came out. At the end of every episode each panelist rates the movie and reveals whether they would recommend it to a friend.
Join us on Film Generations as we explore the greatest classic movies through the eyes of film lovers young and old.
An ElectraCast Production.
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