A collaborative exploration of cinematic rhetoric.
As we continue our journey through the history of the western genre, Alex and Jonathan take a detour to Japan to discuss an era of chanbara (samurai) films that bridge the gap from classic westerns to spaghetti westerns. We're talking about Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Sanjuro (1962), The Sword of Doom (1966). We discuss… Continue reading Ep 150. WESTERNS 101: Westerns of the Rising Sun
One of the masters of world cinema, Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi, is the focus of today's episode as Alex and Jonathan talk through his epic trilogy The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959), The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959), and The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961), as well as his… Continue reading Episode 134. Master Masaki
For the final installment of the Silver Screen Sports series Alex and Jonathan look at three documentaries that cover a range of sports: Tokyo Olympiad (1965), Hoop Dreams (1994), and Senna (2010). We discuss three different approaches to the creation of a documentary, the difference between fictional and non-fictional representation of sports, and the appeal… Continue reading Episode 124. Silver Screen Sports: Documentary Dreams
Our Patrons voted on which of the directors we touched on in our Season 1 World Tour we should do a deep dive on and the winner was the essential Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu. We look at his films Late Spring (1949), Floating Weeds (1959), and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). We talk about the common… Continue reading Episode 116. …Ozu
As the WWII series comes to a close Alex and Jonathan take a very somber look at three documentaries looking back on the war — specifically in the areas of the Holocaust and the atomic bombing of Japan — in Night and Fog (1956), Shoah (1985), and White Light/Black Rain (2007). We discuss the different… Continue reading Episode 105. WWII: Reflection
Season 4 of the podcast is kicking off with a deep-dive into the cinema before, during, and after World War II. For the first installment Alex and Jonathan look at the propaganda of the war in Triumph of the Will (1935), Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942), and Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (1945). We talk… Continue reading Episode 101. WWII: Propaganda
A true giant of film history is our focus this week as Alex and Jonathan take on three films from different eras of the Godzilla franchise: Godzilla (1954), Godzilla vs. King Ghidora (1991), and Godzilla (2014) (with a special shoutout to Shin Godzilla (2016)). We talk about the post-war fears in the themes of the original film, the campy… Continue reading Episode 78. SERIOUS SERIES 3: Gargantuan Godzilla Generations
It's the spookiest time of the year, and this week Alex and Jonathan invite special guest Emily Geringer to discuss three hallmark horror films from Japan and Korea: Audition (1999), Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), and A Tale of Two Sisters (2003). We discuss manipulating time to build mystery and suspense, how a compelling story can transcend recycled cinematic elements,… Continue reading Episode 43. Eastern Eeriness Feat. Emily Geringer
It's back to Japan this week for Alex and Jonathan, but not for anime or Akira Kurosawa. We take a look at three other directors with Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri (1963), Yasujirô Ozu's Tokyo Story (1952), and Hirokazu Koreeda's Nobody Knows (2004). We discuss various kinds of family drama in Japanese films, the distinction between "big" and "small" movies,… Continue reading Ep 27. WORLD TOUR: Japan Juxtaposed
The Filmlings 