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SXE12: THE FINALE

Enter The Void

Release Date: 07/10/2019

SXE12: THE FINALE

Enter The Void

SXE11: BLUE VELVET

Enter The Void

For our final regular episode of the podcast (yep, the whole thing) we finally come to one of the essential films of the mindfuck movie discussion, David Lynch's breakthrough as a popular artist, 1986's BLUE VELVET. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, and of course Dennis Hopper, it was highly controversial upon release, and soon became the favorite film of academics and critical theorists—not to mention the late David Foster Wallace—and today stands as a film classic. But how challenging is it 33 years later? What are we to make of the multi-layered symbolism, the...

SXE10: GROUNDHOG DAY

Enter The Void

Our pick for this episode is not your usual, bog standard time travel psychological horror... but then again, maybe it is? Today we are doing GROUNDHOG DAY, the 1993 romantic comedy directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. A sleeper of a mindfuck, Groundhog Day warmed hearts and tickled funny bones when it debuted early in the Clinton era, but by the 21st century it had come to be recognized for its theological significance—and then YouTube got hold of it, and the rest is history. Today, we discuss: whether it's a proper mindfuck; how long Phil actually spends in...

SXE9: PERFECT BLUE & PAPRIKA

Enter The Void

So this episode was supposed to be just about PERFECT BLUE, Satoshi Kon's 1997 animated psychological thriller. But we couldn't stop at just one! So Renan and Bill went ahead and watched PAPRIKA, his 2006 science-fiction opus too, which also sadly would be his last feature film. Today, your hosts talk about the life and career of Satoshi Kon, his incredible imagination and mastery of technique, and how both films examine themes of dual identities. Also discussed: Perfect Blue on the internet and celebrity culture; Paprika on dreams and filmmaking; how Darren Aronofsky borrowed well and...

SXE8: THE FILMS OF LUIS BUÑUEL

Enter The Void

How have we got this far without discussing anything by the original film surrealist, Luis Buñuel? Well, today we rectify the situation and discuss not one but four films from the Spanish exile / expatriate moviemaking legend. In this episode, your hosts examine the previously promised UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1929), THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL (1962), and THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972), plus one of his more accessible films, BELLE DE JOUR (1967) with Catherine Deneuve. Among the topics for discussion: Buñuel's peripatetic life and unpopular politics, his roles in both the Surrealist and...

SXE7: FIGHT CLUB

Enter The Void

At long last we get around to a movie that was on our mind when we started this podcast: FIGHT CLUB, the 1999 David Fincher film starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter, based on the 1996 Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name. If you don't like politics with your movies, then today's show isn't for you, because Fight Club was born in controversy, released to Boomer acrimony, and then, once it attained cult status, attracted the unwanted—but not altogether surprising—approval of some of the most loathsome ideologues of the 21st century. Today, Bill and Renan take...

SXE6: MINDF**K TELEVISION

Enter The Void

This episode is a little different: rather than taking on a single film or even the work of one director, the scope in this extra-long bonus episode is the greatest mindfucks across more than 50 years of TV history. In three separate segments, Bill and Renan each make their "Mount Rushmore" picks for the greatest television series, single episodes and standout moments in mindfuck TV. Shows discussed in this episode include: Twin Peaks, Black Mirror, LOST, The Leftovers, The X-Files, The Prisoner, The Good Place, Wild Palms, Russian Doll, Dark, The Sopranos, Star Trek, The Twilight...

SXE5: THE FLY

Enter The Void

In today's episode, Bill and Renan return to the work of David Cronenberg—a director twice before discussed on this podcast—to consider the 1986 film many believe to be his masterpiece: THE FLY, starring Jeff Goldblum as a scientist who accidentally fuses his genes with a common housefly, and Geena Davis as the woman who loves him. So: is it actually Cronenberg's best film? Is this movie about aging, disease, and AIDS specifically? Or is it a cautionary tale about science and the nuclear age? What does this movie want us to make of Stathis Borans? Do we think The...

SXE4: BEING JOHN MALKOVICH

Enter The Void

In the waning months of the 20th century, a remarkable little film from a pair of unknown filmmakers arrived in US cinemas, and it became a bona fide sensation. That was BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999), written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and of course, John Malkovich. It was a formative film experience for your hosts, and twenty years later Bill and Renan revisit it for you today. Among the topics discussed: the film's reception at the time and how it looks now that the novelty has worn off; was 1999 the greatest year in...

SXE3: INCEPTION

Enter The Void

How has this show never done a Christopher Nolan film before? Today your hosts rectify that and discuss his 2010 film INCEPTION, a $800 million-grossing summer blockbuster with no pre-established IP, unless being the next film by the guy who made The Dark Knight somehow counts. In this episode, Renan and Bill discuss: whether this and other Nolan features are truly mindfucks or mere puzzle films; whether they work on a second time viewing; how Nolan uses time, editing, and music to achieve his ends; defending Nolan from the haters on film Twitter; whether it's OK for the dialogue to be pretty...

More Episodes

Believe it or not, we have arrived at the 100th and longest and final episode of ENTER THE VOID. On today's episode, your hosts Bill and Renan sit down together in person to reminisce about how they originally came up with the idea for this podcast, how they launched their earlier show KubrickCast, and even how they met in the first place. Next, they revisit their definition of a mindfuck movie for the last time, and then name their mindfuck "Mt. Rushmore" for both the greatest films covered on the series and their favorites... and a few of their least favorites. Plus, what are some films this show would cover if there was a season X+1? Which episodes were the most popular? They also take listener questions, addressing what kind of mindfuck movie they might make, what was the first mindfuck film, and could there still be a book in the future? You'll just have to listen! Finally, a massive thanks to all of Enter the Void's listeners and guest hosts and friends who helped to make this show far more popular than we could have ever imagined.

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