283. 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975) Part 2: The Real Story
Full Cast And Crew
In the second of my two-parter on Dog Day Afternoon, we get out of the fictional universe of the film and explore the real people behind the characters shown onscreen. John Wojtowicz' life proved truly stranger and more depressingly pedestrian than fiction. So much so that he preferred the fictional version of himself and performed that role for the rest of his life after being released from prison in 1978 until his death in 2006. that caught the attention of Pacino's producer and manager. A very good with John Wojtowicz from the Village Voice's Cliff Jahr. by the Dutch filmmaker Walter...
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282. 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975) Part 1: The Film
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Sidney Lumet's 1975 masterpiece of naturalistic filmmaking is many things: a bank robbery procedural, a time capsule of 1970's NYC political and economic movements, a groundbreaking cinematic portrayal of a leading gay character, and maybe the most Brooklyn film of all time. In Episode 1 of my two-parter, I do the usual deep dive into the hows and whys of the ways in which the film still lands emotionally and experientially for viewers today. In Part 2, I'll delve into fact vs fiction, digging into the real Sonny and Sal as well as exploring some of how the real-life protagonist of the robbery...
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281. [Indistinct Chatter] 5/8
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[the week's collected thoughts] Climbing Docs I recommend: The Dark Wizard (HBO) The Summit (Prime) Meru (Prime) The White Mountain (Prime)
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280. Sacred Cows: The Star Wars Films
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In the second of my infrequently recurring series, Sacred Cows, I'm taking a look anew at Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.
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279. 'Miami Vice' (2006)
Full Cast And Crew
Wrapping up the South Beach sojurn into the world of Miami Vice (at least until the Michael B Jordan/Austin Butler film 'Miami Vice 85' comes out next year) with a revisit of Michael Mann's 2006 film. Mann started from a place of "what if we did Miami Vice for real"...real grimy drug-dealing procedurals, real violence and treachery, the real cost of undercover work. And what if we filmed it during the summer in Miami, during Hurricane Season? All that and more went into the vibes. The pleasures of those vibes are refreshingly present in the film when viewed through today's lens.
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278. [indistinct chatter] 4/24
Full Cast And Crew
Welcome to the existential wormhole that IS [indistinct chatter]...a new regular Friday drop covering topical and episodic ephemera. THIS WEEK: "Judgement" at Nuremberg indeed; you knew you didn't need or want; despite reviews will make billions; when we think about songs and musicians that we love; Benn Jordan & Rick Beato; ; the and me learning that ; Detective Hole on Netflix is pronounced 'Detective Hoo-leh' you dumb Americans; more Phil Collins-inspired wormholes; drummer's perspective mixing versus audience perspective mixing; ABACAB, Tom Sawyer, Mean Street, Rush and Van...
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277. The 'Miami Vice' Pilot Episode (1984)
Full Cast And Crew
I've long wanted to revisit some of the great episodes of the Miami Vice TV series, and to find out if it's more influential than truly "great". So I finally did, and the result is a Roland Jazz Chorus-and-pastel-linen-suit-jacket infused trip down memory and musical lane. In this episode I take a fresh look at the two-part pilot and am reminded of the surprising context of the famous 'In The Air Tonight' nighttime driving scene. The iconic John Diehl (Zito) on to challenge himself as an actor. Phil Collins on the iconic The , Then & Now The more about gated reverb.
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276. Choices Were Made: 'Nuremberg' (2025) & 'Judgement At Nuremberg' (1961)
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Two different films tackle the same subject matter with wildly divergent results. You might be surprised which one is a vibrant, shockingly modern film that ranks amongst the greatest courtroom dramas ever made.
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275. 'Pulp Fiction': Still Crazy After All These Years
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You see this watch? I hadn't seen Pulp Fiction probably since it came out in 1994, so when my family (including a teenager) wanted to watch it this weekend I wondered if it would hold up and if it would hold the attention of today's kids. Find out how it went in this episode! PLUS: plenty of alternative casting options and scene-setting for where the world of independant cinema was in 1994, a very strange and transitional year where the two most popular films were Pulp Fiction and...Forrest Gump.
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274. Sacred Cows: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
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Since I contain multitudes, have run out of ideas, and since I aspire the podcast to embody Paul Krassner's iconic satirical magazine The Realist's motto of "Irreverrance is our only sacred cow", I am debuting the first in a series of occasional episodes where I revisit those films so firmly ensconced in our collective filmgoing conscience that we can be forgiven for forgetting if they're actually, you know...any good. So let's start with one of the odder films to achieve cinematic immortality: Frank Darabont's adaptation of a Stephen King short story (not that you'd know that from the films...
info_outlineFinishing up my four-part exploration of The Exorcist, this episode considers the film's exorcism scenes, its ambiguous ending, and lasting legacy. My newfound appreciation for the towering achievement represented by this film is perhaps news only to me, but totally genuine nonetheless.