Episode 025: Die Hard 2 (1990, Renny Harlin)

For Christmas Eve, John McClane’s advice
Is to steer clear of the snow and ice,
Come to think of it,
How can the same shit,
Happen to the same guy twice?

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Bruce Willis: The Unauthorised Biography – John Parker (1997, Virgin Books)
  • The Last Action Heroes – Nick De Simlyen (2023, Crown)

Episode 024: The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick)

The Torrance clan will become tighter,
Though what Wendy sees will fright her,
Checking up on Jack,
A slow walk back,
At what she finds on his typewriter.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Stanley Kubrick: A Biography – John Baxter (1997, HarperCollins)
  • It Don’t Worry Me: Nashville, Jaws, Star Wars And Beyond – Ryan Gilbey (2003, Faber And Faber)
  • Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker – David Mikics (2020, Yale University Press)
  • Stanley Kubrick, Director: A Visual Analysis – Alexander Walker, Sybil Taylor, Ulrich Ruchti (1999, W.W. Norton & Company)
  • Kubrick – Robert P. Kolker, Nathan Abrams (2024, Faber & Faber)
  • The Joker’s Wild: The Biography Of Jack Nicholson – John Parker (1991, Anaya Publishers)
  • Jack’s Life: A Biography Of Jack Nicholson – Patrick McGilligan (1994, W.W. Norton & Company)
  • Stephen King: A Complete Exploration Of His Work, Life And Influences – Bev Vincent (2022, Epic Ink)
  • Shine On: The Forgotten Shining Location (2024, Paul King)
  • Making ‘The Shining’ (1980, Vivian Kubrick)
  • Lee Unkrich Presents The Shining (2023, Lee Unkrich)
  • Barry Lyndon: The Full Story Of The Famous F/0.7 Lenses – Neil Osman

Episode 023: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971, Robert Altman)

McCabe’s arrival opens doors,
As he checks out the local stores,
Miller arrives,
And changes their lives,
The one thing this town needs is whores.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • It Don’t Worry Me: Nashville, Jaws, Star Wars And Beyond – Ryan Gilbey (2003, Faber & Faber)
  • 1971: 100 Films From Cinema’s Greatest Year – Robert Sellers (2023, The History Press)
  • Robert Altman: Hollywood Survivor – Daniel O’Brien (1995, B.T. Batsford Ltd.)
  • Warren Beatty: A Private Man – Suzanne Finstad (2005, Harmony Books)
  • Robert Altman: Jumping Off The Cliff – Patrick McGilligan (1989, St. Martin’s Press)

Episode 022: Psycho (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)

Over Norman mother has power,
His love for Marion will flower,
There’s quite a smell,
Behind the motel,
After she stepped in the shower.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Alfred Hitchcock: A Life In Darkness & Light – Patrick McGilligan (2003, Wiley)
  • The Moment Of Psycho – David Thomson (2009, Basic Books)
  • Hitchcock – François Truffaut (1984, Simon & Schuster)
  • Necrophiles – Katherine Ramsland (web article)
  • Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho – Stephen Rebello (1990, St. Martin’s Griffin)
  • The Camera Lies: Acting For Hitchcock – Dan Callahan (2020, Oxford University Press) 
  • There Really Was A Hollywood: An Autobiography – Janet Leigh (1984, Doubleday & Company)

Episode 021: All About Eve (1950, Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

Relationships will become muddy,
In Eve, Margo’s found a new buddy,
Up there on stage,
You can’t hide your age,
So never trust your understudy.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Competing With Idiots: Herman And Joe Mankiewicz, A Dual Portrait – Nick Davis (2021, Borzoi)
  • The Brothers Mankiewicz – Sydney Ladensohn Stern (2019, The University Press Of Mississippi)

Episode 020: Total Recall (1990, Paul Verhoeven)

We have left Earth to visit the stars,
It’s the future so robots drive cars,
Up there in cities,
Girls with three titties,
Don’t think twice, get your ass to Mars.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Counterfeit Worlds: The Cinematic Universes Of Philip K. Dick – Brian J. Robb (2006, Titan)
  • Total Recall – Arnold Schwarzenegger with Peter Petre (2012, Simon & Schuster)
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger: Conversations – Fiaz Rafiq (2011, HNL Publishing)
  • True Myths: The Life And Times Of Arnold Schwarzenegger – Nigel Andrews (1995, Bloomsbury)
  • The Last Action Heroes – Nick De Simlyen (2023, Crown)

Episode 019: Friday The 13th (1980, Sean S. Cunningham)

The plans to reopen were exhumed,
It must be safe now they all assumed,
A little boy drowned,
At an old campground,
As Crazy Ralph said, they’re all doomed.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

Episode 018: Vanishing Point (1971, Richard C. Sarafian)

Frisco in three days is his goal,
But too many uppers take their toll,
He’ll do it in four,
With his foot to the floor,
Cheered on by DJ Super Soul.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

Episode 017: The Apartment (1960, Billy Wilder)

Of his bosses Baxter should beware,
As his apartment doesn’t compare,
He’ll lend out his place,
So he can save face,
For a seedy evening affair.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • On Sunset Boulevard: The Life And Times Of Billy Wilder – Ed Sikov (1998, Hyperion)
  • Double Solitaire: The Films Of Charles Brackett And Billy Wilder – Donald Brackett (2024, Applause)
  • Billy Wilder: Dancing On The Edge – Joseph McBride (2021, Scorpio Books)
  • Billy And Me: Why I Love The Apartment– Cameron Crowe (1999, The Guardian)
  • American Prince: My Autobiography – Tony Curtis (2008, Harmony Books)
  • Nobody’s Perfect: Billy Wilder – A Personal Biography – Charlotte Chandler (2002, Simon & Schuster)

Episode 016: Rashomon (1950, Akira Kurosawa)

Sometimes facts can be a bit flaky,
Who killed who is all a big maybe,
The truth will out,
Leaving no doubt,
Ending with Three Men and a Baby.

*

500 FILMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRE CINEMA is a new podcast taking a spoiler-filled behind-the-scenes look at movies from the 1950s to the 1990s. Season one is now available. Come along on the journey!

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/500-films-a-journey-through-genre-cinema/id1809685360

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0n3RHHUyqkLMC4IXbMzV1o?si=J-9aKeoJSimHQfHwCcHOXg

*

Further Reading

  • Akira Kurosawa: Interviews – Bert Cardullo (2008, University Press Of Mississippi)
  • Kurosawa’s Rashomon – Paul Anderer (2016, Pegasus)