It's Del Toro Time!

Ollie and I delve into the post-surrealistic world of Second Wave Luis Buñel with 1950’s “Los Olvidados!” Along the way, we learn to pronounce Buñuel, get a lesson in Surrealism and debate the pros and cons of a relentlessly bleak narrative. It’s fun! https://ia903107.us.archive.org/35/items/DelToroOlvidados/DelToro-Olvidados.mp3

This week, we’re back with more Preston Sturges! Only, instead of taking a hard look at America and wealth and art, we’re taking a hard look at trying-to-kill-your-wife! Yes, it’s 1948’s “Unfaithfully Yours” where Rex Harrison really overreacts to a couple of lines in a detective’s report and plots to kill his maybe-not-actually-cheating wife and … Continue reading "038 – Unfaithfully Yours!"

This week, Phil is taking a quick peek at Jean Vigo’s 1934 masterpiece, “L’Atalante.” It was his greatest film. It was his lastest film. Read Guillermo del Toro’s original tweet here. https://ia802809.us.archive.org/33/items/DelToroLatalante/DelToro-Latalante.mp3

We are back with MOAR DICKENS! This time, it’s the literally ill-advised “Oliver Twist” from 1948. David Lean was told not to make this movie, but he did and oh boy here it is! It has a lot of problems with some sticky antisemitism issues, but it’s also a brilliantly made film in a lot … Continue reading "037 – Oliver Twist!"

In this Twittersode, Phil chats about James Whale’s “The Old Dark House” from 1932! It’s a hilarious creep-fest with that James Whale touch. It’s got murder, mystery, monsters, madness and much more! Del Toro’s original Tweet is here. https://ia903109.us.archive.org/22/items/OldHouse/Old%20House.mp3

One of these days we’ll get back to spooky scary movies with monsters and ghouls, I promise! Until then, however, we’re looking at David Lean’s cinematic classic “Great Expectations” from 1946. Del Toro himself said that Lean’s Dickens adaptations “skate[d] the line between poetry and horror.” It’s a beautiful film and really the only question … Continue reading "036 – Great Expectations!"

This Twittersode, Phil takes a look at the classic Laurel and Hardy short “The Music Box” from 1932! It’s short; it’s funny; it’s got a long staircase. What more do you want? Del Toro’s original Tweet is here. https://ia903100.us.archive.org/20/items/DelToroMusicBox/DelToro%20-%20MusicBox.mp3

This Twittersode, I look at “La Chienne” from 1931. It’s not fun, but it’s really really good. Guillermo del Toro’s original Tweet is here. https://ia803109.us.archive.org/29/items/DelToroLaChienne/DelToro%20-%20LaChienne.mp3

Ollie and I are delighted to be covering “Dragonwyck” from 1946! It’s got everything: creepy mansion, damsel in distress, brooding lord, mysterious ghosts – wait. Haven’t we done this one before? Nnnnnnnno? No. It’s “Dragonwyck!” https://ia803107.us.archive.org/2/items/DelToroDragonwyck/DelToro-Dragonwyck.mp3

In this teeny-tiny Twittersode, I look at Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights!” Did it influence Guillermo del Toro? Uhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe? https://ia601005.us.archive.org/27/items/DelToroCityLights/DelToro-CityLights.mp3

This week, Ollie and I cover the beautiful and ethereal “La Belle et la Bête” from 1946. Jean Cocteau’s fairy tale masterpiece has captivated audiences for generations. Will it captivate us? Yes. I’ll just go ahead and say that, yes, it does. https://ia800105.us.archive.org/2/items/DelToro034BelleBete/DelToro%20-%20034%20BelleBete.mp3

Ollie and I do a hot wash recap of the movies we’ve explored so far in The Ecstasy of Influence! https://ia903107.us.archive.org/14/items/DelToro033HotWash/DelToro-%20033%20Hot%20Wash.mp3

Slotting in nicely bertween “Greed” and “Frankenstein” it’s Buster Keaton’s “The General!” It’s also only me talking about it! It’s also only 15-minutes long! Here is the link to Guillermo del Toro’s twitter film recommendations https://ia801000.us.archive.org/29/items/DelToroMini01/DelToro-Mini01.mp3

That a ghost! Ollie and I are back with the Ecstasy of Influence to talk about 1944’s “The Uninvited!” We’re also getting increasingly frustrated at movies about women in which the women the movie is about have no voice but are assumed to be bad and also maybe lesbians and also young women are given … Continue reading "032 – The Uninvited!"

Are you ready to WALK? I said ARE YOU READY TO WALK?! Well then let’s walk. With a zombie. Ollie and I are back with more Ecstasy of Influence and yet ANOTHER retelling of the Jane Eyre . . . myth? Is it a myth at this point? Because it sure seems like Hollywood was … Continue reading "032 – I Walked With a Zombie!"

We’re back with our third (and final?) Hitchcock film (Ollie: Good) 1943’s “Shadow of a Doubt!” Even though we’ve actually enjoyed each and every one of Hitch’s films, we’re ready to move on, away from the theme of “naïve young woman gets taken in by a seemingly malevolent older man.” In “Shadow of a Doubt” … Continue reading "031 – Shadow Of A Doubt!"

Orson Welles! John Houseman! Aldous Huxley! Joan Fontaine! Uncredited Elizabeth Taylor! It’s a cavalcade of disparate talents as Ollie and I watch Robert Stevenson’s “Jane Eyre” from 1943! This rounds out our “Funtaine!” trilogy and ends on a bang. What have we learned? Don’t date creepy guys with secrets. Seems like a good lesson, really. … Continue reading "030 – Jane Eyre!"

The Hitch is BACK, BABY! We’ve got another Hitchcock film and it brings back our favorite Joan Fontaine! In “Rebecca” Fontaine played a mousy young woman, swept away by a charming, if sinister, good looking man into a world where she began to feel like her life might be on the line. In “Suspicion” . … Continue reading "029 – Suspicion!"

Ollie is NOT convinced that they will like “Sullivan’s Travels” BUT . . . well, maybe they do? It’s always hard to tell with teens. https://ia800109.us.archive.org/9/items/DelToro028Sullivan/DelToro-%20028%20Sullivan.mp3

Ollie doesn’t care about the Oscars, so this one is really short. https://ia800108.us.archive.org/18/items/DelToroOscarNoms/DelToro-OscarNoms.mp3