Words and Movies

Author: ccradio

  • Reel 21: Ex-Spies

    While this is a truly overstuffed episode, it’s worth it just to hear Sean connect all the dots with regard to various people’s Hollywood careers and how they relate to one another. In today’s episode we look at the lives of spies after they’re done being government employees. Our first film is 1998’s Ronin, directed…

  • Reel 20: Depression Comedies

    We’ve heard any number of film scholars suggest that the films of the Depression Era were meant to be escapist entertainment, and that’s why screwball comedies and lavish musicals really took off during that period. People were having miserable lives, and for a couple of hours they could get away from all that. 1941’s Sullivan’s…

  • Reel 19: War is Absurd

    Sean went to Boston to visit family. I went to Nashville for a podcasting conference. He and I have had a hectic couple of weeks. But we’re back and better than ever, baby, as we take on a pair of comedies that outline just how insane war can be. Our first entry is 1933’s Duck…

  • Reel 18: It’s How You Play the Game

    This episode nearly didn’t make it to you, several times. The universe may have been conspiring against us. And that’s a shame because this is one over-stuffed show. In this episode we take on 1988’s Bull Durham, written and directed by Ron Shelton. Shelton’s experience as a ballplayer shows in the minute details he presents…

  • Reel 17: Foreign Exchange, Part 4

    Sean and Claude close out their series on foreign films and their English-language remakes with this look at another Akira Kurosawa movie, Yojimbo (1961), and its English remake, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), directed by Sergio Leone. It’s pretty clear that Kurosawa has grown since 1954’s Seven Samurai, and we talk a little more about…

  • Reel 16: Foreign Exchange, Part 3

    For this episode you’re going to need a lot of popcorn, movie fans, because this is an overstuffed show where we discuss a couple of very long movies. Combined, they’re clocking in at over five hours and change. First up is the 1954 film Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa. It’s a favorite of both…

  • Reel 15: Foreign Exchange, Part 2

    Our look at non-English language films and their English counterparts continues. First up is our review of the film Infernal Affairs (2002), co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Then we turn our attention to its American cousin, The Departed, the 2006 film directed by Martin Scorsese. In this case the films aren’t clones of…

  • Short Subject: an outtake from Reel 14

    Hi there: This is an outtake from our past episode that I (Claude) had to cut because the episode was running so long. But it was just amusing enough that I thought you’d find it fun. The only sad part is that you don’t get to see Sean’s face, looking for a way to respond…

  • Reel 14: Foreign Exchange, Part 1

    As we noted last week, we’re accelerating the rate of episode releases for a couple of weeks to make up for the lengthy gap in our recent output. This week is the first of a series of films in which we look at both the foreign original version and compare it to the American English…

  • Reel 13: Love, Maybe

    PROGRAMMING NOTE: Your podcatcher may have downloaded an episode with an audio problem in the second half of the show. If this is the case, you’ll need to delete and re-download the episode to hear it correctly. Apologies for the goof, and thanks for understanding. So, where have we been? Actually, it’s Claude’s fault that…