Film School Ira Heinichen, Joshua McClenney
-
- TV & Film
A filmmaker and a writer tackle the AFI's Top 100 Films and beyond to educate themselves about movies and storytelling. Welcome to Film School!
-
-
Commanding Intelligence (Cutting Room Floor #203)
Can you fall in love, deeply in love love, with somebody you know isn't as smart as you are? We're not talking about pets, or kids, inanimate objects, or even sexual attraction. We're talking about grown-up, head over heels, enduring, inspiring LOVE. Can you? Interesting, huh? You can't, can you? Stories are the same way. All the best stories open our minds, expand our worlds, and command our intelligence. So...how do you do that?
Also, Josh again recommends South Park currently available on Prime, and Ira recommends the aughts' Battlestar Galactica. -
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #26)
If you had it all to do over again, would you have married me?
Hitch takes on married life in its screwball form! These comedies were very popular at the time (see: Grant and Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby), so it's not surprising that our British Director, fresh in Hollywood, would take on such a project. Given his hit and (mostly) miss track record with comedy, how does this effort shake out? We dive in and discuss! -
The Wrong Direction (Cutting Room Floor #202)
How do you know when you've gone in the wrong direction? What are the signs? And when you realize that you have, what do you do? Josh and Ira share their own personal insights on this question, covering the spectrum of a chronic over-planner to leaping-before-looking impulsiveness.
Also, Josh recommends South Park currently available on Prime, and Ira recommends Constellation on Apple TV+. -
Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #25)
There's a crime hatching on that bedeviled continent...
World War II is in full swing when this movie releases. Or, at least it is in Europe. London is being bombed, and Hitchcock can't help but feel, well, helpless. And guilty for not being there. This film, more than any he's made to this point, truly reflects the time in which it was made: an American reporter is sent overseas to report on the brewing political situation and becomes embroiled in an assassination plot. We discuss! -
The Elements of a Great Film (Cutting Room Floor #201)
What makes a good movie? What are the things that stand out? We all have our own personal versions of the answer to this question. Josh and Ira each answer for themselves without getting into the weeds as much as possible.
Also, Josh recommends Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, and Ira recommends Tarkovsky's Stalker on Max.