Film School Ira Heinichen, Joshua McClenney
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- 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!
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Saboteur (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #28)
Must I remind you that *you* are the fugitive from justice and not I?
It's The 39 Steps: Part 2! Hitchcock returns to what is clearly a favorite premise: an innocent man on the run from a criminal conspiracy with the fate of the country at stake. This time, we're in American, and there's a real-world war going on. So...how does it shake out? Does Alfred raise the bar from his first go-round? What has he learned since the last time he did this story? We watch and discuss! -
Remembering Greatness, Forgetting the Rest (Cutting Room Floor #204)
400 episodes! Wild. This week, we're tackling the question of bad vs good vs great from the angle of seeking out new books, TV, and Film. It can be a hard road! Most stuff out there isn't great...so, how does one keep going, keep up the enthusiasm? We discuss what's worked for us.
Also, Josh recommends Robodoc, which is currently on Tubi, and Ira recommends The Terror on AMC+ (and Blu-Ray/DVD). -
Suspicion (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #27)
There was something strange about Johnny Asgarth...
We're back to the realm of suspense, paranoia, and murder. Or...is it? That's the question Joan Fontaine must answer when she marries the charming but mysterious Cary Grant: IS he trying to kill her? A return to form, perhaps, after Hitchcock's last jaunt through screwball comedy, and it's the first hook up between Hitch and Grant, doubly interesting because Grant--up to this point--was mostly known for comedy. So, how do they do? We watch and discuss. -
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+.