S02E11: Babylon (1980)

Shane and Matthew reach the end of season 2 with a wonderful slice-of-life Americana from James Mangold; his debut and mini-masterpiece 'Heavy' from 1995. Notes: Mangold's filmmaker tips: https://filmschoolrejects.com/filmmaking-tips-james-mangold-9c10355d5a88/ Mangold on Mackendrick: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/logan-director-james-mangold-discusses-183056098.html 9 Movies where Shelly Winters dies in the middle: http://cassavafilms.com/list-of-9/nine-movies-in-which-shelley-winters-dies-in-the-middle  

Matthew and Shane buckle up for a classic British road movie that foregoes the tropes of the genre and instead offers a mesmerising cinematic scrapbook of late 70's music, images and philosophy. Notes: Locations then and now: https://www.reelstreets.com/films/radio-on/ Film Comment review: https://www.filmcomment.com/article/vision-radio-on/ 2013 Interview with Chris Petit: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/man-on-the-outside-27967.html Further reading: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/chris-petit-radio-on-interview   https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview13   https://www.closeupfilmcentre.com/vertigo_magazine/volume-4-issue-1-autumn-winter-2008/germany-and-england-england-and-germany-proposal-for-a-film/   https://psychogeographicreview.com/film-of-the-month-march-2012-radio-on/   https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/spirit-of-the-bauhaus-in-electronic-sounds  

Shane is joined by Sam Baws for a surprisingly tender road trip across the US. Harry Dean Stanton stars as a man trying to reconcile the destructive effects of his past mistakes in Wim Wender's visually striking 'Paris, Texas' from 1984. Notes: Info on Paris Texas: https://wimwendersstiftung.de/en/film/paris-texas-en/ NY Times period review: https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/movies/paris-texas-from-wim-wenders.html Article on Wenders' Stills Photography: https://www.vogue.com/article/paris-texas-film-wim-wenders-photographs  

Shane and Matthew investigate the fishy true life tale of journalist Stephen Glass and his work for The New Republic in Billy Ray's highly recommended newsroom thriller 'Shattered Glass' from 2003. Notes: Buzz Bissinger's Vanity Fair article: https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/09/bissinger199809 The New Republic's 2014 Glass article: https://newrepublic.com/article/120145/stephen-glass-new-republic-scandal-still-haunts-his-law-career  

Matthew and Shane try to catch their breath with Lodge Kerrigan's intense portrait of a man on the precipice of a mental health collapse. Arresting, unnnerving and unforgettable. Notes: Trailer for Keane: https://youtu.be/6QhY17g8QBs Interview with Lodge Kerrigan: https://www.indiewire.com/2005/09/on-the-edge-lodge-kerrigan-talks-collapse-and-chance-in-keane-77998/ Interview with Damian Lewis: https://www.damian-lewis.com/2016/01/18/19968.php All images are copyright the original owners.

Matthew and Shane get embroiled with a reggae sound system in South London in the late seventies in Franco Rosso's blistering Babylon from 1980. Notes: Trailer for Babylon: https://youtu.be/t_xhN87G8bk Incredible archive for Babylon: https://www.uncarved.org/babylon/ Babylon locations then and now: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/babylon-franco-rosso-locations-london  

Shane is joined by Adam Lowes to discuss James Foley's 1986 classic 'At Close Range' starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken as an estranged father and son reunited to embark on a life of crime in this bloody violent, true-life thriller. Notes: Rogert Ebert's period review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/at-close-range-1986 Trailer for At Close Range: https://youtu.be/nANVblfeTH4 Madonna's video for 'Live To Tell': https://youtu.be/IzAO9A9GjgI  

The Christmas 2020 Special. Matthew and Shane find themselves on opposing sides in this wartime battle for the spirit of Christmas and the soul of man. Good will is in short supply. Notes: Fascinating article on Keith Gordon: https://longreads.com/2018/01/25/the-many-acts-of-keith-gordon/ Roger Ebert's review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-midnight-clear-1992 Mark Isham's 'My Wife With Champagne Shoulders': https://youtu.be/UDV4cVMN9HE  

Matthew and Shane go toe-to-toe on the court of cinema. Shane attempts to slam-dunk Spike Lee's 'He Got Game' as a bona-fide (but flawed) masterpiece. Matthew rebounds with a vicious counter and a couple of fouls. This one is gonna need a time out. Links: He Got Game Trailer: https://youtu.be/h4uJ6938buE Vanity Fair 20th Anniversary Article: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/he-got-game-20th-anniversary Roger Ebert's 1998 Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/he-got-game-1998

Shane and Matthew celebrate an outrageous 80's comedy classic with Zucker, Zucker & Abrahams' irresistible mad mess Top Secret (1984). Trailer for Top Secret: https://youtu.be/-DQ3URc4KiM An evening with Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams: https://youtu.be/jauruv4ZPto Swedish Bookstore Scene reversed: https://youtu.be/czuC1LWcPMc All images are copyright the original owners.