#471: Body By Cronenberg, Pt. 2 — The Shrouds The Next Picture Show podcast

1:03:36

The new THUNDERBOLTS* assembles some leftovers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe who are tough to describe as superheroes but nonetheless step up to save the day when their city needs them, which reminded us of MYSTERY MEN and its negligibly powered not-so-superteam. A flop in 1999, the comedy is as chaotic and sloppy as its titular (with an asterisk) group, but that imperfect charm is arguably central to the cult appreciation it’s attained since. So this week we’re taking a closer look at MYSTERY MEN’s small-time wannabe crime-fighters to determine how they fit into the bigger picture of modern superhero cinema. Then in Feedback, we keep the SINNERS conversation going with the help of some prompts from our listeners. Please share your thoughts about MYSTERY MEN, THUNDERBOLTS*, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00:00-00:07:56 Mystery Men Keynote: 00:07:57-00:15:51 Mystery Men Discussion: 00:15:52-00:45:35 Feedback/outro: 00:45:36-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#473: The Dead of Night, Pt. 2 — Sinners 1:16:52

9 days ago1:16:52

1:16:52

Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:03 Sinners Discussion: 00:02:04-00:28:46 Connections: 00:28:47-1:02:37 Your Next Picture Show, next pairing, and goodbyes: 1:02-38-end Director Ryan Coogler has been generous in sharing his many points of inspiration for SINNERS, including the other film in this pairing, but his exceptional new feature is refreshingly singular in both vision and execution. It makes for an admittedly lopsided comparison with FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, but also an illuminating one: examining Coogler’s vision through the lens of the 1996 Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino teamup sheds light on the added depth SINNERS brings to its own vampire mythology, criminal-brother protagonists, and mid-film genre shift. And in Your Next Picture Show, we briefly imagine the conversation we could have had if we’d instead paired SINNERS with the Coen brothers’ O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Please share your thoughts about FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, SINNERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Jake Schreier's THUNDERBOLTS and Kinka Usher’s MYSTERY MEN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#472: The Dead of Night, Pt. 1 — From Dusk Till Dawn 1:08:19

16 days ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Comparing 1996's FROM DUSK TILL DAWN to the new SINNERS can feel a bit like, as Scott puts it, comparing “Chopsticks” to Beethoven’s Fifth. But Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s sleazy vampire flick was clearly on Ryan Coogler’s mind when crafting his own film about a pair of brothers who spend one fateful night defending a nightclub from an invading horde of the undead. Coogler’s film also has much more on its mind beyond that pulpy premise, which we’ll get into next week, but for now we’re digging as deep as we can into the shallow pleasures and frustrating shortcomings of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, from the awkward but arguably endearing performances from George Clooney and Tarantino as fugitive brothers, to the moments that test the limits of Rodriguez’s run-and-gun filmmaking approach — and yes, of course we have to talk about the foot stuff, too. Then in Feedback, we respond to a couple of listeners pushing back on some of our Cronenbergian categorization in the last pairing. Please share your thoughts about FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, SINNERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00:00-00:06:57 From Dusk Till Dawn Keynote: 00:06:57-00:11:55 From Dusk Till Dawn Discussion: 00:11:56-00:54:04 Feedback/outro: 00:54:04-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#471: Body By Cronenberg, Pt. 2 — The Shrouds 1:13:16

23 days ago1:13:16

1:13:16

Over the decades, David Cronenberg has carved a distinctive and provocative filmography out of his interest in human decay and death, up to and including his new THE SHROUDS, a late-career entry in the writer-director’s body-horror canon. It’s a film that left some of us confounded in a way that our returning guest, critic Charles Bramesco, might argue is part of its Cronenbergian appeal; but placing it next to THE FLY in Connections clarifies how much it’s simply an evolution of the same pet themes Cronenberg has been circling since 1986 (and earlier), from overlapping obsessions with the mutability of bodies and technology, to the horror and guilt of watching a loved one deteriorate before our very eyes. And in Your Next Picture Show, we’re inspired to talk over another recent, highly personal project from an elder-statesman auteur that received a mixed reception, and which we never got to cover on the show: Francis Ford Coppola’s MEGALOPOLIS. Please share your thoughts about THE FLY, THE SHROUDS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS and Robert Rodriguez’s FROM DUSK TIL DAWN Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:00 The Shrouds discussion: 00:02:04-00:26:23 The Shrouds/The Fly Connections: 00:26:24-00:59:16 Your Next Picture Show: 00:59:17-01:03:15 Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:03:16-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#470: Body By Cronenberg, Pt. 1 — The Fly (1986) 1:00:41

4 weeks ago1:00:41

1:00:41

The way David Cronenberg’s new THE SHROUDS splices together unsettling ideas about technology and bodily transformation made us think of… well, a lot of his filmography, but the film’s visceral interest in how the human body decays feels directly connected to the director’s unlikeliest hit, his remake of THE FLY. We’re joined this week by critic and our nascent “gross and scary” correspondent Charles Bramesco to teleport back to 1986 and examine what lies beneath the rotting flesh of THE FLY, from its tender central relationship to its oozing physical effects to its Howard Shore score, that makes it a distinctly Cronenbergian grossout. Then in Feedback, a listener uses our recent discussion of THE THIN MAN to broach a bigger question about what we value most in our mystery stories. Please share your thoughts about THE FLY, THE SHROUDS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00:00-00:03:38 The Fly Keynote: 00:03:39-00:08:18 The Fly Discussion: 00:08:19-00:44:11 Feedback/outro: 00:44:12-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#469: Mr. and Mrs. Mystery, Pt. 2 — Black Bag 1:12:51

5 weeks ago1:12:51

1:12:51

BLACK BAG, Steven Soderbergh’s latest 90-minute collaboration with writer David Koepp, is in theory a sprawling international spy thriller, but in practice it’s a more intimate study of how a marriage can thrive in an environment where trusting your spouse is considered a weakness. This week we talk about how that genre disconnect works for and against BLACK BAG, before bringing in this pairing’s companion film, 1934’s THE THIN MAN, to compare how Nick and Nora Charles’s bantering, crime-solving partnership compares to the cooler, less boozy charms of Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender’s married spies. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we reach back to one of this podcast’s very first episodes to cannibalize a recommendation for a film that we’ve already covered on the show, but was too clear an inspiration on BLACK BAG to ignore. (And really, is there ever a bad time to recommend WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?) Please share your thoughts about THE THIN MAN, BLACK BAG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next pairing: David Cronenberg’s THE SHROUDS and THE FLY Chapters: Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:04 Black Bag discussion: 00:02:04-00:29:03 Black Bag/The Thin Man Connections: 00:29:03-00:58:35 Your Next Picture Show: 00:58:35-01:04:50 Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:104:50-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#468: Mr. and Mrs. Mystery, Pt. 1 — The Thin Man 1:09:13

6 weeks ago1:09:13

1:09:13

Steven Soderbergh’s new BLACK BAG is a spy thriller, sure, but it’s also the story of a marriage, and watching its sophisticated central couple banter their way through a sprawling mystery, it’s hard not to be reminded of one of cinema’s most enduring and endearing crime-solving couples, Nick and Nora Charles. So this week we’re going back to their film debut, 1934’s THE THIN MAN, to see how W.S. Van Dyke’s (barely) pre-Code crime caper balances the effervescent charm of its hard-drinking stars against the plot mechanics of a murder mystery, and whether any of the film’s many supporting players ever manage to steal the spotlight from Nick, Nora, and their disobedient dog Asta. Then in Feedback, a listener writes in with a notable omission from our recent discussion of STARSHIP TROOPERS. Please share your thoughts about THE THIN MAN, BLACK BAG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Chapters: Intro/favorite movie dinner scenes: 00:00:00-00:08:44 The Thin Man Keynote: 00:08:45-00:15:43 The Thin Man Discussion: 00:15:44-00:56:44 Feedback/outro: 00:56:45-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#467: Kill 'Em All, Pt. 2 — Mickey 17 1:21:21

7 weeks ago1:21:21

1:21:21

Bong Joon Ho’s new MICKEY 17 takes a lot of big swings, from star Robert Pattinson’s vocal affectation to a comedic fixation on “sauce,” all of it in service of big, bold, arguably blunt satire. It all makes for a somewhat messy but highly discussable film, both on its own and in conversation with Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS, another big swing of a sci-fi satire that aims to entertain as it undermines propagandistic societies where leaders rule by catchphrase, where citizenship is conditional, and where working-class lives are expendable. We dive into all of that, plus space bugs that may not actually be bugs, then offer a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for another MICKEY 17 pairing contender, Duncan Jones’ MOON. Please share your thoughts about STARSHIP TROOPERS, MICKEY 17, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next pairing: Steven Soderbergh’s BLACK BAG and W.S. Van Dyke’s THE THIN MAN Chapters: Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:55 Mickey 17 discussion: 00:01:56-00:31:19 Mickey 17/Starship Troopers Connections: 00:31:20-1:07:03 Your Next Picture Show: 1:07:04-1:12:50 Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:12:51-1:16:11 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#466: Kill 'Em All, Pt. 1 — Starship Troopers 1:02:54

8 weeks ago1:02:54

1:02:54

This week’s pairing is brought to you by: space bugs! Specifically, space bugs as a metaphor for a fascistic society’s disregard for any perceived-to-be-lower life form, human or otherwise. Inspired by the clear satire of Bong Joon Ho’s new MICKEY 17, we’re revisiting Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS, whose satirical intent was less clear to some audiences when it hit theaters in 1997. Today, while we’re on the same page as far as what Verhoeven was going for with his propagandistic display of military might, opinions still differ among our panel as to how well he pulled it off. We get into that disagreement, as well as the surprisingly enduring effects and the improbability of a film like this being made in Hollywood today. Then in Feedback, a listener inspired by a recent pairing shares their reaction to a first-time viewing of THE KILLING FIELDS. Please share your thoughts about STARSHIP TROOPERS, MICKEY 17, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro/space threats discussion: 00:00:00-00:06:02 Starship Troopers Keynote: 00:06:03-00:11:41 Starship Trooper Discussion: 00: 11:42-00:52:46 Feedback/outro: 00:52:47-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

1
#465: Late Innings, Pt. 2 — Eephus 1:14:26

9 weeks ago1:14:26

1:14:26

Carson Lund’s feature debut EEPHUS moves at the same deliberate pace as the trick pitch for which it’s named, leisurely unfolding over the course of a season-ending game between two small-town recreation leagues that’s also probably the last time many on the field will ever play. This week we’re joined again by film critic and baseball lover Tim Grierson to discuss how EEPHUS approaches that sense of finality with low-key humor and a subtle sense of nostalgia, before bringing Ron Shelton’s BULL DURHAM back on the field to compare these two films’ ideas about aging, masculinity, and America’s pastime, emphasis on the “past.” And in Your Next Picture Show we offer a recommendation for another unconventional baseball movie that offers a rarely seen perspective on the game, 2008’s SUGAR. Please share your thoughts about BULL DURHAM, EEPHUS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next pairing: Bong Joon Ho’s MICKEY 17 and Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS Chapters: Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:51 Eephus discussion: 00:01:52-00:27:37 Connections: 00:27:38-1:00:12 Your Next Picture Show: 1:00:13-1:04:25 Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:04:26-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#464: Late Innings, Pt. 1 — Bull Durham 1:04:32

10 weeks ago1:04:32

1:04:32

Quietly observing as a small-town recreation league plays out their last game of the season, and likely ever, the new EEPHUS is a feature-length subversion of “the big game,” simultaneously embracing and rejecting such baseball-movie cliches in a manner that reminded us of 1988’s BULL DURHAM. We’re joined this week by pinch-hitter Tim Grierson to discuss all the ways Ron Shelton’s classic, often cited as the best baseball movie ever, throws out the sports-movie playbook, from its multiple protagonists and rom-com structure to its acknowledgment that baseball, like life, has an expiration date. And in Feedback, a frequent contributor returns with some bonus observations from our recent pairing of PRESENCE and THE OTHERS. Intro/favorite movie sports teams: 00:00:00-00:08:51 Bull Durham Keynote: 00:08:51-00:14:55 Bull Durham Discussion: 00:14:56-00:56:14 Feedback/outro: 00:56:14-end Please share your thoughts about BULL DURHAM, EEPHUS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#463: War Bonds, Pt. 2 — No Other Land 1:01:50

11 weeks ago1:01:50

1:01:50

The story of two journalists reporting on a common cause despite their vastly different backgrounds is what gives NO OTHER LAND its narrative shape — and is what inspired us to pair it with 1984’s THE KILLING FIELDS — but the Oscar-nominated documentary is at heart a story about activism, and the weight of maintaining hope amid a generations-spanning conflict with no resolution in sight. We’re joined again this week by Slate culture writer Sam Adams to discuss how NO OTHER LAND makes the political personal, then bring THE KILLING FIELDS back in to compare these two portrayals of journalism from very different moments in journalism history, and the quandaries of privilege and guilt that accompany partnerships of unequals. Then in Your Next Picture Show we tout SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA and Jonathan Demme’s ability to spin Spalding Gray’s monologue about his bit role in THE KILLING FIELDS into a BTS feature like none other. Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:25 No Other Land discussion: 00:02:26-00:24:28 Connections: 00:24:29-00:46:00 Your Next Picture Show/Goodbyes: 00:46:01-00:56:35 Please share your thoughts about THE KILLING FIELDS, NO OTHER LAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Carson Lund’s EEPHUS and Ron Shelton’s BULL DURHAM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#462: War Bonds, Pt. 1 — The Killing Fields 54:37

12 weeks ago54:37

54:37

Intro & Oscars Chitchat: 00:00:00-00:08:52 Keynote: 00:08:53-00:13:50 The Killing Fields Discussion: 00:13:51-44:37 Feedback & Outro: 00:44:38-end Summary: The Oscar-nominated documentary NO OTHER LAND, a collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers whose common cause and eventual friendship does not change the stark contrast in their political status, brought to mind another story of two journalists from strikingly different backgrounds who bond in the midst of a geopolitical hotspot: 1984’s THE KILLING FIELDS. We’re joined this week by Slate writer and critic Sam Adams to revisit Roland Joffé’s dramatization of the relationship between New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran, the Cambodian interpreter who worked alongside him as the country fell to the Khmer Rouge, to consider how THE KILLING FIELDS plays several decades removed from a conflict that would have been recent history for contemporary audiences. And in Feedback we share a listener’s explanation for one of our lingering questions from our recent discussion of THE OTHERS. Please share your thoughts about THE KILLING FIELDS, NO OTHER LAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#461: House Haunters, Pt. 2 — Presence 1:16:20

13 weeks ago1:16:20

1:16:20

Steven Soderbergh’s new PRESENCE flips the typical haunted house narrative inside out, but unlike the other film in this pairing, THE OTHERS, it makes its point of view clear from the opening frames. But that POV doesn’t slide fully into focus until PRESENCE’s final-act reveal, which left us with some questions, both critical and metaphysical, to dig into this week. Then we bring THE OTHERS back into the conversation to discuss how these two very different takes on the haunted house — one classical, one revisionist — each makes use of confined space, complex parent-child dynamics, and ambiguity about how time functions in an eternal afterlife. Then we keep the ghost stories coming in Your Next Picture Show, with some recommendations for films with an unusual or memorable perspective on domestic hauntings. Intro: (00:00:00-00:01:58) Presence review (spoiler-free): (00:01:590-00:20:10) Presence review continued (spoilers): (00:20:11-00:27:56) Connections: (00:27:57-00:56:14) Your Next Picture Show: (00:56:15-01:06:50) Next episode preview and credits: (01:06:51-01:11:05) Please share your thoughts about THE OTHERS, PRESENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • David Lowery’s A GHOST STORY • Guillermo del Toro’s CRIMSON PEAK • Jack Clayton’s THE INNOCENTS • Sidney J. Furie’s THE ENTITY Next Pairing: NO OTHER LAND and THE KILLING FIELDS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#460: House Haunters, Pt. 1 — The Others 1:08:31

14 weeks ago1:08:31

1:08:31

Steven Soderbergh’s new PRESENCE is an unconventional haunted house story with a twist that reminded us of 2001’s THE OTHERS, though to say exactly why risks spoiling how Alejandro Amenábar performs his own twist on a comparatively traditional haunted house story. That twist forms the foundation of our discussion this week, which freely roams spoiler territory as we consider how the ending revelation shapes our understanding of THE OTHERS' perspective on religion and the afterlife, and how the film’s abundant symbolism lines up with its narrative as a ghost story. Then in Feedback, we revisit our recent “Fanged Attraction” pairing with a couple of listeners offering their own interpretations of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA and NOSFERATU. Please share your thoughts about THE OTHERS, PRESENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#459: Fanged Attraction Pt. 2 — Nosferatu (2024) 1:20:55

15 weeks ago1:20:55

1:20:55

Given their shared source material, Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU and Francis Ford Coppola’s BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA understandably have a lot overlap in terms of plot and character, but the two films are miles apart in their interpretation of that source material, particularly as applied to its titular vampire. We’re of split opinions on Eggers’ bleak, monster-forward characterization of Orlock, especially how it plays against NOSFERATU’s ideas about female desire and sexuality, but agree it provides a fascinating counterpoint to Coppola’s florid spin on the Count as a tragic romantic antihero. We examine that contrast further in Connections alongside other character parallels — the Renfields, the Van Helsings, the maidens fair — as well as how the two films’ diverging styles each reinforce their filmmaker’s take on the title character. And in place of Your Next Picture Show, we offer some impromptu reflections on the life and work of David Lynch, who died the day this episode was recorded. Please share your thoughts about BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, NOSFERATU, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Steven Soderbergh’s PRESENCE and Alejandro Amenábar’s THE OTHERS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

1
#458: Fanged Attraction, Pt. 1 — Bram Stoker's Dracula 1:03:31

16 weeks ago1:03:31

1:03:31

The heightened gothic sensibility of Robert Eggers’ new NOSFERATU recalls — in its intensity if not its precise contours — BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, Francis Ford Coppola’s feverish 1992 horror-romance that follows the same story from a markedly different perspective. This led us to reconsider Coppola’s flawed but fascinating DRACULA as a film that, even if it arguably never achieves greatness, inarguably leaves an impression. Yes, Keanu Reeves’ accent is part of that impression, but so is the film’s grandiose art design, its recasting of Dracula as a tragic romantic antihero, and its overall commitment to cinematic maximalism, for better or worse. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, NOSFERATU, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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A Brief Interruption in Service 0:37

17 weeks ago0:37

0:37

Hey Next Picture Show listeners, sorry there’s no new episode in your feed today. Real life got in the way of podcast life and prevented us from recording our next pairing in time to release it this week. But we will be back next Tuesday with part one of our double feature comparing Robert Eggers’ new Nosferatu with Frances Ford Coppola’s own take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula from 1992. If you’re playing along at home, the former is in theaters now, while Coppola’s Dracula is digitally rentable from the usual outlets, and available in an array of physical-media releases to purchase — or perhaps check out from your local library. We hope you’ll enjoy both movies, and join us next week as we sink our teeth into this pairing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#457: Our Top Films of 2024 1:07:08

18 weeks ago1:07:08

1:07:08

With the beginning of a new year comes our customary look back, as Keith, Scott, and Tasha gather once again to compare their personal lists of the best films of 2024. While there is some crossover among their picks — particularly when it comes to films that have been discussed in-depth on this podcast — there is much more variance, reflective of a movie year that was light on prestige-season heavyweights, and full of memorably idiosyncratic, personal projects that will stick with us long past year’s end. Please share your thoughts about, and your own picks for, the best movies of 2024, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU and Francis Ford Coppola’s BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#456: Long Gone, Pt. 2 — Nickel Boys 1:04:49

20 weeks ago1:04:49

1:04:49

The moments in NICKEL BOYS that nod to 1958’s THE DEFIANT ONES are less direct citations than stylized invocations by director RaMell Ross, who incorporates a number of abstractions and flourishes into the film’s visual language. Chief among those stylistic gambits is the film’s use of first-person perspective, which kicks off our discussion of NICKEL BOYS’ uniquely textured take on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning novel. From there we consider the deeper meaning and intent behind NICKEL BOYS’ use of visuals and audio from THE DEFIANT ONES, and where the two films overlap in their ideas about racial justice in the Jim Crow South and clashing philosophies of idealism and realism. Then our returning guest co-host Noel Murray offers a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for another social-issue film from the team behind THE DEFIANT ONES. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DEFIANT ONES, NICKEL BOYS, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#455: Long Gone, Pt. 1 — The Defiant Ones 1:14:12

21 weeks ago1:14:12

1:14:12

Stanley Kramer’s 1958 feature THE DEFIANT ONES, a film very much of its time, makes multiple on-screen appearances in RaMell Ross’ new NICKEL BOYS, a film about the way the past haunts the present. Both movies take place in the Jim Crow-era South and engage with that setting’s lopsided ideas about justice, but THE DEFIANT ONES does so from a much more straightforward approach, operating as both a stylish thriller about two escaped prisoners, one black (Sidney Poitier) and one white (Tony Curtis), and an earnest allegory about interracial acceptance. That latter quality makes it easy to lump in with Kramer’s other “message movies,” which are often dismissed from a modern vantage point as stodgy and sanctimonious, so we’re revisiting THE DEFIANT ONES, with an assist from critic and pal Noel Murray, to see whether it earns or defies that reputation. And in Feedback we revisit our WIZARD OF OZ discussion with a reader suggestion of another child female protagonist who rivals Dorothy when it comes to teary helplessness. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DEFIANT ONES, NICKEL BOYS, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#454: The Witch Is Back, Pt. 2 — Wicked 1:25:38

22 weeks ago1:25:38

1:25:38

The antagonist becomes the protagonist in Jon M. Chu’s WICKED, which adapts a stage musical — the first act, anyway — which adapts a novel that flipped the script on 1939’s THE WIZARD OF OZ (itself an adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel). So while there are plenty of narrative and character parallels between the two films, they often run perpendicular to each other in their respective notions of good and wicked. But the two films are certainly aligned in their aim to be big-screen spectacles of the highest order, though opinions differ among our hosts as to what degree WICKED achieves that goal in its heavily CGI-ed and halved form. Following that debate, we pit Dorothy and Elphaba against each other to see what each protagonist has to offer when it comes to fish-out-of-water pluck, character-defining“I Want” songs, and willingness to trust in that scoundrel the Wizard. And for Your Next Picture Show, Scott wheels out a recommendation for one of the weirder, but strangely enduring, cinematic visions of Oz. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WIZARD OF OZ, WICKED, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next pairing: RaMell Ross’s NICKEL BOYS and Stanley Kramer’s THE DEFIANT ONES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The Next Picture Show

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#453: The Witch Is Back, Pt. 1 — The Wizard of Oz 1:14:43

23 weeks ago1:14:43

1:14:43

The new movie musical WICKED, along with the Broadway show and novel that preceded it, is specifically out to subvert the version of the magical land of Oz that was codified in 1939’s THE WIZARD OF OZ, making it the perfect time to consider what made that film a phenomenon to be subverted in the first place. So this week we wade into the vast, varied legacy of THE WIZARD OF OZ to discuss why it overcame its initial box-office failure to become a perennial family classic; which of the film’s enduring elements feel most of their time; and how that “it was all a dream” framework contributes to the film’s appeal. And in Feedback, a listener hits us with some historical context regarding a question raised in our recent episode on THE BEST MAN. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WIZARD OF OZ, WICKED, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#452: Cinde-F***ing-Rella, Pt. 2 — Anora 1:20:52

24 weeks ago1:20:52

1:20:52

Sean Baker’s ANORA takes the fairy-tale premise of 1990’s PRETTY WOMAN as its starting point, but ends up on a very different route to a very different sort of happy ending. It’s also a best-of-the year contender for most of us, so we spend some time discussing what makes it so before bringing its romcom predecessor back in to consider how these two films about sex workers falling for their wealthy clients are in conversation when it comes to classicism and social hierarchies, conspicuous consumption, and what happens when a transactional relationship evolves into something more. And in Your Next Picture Show, we offer a pair of recommendations that illustrate the cinematic endurance of this particular premise. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PRETTY WOMAN, ANORA, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Jon M. Chu’s WICKED and Victor Fleming’s THE WIZARD OF OZ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#451: Cinde-F***ing-Rella, Pt. 1 — Pretty Woman 1:10:52

25 weeks ago1:10:52

1:10:52

Sean Baker’s new ANORA takes its initial cues from 1990’s PRETTY WOMAN, but its story of a sex worker who develops romantic feelings for a client in spite of class difference and social stigma soon peels off in a vastly different direction. So this week we’re focusing on that shared starting point to determine what makes PRETTY WOMAN both a deeply weird depiction of sex work and a resoundingly successful romcom — and no, it’s not just Julia Roberts, though it’s hard to imagine us discussing PRETTY WOMAN as a classic film today without that star-making performance. And in Feedback, a listener question about theaters' embrace of faith-based films prompts a broader discussion of how and why multiplexes are diversifying their offerings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PRETTY WOMAN, ANORA, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#450: Ballot Wounds, Pt. 2 — Conclave 1:07:09

26 weeks ago1:07:09

1:07:09

Edward Berger’s new CONCLAVE is a low-key, intimate political thriller full of unexpected reveals, but fundamentally about power, purity, belief, compromise, perception, and committee decisions. This week we share our thoughts on CONCLAVE’s insular focus and messaging around religion and politics before considering how its power brokers and kingmakers compare to those found in the 1964 presidential-candidate drama THE BEST MAN, and the two films’ overlapping ideas about whether politics demands hypocrisy. And for Your Next Picture Show, we offer a recommendation for THE DEATH OF STALIN, a radically different movie about the vacuum left when a powerful man dies, and the jockeying and chicanery that follows. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BEST MAN, CONCLAVE, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Sean Baker’s ANORA and Garry Marshall’s PRETTY WOMAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#449: Ballot Wounds, Pt. 1 — The Best Man 1:07:33

27 weeks ago1:07:33

1:07:33

While the new CONCLAVE concerns the election of a new pope, its intrigue, backstabbing, and backroom deals have many echoes in secular politics, in particular those found in 1964’s THE BEST MAN. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and written by Gore Vidal adapting his own stage play, the film’s depiction of the behind-the-scenes machinations involved to secure an unnamed party’s nomination for the presidency is relevant both to its era and our current political moment, albeit in different ways. But how deep does its cynicism about the system of elections, and those who manage to make that system work for them, go? We talk through that, as well as how THE BEST MAN’s women function within that system, before taking on some listener feedback about streaming availability that doubles as an excuse to endorse a system we can all get behind: public libraries. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BEST MAN, CONCLAVE, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#448: One Night Only, Pt. 2 — Saturday Night 1:12:55

28 weeks ago1:12:55

1:12:55

In its attempt to capture the chaotic comedic alchemy leading up to the first-ever SNL broadcast, Jason Reitman’s SATURDAY NIGHT is carrying the weight of the show’s nearly 50-year legacy and its personification in protagonist Lorne Michaels. Whether it manages to get off the ground despite that is up for debate in the first half of this week’s discussion, before we bring in another tense evening in ’70s New York to see how ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY compares in its depiction of a late-night highwire act and the pressure to pull off a performance with many moving parts on a deadline, and what each depiction reveals about the nature of creative collaboration. And in Your Next Picture Show we offer a brief glimpse at an alternate-universe episode in which we paired SATURDAY NIGHT with Robert Altman’s final film, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY, SATURDAY NIGHT, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE and Franklin J. Schaffer’s THE BEST MAN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#447: One Night Only, Pt. 1 — Original Cast Album: Company 1:02:35

29 weeks ago1:02:35

1:02:35

Capturing the tense hours leading to a pivotal moment in live TV history, the new SATURDAY NIGHT is defined by a looming deadline that reminded us of another New York-based all-nighter captured on film: D.A. Pennebaker’s 1970 TV pilot turned documentary film ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY. Despite being less than an hour long, the fly-on-the-wall document of Stephen Sondheim and company recording the definitive version of their Broadway hit in a single night provides no shortage of nuance to dig into like we’re Sondheim parsing an F sharp that’s drifted to A. And in Feedback we bring a comment from a recent bonus episode on BLINK TWICE over to the main show in order to discuss the relative value of movie twists. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY, SATURDAY NIGHT, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net , or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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#446: Machine Learning, Pt. 2 — The Wild Robot 1:21:40

30 weeks ago1:21:40