Episode 44: Mario Bava

The epic yearly retrospectives continue as we travel back 30 years to rewatch, reconsider and share favorites along with many memories too! Join me on this 6-hour plus journey alongside Chicago critics Erik Childress and Collin Souter. Many laughs, songs, clips, trailers, excerpts and so much more!

Thank you so much for the support and for listening. And of course, thank you so much to Collin & Erik for spending time nerding out about a wide range of titles. For all the retrospective episodes click here and see you next year for 1995.

https://www.directorsclubpodcast.com/archives/yearsinreview

Follow Collin: 
https://letterboxd.com/cdsouter/

Follow Erik:
https://letterboxd.com/erikthemovieman/

My 1994 List:
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/1994-year-in-review/

Check Out the List We Follow:
https://tinyurl.com/mrrepcat

When I first saw Hiroshima Mon Amour, this particular director went on the long list of names I wanted to cover. Alain Resnais is an internationally acclaimed film director, associated with both the Left Bank Group and the Nouvelle Vague. His preoccupation with the themes of time, memory and history, and his dazzling exploration of cinematographic technique, made him one of France’s most distinctive and influential filmmakers for over 60 years, inspiring the likes of David Lynch & Michel Gondry.

For this episode, previous guest and friend to the show Kate Blair (who joined me for Agnes Varda) returns for a delightful discussion on close to ten films of his, including a high recommendation of some of his short films as well at the end. Then I'm taking the rest of the month off to concentrate on prepping for the epic 1994 retrospective recording the first weekend of March. Thank you to Kate for a great conversation on a filmmaker I grew to love the more we talked about him. 

Follow Kate:
https://letterboxd.com/selective_kate

The title of this episode says it all. Over four hours of nerdy movie conversations and recommendations all about the year 2023. Two Director's Club mainstays return. Bill Ackerman (host of Supporting Characters and guest host of this show) along with Patrick Ripoll (co-host of 96 Greers) join me as well all share their favorite films of 2023.

No categories this year (like Best Actor, etc.) but plenty of reflection, surprising disagreement and even a wild story about what happened when Patrick tried to see one of Jim's favorites. Thank you so much for the support this past year, listeners. And huge thanks to Patrick and Bill for joining me again.

Opening Song: “Scaring The Hoes” - JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown
Closing Song: “I Don’t Like My Mind” - Mitski

00:00 - 23:14 - Introduction / Thoughts on 2023
23:15 - 01:23:34 -  #25-11 Favorites
01:23:35 - 01:28:59 - Chloe Waryan's Favorites
01:29:00 - 02:44:20 - #10-6
02:44:21 - 04:20:00 - #5-1
04:20:01 - 04:29:00 - Outro

Follow Bill:
https://letterboxd.com/billackerman
https://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/supportingcharacters

Follow Patrick:
https://bsky.app/profile/uptownsongclub.bsky.social
https://ninetysixgreers.podbean.com

Follow Jim:
https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski
https://5years.beehiiv.com

Happy New Year! This is a podcast. The Director’s Club Podcast. Maybe you should get a coffee first before listening. A coffee and a muffin might help. Gosh I’m so tired. But what a way to start the new year. Podcasting with a wonderful person like Sharon. Then editing it. Then writing these show notes. The thing that you’re reading right now. Or maybe you’re not reading this, you’re listening to the podcast. Wouldn’t it be weird if suddenly you were on the podcast? You the listener? Sometimes it all blurs and blends together. Anyway, you’re probably wondering who this podcast episode is all about. I also cheated a little this time because the first three movies, he didn’t even direct.

I’m talking about my favorite writer, Charlie Kaufman who is responsible for my 2nd favorite movie Synecdoche New York among many other incredible screenplays most of us know and love. More importantly, joining me for this lively discussion is the creator of the Mental Filmness Film Festival, Sharon Gissy. She’s also a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman and I knew she would bring a lot of insight, passion and joy to the podcast. If you’re a fan of Synecdoche, hopefully you enjoy the final minute (in other stay til the very end). In about a week, the favorite films of 2023 episode will drop featuring Patrick Ripoll and Bill Ackerman. What a way to start the year and I couldn’t be happier getting to talk about the great Charlie Kaufman with Sharon.

00:00 - 10:20 - Introduction
10:21 - 32:21 - Being John Malkovich
32:22 - 01:11:59 - Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine
01:12:00 - 01:59:13 - Synecdoche New York, Anomalisa
01:59:14 - 02:20:02 - I’m Thinking of Ending Things / Outro
02:20:03 - 02:21:11 - Jim Directs You Via Earpiece

Sharon’s Film Festival:
https://mentalfilmness.com

Jim’s Writing:
https://5years.beehiiv.com

Charlie Kaufman’s Other Play:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvlzjSBbYNQ

Just in time for turkey day, in which we have a lot to be thankful for, comes this delightful discussion with plenty of fixins. Fresh from their excellent new podcast, A Tripp Through Comedy, two new guests join me but I've been following them ever since we all met during Triviaspotting. Ross Bratin and Tripp Burton join me to talk all about the filmography of Frank Oz, someone each of us love and grew up with - whether as a Muppet or as a director, his achievements and talent are immeasurable. 

We start with his very first solo gig as a director, The Muppets Take Manhattan and go all the way up to his last narrative feature, Death at a Funeral. We discover some thematic ties and most importantly, we have lots of laughs due to Oz's incredible skills as a comedic filmmaker. In other words, mostly (but not entirely) a love fest for someone that we hope gets together again to make another film in the future. But if not, we're glad he accomplished so much throughout his career. Thank you so much to Tripp & Ross and to you for listening!

00:00 - 36:29 - Intro / Get To Know Ross + Tripp
36:30 - 01:21:27 - The Muppets Take Manhattan, Little Shop Of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
01:21:28 - 01:48:47 - What About Bob?, Housesitter, The Indian in the Cupboard
01:48:48 - 02:27:15 - In & Out, Bowfinger, The Score
02:27:16 - 02:56:43 - The Stepford Wives, Death at A Funeral
02:56:44 - 03:07:30 - Top 3 Frank Oz Films / Outro

Follow Ross:
https://letterboxd.com/rbratin
https://twitter.com/rbratin

Follow Tripp:
https://letterboxd.com/enb3
https://twitter.com/TrippBurton13

A Tripp Through Comedy:
https://twitter.com/attcpod

Jim Is Here:
https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski
https://5years.substack.com

This episode is about the same running time as The Conjuring 2! Why does a horror movie need to be well over two hours? One might inquire to breakthrough horror filmmaker James Wan and that's exactly what I set out to do for this Halloween spooktacular! This is my favorite month of the year for a reason!

Well, actually we have another delightful episode due in large part to a very special guest making her Director's Club debut. Joining me is librarian and Instagram sensation Chloe Waryan to talk all about the current state of horror while reviewing the work of James Wan, covering the majority of his filmography, particularly the franchises he helped to create which changed the face of horror forever! Chloe also recommends some recent horror films and books she has loved and much more! Thank you Chloe and thank you listeners. Happy Halloween! 

P.S We do spoil these films (Malignant especially) so you’ve been warned!

00:00 - 14:36 - Intro / Getting To Know Our Guest
14:37 - 39:24 - James Wan + Saw
39:25 - 01:25:54 - Insidious + The Conjuring Films
01:25:54 - 01:59:44 - Malignant + Other Wan Films
01:59:45 - 02:21:33 - Chloe's Recommendations / Top 3 Wan / Outro

Follow Chloe's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chloesnotscared

Check Out Chloe's Website:
https://chloesnotscared.com

Follow Chloe On Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/chlobot

Follow Jim On Substack:
https://5years.substack.com

The new episode arrives a few days later than planned (since it was scheduled to be our September episode) but nevertheless, we have a delightfully animated episode on tap here featuring another two of my favorite podcasters. The talented, prolific Billy Ray Brewton (of The Incinerator Podcast & Movie Mixtapes) joins me alongside his good friend and co-host Ryan Verrill, who also has own podcast that I highly recommend called The Disc-Connected. We learn about their passion projects and their origin stories at the start since this is their first time on!

Together we three have delved into the legendary work of one Don Bluth, the man brave enough to depart from Disney at a time when their output wasn’t the strongest. He set out to make his own distinguishable work and was mostly successful particularly at the start of his career as a director. Then there are a couple of weird detours along the way (oh Rock-A-Doodle) but even a late career highlight that ends up being a favorite of ours! This was such a joy and for you animation fans of the 80s and 90s, I have a feeling you’ll feel as nostalgic as we did taking this journey. Coming in about three weeks - something completely different - for the next episode, I’ll be stuck in another dimension alongside librarian Chloe Waryan for a spooky discussion on Mr. James Wan! Thank you all for listening and thank you to Billy Ray & Ryan for joining me!

00:00 - 27:14 - Introduction / Origins of Billy Ray + Ryan
27:15 - 58:54 - Secret of NIMH, An American Tail
58:55 - 01:23:59 - Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven
01:24:00 - 01:46:52 - Rock-A-Doodle, Thumbelina, Troll in Central Park, Pebble & Penguin
01:46:53 - 02:08:00 - Anastasia, Titan A.E.
02:08:01 - 02:20:58 - Top 3 Favorites / Outro

Jim's Substack, etc:
https://5years.substack.com
https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski

Billy Ray's Podcast, etc:
https://linktr.ee/billyraybrewton
https://twitter.com/incineratorpod
https://letterboxd.com/billyraybrewton
https://www.patreon.com/incineratorpod

Ryan's Podcast, etc:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiscConnected
https://twitter.com/disc_connected
https://letterboxd.com/disc_connected
https://www.patreon.com/DiscConnected

Wendell B. Harris Jr. is an American independent filmmaker trained in drama at Interlochen and Juilliard. His family founded Prismatic Images, a multi-award-winning film/video/audio production facility in Flint, Michigan, in 1979 and he broke onto the scene by making the breakthrough Sundance smash, Chameleon Street just one year after Steven Soderbergh broke with his debut film. 

One of my favorite film critics, Robert Daniels joins me to talk about Chameleon Street and the reason why it was Harris' only film to date. (He has tried many times to get projects greenlit but it still hasn't happened as of this recording). Robert and I celebrate the audacity of this remarkable talent both in front of the camera and behind it. Before that, we learn about Robert's background and have a discussion on the current state of film criticism. Then later on, we preview our next conversation for next year on Charles Burnett and more!

00:00 - 41:30 - Introduction / Views on Film Criticism
41:31 - 01:34:55 - Chameleon Street / Wendall B. Harris
01:34:56 - 02:06:33 - Other Films / Outro

Follow Robert's Work:
https://twitter.com/812filmreviews

https://substack.com/@812filmreviews

https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/robert-daniels

Buy The New Chameleon Street Blu-Ray:
https://shoparbelosfilms.com/products/le-chameleon-street-blu-ray

Delightful guests Jack Draper and Clay Williams of a new favorite show of mine, Exiting Through The 2010s, make their debut to talk about a mutual favorite directors of theirs: Mr. Carl Franklin (ONE FALSE MOVE, DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS).

We focus on the five films he made all in a row, most of which are highly acclaimed and one of them should be far more acclaimed than it seems to be. Wondering which one that is? You'll have to listen! Before we launch into the filmography, Clay and Jack talk about their humble beginnings and how they become cinephiles as well. This was such a blast and they'll be back next year without a doubt!

00:00 - 25:44 - Introduction
25:45 - 01:20:18 - One False Move, Devil In A Blue Dress
01:20:19 - 02:26:16 - One True Thing, Hi Crimes, Out Of Time
02:26:16 - 02:40:00 - Top 3 Franklin Films / Outro

Check Out Exiting Through The 2010s:
https://linktr.ee/ExitingThroughThe2010s

My Episode With Jack & Clay - The Duke Of Burgundy!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-duke-of-burgundy-with-jim-laczkowski/id1483339387?i=1000620047441

Jack On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jackadraper

Clay On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/birdsofclay

Follow Me Everywhere:
https://linktr.ee/jimlaczkowski

Soon enough Bill Ackerman will be bringing us an official director-centric episode soon and I will be discussing another in early July. For this excursion into something besides movies, in case you didn't know, I once hosted called Voices & Visions and I would recruit friend and Austin-based journalist Dan Solomon to go back 20 years to talk about a year in music - an art form that I love every bit much as film. For this retrospective, my guests and I curate a new list of ten favorite records from a favorite year, playing snippets of certain songs and discussing our feelings about music in general. As of 2021, I decided to include my friend Jason Simpson, also a writer, to join us in this endeavor, he's back to experience the fun as well.

As listeners know, I've been going back 30 years to talk about the year in film with Collin Souter and Erik Childress, so I asked Jason and Dan to do the same from now on with records. 1993 was the year I officially started my own band so it's a special discussion for me, in terms of records that had a bigger impact than most. Hearing my number one choice for favorite record of this year changed my life forever. Hopefully everyone enjoys this discussion about our favorite records from 1993, even if there are very few references to films and directors for this bonus episode. It was such a blast sharing memories with dear friends from high school as well as getting to hear a lot of incredible music from the early 90s (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, The Afghan Whigs, Liz Phair and so much more).

If you want to hear the older episodes of the music retrospective, they are now archived below as well. Thank you so much for listening and much gratitude to Dan & Jay for their insights, opinions and a 30-year plus friendship.

Other episodes recorded over the years:
https://www.directorsclubpodcast.com/archives/yearlymusicretrospectives

Follow Dan On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/dansolomon

Pre-Order/Buy Dan's New Book:
https://northstareditions.com/product/the-fight-for-midnight

Follow Jason On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/for3stpunk

Hear Me Talk All About Exile In Guyville on The Great Albums:
https://thegreatalbums.libsyn.com/liz-phair-exile-in-guyville-w-guest-jim-laczkowski