The Prestige

Our Latin American journey leaves the South American mainland behind this week, and dips into Caribbean cinema with a 2007 film from the Dominican Republic, YUNIOL. After some reviews, we talk about class differences, telling multiple stories, and how this is not an ‘uneven’ film. Recent Media ALL OR NOTHING: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (2021): Rob Worsoff, Kyle Dubas, Will Arnett STRANGER THINGS S4 (2022): Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Winona Ryder Recommendations HEROES (2007–09): Tim Kring, Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere SHARKTOPUS VS. PTERACUDA (2014): Kevin O’Neill, Robert Carradine, Katie Savoy SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Michael Keaton BLINDSPOTTING (2018): Carlos López Estrada, Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal Footnotes This week’s links: [where this film comes from, Part 1] www.barcelo.com/pinandtravel/en/from-the-godfather-to-jurassic-park-the-best-dominican-cinema [where this film comes from, Part 2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dominican_Republic_films [what this film could have been] www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/15-poetic-films-about-mundane-subjects [our episode about the film to which we compared this one] www.kaiju.fm/prestige/5-04-city-of-god-2002-corrupt-space [finally: yes this is about the UK, but it’s still a good article!] aaronguthrie.medium.com/the-representation-of-class-in-contemporary-british-film-and-tv-afc5882dd7d3 Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast

The most recent film on our Latin American odyssey is the Venezuelan MY STRAIGHT SON (2012). After reviews — some more fervent than others — we talk about drama, found families, and whether or not we might have a Eurocentric view of this film’s politics. Recent Media GOLDENEYE (1995): Martin Campbell, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean REACHER (2022–): Lee Child, Nick Santora, Alan Ritchson Recommendations THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (2012): Stephen Chbosky, Logan Lernan, Emma Watson BEAUTIFUL THING (1996): Jonathan Harvey, Hettie MacDonald, Linda Henry [Sam’s last-minute, unexpected recommendation] THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal THE LARAMIE PROJECT (2000): Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Stephen Belber Footnotes This week’s links: www.jstor.org/stable/26384822 (JSTOR subscription needed) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenovela www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-catharsis-definition en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_as_Folk_(British_TV_series) www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g9621178/best-gay-lgbt-films Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast

After something of a hiatus: we’re back! With the award-winning 2015 Colombian film EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT. After some reviews, we dive in with a reference to Rob’s favourite theatrical director, as well as exploring why it’s good that this film was made and how it might be important that some people don’t get on board with it. Recent Media THE HARDER THEY FALL (2021): Jeymes Samuel, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz ENCANTO (2021): Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Stephanie Beatriz THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021): Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss TITANE (2021): Julia Ducorneau, Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle TICK, TICK…BOOM! (2021): Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Zendaya THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE (2021): Richard Osman The Jack Reacher Book Series (1997—): Lee Child, Andrew Child Recommendations THE MOTORCYCLES DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Gael García Bernal NARCOS: MEXICO (2018–21): Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Michael Peña A FIELD IN ENGLAND (2013): Ben Wheatley, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando SORCERER (1977): William Friedkin, Georges Arnaud, Roy Scheider Footnotes Firstly, this is what we seem to be talking about a fair bit this episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism. As Rob mentions at the start, this film is two different versions of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Here’s the obligatory Brecht link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. It’s interesting that IMDB actually have this as a tag: https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=in-medias-res. This reviewer seems to have similar thoughts to Sam about the film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/embrace-of-the-serpent-2016. Finally, here’s a link to our FIELD IN ENGLAND episode, for more on a film like this one in several ways: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454/episodes/a-field-in-england-and-psyched-29626170.

The next stop on our journey through Latin America is 2005’s MADEINUSA. After some reviews, we talk about how this film is itself a disturbing experience for the viewers, to what extent it presents the main character as a ‘femme fatale', and why it works as a complete disruption of the ‘white saviour’ myth. Next Up The next film in our Latin American Odyssey is Colombia’s EL PASEO (2010). Recent Media MIDNIGHT MASS (2021): Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford SQUID GAME (2021): Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo Recommendations LA MALA EDUCACIÓN (2004): Pedro Almodóvar, Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martínez HIGH NOON (1952): Fred Zinnemann, Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly THE PURGE (SERIES, 2013–21): James DeMonaco, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey THE WICKER MAN (1973): Robin Hardy, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland Footnotes Rob mentions a few cinematic touchstones for some of the visual stylings of this film: kabuki (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki), the morality play (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_play), and anime (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime). Some of this film’s ideas are also reminiscent of the film noir (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir), particularly at the end. This is an interesting analysis of ‘white saviour’ films: movies.mxdwn.com/feature/a-critical-analysis-of-white-savior-films-and-why-you-should-avoid-them. Finally, Rob mentioned tourism, in the context both of this film and of CITY OF GOD; this is a useful article about this, focused on the film’s geographical setting: barbieri.wordpress.ncsu.edu/files/2020/07/2020_Peru_SusTmo.pdf. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

The title for this episode comes from something Rob says towards the end of this chat, which I think sums up this film brilliantly. After reviews (spoilers: we loved it), we talk about a number of things to do with the incredible artifice of this film, and its brutality, and (strangely enough) its use of architecture.  Next Up Our next Latin American film is the Peruvian drama MADEINUSA, from 2005. Recent Media MONEY HEIST (2017–21): Álex Pina, Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte MALIBU HIGH (1979): Irvin Berwick, Jill Lansing, Stuart Taylor BLACK WIDOW (2021): Cate Shortland, Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh Recommendations THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005): Fernando Meirelles, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz THE NEON DEMON (2016): Nicolas Winding Refn, Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks PREDATORS (2010): Nimród Antal, Adrien Brody, Topher Grace ROMEO + JULIET (1996): William Shakespeare, Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo DiCaprio Footnotes Firstly, find out more about Rio favelas here: catcomm.org/favela-facts. Sam mentions how touristy Rio’s favelas have become in the last 30 or so years; this site shows you what he means: www.daytours4u.com/en/travel-guide/rdj4u/favela-tourism. Roger Ebert wasn't always on the money, but this is a pretty good review of the ‘churn[ing…] furious energy’ of the film: /www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-god-2003. And this is another good review about the story-telling genius at the heart of this movie: www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2004/06/the-movie-review-city-of-god/69527. Finally, this is a great piece (not only because the articles at Wallpaper are often very well-written) about architecture in film: www.wallpaper.com/architecture/architecture-in-film-through-the-decades. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

Our film this week is the slacker comedy/drama 25 WATTS, from Uruguay. Post-reviews, we talk about movies with which this shares obvious roots, as well as how this captures the experiences of disenfranchised youth, and some borderline-colonial-tourist-y speculation about why this was such an important touchstone in Uruguayan film. Next Up The next film on our cinematic journey through Latin America is the 2002 film CITY OF GOD. Recent Media KATE (2021): Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau GODZILLA VS. KONG (2021): Adam Wingard, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown SHIN GODZILLA (2016): Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, Hiroki Hasegawa Recommendations THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2010): David Robert Mitchell, Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton waydowntown (2000): Gary Burns, Fab Filippo, Don McKellar CLERKS (1994): Kevin Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT (1986): Spike Lee, Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks Footnotes Firstly, it would be remiss of me not to include a reference to our CLERKS episode, from way back in the mists of time (remember how the world was, before COVID and Trump and Brexit? Ahhh…): www.kaiju.fm/prestige/clerks-slacker-cinema. For more on the cinema of Uruguay, see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Uruguay. If you’re a fan of 25 WATTS, why not try one of these: www.guruguay.com/5-uruguayan-films. Given our discussion of nationality, and why this might be a particularly ‘Uruguayan’ film, this is a good book (for the whole of this mini-season, in fact): books.google.co.uk/books/about/Latin_American_Cinema.html?id=MB-hBAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y. Finally, I know it’s a comedy, not a drama, so doesn’t meet Rob’s criteria for authentic youth/university life on screen, but here’s a nice little summary of what made FRESH MEAT a good — and, it turns out, poignant — bit of tv: www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/28/fresh-meat-farewell-good-luck-in-the-real-world-its-terrible-out-there. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

After something of a hiatus from the main feed, this week the band is back together with our look at (the most recent, Rob) THE ACCUSED. We talk about how this film undercuts expectations, what it has to say about the experiences of children as opposed to adults, and the in some ways chilling ending of the movie. Next Up The next film on our Latin American road trip is 2001’s 25 WATTS from Uruguay. Recent Media EMPIRE RECORDS (1995): Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021): James Gunn, Margot Robbie, Idris Elba Recommendations THE ACCUSED (1988): Jonathan Kaplan, Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster THE ACCUSED (1949): William Dieterle, June Truesdell, Loretta Young THE REVENANT (2015): Alejandro Iñárritu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy STAGED (2020–21): Simon Evans, Michael Sheen, David Tennant Footnotes Normal footnote service will resume next time: I hurt my hand this morning, and typing’s painful; I could leave it to Rob, but who knows what this section would look like then... Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

We launch into Season 5 (FIVE!!! madness, I tell you) and our ‘world tour’ with a film from the country at the southernmost tip of the Americas, Chile, and Pablo Larraín’s 2019 film EMA. After expressing awe at the visuals of the film and the impact that it had on us as viewers, we discuss the idea of new growth (‘seeds’ to be sown after fire, in a central metaphor of the film), the plan that Ema has, and how underestimating this is something that is not only done by Gael Garcia Bernal’s character, but by many (male) members of the audience. Next Up The next film in our journey up through the continent is the Argentinian film from a year earlier, THE ACCUSED. Recent Media THIS IS MY HOUSE (2021): Stacey Dooley TIME (2021): Lewis Arnold, Jimmy McGovern, Sean Bean FEAR STREET (2021): R.L. Stine, Leigh Janiak, Kiana Madeira PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 1/2 (2003/2006): Gore Verbinski, Ted Elliott, Johnny Depp Recommendations AS IF (2001–04): John Duthie, Paul Chequer, Emily Corrie HARD CANDY (2005): David Slade, Elliott Page, Patrick Wilson THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004): Walter Telles, Ernesto Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001): Alfonso Cuarón, Maribel Verdú, Gael Garcia Bernal Footnotes Before we get into the serious footnotes, I just wanted to link to this review of Sam’s first choice of Recent Media this week, which is actually, bizarrely, quite good: www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/20/bbc-one-this-is-my-house-stacey-dooley. Onto the good stuff. Here’s our NEON DEMON episode, to link to a film mentioned early on this week: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-27-the-neon-demon-and-beauty-consumption, and here’s another one by the director Sam mentions at the start: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-17-21-grams-change-and-grief. There were some great reviews of this week’s film: www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/mesmerising-film-gives-us-a-vengeful-goddess-for-the-metoo-generation-20210511-p57qu9.html, www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/alex/13350302, and indeed anything on www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ema. Here’s more about the dance form that structures both Eta’s character and this film as a whole: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaeton. And finally, one of the film’s emotional climaxes (ha, ha) deserves to be on this list: www.vulture.com/2014/12/30-most-important-sex-scenes-in-movie-history.html. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

The final film in our Disney-animation-and-remakes sub-season is the 2020 iteration of MULAN. After some reviews, we delve into discussions of Disney ‘humanisation’ (sometimes, you just want bad guys to be bad guys), the fact that this movie is aimed at a very different audience from the original, the changes that are made to make this more of a human film, and how honour and ch'i (two big concepts here) mean very different things for different (gendered) characters. Next Up The next episode is our 200th — stay tuned to find out what we have planned for this, which may be something of a retrospective. Recent Media ARMY OF THE DEAD (2021): Zack Snyder, Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell STEELERS: THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY CLUB (2020): Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, Nic Evans, Simon Jones PALM SPRINGS (2020): Max Barbakow, Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti Recommendations ROGUE ONE (2016): Gareth Edwards, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II (1989): Robert Zemeckis, Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd 2046 (2004): Wong Kar-wai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong THE ASSASSIN (2015): Hou Hsiao-hsien, She Qi, Chang Chen Footnotes To start with, almost in passing, Sam mentions the concept of magic(al) realism, when talking about the phoenix; more on that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism. When Rob mentions the film’s Wuxia moments, there’s a throwback both to the genre and to some episodes of The Prestige discussing this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia; particularly, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-assassin-and-cultural-tourism, www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-05-come-drink-with-me-1966-and-war, and www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-08-the-legend-of-drunken-master-1994-and-comedy-action. Next, I looked at the title of this article and thought ‘uh-oh, we missed something significantly wrong with this film’; no, it’s just a terrible take: www.sceneandheardnu.com/content/2020/9/18/mulan-is-bad-and-that-was-inevitable. (It’s here to remind us all that other opinions do exist, which is rather the point of film…) Finally, here’s more on the ‘life force’ we discuss a lot in this episode (spelled in any number of ways in the English transliteration): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi. Next episode is our 200th, and we want your help! - https://www.notion.so/The-Prestige-200th-Episode-0556dca9b5ea4821807e524bfe3be263 Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

Our final Disney film is 1998’s MULAN. After some reviews, we talk about the ways in which this film starts from a position of naivety, but grows into a much more adult movie: which leaves us both intrigued as to what the reboot will be like. Next Up Next time, for the last time, we turn to the live-action version of a Disney animation, with the 2020 MULAN. Recent Media SAFE (2012): Boaz Yakin, Jason Statham, Catherine Chan NOMADLAND (2020): Chloé Zhao, Jessica Bruder, Frances McDormand Recommendations JURASSIC PARK (1993): Stephen Spielberg, Sam Neill, Laura Dern MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018): P.L. Travers, Rob Marshall, Emily Blunt STREET FIGHTER (1994): Steven E. de Souza, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (2011): Sarah Smith, Barry Cook, James McAvoy MR ROBOT (2015–19): Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Christian Slater Footnotes We start off (and end, actually) by talking about Disney sidekicks; this is a fun article, if only for nostalgic reasons, remembering all the films: www.buzzfeed.com/jamiespain/times-disney-sidekicks-were-terrible (While we’re on the subject of Disney sidekicks, I also quite enjoyed this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46XJImeQbc). Rob goes all academic (oooh, get him) and talks about the Greek chorus, of which more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_chorus. Here’s the promised link to Orientalism (from which this film is, refreshingly, remarkably free): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book). If like Sam — not Rob — you were a nerdy kid in the late 90s, you might remember this, around the time of MULAN: www.imdb.com/title/tt0188478 — not actually Shakespeare, but something even more academic……Here’s another reminder of one of the concepts Rob mentions towards the end of this episode: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey#:~:text=Summary%20%20%20%20Act%20%20%20,road%20back%20The%20resurrection%20Return%20wi%20...%20. Finally, as Rob says, neither of us are best placed to be authorities on the subject of Gender Studies; if you’re interested, here’s a short reading list to get you started: www.lse.ac.uk/gender/Studying-Gender-at-LSE/recommended-literature.

This week, after some...reviews of Disney’s most recent take on THE LION KING, we talk about how colour and contrast can make or break a film, the importance of myth to the original movie, and what it means to consider style versus substance when the film is as hyperrealistic as this one. Next Up The final film in our Disney mini-season is 1998’s MULAN. Recent Media TED LASSO (2020–): Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudekis, Hannah Waddingham PARKER (2013): Taylor Hackford, Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez Recommendations SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018): Ron Howard, Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams SWINGERS (1996): Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn THE AFRICAN LION (1955): James Algar, Winston Hibler Footnotes Given that one of our opening topics was the use of colour in these films, there was surprisingly little from the former specialist in this area; this article redresses the balance somewhat: whatweknow.tinkertaylor.tv/post/102fg5e/what-is-colour-grading-in-film-and-why-is-it-so-important. Rob discusses the changes wrought on Scar’s ideology by these alterations in colour, and this is an interesting exploration of just what his intentions are: the-take.com/watch/in-the-lion-king-what-is-scars-political-ideology. We say a lot about the (admittedly stunning) VFX on this film, and you can see more here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bTjenLGj0 and read more here: www.animationboss.net/the-lion-king-vfx. Finally, for more reliable lion facts than provided by Sam this week, see here: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/african-lion.

Our film this week is the 1994 award-winning classic THE LION KING. After the usual reviews, we talk about Sam’s changing ideas about the film, how it may or may not be about the growth of a character, and what it says about the role of royal privilege (not, this week in particular, an entirely irrelevant topic!). Next Up It’s remake time! Next up is the 2019 version of the film. Recent Media LINE OF DUTY (2012–): Jed Mercurio, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure COLD LASAGNE HATE MYSELF 1999 (2020): James Acaster Recommendations DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995): John McTiernan, Jonathan Hensleigh, Bruce Willis SISTER ACT (1992): Emile Ardolino, Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith THE LION KING 1 1/2 (2004): Bradley Raymond, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella GODZILLA (1998): Roland Emmerich, Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno Footnotes Firstly, here’s what Rob was saying about the film’s iconic status: www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38312379. Rob mentions that there’s something of the morality play about what we see on screen; see here for more on this: www.britannica.com/art/morality-play-dramatic-genre. Sam refers to the etymology of the word ‘privilege’: www.etymonline.com/word/privilege. The writer of this piece is at least in agreement with Sam that the film is not based on Hamlet: www.fatherly.com/play/what-is-the-lion-king-based-on-the-answer-isnt-hamlet-shakespeare. The IMDB ‘trivia’ page for the film is a good read: www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv. And finally, it wouldn’t be a 1990s Disney film without some racial controversy…: www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/12/14/676703629/swahili-speakers-horrified-by-disneys-trademark-of-hakuna-matata?t=1618171829034 Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

This week’s offering is the re-make of ALADDIN. After…mixed reviews, we talk about the ‘clean’ visuals, what it feels Disney wants from a re-make, and how watching this involves something of the same pretence shown by the characters themselves. Next Up Our next Disney film is the 1994 original version of THE LION KING. Recent Media THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933): Frank Capra, Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS WITH ALAN CARR (2021): Diccon Ramsay, Emma Taylor, Alan Carr Recommendations TRON: LEGACY (2010): Joseph Kosinski, Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund TERRA NOVA (2011): Kelly Marcel, Craig Silverstein, Jason O'Mara MEN IN BLACK (1997): Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY (2017): Tommy Wirkola, Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close Footnotes Firstly, here’s a little reminder of the environment in which Rob’s ‘recent media’ film was made: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood. Onto our film of the week. Sam mentions a few of the film’s casting controversies, further explored here: deadline.com/2018/01/disney-aladdin-criticized-media-browning-up-1202237376 and here: www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/17/disney-aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott_a_23034316. And this is a really comprehensive article on the confused/confusing cultural politics of the film: www.vox.com/2019/5/24/18635896/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history (it also has a nod to Edward Said’s Orientalism, the ultimate text explaining many of the racial codings of cultural portrayals like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book)). Finally, it wouldn’t be an episode of The Prestige without a regular mention of Brecht! www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. And when it comes to films-as-stage-plays, although slightly off-topic, this was an interesting list: www.metacritic.com/feature/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-plays-and-musicals?page=1 (I’m strangely intrigued by the SJP film at number 1…) Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

This time, our focus is on the 1992 Disney film ALADDIN. After some reviews, we discuss how this is a movie about people pretending to be something they’re not; we talk about what ‘diamond in the rough’ means (both to a 10-year-old Rob, and today); and we think about media depictions of class, from country-house dramas to inner-city soap operas. Next Up Next time (sticking to the format!), our focus turns to the 2019 live-action remake of ALADDIN. Recent Media THE DAWN WALL (2017): Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer, Tommy Caldwell FREE SOLO (2018): Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Alex Honnold THE ROCK (1996): Michael Bay, Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018): Bob Persichetti, Stan Lee, Shameik Moore Recommendations MOANA (2016): Ron Clements, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson AMADEUS (1984): Peter Shaffer, Milos Forman, F. Murray Abraham TREASURE PLANET (2002): Ron Clements, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Gordon-Levittt GALAVANT (2015–16): Dan Fogelman, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson Footnotes Here’s more about the Disney Renaissance, if like Sam (not Rob) you weren’t an aficionado: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance. When talking about the animation at the start of the film, Sam mentions STEAMBOAT WILLIE; if you don’t know about this Disney milestone, then this Wikipedia is worth reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie. As Rob makes the connection between the two films, I Googled ALADDIN + DEADPOOL, and there is actually a nice line in (slightly NSFW) t-shirts: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/591238257328225429. While we’re on the subject of ‘I can show you the world’, this is hands down my favourite version of this song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8S1TxCihvk (I challenge you to watch past two minutes). Finally, here’s that famous ‘class’ sketch, illustrating some of the ideas we talk about this week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppv97S3ih14. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

This week our focus is he 2017 live-action version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some…contrasting reviews, we talk about how this film is a lot darker and more serious than the original, how it has a lot more to it (both good and bad), and how it might be a different sort of fairy tale to the 1991 film. Next Time Next in line for our Disney focus is he 1992 version of ALADDIN. Recent Media HORTON HEARS A WHO! (2008): Theodor Seuss Geisel, Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (2019): Simon Kinberg, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender SNOWPIERCER (2020–): Jacques Lob, Josh Friedman, Jennifer Connelly THE TOWN (2010): Chuck Hogan, Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall Recommendations COLOSSAL (2016): Nacho Vigalondo, Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudekis FAST & FURIOUS 6 (2013): Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997): Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz MR HOLMES (2015): Bill Condon, Mitch Cullin, Ian McKellen Footnotes This is an interesting presentation on one of the ideas Rob mentions early on: prezi.com/tovwsqhae1zq/the-art-of-metacommentary. Here’s more about the character of LeFou (including his name): villains.fandom.com/wiki/LeFou. And here’s more on the openly gay take on this character, including a very interesting idea from the director himself about one possible allegorical interpretation of the film: people.com/movies/beauty-and-the-beast-disney-first-openly-gay-character-lefou. And here’s a good response from Josh Gad to some negative criticism of LeFou: edition.cnn.com/2017/03/07/movies/josh-gad-gay-beauty-and-the-beast-character/index.html. And the final line of this short piece is particularly good: www.vulture.com/2017/03/heres-the-exclusively-gay-moment-in-beauty-and-the-beast.html. (Can you tell I went down an ‘internet hole’ reading about LeFou’s modern incarnation??) Finally, Rob may not have especially warmed to the result, but this was a really interesting article about the CGI transformation of Dan Stevens: www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/beauty-and-the-best-movie-dan-stevens-special-effects. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

This week’s film is one of Rob’s favourite Disney films (so no pressure, there) 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. After some plot summarising and a little light reviewing, we talk about the distinctive way this film looks, its place as a subversive text, and the fact that this is actually two films in one — in a good way, promise. Next Time The next movie in our Disney animation/live action sub-season is the 2017 remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Recent Media LUPIN (2021): George Kay, François Uzan, Omar Sy 6 UNDERGROUND (2019): Michael Bay, Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent THE OLD GUARD (2020): Gina Prince-Bythewood, Greg Rucka, Charlize Theron THE HUNT (2020): Craig Zobel, Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank Recommendations BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946): Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Josette Day UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1992): Roland Emmerich, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS (1971): Robert Stevenson, Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson JUMANJI (1995): Joe Johnston, Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst Footnotes Firstly, this article definitely chimes with what Rob was saying about Gaston: medium.com/@sjmyles79/can-we-have-movie-heroism-without-the-sexism-please-776bc291c65c. Here’s a little introduction to Busby Berkeley, to whom there are obvious references in the big song and dance numbers: filmschoolrejects.com/beginners-guide-to-busby-berkeley. While we’re talking about big beautiful film sequences, this article discusses the ballroom scene’s CGI: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/25-years-ago-cg-secrets-ballroom-sequence-beauty-beast-145174.html. Finally, here are a couple of enjoyable responses to the film: www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/the-enchantress-was-fcked-up and www.bustle.com/articles/195847-35-questions-i-still-have-about-beauty-the-beast. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

This week’s film is the Jon Favreau live action/CGI remake of the 1967 film. After some opening reviews (and Sam admitting that he might have given the film too much credit), we talk — in one of our more cerebral chats — about selfishness, understanding, and change, particularly in our reading of the end of the film. Next Time Our next film is Rob’s favourite Disney film, which Sam (gasp) hasn’t seen: 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Recent Media FIRST COW (2019): Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond, John Magaro ALL OR NOTHING: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2020): Anthony Phillipson, Tom Hardy, José Mourinho Recommendations IRON MAN (2008): Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993): Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley PACIFIC RIM (2013): Guillermo del Toro, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam CLUELESS (1995): Amy Heckerling, Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash Footnotes Firstly, here’s an article on the art of playing the pantomime villain: www.thesimplethings.com/blog/panto-villains; I know Shere Khan in the 1967 film wasn’t one of these in the strictest sense, but he was something of a more risible stereotype figure certainly than Idris Elba’s incarnation. Rob mentions the POV shot at the beginning of the film, and there’s more on this idea here: www.premiumbeat.com/blog/power-point-view-pov-shots. This short response to a trailer from the film focuses on a particular moment of comparison between the two films: www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jungle-book-2016-new-trailer-recreates-scene-where-kaa-tries-eat-mowgli-a6936251.html. When I was looking for content on the idea of individuality, I came across this video (not at all relevant to the film, but I can’t resist a TED video…): www.ted.com/talks/margot_amoyual_individuality_an_identical_twin_perspective. Finally, in another link that’s not entirely relevant...we mentioned the idea of transgression on screen, in talking about Mowgli and Shere Khan; this is a list of transgressive movies (see? I told you it wasn’t relevant…): whatculture.com/film/10-transgressive-movies-that-went-beyond-the-boundaries. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

The first film in our final mini-season of Season 4 (we’re getting old!) is the 1967 Disney animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOK. Our discussion ranges from animation styles to PAW PATROL, and anthropomorphism to racial stereotyping; overall, though, we spend the most time thinking about how much this film is about the familial, paternal relationships in evidence here. Next Time It’s déjà vu! Next time we look at Jon Favreau’s 2016 version of THE JUNGLE BOOK. Recent Media THE MANDALORIAN (2019–): Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers DA 5 BLOODS (2020): Spike Lee, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors ENOLA HOLMES (2020): Harry Bradbeer, Nancy Springer, Millie Bobby Brown Recommendations ROBIN HOOD (1973): Wolfgang Reithermann, Brian Bedford, Phil Harris ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951): Clyde Geronomi, Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960): Wolf Rilla, George Sanders, Barbara Shelley ROAD TRIP (2000): Todd Phillips, Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott Footnotes Firstly, as this mini-season is all about adaptations of Disney animations, this article is a good place to start: ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/01/05/10-disney-movie-moments-that-changed-animation. And this take on technology and animation is interesting, too: memeburn.com/2013/06/how-technology-has-changed-animation-a-brief-history. (Then I got into a Google Hole [which is definitely what it’s called] finding out more about animation: 3d-ace.com/press-room/articles/twelve-animation-styles-you-should-know-about, www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation, blog.threadless.com/disneys-art-style-through-the-decades.) For the rest of this week’s Footnotes, I just want to list things to read about facial representation and literature and India, starting with this article: litreactor.com/columns/are-the-jungle-books-racist-or-not-and-why-you-should-read-them-either-way For balance, here’s the opposing view (although, to be honest, lots of this seems pretty far-fetched): sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-01/uncategorized/i-wanna-be-like-you-racial-coding-in-disneys-the-jungle-book/#:~:text=Especially%20in%20The%20Jungle%20Book%2C%20animals%20depict%20different,forest%20in%20search%20of%20Mowgli%2C%20the%20man%20cub.) Anne McClintock’s book on imperialism is great: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imperial_Leather.html?id=OurtAAAAMAAJ, as is Kumkum Sangari’s: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Politics_of_the_Possible.html?id=t5eX8VRhSgEC&redir_esc=y. Benedict Anderson is still worth reading: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Imagined_Communities.html?id=4mmoZFtCpuoC&redir_esc=y; and there’s always the father (pun intended) of all ideas about postcolonialism, Edward Said: books.google.co.uk/books/about/Orientalism.html?id=66sIHa2VTmoC. Finally, though I haven’t read it, this looks good: books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kOzFBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT22&dq=postcolonial+cinema&ots=fUVkBx_Wxd&sig=qvdoebSS9nQpoL8LTTPE2eqlDxE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=postcolonial%20cinema&f=false Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

The final film in our mini-season of heist film’s is Steve McQueen’s 2018 movie WIDOWS. After (ultimately, to be expected) differing reviews, we talk about ways in which this film deals with a number of different manifestations of loss — doing so even through the cinematography — and ultimately shows a certain amount of escape or relief in the endings of some of the characters. Next Time Our next mini-season will be looking at Disney animations and their recent live-action adaptations, and we begin with the 1967 classic THE JUNGLE BOOK (‘I wanna be like yoo-oo-oou…’). Recent Media MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003): Peter Weir, Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany GET DUKED! (2019): Ninian Doff, Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (2020): Walter Tevis, Scott Frank, Anya Taylor-Joy Recommendations 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013): Solomon Northrup, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015): Guy Ritchie, Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer GET OUT (2017): Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams S.W.A.T. (2003): Clark Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE (2018): Drew Goddard, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo Footnotes This is a good place to start, for facts about the director of this film: www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-McQueen-British-director-screenwriter-and-artist. Rob talks about the 7 stages of grief, and this is a good primer: www.medicinenet.com/loss_grief_and_bereavement/article.htm#:~:text=The%20seven%20emotional%20stages%20of%20grief%20are%20usually,be%20emotional%2C%20physical%2C%20social%2C%20or%20religious%20in%20nature. We don’t dwell on the awfulness of the killing of Marcus much, but this is a powerful interactive tool on police killings in the US: interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html. Looking for articles about 'moving on’ in cinema, as all the women have to do, I came across this list (not quite relevant, but it was interesting enough to include!): www.pajiba.com/guides/15-movies-about-moving-and-moving-on.php. Finally, here’s a link to our episode about a film which — as Sam discussed — shares a number of similarities with WIDOWS: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/3-17-21-grams-change-and-grief. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

Our penultimate heist film is the 2004 teen movie THE PERFECT SCORE. We talk about how this film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and doesn’t deserve the panning it got from the critics, as well as the idea that this is a mash-up of the heist film genre with teen films about progress of various kinds. Next Time The last movie in our heist season is the 2018 film WIDOWS. Recent Media THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (2018): Mike Flanagan, Shirley Jackson, Michiel Huisman THE NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST (1975): Miguel Iglesias, Paul Naschy, Mercedes Molina Recommendations KNIVES OUT (2019): Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans THE BIG SHORT (2016): Adam McKay, Christian Bale, Steve Carell CHEATS (2002): Andrew Gurland, Trevor Fehrman, Matthew Lawrence SHE’S ALL THAT (1999): Robert Iscove, Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachel Leigh Cook WESTWORLD (2016–): Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan, Evan Rachel Wood Footnotes Firstly, here’s the Rotten Tomatoes page of pretty harsh reviews! https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/perfect_score Rob talks early on about the ‘competency porn’ involved in many heist films; there’s more on that, here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompetencePorn. In discussing Francesca’s novel at the end, and the character of Desmond throughout, metafiction comes up again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metafiction. The ‘Hero’s Journey’ is something we’ve discussed before, but it deserves another mention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Finally, as we mention both films in the course of our discussion, here are links to our episodes on THE MATRIX and THE BREAKFAST CLUB: https://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-matrix-and-spectacle and https://www.kaiju.fm/prestige/4-21-the-breakfast-club-1985-and-endings-or-not. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - http://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/