discursion: a film podcast

The year 1990 saw the release of both Twilight and Twin Peaks, detective films set on the periphery which do not share the same level of recognition. In this episode, Dominic and Steven celebrate the former, Hungarian hidden gem and consider aspects of auteurism and audiovisual style at the end of the Cold War. Our reference copy was a Blu-Ray released by Second Run, following the film's restoration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 20 of discursion, Dominic and Steven take a second look at the twisty Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong Sangsoo, 2015) in its Grasshopper Blu-Ray edition, a film that provides two different versions of one filmmaker's travels to a festival where he will meet and become enamoured of a young painter (twice over, with different interactions and outcomes that we are invited to observe). As Dennis Lim writes in his recent book on the South Korean director, it is also possible to find in this film that 'repetition is both the realm of the banal and the otherworldly'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 19, Dominic and Steven turn back the clock to 1941 with an almost forgotten Japanese film directed by Yasujiro Ozu, recently resorted and released for home viewing by the British Film Institute. The director's stylistic trademarks are prominent enough to rediscover and discuss in this story of family negotiating their paternal inheritance and wartime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven and Dominic return with an exploration of secret identity and stylish standoffs in the Hong Kong-set action thriller, Infernal Affairs, recently remastered and released on home video for the Criterion Collection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven reconsider Medium Cool (1969). This American cinéma vérité film was directed, shot and scripted by Haskell Wexler, who extensively used handheld cameras before the era of Steadicam technology, partly to track the violence surrounding the Democratic National Convention of 1968 in Chicago. Concludes a mini-series on the mobile camera (episodes 14-17). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven examine a key sequence involving the moving camera in the second of two episodes dedicated to The Last Laugh (F. W. Murnau, 1924), available via Eureka's Masters of Cinema DVD series. Part of a mini-series on the mobile camera (episodes 14-17). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Der Letzte Mann (released as The Last Laugh in the USA), directed by F.W. Murnau, is well known for its 'unbounded' moving camera techniques. The film has now been re-issued within a boxset by Eureka Masters of Cinema. Dominic and Steven examine this German silent film across two episodes, beginning with the sympathetic story of a hotel porter stripped of his rank and community status in an archetypal 1920s modern European city. Part of a mini-series on the mobile camera (episodes 14-17). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven revisit the Max Ophuls French classic 'Madame de...' (1953) which has been released by the BFI on Blu-Ray/DVD. Episode 14 beings a new mini-series of podcasts on interesting camera movements, the theme of which emerges in the course of discussing the film's visual style, performance and use of jewellery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven and Dominic take a closer look at Mona Lisa (1986), the London-set film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson, with Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane. Important themes include Hoskins' portrayal of naivety within a gangster world of decay and the film's representation of race. Concludes our episodic theme of the thriller which ranged across the USA, Japan, Korea, and the UK (episodes 9-13). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven catch-up for another in-depth conversation about film with Cure (1997), a Tokyo-set procedural directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Recently released on home media for the first time in the UK via Eureka/Masters of Cinema. Part of our episodic theme of thrillers (episodes 9-13). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven begin 2021 with a look at the South Korean psycho-thriller film, Burning (Chang-dong Lee, 2018), which is compared with Parasite and examined in terms of characterisation. They finish with a sequence analysis involving Ben (Steven Yeun) and his flat. Part of a mini-series on thrillers (episodes 9-13). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven return to the acclaimed 2019 NYC thriller Uncut Gems, directed by the Safdie brothers, as part of their mini-series on thrillers (episodes 9-13). Coming to the Criterion Collection soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven and Dominic return for a mini-series of episodes on thrillers starting with Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018). The conversations ranges across the LA noir genre tradition, casting, cinematography, performances, and the film's opening 2 minutes in detail. MUBI has recently released this film on Blu-Ray DVD and streaming. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven talk through Charles Burnett's LA family drama To Sleep With Anger (1990), now considered a classic alongside previous outputs of Black Independent Cinema such as Burnett's MA project film, Killer of Sheep (1977). Celebrated by Criterion with their new BluRay edition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic, Steven and special guest Dr Miguel Gaggiotti enter the dizzying world of Aleksey German via his film, Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998), set around the time of the doctors plot and Stalin's death in post-war Russia. Recently released on Arrow Academy Blu-Ray. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Dominic, Steven and special guest, film editor/slapstick specialist Polly Rose, as they revisit the iconic Marx Brothers' film Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933) - now on Arrow BluRay.3:18 mayhem, Marx & Dumont; 7:15 plot; 10:30 tone & pacing; 15:00 set-pieces; 18:00 Harpo & violence; 22:35 editing/sound; 25:50 Chico; 28:40 Keaton's contribution    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven discuss Olivier Assays' alternative coming of age film, Cold Water (1994), a fine early career effort that has been recently released via Criterion DVD. Bailey the cat voices his concerns.1:02 plot summary; 2:22 coming of age; 6:35 performances/camerawork/spontaneity; 11:54 characterisation; 14:48 rock rebellion; 17:30 sound; 22:15 endings; 24:06 coldness; 25:47 super 16; 28:02 'almost experimental'  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947) is out on BluRay in the UK (via Universal/HMV's Premium Collection). Dominic and Steven revisit the quintessential film noir and offer their thoughts.1:57 plot summary; 8:23 wise-cracking dialogue; 12:43 performances; 20:55 lighting; 25:28 film noir and visual style; noir "heroes" 27:25 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven watch Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread (2017) on 4K BluRay (Universal Studios) and discuss. 0:36 So, where are we?; 3:15 Games & rituals; 6:38 PTA’s films; 9:12 Who are the protagonists?; 12:38 Changing times; 15:10 Food & appetite; 18:42 Is this an old-fashioned film?; 21:27 Dresses; 23:20 The film’s politics; migration; 27:40 Swallowed lines Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic and Steven discuss Nobuhiko Obayashi's House (1977), a cult comedy-horror from Japan now available to view on BluRay in the Eureka/Masters of Cinema series. Recorded 1 June 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.