The Curzon Film Podcast

Latest Episodes:

THE LION KING + VARDA BY AGNÈS Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we tackle the king of the jungle and the queen of the cinema, as Agnès Varda circles her life with Varda by Agnès and Jon Favreau brings a new pride to Disney.

Assembling a brilliant voice cast – featuring Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen, John Oliver, Chiwetel Ejiofor and James Earl Jones – expect to see the brilliant songs, winning humour and heart-breaking tragedy anew. Following The Jungle Book, Jon Favreau once again shows he can marshal an incredible digital spectacle, while also deftly honouring a beloved childhood favourite. With visuals that rival ‘Planet Earth’, this is a superb reimagining of an African legend.

Agnès Varda takes a seat on a theatre stage. This professional photographer, installation artist and pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague is an institution of French cinema but a fierce opponent of any kind of institutional thinking. Varda By Agnès follows the filmmaker and artist as she uses excerpts from her work to illustrate – more associatively than chronologically – her artistic vision and ideas. Her lively, anecdote-rich and clever talk charts her shift from analogue to digital.

Discussing the film this week are Sam Howlett, Kelly Powell, Beth Webb and Jake Cunningham

Follow the team on Twitter:

@SamHowlett_1 - Sam Howlett

@jakehcunningham - Jake Cunningham

@ks_powell - Kelly Powell

@BethKWebb - Beth Webb

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ONLY YOU + THE DEAD DON'T DIE | feat. Josh O'Connor, Laia Costa & Harry Wootliff Jul 12, 2019

Show notes

Prince Charles himself, Josh O'Connor (God's Own Country) joins us on the show this week, as well as Victoria's Laia Costa and the director of their new film Only You, Harry Wootliff. Plus, we disassemble Jim Jarmusch's latest, zom-com The Dead Don’t Die.

Elena (Laia Costa) and Jake (Josh O'Connor) meet by chance one New Years Eve, arguing over the same taxi. Instead of going their separate ways after a shared ride, they begin a passionate relationship. Within weeks they are living together, and not long after they talk about starting a family. As the seasons pass, reality catches up with them. Falling in love was the easy part, but can they remain in love when life doesn’t give them everything they hoped for?

Jim Jarmusch resurrects the gang for his fresh take on the zombie comedy, The Dead Don’t Die. Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny and Adam Driver are small town cops working their beat when nature turns on itself, the sun refuses to set and the dead rise from the grave. Putting aside chicken theft, they set out to get to the bottom of these strange ghouls, with the help of Tilda Swinton’s mortician (who’s handy with a samurai sword if needs be).

Discussing the film this week are Sam Howlett, Kelly Powell & Jake Cunningham

Follow the team on Twitter:

@SamHowlett_1 - Sam Howlett

@jakehcunningham - Jake Cunningham

@ks_powell - Kelly Powell

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YESTERDAY + APOLLO 11 | feat. Richard Curtis Jul 05, 2019

Show notes

Writer of Love, Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Notting Hill, Richard Curtis joins us on the podcast this week to talk about his fabulous new rom-com fantasy, Yesterday.

But first, we blast off with our review of one of the year's best documentaries (and arguably one of the year's best films) Apollo 11. On the fiftieth anniversary of one of twentieth century's defining moment – the Apollo moon landing – comes this remarkable archive documentary that conjures the shear magnitude of the achievement. Brought to life with intimate detail, this elegantly edited doc gives an unrivalled, fresh view of science and spectacle involved in the team's feat.

Next we hear from the writer behind some of the Britain's best loved rom-coms, Richard Curtis, and we give our verdict on Yesterday, the new film from Curtis and director Danny Boyle, which asks the question on everyone's lips: What if you were the only man on Earth able to remember the iconic music of The Beatles? Jack's (Himesh Patel) career as a singer-songwriter is not going well. His friend Ellie (Lily James) thinks he’s got talent, but no one else agrees. But after a mysterious blackout, it turns out he’s the only one who can recall the Fab Four’s back catalogue. With the iconic songs in his arsenal, he becomes world famous, but at what cost?

Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Sam Howlett and Caitlin Quinlan.

Follow the team on Twitter:

@SamHowlett_1 - Sam

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@csaquinlan - Caitlin

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strickland on Strickland | Episode 4: IN FABRIC Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Strickland on Strickland: A four-part podcast mini-series from Curzon, about the work of acclaimed British director Peter Strickland ('Katalin Varga', 'Berberian Sound Studio'), made ahead of the release of his new film 'In Fabric', and featuring conversations with the director himself.

Discussing the film are Strickland superfans (Berberians?), Catherine Bray - Variety, Film4, 'Beyond Clueless' - and the podcast's very own Steven Ryder, as well as regular host Jake Cunningham.

The latest from the unique imagination of Peter Strickland, 'In Fabric' is a typically distinctive and haunting tale that blends Giallo-infused horror with absurdist dark humour, to ghostly effect. Set against the backdrop of a busy winter sales period at a mysterious Thames Valley department store, the film follows the journey of a cursed but strikingly beautiful blood-red dress as it passes from person to person, with devastating consequences.

Follow the team on Twitter:

@irma_pep - Steven

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@catherinebray - Catherine

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strickland on Strickland | Episode 3: THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

Discussing the film are Strickland superfans (Berberians?), Catherine Bray - Variety, Film4, 'Beyond Clueless' - and the podcast's very own Steven Ryder, as well as regular host Jake Cunningham.

From the critically acclaimed writer-director of 'Berberian Sound Studio' comes a tale of passion and sadomasochism that penetrates the deepest depths of what it means to be human, in love and in control. Cynthia is an orthopterist who is seemingly firmly in control of her partner Evelyn through a strict, dictatorial fetish life behind closed doors. But as Evelyn's requests to be dominated become increasingly extreme, the true nature of their relationship begins to surface. 'The Duke of Burgundy' is a story about power and the exploration of discomfort that people will stretch to for the ones they love, told in mesmerisingly coruscating style by one of Britain's finest contemporary auteurs, Peter Strickland.

Follow the team on Twitter:

@irma_pep - Steven

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@catherinebray - Catherine

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strickland on Strickland | Episode 2: BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Strickland on Strickland: A four-part podcast mini-series from Curzon, about the work of acclaimed British director Peter Strickland ('Katalin Varga', 'The Duke of Burgundy'), made ahead of the release of his new film 'In Fabric', and featuring conversations with the director himself.

Discussing the film are Strickland superfans (Berberians?) Catherine Bray - Variety, Film4, 'Beyond Clueless' - and the podcast's very own Steven Ryder, as well as regular host Jake Cunningham.

In 1976, a timid sound engineer (Toby Jones) arrives in Italy to work on a mysterious horror film, mixing bloodcurdling screams with the grotesque sounds of hacked vegetables. But as the on-screen violence seeps into his consciousness, reality and fantasy become blurred in nightmarish ways. Daringly original and masterfully constructed, this inspired homage to 70s Giallo horror is a devastating assault on the eyes, ears and brain - drawing comparisons with the films of David Lynch and being hailed as a modern cult masterpiece from Peter Strickland, the hugely acclaimed director of 'Katalin Varga'

Follow the team on Twitter:

@irma_pep - Steven

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@catherinebray - Catherine

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strickland on Strickland | Episode 1: KATALIN VARGA Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Strickland on Strickland: A four-part podcast mini-series from Curzon, about the work of acclaimed British director Peter Strickland ('Berberian Sound Studio', 'The Duke of Burgundy'), made ahead of the release of his new film 'In Fabric', and featuring conversations with the director himself.

Discussing the film are Strickland superfans (Berberians?) Catherine Bray - Variety, Film4, 'Beyond Clueless' - and the podcast's very own Steven Ryder, as well as regular host Jake Cunningham.

Banished by her husband and her village, Katalin Varga is left with no other choice than to set out on a quest to find the real father of her son, Orbán. Taking Orbán with her under another pretence, Katalin travels through the Carpathians where she decides to reopen a sinister chapter from her past and take revenge. The hunt leads her to a place, she prayed eleven years prior, she would never set foot in again. Praised for its sound design as well as its ominous atmosphere, the award-winning revenge fable marks British director Peter Strickland’s directorial debut.

Follow the team on Twitter:

@irma_pep - Steven

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@catherinebray - Catherine

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOY STORY 4 + PIXAR RANKED Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we ask whether Pixar's long awaited 'Toy Story' sequel is worth the buzz, plus, we ask all our podcast contributors to send in their Top 10 Pixar films to figure out the definitive list ('Cars' fans, look away here)

In the latest instalment of Pixar's beloved series, Woody, Buzz and the rest of the playroom must contend with 'Forky', a plastic spork in denial about his status as a toy. Their new child Bonnie embarks on a road trip and when Forky heads out on his own, the other toys must track him down, discovering a whole new world in the process.

One of animation's enduring favourites, this fourth entry retains the effortless charm of Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear and Tom Hanks' Woody, but also adds the voice work of comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Ella Kemp and Sam Howlett.

Follow the team on Social Media:

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@efe_kemp - Ella

@samhowlett_1- Sam

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Jake Cunningham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DIEGO MARADONA | feat. Asif Kapadia Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of Amy and Senna, joins us on the podcast this week to talk about his new film Diego Maradona, which arrives in cinemas this week.

In this inspired documentary portrait from Kapadia, we follow Maradona as he arrives at Naples in 1984, leading the club to their first ever title. But this success was the eye of the storm: Maradona's time in Naples was seven years of tumultuous chaos and jagged alliances. Using more than 500 hours of unseen footage from Maradona’s archive, this is another gripping story of an exceptional and complex person from the Oscar and BAFTA winning documentary team.

Discussing the film are Jake Cunningham, Caitlin Quinlan, Steven Ryder and Bertha DocHouse's own Tilly Hudson.

Follow the team on Social Media:

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@irma_pep - Steven

@csquinlan- Caitlin

@BerthaDocHouse - Bertha DocHouse

Produced by Jake Cunningham

Edited by Mark Towers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LATE NIGHT | feat. Mindy Kaling Jun 07, 2019

Show notes

In addition to our episode featuring Julianne Moore all about her new film Gloria Bell, we've got a bonus episode for you! We speak to Mindy Kaling, the creator of 'The Mindy Project' and now writer and co-star of 'Late Night' - the story of a late night comedy TV host and her revamped writers room.

Late Night is the story of Katherine (Emma Thompson on acidly winning form), a TV host in desperate need to stay relevant. Cynically hiring Molly (Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project, Ocean's 8), she thrusts her into the all-male writers' room. But Molly is looking to make more than surface changes. Along with laughs come deeper questions about sexism and diversity in the entertainment industry. Kaling's script has the sharpness of lived experience, as well as the comic chops to make the stand up segments sing. With a sprinkling of The Devil Wears Prada, Late Night mixes great chemistry with a forward-looking take on complex issues.

Discussing the film with Mindy is Steven Ryder

Follow Steven at @irma_pep

Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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