The Next Picture Show

Latest Episodes:

Infection Point Pt. 1 - Panic In the Streets Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

The 2020 coronavirus outbreak has affected virtually everything about our modern world, including the movies we watch, how we watch them, and how we podcast about them. It’s a sobering but fascinating lens through which to view past films that have wrestled with outbreaks, from Elia Kazan’s 1950 noir PANIC IN THE STREETS up through Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 pandemic procedural CONTAGION. We tackle the first half of that double-feature this week, unpacking the central metaphor — or lack thereof — in Kazan’s crime drama, along with its attitudes toward government and police, its subtle and canny use of locations, and the standout performances from Richard Widmark and a young Jack Palance. Plus, we use our usual feedback segment to check in with each from afar, and see how your Next Picture Podsters are navigating this strange new reality.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PANIC IN THE STREETS, CONTAGION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Warren Zevon, “Don’t Let Us Get Sick”

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Believe It Or Not, Pt. 2 - The Invisible Man (2020) Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

Leigh Whannell’s new take on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel THE INVISIBLE MAN is a Blumhouse film, so of course there has to be a twist — and in this case, it’s one that makes this version of INVISIBLE MAN less like the many adaptations that preceded it, and more like George Cukor’s 1944 film GASLIGHT, which is similarly focused on a man’s malicious manipulation of a woman at the expense of her own credibility. In this half of our gaslighting double feature, we talk over what makes this new INVISIBLE MAN work as well as it does — primarily Elisabeth Moss’s stellar central performance — before diving into what the two films share in their portrayals of manipulation, madness, and trauma, and how each uses atmosphere and physical space to to amplify their sense of unease and terror. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GASLIGHT, THE INVISIBLE MAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show

• Scott: Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

• Tasha: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s THE PLATFORM

• Keith: William Asher’s NIGHT WARNING, aka BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER

Outro music: They Might Be Giants, “I Am Invisible”

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Believe It Or Not, Pt. 1 - Gaslight (1944) Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Leigh Whannell’s new take on THE INVISIBLE MAN comes with a modern twist, one based in a dynamic — a husband pushing his wife toward mental illness for personal gain — that was entrenched in the pop-cultural lexicon thanks in large part to George Cukor’s 1944 film GASLIGHT, starring Ingrid Bergman as a woman whose husband mounts a disinformation campaign against her for insidious purposes. In this half of our gaslighting double feature, we dig into how the film’s direction, design, and fine-tuned performances open up what could have been a very set-bound adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play, and how Cukor’s reputation as a “woman’s director” connects an otherwise varied filmography. Plus, Tasha responds to some pushback against her critiques of PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE in Feedback.

Outro Music: Dixie Chicks, “Gaslighter”

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Bad Girls Club, Pt. 2 - Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

Like the landmark 1991 film THELMA & LOUISE, the latest DC comics movie entry, BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) uses a recognizable form to take its female protagonists to some unfamiliar places. The newer film hasn’t received that same sort of critical acclaim as its predecessor, but some on our panel — which this week once again includes Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture.com — argue why perhaps it should have, on the way to discussing what the two films share in their attitudes about female emancipation in a man’s world, and in their refreshing depictions of women misbehaving without remorse. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THELMA & LOUISE, BIRDS OF PREY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes:

Works Cited

• “It Doesn’t Take Much to Be Seen As an Unruly Woman,” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com)

Your Next Picture Show

• Genevieve: Hulu’s HIGH FIDELITY

• Angelica: Paul Mazursky’s AN UNMARRIED WOMAN

• Scott: Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT

• Keith: Hong-jin Na’s THE WAILING

Outro music: June Smollett-Bell, “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World”

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Bad Girls Club, Pt. 1 - Thelma & Louise Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

The new BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN is part of an inconsistent and fitfully realized tradition of female-empowerment stories told within a high-gloss genre framework, a tradition that reached one of its too-rare high points with THELMA & LOUISE, a Ridley Scott-directed, Callie Khourie-scripted take on a buddy road movie/chase film that ruffled plenty of feathers when it became a sleeper hit in 1991. This week we’re joined by Vulture.com critic and friend of the podcast Angelica Jade Bastién to consider how the conversations THELMA & LOUISE inspired in 1991 would — or wouldn’t — be different today, how the film’s structure and performances subtly underline its feminist themes, and whether complaints about the film’s “cartoonish” male characters hold any water. Plus, we answer some feedback on our recent pairing of THE PIANO and PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE.

Show Notes

Works Cited:

• “Every Brad Pitt Movie Performance, Ranked,” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com)

• “The Third Woman of ‘Thelma and Louise,” by Larry Rohter (The New York Times, June 5 1991)

Outro Music: Charlie XCX, “Vroom Vroom”

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Fantasy Islands, Pt. 2 - Portrait of a Lady on Fire Feb 18, 2020

Show notes

With PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, Céline Sciamma became the first woman director to win the Queer Palm at Cannes, an embarrassingly belated milestone reminiscent of Jane Campion becoming the first woman director to win the Palme d’Or in 1993 with THE PIANO. And while these two films have much more in common than their directors’ gender, as we discover when we put them in conversation this week, both Sciamma and Campion bring a distinct point of view to their respective stories of repressed desire in repressed times that feels inextricably tied to ideas about womanhood and an oppressive patriarchy. We get into how that point of view colors the two films in their expression of desire and consent, the artistic gaze, and the function of myth and legend. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PIANO, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes:

Works Cited

• “French filmmaker Céline Sciamma on looking, longing and falling in love in Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” CBC Radio

• “Portrait of a Director on a Hot Streak,” by Scott Tobias (theringer.com)

Your Next Picture Show

• Genevieve: Céline Sciamma’s GIRLHOOD

• Scott: Jane Campion’s IN THE CUT

• Keith: David Lynch’s WHAT DID JACK DO?

• Tasha: Christopher Landon’s HAPPY DEATH DAY and HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U

Outro music: Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 2 in G Minor (The Four Seasons, “Summer”)

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Fantasy Islands, Pt. 1 - The Piano Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

Céline Sciamma’s 2019 Cannes sensation PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE is a lush, romantic film set on an isolated island and concerned with irrepressible desires in deeply repressive times, a description that neatly applies to another Cannes breakout from 1993: Jane Campion’s THE PIANO. But the love affair at the heart of Campion’s film plays with a much trickier power imbalance, which we get into as we process THE PIANO’s complicated relationships, its most essential performances, and the conversation around it both now and then. Plus, we tackle some feedback from a couple of recent episodes regarding some details we got wrong, and some we got right.

Works Cited:

• “Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, gangsta rap, and The Piano” by bell hooks (1994)

Outro music: Judy Garland, “I Love a Piano”

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Men of War, Pt. 2 - 1917 Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

We return to the trenches of the first World War to consider Sam Mendes’ 1917 within the greater history of World War I films generally, and as a companion to Peter Weir’s GALLIPOLI specifically. Following some debate over whether 1917’s continuous shot gimmick makes it more or less emotionally affecting, and an attempt to parse the film’s attitudes about war, we look at these two films in tandem to consider what they have to say about the failures of leadership in wartime, their respective depictions of young male friendship and communication, and to what extent each registers as an anti-war film. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GALLIPOLI, 1917, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited

• “‘Full Metal Jacket’ Seduced My Generation and Sent Us to War,” by Anthony Swofford (The New York Times Magazine)

• “Before 1917: Revisiting the greatest first world war movies,” by Scott Tobias (theguardian.com)

• “The 50 Greatest War Movies Ever Made,’ by Keith Phipps (vulture.com)

Your Next Picture Show

• Scott: King Vidor’s THE BIG PARADE and Lewis Milestone’s ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

• Genevieve: John Chester’s THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM

• Tasha: Sergio G. Sanchez’s MARROWBONE, Sebastian Schipper’s VICTORIA, and Makoto Shinkai’s WEATHERING WITH YOU

• Keith: Francis Ford Coppola’s THE COTTON CLUB

Outro music: “Wayfaring Stranger,” performed by John Stirratt

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Men of War, Pt. 1 — Gallipoli (1981) Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Inspired by this year’s surprise Oscar favorite 1917, we’re digging down into the trenches and slogging through the mud and blood of World War I, with two films centering on young soldiers delivering crucial messages that decide the fates of thousands of other young men. First up this week is Peter Weir’s 1981 film GALLIPOLI, which stars a shockingly young Mel Gibson as one half of a pair of Australian mates who join the war effort out of a mixture of patriotism, pride, and recklessness; we dig into the emotional effects of film’s unusual structure, which saves the wartime action for its final moments, how its Australian provenance makes it stand out among other WWI films, and how it indulges Weir’s affinity for wide open spaces and historical authenticity. Plus, we tackle a listener question about ideal movie-watching conditions whose response may prove the undoing of Scott and Keith’s long and amicable relationship.

Show Notes

Works Cited:

• “Before 1917: revisiting the greatest first world war movies,” by Scott Tobias (theguardian.com)

• “The 50 Greatest War Movies Ever Made,” by Keith Phipps (vulture.com)

• Strange Stars: How Science Fiction and Fantasy Transformed Popular Music, by Jason Heller

Outro music: “Adagio in G Minor”

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March Madness, Pt. 2 - Little Women (2019) Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

We return to Orchard House and Concord via Greta Gerwig’s new LITTLE WOMEN, which takes a much less traditional approach to Louisa May Alcott’s famed novel than Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 version, while still hitting on enough nostalgic touchpoints to feel like a faithful adaptation. In this second half of our March family double feature, we dig into how we processed Gerwig’s approach as an intellectual experience versus an emotional one, and how the film’s bold ending works in the context of the familiar story as well as Gerwig’s career. Then we dive into how Gerwig’s film aligns with and diverges from Armstrong’s version in its depiction of love and marriage, talent and ambition, and charity and virtue. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all versions of LITTLE WOMEN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited:

• “Little Women and the Marmee Problem,” by Sarah Blackwood (newyorker.com)

Your Next Picture Show:

• Genevieve: DICKINSON on Apple TV+

• Scott: James Cameron’s THE ABYSS

• Keith: Wim Wenders’ UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD

• Tasha: James Ivory’s HOWARDS END and Paul Downs Colaizzo’s BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON

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