Joining your hosts today is UofT student and cinephile, Joshua Edwards to discuss George Lucas’ STAR WARS - Episode II: Attack of the Clones ! While there is hardly a shortage of prequel discourse online, Lucas’ visionary trilogy never fails to stimulate some sort of discussion over its varied themes and styles. From its use of genre allusion ranging from the jidai-geki, Douglas Sirk romances, and detective-noirs, as well pioneering a new style filmmaking, listen as Erich, Krishiv, and Josh dive...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Young men come from abroad or poached from their homes close by, swelter in the Djibouti sun, staring out at the ocean’s mirage. The same bodies that dance a choreographed routine in the desert also tire as they practice military drills. Largely considered her opus, Claire Denis’ Beau Travail (1999) loosely adapts a tale of envy and wrath from Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd”, all the while weaving France’s colonial reputation from the 20th century. Join your hosts Krishiv and Erich as they serve ...
May 16, 2022•53 min
In this week's episode, yours hosts turn to a seminal work in the noir tradition, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï (1967), in which a nocturnal hitman prowls France's City of Lights in a desperate bid for survival against the forces that seek to erase his shadow. It is a notable intersection of world histories and mythologies, particularly that of the eponymous, Japanese samurai, whose code of honor preaches the importance of a stoicism akin to a tiger in a jungle. As Alain Delon's Jef Costell...
May 09, 2022•55 min
With an animated offering comparable to taking a draught of Frank Bean's "liquid gold" cider, Wes Anderson shows off his mise-en-scene mastery in 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox. A tail about a retired thief who's Bean put through the trials of fatherhood, and grows so tired of his domesticated, Boggis surroundings that he is quickly forced to Bunce from farm-to-farm with a cavalry of critters in a fight for their survival. Join Erich and Krishiv as they dive into Anderson's fully articulated aesthetic...
May 02, 2022•51 min
This week, Erich and Krishiv put their cards on the table in discussion over Steven Soderbergh’s masterpiece caper film, Ocean’s Eleven (2001). They discuss the vacuum left in the wake of the (arguably) disappearing myth of the movie star, in one of the century’s most stacked lineups. A picture that pays homage to heist films of yesteryear on vibrant celluloid, join them as they discuss a globalized, aesthetic paradigm where all parties - from directors to superstars to studios across the world ...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 2 min
CONTENT WARNING Violence, Suicide, Death As if the negotiation of 'authorial intent' wasn't enough, this week Erich and Krishiv propose the reading of two auteurs through Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man (2005). Following the summers Timothy Treadwell spent in the Alaskan wilderness until his death, Grizzly Man offers an interesting glimpse at the animal activist's life both through his own camcorder footage and Herzog's interpretation of it. The opinion that it's impossible for a documen...
Apr 19, 2022•59 min
Hot off the heels of Tiger Woods' comeback at the Masters, and to push the podcast's understanding of auteur theory even further, hosts Erich and Krishiv turn to the cornerstone of Adam Sandler's filmography - the Dennis Dugan directed Happy Gilmore (1996)! Join them as they chart Sandman's eclectic Hero's Journey through the golf green and the Hollywood studio system, asking the burning questions on everyone's mind: does this would-be golfer stand as a bastion for the mid-budget comedy? Is ther...
Apr 11, 2022•54 min
Listen this week as your hosts Erich and Krishiv approach the work of a legendary filmmaker. While many may remember Akira Kurosawa for Ikiru (1952) , Seven Samurai (1954), and Ran (1985), High and Low (1963) remains one of his best, and surely one of the greatest procedurals of all time. From its jaw-dropping black and white cinematography to Toshiro Mifune's commanding demeanor, High and Low 's tense atmosphere unveils the ostensible highs and lows of Japanese society. It lingers in the shadow...
Mar 28, 2022•56 min
Cronenberg's knack for the intimate and the uncomfortable shines off newly waxed bodies in his 1996 film Crash. With an erotic vision of the machine-aged present, Crash follows various victims of car accidents as they indulge in their gas-guzzling and passionate desires, stalking each other on moonlit highways and retreating to the back seat. Join your hosts Krishiv and Erich as they talk about Marshall McLuhan, H.R. Giger, and our own dependence on the automobile. "The Film Director as Philosop...
Mar 22, 2022•55 min
Before the time of eXistenZ (1999) and The Matrix (1999), Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days (1995) approached the techno-induced anxiety of moving into a new millennium. A cyber-noir induced daydream infused with social commentary which grounds it in the everyday, Strange Days acts as a significant entry into millennial cyberspace. Listen as Erich and Krishiv lurk the streets of Los Angeles and investigate what makes Strange Days so great....
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Erich and Krishiv tackle one of the most monumental studio efforts of the 2000s with the Wachowski's Speed Racer. As a follow up to the immensely successful Matrix Trilogy, Speed Racer had a lot to live up to, and while initial reception was not too great, listen as your hosts trace the reason for its greatness. From its amazing visual style, endearing story of underdog talent raging against corporate Armageddon, and a genuine love for filmmaking, Speed Racer has it all. Cael Keegan's book, Lana...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 11 min
This week's episode lands in England where co-hosts Erich and Krishiv look into Guy Ritchie's sophomore film, Snatch (2000). Among Irish Travellers, underground boxers, and indecipherable Brad Pitt accents, Snatch dials in Ritchie's style to its purest form--making for 100 minutes of hilarity and tension. Join Erich and Krishiv as they talk about Ritchie's tendencies as an auteur, Snatch 's success, and the late-great Dennis Farina. Elvis Mitchell's Review "Man All They Wanted Was to Go Buy a Tr...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In the inaugural episode of DOLLY BACK, Erich and Krishiv discuss Johnnie To's 2004 masterpiece, Throw Down . Following the intersecting lives of a former judo champion-turned-bar-owner, an up and coming judoka, and an aspiring pop star, Throw Down drenches the melodramatic struggles of regular people in the neon of Hong Kong. From style, to form, to themes, and much more, join the co-hosts as they investigate this early 21st century gem! Sean Gilman's Essay - " Throw Down : Down but Not Out"...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 5 min
