In the season finale of our Visionary Remakes season, we investigate two versions of The Maltese Falcon, the original from 1931 and the more famous 1941 version. The Maltese Falcon has almost become shorthand for both Humphrey Bogart and the beginning of film noir. That famous film was preceded by a film adaptation a decade earlier, which itself was preceded by the hard boiled crime novel a year prior. The 1941 film has totally eclipsed both the original adaptation and the book in popular consci...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 15Ep. 8
In episode seven of our Visionary Remakes season, we traverse two classic westerns. First, Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961) and its nearly immediate Italian reaction, Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The western has always been seen as a distinctly American film genre. The "west" in the word is the American West, a grand nearly ungovernable stretch of land filled with plains, deserts, mountains, rivers, and precarious cliffs, both literal and moral. It is a rich canvas that can tell a thousa...
Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 15Ep. 7
In episode six of our Visionary Remakes season, we explore two versions of the King Kong myth, the original from 1933 and the 1970s remake. We toss in a dash of Peter Jackson's 2005 version as well. Special Guest: Riley - Good friend of the show and true film buff King Kong is a cultural institution. How that happened is still a mystery to us children of the 1980s. We grew up with the original. The 1976 version had been memory holed by the time we were children. The 1933 version is iconic for ma...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 15Ep. 6
In episode five of our Visionary Remakes season, we dissect the original The Fly from 1958 as well as David Cronenberg's bombastic remake from 1986. Special Guest: Daniel Malone - Host of the great You Talkin' to Me? podcast where Daniel watches classic films with his son for the first time. Check it out! The impetus of this season was to explore how remakes can add, take away, or supercede the original. Of course, all remakes add to the discourse of the original, and it is not some arbitrary co...
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 15Ep. 5
In episode four of our Visionary Remakes season, we cross-examine two versions of Cape Fear, the original starring a creepy and enigmatic Robert Mitchum, and the 1991 remake from Martin Scorsese starring a crazed and manic Robert De Niro. Special Guest: Amanda Jane Stern - writer, producer and star of the award-winning psychosexual thriller Perfectly Good Moment. Streaming now on Tubi! Co-host of the podcast Don't Be Crazy. Both versions of Cape Fear are anchored by dazzling performances of the ...
Feb 16, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 15Ep. 4
In episode three of our Visionary Remakes season, we bite into Dawn of the Dead , the original by George Romero from 1978 and the kinetic remake by Zack Snyder from 2004. Special Guest: Karl Delossantos, founder and film critic at Smash Cut, editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and member of the Online Film Critics Society. George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) was my favorite film through my 20s and 30s (Dan here). The horror film's intoxicating mixture of gonzo pr...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 15Ep. 3
In episode two of our Visionary Remakes season, we survey the recent Coen brothers remake of True Grit (2010) and compare it to the original film, a John Wayne vehicle from 1969. Special Guest : Brian Eggert is the owner and film critic of Deep Focus Review, where he has written movie reviews, in-depth essays, and critical analyses since 2007. Brian also regularly appears on KARE 11, the NBC affiliate for the Twin Cities, to review and discuss movies. He belongs to the Society For Cinema and Med...
Feb 02, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 15Ep. 2
A new season of Film Trace is here! This season we will try something a bit different. We are focusing on Visionary Remakes. In each episode, we will watch a remake made in the selected decade and then go back and compare it to the original film. First up, we are covering Nosferatu . This season was inspired by Robert Eggers' remake which came out late last year. The film was a surprise hit at the box office and is currently doing very well on digital release. We will compare the modern Nosferat...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 15Ep. 1
A House Divided: 2024 Films We Love, Films We Hate In this special episode, Dan and Chris delve into the films that split them down the middle—where one of us loved a movie, and the other couldn't stand it. It's our version of cinematic crossfire, complete with slightly heated debates and a dash of common ground by the end. Episode Highlights: --Intro: House Divided Origins-- Trap & Longlegs --The Divide-- I Saw the TV Glow A Quiet Place: Day One Hit Man Maxxxine Love Lies Bleeding The Subst...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Season 14Ep. 9
In the season finale of our Manhunt series, we trace the trajectory of Fritz Lang's exceptional beginnings with M (1931) to his wilting end in While the City Sleeps (1956). Fritz Lang had already created two masterpieces, Metropolis (1927) and M (1931), by the time he reached middle age. He went on to direct twenty-three more films throughout his long career. While some of these subsequent films were great, it would be difficult to argue that any of them reached the heights of his early work. Th...
Oct 27, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 14Ep. 8
In episode seven of our Manhunt series, we traverse a gritty and rebellious San Francisco in Bullitt (1968) alongside an oddly sleek and barren Paris in Le Samouraï (1967). Bullitt is famous for two reasons: Steve McQueen and the car chase. Like most famous films, its celluloid holds many more layers than its reputation claims. Bullitt was a leap forward for crime thrillers. Its naturalism, meticulousness, and postmodern plot made it a harbinger for the decades to come. There is no Chinatown wit...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 14Ep. 7
In episode six of our Manhunt series, we face the masterpiece that is Apocalypse Now (1978) alongside the much lesser Logan's Run (1976) Special Guest: the great Mike Field, Co-host of the Forgotten Cinema podcast Any film critic or scholar who dares traverse the muddy waters up river within Apocalypse Now feels doomed to be bereft of insight about such a well-established pure cinema magnum opus. But alas, here we are swimming upstream in one of the many backwater tributaries that make up the cu...
Oct 07, 2024•58 min•Season 14Ep. 6
In episode five of our Manhunt series, we discuss two films very rooted in the 1980s Aesthetic. First up is Michael Mann's neon blue serial killer thriller, Manhunter from 1986 followed by the bombastic and preposterous Schwarzenegger action movie, The Running Man from 1987. Special Guest: Friend of the show and co-host of the Screen Time: A Quarantine Family Podcast. Brigitte Manhunter failed to make its money back at the box office when it was released in mid August 1986 on a dumping ground we...
Sep 29, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 14Ep. 5
In episode four of our Manhunt series, we explore two films that veer off the beaten path of their genre linenage. From Japan, Cure (1997), an atmospheric and fatalist horror film that helped launched J-Horror and the concept of elevated horror. From the United States, One False Move (1992), a raw and politically charged on-the-run film that still feels edgy and uncomfortable thirty years after its release. Special Guest: Good friend of the show, and our resident Japan expert, Harry Brammer Ever...
Sep 21, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 14Ep. 4
In episode three of our Manhunt series, we delve into two films that helped redefine and revive the genre of pursuit. From South Korea, Memories of Murder (2003), a haunting and postmodern crime drama. From the United States, The Bourne Identity (2002), an adrenaline-fueled yet grounded spy thriller. Special Guest: the talented John Brooks from the great 1999 Podcast which covers all the films from that seminal year of film. Crime stories hinge on a denouement of justice. When that justice is de...
Sep 15, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 14Ep. 3
In episode two of our Manhunt series, we explore two international films. From South Korea, New World (2013), a topsy-turvy crime drama. From New Zealand, the playful and whimsical, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). Crime dramas have been a staple of cinema since its inception. We find comfort in categorizing characters as good or evil. It provides order in a convoluted world. Actual morality is often murky and challenging to decipher. New World offers a crystal clear reflection of how the world...
Sep 07, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 14Ep. 2
We kick off a new season of Film Trace exploring Manhunt Movies with Longlegs and Trap . In this season of Film Trace, we will dive into movies about being hunted or being the hunter. While these hunted vs hunter films span a wide breadth of genres, we start with the most tried and true model, the serial killer thriller. Longlegs made a huge splash this summer. A true indie made for under 10 million, Longlegs has broken the 100 million dollar mark at the worldwide box office to become the highes...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 14Ep. 1
We conclude our Camp Cinema season with our eighth episode covering Johnny Guitar (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959). In our finale, we delve into the origins of Camp Cinema in the 1950s, spotlighting Nicholas Ray's flamboyant western Johnny Guitar and Douglas Sirk's melodramatic Imitation of Life . Johnny Guitar subverts the traditional male bravado typical of most westerns by pitting two powerful women against each other. The visual artistry of Ray and his cinematographer, Harry Stradling, re...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 13Ep. 8
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our seventh episode covering The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Barbarella (1968) Special Guest: Manish Mathur, host of the It Pod to Be You, covering romantic comedies from classics to modern hits and everything in between. French director Jacques Demy embarked on an ambitious project to create a film in which every line was sung. What initially appeared as a gimmicky opera about everyday life evolved into one of the most acclaimed musicals of all time. ...
Jul 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 13Ep. 7
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our sixth episode covering The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Day of the Locust (1975). Special Guest: scholar, artist, author, and curator Marisa C. Hayes of the wonderful Afterimages podcast and book series. The first film discussed needs no introduction, though Dan and Chris could have used one since the Jim Sharman-directed camp classic was a first-watch for both of them. Enter Marisa to help break down why it perhaps took so many years for two...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 6
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our fifth episode covering Hairspray (1988) and Xanadu (1980) Special Guest: Gavin Mevius and Louie Rendon from the great Mixed Reviews podcast John Waters is the prince of camp. We simply had to choose one of his films for our season on Camp Cinema. The lucky winner was Hairspray . While Waters is known for his deft ability to push the boundaries of taste and propriety, Hairspray spins and shakes upon the line of respectability without overly indulging in t...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 13Ep. 5
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our fourth episode covering To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Magnolia (1999) Special Guest: Returning Guest, Rotten Tomato approved film critic, Natasha Alvar from Cultured Vultures When watching To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar , there is an overriding sense of what could have been. Coming out in the mid 1990s, a surprisingly much more open time in American culture, Wong Foo went to number one at the box office. It...
Jun 02, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 13Ep. 4
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our third episode covering Sugar and Spice (2001) and Vanilla Sky (2002) Special Guest: Good friend and frequent guest, Molly The early Aughts was a bizarre time in American culture. The heady surge of the late 90s into Y2K was quicky benzo'd by 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our two selections for the 2000s were written and produced before the big comedown, and they both definitely have a "we can do anything" vibe. Sugar and Spice deftly somersa...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 13Ep. 3
We continue our Camp Cinema season in our second episode covering The Love Witch (2016) and Black Swan (2010) Special Guest: Filmmakers Emily Gallagher and Austin Elston of Fishtown FIlms As the dust begins to settle on the 2010s, the topsy turvy decade begins to come into focus. At the start of the decade, Darren Aronofsky released Black Swan (2010) to critical acclaim. I saw it in a packed NYC theater opening weekend. The buzz was palpable. Looking back now, especially post mother! and the ris...
May 12, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 13Ep. 2
Welcome to the first episode of Season 13 of Film Trace. In this season, we will explore the notion of Camp in Film. Building off of Susan Sontag's foundational 1964 essay, Notes on Camp , we will explore two films each episode we think demonstrate Sontag's concepts of naive camp and intentional camp. First off is the financial and critical disaster of Madame Web (2024) . We argue this film is a good example of what Sontag would call naive camp: over the top, extravagant, but without much artist...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 13Ep. 1
We felt like doing an Oscars show, so we did: Topics of discussion 1. Intro: 2023's Film Trace movies. They stood the test of time, but were they awarded upon release? 2. Nominated film most obviously conceived specifically with little gold men in mind? 3. Nominated film conceived originally with absolutely no award hopes in mind? 4. Nominated director/writer/DP/actor most obviously groomed to one day become an Oscar winner? 5. Nominated director/writer/DOP/actor least groomed throughout their c...
Mar 10, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 12Ep. 9
In the eighth and final episode of our Future Wars season, we discuss the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) alongside the b-movie stunner Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Alas we have come to the finale of our Future Wars cycle. It has been a long season with a super-sized eight episode run. Sci-fi is often a real bummer. Most of the movies we covered this season depicted humanity's future as a nightmarish dystopia. Here we trace back the genre to its roots. The Day the E...
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 12Ep. 8
In the seventh episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss the classic Dr Strangelove (1964) alongside a bizarre artifact from the French New Wave, Alphaville (1965) Special Guest: Good friend of the show and onscreen performer Harry Brammer, dialing in from Tokyo. Here we have two masters, Kubrick and Godard, spinning tales of future conflict and war in the mid 1960s. Slipping in their polemics right before the great social upheavals of the decade, these films depict the western world teeterin...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 12Ep. 7
In the sixth episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss the last man on earth romp The Omega Man (1971) as well as the bonkers fever dream that is Zardoz (1974). Special Guest: Sean Patrick from the great Everyone’s a Critic podcast The 1970s were a trip. The Omega Man is a zany, over-the-top apocalypse movie that is helmed by maybe the worst possible choice for the role, Charlton Heston. Zardoz is a legendary cult film that makes even less sense now than it did on release. Films about the fut...
Dec 17, 2023•59 min•Season 12Ep. 6
In the fifth episode of our Future Wars cycle, we tackle two giant films from the action sci fi maestro James Cameron: The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986). Special Guest: David Riedel, film critic and co-host of the great Spoilerpiece Theatre podcast. James Cameron is a master filmmaker. This two film run in the mid 1980s is iconic, legendary, and ground-breaking. When we think of this cycle's theme, Future Wars, we are ultimately thinking of Cameron and his oeuvre. The status of Terminator ...
Dec 10, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 12Ep. 5
