Film School

The Devil's Backbone

What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps? Something dead which still seems to be alive? An emotion suspended in time? Like a blurred…

What Is Genre? (Cutting Room Floor #233)

When we talk about "genre" as it relates to movies, books, comics, etc. what do we mean? What IS "genre?" Josh and Ira break down how we use that term on Film School. Also, Josh recommends MasterChef…

Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki Deep Dive #3)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Hayao Miyazaki Deep Dive #2)

"The earth knows it's wrong for us to survive..." We're diving into Miyazaki's second feature film! The world is a wasteland called the "sea of despair." But one intrepid young heroine might have the…

The Criterion Closet (Cutting Room Floor #232)

Josh and Ira take a trip outdoors to visit the Criterion Closet when it visited Los Angeles. It was a hoot!

The Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miyazaki Deep Dive #1)

Hayao Miyazaki's first film!

Up Next On Film School: Hayao Miyazaki Deep Dive!

Josh announces our next project on Film School: we're diving deep into the Japanese anime master, Hayao Miyazaki!

Sideways

I'm not drinking any f----ing merlot!

The Game

Discovering the object of the game is the object of the game... It's hard to follow up a classic thriller like Seven, but that's exactly what David Fincher had to do with his next feature film, The…

High Anxiety

I know what came over you: High Anxiety. You've still got it! Well, it turns out we couldn't quite get ol' Hitch out of our system, and neither could Mel Brooks. The king of satire does his signature…

The Essential Hitchcock (Cutting Room Floor #231)

53 films. 50 years. 6 decades. After watching every single movie Alfred Hitchcock ever made (minus one, lost in time), Josh and Ira reflect back on the past two years they spent with the legendary…

Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #53)

Leave your crystal balls out of this, George... It's Hitchcock's final film. After 6 decades, 53 films, and 50 years, Alfred Hitchcock finally reached the end. His last feature is remarkably light…

Navigating Transition Periods (Cutting Room Floor #230)

When you're entering into a new chapter of life--any kind; moving, finishing a big project, marriage, divorce, kids, a breakthrough in therapy, new job...--how do you handle that? Is there anything…

Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #52)

Don't forget: Bob's your uncle... It's Hitchcock's penultimate film! Second-to-last! And first film in the wild 70s, an era where the R-rating became a thing, and a new frontier opened up in cinema…

If You Ain't Napping, It Ain't Happening (Cutting Room Floor #229)

Do you take naps? If you don't, why is that? And if you do, do you feel guilty about it? Or are they a regular part of your routine (at least when life allows it)? We discuss our stance on all the…

Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #51)

Does the word "topaz" mean anything to you? The Cold War rages on in the world, and Hitchcock delivers a political/spy thriller centered on the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, apparently even…

Is It Okay To Compromise? (Cutting Room Floor #228)

When making art like writing or telling a story, when do you compromise? Or DO you compromise? The word is so loaded with negative connotation, but its definition is so slippery, maybe even personal.…

Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #50)

How would you like to live behind what you call the Iron Curtain...? It's the height of the cold war. Hitch swaps his nationless networks of mysterious criminals for a far more real-world one: East…

How To Make Sense Of David Lynch (Cutting Room Floor #227)

"Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper." David Lynch pushed the boundaries of…

Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #49)

You, Freud. Me, Jane? Alfred takes on sex, lies, and money missing from the big safe at work. It's half trippy para-psychology Spellbound, part neo-noirish femme fatale Vertigo, this time with a…