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PODCAST

Film Trace

We trace the Life of a Film from conception to production all the way to its release and reception. You know when you dive into a film"s wikipedia and imdb after watching it? Then the director"s page, then the actor"s page. Our show does that for you. We use our nerd superpowers to obsessively tell the story of a movie: how it came to be, how it played out, and what it means today. It is a crash course on a single film filled with primary documents, lovely asides, and frequent guest voices. It is an

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:14:24

Memories of Murder (2003) and The Bourne Identity (2002)

Film Trace ·

2024/09/15

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 denied,

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01:11:38

New World (2013) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Film Trace ·

2024/09/07

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

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01:06:48

Longlegs (2024) and Trap (2024)

Film Trace ·

2024/08/25

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

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01:11:12

Johnny Guitar (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959)

Film Trace ·

2024/07/15

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, reveals

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01:01:55

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Barbarella (1968)

Film Trace ·

2024/07/06

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. The

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01:07:33

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Day of...

Film Trace ·

2024/06/28

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

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01:10:15

Hairspray (1988) and Xanadu (1980)

Film Trace ·

2024/06/18

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 podcastJohn 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 taboo

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01:12:09

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar...

Film Trace ·

2024/06/02

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 VulturesWhen 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 was a

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01:13:49

Sugar and Spice (2001) and Vanilla Sky (2002)

Film Trace ·

2024/05/20

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, MollyThe 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 somersaulted

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01:03:43

The Love Witch (2016) and Black Swan (2010)

Film Trace ·

2024/05/12

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 FIlmsAs 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 rise of

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01:03:26

Madame Web (2024) and Pearl (2022)

Film Trace ·

2024/05/01

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 artistic

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01:07:55

A Discourse on The Oscars 2024

Film Trace ·

2024/03/10

We felt like doing an Oscars show, so we did:Topics of discussion1. 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 littlegold 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 throughouttheir career to one

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01:11:34

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Invasion of...

Film Trace ·

2024/02/11

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 Earth

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01:03:55

Dr. Strangelove (1964) and Alphaville (1965)

Film Trace ·

2024/01/14

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 teetering on

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59:01

The Omega Man (1971) and Zardoz (1974)

Film Trace ·

2023/12/17

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 podcastThe 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 future

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01:05:56

The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986)

Film Trace ·

2023/12/10

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 and

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01:07:22

The Matrix (1999) and Starship Troopers (1997)

Film Trace ·

2023/12/02

In the fourth episode of our Future Wars cycle, we explore two late 90s classic, The Matrix (1999) and Starship Trooper (1997).Special Guest: Evan Crean, film critic and co-host of the great Spoilerpiece Theatre podcast.Here we have two films with diametrically opposed authorial voices. The Matrix is self-serious, pointelty intellectual, and so cool that it borders on frigid sterility. Starship Troopers is a polemic anti-fascist satire that mirrors Baywatch more than it does Aliens. Nearing its

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01:07:09

War of the Worlds (2005) and The Road (2009)

Film Trace ·

2023/11/26

In the third episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss Spielberg's bad guy alien film, War of The Worlds along side the bleak and desolate Cormac McCarthy adaptation, The Road.Special Guest: Film critic and co-host of Spoilerpiece Theatre and The Slashers, Megan Kearns.The world doesn't end with a whimper. It ends with loud alien tripods and a nuclear winter. Spielberg had already made two alien films before War of the Worlds, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the

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01:01:22

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and The Purge (2013)

Film Trace ·

2023/11/12

In the second episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss with George Miller's gonzo-apocalypto in Mad Max: Fury Road alongside the low budget middle-brow of The Purge.Special Guest: Tommy Thevenet from the fantastic Haven't Scene It: A Movie PodcastAs we dip a little further into the last decade, our Future War cycle begins to take shape with the genius Mad Max massively outshining the sophomoric drivel of The Purge. Mad Max: Fury Road was stranded in development hell for over a decade

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01:05:02

The Creator (2023) and Dune (2021)

Film Trace ·

2023/11/05

In the first episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss the new Gareth Edwards sci-fi epic, The Creator, and Denis Villeneuve's recent attempt of adapting Dune onto film.Our Future Wars cycle is focused on how the conflicts of tomorrow were depicted in the past. Over this 8 episode series, we will review 16 films spanning from the 1950s through today that attempted to predict how mankind might find itself at odds with the world and itself.The first episode covers the 2020s with The Creator and

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