Each episode of The Next Reel Film Podcast is a part of a series or collection of films brought together by time, idea, or contributor. Looking to build a great watchlist? You can’t go wrong with starting on a Next Reel Series.
The members have spoken! Our members voted that for our June member bonus episode, we return to our series on films from 1981, and of the options, they voted on Lawrence Kasdan’s debut ‘Body Heat.’ It’s sexy, it’s sweaty, it’s noir-y. We love it. Tune in!
It’s time to draw the curtains on our 1981 series with another Louis Malle film, Atlantic City. While technically made in 1979 and released in Canada and France in 1980, this film wasn’t released in the US until April 1981. Because of that, however, it does feel like a film from the 70s to us, like many films in our series ended up doing. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we discuss Malle’s second film to be released in 1981 in the US.
The late 70s and early 80s were a great time for Australian cinema. The filmmakers churned out lots of great (and cheap) movies and these movies helped create a resurgence of Australian films on the world cinematic stage. Peter Weir was one of these filmmakers, and his 1981 film Gallipoli really helped this resurgence with its story of friendship and the loss of innocence in times of war. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Weir’s Gallipoli.
John Landis made a big shift in his filmmaking when we went from comedies like The Kentucky Fried Movie and Animal House to An American Werewolf in London. At the time, people weren’t used to horror films that blended with comedy and it took him over a decade to actually get it made. The film was, however, a success when it was released and still has a big fan base. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Landis’ horror/comedy film.
Michael Mann has spent most of his film career exploring the world of crime and the criminals that inhabit it. Not to mention neon lighting. His feature film debut, Thief, certainly started him on the right track. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Mann’s Thief.
Anyone who listens to the show knows that we have a love/hate relationship with Brian De Palma. With his 1981 film Blow Out, he makes one of his strongest films and lands squarely on the side of ‘love’ for us (thank the heavens since neither of us had seen it recently and we couldn’t remember it well enough). Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with De Palma’s Blow Out.
My Dinner With André is certainly not an easy film to classify. It certainly is a film that could be considered divisive, but that’s really between people who get into it and people who just don’t click with it. It is a film of two people having a conversation over dinner, after all. But to many, it is one of Louis Malle’s classics, a film that makes many lists of great films, and a film that inspires conversation. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we have our own conversation about this film that fits in our 1981 film series.
Many films in the early 80s continued the cynicism of the 70s, and that certainly holds true for a number of John Carpenter’s films, who has used several of his films and characters in them to take a pointed look at the hypocrisy of the government and society’s ills as he saw them. His 1981 film ‘Escape From New York’ falls into that mold, while also feeling like nothing more than an early 80s action thriller set in a dystopian future. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Carpenter’s ‘Escape From New York.’
Wolfgang Petersen’s epic WWII submarine film came out in Germany in 1981 and changed the way many filmmakers constructed tension in war and action films. It changed the way people viewed Germans during the war because it portrayed the submariners as simply human. And it became the most popular foreign language film in the US for a very long time. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our series on 1981 with Petersen’s “Das Boot.”