1985
At the height of the Cold War, it seems fitting that Sylvester Stallone would find incredible success in his Rocky franchise by weaving a tale about his all-American boxer going up against a cold, almost-robotic Russian boxer. The film found tremendous success at the box office, becoming the highest grossing sports film ever, a record which it held for 24 years. But how well does it hold up today?
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How does Romero’s final zombie film in his original trilogy hold up when compared to the other two? Do Tom Savini’s effects hold up? What about the story and acting? Tune in to this week’s show to get the answers to these questions and more!
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Tommy Handsome is back with his take on Dan O’Bannon’s 1985 zombie romp, The Return of the Living Dead. And before you hang up the podcast machine, wait, wait! Hear him out! This film brings some surprising horror chops in spite of the camp legacy in its wake starting with director O’Bannon himself
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It’s time for some guilty pleasures! Yes, the two of us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — dig up some films that we love but are generally not considered the greatest of movies. This week, it’s Andy’s turn with his guilty pleasure — Nicholas Meyer’s 1985 Peace Corps comedy “Volunteers.”
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While the first two Mad Max films had so much going for them, it sure seemed like a stumble with the third of the trilogy. But that’s looking at it through today’s eyes because some critics like Roger Ebert sure loved it — he put it on his ’10 Best’ list of 1985! Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we go beyond Thunderdome with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, continuing our Mad Max series with Miller’s 1985 film.
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Terry Gilliam has always been an ambitious director with wild visions for his films. Sometimes that’s worked out, sometimes it hasn’t. In the case of the follow-up to his successful film Time Bandits, Brazil didn’t work out, at least at the time. Gilliam had a very public battle with Sid Sheinberg, the president and CEO of MCA-Universal at the time, who didn’t want to release Gilliam’s film as it was presented to him. It wasn’t until 1996 when Gilliam’s director’s cut was finally released, but people could tell long before that there was a great film here. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Terry Gilliam series with Andy’s favorite movie, Brazil.
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“Pale Rider” marks Clint Eastwood’s 10th time directing himself in a film, something he went on doing until 2008’s “Gran Torino” and something he clearly knows how to do well. This seems to hold true especially in westerns, even though he only directed himself in four of them. Perhaps that’s because he had so much experience in them and learned from other directors like Sergio Leone how to stand, how to ride, how to stare, how to shoot on film. And while “Pale Rider” is an obvious retelling of the classic 1953 film “Shane,” it can stand on its own merits and doesn’t feel like a ripoff. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we come to the last film in our Richard Dysart series, 1985’s “Pale Rider.”
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It’s Valentine’s Day, and what better way to end our current John Huston series than with his 1985 romantic mafia comedy, Prizzi’s Honor? Huston was struggling with his health in the 80s but still a vibrant and essential director when he made this film that garnered 8 Oscar nominations. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we celebrate love and death in this quirky film.
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