Hal Ashby

Is Hal Ashby’s last feature film really as bad as people say or are its glimmers of neo-noir enough to make it worth talking about? How well does Jeff Bridges play an alcoholic? And what is a funicular anyway? Tune in to this week’s show to get answers to these questions and more!

Who is this Colin Higgins fellow and why are we talking about him? How resonant is Harold and Maude still? Are jokes about suicide okay in a context like this? Tune in to this week’s show to get these answers and more!

Hal Ashby made a number of stand-out films in the 70s, films that looked at human nature in offbeat stories that didn’t feel like they came from a mold. When Peter Sellers presented him with the opportunity to direct an adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski’s novella “Being There” shortly after the book’s publication, he loved the idea and spent the next 9 years working to find the funding to get it made. The film was finally released in 1979 and was considered by many to be Peter Sellers’ return to greatness. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Richard Dysart series with this fantastic film.