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The Spanish Prisoner

"One thing my father taught me about business: always do business as if the person you're doing business with is trying to screw you, because most likely they are. And if they're not, you can be pleasantly surprised."

David Mamet has made a name for himself as a playwright, as a screenwriter, as an author, and as a writer/director. His fifth film that he wrote and directed, “The Spanish Prisoner,” didn’t make many waves when it came out in 1998, but it seemed to impress the critics and it ended up in the black. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin a short David Mamet Directs series by talking about this film. We talk about what makes this film work and what makes it fall apart, and how that works for us. We discuss the nature of ‘Mamet speak,’ the type of dialogue that Mamet is known for, and how the actors work with that dialogue in this film. We chat about the convoluted and complicated con going on in this film, and address why it is much more problematic returning to it a second time. And we talk about the nature of the problems in the film and wonder if some of it may have been intentional by Mamet. It’s an interesting film, despite it’s flaws, and we have a great time talking about it. Tune in!

Film Sundries

A show about movies and how they connect.

When the movie ends, our conversation begins. We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
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