[ indistinct chatter ]5 Tammi 2023

143. 'Chinatown' (1974)

'Chinatown' has it all: premium 1960's and 70's counter-cultural bona fides in Jack Nicholson and Robert Towne. The ultimate Robert Evans production, as Producer AND head of the studio; a situation that allowed the barren earth from which 'Chinatown' sprung to be watered and tended to carefully despite strong headwinds against it ever coming to fruition.

In this episode, I get into the backstory of 'Chinatown' and its origins in Towne's interest in the rapidly-expanding development swallowing up the Southern California of his 1940's childhood. And Polanski, having fled LA following the horrific 1969 murder of his wife, Sharon Tate and their unborn child, was in no hurry to return.

But the combined efforts of Evans and Nicholson changed Polanski's mind, and he and Towne embarked upon a reworking of the script. And the result is a timeless classic, a jaundiced look at American (and male) power and politics. An upending of the tropes of the femme fatale noir character perfectly embodied by a never-better Faye Dunaway was the icing on this particular cake.

And Polanski's simple but incredibly thought-out direction is a wonder to contemplate, which this episode does with soundbites from David Fincher, Robert Towne, Steven Soderbergh, and Kimberly Pierce.

Finally, Jerry Goldsmith's incredible, indelible score is all the more remarkable given that it was a replacement score, written and recorded in just 9 days with the film's release date looming.

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Jaksot(304)

298. Die Hard (1988)

In this installment of Sacred Cows, I take a fresh and possibly first look at 'Die Hard', John McTiernan's action classic that I can't remember if I ever actually saw before. It turns out there is p...

29 Syys 1h 13min

297. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

SEQUELS... In this episode, I take a look at one of the most infamous film debacles of all time: John Boorman's ill-advised, poorly conceived, crowd-displeasing follow-up to one of the greatest and mo...

16 Syys 1h 43min

296. Michael Keaton, Glenn Close & Robert Duvall in 'The Paper' (1994)

One of the great newspaper movies, a great NYC location movie, a great set-dressing movie, a great acting movie...on and on. The Paper deserves more recognition; it's aged particularly well as a love ...

4 Syys 1h 29min

295. Dolly Parton & UK Crime Show Recs

Summer's rapidly ending and it's time to get back to the FCAC rhythm and routine. Some thoughts on the passing of Dolly Parton and some UK crime shows I've been watching of late, notably the Apple TV...

28 Elo 31min

294. 'Crossing Delancey' (1988)

Joan Micklin Silver's 1988 NYC love-letter/romantic comedy Crossing Delancey is one of the superlative NYC films of all time. And watching it today, it's hard not to mourn the loss of the sense of col...

28 Heinä 1h 28min

293. Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' (2026)

Go and see 'The Odyssey' in the biggest and best theater you can. You won't regret it. A rollicking great epic cinematic event. Historian Tom Holland interviews Actor Tom Holland on The Rest is Histor...

21 Heinä 28min

292. Robert Redford in 'The Candidate' (1972)

Michael Ritchie and Redford's still-searingly satiric and spot-on takedown of political operatives and image crafting, peddling, and pandering in the modern campaign-industrial complex speaks louder t...

17 Heinä 1h 38min