Join us for this first part of a continuous series of Grazes wherein we look at extant popcorn classics from a whole century ago. For this episode, we examined the fascinating cinematic output of Japan, Scandinavia, Italy, France and the Soviet Union in 1921, as well as giving a precis of the growth of film from its first appearance in the mid 1890s up to that point.

Forthcoming episodes this year will focus on films from Weimar Germany and Czechslovakia, followed by our Anglophone Silent edition.

Filmography (all from 1921):

‘Jiraya The Hero’ (dir. Shōzō Makino)
‘Souls On The Road’ (dir. Minoru Murata)
‘The Murder of General Gryaznov’ (dir. Ivane Perestiani)
‘The Phantom Carriage’ (dir. Victor Sjöström)
‘Johan’ (dir. Mauritz Stiller)
'Markens Grøde' (dir. Gunnar Sommerfeldt)
'Hamlet' (dir. Svend Gade & Heinz Schall)
‘L’uomo Meccanico’ (dir. André Deed)
‘El Dorado’ (dir. Marcel L’Herbier)
‘Fievre’ (dir. Louis Delluc)
‘L’atlantide’ (dir. Jacques Feyder)

The soundtrack includes Phil Graves’ arrangements of ‘1921’ by The Who, ’The Sheik of Araby’ by Harry B. Smith, Francis Wheeler and Ted Snyder, ‘La Catedral’ by Agustín Barrios and ‘100 Years Ago’ by The Rolling Stones

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co-produced by emmett cruddas & sam storey

Film Graze 029 - 100 Years Ago (Part One)

In advance of the 91st Academy Awards (and the 8th Annual On Cinema Oscar Special) this Sunday, we dabbled in Proper Film Journalism and reviewed the 8 best pictures nominated for Hollywood’s biggest prize.

Running order:

MINARI (Lee Isaac Chung)
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Aaron Sorkin)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (Shaka King)
NOMADLAND (Chloe Zhao)
SOUND OF METAL (Darius Marder)
MANK (David Fincher)
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Emerald Fennel)
THE FATHER (Florian Zeller)

Featuring covers of 'Purify' by Black Gammon (written by Pharmakon) from the Sound of Metal OST, 'Return of the Grievous Angel' by Gram Parsons, and 'Toxic' by Britney Spears.

Film Graze 030 - Oscar Fever

For the second part of our ongoing series on films from exactly one century ago, we're looking at some serious classics and rediscovered gems from Weimar Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. With chats about the first abstract films, the impact of film expressionism, the Kammerspielfilm, works by some of the greatest talents the cinema has ever known, and much more.

Filmography (all from 1921)

'The Wildcat' (dir. Ernst Lubitsch)
'Sappho' (aka 'Mad Love') (dir. Dimitri Buchowetzki)
'Lady Hamilton' (dir. Richard Oswald)
'Backstairs' (dir. Leopold Jessner)
'Shattered' (dir. Lupu Pick)
'The Haunted Castle' (dir. F.W. Murnau)
'Journey Into The Night' (dir. F.W. Murnau)
'The Indian Tomb' (dir. Joe May)
'Four Around The Woman' (dir. Fritz Lang)
'Destiny' (dir. Fritz Lang)
'The Flying Koffer' (dir. Lotte Reiniger)
'Lichtspiel Opus I' (dir. Walther Ruttmann)
'Rhythmus 21' (dir. Hans Richter)
'Labyrinth of Horror' (dir. Michael Curtiz)
'Arrival From The Darkness' (dir. Jan S. Kolar)
'The Poisoned Light (dir. Jan S. Kolar)
'Janosik' (dir Jaroslav Siakel)

The soundtrack includes Phil Graves' arrangements of '1921' by The Who (German translation by Emmett), 'Mad Luv' by Future, 'Eyesight To The Blind' by Sonny Boy Williamson (arr. The Who), 'Behold A Marvel In The Darkness' by Deerhoof and '100 Years Ago' by The Rolling Stones.

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co-produced by Emmett Cruddas & Sam Storey

Film Graze 031 - 100 Years Ago (Part Two)

With the release of his latest film, Undine, we’re back with a special episode on the films of Christian Petzold, master of the back-of-head portrait and poet of the Eurozone. With discussions about every feature film (and some shorts too), we trace his near three-decade career as one of the key figures of the Berlin School of filmmaking, looking at his treatment of genre, history and neoliberalism, his key collaborations and influences, the development of his style and much more.

Works discussed:

Suden (1990, student film)
Ostwärts (1991, student film)
Pilotinnen aka Pilots aka Drifters (1995, dffb final proj/TV film)
Cuba Libre (1996, TV film)
Die Beischlafdiebin aka The Sex Thief (1998, TV film)
Die innere Sicherheit aka The State I Am In (2000)
Toter Mann aka Something to Remind Me (2001, TV film)
Wolfsburg (2003, TV film)
Gespenster aka Ghosts (2005)
Yella (2007)
Jerichow (2008) 
Barbara (2012)
Phoenix (2014)
Transit (2018)
Undine (2020)

Featuring covers of ‘Abreise’ (Transit OST) by Stefan Will, ‘Road to Nowhere’ by Talking Heads, ‘Speak Low’ by Kurt Weill and ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees.

If you enjoyed our treatment of Petzold’s work, we’ve also done full filmography treatments of the work of Roy Andersson, Bong Joon-ho, Charlie Kaufman, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Kelly Reichardt.

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 032 - Petz At Home

This episode we’re thrilled to be joined by friend of the show Louis Bennett (insta @louisben1995) for a special on painters on screen. 

We discuss some old favourites, some new discoveries, a couple of real stinkers and much more in a wide-ranging discussion about screen representations of fictional, contemporary and historical painters’ lives, work and times. Check below for the full filmography!

Louis’ latest show, ‘Ariel’, is exhibiting at the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (https://bit.ly/3znSUuf) in Wandsworth, London until 31st July and includes the cover image of this episode, 'It Was Written'.

Featuring covers of ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ by Bob Dylan & The Band, ‘When I Was a Painter’ by The Breeders, ‘Painter in Your Pocket’ by Destroyer and ‘Painter Man’ by The Creation.

Filmography (in order of appearance):

Mrs. Lowry and Son (Adrian Noble, 2019)
Miss Potter (Chris Noonan, 2006)
Lust For Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956)
The Horse’s Mouth (Ronald Neame, 1954)
The Rebel (Robert Day, 1961)
The Square (Ruben Ostlund, 2017)
Dinner for Schmucks (Jay Roach, 2010)
The Draughtsman’s Contract (Peter Greenaway, 1982)
Dont Let The Riverbeast Get You! (Charles Roxburgh, 2012)
Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh, 2014)
After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985)
Life Lessons (Martin Scorsese, 1989)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma, 2019)
The Belly of an Architect (Peter Greenaway, 1987)
The Agony and The Ecstasy (Carol Reed, 1964)
Final Portrait (Stanley Tucci, 2017)
Nightwatching (Peter Greenaway, 2008)
The Da Vinci Code (Ron Howard, 2007)
The Mill & The Cross (Lech Majewski, 2011)
La Kermesse Heroique (Jacques Feyder, 1936)
Andrei Rublev (Andrey Tarkovsky, 1968)
The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Rembrandt (Alexander Korda, 1936)
Rembrandt fecit 1669 (Jos Stelling, 1977)
A Bigger Splash (Jack Hazan, 1973)
The Quince Tree Sun (Victor Erice, 1992)
The Mystery of Picasso (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1958)
Caravaggio (Jarman, 1986)
Artemisia (Agnes Merlet, 1997)
Frida Still Life (Paul Deluc, 1983)
Frida (Julie Taymor, 2002)
At Eternity’s Gate (Julian Schnabel, 2018)
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel, 2000)
Vincent & Theo (Robert Altman, 1991)
Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat, 1991)
Loving Vincent (Dorota Kobeila & Hugh Welchmann, 2017)
Csontvary (Zoltan Huszarik & Ferenc Olasz, 1980)
Klimt (Raul Ruiz, 2006)
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (Raul Ruiz, 1978)
Pirosmani (Giorgi Shengelaia, 1969)
Arabesques on the Pirosmani Theme (Sergei Parajanov, 1985)
Schalken the Painter (Leslie Megahey, 1979)
Pollock (Ed Harris, 2000)
Love is the Devil (John Maybury, 1998)
Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)
Montparnasse 19 (Max Ophuls & Jacques Becker, 1958)

Bibliography:
John A. Walker, Art and Artists on Screen (1993)
David Bovey, The artist biopic: a historical analysis of narrative cinema, 1934-2010 (unpublished 2015 PhD thesis).

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 033 - Painter in Your Podcast (with Louis Bennett)

Following the recent Robert Altman retrospective at the BFI, we’re back with a survey of his work ranging from early corporate films like the ‘The Dirty Look’ (1954) up to his 2006 swansong, A Prairie Home Companion, via a glut of bona fide classics of American cinema and one or two legendary flops – i.e. Quintet (1979). 

We discuss the key features of Altman’s visionary film style, trace the vicissitudes of his storied career and ‘get into it’ on a number of real favourites, including the essential revisionist western texts McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) and Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) and the brilliantly realised comic musical, Popeye (1980), before finishing up with our top 5 Altman films (at the time of recording!).

Featuring covers of ‘The Stranger Song’ by Leonard Cohen, ‘Thieves like Us’ by Iceage, a Hornpipe/Popeye Theme medley arrangement, ‘It Don’t Worry Me’ by Keith Carradine and ‘Everything is Food’ by Harry Nilsson.

Full filmography (in chronological order):
Modern Football (1951) 
The Dirty Look (1954) 
The James Dean Story (1957) 
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: “The Young One” and “Together” (1958) 
M.A.S.H (1970) 
Brewster McCloud (1970) 
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) 
Images (1972) 
The Long Goodbye (1973) 
Thieves Like Us (1974) 
California Split (1974) 
Nashville (1975) 
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) 
3 Women (1977) 
Quintet (1979) 
HealtH (1980) 
Popeye (1980) 
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) 
Secret Honor (1984) 
Aria (1987) 
Tanner ‘88 (1988) 
The Player (1992) 
Short Cuts (1993) 
Kansas City (1996) 
Dr. T & The Women (2000) 
Gosford Park (2001) 
The Company (2003) 
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Bibliography:
David Thomson (ed.), ‘Altman on Altman’, 2006.
Doran William Cannon, ‘The Kid Wanted to Fly—So They Gave Him the Air’ in The New York Times, Feb. 7, 1971.
Mitchell Zuckoff (ed.), ‘Robert Altman: the Oral Biography’, 2009.
Robert Niemi, ‘The Cinema of Robert Altman: Hollywood Maverick’, 2016.
Robin Wood, ‘Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan… and Beyond: Expanded and Revised Edition’, 2003.

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 034 - Altmen

We’re back, grazing on a pair of films about films. We get things underway with a chat about Prano Bailey-Bond’s stylised, period tribute to the ‘video nasty’ genre, CENSOR (2021) and the state of British cinema. Then, following on from our last episode on the work of Robert Altman, we’re sticking with New American Cinema with a look at Brian De Palma’s Vilmos Zsigmond-lensed paranoiac political drama, BLOW OUT (1981).

With a short cover of Radiohead’s ‘Blow Out’ for good measure.

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Produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 035 - Censor Working Overtime

This week we catch up on some festival viewings over the last couple of months and get to graze on the work of some of our favourite filmmakers. 

From the London Film Festival, we discuss the presentation of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson's EUROPA (1931), an extraordinary Polish avant-garde short long thought lost after its confiscation by the Nazis, and Sam reviews Radu Jude's hilarious and timely new feature BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN (2021). Next, Emmett reports on Tsai Ming-Liang's long-awaited return to feature filmmaking with the mesmeric DAYS (2020), presented at the Queer East Film Festival. We then discuss the programme at this year's Japanese Avant-garde and Experimental Film Festival, including Shuji Terayama's BOXER (1977), Tatsumi Kumashiro’s LOVERS ARE WET (1973) and Kon Ichikawa's TOKYO OLYMPIAD (1965), before rounding things up with a look back on the recent presentation of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet's FROM THE CLOUD TO THE RESISTANCE (1979) at the Institut Francais as part of the Open City Documentary Festival.

With covers of 'Days' by the Kinks and the theme from 'Boxer' by J.A. Seazer. 

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Produced by Sam Storey

Film Graze 036 - Four Film Festivals

We’re delighted to be joined this episode by Mehelli Modi, founder of legendary arthouse label Second Run DVD, for a wide-ranging conversation about the love of film. 

We chat about some recent and upcoming Second Run releases, including such gems as Zbyněk Brynych’s …AND THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR (1965) and Zoltán Fábri majestic romantic drama MERRY-GO-ROUND (1956), Mehelli shares some wonderful stories about working with such Film Graze Faves as Tsai Ming-liang, Miklós Jancsó and Béla Tarr, we discuss access to international cinema in the twentieth century and the present, the idea of the documentary, the dimensions of the Czech New Wave and much more! 

The cover photo is from ...AND THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR.

Visit the Second Run DVD site below to see the details of their ever-growing catalogue of treasures:
https://www.secondrundvd.com/browse2.html

And check out their webstore here:
https://secondrundvd.ecwid.com/

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Produced by Sam Storey

Film Graze 037 – Second Run DVD’s Mehelli Modi

For our final episode of 2021 we're going back to 1921 one more time for a look at American cinema 100 years ago!

We discuss enduring classics like Charlie Chaplin's THE KID alongside other key comedies by the likes of Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Max Linder, films by D.W. Griffith (ORPHANS OF THE STORM), Henry King (TOL'ABLE DAVID) and Lois Weber (THE BLOT), the star power of Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino, left-wing filmmaking, the one supposedly ‘avant-garde’ American film of 1921 (MANHATTA), a plethora of lost and forgotten films, 'international cinema' in the US and much more!

Recommended reading includes:
Kevin Brownlow, 'The Parades Gone By…' (1968)
Ibid, 'Behind the Mask of Innocence' (1990)

and there are quotes read out from Steven J. Ross, 'Working Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America' (1998)

Filmography:

A Daughter of the Law (dir. Grace Cunard)
A Sailor-Made Man (dir. Harold Lloyd and Fred C. Newmayer)
Action (dir. John Ford)
Dream Street (dir. D.W. Griffith)
Hard Luck (dir. Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline)
I Do (dir. Harold Lloyd and Fred C. Newmayer)
Manhatta (dir. Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler)
Never Weaken (dir. Harold Lloyd and Fred C. Newmayer)
Orphans of the Storm (dir. D.W. Griffith)
Seven Years Bad Luck (dir. Max Linder)
The Ace of Hearts (dir. Wallace Worseley)
The Blot (dir. Lois Weber)
The Boat (dir. Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline)
The Contrast (dir. Guy Hedlund)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (dir. Rex Ingram)
The Goat (dir. Keaton and Edward F. Cline)
The Idle Class (dir. Chaplin)
The Kid (dir. Chaplin)
The Love Light (dir. Frances Marion)
The Lucky Dog (dir. Jess Robins)
The New Disciple (dir. Ollie Sellers)
The Play House (dir. Keaton and Edward F. Cline)
The Sheik (dir. George Melford)
The Sky Pilot (dir. King Vidor)
The Three Musketeers (dir. Fred Niblo)
The Wallop (dir. John Ford)
Tol'able David (dir. Henry King)

The soundtrack includes covers of ‘100 Years Ago’ by the Rolling Stones and ‘Lonesome Road Blues’ from Emmett, and an accordion interpretation of ‘1921’ by the Who from Sam.

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Produced by Sam Storey

Film Graze 038 - 100 Years Ago (Part 3)

We’re back with another historical episode, this time casting our gaze back onto the distant cinema of 2021...

Yes, this is the one where we get to talk about everything we didn’t get the chance to last year (as well as revisiting some things we did), in a chat which stretches from Tsai Ming Liang’s DAYS to ARSÈNE WENGER: INVINCIBLE. While neither of us had or have seen the new Spiderman film, we do discuss, however fleetingly, such blockbuster treats as DUNE and BOND, Sir Ridley Scott’s duo of dramas THE LAST DUEL and HOUSE OF GUCCI, alongside arthouse favourites like Andreas Fontana’s AZOR and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s DRIVE MY CAR.

Featuring covers of ‘American Tterroristt’ (RXK Nephew) from Emmett and ‘Estilo Pampaneo’ (Abel Fleury), ‘Drive My Car’ (Eiko Ishibashi) and ‘I’m An Accompanist’ (Sparks) from Sam.

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Filmography:

Annette (dir. Leos Carax)
Arsène Wenger: Invincible (dir. Gabriel Clarke and Christian Jeanpierre)
Azor (dir. Andreas Fontana)
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (dir. Radu Jude)
Bad Trip (dir. Kitao Sakurai)
C’mon C’Mon (dir. Mike Mills)
Cry Macho (dir. Clint Eastwood)
Days (dir. Tsai Ming Liang)
Drive My Car (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Dune (dir. Denis Villeneuve)
Europa (dir. Stefan and Franciszka Themerson)
First Cow (dir. Kelly Reichardt)
House of Gucci (dir. Ridley Scott)
Limbo (dir. Ben Sharock)
Martin Eden (dir. Pietro Marcello)
No Time to Die (dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga)
Petite Maman (dir. Celine Sciamma)
PVT Chat (dir. Ben Hozie)
Spencer (dir. Pablo Larraín)
State Funeral (dir. Sergei Loznitsa)
Summer of Soul (dir. Questlove)
The Card Counter (dir. Paul Schrader)
The French Dispatch (dir. Wes Anderson)
The Green Knight (dir. David Lowery)
The Last Duel (dir. Ridley Scott)
The Power of the Dog (dir. Jane Campion)
The Velvet Underground (dir. Todd Haynes)
Undine (dir. Christian Petzold)
Uppercase Print (dir. Radu Jude)
West Side Story (dir. Steven Spielberg)
Zola (dir. Janicza Bravo)

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Produced by Emmett Cruddas

Film Graze 039 - 2021 Lightning Round

With 'Licorice Pizza' out in cinemas and being met with a resolutely split-down-the-middle audience reception, we look at the career of one of the most significant American filmmakers of our lifetimes - Paul Thomas Anderson - featuring several absolute classics like The Master, Magnolia and Inherent Vice. This episode features the first and only use of the word 'talented' on the Film Graze Podcast as we reckon with the San Fernando Valley's favourite son's disconcertingly accomplished juvenalia, the influence of Robert Altman on his entire body of work and his collaborations with some of the most acclaimed musicians of our time like Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom and Radiohead.

Films discussed:

The Dirk Diggler Story (1988)
Cigarettes and Coffee (1993)
Hard Eight (1996)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Magnolia (1999)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Master (2012)
Inherent Vice (2014)
Junun (2015)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Licorice Pizza (2021)

Big thank you to Martin O'Dea of https://hungrysandwich.club/ for our new logo and graphics!!

The soundtrack includes Phil Graves' covers of 'Etude Op. 10, No. 3 
('No Other Love')' by Frederic Chopin, 'Let Me Roll It' by Paul McCartney & Wings, 'He Needs Me' by Harry Nilsson, 'Journey Through The Past' and 'Harvest' by Neil Young and '(I'd Like To Get You On A) Slow Boat To China' by Frank Loesser.

Subscribe to Film Graze on your podcast app of choice and give us a positive rating/review if you enjoy the show.

Film Graze 041 on the films of Apichatpong Weerasethekul coming soon.

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co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 040 - Paul Thomas Anderson

Apichatpong ‘Joe’ Weerasethekul’s new film MEMORIA is the latest piece of an absolutely essential filmography, one that walks in multiple realities, exploring national and personal memory with distinct humour, poetry and a truly transcendental style. It’s also his first feature shot outside his native north-eastern Thailand, and features an all-time great performance from god of cinema/Film Graze bete noire Tilda Swinton. 

We look at Joe’s entire oeuvre going back to MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON, in a conversation encompassing his gallery work, approach to genre, sublime music taste and affinity with hospitals. We also try to situate his work within the larger contexts of both Thai and international cinema (including filmmakers like Bruce Bailie and Anocha Suwichakornpong) and touch upon state censorship and the ways in which Thai filmmakers in the past and present grapple with their national history and contemporary political landscape(s). With discussions of films of endless depth like TROPICAL MALADY and UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES, tune in to find out why Emmett has wanted to do this episode since before the podcast began and exactly how far under their spell Sam fell.

The soundtrack includes Phil Graves’ covers of ‘Love Is A Song’ by DJ Soulscape, ‘Reincarnation’ by Roger Miller, ‘I Would Hurt A Fly’ by Built To Spill and selections from the score to Mekong Hotel. 

Films Discussed:

Mysterious Object At Noon (2000)
Blissfully Yours (2002)
The Adventure of Iron Pussy (2003)
Tropical Malady (2003)
Syndromes and a Century (2006)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Mekong Hotel (2013)
Cemetery of Splendour (2015)
Memoria (2021)

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

041 - Kicking the Machine: the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

We’re not the only ones grazing for this episode as we take a look at an intriguing new trend in cinema: the proliferance of feature-length ‘observational’ documentaries about livestock. 

Victor Kossakovsky’s GUNDA (2021) and Andrea Arnold’s COW (2021) wring tension, drama and political impetus out of paying £15 to watch a farm animal’s daily life projected 60-feet tall with strikingly different aesthetic approaches, prompting us to revisit a true classic of our time in Michelangelo Frammartino’s Hircine masterpiece LE QUATTRO VOLTE (2010), as well as other cinematic precedents by Georges Franju, Robert Bresson and Béla Tarr. Frammartino’s new film IL BUCO, his first in twelve years and a truly awe-inspiring development of his style, previewed at the London Film Festival last year and will be released by New Wave Films on June 10th.

The soundtrack features a cover of ‘Reincarnation’ by Roger Miller.

Select filmography:
Cow (2021) 
Gunda (2020) 
Le Quattro Volte (2010) 
The Metamorphosis of Birds (2020) 
The Turin Horse (2011)
River (2021) 
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) 
Le Sang des bêtes (1949)

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Produced by Sam Storey

042 - The Cow, the Pig, the Goats and their Shepherd

For the first in an end-of-year extravaganza of episodes, we're back to discuss the work of legendary Chilean documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzman. 


Active since the early '70s, Guzman started out as a chronicler of the Allende years, capturing the right-wing backlash and subsequent coup on camera before going into a decades-long exile in Europe. Since then, his films have dealt almost exclusively with the painful memory of the junta and its victims, the violent injustices of the Pinochet years and the condition of his homeland, turning away from the conventional third-cinema documentary form of his early work towards something increasingly poetic, metaphorical and personal.


With Guzman's latest film, MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY, having its UK premiere at LFF 2022, and THE CORDILLERA OF DREAMS (the final part of a trilogy alongside NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT and THE PEARL BUTTON) also going on general release this year, we (belatedly) take the opportunity to appraise his seminal filmography.


Featuring covers of Victor Jara's El Cigarrito (Sam) and Manifesto (Emmett)


Episode art by Sam. 


FILMOGRAPHY


The Battle of Chile (1975-79)

Chile: Obstinate Memory (1997)

Galaxy of Problems (2010)

Nostalgia For The Light (2010)

The Pearl Button (2015)

The Cordillera of Dreams (2019)

My Imaginary Country (2022)


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Patricio Guzman, 'Politics and Documentary in People's Chile' (1977) in Cinema and social change in Latin America: conversations with filmmakers, ed. Julianne Burton (Austin, 1986).


Inez Hedges, 'Obstinate Memory: Chris Marker's and Patricio Guzman's Pictures for a Revolution' in World Cinema and Cultural Memory (2015)


Paula Lagos Labbé, 'Political and Affective Shifts in Contemporary Chilean Documentary' in Chilean Cinema in the Twenty-First Century, eds. Carl Fischer and Vania Barraza (Detroit, 2020)


Belinda Small, 'Rethinking the Human, Rethinking the Essay Film: The Ecocritical Work of The Pearl Button' in Beyond the essay film: subjectivity, textuality, and technology, ed. Julia Vassilieva and Deane Williams (Amsterdam, 2020)


Valeria Valenzuela, 'Giro subjetivo en el documental latinoamericano: De la cámara-puño al sujeto-cámara' (2011), https://www.lafuga.cl/giro-subjetivo-en-el-documental-latinoamericano/439

—

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Produced by Sam Storey and Emmett Cruddas

043 - A Guzman is Hard to Find

Join us as we take a look at this decade's version of the BFI Sight & Sound official canon, which saw 1600 critics submitting their top ten films. This year's pair of lists  - hundreds of directors are polled separately - sees some surprise reshuffles, old favourites make their debuts, some losers left gone with the wind and some truly bizarre submissions from the world's most beloved filmmakers. Stay tuned till the end to hear our own unsolicited submissions. 

Featuring a cover of 'Out of Site' by Built to Spill.

Emmett's top ten:

CELINE & JULIE GO BOATING
JOHNNY GUITAR
WAGON MASTER
SHANGHAI EXPRESS
PLAYTIME
Z
WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES
AU HASARD BALTHASAR
STRAY DOGS
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

Sam's top ten: 

SAMBIZANGA
TROPICAL MALADY
EUROPA (1933)
ASH IS PUREST WHITE
YOU, THE LIVING
THE CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH
BARBARA
AMERICAN TORSO
DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT
LA COMMUNE, PARIS 1871

Episode Art by Sam

The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time Critics' Poll 2022: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time

The Directors' Poll:
https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greatest-films-all-time

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Produced by Emmett Cruddas

045 - Sight And Sound And Fury

This episode takes the form of a trip around all the corners of London (besides the West), revisiting the highlights of 2022’s calendar of rep screenings, film clubs, retrospectives, festivals and rescorings in an attempt to prove we haven’t not been participating in film culture while the podcast feed’s been a little quiet. Inside are looks at a bunch of old favourites, new discoveries and some wild programming.

Featuring a cover of 'Big Railroad Blues’ by Cannon’s Jug Stompers (arr. The Grateful Dead)

Institutions visited:

The BFI Southbank
The Garden Cinema
Sands Films
Kennington Bioscope
The 5 to 9 Film Club
The Barbican
The Goethe Institute
Godardmageddon
The Prince Charles Cinema
Picturehouse Cinemas

Screenings Discussed:

Shoot the Piano Player
The Last Metro
Jules et Jim
Wings of Desire
Alice in the Cities
Mothra
The Baby of Macon
The Draughtsmans Contract
Satantango
Werckmeister Harmonies
A Brighter Summer Day
La Regle Du Jeu
All That Jazz
Les Vacances de m Hulot
The Scarlet Empress
Make Way For Tomorrow
Every Revolution is a Roll Of The Dice
Sicilia!
Six Bagatelles
The Death of Empendocles
Cezanne
Les Carabiniers
Something Different
Okraina
Divine
Street Scene
Ball of Fire
Les Affaires Publiques
Foolish Wives
The Wedding March
Dragnet Girl
The Gold Diggers
Destiny
Vampyr
Casque D’Or
The Mother and the Whore
The Grateful Dead: Tivolis Koncertsal 04/17/72

Episode Art by Sam

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Produced by Emmett Cruddas

044 - Where You Been

we compare takes on quentin tarantino's latest, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, and a recent reissue of hitchcock's NOTORIOUS - part of  the cary grant retrospective at the bfi southbank - as well as touching on peter greenway's NIGHTWATCHING, lech majewsky's THE MILL AND THE CROSS and robert altman's NASHVILLE.

co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 003 - Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Notorious

we talk about benjamin naishtat's excellent new film ROJO, costa-gavras' Z - which is screening as part of the cine lumiere's season 'in the eyes of the law' - and round up all the best feature films currently worth streaming for free on BBC iPlayer

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co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 005 - Rojo & Z

We're back for another one, grazing on a trio of films inspired by Shakespeare's Henriad: David Michod's THE KING (2019), Laurence Olivier's HENRY V (1944) and Orson Welles' CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1965). 

We also discuss the Andrei Tarkovsky Exhibition at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, Jonas Mekas and the Anthology Film Archives, and the EYES WIDE SHUT reissue, as well as reviewing CORPUS CHRISTI, an excellent new Polish release.

The musical arrangements for this episode are as follows:

'Het soude een meysken gaen om wijn' - anon., Dutch, 16th c.
'Po che datte mi chonvien' - anon., Tuscan, 14th c. 
'Trotto' - ibid
'Agincourt Carol' - anon., English, 15th c.
'Quand je bois du vin claret' - (attrib.) Pierre Attaignant, French, 16th c.
'Mrs White's Nothing' - John Dowland, English, 16th c.

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co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 008 - Henriad Problems

for our penultimate episode of 2019 we talk about some recent big films depicting villainy in the USA: todd phillips' JOKER, martin scorsese & netflix's collab THE IRISHMAN and MISTER AMERICA, the latest instalment in tim heidecker's on cinema at the cinema extended universe. this episode also features our motorised transport correspondent durrell on FORD VS FERRARI / LE MANS '66 and phil graves arrangements of 'free bird' and a song by dekkar

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produced by Sam Storey & Emmett Cruddas

Film Graze 009 - Who Is America: Joker, The Irishman or Mister America?

we were joined by podcasting legend & top comrade Jack (from Reel Politik @reelpolitikpodcast)to discuss our favourite films of 2019. we each did a top five, should have done a top ten but we still had plenty to discuss. topics include THE IRISHMAN, I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS, HER SMELL, BLUE STORY, HIGH LIFE, PARASITE, CORPUS CHRISTI, THE MULE, THUNDER ROAD and many more. the soundtrack features phil graves covering some of the worst and best music of 2019 - 'in the microwave', 'bmbmbm', 'jogging' and 'thats just the way that i feel' by purple mountains (feat. crazy moose)

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co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 010 - 2019 (with Jack Frayne-Reid)

owing to the recent release of UNCUT GEMS, we have a look at the entire filmography of new york's Josh and Benny Safdie from their debut feature THE PLEASURE OF BEING ROBBED, through DADDY LONG LEGS, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT, GOOD TIME and of course the aforementioned GEMS...

the soundtrack features phil graves covers of songs by Adam Sandler, The Velvet Underground, Chic and Trinidad James.

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co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 011 - Safdies Nutz

this week we graze on a true classic, the longest great film and greatest long film ever: bela tarr and agnes hranitzky's SATANTANGO, back in cinemas before its upcoming blu-ray release.

this episode includes covers from mihaly vig's freaky soundtrack.

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co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 014 - Satantango

this week we’re celebrating the filmography of South Korean auteur BONG JOON-HO, discussing all of his films, from his lauded student work INCOHERENCE (1994) to the huge cultural sensation that is PARASITE (2019), via BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE (2000), MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), THE HOST (2006) and MOTHER (2009), as well as his international English-language debut SNOWPIERCER (2013) and follow-up, OKJA (2017). We also pay tribute to the recently departed screen legend MAX VON SYDOW.

Including a panoply of covers from GARDEN CENTRE to MIKE WATT, and ‘St Spoon Dub’ by Sam B

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co-produced by emmett cruddas and sam storey

Film Graze 015 - Hits from the Bong

This week we’re grazing on the stellar filmography of Kleber Mendonca Filho, including the narrative features NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS (2013), AQUARIUS (2016) and BACURAU (2019, co-written and directed by Juliano Dornelles) and a number of short films including the fantastic RECIFE FRIO aka COLD TROPICS (2009). 

We also discuss the LIL FILM CLUB, our weekly quarantine viewing party and some other films we've been watching recently.

Including some cheeky Villa-Lobos and other Brazilian pieces from Sam

Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

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Film Graze 017 - Kleber Mendonca Filho-philia

This week we’re back with a survey of recent programming from digital streaming service MUBI, including films by Jean Renoir and Joseph Losey, Richard Kelly’s SOUTHLAND TALES (2007), Brian de Palma’s SISTERS (1972), and the digital premiere of Pablo Larrain’s new film, EMA, plus loads more!

We also catch up about our Lil Film Club and chat about some other films we’ve been watching from home including Nicolas Roeg’s classic DON’T LOOK NOW and 2017 Estonian folk-horror NOVEMBER.

Covers this week include tunes from Deerhoof, EMA, the New Pornographers and Radiohead.

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 018 - Le'go MUBI

We’re back, after a short absence, to discuss three recent digital releases: EUROVISION: THE STORY OF FIRESAGA, FANNY LYE DELIVER’D and - the main feature - Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS. 

There's also a round-up of our lockdown film club viewings, including Apitchatpong Weerasethakul’s beautiful CEMETERY OF SPLENDOR, Peter Watkins’ staggering docudrama EDVARD MUNCH, freaky Soviet horror VIY and more!

Including Marvin Gaye, Chambers Brothers and 'Eurovision: The Story of Firesaga OST' covers.

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey.

Film Graze 019 - New .MP4s

We're back with an episode recorded back in October to extol recent repertory programming at Vue cinemas and discuss trips to their hallowed screens to see such little-known gems as PSYCHO (1960), ROCKY (1976) and PULP FICTION (1994).

We also do a round-up of film club selections picked over the last few months including MIKEY AND NICKY (1976), DROWNING BY NUMBERS (1988), GINGER SNAPS (2000) and loads more!

Featuring a panoply of covers and arrangements by yours truly including Trends & Boylan, the Lively One, the Rocky OST and an accordion version of Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho score that will haunt your dreams.

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Co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey

Film Graze 023 - A Vue with Room

to close out (and exorcise) 2020, we've trawled through our film diaries and letterboxd accounts to put together our top 10s of the year! 

we also discuss some of our favourite first time watches over the last twelve lockdown-y months, from OUT 1 to CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS via the Guided by Voices documentary WATCH ME JUMPSTART, as well as some of the film-related books and podcasts that have kept us entertained this year.

Emmett No. 10: THE TWO POPES 00:02:02
Sam No. 10: LES MISERABLES 00:03:05
E No. 9: BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC 00:05:09
S No. 9: THE GOOD GIRLS 00:06:58
E No. 8: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE 00:08:26
S No. 8: ABOUT ENDLESSNESS 00:10:04
E No. 7: THE WOMAN WHO RAN 00:10:40
S No. 7: PARASITE 00:13:08
E No. 6: BACURAU 00:15:00
S No. 6: VITALINA VARELA 00:16:03

Worst Films of the Year 00:18:19

E No. 5: I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS 00:20:55
S No. 5: THE LIGHTHOUSE 00:22:47
E No. 4: DARK WATERS / RICHARD JEWELL 00:27:26
S No. 4: A PORTUGESE WOMAN 00:32:46
E No. 3: BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS  00:40:15
S No. 3: BACURAU 00:44:13
E No 2: ABOUT ENDLESSNESS 00:48:22
S No 2: SAINT MAUD 00:50:53
E No. 1: VITALINA VARELA 00:56:51
S No 1: SMALL AXE 01:04:07

Favourite first time watches from 01:20:34 : 

WAGON MASTER (Ford 1950),
THE RISING OF THE MOON (Ford 1957), 
SATANTANGO (Tarr 1994),
HUNGARIANS (Fabri 1978),
NIGHT TRAIN (Kawalerowicz 1959),
A MOMENT OF INNOCENCE (Makhmalbaf 1996),
REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA (Mekas 1972), 
THE HUMAN CONDITION (Kobayashi 1959-61), 
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (Ichikawa 1959),
DON’T LET THE RIVERBEAST GET YOU (Roxburgh 2012), 
UNDER THE SUN OF SATAN (Pialat 1987),
WATCH ME JUMPSTART (Tarver 1998),
CANYON PASSAGE (Tourneur 1946), 
FIRST COW (Reichardt 2020),
NASHVILLE (Altman 1975), 
SHANGHAI EXPRESS (Von Sternberg 1932)
I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (LeRoy 1932), 
DESTINY (Lang 1921), 
CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS (Mendel 1966), 
TONGUES UNTIED (Riggs 1989), 
ETHNIC NOTIONS (Riggs 1987), 
LOOKING FOR LANGSTON (Julien 1989),
OUT 1: NOLI ME TANGERE (Rivette 1971)

with covers of some of our favourite music from last year including bob dylan, deerhoof, the microphones and dogleg.

subscribe to Film Graze on your podcast app of choice.

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co-produced by Emmett Cruddas and Sam Storey.

Film Graze 026 - 2020

Film Graze, hosted and produced by Emmett and Sam from Phil Graves, is a podcast where we ruminate on new films and rep cinema.

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