Director DVD

Terry Gilliam: Time Bandits (1981)

Time Bandits. Who are they? What are they up to? Why is Sean Connery top-billed if he's only in the film for about 5 minutes? In the second episode of Terry-ific Gilliam-man we answer all these questions and ultimately get distracted a lot because Adrien hated the film. 

David Lynch: Eraserhead (1977)

In the first episode of Lynch Shrink we start talking about David Lynch's career, a director who is probably inherently impossible to dissect or discuss. We talk about the mythology behind the production, David Lynch's short films and what the film is actually about. We do not succeed. 

Coen Brothers: Blood Simple (1984)

This week we're talking about the first movie directed by the Coen Brothers: Blood Simple. It's a surprisingly successful film for a first feature and highly enjoyable. There's less of the genre-bending that would define their later work but as a fatalistic 80s crime thriller with a low budget it works really well. 

Paul Thomas Anderson: Boogie Nights (1997)

This week we are talking about Paul Thomas Anderson, discussing his second full-length feature Boogie Nights. It's a sprawling epic about the golden age of porn industry in the San Fernando Valley, and one of my favourite films of all time so we have a lot to talk about. We did both watch his first feature, Hard 8, and do compare the two but honestly Boogie Nights is far superior both in execution and technical achievement so we decided to talk about it instead.

Terry Gilliam: Jabberwocky (1977)

First episode of Director DVD discussing Terry Gilliam's first solo feature as a director: Jabberwocky. This film is often overlooked but is well worth checking out if you're a fan of his other films, we discuss the satirical elements, how well it works as a riff on the fantasy genre and inevitably end up comparing it to Holy Grail.