The Shining (1980)

Time to take a look at a little film about a family going slowly insane together: The Shining from 1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the book by Stephen King. Hated and revered, analyzed by many who shouldn't, but nevertheless the work of a master.

Join us as we train the light on this controversial film to find out if it really shines all that brightly.

On this track we cover:

- Kubrick's visuals and narrative style
- The production and Kubrick's work methods
- The novel vs. the film
- Shelley Duvall's teeth
- The insane conspiracy theories

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: December 12th, 2013.
Version: US Bluray version.
Movie runtime: 2:23:46

SCREENSHOTS

The Torrance family. Close your mouth Shelley.

The exterior of the hotel, shot in England.

Jack and the scrapbook.

Danny and the mysterious ball.

John Alcott's trick shot.

The twins. Or are they?

Jack and Danny and Jack.

Heeeeeere's to over-acting!

Cut! Print! Let's move on, it's not gonna get better.

Ghosty ghosts of the not European kind.

ARTICLES

American Cinematographer, August 1980
- Interview by Herb Lightman
- Article by Garrett Brown

Kubrick on The Shining: An interview with Michel Ciment. Link.

Stephen King Explains Why He Still Hates Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Link.

All work and no play. Link.

Lia Beldam reflects on her role as Room 237′s guest. Link.

Aide to Kubrick on Shining Scoffs at Room 237 Theories. Link.

LITERATURE

The Shining: BFI Film Classics, by Roger Luckhurst.
Stanley Kubrick: A Biography, by John Baxter

AUDIO/VIDEO

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001). Link.

Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Link.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008) (TV Movie). Link.

Blu-ray extras
- The Making of The Shining
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
- View from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining

The Shining: Audiobook, Read by Campbell Scott.

LINKS

IMDb. Link.

Wiki. Link.

Dreamscape (1984)

We're back in the 80's! This time we take a trip into a disturbing atomic nightmare with Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, and Max von Sydow in Dreamscape (1984), directed by Joseph Rubens, and written by David Loughery.

Featuring visual effects by Peter Kuran and makeup effects by Craig Reardon.

On this track we cover:

- 80's effects on a budget
- The problematic production
- How movies deal with dreams and the paranormal
- Peter Kuran and his company
- The so-called Dream People of Malaysia

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: December 11th, 2012.
Version: Bluray or NTSC DVD
Movie runtime: 1:39:00

SCREENSHOTS

Help me Dennis, you're my only hope!

Max von Sydow. He played Ming the Merciless.

Kate Capshaw and Dennis Quaid.

Some Peter Kuran magic.

David Patrick Kelly as Tommy Ray.

"Can I blow your horn?" "Should I remove the towel first?"

When you grow up, you can divorce Meg Ryan too.

Craig Reardon jumps out the window. Oh, sorry, it's his Snakman who jumps in.

Finally some interesting cinematography.

Gorgeous Dreamscape sequence.

The nunchuck jumpcut.

The Snakeman vs. The President.

ARTICLES

Cinefex No. 19, article by Adam Eisenberg
Cinefantastique Vol. 15, no. 2
Starlog No 81, article by Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier
Fangoria No. 39, article by David Everitt

LITERATURE

The Dream Master, by Roger Zelazny

AUDIO/VIDEO

Bluray extras.

LINKS

Senoi Dream Theory, by G. William Domhoff. Link.

Why are Dreams so Weird? by Steven Novella. Link.

Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind. Link.

Magi and the History of Computer Animation. Link.

Art of the Title: The Thing. Link.

VCE Films. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

This time we declare our love for one of the most iconic action movies from the 80's, Lethal Weapon (1987). The first entry in a franchise that would eventually degenerate into silly slapstick.

Our man-crush Shane Black wrote the script - when he was barely 20, for God's sake! - and Richard Donner directs Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the leads.

On this track we cover:
- The Lethal Weapon franchise
- The brilliance of Shane Black
- The film vs. the script vs. deleted scenes
- Action movies of the 80's
- The careers of Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, and Richard Donner
- And Dennis thinks Danny Glover is a bloody thief

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: May 29th, 2012.
Version: Theatrical cut on Blu-ray or NTSC DVD.
Movie runtime: 1:49:37

SCREENSHOTS

Danny Glover as Murtaugh.

Mel Gibson as Riggs.

The airbag-with-print-of-a-car stunt, performed by the actress Jackie Swanson.

Mel Gibson buys drugs from Anthony Kiedis' dad. Ah, Hollywood for ya.

Mel Gibson just saw Lethal Weapon 4.

Beautiful shot, by Stephen Goldblatt.

Simple, effective, visual storytelling, without any cuts.

So what if I did "Gone Fishin'"! At least people will still talk to me.

Another beautiful shot.

Raw, brutal violence.

The chaotic final fight.

From Lethal Weapon 2: No, Glover is not a bloody thief.
He pics up the money, and slams it down, when the bad guys shut the door.

LITERATURE

Lethal Weapon, Screenplay by Shane Black.

American Cinematographer, April 1987, article by Bess Wiley.

Crash, bang, wallop what a picture, article by Sam Delaney. Link.

Back in Black, interview by Alex Simon. Link.

AUDIO/VIDEO

Bluray special features

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979). Link.

LINKS

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

It's time to go into space, with another classic 80's movie, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. An attempt to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. The movie is written, produced and directed by Peter Hyams, based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke.

On this track we cover:

- The differences between the book and the film
- 2001 vs. 2010
- Visual effects
- The demise of Boss Film studios
- Design and the look of space
- And Dennis attempts to pronouce Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: October 27th, 2011.
Version: Bluray version, or NTSC DVD.
Movie runtime: 1:55:54.

SCREENSHOTS

The VLA.

Slobby Chandra. Clarke wouldn't approve.

Epic effect shot from EEG aka Boss Film.

You may leave the lavatory if...

It's so big! That's why they call it space.

Are you dead? Or can I open my helmet too?

Fire torpedos captain!

The ships are two different sized models, the starfield is paint on paper,
the monolith is a matte painting, Jupiter is a digital effect, and Richard Edlund is God.

The original pod-bay from 2001, recreated for this film.

Another gorgeous effect shot.

LITERATURE

2010: Odyssey Two, novel by Arthur C. Clarke.
The Odyssey File, novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Peter Hyams.

Cinefex No. 20 (January 1985), article by Adam Eisenberg and Don Shay.
2010: The Official Movie Magazine.
Fantastic Films #43, article by Jessie Horsting.
Cinefantastique Vol. 15 - No. 1, article by Kyle Counts and Charlotte Wolter.
American Cinematographer (January 1985), articles by Nora Lee & Bob Fisher.
Starlog No. 80 (April 1985), article by Richard Hollis.
Cinefex No. 73 (April 1998), article by Mark Cotta Vaz.
Cinefatastique, Vol. 28 - No. 9, article by Ben Herndon.

AUDIO/VIDEO

Watch a trailer for this commentary. Link.

Extended Making Of featurette. Part 1. Part 2.

Arthur C. Clarke says goodbye. Link.

Boss Film's United Airlines commercial. Link.

Dennis can in fact pronounce Chandra's name. Link.

LINKS

Richard Edlund interview. Link.

Peter Hyams interview. Link.

Cinefex. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

CORRECTIONS

The measurements of the monolith would be 0.5:4:9, not 1.5:4:9, like David accidentally says.

The medical show with Candice Bergen, which Dennis can't remember is Murphy Brown, where she plays a journalist.

There are 300+ effect shots in Star Wars, Empire has about 600 and Jedi 900+.

Poltergeist (1982)

On our second audio commentary we tackle yet another classic movie from the 80's. Poltergeist from 1982, directed by Tobe Hooper, written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor, and produced by Frank Marshall & Steven Spielberg.

On this track we cover:

• 80's movies
• Makeup and visual effects
• Controversy surrounding the director
• Controversy surrounding the script
• The Poltergeist curse

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld
Day of recording: August 18th, 2011.
Version: Poltergeist Bluray (also works with 25th Anniversary US DVD)
Movie runtime: 1:54:28

SCREENSHOTS

Gorgeous cloud tank shot.

A combonation of cloud tank elements and matte painting.

The most difficult bluescreen sequence ever.

Sometimes you just don't like what you see in the mirror.

The spirit on the stairs

Another epic matte painting.

The beast in a beautiful forced perspective shot.

The beast, shot as a water tank element.

The $250.000 sentence.

LITERATURE

Cinefex No. 10 (October 1982), article by Paul Mandell.

Cinefantastique, Vol. 13 No 2 & 3, article by James Van Hise.

Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects, by Thomas G. Smith.

Poltergeist (The Novelization), by James Kahn.

LINKS

Poltergeist fan site. Link.

American Cinematographer Podcast - Episode 03. Link.

The Making of Poltergeist - Original 1982 Featurette. Link.

The Poltergeist location. Link.

Single-Minded Movie Blog, Cloud tank effect. Link.

Cinefex. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.