For a bunch of weeks in a row now we have covered on The Uncut Gems Podcast movies that I hold up as bona fide masterpieces. I suppose you could accuse me of some kind of gerrymandering because it is ultimately in my power to decide what we talk about, but it just so happens that movies like Unstoppable, Vanishing Point, Death Proof and this week’s hero – Duel – fit into a theme and also, coincidentally, tend to be overlooked.
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If there is ever a reason to start a podcast, it is to force a bunch of people to watch a movie they won’t like. Just kidding. Or am I?
Seriously though, I honestly created The Uncut Gems Podcast with the expressed desire to talk about movies like Death Proof. Even though it has recently gained some appreciation (as evidenced by the improving reviews found on Letterboxd), it is still considered a bit left-handed (to borrow a phrase from Tarantino himself). But at least in my opinion it is an absolute misunderstood masterpiece of action and suspense and – most of all – a love letter to men and women who put their lives on the line to bring the magic of cinema to life. Therefore, I was really looking forward to having this conversation and to see how others (whose tastes in cinema are quite eclectic too) read this movie. Suffice it to say, it almost came to blows… But seriously, I think we dug quite deep trying to interrogate Death Proof as we talked about Tarantino himself, projected a handful of social commentaries on the film, and tried to identify what makes this movie click for some (here!) while it disgusts others.
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Our high-octane escapade continues as in the last episode we tackled the 1971 cult classic Vanishing Point. In fact, this episode is best seen as a first part of a nested double bill within this series, as it is paired up with a movie that – at least from where I am sitting – is a love letter to Sarafian’s seminal classic, Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. But more on that in a few days.
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I have always thought of Steven Spielberg as a universally-liked and appreciated director. Well, I was wrong.
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So, May The Fourth was last week. And although it has never meant too much to me – I don’t need an excuse to watch Star Wars films, this year I made an exception. Actually, a handful of exceptions.
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Although in the grand scheme of things it might not be the best thing to celebrate, I thought it was worthwhile to point out we have successfully released ten episodes of The Uncut Gems Podcast. Gosh, it makes me feel like a teenager in a first serious relationship celebrating x months together…
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Oh, boy! Even though this is by far the shortest episode we recorded thus far, it sure is an interesting conversation. That’s because our attention turned to the 1962 Lonely Are the Brave, a western directed by David Miller, adapted by Dalton Trumbo and starring Kirk Douglas in what he described as the role of his life.
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It dawned on me just now that I totally forgot to share the recent episodes of The Uncut Gems Podcast over here in addition to their usual PR. And it just so happens that these two episodes were absolutely wild (for two different reasons). So, please have a listen to our conversation on Alien Nation and Bright, two high-concept sci-fi buddy cop movies separated by three decades. I found it extremely fun to engage with these films, even though I didn’t like one of them (you guess which one); however, the conversation these two movies sparked was super fun, even though it eventually descended into chaos. So tune in and enjoy!
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Although the fourth episode of our new show has dropped a few days ago (you can find the official PR and links to the show here on CLAPPER), I thought I’d take this opportunity to say something more than just a few words carefully designed to tease this podcast and entice you to have a listen. Which you should totally consider by the way!
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In addition to the official PR piece you can find over at CLAPPER, here is a handful of thoughts to accompany what is now the third episode of our new show, The Uncut Gems Podcast.
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