Today ENTER THE VOID considers its first (and maybe last?) Coen Brothers film, 1991's BARTON FINK, starring John Turturro and John Goodman. Examined in detail: how this movie swept Cannes and is somewhat overlooked today; what it has to say about about writers and writing; Barton Fink's real-life influences and Hollywood wrestling pictures; its amazingly detailed Wikipedia page; and, is this a classic mind-bender of the sort this podcast is supposed to be about?
Barton Fink links:
Show links:
Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 HAUSU (or ハウス, or HOUSE) is possibly the most insane movie we've ever discussed on Enter The Void Podcast—and that's really saying something! This week Renan and Bill are joined by Teo Bugbee, who brought this psychedelic slapstick haunted house bubblegum horror comedy to our attention. And yet, as crazy as it is, it's also immensely enjoyable, and worthy of discussion for its distillation of childhood fears, commentary on the atom bomb, debatable feminist content, and of course its pure sensory overload.
Hausu links:
Show links:
Alex Proyas' DARK CITY is a tough one to properly summarize. It's not just that it's part film noir, part horror and part science fiction. It's also that its critical esteem, cult status, and lasting influence have never really found a point of consensus. In this episode, Bill and Renan try to figure out how to regard the film's reputation, especially in light (so to speak) of the 2008 director's cut. Plus: if Dark City was made today, would it be a video game?; why Roger Ebert loved it so much; eerie similarities to The Matrix (and The Force Awakens); and so many questions left unresolved.
Dark City links:
Show links:
Season 7 of ENTER THE VOID is nearly upon us! In today's preview episode, Renan and Bill quickly run through the list of films to be discussed over the next eight episodes, so you can watch with us and get the most out of these discussions. The films are:
Show links:
For the last installment of our three-part special series on TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, we have two more interviews: Bill talks with Alex Fulton, author of a widely-read essay arguing the final two episodes are meant to be watched in sync; and Renan has a conversation with writer Alex Pappademas, formerly of Grantland, GQ, SPIN and MTV News, about the the origins of his Twin Peaks fandom, his double reaction as a fan and critic, critical response to the show, analysis of episode 8, and Fire Walk With Me.
Twin Peaks links:
Show links:
We're back with the second installment of our three-part series on TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN! In this episode, former guests Brian Gluckman (The Congress, Oldboy) and Mark Netter (Videodrome, Last Year at Marienbad) return to share their views on David Lynch's Showtime series. With Brian: the idea of television as art, whether or not there should be a season 4, and the possible influence of musicians Richard and Linda Thompson. With Mark: The Return as the summation of Lynch's career, connections to his filmography; and how elements of the new series inform our understanding of both.
Twin Peaks links:
Show links:
Through the first 50+ episodes of its existence, ENTER THE VOID has kept its eye on the feature film. But today the show returns from its customary inter-seasonal hiatus for a very special reason: David Lynch's astonishing TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN is now over, and your hosts couldn't live with themselves if they didn't give it the consideration it deserves. In this first of three special episodes, Renan and Bill share their thoughts and feelings on the show's 18-episode run; offer their half-baked theories on its mind-breaking conclusion; run a mock draft of their favorite things from the show; consider Twin Peaks' revised position relative to other great TV shows; and ruminate on the inventive names of Peaks podcasts.
Twin Peaks links:
Show links:
For the final episode of season 6, Renan and Bill tackle a biggie: it's David Lynch's 2001 masterwork MULHOLLAND DR., which many view as Lynch's greatest movie, and some critics even consider the best film of the young century. In this extra-long episode, your hosts get right down to it and explain how their views on it have evolved over repeat viewings; try to explain how Diane's real world and Betty's dream world are connected; examine a few of Lynch's "10 clues" to the film; recount the film's origins as a pilot for ABC television; admire the performance of Naomi Watts; and ruminate on Mulholland as movie industry commentary. Plus: did you know there is a real Club Silencio?
Film links:
Show links:
Starring an early career Johnny Depp with a rogue's gallery of great American and British character actors, Jim Jarmusch's 1995 DEAD MAN is one of the coolest, independentest movies around. In this episode, your hosts discuss: the widely divergent critical reactions, the similarly divisive Neil Young soundtrack, the influences of English poet William Blake and surrealist Henri Michaux, and your hosts' differing thoughts on Western films. Plus, the greatness of Tommy Boy.
Film links:
Show links:
Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 film THE DARK CRYSTAL is dark, morbid, and yet still ostensibly for kids. Bill and Renan consider this movie's most terrifying elements, other beloved disturbing works intended for audiences of children, and how puppets and CGI characters can fall into the "uncanny valley." Does this movie need a Han Solo? How much can you buy a Henson puppet for? What's the deal with the upcoming Netflix series?
Film links:
Show links:
As the first film of a director who only made a half-dozen films in 50 years, 1971's THX 1138 might be an obscure discovery. But as it happens, it's the directorial debut of merchandising tie-in billionaire George Lucas, and it's just weird enough to merit analysis by your loyal hosts. Today Bill and Renan ask: is THX more like Nineteen Eighty-Four or Brave New World? is it visionary, derivative, or a combination of both? where did George Lucas find so many bald people? can we actually compare Lucas to Harmony Korine? and, is it possible THX is actually a film improved by its CGI special edition?
Film links:
Show links:
This week your hosts consider Harmony Korine's infamous 1997 low-budget freak fest GUMMO, a hillbilly elegy of cat-killing, glue-sniffing, eyebrow-shaving and, most memorably, chair-wrestling. Loved and hated by critics, admired by one co-host as a nihilistic suburban teenager and previously avoided by the other, Korine's directorial debut is tough to get one's head around—but they try! Also addressed: Korine's career trajectory, his comic pastiche of a novel, and his legendary appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Film links:
Show links:
Good news: this week Bill and Renan talk about Shane Carruth's 2013 transcendent sci-fi romance UPSTREAM COLOR! Bad news: now they're all out of Shane Carruth films. Famously directed, written, starring, scored and edited by Carruth himself, UC is much different than his cult debut Primer—an ETV selection in season 1—a more ethereal, impressionistic, and even mature film. Questions your hosts attempt to answer in this episode: how much does the look and feel of this film owe to Terrence Malick?; we know what the movie is about, but what does it mean?; do we like it or not how willing Carruth is to explain anything about the film that he can?; how does UC contribute to the representation of pigs in Western culture?; how good is Amy Seimetz in this, huh?; and, will Shane Carruth ever have an actual movie career?
Film links:
Show links:
Shinya Tsukamoto's 1989 short feature TETSUO: THE IRON MAN borrows from Lynch's Eraserhead and Cronenberg's Videodrome—both films discussed in ETV's second season —and creates something entirely its own. Clocking in at a slender 67 minutes and blessedly shot in B&W to maximize gore while minimizing your hosts covering their eyes, Tetsuo is a cyberpunk-meets-splatterpunk anime come to life. Also discussed in this episode: Tsukamoto's encounters with Tarantino and Scorsese; comparisons to Evil Dead and Robert Mapplethorpe; a long digression on Japan's anxieties and its perpetually aging population; plus, could it possibly have influenced the Playstation 2 classic Katamari Damacy?
Film links:
Show links:
If destruction is a form of creation, then what are we to make of the relationship between Donnie Darko (2001) and its controversial director's cut? In the first full episode of ENTER THE VOID season 6, your hosts Renan and Bill consider this box office flop and cult classic written and directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone, featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, and even Seth Rogen. Topics discussed: the incredible soundtrack; the inexplicable changes to said music in the director's cut; fan theories and the value of fan theories; Kelly's confounding subsequent career; how much Bill and Renan each relate to Donnie as former teenage hellions; and other movies with terrible timing.
Film links:
Show links:
Like we always do about this time, it's the season 6 preview episode for ENTER THE VOID, a podcast about movies that may have nothing at all in common except completely messing with your head. Your hosts Bill and Renan are ready to tackle another 8 films, each getting a short introduction here today. But we're also doing something special: as the season gets under way, Twin Peaks: The Return is at its midpoint, so your co-hosts spend a few minutes offering their views of David Lynch's current project. Below, the list of season 6 films so you can watch ahead:
Show links:
The final episode of season 5 is about either the worst film David Lynch has ever made, or possibly one of his greatest—the 1992 TV-to-film crossover TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME, revealing the last seven days of Laura Palmer's troubled life, plus a lot of other strange things that don't really make sense unless, you know, they kind of do. In this episode, Renan and Bill discuss their separate paths to this film; Renan's experience of watching the complete series for the first time; Bill's long-term relationship with the Twin Peaks franchise; how it was reviled by critics and audiences (and Quentin Tarantino) upon release, then reconsidered in years afterward; Sheryl Lee's campily riveting performance; where all the rest of your favorite Twin Peaks characters went; oh here they are, in the long-rumored deleted scenes now available if you know how to find them; how FWWM presaged later Lynch films; and what Bill and Renan are hoping to find in the 2017 reboot coming to Showtime.
Film links:
Show links:
From the annals of low-budget mind-trip filmmaking, today the show examines James Ward Byrkit's 2013 sci-fi drama COHERENCE. Starring a cast of unknowns, shot in a pseudo-documentary style on a very short schedule, the film is an ingenious example of economical, seat-of-your-pants filmmaking. But it's also one that divides your hosts. In this episode, Bill inexplicably compares it to the Bourne movies; Renan inexplicably compares it to The Wire; the various fan-offered timelines are explored; the influence of Amazon and Netflix on independent film and the definition of "duopsony" are discussed; the logical implications of certain storylines are debated; and and two actors' struggles with alcohol and Bill Clinton are gossiped about.
Film links:
Show links:
Clearly still recording together in NYC—though they never actually say so—Bill and Renan talk EL TOPO (1970), the legendary, head-spinning "acid Western" by the irascible Alejandro Jodorowsky. The film is remarkable for many reasons: its status as the undisputed first "midnight movie", its embrace by heroes of the 70s counterculture, for being locked away for decades in a contractual dispute, and for the very very questionable (potentially criminal) circumstances regarding its production. Discussed in this episode: Jodorowsky as proto-Tarantino and anti-Kubrick (but he's still a fan of the Master!); Jodorowsky, Frank Zappa, Yayoi Kusama, and why artists aren't like you and me; why Jodorowsky called John Lennon's manager "a gangster"; all the things in this movie that you can't do anymore, should never have happened in the first place, might not have happened at all, and which Jodorowsky interview should we believe?
Film links:
Show links:
Renan and Bill are finally back in the same room this week to discuss Lars Von Trier's 2011 science-fiction end-of-the-world-melodrama MELANCHOLIA. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on the subject of depression and the director's struggle with it; comparisons to The Tree of Life and Last Year at Marienbad; oh, and of course Another Earth, the other movie from 2011 about a mysterious planet in Earth's orbit; Bill's rogue planet Wikipedia rabbit hole; here again is Pieter Bruegel's The Hunters in the Snow; Stack Exchange, Wallace-l, fake news and internet theories; von Trier's crazy Cannes interview and what we think of his other work; keeping your Skarsgårds and Sarsgaards straight; plus, Bill and Renan share their past—and future experiences—of celestial flybys.
Film links:
Show links:
ANOTHER EARTH, written and directed by Mike Cahill, written by and starring Brit Marling, and technically top-line starring William Mapother, is a 2011 sci-fi drama about bad decisions, tragic loss, difficult choices, and terrible regret. Oh, and also the appearance in the sky of, well, another Earth. In this episode, Bill and Renan talk about the limitations and innovations of low budget sci-fi, how much one can really enjoy movies about sad people, Hollywood's tendency to cast younger women and older men as romantic leads, what the ending is supposed to mean, and your hosts' thoughts and feelings about Marling's hit Netflix series The OA.
Film links:
Show links:
When your 1981 animated feature makes its central villain a glowing green orb called Loc-Nar that causes civilizations to rise and fall across time and space and vaporizes anyone who attempts to absorb its power... is it really fair to judge by the standards of 2017? Well, that never stopped Renan and Bill from going right ahead! In the third episode of season 5, your hosts consider the film's worldview (i.e. that of a horny teenage boy); this film's relationship to Sausage Party and The Fifth Element; which segments worked better than others; Hollywood remake rumors; and what if there was a hip-hop version?
Film links:
Show links:
This week your show hosts consider THE LOBSTER, a very funny and very weird 2015 black comedy directed and co-written by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. In this conversation, Bill and Renan examine the absurdist rules of the film’s future society; what the film has in common with The Sopranos, Nocturnal Animals and No Country For Old Men; whether or not it says anything about Tinder; the uses of Colin Farrell; and which animals would your hosts want to be? Plus, Bill develops a theory of the film in real time, and Renan has a "Usual Suspects moment”.
Film links:
Show links:
For the first full episode of ETV season 5, Bill and Renan talk SOLARIS: mainly the 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky classic, but also the 2002 Steven Soderbergh remake. Although they tell the same story, they are very different films. Your hosts evaluate each film on the merits and in relation to one another, plus: their very different pacing and runtimes; how each film is dated in different ways; the pros and cons of flashbacks; which film had the better ending; the practicalities of filmmaking under Brezhnev; and the film's awkward relationship to Stanley Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Film links:
Show links:
ENTER THE VOID is back for our fifth season, and this time around Renan and Bill have set themselves the task of talking about only films by directors they haven't covered on the show. How did they do? Pretty good! Except for the last episode, but we think you'll find it a forgivable exception. Starting next week, ETV will appear in your podcast feed each Wednesday, and here is the lineup so you can watch ahead:
Show links: