Hello everyone, this is Dwayne Monroe, the host, along with Dennis Claxton and RC Charles Roberts of the Film Conversations podcast. In today’s show, we continue a conversation we started in the previous episode: the ways film shapes political views and the value of film to understanding politics.

This has turned out to be a rich topic and so, we’re planning a third episode to give Dennis a chance to fully develop his ideas which were cut a bit short this time around. There is, as always, a full listing of the films referenced during our conversation. I hope you enjoy.

https://youtu.be/BdeHqesLx4s?si=O90_yIyvGUD8JELg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekend_(1967_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Discreet_Charm_of_the_Bourgeoisie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Sirk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Bu%C3%B1uel

https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2017/1967/weekend-jean-luc-godard-1967/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_(film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_for_Lambs

Inherit the Wind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inherit_the_Wind_(1960_film)

State of Play

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Play_(film)

Bob Roberts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Roberts

Gattaca

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca

Hello everyone, this is Dwayne Monroe, one of the hosts, alongside Dennis Claxton and RC Charles Roberts, of the Film Conversations podcast.

In today’s episode, we talk about the films that shaped our political views. Or, I should say, we intended to talk about this but global events intervened and we found ourselves talking about geopolitics and war (with relevant US domestic politics included for good measure).

Eventually, we found our way to discussing film, including RC’s mention of the 1992 released Bob Roberts and my mention of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, released in 1985.

This was a good discussion and although we didn’t spend as much time on film as originally planned, fear not, there will be a part two.

We hope you enjoy.

References

Gore Vidal

Karl Kraus

Henry Simmons - Cheap Music, Numb Brains, and Stupidity

John Gray - Humanism and Flying Saucers

Doug Henwood - How the Ruling Class Became Vulgar

Welcome back to another episode of Film Conversations. After a bit of a hiatus, we’re back and at full force, so to speak: RC Charles Robert is back at the table.

Today’s film is FW Murnau’s silent masterpiece, released in 1926: Faust.

To set the scene, here’s an excerpt from the Criterion article on the film:

https://criterioncast.com/column/for-criterion-consideration/for-criterion-consideration-f-w-murnaus-faust

One of the most well known legends of the Renaissance period was Faust, a German necromancer whose exploits transformed into the tale of a man who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for all the knowledge in the world. Over the centuries, the story has been countlessly reshaped and rebooted. Most recently Russian director Alexander Sokurov (who is most well known for his one-take wonder, Russian Ark) released a free-interpretation of the Faustian tale. The first film to directly adapt the story was made by Frederich Wilhelm Murnau in 1926, just before he moved to America. Based on a two-part dramatic poem by Goethe, Faust begins with the demon Mephisto who has made a bet with an Archangel that he can corrupt any righteous man’s soul. If the Devil succeeds, he will win dominion over earth. The Archangel agrees, on the condition that the Devil set his sights on Faust, an elderly alchemist whose pursuit of knowledge and truth sets him apart from man. The Devil delivers the plague to a local village, forcing Faust to use his alchemic skills to create an antidote. After he fails to find a cure, Faust rejects God and science, turning to a book of dark magic to summon Mephisto (played by Emil Jannings). Once Mephisto materializes on Earth, he presents Faust with a contract stating that he will now be able to cure the plague in exchange for his soul.

[...]

This was a great conversation that, as usual, ranged beyond the film to wider, yet still related matters.

Oh and during the intro, the German film company UFA is mentioned. You can learn more about UFA here.