BONG! BONG! Three and a half decades after Tom Cruise felt the need, the need for speed, he was back with the best of the best, turning and burning through the canyons of an unidentified rogue state to take our breath away. The cameras were better, but what about the script? Was everyone missing Charlie? And what are we to day to the babies around the world named Maverick?

As Happy Birthday America Month continues, Rob and Duncan are joined by Joe Twyman to discuss the return of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

Next Week: Heartbreak Ridge.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's an alien invasion, and they're not messing about. Happy Birthday America Month continues with a film so American that they could barely be bothered to show the rest of the world being blown up. BUT WE DON'T MIND. Joining us to watch the White House being destroyed is super-nerd Jonn Elledge, whose new book 31 Inventions That Built Our World explains quite a lot about the New York that the aliens destroyed. Learn about the alternative bit of casting that would have taken this film to a much less wholesome place, and marvel as we discuss whether the US would actually elect a war veteran as president.

Next week: Top Gun Maverick.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I have no division." Happy Birthday America Month continues with a film about the greatest battle fought on US soil, as Martin Sheen's Robert E Lee tries to draw the Union army into a fight that will leave the way open to Washington. Has Duncan persuaded Rob that it's worth the four hours it takes to tell the story? Would Russell Crowe have been better than Jeff Daniels? And, um, are one side in this the baddies?

Next week: Independence Day.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Yes, all July, we're marking 250 years of gratuitous Americans by watching the most gratuitously American war movies we can find, and no war movie is as gratuitously American as The Patriot, in which Mel Gibson oozes love of country from every pore.

How is this film so long? How come Mel is running the one Southern plantation with no slaves? And do flags really matter that much? Join us for the answers to this and much more.

Next week: Gettysburg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, an early Technicolor classic war movie. One of six - six! - adaptations of AEW Mason's 1902 novel of cowardice and courage, it stars Ralph Richardson in a competition with John Clements to have the stiffest upper lip ever.

Covered in the episode: how much was this film influenced by TE Lawrence, and how much did it influence Lawrence of Arabia? How often did defensive squares break in the 19th century? And, somehow, more poetry.

Next week: The Patriot

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1945 film that exemplified stiff upper lips like nothing else, The Way To The Stars was written by Terrence Rattigan, based on his own experiences of the air war, and tells the story of the ground lives of a bomber station. Starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave but most of all Rosamund John, it's a tale that would have resonated with audiences at home who had lost friends and lovers to the war. It was recut and released as Johnny In The Clouds in the US.

Most of all though, as far as Rob and Tom are concerned, it's a film that was shot in Bedale, jewel of North Yorkshire's market towns.

Next week: The Four Feathers (1939)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the World Cup, which means it's time for Rob and Duncan to Escape To Victory! Again! It's the only prisoner of war film to feature three different World Cup winners, and the only war movie to be decide by a bicycle kick. Michael Caine is too old and Sylvester Stallone knows too little about football, but thanks to a bunch of extras from Ipswich Town, the movie has become a classic. Particularly because it sees the Nazis organise a football match that is somehow less dodgy than anything FIFA touches.

This week, they're joined by World War 2 historian Alan Allport, who spends his days trying to explain European history to Americans through football. Will he disappear at half time, or score a last-minute equaliser?

Next week: The Way To The Stars

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Their egos writing cheques that their bodies can't cash, Rob and Duncan are joined by Top Gun superfan Marina Hyde to mark the 40th anniversary of the greatest film about naval aviators ever made. It's the movie that confirmed the status of Tom Cruise as a star, and also as a man who has no chemistry with his female co-leads. Is that because his real sparks were with Val Kilmer? Are Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan the secret sauce?

Plus Marina takes us through the five hottest men in the film. You may be surprised by who isn't in there.

Next week: to mark the World Cup, we're going to Escape To Victory (again).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.