Classic Movie Musts

In this episode we discuss Howard Hawks's Red River (1948), starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, and dissect the evolution of the male persona in postwar America, as well as a subverting of western genre myths.

In this episode we discuss Billy Wilder's infamous, Sunset Boulevard (1950), starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, and breakdown Wilder's scathing criticism of Hollywood.   Sunset Boulevard is currently #12 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.

In this episode, we break down the swashbuckling adventure, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Claude Rains.  We discuss how director Michael Curtiz enhanced the excitement and tension of the film thanks to dynamic editing techniques that would influence Hollywood action movies for generations.

In this episode, we dissect the Stanley Kubrick horror classic, The Shining (1980), starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd.  The Shining is a deceptively simple horror narrative that works largely beneath the surface to reveal psychological breakdown, and the collapse of the American family.

In this episode, we discuss the holiday classic, It's A Wonderful Life (1946).  Directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, and Henry Travers, this film wrestles with themes of individual vs. community like only Capra can. It's A Wonderful Life is currently #20 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.