And then the Cinephile Series goes a bit longer, but the idea there is that everything’s fair game. We don’t have to worry about spoilers, We can start out, if we want, talking about the very end of the film. The understanding is that everyone has seen it, or at least when they’re listening to it, they’re agreeing to the fact that they’re going to be hearing everything about this film. But hopefully the kinds of things that we flesh out will make another viewing of the film – even after that – more interesting.
Memento’s a perfect example – I found out a ton of stuff about it going through it for the Cinephile Series that I didn’t even know. When you sit down and really start to study a film – rather than just seeing a film and walking out of the theater and talking about it over a cup of coffee – you’re really going to start to put the pieces in place, because you’re spending some time with it.
EB: That DVD was a puzzle and a huge treasure trove in itself, as I remember.
MG: Yeah. In fact, one of the things I tried to do in that [podcast] was to give instructions to get the movie to play in order. And just other things: finally putting the film together to make sure all the scenes make sense: black and white and color and how they all line up.
The neat thing for me – as much as people seem to enjoy what I’m doing – is that I’m the guy that’s getting the biggest kick out of this whole thing. I get to really find out more about the films that I’m passionate about.
Sometimes I’m asked by reporters why I never pan a film. Well, we started off calling it Reel Reviews, but it’s really more like “Reel Recommendations.” And that’s why I have the tagline, “Films Worth Watching.” Since they’re my movies, and I’ve got to talk about them, why pick something that’s no good? I pick the films that I want to see, and that I want to talk about.
EB: Let me ask you a couple of movie-related questions. What kind of era do you think we’re in for movies right now, and the sort of related question is: what would you consider to be the best era for films?
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
great stuff Eric, excellent. Your interviews are compulsive reading, is the truth of the matter. And thank you for introducing me to this reel reviews chancer, who i will inspect.
And hilariously enough, i was hollering his quotes before he was pointing out the truth of the matter.
i.e. "What you mean no-ones heard of Peckinpah!!"
oh, yeah...
"what you mean no-ones heard of Fuller!!"
oh, yeah...
"what you mean no-ones seen the conversation!!!!"
oh, yeah...
and so on and so fourth.
I think he underestimates thew availibility of foreign flicks in this new ultra DVD age. Certainly Hirsohmia... should'nt be at all hard to get hold of.
But then i'm thinking from a UK perspective, i guess.
whatever, great stuff, as ever.
2 - Eric Berlin
Duke - Thanks as always -- I can rest easy knowing that I've reached at least one person!
I get the feeling that Geoghegan wants the films he talks about to be "accessible" in more ways than one: physically getable, and also films that could potentially be enjoyed by a modern, mass audience. Therefore, I'm guessing it would be difficult for a regular bloke such as myself to get immersed in Hiroshima, Mi Amor.
3 - denise
Reel Reviews is DA BOMB! I try to listen to all of Michael Geoghegan's podcasts. I learn a lot from them.
I put The Conversation on my Netflix list as well. :)
4 - Eric Berlin
Denise -- Great to see another podcasting / Reel Reviews fan in the house.
Look out for a few upcoming interviews with super podcasting people. Just met up with Lance Anderson today of Verge of the Fringe, and have another one with a great writer and new podcaster coming up this week.