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Look forward to the top 10 Lynch/Roman Palanski films!!! The Ninth Gate is brilliant. You haven't seen Underworld?!? It's bad fun. Love the Q&A, wish I could have caught it Live.

Haia, do you fancy a cupa Barry's and a gingernut, be back in 5 so keep going and I'll catch up on my quelle heure in Vladvostok

I tried only a few but the ones I loved was Midnight Rogue and Appointment with Fear

I love The wiches, devil rides out, dr Jekyl and sister Hyde few hammer films 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Top 10 David lynch 👍🏻look forward to seeing it, adore the elephant man people say john hurt is fantastic but for me its Anthony Hopkins performance is outstanding

I agree that the first half of Psycho is the best part, And to me the real underrated hidden gem from Hitchcock is the highly entertaining & rewatchable To Catch A Thief.

An excellent chat filled with fascinating recommendations (especially Eureka). Thanks for the nice words about my channel. I look forward to your top 10's. I'm really interested in all of them, even Albert Serra 👍 (...someone I know nothing about). Re Ken Russell, I recently re-watched The Devils and I think it may be a masterpiece. Also, looking forward to your future 3-header horror film 😀.

Very enjoyable Q&A session! You discussed many interesting subjects. One I especially appreciated was your reply (which began at 15:33) to being asked if you still have ambitions to be a filmmaker. You said that you don't really anymore (and you explained why not), but at 18:37, you did say that you would like to make a short 20-25 minute film, maybe a ghost story with three actors or so and filmed in an old house somewhere, using your phone. 😃 I hope you do this!! I would love to see it! Do you think you would write the script yourself or would you adapt a short story that you like?

Hallo! Recently watched the Val Lewton films with a friend from work, and after each one we watched your specific review and at the end, compared our rankings with yours. Most informative and enjoyable! Also really enjoy your short films whilst you're out and about, too. More of those too, please! Thank you so much !

Martinez Jason Brown George Miller Richard

Hey, I got a name check!! Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the Tupperware party as I was out - at the cinema watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (I think I'm right in assuming that you're not a Tim Burton fan but I blummin' loved it). So far I'm only ten minutes into the video but blummin' loving it all already - big up for the Gilbert Adair quote. I blummin' love (and treasure) his book Flickers, in fact I blummin' love all of his books actually and not just the criticism but his novels too - some of which could probably plead being semi-guilty of smart-arsery. Anyway, the question I meant to actually ask was not film/book/culture related at all but: dogs or cats or neither or both? Good day to you.

More important than Dreyer ?

Thanks Michael, just trying to be controversial (bit of a laugh) but sadly I enjoy the film way too much, ( dont like Hanoi Jane ether. But she looks fantastic, ) Film Noir that supised me the most, " The set up" favorite autobiographical film "Liquid Sky"

Michael, your post was a total joy to see and hear. I love your humor too. Thank you so much for answering my questions. Re Lang. When I recommend Dr. Mabuse the Gambler to everyone I always add, "Oh yeah, it's 4 1/2 hrs long." The reaction on their faces is priceless. I know they will never watch it. But when I taped it off TV a while back I was not bored for one second! Also IMO, the last of the three Mabuse films Lang made, The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1961), his final film with a French New Wave feeling,, showed no decline whatsoever in creativity from his early silent masterpieces. I think that is rare in directing .Don't the majority of directors for many reasons sort of peter out at the end of their careers? Your picks for favorite noirs are stellar. But I must admit to not caring for one of them. I know Eddie Muller of Noir Alley fame lists In a Lonely Place as his all time favorite noir. Maybe I'm missing something and should give it another shot.. And you say your noir must be in B&W. Please tell why. IMO Vertigo is a noir. The largest noir site on FB lists something like 18 characteristics that make a film a noir and Vertigo ticks off something like 15 of them. Leave Her to Heaven and Niagara ae two other fine color noirs. I am crazy about Kiss Me Deadly, a film far ahead of its time. My 8 favorite noirs in no particular order are Vertigo, Touch of Evil, Kiss Me Deadly, Out of the Past, The Lineup, White Heat, Shoot the Piano Player and Night of the Hunter , if it is a noir.

Out of the past and In a lonely place are also my top 2. I recently watched Detour and thought Ann Savage was fantastic. Whip smart dialogue and a lot of fun to watch. Haven't seen kiss me deadly so will need to check that out. I also recently watched Nightcap after your recommendation and really enjoyed that. I was quite taken with Anna Mouglalis! Can you recommend any of her other films?

Well, that was an embarrassment of riches of cinematic obscurity you unleashed there, Mike, I'm not even sure where to start! 😁 But honestly, I always enjoy learning of films and filmmakers new to me, and you came through as always. The Czech 'Beauty and the Beast' was just recently recommended by Solitary Ronin on his channel, and 'Night Train' was likewise lauded by Neil of Neil's Movie Channel (I remain woefully limited in my exposure to Polish cinema, with Kawalerowicz appearing to have been a particularly significant figure). Mentioning Polanski, and still on the subject of obscure films, I wanted to note having recently watched a somewhat overlooked oddity in his filmography, a 1970 drama called 'A Day at the Beach', written by Polanski adapting a Dutch novel from 1962, and officially directed by a certain Simon Hesera, a very mysterious figure who only has one other credit cited online, the filming having been made on location in Denmark, but with the cast almost wholly comprised of British actors delivering all English dialogue. Mark Burns plays a loutish cad who is insanely entrusted by friends to take their little girl on an all-day outing, spent mostly on the shores of an off-season seaside resort, during which Burns' character proceeds to get as roaring drunk as possible, making him all the more obnoxious to passersby and further subjecting his vulnerable charge to neglect and danger. There are all kinds of surprising faces in the supporting cast, including Fiona Lewis, Eva Dahlbeck, Jack MacGowran, and Peter Sellers (coyly credited onscreen as 'A. Queen'). There are some accounts that Polanski was meant to direct or did indeed direct part of the film, but had to abandon the job when his wife was tragically slain in California, causing him to depart for that emergency and leave completion to the obscure Hesera. The film has recently been uploaded onto this site, and is worth a look as at least a curiosity. I note your photo of the luminous Louise Brooks, and remembered what she said in regard of one of your noir favorites, 'In a Lonely Place'. Brooks knew Humphrey Bogart personally, and she stated that no other film he made was as revealing of the man himself than 'In a Lonely Place'. A kind of arresting observation, given the mentality and actions of his character, but I distinctly recall reading that assessment from Brooks once. Thanks for another enjoyable session!

I read the trilogy when I was 15 in the early 70’s and it became one of my favorites. I used to joke that Peake was bet he couldn’t write something using every word in the thesaurus, so he wrote Gormenghast.

For the love of all that is sacred!... How dare you talk about 1958's "The Fly" with such carelessness, and on top of that call it a "silly little sci-fi movie", "a bit of fun", sorry but you are dead wrong on this one; certainly David Cronenberg is a great Director; I, like any other cinema connoisseur, love his work but I'm afraid he fell short with his version of "The Fly", his is the silly, simple and empty one, silly dialogue, silly make-up, silly acting, gratuitus characters and relationships. I think you are failing to see the true depth, the truly moving and horrifying situation, Kurt Neumann's version masterfully places on the screen; it is dark, macabre, and truly disturbing even by today's standards. 1958 "The Fly" is a masterpiece of horror and a far superior film than Cronenberg's remake. Cheers Mike!

Slowly catching up with your past output (a real pleasure as yours is far and away my favourite youtube channel simply because the stuff you cover is so far up my street, it might as well climb in through the window) so you probably won't see this comment, but just to say agree with you pretty much all the way (though I do like The Conformist, and indeed the films of PTA, Coen Bros and some Wes Anderson's). Godard is absolutely up there on my 'don't like and don't get list' with Mike Leigh - but these two, and the others, are well respected in academic circles which made studying Film at Uni a bit of a chore on occasion.

I liked the cozy little French town, and its people as extras. In the opening party scene, I noticed that some extras couldn't help but stare at the famous and gorgeous actress. They knew they couldn't stare at the camera but they forgot that staring at the main actress also breaks the realism a bit.

Cassavetes' work is largely overrated, sure his films are visceral and unique but he often blows past ambiguity right into inanity. Some offer insights that aren't usually explored on film- still, they're not enjoyable ( _A Woman Under the Influence_ being a prime example) . I do find Gena Rowlands to be a great actress, and adorable. I think his best work is _Opening Night_ .

But i can think.....comme dirait alain delon tu es nul ...vis et c'est tout

I WAS with an english girl////but i d'on'ont speak

This one is quite expensive here in Hungary. A friend borrowed mine years ago, but she hasn't given it back yet. The book was probably a nod to the Hammer films and those 70s satanic horror flicks.

1.) Dr Terror's House of Horrors 2..) From Beyond The Grave 3.) Torture Garden 4.) Vault of Horror 5.) Tales From the Crypt 6.) House That Dripped Blood 7.) Asylum

yes, mate. We agree on Vertigo, one of my 13 all time favorite films. Nothing like seeing a fresh remastered print on a big screen in a dark theater. .

Could you do a Top 10 Brian De Palma list?

Even the worse of these is way better than the dross produced today.My favourite is Tales From The Crypt.Peter Cushing'sperformance is so heart breaking,showing his fantastic acting skills.

Being a voraciously avid reader I can't believe I had never come across this trilogy. I've started it, about 150 pages in, and wow I can't put it down. I'm fascinated by the entire premise and your video has solidified my feelings about it already! Thank you for this!

Excellent, interesting video, Mike! I enjoyed it very much, even though I have not seen any of these films. The closest I have come is seeing "Unfaithful" (2002), the American remake of "La Femme Infidèle." 😄

I enjoyed your video, as always, Mike! I always appreciate hearing your insights and opinions. I am looking forward to your future videos in this BBC Shakespeare retrospective. I don't remember ever seeing this 1979 BBC production of "Romeo and Juliet," so I can't really comment on it. But in general, I never hated the play, even when I was young. I have always enjoyed it well enough, whether reading or watching it. I have seen it on stage numerous times and also have seen Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film. I'm sure I have seen other productions of the play on television, but I don't really remember them. Since I haven't seen this 1979 version, I also can't comment on Anthony Andrews' performance in it, but I do want to put in a good word for him. I like him as an actor. I wouldn't say he is a favorite of mine, but I have always enjoyed his performances, at least the ones I can remember offhand right now. The first time I saw him in anything probably was in the 1974 television miniseries "QB VII," but I don't particularly remember him from that. The first time I remember really knowing who he was was in the television series "Danger UXB" that was shown in the US in early 1981. I was sharing a house with two other women at that time, and there were certain shows we always watched together. That was one of them, and we all enjoyed it a lot. In 1982, he starred (along with Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen) in the TV movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel," and I really enjoyed that too, including his performance. I thought he also made a good murderer in the 1989 Columbo TV movie "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine." Those are the only performances by him that come to mind right now. (One more -- He also starred in the 1988 TV movie "The Woman He Loved," again with Jane Seymour, about Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but I don't remember much about it or what I thought of his performance.) So like I said, he's not a top favorite of mine, but I don't remember ever thinking that he was a bad actor at all. Just my two cents. 😄 (By the way, I have never seen "Brideshead Revisited." I have meant to, but never have.) I share your dislike of attempts to update these classic plays. I really do not enjoy those, with one exception. Years ago I saw a modernized version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," adapted, staged, and performed by the drama students at a local college, and I thought it was great! Very clever, innovative, and fun.

Great video. Something I'd like to add to the idea of what you said about the "baroque v. realism" nature of La Rupture is the way it subverts expectation based on the absurdity that the film has set up to that point. Namely in the sequence where the private investigator hired by the family comes up with that fantastical, straight out of a bad melodrama, scheme involving the young girl. As an audience member though it made no logical sense from a real world perspective I fully anticipated it to play out as his diabolical whim intended but then it just plays out essentially how it might in real life when she says something along the lines of "no not her, the other lady with the same name". I think that's perhaps on some level a playful acknowledgement that a film is at the end of the day only a film.

This would be an exciting project. I have seen a few parts here or there, but never straight through.

You are so right about youth and Romero And Juliet, because I never cared that much for it, when I was in high school. Maybe I should rediscover it one day. I have never seen this version, but enjoyed your take on it and your sense of humor is always great.

Thank you for the great commentary and listening!

This was super interesting to hear. I love listening to you sir

Your commentary here is superb, Michael. You really dug deep and i learned a lot. Your section about Chabrol vis a vis Lang and Hitchcock is spot on IMO. I really love many of Lang's and Hitchcock's movies, Vertigo and Dr.Mabuse the Gambler being two of my 13 favorite films. I love noir more than any other genre and Lang is the master.. Wish I could add my 2 cents on various Chabrol films but I've only seen 2 very early ones. I very much liked Les Cousins. One thing in your opening statement about the most famous New Wave directors one always reads about---don't you think Demy should be included here. PS Re Rivette. What do you think of Paris Belongs To Us. When I first saw it I was young and thought it was excellent. The last time I saw it I was much older and thought it was one of the most boring films I've ever seen....lol

I'm excited to see your takes on the other episodes! I dabbled in a lot of these old BBC Shakespeares when I was a college undergrad in the early 2010s. They are indeed refreshing in their traditionalism. I like the lack of whizz-bang editing and high concept production design. It makes them oddly soothing/meditative. (I feel this way about a lot of old-school BBC productions I've seen-- I really enjoy In the Shadow of the Tower and The Fall of Eagles from around the same period as well.) I wasn't fond of this Romeo and Juliet though. I wasn't keen on any of the performances back then, save for Alan Rickman's... but then again, I saw this exactly ten years ago, so a rewatch could change my mind. There's quite a gulf between one's taste at 21 and 31. I love the play a lot-- it's probably in my top ten favorite Shakespeare plays at least. Like you said, it's more about the contrast between youthful ideals and cynical age. The older I get, the more poignant that juxtaposition becomes. I'm also grateful to this play for being my gateway to Shakespeare. I didn't like it when it was assigned reading in high school, but I was compelled to reread it on my own a year after and the beauty of the verse really hit me. Maybe it was because I wasn't being forced to read it that time, but I was able to realize the verse was not an impediment to my enjoyment, but the major cause of it. I've been guilty of bardolatry ever since.

I think this series or part of it aired on American public television, and I remember some of 'Julius Caesar' and 'The Tempest', finding the production of the latter unaccountably a bit dull. I also recall my sister disliking what was made of 'The Taming of the Shrew', perhaps her favorite Shakespeare play, thinking that an overly modern feminist perspective on Katherine's situation diminished the zest and earthiness of the comedy. Incidentally, I too am skeptical of contemporary attempts to make the classics somehow more "relevant" by updating them. My sister some years ago tried to turn me on to the limited series of 'ShakespeaRe-told', wherein four plays are transposed to our modern world, and the verse of the originals is rendered into prosaic dialogue, mitigating, as you say, the very heart and beauty of the poet's drama. She showed me 'The Taming of the Shrew', starring Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell, and I just didn't see much point in the enterprise without the magic of Shakespeare's original language.