One of the highest regarded silent films, The General appears as #18 on AFI’s most recent list of the greatest American films of all time. Yet, the film flopped in its initial release, fell into the public domain in 1954 when the studio didn’t even bother to renew the copyright, and didn’t appear anywhere on AFI’s original list. Why was this seminal comedy neglected so long, only to end up canonized as one of the greatest films ever? And is it being forgotten all over again? The General’s action sequences inspired scores of modern action masters including Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise and George Miller, but is its own extended chase scene still inspiring? And how about its apolitical treatment of the Civil War – is that a non-starter in today’s politically polarized world? Find out what our panel of young film-lovers think after seeing The General for the very first time, on Film Generations.  An ElectraCast Production.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_(1926_film) IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/ On Roger Ebert’s Top Ten Greatest Films Ever list. Sight & Sound 10th Best Film of All Time (1982 survey).  American Film Institute 18th Best American Film of All Time (2nd best silent film). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the big budget failure of Dune, director David Lynch went back to his surrealistic roots with a controversial vision of American suburbia’s dark underbelly, Blue Velvet.  This movie put actors Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern on the map as a young couple searching for clues, featured Isabella Rossellini as a sexually blackmailed lounge singer, and revived the career of counter-culture icon Dennis Hopper as the terrifyingly unpredictable Frank Booth. Considered extremely edgy for a mainstream studio release in 1986, does this psycho-sexual coming of age story still pack the same transgressive yet highly engrossing punch that it once did?  Find out what our panel of young film-lovers think after seeing Blue Velvet for the very first time, in a post-Twin Peaks world that has already absorbed so much of Lynch’s style and sensibility. An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Velvet_(film) Rerelease Trailer: https://youtu.be/k_BybDB_phY?si=9Dn5vrLyjFB-Zsqj American Film Critics 4th Best Film of the 1980’s Sight & Sound 5th Best Film 1975-2000 American Film Institute 8th Best Mystery of All Time American Film Institute 36th Best Villain of All Time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1941’s outrageous screwball romantic comedy, The Lady Eve brought together three of Hollywood’s most dynamic and unstoppable forces: Barbara Stanwyck, in her peak year with five starring roles, including also Ball of Fire (Oscar nominated for Best Actress), and Meet John Doe; Henry Fonda, hot off his award-winning turns in Grapes of Wrath and Young Mr. Lincoln; and perhaps riding highest of all, Preston Sturges, who was in the middle of a run of seven giant hits as writer/director in the space of only three years – a feat that remains unequaled in Hollywood even to this day. Sturges was so hot that he became the 3rd-highest-paid employee in the world, and yet when the streak ended in 1944, his career crashed like no other. What remarkable ingredients fueled his artistic rise and fall? Why is his name only occasionally  recalled when the likes of Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, John Lasseter, Wes Anderson, and the Coen Brothers point to his enormous influence?  And why are these cheeky, offbeat, incredibly witty films that delight critics and audiences so unfamiliar to Millennials? Can a Preston Sturges classic still resonate in today’s culture? Find out in this episode of Film Generations. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Jake Flowers, Kylee LaRue & Olive Goldberg An ElectraCast Production NY Times’ Best Film of 1941 Top 100 lists: #28 AFI Greatest Romances, #55 AFI Greatest Comedies, #52 WGA Greatest Screenplays, #59 Entertainment Weekly Greatest Films Ever IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033804/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_Eve   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1969 this audacious western drove a nail into the coffin of the old studio system, recasting the West along with classic Hollywood stars including William Holden and Robert Ryan into a newly violent, gritty and cynical image reflective of the Vietnam War era. The movie was a huge success and had a major impact on the Baby Boomer generation. But 54 years later, after numerous filmmakers have built on the graphic elements of the film, what does it still have to say, if anything, to today’s generation? Our panel of young film-lovers discusses the film’s violence, its male-centered world, its depiction of 1913 Mexico, the revolutionary spirit that sets this action film so far from movies made even just a few years earlier, and what to make of the hard-drinking director, often accused of misogyny and cruelty, the legendary Sam Peckinpah? Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman, Kylee LaRue & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Bunch https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1059489-wild_bunch 52nd on The 100 greatest American films by BBC 63rd on The 80 Best-Directed Films by Directors Guild of America (DGA) 80th on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time by American Film Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Known for the better part of its 82 years as the greatest movie ever made, can Citizen Kane still live up its reputation with today’s generation?  Everything revolutionary about the film - its deep-focus cinematography, experimental editing, innovative sound design and non-linear storytelling - has all been imitated hundreds of times. So is this movie only great because it was ahead of its time, or does it still shine brightly in its own right?  And is the character of Charles Foster Kane just tied to the faded memory of legendary news mogul William Randolph Hearst, or is he newly relevant in the age of Citizens Murdoch and Trump? Join our panel of young film lovers as they bring fresh eyes to this classic. What will they rediscover in Citizen Kane, and what new revelations might they offer from their generation’s perspective? Also in this episode, a look back on our first season: find out which of the 12 classics are our panelist’s favorites and why. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Kylee LaRue, Grace Chapman & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production. Current AFI Greatest Films List: #1 One of the top 3 films ever made: Sight & Sound, DGA, BFI, BBC, NY Film Critics, & many others Why filmmakers rate Kane the G.O.A.T.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSk7MAKiWZw Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1929 Luis Buñuel conspired with fellow surrealist Salvador Dalí to make what has become perhaps the most famous short film in cinema history, Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) a film that shocked the public, was nearly banned in France, and won these 2 provocateurs a devoted audience.  Five decades later, near the end of a distinguished film career, Buñuel made the Oscar-winning hit, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, a hilarious yet dead-pan send-up of aristocrats, the Church, government, and patriarchy that perfectly straddles the line between society’s most cherished pretensions and complete absurdity. Both films evince an anti-establishment style of humor and critique rarely seen in movies, and present challenges to viewers brought up in a more concrete, literal age. What will our young film lovers find in the confounding and marginalized genre of surrealist film? Could these movies be even more relevant in the 21st century? Find out as we confront the wickedly funny and caustic political tableaus of the legendary writer-director, Luis Buñuel. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman, Guy Lewis, Kylee LaRue & Jake Flowers An ElectraCast Production   Andalusian Dog Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie trailer: https://youtu.be/T7XNFYdQ8S8?si=vj8UQriqnGfpVMdl Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Bunuel IMDB (Luis Buñuel): https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000320/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, with Matthew Modine, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, and an unforgettable performance by drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey, opened to middling reviews in 1987 but has since become a cultural icon to war critics and soldiers alike. Today’s panel of young film lovers includes both a Marine and Navy veteran. Their perspective, alongside the civilians on the panel, makes for an absorbing discussion of what has now become a touchstone war film. What cultural forces transform a shocking, confounding new film into a venerated classic? Find out as we discuss this controversial film by undisputed master director Stanley Kubrick with a new generation of film lovers. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Guy Lewis, Kylee LaRue & Christian Moreno Aponte An ElectraCast Production Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOpuEhyAq5U Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Jacket IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Capra is well-known for such top-ranked classics as It Happened One Night, Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life.  However, his 1941 film, Meet John Doe, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, deserves more love. It’s often very funny but deals with some of the darkest issues of American democracy and demagoguery.   While sometimes labelled corny, its characters grapple with moral choices and the depths of despair – all while taking on surprisingly contemporary issues of fake news, voter manipulation, mass layoffs, mob rioting and the media’s craving for sensationalism.  So does this 82-year-old film speak to a new generation of film lovers? What still seems timely and what now makes us cringe? Find out, when our young panel brings today’s sensibilities to this time capsule from the Great Depression. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers &  Kylee LaRue An ElectraCast Production   Per AFI, one of the 50 most inspiring films of all time Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM9fO0QxHLI Newer trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j3gdbdnoEk Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_John_Doe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This 1991 film, the first high-budget female buddy comedy/thriller/road movie, exploded into the cultural scene with a powerful mix of female empowerment, violence, comedy and moral dynamite. It’s initial release sparked cultural arguments across the media about whether the movie endorsed violence against men or simply gave their heroines the type of story arc previously reserved only for male stars.  Was Thelma and Louise good or bad for feminism?  Was it simply the most compelling female friendship seen on screen for decades? Whatever your opinion, this funny, moving and provocative film clearly struck a nerve. Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, and Brad Pitt (in his star-making role), Thelma & Louise takes audiences on a wild ride across the American South and Southwest, to an iconic conclusion still hotly debated to this day. So does a 32-year-old take on female freedom and friendship in America still feel relevant to a generation raised in today’s evolved gender environment? Our panel of young film lovers may truly surprise you with their answers. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman, Guy Lewis & Jake Flowers An ElectraCast Production   Current AFI Greatest Thrillers List: #76 Academy Award winner – Best Original Screenplay, Callie Khouri Nominations – Ridley Scott: Best Director, Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis: Best Actress   Original Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iBFmKlO4BY Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise Time Magazine Review: https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,973242,00.html Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/thelma-louise-1200428677/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This still shocking and wildly popular movie, which birthed the slasher genre and yet is still perhaps the deepest, most complex example of it, was maestro Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest hit, even though it was the lowest budget film he made in America.  Psycho broke so many rules, in such a riveting way, that it’s never stopped being talked about in the 63 years since its release. It blew the door off the censorship of the Hays Code. The famous shower scene and the incredible music accompanying it have been imitated year after year after year by hacks as well as by the most highly regarded filmmakers of the last half century. Our panel of film-lovers talk about the astonishing twists and turns of the story, the hidden symbolism and techniques that make it such a head-turner, and exactly how it is that a film that has been copied so often for so long still delivers a fresh experience. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Jake Flowers, Guy Lewis & Ann Michelle An ElectraCast Production Current AFI Greatest American films list: #14 Current AFI Greatest Thrillers List: #1 Original Trailer: Psycho Official Trailer 1960 HD - YouTube Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(1960_film) Original Time Magazine Review: https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Terry Gilliam’s 1985 dystopic science fiction comedy Brazil had a difficult release that mirrored its themes of bureaucracy, denial, mindless consumerism, and relentless propaganda. The head of the Studio tried to neuter the film’s dark, humanistic message, worried it wouldn’t play to his target audience of 17-to-29 year-olds. And, indeed, this now-classic satire was a box-office flop. So what do today’s 20-somethings make of Brazil? Do themes of authoritarianism, constant surveillance, and the loss of individuality resonate with a generation saturated in new surveillance technology? Is what was funny in 1985 still funny 38 years later? Our young and old film-lovers discuss Monty Python, Robert De Niro, if the love-struck Jonathan Crane is sympathetic or a creepy stalker, and whether this visually stunning, handmade tour-de-force still dazzles in an age of easy CGI. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik  Panelists: Grace Chapman & Olive Goldberg An ElectraCast Production Winner 1985 L.A. Film Critics Awards Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director Not on any AFI top films lists Original Video Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKPFC8DA9_8 Imdb with New Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_brazil Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film) Pauline Kael Review: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/brazil Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With exteriors shot in war-ravaged Vienna, this iconic film noir thriller boasts writing, cinematography, editing and music comparable to Citizen Kane, winning it the Palm D’Or at Cannes, the British academy award for Best Picture of 1949, as well as an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White). Its unique zither score rose to #1 on the Billboard Charts. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted it the greatest British film of all time. The story, by celebrated novelist and spy Graham Greene, is full of mystery, intrigue, irony, fraught relationships, and action. Joseph Cotten plays the American plunged into a world beyond his understanding, with Alida Valli as the beautiful, jaded woman beyond his grasp. Orson Welles turns in a knock-out performance as the mysterious title character. Our panel of film-lovers young and old discusses the films they love that owe their roots to this classic, which parts of it are still cool and what now seems dorky, and why people today would want to watch black & white movies at all. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis Guest Panelist: Ann Michelle An ElectraCast Production AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #57 IMDb with restored trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Man Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1949/film/reviews/the-third-man-1117795637/ Guardian Review: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/the-third-man-review-philip-french Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1939, a golden year of Hollywood filmmaking, legendary director John Ford returned to the almost defunct genre that had launched his career, the Western. Stagecoach brought a new sophistication to Westerns, made the 32-year-old John Wayne a movie star, and won Academy Awards for both its stirring musical score and supporting actor Thomas Mitchell. (John Ford eventually won 4 best directing Oscars – still today more than any director in history.) With its stellar cast, expert action sequences and location shooting in Monument Valley, Stagecoach brought an epic scope to what would have been merely an intimate drama in another director’s hands.  But a lot has changed culturally in the past 84 years.  Our panel of film-lovers young and old discusses the archaic sexual mores of the time (the film is set in 1880), changing attitudes toward Native Americans and conceptions of masculinity, and whether the endless imitation of this classic has made Stagecoach seem stereotypical or seminal. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36 Restored Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjXnoXdyA7k IMDb with original trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031971/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagecoach_(1939_film) Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/stagecoach-1200412191/ Original New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1939/03/03/archives/the-screen-a-fordpowered-stagecoach-opens-at-music-hall-mickey.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After some modest early success, Spike Lee announced the arrival of a major new voice with his 1989 film Do the Right Thing.  Funny, controversial, and prescient – anticipating many of the issues that would dominate the next 33 years - this film took a freewheeling look at race relations and violence by both police and protesters in an age long before “woke” culture became mainstream. Our panel of movie lovers young and old discuss how this powerful film affected them, how current it feels a third of a century later, and what it’s like to see so many iconic stars early in their careers — Samuel Jackson, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Martin Lawrence and the young writer, director, producer and star, Spike Lee. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis An ElectraCast Production AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36 Original Trailer (restored): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAD4fYRcvA IMDb (with low-res trailer): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_the_Right_Thing Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1989/film/reviews/do-the-right-thing-review-1200428009/ Original New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/30/movies/review-film-spike-lee-tackles-racism-in-do-the-right-thing.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long after the silent film era ended, Charlie Chaplin returned to make his final silent picture, Modern Times.  Not only is it #8 on IMDb’s funniest comedies of all time, but it’s a commentary about homelessness, alienation in the machine age, over-policing, poverty, and other social issues still debated today.  The film is 87 years old but has retained a viewership over nearly a century.  Is it possible that such an old film might still feel relevant to today’s young generation? Our panel of film lovers young and old discusses how this classic has aged, what ways it still feels illuminating and even timely, what falls flat for younger viewers, and what the icon of Chaplin’s tramp means in the 21st Century. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36 IMDb listing with newer Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027977/ Original 1936 Trailer: https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/modern-times-trailer Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)#:~:text=Modern%20Times%20is%20a%201936,in%20the%20modern%2C%20industrialized%20world. Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1936/film/reviews/modern-times-2-1200411268/ Roger Ebert Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/modern-times-1972 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midnight Cowboy exploded Hollywood in 1969, as a gritty, X-rated drama dealing with homelessness, the oppression of gay men, the perversion of the American Dream, the cynical decline of New York City, and the emergence of a new, optimistic generation unaware of its own hypocrisy.  This film launched the career of Jon Voight and allowed Dustin Hoffman to transform the definition of a movie star. It was the surprise winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, and changed studio filmmaking forever. Our panel explores how the film holds up today. Is it still relevant, shocking and spellbinding? After 53 years of indie films probing similar ground, what does Midnight Cowboy say to a new generation watching it for the first time? How does 1969 appear to people born 30 years later? Find out on our premiere episode of Generation Film. Hosts: Mark Netter & David Tausik Panelists: Grace Chapman, Jake Flowers & Guy Lewis AFI Greatest American Movies (original list): #36 Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/o29GST0Lj28 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Cowboy Original Variety Review: https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/midnight-cowboy-review-1200421996/ Original New York Times Review: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/cowboy-re.html On ElectraCast: https://electracast.com/podcast/generation-film/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get ready for a unique movie review podcast, where two film lovers from the 20th Century introduce a classic film to a panel of young film lovers every week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices