Criterion/FilmStruck Double Feature: Elevator to the Gallows (1958) and Black Sun (1964)

I’m really enjoying talking with my friend Audy Christianos on the Film Don’t Lie podcast and hope that you’ll give us a listen if you haven’t already. Audy asked me a few months back if I’d join him on an exploration of several of the Friday Night Double Features on the Criterion channel of FilmStruck. In our most recent episode (#39), we discuss Louis Malle’s first film, Elevator to the Gallows (1958) and Koreyoshi Kurahara’s Black Sun (1964), which FilmStruck calls a “manic, oddball, anti-buddy picture.” You don’t even have to wait for a Friday night to roll around; watch these films now, listen to our podcast, and let us know what you think.

Enough Noir to Keep You Busy for Awhile…

It’s a busy time around here with my 22nd wedding anniversary this weekend, Summer at Your Library promotional visits at schools, writing, and more, so things will continue to be a bit sparse here at Journeys in Darkness and Light. In the meantime, I have several items of interest for you:

Podcast Double Feature: M (1931) and Peeping Tom (1960)

My friend Audy Christianos and I are at it again on the Film Don’t Lie podcast, taking a look at one of the Criterion Friday Night Double Features on FilmStruck. This time, we’re talking about Fritz Lang’s M (1931) and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960). Hope you’ll give us a listen!

A Criterion/FilmStruck Double Feature at Film Don’t Lie: Night Moves (1975) and My Night at Maud’s (1969)

I’m very pleased to announce that my first guest appearance on the podcast Film Don’t Lie is now available here. My friend and podcast host Audy Christianos invited me to come on the show to discuss one of the great Friday night double features currently playing on the Criterion Channel at FilmStruck, this one featuring Night Moves (1975) and My Night at Maud’s (1969). These films have more in common than the word “night,” so I hope you’ll join us to find out more.

A New Venture… Wish Me Luck!

So I’m a little nervous… I’ve been asked to be a guest on an upcoming podcast about movies. I’ve done podcasting before: for three years with The Comics Alternative (mostly on the Young Reader episodes) and have been a guest on other podcasts, but those shows were always about comics and graphic novels. Tomorrow I record my first podcast episode about movies, two in particular.

Neo-Noir and Classic Noir Pairings

The guys over at Pure Cinema Podcast recently covered their top neo-noir movies, pairing them with classic film noir titles that share some type of connection whether it’s plot, theme, or some other common element. It’s a great show and I highly recommend listening to it. I enjoyed it so much that I was inspired to come up with my own list of neo-noir/classic noir pairings:

Meanwhile…

The theater will be empty for awhile… Yes, the blog will be on hiatus for the next several days. During that time, I invite you to check out some other great movie blogs:

B Noir Detour

Speakeasy

Now Voyaging

Mike’s Take on the Movies

Rupert Pupkin Speaks

Criterion Blues

Vic’s Movie Den

Silver Screenings

And these podcasts:

Attaboy Clarence

The Secret History of Hollywood

You Must Remember This

Much of my hiatus will have nothing to do with movies, unfortunately, but I do plan on visiting the town where John Ford grew up, so that’s something! See you later…

 

Podcasts, Librarians, and Reading Everything In Sight

Thankfully the month of September ran out last night and I can finish my “Graphic Novels Read in September” post (which should be up tomorrow). That will add 16 more books to the first part of September’s reads.

Most readers of this blog will know of my great love for newspaper strip comics and especially the great work being done by IDW’s Library of American Comics. You can hear an excellent interview with Library of American Comics founder Dean Mullaney over at The Comics Alternative. I simply cannot wait for their newest book, King of the Comics: 100 Years of King Features. If you love comics, you won’t want to miss it.

Speaking of The Comics Alternative, Derek, Andy K., Gene, Gwen and I had a great time participating in International Podcast Day. You can hear those shenanigans here.

Finally, I was honored to be interviewed last night by Josh Stone over at Librarians Assemble!, a really fun podcast focusing on librarians and comics. I’ll post when that interview goes up. Thanks again, Josh!

The 2 Guys Review New Comics from Ethan Young, Jeff Lemire and Michael DeForge

It’s rare that Derek and I talk on The Comics Alternative Podcast about comics we don’t like, but it may be rarer still for us to talk about three comics that we really, really liked. I can safely say that all three of the titles we discussed on the most recent episode of the podcast are all very good. I hope you’ll check out the show and the comics themselves.

Comics discussed:

Nanjing: The Burning City – Ethan Young (Dark Horse)

Plutona #1 – Jeff Lemire, Emi Lenox, Jordie Bellaire (Image)

Lose # 7 – Michael DeForge (Koyama)

Two Legendary Comics Creators, One Legendary Title and More

Derek and I recently reviewed works by two legendary comics creators over at The Comics Alternative, a podcast episode you can check out here. First, we looked at a stand-alone title by Gilbert Hernandez, Grip: The Strange World of Men, originally released as single issues by Vertigo in 2002, now presented in a new collected edition from Dark Horse.