Exit Music For a Film
Whether you are working from home, or embracing your inner jigsaw constructor, you need a film podcast to keep you company so Getintothis’ Vikki Gregorich talks you through the best of them.
Film makers are a talented, driven bunch of characters, intent on telling stories, presenting visions and commenting on the world as they see it.
The rest of us often find the process, the folklore and the hubris as fascinating as the films we see. In a world where we can no longer go to the cinema, we can, at least, meet like-minded people through the medium of podcasts, also a passion-driven medium.
There are as many niche film podcasts out there as there are sub-genres.
From deconstructing classic movies scene by scene to suggesting improvements to some of the worse films committed to celluloid and uncovering the secret histories behind Hollywood’s most famous moments there’s a podcast out there to peak your interest.
The list below is our pick of the finest podcasts about film, but really they’re just the tip of the iceberg.
You Must Remember This (picture courtesy of Facebook)
You Must Remember This
You Must Remember This is a podcast about the ‘secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century.’
Narrator and host, Karina Longworth, will soon become your podcast best friend. Her charming delivery and dedication to research leads you through the Golden Age of Hollywood, its stars, its secrets and its impact on the world of cinema.
YMRT comes in seasons, which cover a range of topics, from The Blacklist (the denial of employment to people in the entertainment industry as a result of the House Un-American Activities Committee) to the truth behind Kenneth Anger‘s scandalous book, Hollywood Babylon.
There’s even a series on Star Wars, complete with an interview with Rian Johnson (Karina‘s husband), but it may not have enough aliens and spaceships for most fans, and it largely discusses what Hollywood stars did during World War 2.
Where to start: MGM Stories – covers the rise and fall of MGM and the impact of the studio system generally.
Spoiler Alert: Low
Want more? Read Karina‘s book, Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood
We Hate Movies (picture courtesy of Facebook)
We Hate Movies
We Hate Movies is the best part about bad movies since 2010.
New York based buddies, Andrew Jupin, Chris Cabin, Eric Szyszka and Stephen Sajdak, follow the plots of bad movies with suggestions for improvements and impressions of Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, amongst others.
Most episodes end with a recommendation of sorts, usually how hungover you would have to be to make the most of the film.
The appeal of the podcast is driven by the clear love of film as well as the comfortable interaction of the longstanding friendship of the four, or as I like to think of them, the angry one, the contrarian, the nerd and the daddy.
Where to start: Episode 275 – The Happening.
Spoiler Alert: High
Want more? Try Blank Check with Griffin and David, a podcast which follows the career output of directors who have had significant success and are then offered a figurative blank cheque to pursue their passion projects.
Evolution of Horror (courtesy of Facebook)
Evolution of Horror
Evolution of Horror is a podcast for horror lovers, by horror lovers.
Host Mike Muncer meets with a guest presenter every week, and they discuss the chronological evolution of the sub-genres of horror. Sub-genres covered include slasher films, ghost stories and occult horror.
Interspersed with the series there is a range of other episodes. Some are pretty standard film reviews of up and coming horror films, but there are also some cracking interviews with horror experts, including Kim Newman and Mike Flanagan.
Where to start: Zombies Series – 23 episodes from White Zombie (1932) to Train to Busan (2016).
Spoiler Alert: High
Want more? Try Faculty of Horror, an all things horror podcast with a dash of sociological and feminist perspective. Hosted by Canadian horror journalists and occasional academics Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West, look specifically for the episode on The Exorcist, it might be the best podcast episode ever made.
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review (picture courtesy of Facebook)
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review features weekly film reviews, A-List interviews and podcast extras that you don’t get from the live broadcast show.
The cornerstone of BBC film output is hosted by Mark Kermode, a film expert and irascible contrarian and the calm and curious Simon Mayo.
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review is the grandfather of film podcasting, starting in 2005, it has such a devoted listenership that they developed the “Church of Wittertainment”. The tenets of the church include devotion to the actor Jason Isaacs and a Code of Conduct for cinema-goers.
The weekly podcast includes reviews, a top ten count down, interviews (conducted by Mayo, as Kermode’s style rubs a lot of stars up the wrong way) and letters from listeners disagreeing with Kermode’s opinion in the previous week, or seeking advice from the church.
The best of the podcast is where Kermode hates a film, or film-maker and delivers an impassioned rant about it.
Famously, Kermode’s review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is just 75 seconds of him banging his head against things in despair.
Where to start: any episode where a Transformers movie is reviewed.
Spoiler Alert: Low
Want more? Check out Inside Cinema from BBC Arts (iPlayer), short films about important movies.
It’s good, except it sucks (picture courtesy of Facebook)
It’s Good, Except It Sucks
It’s Good, Except It Sucks is a hurtle through the Marvel Universe.
Liverpool-based Tim Worthington, hosts a film by film, television series by television series review of the Marvel universe with a range of guest presenters who are Marvel fans, including your very own Vikki Gregorich.
Each episode is dedicated to a specific film or series, Worthington expertly guiding his guests through their experiences and analysis of each feature, including their adventures with the comics and cartoon series beyond the latest Disney output.
This podcast is just starting out (only 12 episodes at time of writing), but it’s warm, comical and informative style will keep you listening. Excelsior!
Where to start: Episode 4: Thor
Spoiler Alert: High
Want more? If you like Tim’s style, you’ll love Looks Unfamiliar. A podcast about things that you remember but no-one else does.
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