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Episodes
Xoe and Rita discuss film, literature, historical figures, interests, and obsessions.
Episodes
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
We'll be back in June with the final part of the Jane Austen Series!
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Pt II of III
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Novels
- Sense and Sensibility (1811) published when Austen was 37 years old
- Pride and Prejudice (1813)
- Mansfield Park (1814)
- Emma (1815)
- Northanger Abbey (1818, posthumous)
- Persuasion (1818, posthumous)
- Lady Susan (1871, posthumous)
Our favorite adaptations:
BBC P&P (1995) - the best! Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle
S&S (1995) - Emma Thompson won an Oscar for Best Adaptation and a new husband
Enjoyable Austen fan fiction:
These are the very best:
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) - Colin Firth again! Both a tribute and its own thing.
Lost in Austen (2008) - 4-part BBC TV series: Modern day Londoner switches places with Elizabeth Bennett - adorable!
These are fun too:
Austenland (2013)- rom-com about immersive Austen cosplay
Becoming Jane (2007) - starring Anne Hathaway as Austen in a fictionalized story about her failed romance with Tom LeFroy
Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) - BBC 3-part murder mystery based the book by E. L. James
Other Music: Excerpts from BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1996).
Thank you to David Plell and Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Pt I of III
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Novels
- Sense and Sensibility (1811) published when Austen was 37 years old
- Pride and Prejudice (1813)
- Mansfield Park (1814)
- Emma (1815)
- Northanger Abbey (1818, posthumous)
- Persuasion (1818, posthumous)
- Lady Susan (1871, posthumous)
Our favorite adaptations:
BBC P&P (1995) - the best! Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle
S&S (1995) - Emma Thompson won an Oscar for Best Adaptation and a new husband
Enjoyable Austen fan fiction:
These are the very best:
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) - Colin Firth again! Both a tribute and its own thing.
Lost in Austen (2008) - 4-part BBC TV series: Modern day Londoner switches places with Elizabeth Bennett - adorable!
These are fun too:
Austenland (2013)- rom-com about immersive Austen cosplay
Becoming Jane (2007) - starring Anne Hathaway as Austen in a fictionalized story about her failed romance with Tom LeFroy
Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) - BBC 3-part murder mystery based the book by E. L. James
Other Music: Excerpts from BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1996).
Thank you to David Plell and Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Thank you for joining us for the fourth and final part of the series on the life and career of Preston Sturges. Unfortunately, he's a jerk in this one and his later films are... simply not good, so you'll find this to be a somewhat downbeat episode. We'll make sure something short and sweet is next, so look forward to that!
Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer
Part IV of IV
Must see movies:
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- The Lady Eve (1941)
- Christmas in July (1940)
Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942)
Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a departure. A birth is better than a death. A chase is better than a chat. A dog is better than a landscape. A kitten is better than a dog. A baby is better than a kitten. A kiss is better than a baby. A pratfall is better than anything." -Preston Sturges
Other Music: Opening credits Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, and Palm Beach Story.
Thank you to Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer
Part III of IV
Must see movies:
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- The Lady Eve (1941)
- Christmas in July (1940)
Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942)
Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a departure. A birth is better than a death. A chase is better than a chat. A dog is better than a landscape. A kitten is better than a dog. A baby is better than a kitten. A kiss is better than a baby. A pratfall is better than anything." -Preston Sturges
Other Music: Opening credits Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, and Palm Beach Story.
Thank you to Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer
Part II of IV
Must see movies:
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- The Lady Eve (1941)
- Christmas in July (1940)
Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942)
Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a departure. A birth is better than a death. A chase is better than a chat. A dog is better than a landscape. A kitten is better than a dog. A baby is better than a kitten. A kiss is better than a baby. A pratfall is better than anything." -Preston Sturges
Other Music: Opening credits Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, and Palm Beach Story.
Thank you to Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer
Part I of IV
Must see movies:
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- The Lady Eve (1941)
- Christmas in July (1940)
Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942)
Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a departure. A birth is better than a death. A chase is better than a chat. A dog is better than a landscape. A kitten is better than a dog. A baby is better than a kitten. A kiss is better than a baby. A pratfall is better than anything." -Preston Sturges
Other Music: Opening credits Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, and Palm Beach Story.
Thank you to Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Saturday Oct 22, 2022
Saturday Oct 22, 2022
Jeanette MacDonald (1903 -1965)
Nelson Eddy (1901 - 1967)
Naughty Marietta (1935) - Highly recommended
Rose Marie (1936)
Maytime (1937) - Highly recommended
The Girl of the Golden West (1938) - Highly recommended
Sweethearts (1938) - Highly recommended
New Moon (1940) - Highly recommended
Bitter Sweet (1940)
I Married an Angel (1941) - hmmm, inter-esting
A couple of recommendations of their separate films:
The Merry Widow (1934) - Jeanette stars with Maurice Chevalier directed by Ernst Lubitsch
The Chocolate Soldier (1941) - Nelson stars with opera star Rise Stevens
Italian Street Song from Naughty Marietta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n94pvclfugk
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life! From Naughty Marietta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xpKeabZlEs
Other Music: Indian Love Call, Rose Marie I Love You, Shortenin' Bread, all sung by Nelson Eddy
Thank you to Powerbleeder for the theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Saturday Sep 24, 2022
Saturday Sep 24, 2022
Herman Melville (1819-1891)
Most famously the author of Moby Dick but his best work is Bartleby the Scrivener (1853) - “I would prefer not to.”
Billy Budd (1891) - left unfinished at this death
Our preferred adaptation is a loose one - Beau Travail directed by Claire Denis (1999)
As adapted into an opera by Benjamin Britten - Billy Budd (1951) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6cdCuKhjKM
Thank you to Powerbleeder for the theme song "Future Mind" listen here!
Other Music: "Farewell to thee, old Rights o' Man" from the Billy Budd opera by Bitten
Saturday Aug 27, 2022
Saturday Aug 27, 2022
The final part of the life and times of Rudolph Valentino: his second divorce, the famous boxing match, and more.
* Corrections: Rudy gave out his first and only prize for best actor in 1924; the first Oscars were held in 1929, not 1926.
Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)
In Part IV, we discuss Rudy's first two marriages and the drama that ensues, and his rise to international stardom with the Sheik (1921).
Top 5:
- The Eagle
- The Sheik/Son of the Sheik
- Cobra
- Blood and Sand
- Moran of the Lady Letty
Song: "There's a New Star In Heaven Tonight"
Rudy Singing "Kashmiri Love Song"
Thank you to Powerbleeder for the theme song "Future Mind" listen here!