Category Archives: Podcast

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Ritrovato Roundtable: Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019 podcast

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The Bologna suntans are fading but the Il Cinema Ritrovato memories are still vivid. So Peter Baran and I were delighted to be joined on our latest podcast by academic and film programmer Eloise Ross, as well as filmmaker Ian Mantgani and writer Philip Concannon from the Badlands Collective. We’re chatting about our highlights, discoveries and duds from the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival – a feast of archive, vintage and restored cinema, spanning silent and sound films.

Eloise Ross, Ian Mantgani, Peter Baran and Philip Concannon in the podcast studio.
Eloise Ross, Ian Mantgani, Peter Baran and Philip Concannon in the podcast studio.

Maximum effort!

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

Le Chat (1971)

 

Ritrovato Roundtable: Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019 podcast

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.

Baara (1978)
Baara (1978)

 

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: A Ghost Story (2017) & The Phantom Carriage (1921)

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A spooky double-bill for our eighth Sound Barrier podcast: A Ghost Story, David Lowery’s high-threadcount, high-concept tale of love and loss, and The Phantom Carriage, Victor Sjöström’s long, dark night of the soul.

Sound Barrier: A Ghost Story (2017) & The Phantom Carriage (1921)

FYI the song you can hear in the trailer for A Ghost Story throughout the podcast is I Get Overwhelmed by Dark Rooms – it’s the song that Casey Affleck’s character writes and records in the film. But movies lie to you.

 

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.

The next episode of Sound Barrier will appear in a fortnight’s time. We’ll announce the films for the next podcast about a week before it launches, so you can watch what we’re watching.

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: Dunkirk (2017) & The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands (1927)

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The Sound Barrier returns with two wartime blockbusters. In this episode, Pete Baran and I are joined in the studio by the Guardian’s Nick Dastoor.

We’re debating the relative merits of Christopher Nolan’s smash-hit WWII spectacle Dunkirk and Walter Summers’ patriotic WWI re-enactment film The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands (1927)

Sound Barrier: Dunkirk (2017) & The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands (1927)

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.
The next episode of Sound Barrier will appear in a fortnight’s time. We’ll announce the films for the next podcast about a week before it launches, so you can watch what we’re watching.

Read more about The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands (1927)

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Ritrovato Roundtable: Il Cinema Ritrovato 2017 podcast report

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I’m back from Bologna and joined in the podcast studio by Pete Baran and film writer Philip Concannon. We’re chatting about our highlights, discoveries and duds from the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival – a banquet of archive, vintage and restored cinema, spanning silent and sound films.

Ritrovato Roundtable: Il Cinema Ritrovato 2017 podcast report

Sensation Seekers (Lois Weber, 1927)

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.

 

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: Der Müde Tod (1921) & The Seventh Seal (1957)

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We’re breaking the Sound Barrier rules again. Or bending them slightly. Once more, the new-release film we want to discuss in this episode is actually silent. It’s the theatrical re-release of Fritz Lang’s Der Müde Tod (Destiny, 1921), so we decided to pair it with Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957). This means that today we are talking about two critically acclaimed films in which young people play games with death.

We’ll be talking about faith, symbolism, storytelling and Max von Sydow’s handsome face. Enjoy!

Continue reading Sound Barrier: Der Müde Tod (1921) & The Seventh Seal (1957) →

Blog, Podcast

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2017: podcast report

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The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has just closed for another year. Four days of movies and music at the sumptuous Castro Theatre – and this time I was actually there! Pinch me, I still can’t believe it’s true. In this short podcast, I run through a few of my highlights of the weekend and try to give a flavour of this fantastic event. Enjoy!

Continue reading San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2017: podcast report →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: The Red Turtle & Wall-E (2008)

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Come break the Sound Barrier with us again. In this episode, we go to the edge of the world and the ends of the earth and back again with two animated features.

We’re talking about Studio Ghibli’s modern silent The Red Turtle (in cinemas now), and also Pixar’s beloved Wall-E from 2008. We talk about ‘Dustbuster Keaton’, teenage mutant turtles, pizza plants and bad romance, as well as artistic animation, dialogue-free direction and creation myths. You can even hear Pete sing!

Continue reading Sound Barrier: The Red Turtle & Wall-E (2008) →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: Mindhorn & The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)

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This episode of the Sound Barrier features two druggy and slightly dim detectives. We’re talking about Julian Barratt’s absurdly funny TV spoof Mindhorn and the cult favourite that is The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916), starring Douglas Fairbanks as sleuth Coke Ennyday. We talk about outrageous accents, preposterous plasticine, obscene graffiti and excessive amounts of cocaine.

Sound Barrier: Mindhorn & The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)

In the studio, I am joined as ever by Peter Baran, and also by special guest Julian Coleman (you can follow him on Twitter here).

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.

The next episode of Sound Barrier will appear in a fortnight’s time. We’ll announce the films for the next podcast about a week before it launches, so you can watch what we’re watching.
Silent London in no way, not even with a wink, endorses the consumption of illegal narcotics. We prefer the consumption of Class-A silent movies.
At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: Lady Macbeth and The Wind (1928)

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In this episode of the Sound Barrier, Silent London’s cinematic sommeliers pair Victor Sjostrom’s majestic The Wind (1928) with William Oldroyd’s astonishing debut feature Lady Macbeth, out in cinemas now. We highly recommend both films, which feature isolated women doing battle with the elements, and come laced with sex, violence and vengeance.

In the studio, I am joined as ever by Peter Baran, and also by special guest Ewan Munro, who reviews films at Filmcentric.

Sound Barrier: Lady Macbeth and The Wind (1928)

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating or review too. The podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio by Peter Baran and Pamela Hutchinson.

Should you wish to, you can read my review of Lady Macbeth for Sight & Sound magazine here.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, or tweet @silentlondon.

The next episode of Sound Barrier will appear in a fortnight’s time. We’ll announce the films for the next podcast about a week before it launches, so you can watch what we’re watching.
At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: Neruda & The Beloved Rogue (1927)

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In episode two of the Sound Barrier podcast we wax poetic, with two films about poets – specifically poets in exile. The two films we will discuss – one new release and one silent classic – are Pablo Larrain’s Neruda and The Beloved Rogue (1927) starring John Barrymore. The two films may appear to be very different, but they have a lot in common, as we discover …

Continue reading Sound Barrier: Neruda & The Beloved Rogue (1927) →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

Sound Barrier: The Lost City of Z & The Lost World

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Welcome to a new format for the Silent London podcast – Sound Barrier, in which myself and Peter Baran partner a new-release movie with a classic from the silent era and let them fight until we find a winner. In this instalment the two contenders in the ring are both movies inspired by the British explorer Percy Fawcett: James Gray’s The Lost City of Z (2017) and Harry O Hoyt’s The Lost World (1925).

We’ll be talking about dinosaurs, derring-do and disease – also singing the praises of Wallace Beery and Sienna Miller. Have a listen!

The Silent London Podcast is also available on iTunes. Click here for more details and to subscribe – if you like what you hear, please leave a rating or review too. The intro music is by kind permission of Neil Brand, and the podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast then you can post a comment below, tweet @silentlondon or leave a message on the Facebook page: facebook.com/silentlondon.

Blog, Podcast

Hippfest 2017: the Silent London Podcast

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Thank you to the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival for another great week/end of music and movies in a very warm and sunny Bo’ness. I was there from Wednesday to Saturday and here’s my podcast report from the event, now in its seventh year.


From Nell Shipman’s The Grub Stake and Lorenza Mazzetti’s Together to Marion Davies and Marie Dressler in The Patsy, Ruan Lingyu in The Goddess and Aleksandra Khoklova in By the Law there was a special emphasis on the women of silent cinema at this year’s festival. But the programme as a whole was far too diverse to summarise here. I hope you enjoy hearing all about it – especially if you were lucky enough to be here.

Hippfest 2017: the Silent London Podcast

Big thanks to the Hippodrome cinema and to the festival, but also to the lovely people of Bo’ness, the Richmond Park Hotel, the Corbie Inn and my absolute favourite, the Ivy Tea Room.

Help Hippfest buy a piano here.

The Silent London Podcast is available on iTunes. Go there for more details and to subscribe – if you like what you hear, please leave a rating or review too. The intro music is by kind permission of Neil Brand, and the podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio. The other music you can hear on this podcast was written and performed by Maud Nelissen and the Sprockets for the Hippodrome Festival.

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part four

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My final Silent Paris Podcast from the Toute la mémoire du monde festival of restored cinema covers three films: one silent classic, The Italian Straw Hat (1928), and two experimental American features from the 70s and 80s: The Notebook of (1971) and American Dreams (1984).

Continue reading The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part four →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part three

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Welcome to another edition of the Silent Paris Podcast. I am at the Toute la mémoire du monde festival of restored cinema all weekend and podcasting my reports from the screenings. Saturday was a game of two halves: two silent films and two British films noir. Listen to today’s podcast to find out what I made of them …

habit-of-happiness
The Habit of Happiness (1916)

Continue reading The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part three →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part two

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It’s the Silent Paris Podcast! I am at the Toute la mémoire du monde festival of restored cinema all weekend and podcasting my reports from the screenings. Today, I am talking about a day spent watching musicals and what they taught me about jazz, CinemaScope and silent comedy.

Please do enjoy this podcast, even though it seems to veer away from silent territory – there is a connection, I promise.

Continue reading The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part two →

At the talkies, Blog, Podcast

The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part one

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Welcome to the long-awaited return of the Silent London Podcast – coming to you straight from Paris. I am at the Toute la mémoire du monde festival of restored cinema and I will be podcasting my reports from the screenings. Today, my first two days at the festival including lots of of Hollywood fare: the good, the bad and the baffling. This podcast tackles a lot of films about war and racism: films by D W Griffith, Abel Gance, Thomas Ince …. But there is plenty of star power too, from Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks and Lillian Gish.

I hope you enjoy this first podcast from the festival!

Continue reading The Silent London Podcast: Toute la mémoire du monde 2017 part one →

Blog, Podcast

The Silent London Podcast: Festivals, firsts, a favourite and Flesh and the Devil

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Flesh and the Devil (1926)
Flesh and the Devil (1926)

Back to the studio for a full-length edition of the Silent London Podcast. I’m joined by Pete Baran to talk about the festival scene, discuss the first silents we ever watched and catch up on the news. We’re joined by London Symphony director Alex Barrett, who tells us about his favourite silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc, and we preview the British Silent Film Festival as well as reviewing the great Hollywood silent Flesh and the Devil.

We also make inappropriate comments about Greta Garbo, and I get a little bit over-excited about Pordenone. Just another day in the office really.

 

Continue reading The Silent London Podcast: Festivals, firsts, a favourite and Flesh and the Devil →

Podcast

The Silent London podcast: a visit to the Regent Street Cinema

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Regent Street Cinema
Regent Street Cinema – those plush seats, and a glimpse of the booth

A trip to the cinema is not always worthy of a podcast, but the Regent Street Cinema in the West End of London is a little bit special. I first visited this cinema in October 2014, when it was still mid-refurbishment. This week, I was lucky enough to see it in all its splendour, just a whisker ahead of its official opening.

I had a good nose around, and spoke to the artistic director Shira MacLeod as well as Anna McNally from the university archives. Take a look around this picture gallery, and have a listen to the podcast, which explains the unique history of this building, and what we can expect from its forthcoming programme.

Continue reading The Silent London podcast: a visit to the Regent Street Cinema →

Blog, Festival, Podcast

Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema 2014: reporting back

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Silent London podcast: Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema 2014

I’ve just returned from the Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema in Bo’ness, Falkirk. It’s a fantastic event – I really enjoyed myself and only wish I could stay longer. To give you a flavour of the weekend, if you missed out this time, here’s a mini-podcast and a selection of social media updates too. Surely there is no cooler hashtag for a #silentfilm event than #hippfest?

Hats off to Alison Strauss and her team and Falkirk Community Trust to – Hippfest is a triumph.

UPDATE: Here’s my Hippfest report for the Guardian film blog
Continue reading Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema 2014: reporting back →

Blog, Podcast

The Silent London podcast: Maurice Elvey, City Lights and unsilent films

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City Lights (1931)
City Lights (1931)

It’s podcast o’clock once more. This time I’m joined in the studio by the marvellous Pete Baran, and in the pub by Lucie Dutton, who tells us all about British silent film director Maurice Elvey. All that, plus a guest appearance by Otto Kylmälä, film-maker and festival organiser, praising the “subtle brilliance and mature beauty” of his favourite silent movie, Chaplin’s City Lights.

Is City Lights a silent film? Perhaps it’s an “unsilent film” – we’ll be talking about them, as well as discussing your suggestions for the best silent films for small children and taking a look at the listings too – including the British Silent Film Festival’s 2013 incarnation and not forgetting Napoléon.

There’s also a lot more Robocop than you may expect. Don’t ask.

silentlondonpodcast5

The Silent London Podcast is available on iTunes. Click here for more details.  The music is by kind permission of Neil Brand, and the podcast is presented in association with SOAS radio.

If you want to get in touch with us about anything you hear on the podcast tweet @silentlondon or leave a message on the Facebook page: facebook.com/silentlondon.