The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

Quatermass: Nigel Kneale, Hammer and Mid-Century Britain

There is a longer version of the podcast available which includes more tangential topics on Patreon for paid subscribers or for a $3 or £3 fee! The long version is just under one hour and twenty-five minutes. If you would like to become a Patreon patron and get all the podcast episodes ad free (as well as the longer edit) you can do that on: https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm [https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm] As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@everyscififilm], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyscififilm/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/everyscififilm.bsky.social]. As mentioned on the podcast here is an outline of the Quatermass offerings: FILM 1955: The Quatermass Xperiment AKA The Creeping Unknown (dir, Val Guest) 1957: Quatermass 2 AKA Enemy from Space (dir. Val Guest) 1967: Quatermass & the Pit AKA Five Million Years to Earth (dir. Roy Ward Baker) 1979 The Quatermass Conclusion (recut from TV series, dir. Piers Haggard) 2005 The Quatermass Experiment (Live TV movie, dir. Sam Miller) Radio 1996: The Quatermass Memoirs TV Series 1953: The Quatermass Experiment 1955: Quatermass II 1958-59 Quatermass and the Pit 1979 Quatermass (AKA Quatermass IV or The Quatermass Conclusion) 2005 The Quatermass Experiment (Live) Professor Bernard Quatermass was created by British superstar screenwriter Nigel Kneale and aired on the BBC in 1953. The TV series went on to great popularity and Hammer Films eventually came knocking for film rights. Nigel Kneale did not have any rights over the character due to being a staff writer at the time but would eventually go on to international fame especially in sci-fi and horror circles with John Carpenter (amongst others) being a vocal fan. Despite all this many people have not heard of Quatermass. Although there have been many attempts to revive the franchise none have come to fruition. But that won't stop me seeking out two of the best academics to talk excitedly about their passion for this early TV sci-fi pioneer. Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema. Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior lecturer in film studies at the University of Exeter. A doctor of science fiction who likes to write about cinema including the book Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:24 Nigel Kneale 06:28 Rudolph Cartier and changes in TV 08:22 Hammer films and Quatermass 13:09 The many iterations of Quatermass 22:04 The traditional tinkering British scientist 26:47 From TV to Film 32:44 Quatermass 2 and the 1950s 41:30 Aliens! 48:58 Kneale and Victorian influences 52:21 Legacy 57:47 Recommendations Recommendations Sapphire & Steel (1979-1982, TV series) Event Horizon (1997) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we take a break from science fiction films to talk to two experts about science fiction and architecture. Then we're heading into 1968 so wish me luck!

The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spoken about in detail, but I wanted to share a general trigger warning for those that would prefer to avoid the topic altogether. Subtitles for the intro: "It's not that I specialise in treating fingers. I'm a psychiatrist in fact. Inferiority complexes dig holes in the psyche, and I fill them in." As always, there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@everyscififilm], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyscififilm/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/everyscififilm.bsky.social]. If you have fancy pants and would like to be a patron of the podcast please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm [https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm] If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_of_Another_(film)]. In 1964 Director Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Woman in the Dunes won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. The film was the second of four in which Teshigahara would collaborate with writer Kōbō Abe.* The Face of Another rode the coattails of Woman in the Dunes but was nowhere near as successful. Although both films have a very bleak undertone, The Face of Another feels more jarring and less abstract in its confrontations. The story is of a man horribly disfigured from an accident in the lab where he works. He manages to find a possible solution to the isolation and desperation he experiences when he is given the opportunity to have a new face with which to navigate life. The story has many philosophical themes set in a Japan that is still wrangling with its post war cultural identity. Thankfully I have managed to procure two big brained and generous guests! Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film. Jennifer Coates is a Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield. She has written extensively about Japanese cultural history and cinema and is the President of the British Association of Japanese Studies. During the intro to the show I mention a video essay that I watched during research for the film which I found very interesting. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarOXWeZlzY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarOXWeZlzY] Although this is not directly relevant to the film, one of the earliest shots is an x-ray of a skull in conversation. This is reminiscent of the very early 1996 film usually known as Macintyre's X-Ray Film. Just a small historical film curiosity which you might be interested in. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMYHawAKmA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMYHawAKmA] Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Source Material: Kobe Abe's book 06:33 Abe and Teshigahara's collaboration: Woman in the Dunes 07:38 Face Masks 10:55 The manufactured Japanese New Wave 14:31 Japan in the 1960s 19:39 Alienation and Philosophy 24:47 Boundaries and skin 26:17 Moral boundaries 30:52 The skin, Japan and saving face 34:14 Scarring and the bomb 41:05 Identity and Japan 47:40 Visual delights 52:46 Legacy 55:03 Face transplants 56:51 Recommendations Recommendations: When the Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) Eyes without a Face (1960) Suture (1993) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be having a giant sprawling chat about the scientist Bernard Quatermass. You can watch the three earlier Quatermass films, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in all sorts of places including major streaming platforms. The series (if you want to get really nerdy about it) are available as a boxed set on Apple TV and from other retailers. At least some of those episodes are available on YouTube. The first season of the TV series (1953) only has a few episodes as the rest were lost forever!

Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film

As always there are spoilers ahead! Blade Runner was not a huge hit in 1982 but it did gain a fair few fans on its initial release. One of those fans was a teenager from Cheshire by the name of Paul Franklin [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Franklin_(visual_effects_supervisor)] who would go on to work on numerous big budget films and win two Oscars for his work as a Special Effects Supervisor on Interstellar and Inception. I spoke to Paul about his first impressions of the film, what makes it special and how it influences Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises. Apologies for the abrupt ending to this episode. It is late, I've been quite busy and I have other work I really must tend to. Details of the next episode at the bottom of the show notes. You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@everyscififilm], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyscififilm/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/everyscififilm.bsky.social]. If you would like to support the podcast you can become a patron and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free versions of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm [https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm] Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:47 Paul's first impressions 07:11 Influences on Blade Runner 14:01 Syd Mead's design 17:52 A future without Blade Runner 21:28 PK Dick & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 23:36 The plight of the androids 27:18 Deckard as replicant 32:01 Influence of Blade Runner on Paul's work 40:45 Vangelis 41:58 ET vs Blade Runner NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing the rather striking and uncomfortable 1966 Japanese film The Face of Another. The film is available on Criterion Channel in the US and Canada and on YouTube. You can check the Just Watch website to see where the film is available in your region.

Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966

As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@everyscififilm], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyscififilm/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/everyscififilm.bsky.social]. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and help an indie podcaster out, you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm [https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm] An extra huge thank you to my wonderful guests as this episode had to be re-recorded due to a major problem with the audio file the first time. You can find the synopsis of the film on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage#Plot [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage#Plot] In 1966 20th Century Fox chose a steady pair of hands in Richard Fleischer (the son of animation superstar Max Fleischer) to helm what at the time was both the tiniest and the biggest science fiction adventure. Tiny because of the nano science storyline and biggest because of it being the most expensive science fiction film ever made (at that time) costing over five million dollars. I talk to two top tier guests about the film. Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including his upcoming books Before Trek: Building American Science Fiction Television. Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited multiple books on science fiction including her upcoming book Mothership Rising: Afrofuturism in the Radium Age. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Big budget scifi 05:45 Richard Fleischer 09:10 The history of Nanotech sci-fi 16:41 Sci-fi and scale in cinema 19:42 Richard Feynman and small science 22:55 1950s influences 25:53 James Bond and Spy-fi 27:05 Psychedelic scifi 31:22 Harper Goff, Disney and design 33:36 1960s crew dynamics 42:48 Asimov's novelisation 44:24 Secularism vs religion 46:52 Legacy 52:57 Recommendations Recommendations: The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien (which can be found here [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23169/23169-h/23169-h.htm]) Surface Tension by James Blish Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon Dr Cyclops (1940) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode I will be speaking with Oscar winning Special Effects Supervisor Paul Franklin [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0291518/?ref_=fn_t_2] to discuss his favourite sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982). Paul has worked on an array of blockbusters including The Batman Begins trilogy, Venom (2018), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014).

Fahrenheit 451: Truffaut's 1966 Suburban Dystopia

Show notes As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@everyscififilm], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyscififilm/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/everyscififilm.bsky.social]. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and feel like nobility funding the podcasting arts, I would like to encourage such sentiments! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm [https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm] If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451_(1966_film)#Plot]. In 1953 writer Ray Bradbury released his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451. It quickly became a widely acclaimed cautionary tale about the dangers of censorship, authoritarianism and the effects of mass media on human ideas and connection. One of the most prominent science fiction books it is easy to understand why François Truffaut, one of the French New Wave's most prominent directors, became utterly focused on making the story into a film. The process had its challenges with producers, funding and a casting changes causing delays. The film was finally wrapped up and released in 1966 to both positive and negative reviews. It is an interesting watch if not a gripping one and my two expert guests unravel the ins and outs of how it came to be. Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film. Phil Nichols is a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and a researcher with a special interest in Ray Bradbury. He is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Centre at Indiana University and editor of The New Ray Bradbury Review. He is also the man behind the Bradbury 100 podcast and the Science Fiction 101 podcas Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:32 Fahrenheit 451: a sci-fi heavyweight 04:36 Truffaut and the book 11:03 Suburban scifi in the mid century 13:33 Politics of the story 15:07 Truffaut's perspective 20:01 Julie Christie's double role 26:50 Searching for Montag 34:29 Burning with her books 39:12 Bernard Herrmann's score 40:40 The 2018 remake 49:56 Bradbury's stage play 51:37 Recommendations Recommendations: Never Let Me Go (2010) The Wild Child (1970) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing Fantastic Voyage from 1966! The film is annoyingly a little tricky to find online but can be rented easily on mainstream platforms in some countries. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region.