Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

Seconds 1966: Rock Hudson's Devastating Disillusionment

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 get that amazing feeling of wellbeing that comes from contributing to the research, planning and anxiety that does towards making a podcast I would love to encourage it! 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] Seconds is a visually striking and thoroughly uncomfortable film. A 1960s film that examines dissatisfied suburban living, mid-life crisis and the yearning for youth and freedom. I think it's vastly underrated which is probably something both of my genuinely amazing guests agree with. (Apologies for not offering more of a counterpoint to this view!) 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. Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has also written/edited extensively about science fiction. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:31 Frankenheimer's fantastic films 05:55 Science fiction in the 60s 07:55 The striking work of James Wong Howe 12:18 Saul (and Elaine) Bass credits 14:42 Mid Life Crisis in the 1960s 19:20 Dissatisfaction in the middle class 21:38 The Tennis Trophy 24:40 Rock Hudson and John Randolph 31:54 The Wine Stomp 37:02 Corporation as "The Monster" and PK Dick 38:48 Frankenstein and face surgery 41:44 The business model and Tech Bros 45:08 Legacy 50:39 Trivia tidbits 53:51 Recommendations Recommendations: Phase IV (1974) Face of Another (1966) Mark also mentions: Eyes Without a Face (1960) and Darkman (1990) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we take a dive into the 1966 François Truffaut science fiction film Fahrenheit 451. The film is very annoyingly tough to get hold of on streaming platforms but can apparently be found on Fandango and you can search the Just Watch website to check where it might be available in your region. You can buy the DVD quite easily for not extortionate prices in many places. There do seem to be dodgy websites that also have the film but obviously I would never encourage you to search for such things.

The 10th Victim: Italy's 1965 Pop Art Dystopia

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 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] Apologies in advance for my butchering of Italian pronunciation during this episode. Although we mentioned in the Planet of the Vampires episode the copycat nature of Italian cinema in the 1960s, The 10th Victim by Elio Petri does not fit that mould. The film has a definite style that may offer commentary on Italian film, comics and culture but looks to set a new mould for films coming out of Italy. Cultural change in Europe and America in the 1960s came in many different flavours and with different driving forces. My excellent guests help to unravel the cultural context of this stylish cult classic. Stephen Gundle is a Professor of Film and Television at the University of Warwick. He has a special interest in Italian cultural history. Leon Hunt is a retired Senior Lecturer of Screen Studies at Brunel University with a special interest in Italian Genre Cinema. Chapters 00:00 Introduction. 01:17 Collectively written script 04:02 Italy in the 1960s 05:19 Marcello Mastroianni Commedia all'Italiana and global fame 09:33 Echoes of La Dolce Vita 15:02 Style over substance? 17:03 Gender roles 20:38 The violence of man 23:28 The gun bra, design and pop art 26:17 Comic book culture in Italy 32:46 Religion and belief systems 36:55 Changing Italian culture: American influence, economic growth and celebrity worship 45:52 Legacy 51:07 Recommendations for the listener Recommendations: Danger Diabolik (1968) directed by Mario Bava Modesty Blaise (1966) directed by Jospeh Losey La Dolce Vita (1960) directed by Federico Fellini NEXT EPISODE! You have two weeks to find and watch Seconds (1966) by John Frankenheimer as we finally head into 1966! The film is available to rent or buy on Apple TV in the UK, and for free on Kanopy in the US. You can check the JustWatch website for details of where it's available in your region. (Waves frantically at new global listeners!)

Star Trek: Woke Since 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 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] Despite a failed pilot Star Trek made it to TV in 1966. Creator, Gene Roddenberry's vision of a future that was beyond the contemporary struggles of civil rights and racism and global Cold War tensions but very much aligned with the style of the 1960s. As a diverse crew faced alien planets and tackled ethical questions audience numbers dwindled and cancellation loomed. The show was finally axed in 1969 but a growing fanbase aided by syndication meant what could have been a small part of TV history actually became a huge phenomena. My amazing Trekkie guests discuss the origins of my favourite franchise. Julian Chambliss is a scholar and a professor at Michigan State University. He has taught Star Trek as part of his Media Race and Culture classes. Carey Millsap-Spears is a professor of communications/literature at Moraine Valley Community College. She has written extensively about Star Trek including the 2023 book Star Trek Discovery and the Female Gothic. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:36 Gene Roddenberry's pitch and the pilot episode 04:29 A new kind of frontier 08:34 The fans 11:06 Woke and the 1960s 17:26 The gothic in Star Trek 20:39 Captain Kirk as Casanova? 26:09 That kiss and Uhura 30:42 Utopia! 36:47 Propaganda 39:24 The Alien others 44:08 Technology, NASA and Nichelle Nichols 47:29 The Next Generation 51:52 Why do we love Star Trek? 54:32 Recommendations Recommendations The Centre Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek (2021) StarTrek II: The Wrath of Khan NEXT EPISODE! You have two weeks to find and watch The 10th Victim (1965) by Elio Petri. Another Italian film (like last episode's Planet of the Vampires) but a very different feel. Although coupld contend with Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik (1968) for the most 60s film ever made! The film is available to rent online in many places. You can check the JustWatch website for details of what it's available in your region.

Planet of the Vampires 1965: Mario Bava's Budget Beauty

As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast 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] Planet of the Vampires was directed by Mario Bava and released in 1965. American International Pictures had made money with Italian films such as Black Sunday (1960) but would often need to oversee many changes to make the films suitable for an American audience. Their solution was to provide a script and co-produce a film so they could control the content. The film had a small budget of around $200,000 and although it definitely has its fair share of Schlock, Bava had a reputation for doing a lot on a small budget. My guests unravel why Mario Bava's reputation and love for this film continue to grow. Scott Higgins is Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives. Russ Hunter is an Assistant Professor in Film & Television Studies at Northumbria University. He has a special interest in Italian genre cinema. Scott says Eugenio Bava (Mario's Father) invented the Schüfftan process before Eugen Schüfftan after whom it was named. You can read more about this here: https://dcairns.wordpress.com/tag/schufftan-process/ [https://dcairns.wordpress.com/tag/schufftan-process/] Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:46 AIP involvement 04:14 Italian cinema in 1965 09:01 Dubbing 14:31 Names changes and US appeal 17:28 Mario Bava 21:51 Scott's love for this film 27:12 Bava and Barry 29:22 Special Effects and the Schüfftan process 33:39 Production and Set Design 35:21 Style over coherence 38:33 The alien 41:35 Influences and origins 43:40 Vampires in name 44:20 Legacy 49:06 Recommendations Recommendations: The Green Slime (1968) by Kinji Fukasaku Tu Vuo' Fa' L'americano by Renato Carosone Danger: Diabolik (1968) by Mario Bava Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark by Tim Lucas NEXT EPISODE: As we approach 1966 on the podcast it is time to talk about my favourite franchise which will be 60 years old this September! A little detour into the beginnings of Star Trek in two week's time.

Alphaville: Godard's 1965 Break-up Tech Noir

As always there are spoilers ahead! (And the podcast is much more fun if you've seen the film first.) You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads [https://www.threads.net/@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 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] Jean-Luc Godard is potentially the most prominent of the French New Wave directors. In the mid-60s his mind turned to science fiction and the result was a visually striking, choatic film about a dystopian world in which logic rules and love is punished. If you find the film confusing you are not alone and I have two brilliant academic brains to help us out. Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film. Douglas Morrey is an associate professor of French at the University of Warwick. He has a special interest in the French new Wave on which he has written extensively, including the 2005 book Jean-Luc Godard. CORRECTION: In the podcast I mention Roger citing Alphaville having an image from Chris Marker's La Jetée but the image is actually Marker's photograph which is in the credit sequence but doesn not feature in La Jetée. The book of poetry in the film Capitale de la douleur (Capital of Pain) is written by Paul Elouard. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:40 French New Wave in 1965 03:38 Godard's influences for Alphaville 11:31 Eddie Constantine: The illogical Noir hero 16:43 Lemmy Caution and fascism 18:05 Alienation and confusion 25:52 Godard's technique and budgets 30:07 Sound design 32:30 The swimming pool execution scene 39:26 Love, poetry and Godard's divorce 47:00 Godard and women 49:30 Legacy 53:57 Recommendations Recommendations: • The Trial written by Franz Kafka and made into a film by Orson Wells released in 1962. • Weekend (1967) by Godard. NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be talking about Planet of the Vampires, the low budget 1965 dubbed delight by Mario Bava. The film is campy (and for me quite hilarious) as well as being famed for inspiring Alien (1979). (Perhaps a little overstated in this regard?) You can find the film to rent on Amazon, Apple, Flixfling and may find it on free platforms with ads in your region. You can check the JustWatch website for more details.