The Ascent (1976)

Network (1976)

When Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky were serving in WWII, television had yet to become the ubiquitous sight in every living room. Back home, folks were still going to the newsreel theaters to follow the war effort abroad, and in the UK, Chayefsky was putting on plays to entertain the fellow troops (Lumet had acted all through childhood but found himself stationed in SE Asia repairing radios instead of strutting the stage). In the years following the war, both men would find their showbiz breaks in the burgeoning TV broadcast industry, and both would translate that experience into filmmaking careers. We find them in ‘76 joining forces to reflect on the medium they helped to legitimize, and on this episode, Zach and J Brooks are teaming up to interrogate the film’s reputation 50 years later. In the spirit of the movie, we also hash out our conflicted feelings about the podcast medium and internet media in general. Next 2 weeks: Backrooms (2026) by Kane Parsons, and then Suspiria (1977) by Dario Argento You can now find us on substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/somelikeitunauthorized/p/in-2025-who-was-the-vampire?r=nbdxa&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct] UnauthorizedPod.com [http://unauthorizedpod.com/] for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes [https://letterboxd.com/hetchy/] and J Brooks Young [https://letterboxd.com/jyoun/]. Music by hetchy [https://hetchy.bandcamp.com/]

The Ascent (1976)

Despite being a director phenom that won awards straight out of film school with her first film Heat (1963), Larisa Shepitko would soon learn that her conviction for telling grounded stories about ambivalent characters would not make her popular with state production committees and censorship boards in those soviet times. She was only in her early 30’s when she suffered a severe spinal injury and, while bedridden, read Vasil Bykaŭ’s WWII novel Sotnikov and felt a connection between the characters’ existential plight to survive the war physically and her own newfound spirituality when faced with her own mortality. Her final film, The Ascent, would be a harrowing reminder of what was lost in that war, and a universally applicable story of the search for solace in life and in death. Before she could begin shooting another film, Shepitko died in a car accident at 41 years old. We discuss the ways the film upends expectation and we tackle its big questions about meaning, randomness, and moral judgement. 49:48 - And then we discuss Zach’s recommended albums to listen to from 1976! Next week: Network (1976) by Sidney Lumet You can now find us on substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/somelikeitunauthorized/p/in-2025-who-was-the-vampire?r=nbdxa&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct] UnauthorizedPod.com [http://unauthorizedpod.com/] for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes [https://letterboxd.com/hetchy/] and J Brooks Young [https://letterboxd.com/jyoun/]. Intro music by hetchy [https://hetchy.bandcamp.com/]

Taxi Driver (1976)

It’s time to talk about Travis Bickle. Paul Schrader, fresh out of film school and freshly divorced, wrote a script about what can happen to the isolated american man, and when paired with the maestro Martin Scorsese, this strange film about our assassination nation became a box office hit and a Best Picture nominee. We talk about the film’s cultural legacy, why it became canonized in the decades afterwards, and what it’s like to revisit such a ubiquitous film. Other topics include: porn theaters, composer Bernard Herrmann’s career, and why Quentin Tarantino takes issue with the film. Next week: The Ascent (1976) by Larisa Shepitko, plus we’ll cover Zach’s 1976 album recommendations You can now find us on substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/somelikeitunauthorized/p/in-2025-who-was-the-vampire?r=nbdxa&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct] UnauthorizedPod.com [http://unauthorizedpod.com/] for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes [https://letterboxd.com/hetchy/] and J Brooks Young [https://letterboxd.com/jyoun/]. Music by hetchy [https://hetchy.bandcamp.com/]

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Heeeere’s Barry! We last left Kubrick after his nuclear comedy blew critics and audiences away, and in the ‘70s we find him continuing to tackle hefty subjects with a devilish glee and a love of irony. His adaptation of a canonical English novel is garnering him critical focus and oscar nominations once again, but for decades after, Barry Lyndon will be one of his less acknowledged films. On this episode, we take the opportunity to discuss the Barry legacy, both its influence and its reappreciation as of late, and find ourselves questioning how letterboxd (and a wider accessibility to films in general) changes our perspective on boys like Barry. Next week: Taxi Driver (1976) by Martin Scorsese You can now find us on substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/somelikeitunauthorized/p/in-2025-who-was-the-vampire?r=nbdxa&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct] UnauthorizedPod.com [http://unauthorizedpod.com/] for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes [https://letterboxd.com/hetchy/] and J Brooks Young [https://letterboxd.com/jyoun/]. Music by hetchy [https://hetchy.bandcamp.com/]

Nashville (1975)

A veteran of WWII and a veteran of film and television by the time the hays code was lifted, Robert Altman only became a director of note in 1970 when he took full advantage of the changing attitudes at the studios, the burgeoning ‘new hollywood’ era, and made the most cynical and degenerate comedy about the US military anyone had yet seen, a surprising s-M*A*S*H hit. Overnight, he had a calling card and a newfound lease on life creatively, and what followed was an industrious career of riskier and riskier swings. The most critically well-remembered today is his country music tableau Nashville, and on this episode we journey down south to discuss the many tricks of the trade that Altman employed to make this sui generis epic hangout film, and how it sums up the cultural hegemony (and violence) of twentieth century America. Next week: Barry Lyndon (1975) by Stanley Kubrick You can now find us on substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/somelikeitunauthorized/p/in-2025-who-was-the-vampire?r=nbdxa&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct] UnauthorizedPod.com [http://unauthorizedpod.com/] for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes [https://letterboxd.com/hetchy/] and J Brooks Young [https://letterboxd.com/jyoun/]. Music by hetchy [https://hetchy.bandcamp.com/]