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Celebrating both the biggest hits and the most obscure releases of 1980s cinema, focused primarily around exploring the narratives of under‑seen distributors, niche genres, and overlooked classics.
Episodes
Sunday Jul 10, 2022
Sunday Jul 10, 2022
On this episode, we speak with film historian, author and UCSB professor Ross Melnick about his new book, his 80s cinema class, and five films from the decade he thinks you should watch again.
Ross Melnick was also named as a 2017 Academy Film Scholar, one of only two film scholars who were bestowed this honor by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. His new book, Hollywood Embassies: How Movie Theatres Projected American Power Around the World, has just been released by Columbia University Press, and it has been a great honor to have him guest on the show.
The movies we discussed on this episode include:
A Better Tomorrow (1986, John Woo)
Cruising (1980, William Freidkin)
El Norte (1983, Gregory Nava)
Escape from Liberty Cinema (1990, Wojciech Marczewski)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, John Hughes)
Moscow on the Hudson (1984, Paul Mazursky)
Radio Days (1987, Woody Allen)
Reds (1981, Warren Beatty)
Soul Man (1986, Steve Miner)*
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985, William Freidkin)
*Although discussed during the episode, neither Mr. Havens nor Mr. Melnick condones the viewing of Soul Man.
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