Episode 29: 1960 with Alexandre O. Philippe
A podcast about the great movie years.
Alexandre O. Philippe has funneled his life-long cinematic obsessions into movies of his own, which is a great gig if you can get it. I first became aware of his work at the Sundance premiere of 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, which is a smart and witty examination of Psycho’s iconic sequence. His other films include Memory: The Origins of Alien, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist, and the new Lynch/Oz, a look at how David Lynch’s love of The Wizard of Oz permeates his work (and it’s about more than that, which we discuss here). It’s out in theaters this Friday, June 2, and if you’re the kind of person who listens to this podcast, you’re the kind of person who’ll love Lynch/Oz.
Alexandre made an entire movie about Psycho, so it’s not toooo surprising that he picked 1960 - but his picks also showcase the wide, eclectic variety of that year’s cinema.
Psycho is currently streaming on Netflix - no, seriously, a movie from the 20th century is streaming on Netflix - or you can rent or buy it from the usual suspects. Usually we put in some recommended reading here, but what you should actually do is just go watch 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, which is streaming on Kanopy, Plex, AMC+, and DirecTV, and is available for digital rental or purchase.
The Apartment is on Kanopy and Tubi, and available for digital rental or purchase, but honestly you should just buy KL Studio Classics’ new 4K disc.
The Housemaid is streaming on the Criterion Channel, or you can buy it on Blu-ray as part of Criterion’s (and Martin Scorsese’s) World Cinema Project, Volume 1. You can also buy or rent it digitally.
If you need some help understanding L’Avventura (and who can blame you), check out Geoffrey Nowell-Smith’s excellent Criterion essay. The film is streaming on the Criterion Channel, Kanopy, and (ugh) “Max.” It’s also available for digital rental or purchase, or you can buy the Criterion Blu-ray.
The Fugitive Kind also has an excellent analytical essay (this one by the great David Thomson), and a Criterion Blu-ray. It’s also streaming on Tubi, Kanopy, and Pluto TV; you can also buy or rent it on Apple TV+.
Oh, and if you’d like to read my piece on Comanche Station and the Renown Westerns, here’s a link to that. And, as always, if you’d like to log and review these yourself, head on over to our list page on Letterboxd.
And if you somehow haven’t yet subscribed to MUBI, click on over to mubi.com/averygoodyear and you can get a 30-day free membership to try out their curated streaming service. Our recommendations this week of MUBI movies this week were America As Seen By a Frenchman and Cat and Mouse.
Oh, and hey, have you upgraded to a paid subscription yet? You can do that right here, and here’s Mike and I telling you what it’ll get you (spoiler: bonus episodes, bonus posts, and our undying love).
-Jason