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Director's Club: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jim Laczkowski
A monthly show that reviews one film director per episode with the occasional bonus episode. Episodes 123-172 were hosted by Brad & Al. As of 2022, new episodes will be hosted by Jim and/or Bill. The spin-off show, B-Side Me, is also here (for now) which is all about music/bands!
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- 1 weeks ago3h 44m
Dial P for Podcast #5: The Lady Vanishes, Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Foreign Correspondent
Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.In this episode Alfred Hitchcock finally escapes the confines of the British film industry, only to once again find himself a small fish in a large pond. With The Lady Vanishes (1938) he takes the 39 Steps formula into dizzying new heights of paranoia and sophistication, in Jamaica Inn (1939) he clashes with the ego of producer/star Charles Laughton, in Rebecca (1940) he breaks ground in Hollywood with a career high gothic romance classic and Foreign Correspondent (1940) finds him back to the thriller, but with greater production values and a more urgent plea for intervention than ever.One of the most important stretches of Alfred Hitchcock's career, producing some of the greatest works in his filmography! Check it out!0:00 - 0:33 - Intro0:34 - 46:00 - The Lady Vanishes (1938)46:01 - 1:18:20 - Jamaica Inn (1939)1:18:21 - 2:34:24 - Rebecca (1940)2:34:25 - 3:43:14 - Foreign Correspondent (1940)3:43:15 - 3:44:04 - Outro
- May 1, 20263h 23m
Dial P for Podcast #4: The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, Sabotage, Young & Innocent
Good evening. Welcome back to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.For episode 4 we find Alfred Hitchcock a newly christened international film star, taking the magic formula he discovered in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) in four very different configurations, with four very different results, as we discuss the ground crumbling from under him at Gaumont Studios. Also: his top three favorite methods of being a hideous creep at parties!Spies and bystanders, codes and MacGuffins, the Scottish Highlands to the Swiss Alps to Picadilly Circus, this episode finds Hitch sharpening the Hitchcockian thriller to a fine point, as well as discarding some truly useless pencil shavings!0:00 - 0:35 - Intro Music0:36 - 1:35:56 - The 39 Steps (1935)1:35:57 - 2:06:51 - Secret Agent (1936)2:06:52 - 2:58:11 - Sabotage (1936)2:58:12 - 3:22:34 - Young & Innocent (1937)3:22:35 - 3:23:46 - Outro Music
- Mar 31, 20262h 27m
Dial P for Podcast #3: Skin Game, Rich and Strange, Number Seventeen, The Man Who Knew Too Much
Good evening. Welcome back to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.For episode 3 we find Hitchcock's clout at British International Pictures crumbling, his bosses increasingly fed up with his nonsense and a new beginning that would catapult him to international success. Plus: Alfred Hitchcock does drag!From turgid stage adaptations to bizarre pseudo-screwball, from old dark house farce to basically inventing James Bond, this is one of the wildest stretches of Hitch's career! 0:00 - 0:40 - Intro Music0:41 - 20:46 - The Skin Game (1931)20:47 - 51:41 - Rich and Strange (1931)51:42 - 1:22:06 - Number Seventeen (1932)1:22:07 - 2:26:49 - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)2:26:50 - 2:27:59 - Outro Music
- Mar 30, 20261h 37m
B-Side Me #5: Counting Crows
NOTE: After this episode, B-Side Me will be getting its own separate feed as a standalone show! If you enjoy the first five episodes, you'll have to subscribe to the new link which I will share soon!In addition to the monthly movie talk regarding directors (for Director’s Club), I'm happy to present the latest episode of the music version of that same format! Only this time, it's all about bands/musicians that we think are worth discussing. Along with fiancee Sharon Gissy, we both can’t wait for you to listen to us nerd out about music each month. This time, it's all about the divisive Counting Crows! Have you heard them lately? Without further ado, here is the 5th episode of B-Side Me.The format is simple: each of us picks an A-side to discuss (a more popular well-known song) and then we choose a B-side (a song that’s more obscure) that we think you should listen to ASAP. Add our choices to playlists, listen to us talk about another art form we both adore just as much as film! Thank you so much to Sharon for joining me on this nerdy podcasting journey and can’t wait for April (this summer, we will also have guests on). Grateful to all of you who listen to this one! Special shout-out to journalist and friend Dan Solomon for contributing too!Watch the new Counting Crows documentary on HBO MAX: https://play.hbomax.com/movie/3a004038-8df4-48c8-8fde-a1d7cfcea1a6
- Mar 25, 20262h 4m
Episode 246: Alejandro Jodorowsky (feat. Mike White & Heather Drain)
Where to begin discussing a filmmaker like Jodorowsky? Obviously I had heard of him and had seen the documentary, Jodorowsky's Dune, but it was until last year that I sat down to watch The Holy Mountain, knowing I was going to do this episode a few months later. Thanks to Sharon, I have now seen not only one of my new favorite movies, but discovered a new favorite director.Alongside my other favorites: PT Anderson, David Lynch and Sam Raimi, Jodorowsky has something in common with all of them - he treats cinema like a playground of the subconscious or an empty canvas that reflects reality, both bleak and beautiful. To affirm my newly found love are two podcasters/film scholars that I've been meaning to talk with on the show for a long time: Mike White (host of the Projection Booth) and the great Heather Drain!Our main reviews focus on The Holy Mountain and Santa Sangre, but Jodo's other work comes up throughout as well. There are laughs, fireworks, acid trips and digressions galore all in the spirit of a true artist who has likely changes lives, befuddled others and created remarkable art that is truly all his own. The first hour focuses on The Holy Mountain, while the second jumps into Santa Sangre and so much more. No time stamps necessary for this wild journey! Hope you enjoy and be sure to seek out both these two films alongside another masterpiece, El Topo!Follow Mike White: https://www.projectionboothpodcast.comFollow Heather Drain: https://www.mondoheather.comOther references to The Holy Mountain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IAG8JdShaI
- Mar 6, 20265h 41m
Episode 245: 1996 - The Year In Review
Not too big of a summary this time around since the title says it all and there’s a lot to get to in terms of the episode proper. Every year around late February / early March, I call upon Chicago film critic buddies Collin Souter & Erik Childress to join me for an epic 5 hour+ episode discussing as many movies as we can, traveling back in time 30 years to cover an entire year.Clips, trailers, songs, quotes, excerpts, a trailer remix and more! Thank you Collin & Erik as always and thank you to the fans/listeners/subscribers for listening to this yearly tradition.Follow Collin https://letterboxd.com/cdsouterhttps://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/christmasmoviesactuallyhttps://www.collinsouter.comFollow Erikhttps://letterboxd.com/erikthemoviemanhttps://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/moviemadnesshttps://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/the-friendship-dilemma
- Feb 28, 20262h 12m
Dial P for Podcast #2: Easy Virtue, Champagne, Blackmail, Murder!
Good evening. Welcome back to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.For episode 2 we see Hitchcock break free of his silent era and break ground by producing the first* British sound film. In Easy Virtue (1928) a fallen woman finds new love (and hate) among an upperclass family, in Champagne (1928) a playgirl heiress loses everything and is forced to work a regular job, in Blackmail (1929) a woman kills her rapist and gets blackmailed for it and finally in Murder! (1930) a famous actor turns amateur sleuth to unpack a whodunnit murder mystery.This is the era where Hitchcock goes from British film wunderkind to bonafide national celebrity, with even royalty visiting his sets to see how sound films are made. And his ascent isn't even close to done! Exciting!0:00 - 0:40 - Intro music0:41 - 26:52 - Easy Virtue (1928)26:53 - 57:02 - Champagne (1928)57:03 - 1:50:22 - Blackmail (1929)1:50:23 - 2:11:19 - Murder! (1930)2:11:20 - 2:12:10 - Outro music
- Feb 12, 20261h 27m
B-Side Me Episode #4: Beach House
In addition to the monthly movie talk regarding directors (for Director’s Club), I'm happy to present the latest episode of the music version of that same format! Only this time, it's all about bands/musicians that we think are worth discussing. Along with co-host and partner Sharon Gissy, we both can’t wait for you to listen to us nerd out about music each month (sorry we skipped January). For Feb, it's all about the remarkably talented dream pop duo Beach House! The format is simple: each of us picks an A-side to discuss (a more popular well-known song) and then we choose a B-side (a song that’s more obscure) that we think you should listen to ASAP. Add our choices to playlists, listen to us talk about another art form we both adore just as much as film! Thank you so much to Sharon for joining me on this nerdy podcasting journey and can’t wait for March's episode (next year we will also have guests on too). More to come!
About Director's Club
A monthly show that reviews one film director per episode with the occasional bonus episode. Episodes 123-172 were hosted by Brad & Al. As of 2022, new episodes will be hosted by Jim and/or Bill. The spin-off show, B-Side Me, is also here (for now) which is all about music/bands!
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