film history

320: The Princess Bride

This week, the Dames are talking about love, true love as we discuss the beloved 1987 fairy tale classic, The Princess Bride. William Goldman adapted the script from his own novel. Rob Reiner directs the film which stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn and so many more.
Be sure to come back next week when we finish out our 1987 romantic movie series with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah in Roxanne.

Episode 319: Maurice (1987)

And we're back! This week, we're talking about Maurice (1987), the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster's startlingly progressive story of homosexual love in Edwardian England. The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems.
Next week, we'll be discussing The Princess Bride, so Gen-Xers and Millennials should get real excited!

318: Moonstruck (1987)

This month we're traveling back to 1987, starting with the Academy Award-winning romance, Moonstruck.
Plot: Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Directed by: Norman JewisonWritten by: John Patrick ShanleyStarring: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia

Episode 317: Wayne's World (1992)

We close out our Women's History Month discussion of Penelope Spheeris with THE movie of the 1990s: Wayne's World, starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey! Hear about the film that introduced a generation to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and maybe sort of formed Lauren's entire psyche.
Next week, we'll be chatting about Moonstruck, so defo prep for that!
Party on!

316 — Suburbia (1983)

We continue our Penelope Spheeris series with her first narrative feature, Suburbia.
Plot summary:
Suburbia is director Penelope Spheeris's study of the Los Angeles punk rock scene in the early 1980s. Evan and his younger brother leave their broken home in an attempt to escape their alcoholic mother. They find family in a group of punks who live as squatters in an abandoned house by the side of the highway.

Episode 315: The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

We're celebrating Women's History Month by discussing some of the best films of the severely underrated Penelope Spheeris, whose filmography is quite something. First up: Spheeris's first feature, The Decline of Western Civilization, an intense, enjoyable, wholly strange documentary about the LA hardcore punk scene in 1979/1980. Even if you're not a punk fan, this is a must-see.
We'll be on a brief break next week, but will return the week after to discuss Spheeris's Suburbia (1983), a fictionalized take on the punk lifestyle.

Episode 313 - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

This week we continue our David Lynch series with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the prequel film to the remarkable series.
Trigger warning for discussion of sexual abuse/incest.

Episode 311: Blue Velvet (1986)

We're back and better than ever! After a brief hiatus while Karen was at Sundance, the Dames return to discuss some of the must-sees of the festival, followed by a deep dive into David Lynch's 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, and Laura Dern.

310 — A Face in the Crowd

This week, we're discussing Andy Griffith's first big screen role in A Face in the Crowd, the 1957 film from Elia Kazan. Griffith stars as Lonesome Rhodes, a wandering musician who is discovered in a small county jail and goes on to become an influential television star. It is a fascinating and timely examination of fame, influence, and the cult of personality.
Additional Reading:
Vulture Article: "There Is No Safe Word: How the Best-Selling Fantasy Author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades."

308: Catching Up With the Dames

Welcome to 2025! As we gear up for a new year of exciting episodes and so many movies to talk about, we take a little look back at some of the films we have been watching lately, from Lauren's Hitchcock Year to Will & Harper and Wallace & Gromit, this wide-ranging conversation covers a lot of recent and upcoming releases as well as some of our favorite rewatches.
End clip: Demi Moore wins the Best Female Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy award for The Substance at the 82nd Annual Golden Globes. Courtesy of the Golden Globes.
Check out Karen's interview with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham.

Episode 307: The Apartment (1960)

Happy New Year from Citizen Dame! For our final episode of 2024, we talk about the hilarious and melancholic The Apartment, directed and written by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon as an office worker who lets executives use his apartment for extramarital affairs, and Shirley Maclaine as the elevator girl he develops feelings for (without knowing she's having an affair of her own). Come for the Billy Wilder dialogue, stay for Fred MacMurray being The Worst.
(Available to stream for free on Prime and Tubi. TW for discussion/depiction of attempted suicide.)
We hope you have a wonderful New Year and we'll talk to y'all in 2025!
 

Episode 305: The Bishop's Wife (1947)/The Preacher's Wife (1996)

The Dames do a double-feature this week with The Bishop's Wife and The Preacher's Wife, in which we try to determine whether Cary or Denzel is the hottest angel committed to film.
Jury's still out.

304: L'assassinat du Père Noël/Who Killed Santa Claus? (1941)

The Dames are kicking off a month of holiday movies, beginning with the 1941 French production, L'assassinat du Père Noël/Who Killed Santa Claus?
Directed by: Christian-JaqueWritten by: Charles Spaak; based on the novel by Pierre VéryStarring: Harry Baur, Renée Faure, Raymond Rouleau, Robert Le Vigan, Jean Brochard
Produced by Continental Films

Episode 301: The Night of the Hunter (1955)

We kick off Noirvember 2024 in style with Charles Laughton's exceptional directorial effort: The Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum as a fire and brimstone "preacher" who preys on widows in Depression-era West Virginia, but meets his match in two small children hiding an expensive secret. The Night of the Hunter was Laughton's only film as a director, in which he employed a blend of silent film and stage techniques that make it one of the most unique and effective noirs in cinematic history.

Episode 297: Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)

Spooky season is upon us, which means SPOOKY MOVIES! We kick off this season with a legendary giallo: Dario Argento's 1975 film Deep Red, starring David Hemmings and the remarkable Daria Nicolodi. Murder has never been so weird.

Episode 295: The Shape of Water

The Dames go deep (hehe) on Guillermo del Toro's glorious magical realist fable (and Best Picture winner) The Shape of Water, and its deceptively simple narrative that combines fairy tale, biblical allegory, and transcendental love into something that is truly unique. Is this just the "fish-fucking movie" or is it so much more?
Next week, we'll be discussing Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, so get ready for that!

Episode 293: Brokeback Mountain

We kick off fall festival season with a lineup of major films that had their premieres at festivals past. This week we begin with Ang Lee's seminal queer western Brokeback Mountain (2005). How far we've come (and how far we still have to go).
Next week will be David Fincher's Gone Girl!

292 — Rope (1948)

This week, the Dames discuss another Hitchcock masterpiece, the 1948 thriller Rope. Starring Farley Granger and John Dall, this single-location technical experiment also marks the first time Alfred Hitchcock worked with star James Stewart.

Episode 291: Vertigo

We continue with our Hitchcock month with one of the more controversial movies in his oeuvre: Vertigo, widely considered to be Hitchcock's masterpiece. But is there really a reason for that? What makes this film stand out? Why does everyone love Vertigo so much—and the most important question...do we?

290: Shadow of a Doubt

Welcome back, friends! After a very short break, the Dames return to celebrate the Master, Alfred Hitchcock's 125th birthday with his 1943 film, Shadow of a Doubt. Theresa Wright and Joseph Cotten star in this twisty, suspenseful tale set in California's wine country.