7: Bigger Than Life (with Ashley Naftule)

An overworked family man suddenly facing a terminal health crisis is given what appears to be a miracle cure, an experimental steroid treatment. But as the man’s health returns, he becomes addicted to the steroids and gets increasingly deranged and delusional, his mania escalating into a full blown domestic rampage that threatens to destroy him and everyone around him. This is what likely cost President Trump his re-election, but it’s also the plot of Nicholas Ray’s 1956 masterpiece of melodrama Bigger Than Life, starring James Mason.

Phoenix-based playwright, writer and extremely funny Twitterer Ashley Naftule joins host Jesse Hawken for a discussion of Bigger Than Life, it’s thematic similarities to Trump’s Coronavirus meltdown, and how the film’s social critique of labor conditions, healthcare costs and middle class anxiety still resonate strongly today.

Plus: a discussion of sexy Walter Matthau, Phoenix’s indie film scene, Joe Arpaio at the movies, and the new Wong Kar Wai restorations.

Follow Ashley Naftule on Twitter.

Ashley wrote about Zazie Dans Le Metro’s 60th anniversary, for Bright Wall Dark Room

Bigger Than Life (Cough Syrup Remix) - DO NOT watch this before seeing the movie properly, for repeat viewers only