Rob Caravaggio Commentaries
32 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 9 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingAlternative audio commentaries on movies — [email protected]
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
The Searchers (1956) Audio Commentary
June 01, 2015 18:53 http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/commentaries2/tysto/Searchers--Tysto-Commentaries.mp3This man, though not a real Native American, has a great head of hair RC-2015-101: The Searchers (1956) Your browser does not support this audio I've once again teamed up with the King of Commentaries himself, Tysto, to talk through another great western. We find much to like, love, and laugh at in John Ford's VistaVision classic. Discussion wanders between the winds like an eye-less Comache to cover the long shadow of influence cast by the film (Star Wars, Scorsese, Buddy Holly), t...
The Big Lebowski (1998) Audio Commentary
December 25, 2014 19:11 https://ia802701.us.archive.org/4/items/TheBigLebowski1998RobCaravaggio/The%20Big%20Lebowski%20%281998%29%20-%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Zen and shiftlessness are often indistinguishable from one another RC-2014-102: The Big Lebowski (1998) Your browser does not support this audio Now that the National Film Registry has deemed Lebowski "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," I thought it the perfect time to delve into the Coen's 1998 comedy/noir/half-assed thinkpiece on Reagan-era zeitgeist. I get lost in the beautiful shadow work of Deakins, point out relevant tropes found throughout the Coen's wor...
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1967) Audio Commentary
July 01, 2014 02:10 https://ia902503.us.archive.org/31/items/TheGoodTheBadTheUglyRobCaravaggioCommentaries/The%20Good%2C%20The%20Bad%2C%20%26%20The%20Ugly%20-%20Rob%20Caravaggio%20Commentaries.mp3The late Eli Wallach, the star of and secret sauce in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly RC-2014-101: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1967) Your browser does not support this audio Reflect on the recent passing of Eli Wallach by re-watching his finest hour. Which was actually three hours. I team up with the grand poo-bah of fan commentaries, Tysto, for an appraisal of Sergio Leone's classic. We converse about firearms, Steve McQueen (Bullitt, not 12 Years a Slave), and the movie's leis...
The Sopranos (S1E1) "The Sopranos" (1999) Audio Commentary
December 23, 2013 22:36 https://ia601005.us.archive.org/6/items/TheSopranosS1E1RobCaravaggio/The%20Sopranos%20%28S1E1%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.oggTony in the pool. No ducks. RC-2013-118: The Sopranos (S1E1) "The Sopranos" (1999) Your browser does not support this audio With the recent passing of James Gandolfini, I felt it'd be a good time to do something I'd been meaning to do: a commentary on The Sopranos. I begin by candidly acknowledging my love for the show, ladling praise on David Chase and the late Gandolfini before explaining the series' significance. The show had a truly unique sense for the surreal and a wonderful s...
Poolhall Junkies (2002) Audio Commentary
September 10, 2013 20:38 http://ia801900.us.archive.org/34/items/PoolhallJunkies2002AudioCommentaryByRobCaravaggio/PoolhallJunkies2002RobCaravaggio.mp3Mars makes money RC-2013-117: Poolhall Junkies (2002) Your browser does not support this audio Grab a cuestick (hopefully a non-graphite one) and let's play some with the greatest pool movie of all time! Well, okay, it's a pool movie, anyway. And just as Mars Callahan's directorial debut vacillates between Farrelly brothers-style comedy and over-cranked melodrama so too does my commentary shift from poolroom subculture nitpicking to a slightly more charitable assessment of the scrip...
Ace in the Hole (1951) Audio Commentary
July 15, 2013 22:24 http://ia600901.us.archive.org/7/items/AceInTheHole1951RobCaravaggio/Ace%20in%20the%20Hole%20%281951%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Kirk Douglas, Porter Hall, and Jesus Christ debate journalistic ethics in Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (Douglas had top billing) RC-2013-116: Ace in the Hole (1951) Your browser does not support this audio More thrilling than going over Niagara Falls in Kirk Douglas' barrel chest, Ace in the Hole stands tall among the giants of Wilder's career. I praise the wittiness of the dialogue and marvel at the depravity of Douglas' character, Chuck Tatum. Musings about journalistic ethics give ...
Cool Hand Luke (1967) Audio Commentary
June 23, 2013 18:22 http://ia801800.us.archive.org/18/items/CoolHandLuke1967RobCaravaggio/Cool%20Hand%20Luke%20%281967%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Paul Newman's takes a lickin' but keeps on kickin' as a quasi-Christ figure in his signature role RC-2013-115: Cool Hand Luke (1967) Your browser does not support this audio Cool Hand Luke was a timely allegory for 1960s-era tumult, and I discuss why Paul Newman—and not Brando—makes a perfect Lucas Jackson. After rattling off some prison movie tropes, I compare CHL favorably to I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and hate on its ill-advised efforts to siphon profundity from Judeo-Christian...
All the President's Men (1976) Audio Commentary
May 20, 2013 22:59Robert Redford discusses strategy for the staring contest he's about to have with the camera RC-2013-114: All the President's Men (1976) Your browser does not support this audio Perhaps the greatest typewriter fetishist movie ever! Focusing on storytelling, I describe how Goldman's script hinges on scene-by-scene conflict and speculate about the mysterious Ephron-Bernstein draft. I argue that Woodstein's reporting was unbiased, then revel in my own bias by audibly scoffing at the id...
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Audio Commentary
April 29, 2013 01:23 https://ia801703.us.archive.org/29/items/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid1969RobCaravaggio_20130428/Butch%20Cassidy%20and%20the%20Sundance%20Kid%20%281969%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Paul Newman and Katherine Ross, dodging raindrops RC-2013-113: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Your browser does not support this audio William Goldman researched the story for years, and director George Roy Hill toiled through the production with a bad back so that now, years later, some creep on the Internet can blithely say that their fim doesn't seem as great to him as it used to. Yes, I used to like it so much more than I do now, and throughout the commentary I analyze the...
Laura (1944) Audio Commentary
April 21, 2013 22:03 https://ia801703.us.archive.org/1/items/Laura1944RobCaravaggio/Laura%20%281944%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Gene Tierney was so hot that she could make a frumpy rain hat look sexy RC-2013-112: The Film Noir Series — Laura (1944) Your browser does not support this audio Otto Preminger's Laura is beloved by many a noir aficionado, and I'm out to figure out why. (Could it have something to do with Gene Tierney being nuclear hot? Hells yeah.) I have fun with the movie, lamenting the fact that the opening titles sequence wasn't created by Saul Bass and declaring that Preminger's directorial style i...
No Country for Old Men (2007) Audio Commentary
April 10, 2013 05:43 https://ia801702.us.archive.org/18/items/NoCountryForOldMen2007RobCaravaggio/No%20Country%20for%20Old%20Men%20%282007%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3The dark knight rises... RC-2013-111: No Country for Old Men (2007) Your browser does not support this audio Let's call this episode "The Roger Ebert Memorial Commentary." The prolific critic felt No Country for Old Men was as good as any picture made by the Coens (and in the very next clause he warmed my heart by adding, "and they made Fargo.") Still giddy from a recent revival screening, I quit swooning long enough to explicate a lot of what makes this movie so great. I describe the s...
Ebert
April 05, 2013 17:34A young Roger Ebert, a lifelong newspaperman, peruses his beloved Sun-Times in the newsroom The news of Roger Ebert's death has impacted nearly everyone who loves movies, and many who don't. He attained the kind of trust and name recognition that only a handful of critics have ever enjoyed. And he deserved it. Ebert was smart without being a pedant, open-minded without being wishy-washy. He wrote with a palpable ecstasy for movies, and for other things. The next episode of this podcast w...
Double Indemnity (1944) Audio Commentary
April 03, 2013 19:26The old noir trope of putting a Chandler and a Wilder on a loveseat... RC-2013-110: The Film Noir Series — Double Indemnity (1944) Your browser does not support this audio We continue down the noir path with a lively dissection of Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity. Right from the start I cop to being in love with nearly every aspect of the film, particularly its three leads. Although I lack the suave drollness of Walter Neff, I make up for it by telling a few charming tales about the film'...
Annie Hall (1977) Audio Commentary
March 30, 2013 05:03Little known fact: when he was in grad school, Dr. Ian Malcolm was friends with Tony Lacey RC-2013-109: Annie Hall (1977) Your browser does not support this audio Recently, Turner Classic Movies aired Annie Hall, and I was reminded of just how extraordinary a picture it is—a romantic comedy that's exceedingly romantic and funny. This commentary was inevitable. As you watch Alvy's hangups doom his love life, you'll hear me marvel at the film's wildness, the way it breaks every rule. Along...
Scarlet Street (1945) Audio Commentary
March 24, 2013 21:03 https://ia601701.us.archive.org/3/items/ScarletStreet1945RobCaravaggio_201303/Scarlet%20Street%20%281945%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3The "self portrait" of Kitty March, Joan Bennett's fast-talking femme fatale who steals Edward G. Robinson's heart in Fritz Lang's film noir, Scarlet Street RC-2013-108: The Film Noir Series—Scarlett Street (1945) Your browser does not support this audio Ask a person to name her five favorite Fritz Lang films, and you're not likely to hear Scarlet Street. Yet it has all we've come to love about Lang—and about film noir. Inside the dusty B-movie packaging we find a big star, Edwar...
The Godfather (1972) Audio Commentary
March 18, 2013 03:20 https://ia601603.us.archive.org/20/items/TheGodfather1972RobCaravaggio/The%20Godfather%20%281972%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.mp3Marlon Brando getting his Don makeup on while Francis Ford Coppola waits patiently for his nemesis, Popeye, to show up RC-2013-107: The Godfather (1972) Your browser does not support this audio When e-mailer Tomy suggested a few films that might be ripe for a commentary, The Godfather was the one that lept out at me most. It seems there's actually quite a lot to say about the movie nearly everyone regards as great, so why not give it a Rob Job. (I'm so sorry. I will never say that agai...
Special Episode: "Back Beyond" — the deleted scenes featurette for The Master
March 11, 2013 00:09 http://goo.gl/gMwmWFreddie dreams of Auntie Bertha RC-2013-106: "Back Beyond" (Deleted scenes featurette for The Master) Your browser does not support this audio In this special episode, I keep the conversation about The Master going by taking 20 minutes to babble through "Back Beyond," the deleted scenes featurette found on the newly released DVD/Blu-Ray. So, even though we've already enjoyed a spirited commentary track on the film, let's sift through the cutting room floor detritus together. Come on. Wha...
Take This Waltz (2012) Audio Commentary
March 04, 2013 05:27Sarah Polley sees no sign of zombies on the set of Take This Waltz RC-2013-105: Take This Waltz (2011) Your browser does not support this audio Sarah Polley's intelligent second film takes its name from a Leonard Cohen song, and speaking in my deepest, most morose voice I explore the really brightly colored poetry of Take This Waltz. Praising Polley's directorial skills, I compare the film to her first feature, Away From Her, and decide that this latest film is refreshing in many ways an...
Margaret (Extended Cut) (2011) Audio Commentary
February 20, 2013 19:41 https://ia801608.us.archive.org/11/items/Margaret2011RobCaravaggio/Margaret%20%282011%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.oggLisa Cohen, interested in her teacher. RC-2013-104: Margaret (Extended Cut) (2011) Your browser does not support this audio It took a while, but Kenneth Lonergan's follow up to You Can Count On Me finally got seen by audiences in 2011. During the marathon commentary (for, Lonergan's extended cut stretches past the three-hour mark), I go into the legal wrangling that delayed the release of Margaret. I comment on the theatrical cut's benefit's and shortcomings before declaring that Lone...
The Master (2012) Audio Commentary
February 13, 2013 05:46 https://ia801508.us.archive.org/35/items/TheMaster2012RobCaravaggio/The%20Master%20%282012%29%20Rob%20Caravaggio.oggYou have to admit—some of those ink blotches do look sexual RC-2013-103: The Master (2012) Your browser does not support this audio Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master will be released on home media later this month—I'm on top of it. After making listeners jealous by bragging about being one of the lucky few who got to see the film projected properly on glorious 70 mm, I heap praise on DP Mihai Malamare for his use of the old-school film stock—the clarity, the depth of field, the rosy re...
A Few Good Men (1992) Audio Commentary
February 03, 2013 07:13 - 126 MBA girl named Jo is not as weird as a girl named Demi RC-2013-102: A Few Good Men (1992) Your browser does not support this audio Dipping into the requests pile (thanks Jeremy), I take on the 1992 Rob Reiner blockbuster A Few Good Men. During the film, I sing the praises of glorious genre of the courtroom drama, comparing Reiner's movie to other specimes like The Caine Mutiny and Anatomy of a Murder, as well as well-structured courtroom comedies like Liar Liar and My Cousin Vinny. Additi...
Killer Joe (2012) Audio Commentary
January 24, 2013 21:14 http://ia601500.us.archive.org/23/items/KillerJoe2012AudioCommentaryByRobCaravaggio/KillierJoe2012RobCaravaggio.mp3Yes, the entire movie is like this RC-2013-102: Killer Joe (2012) Your browser does not support this audio In this episode, I reach into the requests pile for a criminally underrated 2012 picture about criminally overconfident numbskulls. Before listening to this commentary, pick yourself up some K-fry-C—that way you can nosh through your bucket as I talk through one of 2012's most delightful surprises, Billy Friedkin's Killer Joe. Aside from the revelation that is Juno Temple, the track...
A Separation (2011) Audio Commentary
January 15, 2013 05:09 - 115 MBWhat happens in the doorway doesn't stay in the doorway in Asgar Farhadi's A Separation RC-2013-101: A Separation (2011) Your browser does not support this audio I've decided that a great way to start 2013 is with what I regarded as the best movie of 2011—Asgar Farhadi's A Separation. Throughout the commentary, I attempt to stop myself from gushing about such a fantastic work of art, and fail miserably. With hardly a bad word to say about Farhadi's pre-classic masterpiece, I fall back on...
Raging Bull (1980) Audio Commentary - The Scorsese Series
December 22, 2012 04:29 - 119 MBDe Niro and Moriarty take a mulligan while playing putt-putt golf in Raging Bull RC-2012-108 (The Scorsese Series): Raging Bull (1980) Your browser does not support this audio Before I get to some less-beloved Marty joints (coming soon), the series on Scorsese continues to hopscotch through the undeniable masterpieces, landing on the much-admired Raging Bull. What is it about Scorsese's technique that so tickles P.T. Anderson's fancy? And how is it that a book so bad can become so affec...
High Fidelity (2000) Audio Commentary
December 14, 2012 04:14 - 102 MBA conflict resolution specialist RC-2012-108: High Fidelity (2000) Your browser does not support this audio Look, conflict resolution is my job, so on this commentary track for High Fidelity, I'm once and for all resolving the question of whether this quasi-classic Cusack joint is, at bottom, a movie about loving cool music or a merely love movie with cool music in it. (I never answer this, but the former seems far more interesting, does it not?) Aside from marveling at how well the fi...
Goodfellas (1990) Audio Commentary - The Scorsese Series
December 07, 2012 03:37 - 134 MBLook up "schnook" in the dictionary, and you find this photo RC-2012-107 (The Scorsese Series): Goodfellas (1990) Your browser does not support this audio After rifling through the suggestion box, I've decided to take the enthusiastic advice of my stalwart listener and e-mail correspondent, Glenn, and dedicate an entire series of commentaries to the work of Martin Scorsese. Since an earlier episode of the podcast already tackled a Scorsese film (1986's The Color of Money), we've given ...
Shame (2011) Audio Commentary
November 21, 2012 04:25 - 93.6 MBSteve McQueen is wearing a hat and scarf while his actors are in undershirts RC-2012-106: Shame (2011) Your browser does not support this audio In this episode, Rob determines that the breakout film for both McQueen and Fassbender is really just "The Lost Weekend, with fucking." While singing the praises of Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, the commentary considers whether or not sex addiction is really addiction (answer: I haven't a clue; ask a clinician) and how exceptionally the film cap...
The Social Network (2010) Audio Commentary
November 06, 2012 01:58Hey, remember the algorithm? RC-2012-105: The Social Network (2010) Your browser does not support this audio In this episode, Rob gives part of his attention—the minimum amount—to what was one of the best and most surprising films of 2010, the Fincher-Sorkin-Reznor masterpiece known as The Social Network. The commentary gabbing analyzes stuff like the project's unusual development, Ben Mezrich's unusual book The Accidental Billionaires, and why Jesse Eisenberg seems to get the relationsh...
The Skin I Live In (2011) Audio Commentary
October 28, 2012 04:01Almodovar and Banderas on the set of The Skin I Live In RC-2012-104: The Skin I Live In (2011) Your browser does not support this audio After a few plot twists and turns, Rob concludes that Almodovar's most recent film is ultimately about compassion. We all do bad things, but only some of us kidnap and castrate those who do bad things—and that's the theme of this wildly disturbing romp through the Spanish countryside. ...Or something like that. On the one hand, Rob muses, the film is a c...
The Color of Money (1986) Audio Commentary - The Scorsese Series
October 18, 2012 04:29 http://ia601503.us.archive.org/9/items/itheColorOfMoneyi1986AudioCommentary/TheColorOfMoney1986RobCaravaggio.mp3Tom Cruise shoots his new look on the set of The Color of Money—"Blue Steel" meet "Balabushka" RC-2012-103 (The Scorsese Series): The Color of Money (1986) Your browser does not support this audio Following up on our previous adventure with The Hustler, Rob explores a movie that for many constitutes "lesser Scorsese"—1986's The Color of Money. Among other things, this commentary touches upon the impressive lead performances, the perennial manic weirdness of Tom Cruise, and the pitch...
The Hustler (1961) Audio Commentary
October 14, 2012 02:45 http://ia601508.us.archive.org/12/items/TheHustler1961AudioCommentary/TheHustler1961RobCaravaggio.mp3Piper Laurie works on her cursive in The Hustler RC-2012-102: The Hustler (1961) Your browser does not support this audio This time, Rob straps in for the epic tale of "Fast" Eddie Felson, played by Paul Newman, in one of the most lauded films of 1961. Musings include the inside dope on the pocket billiards wizardry depicted in the movie, the curious case of Piper Laurie's hairdo, and the transcendent force of nature known as George C. Scott. This is one of the great, gritty, and ul...
Fargo (1996) Audio Commentary
October 07, 2012 21:41 http://ia601505.us.archive.org/15/items/Fargo1996-RobCaravaggioCommentary/Fargo1996-RobCaravaggio.mp3You're licked, Jerry Lundegaard RC-2012-101: Fargo (1996) Your browser does not support this audio In this episode, we explore the 1996 film Fargo, directed by Joel Coen. Topics include the subtle cinematic language employed by the brothers Coen to reflect Jerry Lundegaard's troubled psyche, the art of a great movie car chase, and why that guy Mike Yanagita comes out of nowhere halfway through the film. Unlike the movie, no parking lot attendants were harmed in the making of this ...