Episode 182: CHESS OF THE WIND (1979) with Natalie Marlin

Featuring special guest Natalie Marlin (https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt)! Screened only once at release before it was banned during the Iranian cultural revolution, Mohammad Reza Aslani’s CHESS OF THE WIND (aka THE CHESS GAME OF THE WIND) is still shocking after more than 40 years in obscurity. Focusing on the lurid power plays conducted behind the closed doors of an aristocrat’s mansion (including marriage for status, murder, and revenge for both), it’s squarely pointed at the powerful and influential and the ways and reasons they leverage and maintain power. A paraplegic spinster plots against her stepfather, whose lust for status cost her mother her life, while suitors and staff leverage the home’s growing paranoia and tension to maneuver for rank underneath them both. In this episode, we mull over the movie’s sense of style, genre fluidity, humor, and how its late restoration feels as much like an act of rebellion as its original release. Links: - Find your local abortion fund at https://abortionfunds.org/funds/ - Find more of Natalie’s work at https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt - “NIC CAGE, NATIONAL TREASURE” (June - Aug 2022 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/national-treasure/ - “GENE TIERNEY” (July 2022 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/gene-tierney/ - “YAPHET KOTTO” (Aug 2022 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/yaphet-kotto/ Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: Closing ambiance from CHESS OF THE WIND (1976). Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 182: CHESS OF THE WIND (1979) with Natalie Marlin 4:00 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:47 - Restoration, lost media, and censorship 15:19 - Idealizing – and criticizing – the future 26:49 - ​​Style, form, setting, dust, and how the movie presents itself 55:00 - The time-traveling final shot of the movie 59:45 - It’s actually a really fun movie, too 1:06:34 - Cody’s Noteys: Trylibs – Spooky Crime Part II