The Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* podcast looks back at more than a century of films, beginning in 1902 and working towards the future. Each episode focuses on...
Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Pod People & Paranoia Since 1956
As usual there are spoilers ahead!You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and dipping my toes into BlueSky a little too. DescriptionInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) spawned many remakes over the years, each rendition reflecting the anxieties of its time. The original film is one of my absolute favourites with a variety of potential meanings for a mid-century USA grappling with what it means to be American. My heavyweight sci-fi guests help to unravel the multiple threads. The ExpertsBarry Keith Grant is professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Brock University Canada. He has written/edited a huge number of books including the BFI Classics book on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:25 From book to screen: different visions, nostalgia and AI 07:24 Invaders from Mars: mistrust and madness 11:58 Sci-fi, Horror and Noir, oh my! The film gets framed with an ambiguous ending 21:21 Sleep, Shakespeare and tranquillisers 25:29 Capitalism vs communism: Corporate culture, McCarthyism and conformity 31:57 Becky: the frothing dress, changing social dynamics and divorce 41:07 The great remake: 1978 and the cynical fade of counter culture 47:22 The benefits of being a pod person 50:52 1993 remake 52:22 RecommendationsNEXT EPISODE! The next episode is on one of the most underrated science fiction classics of all time: Forbidden Planet. You can buy or rent the 1956 film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region. It is worth checking platforms like Tubi and Pluto if they are available in your region.
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55:14
Godzilla in 1954: Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare and Sci-Fi Legacy
As usual there are spoilers ahead! For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here. You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.) Description Godzilla was released in 1954 in Japan it has gone on to become one of the longest standing movie franchises and began the Kaiju film tradition. Directed by Ishiro Honda, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka with special effects my Eiji Tsuburaya. It was inspired in part by the 1933 King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before.A big difference compared to US 1950s sci-fi films dealing with nuclear themes is the Japanese perspective. The film wasn’t officially released in the US until 2004 but the US re-edit Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956) brought Godzilla to a global audience. My absolutely wonderful guests share their insights on this cinematic masterpiece. The Experts The wonderful Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech. She has written/edited numerous books on science fiction. Yuki Miyamoto is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at DePaul University. Her work focuses on the ethics around nuclear discourse. Chapters00:00 Introduction 01:56 A short overview of Japanese science fiction history 04:42 Yuki’s experience of Godzilla in Japan 07:00 1950s sci-fi in the USA 10:40 Japanese cultural context: Post nuclear bomb, radioactive tuna and censorship 16:03 Scientists and flipped themes 22:44 The scientist’s daughter, a demure rebel and the moral centre 27:27 Japanese self-sacrifice 29:27 Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Social critique vs entertainment 40:16 The Legacy of Godzilla 48:55 Recommendations for listeners 51:25 Jean-Luc Picard’s birthday message to meTHE NEXT EPISODE! The next film we will be covering is the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film is available to buy and rent on many outlets and even some free with ads streaming platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where its available in your region. We will (as usual) be spending some time speaking about the sequels so it might be worth watching the 1978 version as it is considered the best version by many! I loved it but the original holds a very special place in my heart so it will not be replaced by a copy. The episode hasn’t been recorded yet but the plan is also to speak a little about the 1953 film Invaders from Mars that has many similar themes.
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52:18
Cuts, Comics and Creatures: A Sci-Fi Podcast Retrospective
The end of 2024 is nigh!You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.) Welcome to an end of year special! A compilation of some interesting parts of conversations from the podcast in 2024 that were edited out. I edit the podcast down to a more digestible length but this means I often lose parts of conversations that are really fun or insightful so here is a collection of those. I also wanted to give a shout out to some amazing independent podcasters who (like myself) do not have huge teams or budgets to put together their shows. They’ve also offered me some sense of camaraderie in the crazy world of obsessing over something and then making podcasts about it. You can find The Lorehounds crew and offerings which include conversations and recaps on some of the best sci-fi shows around on their website. Em at Verbal Diorama is absolutely lovely, passionate about films (especially The Mummy) and does deep dives into many popular movies. Her research skills are fantastic and she is a fellow winner on the Ear Worthy podcast awards for 2024. Her website is here. Mark Steadman is a fantastic and knowledgeable digital producer who knows lots about the podcasting business. He will be launching Undo: How history’s outliers got stuff done in January. You can learn more about him and it here.Details of the guests and shows featured in this end of year episode: • Jess Nevins and Julian Chambliss were guests on episode 10: Pulps, Comics and the Rise of Superheroes. • Mark Bould and Peter Conolly Smith were guests on episode 8: King Kong: The Origin of a Cinematic Titan.• Sonja Fritzsche and Noah Isenberg were guest in episode 5: Metropolis: The Most Influential Sci-Fi Film Ever*.• Thomas Doherty and Xavier Aldana Reyes were guests on episode 12: Mad Scientists: Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Boris Karloff.• Keith Williams and Ari Brin were guests on episode 14: Robert Duncan Milne: A Lost Pioneer of Science Fiction.• Jay Telotte and Marc Longenecker were guests on episode 15: The Thing from Another World: Howard Hawks & the Cold War.• Scott Higgins and Phil Nichols were guests on episode 18: It Came From Outer Space: Bradbury, 3D & 1950s Teens• Thomas Doherty and Mathew Rule Jones were guests on episode 21: Them! The 1954 Horror Sci-Fi that Spawned Big Bug Cinema.• Jay Telotte and Mark Bould were guests on episode 11: Flash Gordon: From Buck Rogers Rip-Off to Space Opera Legend.Chapters:00:00 Intro and indie podcast shoutouts02:06 Comics and Pulps: Who is your favourite superhero?05:46 King Kong: Hays Code, covert wars and Frank-N-Furter10:17 Metropolis: Rotwang the prototype15:35 Mad Scientists: Favourites20:55 Robert Duncan Milne: From page to screen30:35 The Thing from Another World: Themes of seeing34:15 It Came From Outer Space: 3D cinema and unions36:28 Them! Drive-ins, degenerates and dingy cinemas46:53 Flash Gordon: Casting choicesNEXT EPISODE! The next film we’ll be focusing on is the original Japanese version of Godzilla (1954). This is surprisingly difficult to get hold of although you can purchase a DVD from many outlets. In the US it is available on Apple TV and Max (previously HBO Max) as well as on Tubi. You can check the Just Watch website to see if it might be streaming in your region. I just wanted to add that the opening credits and music are just phenomenal in my opinion.
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52:01
Them! The 1954 Horror Sci-Fi that Spawned Big Bug Cinema
As usual there are spoilers ahead!For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here.Description Them! (1954) is the 6th film we are covering from the 1950s. Hollywood is beginning to realise that sci-fi is a money making genre! The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before was a big hit for Warner Brothers and Them! followed suit. Another nuclear monster but this time it’s giant ants! Them! was the very first big bug feature and is often considered the greatest of the genre. It sits firmly between the horror and sci-fi and leaves a legacy that echoes beyond just big bugs into films like Aliens and A Quiet Place. The Experts Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively including the book Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s. Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:23 The first Big Bug film: Atomic to hydrogen bombs 03:49 The quality of Them! 05:24 Matt’s first experience of watching Them! 10:08 Boredom v terror, the silent generation and flame throwers in Japan 14:48 US vs UK interpretations in the post-war period 20:15 Scientists and heroes 25:15 The Ants! 28:38 Feminism 31:08 Sounds design and the Wilhelm Scream 33:51 The horror in Them! 39:01 The LA river 40:00 1954 Brown vs Board of Education: the seeds of change 43:10 Legacy 50:41 Recommendations NEXT EPISODE! Next episode there is an “end of year” episode which will include parts of conversations over the last nine months (since the launch) that were edited out before release. There are some bits I planned for the end of the year and others that I reluctantly took out because I like to keep my podcast episodes to 45 minutes. (And yes, I know I fail almost every single time!) CORRECTION: I stupidly say Alien at 49:50 when I obviously mean the sequel Aliens.
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Creature from the Black Lagoon: Horror, Politics and Passion in 1954
As usual there are spoilers ahead!For the full show notes with no character limits you can visit the website. DescriptionCreature from the Black Lagoon released in 1954 is in many ways the epitome of 1950s science fiction cinema. Jack Arnold (director), William Alland (producer) and Richard Carlson (the leading man) were all people who has become associated with the increasingly popular genre. It also has a beautiful and stylish Julie Adams as the heroine, scientists on a mission and of course the monster. But there are no themes of nuclear radiation, Russian invasion or small town shenanigans here. The film was filmed in 3D although the peak of 3D popularity had faded and most viewers saw this film in 2D. Two absolute heavyweights of sci-fi research join me to enlighten us.The Experts Jay Telotte is a Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film. Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.You can take a look at the Forbidden Planet poster mentioned amongst others that have the same trope by viewing my instagram post here. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the film and guests 02:16 Little Jay goes to the cinema 03:19 Universal monsters and comebacks 06:20 The mythical origin of the story 10:03 The monster, its maker and dangerous desires 21:37 Human invaders and Jack Arnold 23:22 Everybody loves Kay 28:59 Man, nature, science and the environment 29:12 Evolution: The Scopes Monkey Trial 33:32 1950s sci-fi: Space opera to the dangers of the depths 38:55 The Legacy: Sequels 45:00 Legacy cont: The Shape of Water 53:10 Recommendations for listenersNEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be taking a closer look at Them! (1953). You can check Just Watch to see where it can be found in your region and the film is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV.
The Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* podcast looks back at more than a century of films, beginning in 1902 and working towards the future. Each episode focuses on a film, director or theme and brings in experts to discuss the history, politics, and influences. Join sci-fi enthusiast Ayesha Khan as she travels through time and space, encounters aliens, and battles authoritarian regimes all from the comfort of your home planet. Released every two weeks*Almost
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