Podcasts Steven Benedict

When it comes to America's military intervention in South East Asia, David Puttnam's Oscar winner is the anomaly. Less a war picture, it's more a love story. The post The Killing Fields appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Is it possible to put a new twist on a formula as old as the rom-com? Getting Amy Schumer to write the script and Judd Apatow to direct certainly gives you a head start. The post Trainwreck appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Adapted from Loren Singer's poorly reviewed best seller, Alan J. Pakula's conspiracy thriller is a classic of assured pacing and paranoia. The post The Parallax View appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Inside Out may reveal the the emotional turmoil going on within a young girl's mind, but a closer look will show you the secret workings inside Pixar Studios. The post Inside Out appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Whether it be theatre, film or TV, all stories need good plots and performances. But what elevated True Detective Season 1 to the status of classic was its structure. The post True Detective appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Until 1964, Stanley Kubrick had suffered years of set-backs, disappointments and frustration. But he made his reputation with this satire on nuclear war. The post Dr. Strangelove appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Asif Kapadia's extraordinary documentary makes for uncomfortable viewing, not least because he doesn't only focus on the flaws of the tragic singer. The post Amy appeared first on Steven Benedict.

With content pretty much always the same, what elevates one concert movie above others is not just the quality of the music, it is also the film’s form. The post The Concert Film appeared first on Steven Benedict.

How can Howard Hawks' adaptation of Raymond Chandler's labyrinthine detective novel be heralded as a classic when it is impossible to follow? The post The Big Sleep appeared first on Steven Benedict.

For all the fun stories and anecdotes about how the shark didn't work, none of them help explain how Steven Spielberg managed to deliver a masterpiece. The post Jaws appeared first on Steven Benedict.

With six Oscars, five WGAs, a DGA and the Palme d'Or, Billy Wilder’s career was so blazing you’d be forgiven for saying, “Well, somebody’s perfect.” The post The Apartment appeared first on Steven Benedict.

If jazz really is the authentic American art form, why are there so few great jazz movies? No matter, at least there are dozens of great jazz soundtracks. The post Jazz in Film appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Sidney Lumet hadn't read Barry Reed's novel when he brought it to the screen. Instead, he let David Mamet's masterful screenplay be his guide. The post The Verdict appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Christopher Nolan's time-warping mind-bending classic left many audiences very confused. But the director left more than enough clues to make sense of it. The post Memento appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Most action films are fuelled by testosterone. But Fury Road has so much estrogen coursing through its engines, it could be called Mad Maxine. The post Mad Max: Fury Road appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Nicolas Winding Refn's film focuses on Ryan Gosling's nameless getaway driver. But its best scene involves a vehicle of an entirely different kind. The post Drive appeared first on Steven Benedict.

With this Oscar winning classic, David Lean stopped being an 'English filmmaker' and became an 'international star director'. The post The Bridge on the River Kwai appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Peter Bogdanovich was New York born and bred, so how did he manage to direct a masterpiece set in small town Texas when he had never set foot in the state? The post The Last Picture Show appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Some of the best films have so much plot they are very difficult to sum up. Others give you too little. Barry Levinson's classic serves you french fries and gravy. The post Diner appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Of all the genres, the courtroom is perhaps the one most beset by clichés. So is there any evidence for a few masterpieces? The post The Case for the Courtroom Drama appeared first on Steven Benedict.