podcast – James Edward Newton

Newton Talks #19 The Asylum in Cinema, with Dr Jennifer Wallis

In this episode, historian of medicine and psychiatry Dr Jennifer Wallis joins me to discuss the relationship between the Victorian asylum and cinema, particularly the representation of the asylum in the horror film. We discuss 70s Amicus productions, Session 9 (2001), the reality of asylum life, and how cinema was used as entertainment in the West Riding Asylum in the 1920s. Jennifer is author of Investigating the Body in the Victorian Asylum Doctors, Patients, and Practices (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and has also contributed chapters on film to the Headpress publications Are you in the House Alone? (ed. Amanda Reyes), and Offbeat (ed. Julian Upton).
Listen here https://audioboom.com/posts/7892825-newton-talks-19-the-asylum-in-cinema-with-dr-jennifer-wallis

Newton Talks #18 No Budget Filmmaking in the Midlands, with director Tom Lee Rutter.

In this latest episode of Newton Talks I talk to Tom Lee Rutter, director of Day of the Stranger, the folk horror Bella in the Wych Elm, and the forthcoming ‘almanac’ The Pocket Film of Superstitions. We discuss no budget and guerrilla filmmaking, what it’s like to make films in the Midlands and the Black Country, and Tom’s own approach to making creative horror features.

You can listen here; https://audioboom.com/posts/7883583-newton-talks-18-no-budget-filmmaking-in-the-midlands-with-director-tom-lee-rutter

Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #9 Never Say Never Again

In this microcast, I look at the unofficial Bond movie, Never Say Never Again (Irvin Kershner), that came off second best at the box office against the EON produced Octopussy (John Glen), when they were both released in 1983. Despite it’s generally low ranking reputation, I look at some of the elements I enjoy, including Bond’s fashion, the shark scenes, and the witty and playful script by Lorenzo Semple Jr (with uncredited rewrites by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais from the British comedy Porridge).

Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7819272-newton-talks-cult-film-microcast-9-never-say-never-again

Newton Talks #16 Blood in the Streets – Italian Crime Films of the 70s with Austin Fisher

In the latest episode of my podcast, Newton Talks, author Austin Fisher joins me to talk about his book, Blood in the Streets, which looks at Italian crime films cycles of the 1970s, such as the police thriller, vigilante movies, mafia narratives, and the giallo, and how they responded to the violent political turmoil happening in Italian cities at the time.

We discuss the use of locations, how cyclical film production in the 70s relied upon repetition, and how these films reflected the ‘Years of Lead’, an extraordinary period of political violence that lasted the decade.

Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7801151-newton-talks-16-blood-in-the-streets-italian-crime-films-of-the-70s-with-austin-fisher

Newton Talks #15 British Television Spy Series, with Joseph Oldham

Revisiting The First 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' : NPR

In my latest Newton Talks podcast, Dr Joseph Oldham, author of Paranoid Visions: Spies, Conspiracies and the Secret State in British Television Drama, joins me to discuss British TV spy shows such as Callan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Night Manager, and Spooks, among others. We discuss the small screen aesthetics of the spy drama, how social class is at the forefront of the genre, and how they deal with the ethical dilemmas involved with the subject.

You can listen here https://audioboom.com/posts/7763548-newton-talks-15-british-television-spy-series-and-serials-with-dr-joseph-oldham

I, spy: In praise of Callan, the dirty, self-hating British TV detective | The Independent | The Independent

Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #7 Repo Man

In this micro-podcast, I talk about one of the definitive cult films of the 1980s, Alex Cox’s debut feature, Repo Man (1984). As well as being a filmmaker, Cox was also presenter of the BBC series Moviedrome, which has an important place in the perception of cult cinema. Listen to my podcast about one of the great anti-authoritarian films here;

Newton Talks #14 Britain and The Video Rental Boom, with Dr Johnny Walker

In this episode of my podcast, Dr Johnny Walker joins me to talk about the book he is writing about the video rental boom of the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. We talk about how home video impacted the film industry in terms of new market opportunities, influencing future filmmakers, and also its effect on Britain’s working class and South Asian communities.

Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7717523-newton-talks-14-britain-and-the-video-rental-boom-with-dr-johnny-walker

Newton Talks #13 James Bond Radio Play Adaptations

In this latest episode, journalist and James Bond aficionado Lee Kenny joins me to discuss the BBC radio play adaptations of Ian Fleming’s 007 novels. The first was broadcast in 2008, the most recent in 2020, and they all feature Toby Stephens as Bond, as well as other recurring cast. We talk about how they capture the overall strangeness of atmosphere present in Fleming’s stories, and how they provide a counterpoint to both the books and the more famous film series.

You can listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7656570-newton-talks-13-james-bond-radio-play-adaptations

Newton Talks Cult Film Microcast #4 The Wicker Man

What more is there to say about Robin Hardy’s folk horror masterpiece The Wicker Man (1973)? Not too much. But nevertheless, in this very short microcast, I share a few thoughts on the director’s cut, the remake, and Hardy’s belated 2011 sequel/follow up The Wicker Tree.

Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7605118-newton-talks-cult-film-microcast-4-the-wicker-man

Tressock Films Ltd.The Wicker Tree, Publicity & Production Stills.

Newton Talks #12: The American TV movie with Amanda Reyes

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In this podcast, television historian Amanda Reyes joins me to talk about the American TV movie of the 1960s up until the 1990s. We discuss its relationship to cinematic genres, and in particular how they often mimicked the subjects of exploitation films, resulting in TV movie versions of rape-revenge, horror, women in prison, among others. Like much of exploitation cinema their narratives also frequently dealt with topical subjects, and they were made on often meagre shooting schedules and with low budgets.

Amanda’s book on the subject, Are You in the House Alone, is published by Headpress, and her Made for TV Mayhem podcast is available here: https://tvmayhempodcast.wordpress.com

Listen to our chat here

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