Tag Archives: cheat sheet

The Guy Maddin Cheat Sheet

Want to be knowledgeable about our filmmaker of the month without committing yourself to an entire filmography? Then you need the Hell Is For Hyphenates Cheat Sheet: a suggested double that will make you an insta-expert in the director we're about to discuss…

THE HEART OF THE WORLD (2000) and MY WINNIPEG (2007)

Guy Maddin has a style unlike any other filmmaker working today. Imagine an MTV music video director got sent back in time to the silent era, and you’ll have a good starting point to appreciate what it is he does. He is even more prolific as a director of short films than as a director of feature films, so we suggest a double that mixes the two. The Heart of the World is only six minutes long, but it's the perfect film if you want to understand what makes Maddin tick. Meanwhile, his 2007 quasi-documentary My Winnipeg is an hilarious, surreal, addictive look back at his upbringing. It's one of the most entertaining films you'll ever see, and its moments of obvious exaggeration are as revealing as the moments of autobiographical truth. This is about as fun as homework gets.

Substitutions: If you can't get The Heart of the World, try his first ever short film The Dead Father (1985). If you can't get My Winnipeg, try Brand Upon the Brain! (2006).

The Hidden Gem: If you want to go for something off the trodden path, be sure to seek out Maddin's 2002 film Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary. It's one of the most incredible adaptations of the legend, and at only 73 minutes, you'll probably want to watch it twice.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Hayley Inch talking Guy Maddin, will be released on the morning of October 31 (AEST).

The Claire Denis Cheat Sheet

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BEAU TRAVAIL (1999) and WHITE MATERIAL (2009)

Director Claire Denis was raised in colonial French Africa, and many of her films reflect this in some way. Beau Travail is a sublimely beautiful work about an ex-French Foreign Legion officer reminiscing about his time leading soldiers in Africa. It stars Denis Lavant, a newly-minted cult figure thanks to his now-legendary work in Leos Carax's 2012 film Holy Motors. Following Beau Travail, you'll want to put on White Material. The always-brilliant Isabelle Huppert is the matriarch of a white family about to be kicked off their African plantation, trying desperately to hold onto the crop of coffee beans they've grown as their lives hang in danger. Both films are truly stunning, managing to convey a sense danger while drawing you in and lulling you to spend more time in these worlds. These two brilliant works, made ten years apart, should give you a solid understanding of the style of Claire Denis.

Substitutions: If you can't get Beau Travail, try Chocolat (1988). If you can't get White Material, try 35 Shots of Rum (2008).

The Hidden Gem: If you want to go for something off the trodden path, you have to check out her 2001 film Trouble Every Day. It features Vincent Gallo and BÃ©atrice Dalle, and is equal parts sexy and horrific. Not for the faint of heart.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Lynn Shelton talking Claire Denis, will be released on the morning of September 30 (AEST).

The Mazursky Cheat Sheet

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Early last year, we abandoned our original system whereby we wouldn't announce the guest or the filmmaker they were discussing until the day the podcast was out. On the urging of some of our listeners, we decided to change it up and announce both guest and filmmaker nearly a month before the episode launched. That way, anyone who wanted to play along at home could watch the works of our filmmaker-of-the-month and have a whole month to catch themselves up, much in the same way we ourselves do.

This isn’t always practical. Even our most committed listeners probably wouldn't be able to marathon all of, say, Billy Wilder or Robert Altman's filmography in time, so we've come up with a new idea. About a week or so before Hyphenates comes out, we're going to suggest a double feature that encapsulates the essential spirit of the filmmaker. Two films you can easily watch on a Friday night in order to get a good sense of the director we’ll be talking about.

So with the Paul Mazursky episode only a few days away, here are a couple of films you might want to seek out over the weekend.

BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE (1969) and MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON (1984)

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is the main reason we're talking about Mazursky. In the upcoming episode, guest Joe Swanberg reveals that Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is his favourite film of all time, and talks about the influence it had on Swanberg’s biggest hit, 2013's Drinking Buddies. Bob & Carol was Mazursky's first ever film, and was a critical and commercial hit. To understand Mazursky's career, this film is essential. Then, to get a feeling for where he went next after his amazing run of 1970s zetigeist-capturing comedy-dramas, watch 1984's Moscow on the Hudson, about a Russian circus performer (Robin Williams) who experiences life outside of Soviet Russia during a fateful trip to New York. It's broader and glossier than his earlier work, but still an interesting work, and a good indication of how Mazursky’s style progressed.

Substitutions: If you can't get Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, try An Unmarried Woman (1978). If you can't get Moscow on the Hudson, try Down and Out In Beverly Hills (1986).

The Hidden Gem: Want to add in one of Mazursky's lesser-known films, one that (in our humble opinion) ranks amongst his best despite never being discussed? Try Tempest (1982), his loose, modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's final play, with John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, and, in her first ever film, Molly Ringwald.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Joe Swanberg talking Paul Mazursky, will be released on the morning of August 31.