Third Eye Cinema / Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine podcast

Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine 12/8/16 - Revisiting Bond

We’d previously addressed the cinema of Ian Fleming’s favorite son, a gritty MI6 man turned urbane jet setter and lounge lizard cum male fantasy figure (come on, who out there didn’t want to be Bond…or bag the plethora of global lovelies he made his way through in one epic adventure after another?) in our second season. But with a recent upgrade to Blu Ray, the household of yours truly has spent the last few months wending our way through Britain’s favorite son once more, from the quirkily formative fantasia of Dr. No through the oddly flawed and gritty Daniel Craig era (with a few of the later entries, for the very first time in fact!). In the wake of our delve into the wide world of Eurospy (both in film and television) and more recent efforts like the Henry Cavill Man From UNCLE and Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series, how do these venerable classics hold up? Well, to be honest…hold on to your hats, because everything we’d said previously?  Has changed, often quite radically. It’s time to stir the cloudy waters of that improperly shaken vodka martini and see where all the chips fall… Week 42: Revisiting Bond

Weird Scenes 7/7/16 - Spies, Thighs and Private Eyes: Eurospy cinema

In the wake of the surprising worldwide success of the James Bond films, moviemakers around the globe raced to put forth their own homegrown versions of M16's favorite son. Occasionally utilizing pre-existing detective/spy stories (Belgium's Francis Coplan, Germany's Rolf Torring) but more often creating their own from scratch, directors from such nations as Italy, Spain, Germany and France in particular would release a flurry of pictures revolving around such recurring characters as OSS 117, Kommissar X, Agent X 1-7, Jerry Cotton and even Lemmy Caution. We've already addressed many British TV spy series, Germany's Edgar Wallace (and Dr. Mabuse) krimis and James Bond himself...join us this week as we take on the rest of the Eurospy canon, only here on Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine! Week 41 Spies, Thighs and Private Eyes: Eurospy cinema

Weird Scenes 6/30/16: The Angry Young Man in Winter: Oliver Reed

While American audiences would later thrill to the likes of Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen and James Coburn, one of the earliest "tough guy" actors of their vintage actually hailed from the UK. Noted as much for his personal volatility and drunken escapades as his intense, "angry young man" portrayals of out of control teddy boys and suchlike, Oliver Reed would display a surprising versatility, covering musicals, literary classics and Shakespearean roles with the same panache as he would Hammer films, cult sci-fi affairs and wildly homoerotic Ken Russell libidofests.   Rivalled only by the mad German-Pole Klaus Kinski for his sheer insanity both on set and off, join us as we talk one of the most controversial (and beloved) figures in British cinema history, the late great Oliver Reed! Week 40 the Angry Young Man in Winter: Oliver Reed

Weird Scenes 6/23/16: Nikkatsu pt 1: Sun Tribe Borderless Action & Seijun Suzuki

Set up at the turn of the century, The Nikkatsu Corporation halted production during the war years, only to return with a vengeance in the mid-50s for a long run of genre-defining cinema. From the "Sun Tribe" films of a new, more freespirited youth culture to a strong (if somewhat belated) Japanese take on Film Noir through to their famed "Borderless Action" films, Nikkatsu was the go to company for such internationally feted directors as Keiichi Ozawa, Yasaharu Hasebe, Chusei Sone, Koreyoshi Kurahara and the much beloved Seijun Suzuki! Introducing the world to such Asian screen icons as Akira Kobayashi, Jo Shishido, Yujiro Ishihara and Meiko Kaji, Nikkatsu would eventually leave their gangster films, action and even "pinky violence" epics behind in favor of a more cost-effective (and quite voluminous) exclusive focus on "pink film" (with starlets like Naomi Tani, Ran Masaki and Junko Mabuki in tow). Join us tonight as we speak to the earlier end of the Nikkatsu history, as we talk Sun Tribe, Nikkatsu Noir, Borderless Action and Seijun Suzuki, only here on Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine! Week 39 Nikkatsu pt. 1: Sun Tribe, Noir, Borderless Action and Seijun Suzuki

Weird Scenes 6/2/16: Tony Anthony, still Stranger

West Virginia born Roger "Tony Anthony" Pettito made a name for himself when he moved to Italy and starred in the Stranger series, presenting a uniquely sleazy, sneaky and quite amoral antihero fairly far removed from the likes of Clint Eastwood, Gianni Garko, Franco Nero, William Berger or even Lee Van Cleef!   Breaking ties with original director Luigi Vanzi, Anthony came to even greater prominence (and more entertaining films) in partnership with Ferdinando Baldi for the Ringo Starr-ing Blindman, the genre blending Get Mean and the two films that kickstarted the short lived early 80's 3D cinema revival, Comin At Ya! and the Indiana Jonesesque Treasure of the Four Crowns! Join us as we take the last train to Clarksburg, and talk the brief but fascinating career of Tony Anthony, only here on Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine! Week 38 Tony Anthony, still Stranger