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COLLATERAL is a different flavor for Michael Mann, yet it’s still familiar territory for the tortured auteur. There are enough distinct ingredients, for sure: Some mixture of Stuart Beattie’s script, a blend of film and digital aesthetics, and Tom Cruise’s real-life sociopathy resulted in a critical and commercial darling (something of a rarity in Mann’s body of film work). In this episode, Jason, Cody, and Harry recap what we’ve watched lately and then hop in the back seat on a long night’s journey through COLLATERAL’s bristling version of Los Angeles. It’s a discussion replete with takes: On the relationship between the meek Max and the vicious Vincent; on the vices and virtues that define Michael Mann movies; and a pretty okay analysis of the coyote scene. You didn’t think we wouldn’t have an answer for that, didja? Then, as we so often do, we finish with some trivia about craft brewery offerings that have some tangent connection in name to the films of Tom Cruise. I guess that means this episode is 21+! Haha. Just joshin’. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Collateral’s Unintentional Influence on No-Budget Digital Cinema” by Tim Schwagel for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Cabbie and the Hitman: How Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise Created Memorable Characters in Michael Mann’s Collateral” by Dan McCabe for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Hell on Wheels: Paul Cameron and Dion Beebe, ACS push hi-def video to its limits for Collateral, which chronicles a hit man’s nocturnal killing spree” by Jay Holben for American Cinematographer (August 2004) Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #MichaelMannsDarkAmericana #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Briefcase” by Tom Rothrock from the COLLATERAL soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 379: COLLATERAL (2004) 4:28 - Whadja Watch This Week? 27:43 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 30:49 - Different stakes than your usual Mann movie 42:04 - Our Mann-kings rankings and what Tom Cruise’s casting does for this movie 51:49 - How COLLATERAL changes the calculus of Michael Mann’s mechanical men 58:38 - Vincent: Everything is performance and there is no self 1:05:27 - The one-sidedness of change in COLLATERAL 1:10:23 - Max, the malleable man 1:21:40 - Fate, coincidence, and coyotes 1:34:11 - The ending 1:47:18 - The Junk Drawer 1:56:36 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 2004 2:02:11 - Cody’s Noteys: Tom Brews (Tom Cruise-adjacent craft brewery trivia)

That’s right: We’ve finally got Womenn on Mann on Trylove! The heist of a lifetime. Everything on the line. And at the center of it: Two guys in their 50s having romantic tensions that make classic Hollywood look like a convent. HEAT is a thoroughly sung masterpiece of Michael Mann’s career: inspired by real events, a remake of his own earlier work, and embellished with the director’s signature lonely, lingering, Shakespearean pathos. With Kelly and Natalie, we’re circling HEAT like a shark to figure out what makes it the melodramatic, epic, load-bearing high water mark that most gritty crime movies are still trying to match — and what still gives it an edge over the rest, more than three decades later. Then, it’s time for some rapid-fire HEAT-adjacent trivia. Find Kelly… On Bluesky at @kransekage.bsky.social On Twitter at @kransekage_ On Letterboxd at @luckyhoss On Trylove episodes: WINGS OF DESIRE (1987), ARREBATO (1979), PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), REVOLVER (1973), THE DOOM GENERATION (1995), THE NIGHT PORTER (1974), REMEMBER MY NAME (1978), PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (1972), OUTLAND (1981), BASIC INSTINCT (1992), THIEF (1981) Find Natalie… On Twitter and Bluesky On Letterboxd at @framingthepic In the byline for Noise Music, a forthcoming entry in Genre: A 33 ⅓ Series book about the noise genre and its influences on and intersections with culture On Trylove episodes about THE THIRD MAN (1949), CHESS OF THE WIND (1979), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985), MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (2018), ZARDOZ (1974), NOSTALGHIA (1987), SECONDS (1966), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972), STAR WARS (1977), DEMONLOVER (2002) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “The Sun Rises and Sets with Heat” by Natalie Marlin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Of Late Nights and High Detail: Michael Mann’s Heat (1995)” by Dan McCabe for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #MichaelMannsDarkAmericana #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “God Moving Over The Face of the Waters” by Moby as heard in the HEAT soundtrack.

Michael Mann’s debut THIEF is pretty fully formed, a tightly wound caper with the grit of a ‘70s movie and the pizazz of an ‘80s thriller. Frank (James Caan) is an ex-convict and current master thief with a one-track mind: Make the money, marry the girl, make the family, live in peace at last. This being a movie, none of those things happen as he expects them to. In this episode with guest Kelly Krantz, we talk about the pitiful antihero at the center of THIEF, the supporting cast (including Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson), the Tangerine Dream score, and the crushing effect of the American carceral system on the American dream itself. Find Kelly… On Bluesky at @kransekage.bsky.social On Twitter at @kransekage_ On Letterboxd at @luckyhoss On Trylove episodes: WINGS OF DESIRE (1987), ARREBATO (1979), PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), REVOLVER (1973), THE DOOM GENERATION (1995), THE NIGHT PORTER (1974), REMEMBER MY NAME (1978), PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (1972), OUTLAND (1981), BASIC INSTINCT (1992) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Thief: That One Last Job and the American Dream” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Study of Mann” by F.X. Feeney for The Directors Guild of America Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #MichaelMannsDarkAmericana #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Turning Point” as performed by Mighty Joe Young from the THIEF soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 377: THIEF (1981) 3:39 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:29 - Why THIEF is in Kelly’s top Michael Mann movies 9:38 - Frank, the pitiful man who’s still got prison in him 14:09 - A heist movie that’s not really about the heist 17:57 - The “masterfully architected” opening act 23:11 - The way the score parallels the story and characters 29:03 - Imprisonment, autonomy, and compromise 34:35 - Dependency and the fantasy worlds inhabited by Mann men 46:37 - Did Frank ever have a chance? 55:31 - Willie Nelson as Okla 1:05:04 - Tuesday Weld as Jessie 1:15:54 - The Junk Drawer 1:26:58 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1981 1:35:58 - Cody’s Noteys: Marketing Mannagers (guessing Michael Mann movies by their taglines)

Olivier Assayas’s post-millennium brain-bender DEMONLOVER is only a corporate thriller up to a point. A business deal over distribution rights to commercialize fetish content stirs discord among French enterprise, Japanese production houses, American entrepreneurs, and the hidden forces repeatedly shifting the levers of power. DEMONLOVER the movie becomes as compromised as its playactors: Unanticipated plot shifts, unclear linearity, harsh sound design, and claustrophobic cinematography lend a pervasive feeling between not getting the whole picture and already seeing too much. DEMONLOVER is a very ‘noisy’ film in more ways than one. Writer, movie lover, and noise connoisseur Natalie Marlin is maybe the only person up to the challenge of explaining what that means! Find Natalie… On Twitter and Bluesky On Letterboxd at @framingthepic In the byline for Noise Music, a forthcoming entry in Genre: A 33 ⅓ Series book about the noise genre and its influences on and intersections with culture On Trylove episodes about THE THIRD MAN (1949), CHESS OF THE WIND (1979), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985), MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (2018), ZARDOZ (1974), NOSTALGHIA (1987), SECONDS (1966), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972), STAR WARS (1977) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Toward a Cinema of Noise: Demonlover (2002)” by Natalie Marlin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog BLACK IS (1965) , dir. Aldo Tambellini “A Conversation on Electronics and Black TV with Aldo Tambellini” from Artscanada (1968) Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #BadCompany19FilmsFeaturingEvilCorporations #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Move Away” by Sonic Youth from the DEMONLOVER soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 376: DEMONLOVER (2002) 5:05 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 6:38 - Defining noise as a cinematic genre 23:38 - What Assayas does and doesn’t show you and why 27:21 - The important turn at the midway point 32:34 - Patterns of control and subjugation in the worlds of fetish, commerce, and corporate interest 38:41 - Sexuality and the dehumanization of women for profit 1:00:43 - Web 1.0 and the ending of the movie 1:14:26 - The Junk Drawer 1:30:21 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 2002 1:36:08 - Cody’s Noteys: Seamenlover (seafaring trivia with tangent connections to films)

Based on the real 1920 labor uprising by West Virginia coal miners, John Sayles’s MATEWAN spends much more time on the place than the battle it’s remembered for. Ten people died, including three private detectives hired to violently repress the ascendant labor unions. Returning guest Louis Gagnon spent part of grad school learning about this period of labor history, so on this episode, we discuss MATEWAN as a movie and as a cultural time capsule, dramatizing a time when there was a more direct, vincible line between federal power, American capital, and the labor that grounded them both. Find Louis… On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/PikedDogfish/ On the Trylove episode about ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “On the Road to Matewan” by Nate Logsdon for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #BadCompany19FilmsFeaturingEvilCorporations #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Fire in the Hole” by Mason Daring and Hazel Dickens from the MATEWAN soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 375: MATEWAN (1987) with Louis Gagnon 3:02 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:00 - The history of labor conflict in the US and Louis’s grad school work 8:38 - The coolest movie you could’ve been shown in high school history class 24:23 - The Battle of Matewan, the Coal Wars, and American labor post-World War I 32:53 - Violence vs. pacifism 38:06 - The ending 48:08 - Bridey May Tolliver 1:07:48 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1987 1:11:50 - Cody’s Noteys: My Mate, Wan (James Wan trivia)

How much Ham could a Hamlet let if a Hamlet could let Ham? Anyway, if you know Hamlet well, you may not enjoy THE BAD SLEEP WELL as much as someone who doesn’t. Toshiro Mifune (the GOAT) is an aggrieved secretary taking on a corrupt corporation, setting in motion a complicated plot to force confessions from sleazy profiteers who pressured a colleague into committing suicide amid an embezzlement scandal. Akira Kurosawa’s Shakespearean noir borrows the broad strokes of the Bard, but in updating the setting for postwar Japan, it makes kind of inverse conclusions about its main character (and the way it changes Hamlet’s classic tragic ending). Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “The Tragedies Play Well: Akira Kurosawa’s Three-Time Love Affair with Shakespeare” by Dan Howard for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Human Enough,” Harry Mackin’s piece for Perisphere, the Trylon blog, about BLADE RUNNER (1982), which played as part of the Bad Company series at the Trylon “The role of Hamlet in Kurosawa’s ‘The Bad Sleep Well’” by A.A. Birdsall “Thousand Words: Evil Behind the Mask of Respectability (The Bad Sleep Well, 1960)” by Andrea Grunert for The Big Picture Magazine “The Japanese Myth: A Middle‑Class Society or a Reality Overwhelmed by Global Social Polarisation?” Nicola Costalunga Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #BadCompany19FilmsFeaturingEvilCorporations #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro from THE BAD SLEEP WELL. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 374: THE BAD SLEEP WELL (1960) 2:10 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:26 - Adapting Hamlet for the new postwar Japanese social order 19:13 - Is the anticlimactic ending good, actually? 33:50 - Another light defense of the ending 47:57 - Where’s the color and flair of the Bard? 1:00:58 - It’s not written for the groundlings 1:06:19 - The Junk Drawer 1:11:34 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1960 1:15:47 - Cody’s Noteys: To Try; to Love (ranking animals by how much sleep they need) 1:46:13 - The results & the reveal

Even in the famous glut of great movies that came out in 1999, Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER stands out because it works as a great legal thriller/biopic and as something much sadder and more compelling. Jeff Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a poindexter sitting on a story that could take down the third-largest tobacco company in the U.S., and Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is the 60 Minutes producer who wants to help him get it out there. Abbie believes it’s Mann’s best (just wait ‘til she sees THIEF (1981)!) both because of its mealy newsiness and for much more textural reasons. It’s one of Mann’s last films before his jump to digital, giving him the perfect opportunity to use the beautiful tones of celluloid to close the frame around each scene, creating an increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere as the intersecting forces of Big Tobacco, government, media consolidation, government, and the court of public opinion constrict around Wigand’s masculinity, autonomy, and very life. Find Abbie… On Bluesky On Letterboxd On Trylove episodes about DRIVE ANGRY (2011), WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), THE TRAIN (1964), MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), PHANTOM THREAD (2017), STAR WARS (1977) (with Natalie Marlin) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “‘That Means You Don’t Talk’: Michael Mann’s The Insider” by Steve Rybin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Human Enough,” Harry Mackin’s piece for Perisphere, the Trylon blog, about BLADE RUNNER (1982), which played as part of the Bad Company series at the Trylon Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #BadCompany19FilmsFeaturingEvilCorporations #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Tempest” by Lisa Gerrard, Madjid Khaladj, and Pieter Bourke from the THE INSIDER soundtrack.

With Dan Nagan! Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a ‘fixer’ for a big, successful law firm representing big, evil corporations. He doesn’t so much DO things as he does make it easier for the people who DO things to DO them. It’s not really an honest living, but it’s not direct enough for him to really get his hands dirty. But when his lawyer friend snaps, vowing to expose the wrongdoings of the firm’s biggest client, Clayton’s looped into a deadly corporate cover-up — and maybe pushed to finally, actually make something happen. Find Dan… On Bluesky at @adapperdanman.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @aDapperDanMan On Trylove episodes about RONIN (1981), FACE/OFF (1997), MANDY (2018), EDGE OF TOMORROW (2013), GOODFELLAS (1994), BARBARIAN (2022), DEMOLITION MAN (1993), HEAVENLY BODIES (1984), THE WICKER MAN (1973) On Stoop Kidz! A Hey Arnold! Podcast Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Human Enough,” Harry Mackin’s piece about BLADE RUNNER (1982) for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #BadCompany19FilmsFeaturingEvilCorporations #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: 25 Dollars Worth by James Newton Howard from the MICHAEL CLAYTON soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 372: MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) 4:01 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 6:03 - The unexpected depth of the script 10:44 - Watching it at the Trylon 15:41 - One of the best legal thrillers ever made 19:16 - The quasi-ironic ending 30:17 - “This will not solve everything” 33:31 - Who is Michael Clayton? 41:54 - George Clooney as the sadsack 1:10:11 - To All the Loves We've Tried Before: 2007 1:12:57 - Cody’s Noteys: My Cool Clay Tin (guessing the price of clay containers online)

Jean-François Laguionie’s GWEN AND THE BOOK OF SAND is maybe a little too strange to fully understand, but its juxtapositions and style leave help it get so much more from its 67 minutes than a lot of full-length features can manage. A young girl named Gwen joins a tribe of desert nomads in a world littered with gigantic, recognizably earth-bound objects. Gwen falls in love with Nokmoon, a boy whose strange powers get him abducted by the ethereal creature that prowls the dunes by night. Gwen and Rosaline, the tribe’s matriarch, set out across the uncharted wastes to bring back the young boy. In this episode — our last on the Trylon’s series on ‘80s animated sci-fi/fantasy, we gush over gouache, ponder the meaning of finding meaning in a story as abstruse as this one, and play a game where we try to guess what game Cody’s even trying to get us to play. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Episode Ten: Gwen and the Book of Sand/Signals/In the Dust of the Stars” from the Official Deaf Crocodile Podcast Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheArtofInsurgence80sAnimatedSciFantasy #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro by Pierre Alrand from the GWEN AND THE BOOK OF SAND soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 371: GWEN AND THE BOOK OF SAND (1985) 2:27 - Aaron's sunglasses 6:32 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 9:56 - A truly unique work of animation 25:41 - The departure for the city 37:39 - Gwen and Rosalie 43:16 - Post-consumerism, identity, masking, etc. 57:39 - Nokmoon’s dreams 1:00:54 - The interpolation of live-action and animation styles 1:09:37 - The best images 1:17:47 - The Junk Drawer 1:21:40 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1985 1:27:50 - Cody’s Noteys: Gwen’s Picnic (we try to guess the rules of the game Cody makes us play)

With Matt Clark (Kino Ventura)! MIDNIGHT EXPRESS is mired in a good bit of targeted xenophobia. Oliver Stone apologized for adapting Billy Hayes’s memoir the way he did, but to the people of Türkiye, the damage was done. Alan Parker’s drama film, based on the true story of an American’s confinement in an Istanbul prison, dialed up the brutality to great cinematic effect, complemented by a brooding, Oscar-winning synth soundtrack by the father of disco, Giorgio Moroder. In this episode, we discuss MIDNIGHT EXPRESS from a couple different angles: the Turkophobia on display, the movie on its own terms, the ensemble, and (of course) the score — before playing a trivia game to see who can guess the movie based on things shouted by a member of the cast during a fight. It’s another really, really specific bit from Cody (of Cody’s Noteys). Find Matt… At Kino Ventura , his blog about movies Making Apache Revolver , his zine about crime films On Bluesky at kinoventura On Letterboxd at kino_ventura On Trylove episodes about SHOGUN ASSASSIN (1980), THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951), NIGHT MOVES (1975), THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973), THE ROCKETEER (1991) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Giorgio Moroder: A Syllabus” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “25 Things We Learned from Paul Schrader's 'Blue Collar' Commentary” by Rob Hunter for Film School Rejects (Nov. 18, 2020) “I’M HEALTHY, I’M ALIVE, AND I’M FREE!" (1977) , a short television documentary of Billy Hayes’s story “Stone sorry for Midnight Express” by Helena Smith for The Guardian (December 15, 2004) Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #GiorgioMoroderMoodEngineer #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “(Theme from) Midnight Express (Instrumental)” by Giorgio Moroder from the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS soundtrack.

René Laloux’s planet-hopping animated sci-fi adventure — no, not THAT one! — is in two places at once. THE TIME MASTERS wanders very Frenchly through its plot: An orphan needs saving on a weird planet, but our protagonists spend way more time witnessing the world (and freeing some mind-slaves on a completely separate planet) than worrying about the boy. But it comes across as such a genuine, heartfelt tale of camaraderie and creative vision that it doesn’t much matter. In this episode, we discuss all the Guys in THE TIME MASTERS, the art of Mœbius (Jean Giraud), and how time travel factors in before seeing how well we can guess the runtime of movies we’ve covered on this podcast. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: Trylove Episode 31: FANTASTIC PLANET (1973) Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheArtofInsurgence80sAnimatedSciFantasy #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Lamprey Guzzlers” from THE TIME MASTERS. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 369: THE TIME MASTERS (1982) 2:44 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:09 - The style and substance of Mobius in an animated feature 12:13 - Seeing this one at the Trylon 17:30 - What happens when your reach exceeds your grasp 28:15 - Why this movie NEEDS to be animation 37:11 - Richness despite a meandering plot 44:51 - Adapting Stefan Wul 47:09 - How successful is the time twist? 59:20 - The Junk Drawer 1:06:17 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1982 1:13:49 - Cody’s Noteys: Runtime Masters (guessing the runtime of movies we’ve covered)

This episode was originally published in August 2020. It was republished February 7, 2026, to coincide with its run at the Trylon as part of the "The Art of Insurgence: '80s Animated Sci-Fantasy" series. Since this episode aired, Sarah spun off the Cult Film Collective's video rental arm as its own entity titled Ant Hill Video. Featuring special guest Sarah Seember Huisken – Minneapolis storyboard artist, and 25% of the Cult Film Collective! There’s so much to love, to be joyful about, in SON OF THE WHITE MARE, including its recent long-awaited 4K restoration. Transplanting traditional Hungarian folklore for a 1981 audience in the name of nomadic peoples, this immaculately animated film communicates much more than its experimental trappings. Rather than play a straight fairytale, SON OF THE WHITE MARE dodges the audience’s firm grasp of form with nearly every scene change, reflecting the convulsive Hungarian social state (its original release was sandwiched between a 1956 revolt and the country’s formal shrugging of Communist rule in 1989). With Sarah, we discuss the movie’s use of form, humor, nature, sex, soft edges, semi-traditional gender politics, and imagery both modern and primal to elevate its “heroes slay the dragons” narrative into something worth treasuring. Find Sarah on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/calzonewizard and online at https://sarahhuisken.com! References: Learn more about the Cult Film Collective at https://www.cultfilmcollective.org/ Check out Ant Hill Video, born from the Cult Film Collective, at https://cultfilmcollective.myturn.com/library/ "Son of The White Mare: Formalistic Creativity Bursting Through Repression" by Ed Dykhuizen for Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheArtofInsurgence80sAnimatedSciFantasy #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro ambiance from SON OF THE WHITE MARE.

With Seth Zarate! It’s hard to overstate the importance of NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND to the Japanese animation medium, not least of which because it led to the launch of Studio Ghibli, one of its most influential producers. But it’s maybe more interesting to consider as an ur text for its creator and his proclivities: In a time of conflict between human civilization and the natural world, a strong heroine risks her life to bridge the two and bring balance. If that sounds familiar in the context of Studio Ghibli’s work, it should! On this episode, we discuss seeing the film on an original 1984 print, comparisons to other Studio Ghibli films and Miyazaki’s sprawling Nausicaä manga, the optimism that defines NAUSICAÄ, Seth’s ranking of Ghibli movies, and our favorite little Miyazaki-isms. Then we play a trivia game based on looking at pictures of American actress Halle Berry. Podcasting is immensely difficult work. Find Seth… On Bluesky at snzarate.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @snzarate On Trylove episodes about THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997), 12 MONKEYS (1995), TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985), A GOOFY MOVIE (1995) Table Read, TIME BANDITS (1981), THE FACULTY (1998), THE SACRIFICE (1986), RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995), Horrorthon V: Son of Horrorthon (2021), BATMAN RETURNS (1992), TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003), THE CONVERSATION (1974), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), LOOPER (2012), ASTEROID CITY/DIAL OF DESTINY/DEAD RECKONING/BARBIE/OPPENHEIMER (2023), THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974), RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: Trylove Episode 133: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989) (feat. Charlie Mackin) “Gone with the Wind Rider: Shintoism in Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” by Lars Johnson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog ”Don’t Stomp On Bugs” by Noah Frazier for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheArtofInsurgence80sAnimatedSciFantasy #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Nausicaä's Requiem” by Joe Hisaishi featuring Mai Fujisawa from the NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 368: NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984) with Seth Zarate 2:10 - An update on Lucchese-Soto, et al. v. The Criterion Collection, LLC 6:03 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:21 - Seth’s thoughts 10:10 - The Hayao Miyazaki ur text 19:06 - Our experiences with NAUSICAÄ 24:00 - Building Nausicaä through the reactions of others 34:41 -  Is the NAUSICAÄ manga Miyazaki’s best work? 40:43 - Seth’s Ghibli ranking 46:32 - Optimism and relationships between worlds in NAUSICAÄ vs. MONONOKE 58:23 - A few of our favorite of Miyazaki’s favorite things 1:09:40 - The Junk Drawer 1:18:04 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1984 1:24:01 - Cody’s Noteys: Plausibly, This is Halle When She Grinned (trivia about Halle Berry photographs)

The Trylon’s series on the black-and-white films of Federico Fellini closes with one of his most popular films: the scandalous LA DOLCE VITA! Celebrity journalist Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) can’t quite decide between a life of out-and-out hedonism and his more intellectual aspirations, vacillating between caring for his fiancée Jane (Yvonne Furneaux) and courting every pretty woman he meets; between poetic cocktail parties with his refined friend (Alain Cuny) and drunken bacchanalia. This being a three-hour European film, the center can, of course, not hold, bringing Marcello’s self-idolatry to a spiraling, sputtering conclusion. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “When in Rome: La Dolce Vita and Life’s Imitation of Art” by Courtney Kowalke for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #FelliniInBlackAndWhite #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro by Nino Rota from the LA DOLCE VITA soundtrack.

It’s almost trite to say Kazuo Hara’s second documentary ‘crosses boundaries,’ since every documentary is on some level about the fact that it’s a documentary — forcing you to consider the author, the subject, and yourself as participants in the documentation. That said, EXTREME PRIVATE EROS: LOVE SONG 1974 is remarkably intimate, covering the years following the director’s breakup with Miyuki Takeda as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery. As they both chart new courses in life — him with his new girlfriend and fellow filmmaker, Sachiko Kobayashi; her exploring sexuality, taboo relationships, parenthood, and many forms of self-expression — they remain the shared subject of a film so personal, so volatile, that it’s almost violent. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Okinawa, Baby: Exploration, Exes, & Extreme Private Eros” by Chelli Riddiough for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheUndiscoveredGeniusOfKazuoHara #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “I Gotcha” by Joe Tex as heard in EXTREME PRIVATE EROS: LOVE SONG 1974. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 366: EXTREME PRIVATE EROS: LOVE SONG 1974 (1974) 2:28 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 3:35 - Aaron doesn’t like documentaries 12:51 - The work of Kazuo Hara 19:43 - The “point” of documentaries 24:07 - “Narrativerite” and a sense of “antagonism” 34:25 - Miyuki Takeda 41:35 - “Violence” and the “peaks” that end up on film 48:37 - LOVE SONG 1974 as a breakup movie 56:57 - How Miyuki is presented to the audience 1:05:07 - The Junk Drawer 1:12:23 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1974 1:24:22 - Cody’s Noteys: The House of Champions: 1974 (a bracket to choose the best film of 1974)