Enter The Void

It's scary. It's depressing. And it's a kids' movie. For many children of the 1980s, Wolfgang Petersen's THE NEVERENDING STORY was their introduction to concepts such as existential annihilation, insurmountable sadness, and nested story structures. But how does all this play for someone who sees it for the first time as an adult? Our hosts fall on opposite sides of this pseudo-generational line, and explore their different experiences in this penultimate episode of season 2. Also considered: Nazi wolves and suicidal horses, the connection between harsh parenting and odd breakfast habits, Giorgio Moroder's contribution to the score, and other dark children's films of the 1980s. Plus: an argument for Ween as a rock band relevant to this podcast.  THE NEVERENDING STORY links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ BuzzFeed ◇ Dorkly ◇ Documentary Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod We did good? Rate us on iTunes! Got a movie for us? Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!

With influences ranging from Chaplin and Fellini to Rube Goldberg and Terry Gilliam, DELICATESSEN by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and occasional co-director Marc Caro defies easy summary. Maybe you'd better just give it a try? Set in a single apartment building in a dystopic future France, Jeunet et Caro imagine a world of hidden connections, quiet desperations, quirky comedy, light-hearted cannibalism, and a roster of peculiar residents whose dependence on their barbarous landlord-butcher is challenged by an erstwhile clown still mourning the tragic death of his chimpanzee partner. Also on this episode, we discuss the directors' famous feature follow-ups, little-known earlier short films, other movies set in just one location, and the discreet charm of Dominique Pinon.  DELICATESSEN links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ AV Club ◇ 366 Weird Movies ◇ "The Bunker of the Last Gunshots" ◇ "Foutaises" ◇ "Charcuterie Fine" Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod We did good? Rate us on iTunes! Got a mov

Directed by possible madman Sion Sono and possibly driving you to the brink yourself, SUICIDE CLUB is exactly what it sounds like, and one of the gorier films to emerge from Japan's 2000s-era horror movement. Unlike The Ring or The Grudge, this is one that hasn't been remade, but its themes of Internet-based teen fads and suicidal hysteria might work better today than in the pre-smartphone era. In this episode, we unpack suicide in wealthy countries and its role in Japanese culture; other societal challenges in modern Japan, including bullying, shut-ins and "herbivores"; Sono's beer-and-mushroom-fueledRotterdam Film Festival appearance; the obvious two best scenes in the movie; the obvious mistake of the glam rock red herring in the middle; other Asian films covering similar themes; and the guilty pleasures of early-2000s J-pop. SUICIDE CLUB links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ "Suicide in Japan" ◇ Dogs and Demons ◇ Sono interview (Dutch) ◇ "Doki Doki! Love Mail" Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotif

Robin Wright plays herself in a film already almost forgotten if just three years old, THE CONGRESS, directed by Waltz With Bashir's Ari Folman. It's well and truly bonkers, telling at least two distinct stories—Wright signing away to a Hollywood studio her digital performance rights, and a future society where humanity lives a drug-induced, half-animated experience where what's real or not is impossible to summarize here. In this episode, we're joined by friend of the show Brian Gluckman to discuss this film as well as: actors playing themselves in other movies; other animated films for adults, including Folman's Bashir; Stanisław Lem's The Futurological Congress novel; and how this movie is a long subtweet of Sean Penn. THE CONGRESS links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ Drafthouse Films ◇ RogerEbert.com Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod GUEST links @bgluckman We did good? Rate us on iTunes! Got a movie for us? Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!  

Kathryn Bigelow's NEAR DARK is an inspired genre-bending horror-western featuring vampires, cowboys, and a totally whacked out Bill Paxton. While not a perfect film, it's also unlike anything else, and makes for a fun excuse to revisit other vampire flicks of the 80s and 90s, including The Lost Boys and Interview with the Vampire. Also discussed in this episode: mindful that this is Enter The Void's first female-directed film, why does it seem like so few women make "mindfuck movies"?   NEAR DARK links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ Dissolve ◇ Slate ◇ "List of vampire traits..." Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod If you think we're doing a great job, please rate and review us in the iTunes app. If you have some ideas about what we could do better, OK, email us at void@enterthevoid.fm.

Our new episode focuses on David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME, and for the first time on ETV we are joined by a guest host: Mark Netter, director of indie sci-fi thriller Nightmare Code. Thought-provoking and surprisingly timely given its 1983 release date, VIDEODROME provides the starting point for a wide-ranging discussion about the power of TV in the 80s vs. the Internet today vs. radio in the distant past—with a small digression on how we listen to podcasts; society's relationship to shock content from Faces of Death to ISIS beheading videos; and our changing perception of the value of any kind of content in the context of 1980s scarcity and 2010s ubiquity.  VIDEODROME links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ Criterion ◇ Dissolve 1 ◇ Dissolve 2 ◇ Trailer Nightmare Code links  Website ◇ iTunes ◇ Amazon ◇ Facebook ◇ IMDb ◇ Trailer Enter The Void links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod If you think we're doing a great job, please rate and review us in the iTunes app. If you have some ideas about what we could

A 1970s future vision undone by its own airless weight, Nicolas Roeg's THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH is also mesmerizing when it's just David Bowie in the role he was born to play, himself but a real deal alien. Promptly forgotten after Star Wars came out the next year,  TMWFTE merits another look, but also—unlike last week's Brazil—actually would benefit from losing about 30 minutes, and by the way, how about a Bowie soundtrack? If anyone thinks they can help make this happen, really email us at void@enterthevoid.fm. TMWFTE links  IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ Criterion ◇ Dissolve ◇ Ebert 1976 ◇ Ebert 2011 ◇ Soul Train Show links  iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod If you think we're doing a great job, please rate and review us in the iTunes app. If you have some ideas about what we could do better, well, email us at void@enterthevoid.fm.

Gloriously disorienting and hugely influential, Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL almost didn't happen the way we know it today. In the second season's second episode, Renan and Bill excavate Gilliam's endless battle with Sid Sheinberg and Universal Studios; debate films and directors inspired by BRAZIL (Tim Burton's Batman, how did we not see it until now!); altercate over whether Rian Johnson's directorial work counts as a descendant (but Mike Judge's Idiocracy totally does); and deliberate on where it stands compared to other adaptations and quasi-adaptations of George Orwell's 1984. S2E02: Film: Brazil (1985) Director: Terry Gilliam Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Robert DeNiro Film links: IMDb on Brazil Wikipedia on Brazil Brazil at Rotten Tomatoes Brazil at Criterion Collection The Battle of Brazil at Amazon Show links: iTunes: Enter the Void Web: enterthevoid.fm Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Twitter: @enterthepod Spotify: ETV S2

We're finally back with season two of Enter the Void, a movie podcast about strange, crazy, mind-altering films! We start with the canonical midnight movie, the ur-text for David Lynch's unusual filmography: his first feature, ERASERHEAD. Covered in this episode: the film's cultural status then and now; its influence on other filmmakers—including Kubrick!; what it says about Lynch and his later career; the meticulous art direction and set construction; the grotesque "baby" and its possibly disturbing origins; and a little homage from the Kids in the Hall. S2E01: Film: Eraserhead (1977) Director: David Lynch Starring: Jack Nance Film links: IMDb on Eraserhead Wikipedia on Eraserhead Eraserhead at Rotten Tomatoes Eraserhead at Criterion Collection Blu-Ray review in Slant magazine Show links: iTunes: Enter the Void Web: enterthevoid.fm Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Twitter: @enterthepod Spotify: ETV S2

Season 2 of ENTER THE VOID is nearly upon us. This time around, we're giving you a sneak preview of the films we plan to talk about, so you can follow along more closely. In this short episode, Renan and Bill give a quick rundown of the season ahead, and are over quick so they can get back to planning and you can get to watching. And now, every film from the coming season, in episode order:  Eraserhead (Lynch, 1977) Brazil (Gilliam, 1985) The Man Who Fell To Earth (Roeg, 1976) Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983) Near Dark (Bigelow, 1987) The Congress (Folman, 2013) Suicide Club (Sono, 2002) Delicatessen (Jeunet et Caro, 1991) The NeverEnding Story (Peterson, 1984) The Tree of Life (Malick, 2011) Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist Bonus: Bill's blog post about attending the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.  

Hard to believe, but we're finally at the end of the inaugural season of Enter The Void. We close out with one of the most polarizing films of the last ten years: Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York. Simultaneously brilliant and frustrating, obvious and impenetrable, Synecdoche features Philip Seymour Hoffman as theater director Caten Cotard whose life falls apart as he tries to put it together, and as it stretches ahead of and behind him. To summarize it is impossible, and so we won't try. Enjoy the show, and we'll be back with season 2 in early 2016!    S1E10: Film: Synecdoche, New York (2008) Director: Charlie Kaufman Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener Film links: IMDb: Synecdoche, New York Wikipedia: Synecdoche, New York Review: Roger Ebert Video: Official Trailer Video essay: (Part 1) | (Part 2) Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

With our ninth and penultimate episode of season 1, we're finally getting to the namesake movie of this very podcast: Enter The Void, Gaspar Noé's dreamlike, drug-like meditation on sex, death, and the afterlife. Presented entirely from the perspective of Oscar, a young American living in Tokyo, it gives viewers an experience of seeing something through a character's eyes like they've never seen before. S1E9: Film: Enter the Void (2009) Director: Gaspar Noé Starring: Paz de la Huerta, Nathaniel Brown, Cyril Roy Film links: IMDb: Enter the Void Wikipedia: Enter the Void Review: Manohla Dargis Video: Opening Titles Video: Official Trailer Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

The year 1998, averred one critic at the time, would be remembered as the year of There's Something About Mary, Monica Lewinsky's dress, and Happiness. Almost 20 years later, is that quite how it worked out? When Todd Solondz's follow-up to Welcome to the Dollhouse first arrived, it drew raves from critics, controversy over its frank subject matter, and rejection by its major studio backer. The eighth episode of Enter The Void considers the story of Happiness and what we should make of it today. S1E8: Film: Happiness (1998) Director: Todd Solondz Starring: Dylan Baker, Jane Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman Film links: IMDb: Happiness Wikipedia: Happiness Review: Roger Ebert Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

Six years and four films after Sex, Lies and Videotape, Steven Soderbergh was in a creative funk. History has since recorded the incredible streak of successful commercial entertainments he made beginning with Out of Sight. And just before he did so, Soderbergh made this experimental comedy, a home movie project starring himself, his ex-wife, their friends, and a complex topology that makes it as much of a mind-bender as anything else we've talked about all season. S1E7: Film: Schizopolis (1996) Director: Steven Soderbergh Starring: Steven Soderbergh, Betsy Brantley, Katharine LaNasa Film links: IMDb: Schizopolis Wikipedia: Schizopolis Criterion: Schizopolis Book: Down and Dirty Pictures Re-appraisal: AV Club Review: New York Times Eddie Jemison commercial: "Yes, I am!" Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

When Lost Highway arrived in theaters in early 1997, Lynch's reputation was on the line, critics hated it, basically no one went to see it... and yet almost 20 years later, for as flawed and occasionally incomprehensible as it may be, it is also one of David Lynch's strongest and best-realized visions. In the seventh episode of Enter The Void, Renan and Bill consider all of this and David Foster Wallace's famous essay on Lynch making this movie. S1E6: Film: Lost Highway (1997) Director: David Lynch Starring: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty Film links: IMDb: Lost Highway Wikipedia: Lost Highway Premiere mag: David Foster Wallace essay (abridged) ASFTINDA book: David Foster Wallace essay (unabridged) Review: Roger Ebert hated it Review: David Edelstein also hated it Review: Owen Glieberman also also hated it Commercial: Whoa, Robert Loggia! Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

For the fifth episode we talk about the third feature film by the great Werner Herzog: S1E5: Film: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) Director: Werner Herzog Starring: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo Film links: IMDb: Aguirre, the Wrath of God Wikipedia: Aguirre, the Wrath of God Wikipedia: Lope de Aguirre Wikipedia: Gonzalo Pizarro Wikipedia: Gaspar de Carvajal Non-film links: Podcast drama! Richard Dietsch w/ James Andrew Miller Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

The fourth installment of Enter The Void is about possibly the strangest recent Cannes hit you can find on Netflix: S1E4: Film: Holy Motors (2012) Director: Leos Carax Starring: Denis Lavant, Édith Scob, Kylie Minogue, Eva Mendes Links: IMDb: Holy Motors Wikipedia: Holy Motors YouTube: MERDE from Tokyo! Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

For the third time out Enter The Void takes on a newer film, in fact, it's master of body horror David Cronenberg's latest California-by-way-of-Canada extravaganza: S1E3: Film: Maps to the Stars (2014) Director: David Cronenberg Starring: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams Links: IMDb: Maps to the Stars Wikipedia: Maps to the Stars Review: Matt Zoller Seitz Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

In the second installment of Enter The Void, we try our best to disentangle the 2004 winner of the 2004 Sundance grand jury prize, truly an example of how movies like this can hurt your head if you try to think about them. S1E2: Film: Primer (2004) Director: Shane Carruth Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan Links: IMDb: Primer Wikipedia: Primer Infographic: How time travel works in Primer Infographic: The nine timelines of Primer Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist

It's the debut episode of Enter The Void! We hope you're as excited to talk about crazy, mind-altering films as we are. And we'll kick things off with... S1E1: Film: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) Director: Brian DePalma Starring: William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper Episode links: IMDb: Phantom of the Paradise Wikipedia: Phantom of the Paradise Vimeo: RogerEbert.com review New York Times: Blu-ray release review The Dissolve: The devil's bargains and unsparing satire of Phantom of the Paradise Rocky Music: Soundtrack lyrics Show links: Website: enterthevoid.fm Twitter: @enterthepod Facebook: Enter The Void Podcast Spotify: Enter The Void playlist