Words and Movies

In Part 2 of our episode, we look at 1990s The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. This film, directed by Fred Schepisi, features Connery as a British Intelligence agent (wait...what?) who's looking for the author of a sensitive Soviet manuscript whose contents, if true, could mean a great deal to the Intelligence Community.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Next time, we stick with LeCarre novels rendered on film, with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and A Most Wanted Man (2014), Join us, won't you?

Our look at Spy films takes a more serious turn with this look at a pair of movies based on John LeCarre novels.

We start with The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965), directed by Martin Ritt and starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. It's a tale of a spy who chooses one more mission instead of coming in after a Cold War mission goes wrong.

In Part 2, we'll move on to The Russia House, from 1990.

In the second half of our episode, we're reviewing the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker parody Top Secret! starring Val Kilmer playing an Elvis/Beach Boys pop star who is invited to perform in East Germany as a means of distraction from a plot to destroy NATO submarines. Typical of most ZAZ films, it's chock full of weird sight gags, bent cliches and multi-layered jokes that don't distract (much) from the main story's ability to make progress and give you an outcome you didn't realize you were invested in.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

We stick with the spy genre for a while, but on a less-comedic note as we visit several movies based on John LeCarre novels. In our next episode we start with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) and from there we visit The Russia House (1990). Join us, won't you?

What happens when you're an Ordinary Schmoe who suddenly gets sucked into the spy game? This is what we're exploring this week, as we look at a pair of films dedicated to the proposition that anyone can become a spy, if they're stupid enough.

We start with The In-Laws, from 1979 and directed by Arthur Hiller. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are soon-to-be in-laws who get caught up in an international incident shortly before their children get married.

In Part 2, we'll take a peek at Top Secret! from 1984.

In Part Two of our episode, we review Cold War, a film from 2018 that follows a couple that can't seem to get their act together, not until the very end, when it's far too late to do anything about it. Wiktor and Zula find themselves on opposite sides of several things, ultimately on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. He's smitten enough to return to Communist Poland, sacrificing his freedom and delaying their reunion for years. She finds a way to get him released early, which ends up being a huge sacrifice for her as well. Whether it was worth it for the two of them to be together, we'll leave it for you to decide.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Episodes 71-73 will cover--or maybe it's "undercover" spy films, but we're going to start off light, with a pair of spy comedies. First up will be The In-Laws, from 1979, starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk. After that we'll look at Top Secret!, a 1984 spoof that asks what might happen if Elvis did a spy movie.

Welcome Back! Sean and Claude took a little Spring Break and we hope you were able to do the same.

For our 70th episode, we take a peek at two films that involve couples dealing with life on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Part One features The Unbearable Lightness of Being, directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin. In this film we have a couple who find themselves going from the Prague Spring to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the events afterward. How they deal with life, love and the things that are thrown their way, you'll find quite touching.

In Part Two, we'll look at a rather star-crossed couple that finds itself on opposite sides of many different lines, in 2018's Cold War.

In this half of the show, we jump to the early 1960s as four more icons come together ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...(2020). This meeting is a little more contentious than in INSIGNIFICANCE, and while this meeting didn't happen, the characters and their reactions have a truthful feel that allows you to believe it would have been exactly like this.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Next time around, we look at love during wartime, as we screen THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988), a story that takes place in the late 1960s in Prague and Switzerland. Then we skip back to post-WW2 Poland for COLD WAR (2018). Both films have similar endings but how they get there is vastly different. Join us, won't you?

We stick with the fantasy thing for one more week, but with a different spin, as we examine a pair of films that have more of a "What If?" thing going on.

In the first half of our episode we have INSIGNIFICANCE (1985), based on the play of the same name by Terry Johnson and directed here by Nicolas Roeg. We see four almost-unnamed famous people come together in a very interesting way in the late 1950s. Whether you believe the events here could have happened is up to you, but you'll be entranced nonetheless.

In Part 2, we'll see another quartet of icons meeting in the early 1960s, in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...(2020).

In this half of the episode we're talking about Hanna, directed by Joe Wright and starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role. This is truly a modern-day story, with story beats that have fairy-tale aspects to them...and a couple of scenes that are more overtly related to fairy tales.

This film was the basis for the Amazon Prime TV series of the same name, and we spend a little time exploring the differences between the two.

We continue our series of modern-day fairy tales with The Bride With White Hair, from 1993. It's a Wuxia film with a star-crossed lovers element, and while it might be a little confusing early on, stick with it and you'll be glad you did.

In this second half of the episode, we're reviewing Mona Lisa, a film from 1986 directed and co-written by Neil Jordan. Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson are an unlikely pair doing unlikely stuff.

And if you've noticed that I haven't drawn the specific parallels to the fairy tales involved, you'd be correct. You'll have to listen to the episode for that.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In Reel 68, we'll be checking out another pair of modern fairy tales, but they'll be foreign-based and a little more esoteric. First we'll screen The Bride With White Hair (1993), a Hong Kong film directed by Ronny Yu. After that we go to Scandinavia for Hanna (2011), directed by Joe Wright and the inspiration for the 2019 Netflix series. Join us, won't you?

This is the first of two episodes where we look at fairy tales told through a modern lens. In this half, we start off with Ball of Fire (1941), directed by Howard Hawks and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper and a host of character actors.

Stanwyck plays a woman hiding out from the police because she's a material witness to a crime. She finds herself staying with a house full of scholars who are putting together an encyclopedia of all human knowledge. In exchange, she gives them some lessons in modern-day language and pop culture in general. And, of course, hijinks ensue when she starts falling for one of the scholars.

In the second half of the episode, we'll be looking at 1986's Mona Lisa. See you over there.

We conclude our short series with a look at Ocean's Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and a Cast of Thousands. In both films everybody seems to be having some breezy fun, but the purpose of that fun is kind of different, and it works better here. Again, that's in our humble opinions.

Ordinarily, when we see a film that's a remake of a previous movie, we tend to say that the original was better. But in this second of two episodes, we discuss a pair of films in which the remake was the superior version, at least in our humble opinions.

Here in Part One, we're looking at The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), directed by John McTiernan and starring Pierce Brosnan and René Russo. There are several differences between the two, but most noticeable is the chemistry between the two leads.

In Part Two, we'll be reviewing the 2001 version of Ocean's Eleven.

In Part 2 of our episode, we go to 1988 and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, directed by Frank Oz. It's the second of FOUR different versions of this story: the original from 1964, this version, and then two which involved gender flips. Of the four, this is the best one, so say we.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

We continue this remake conceit with another pair of films that worked out better when they were remade. First up, from 1999 it's The Thomas Crown Affair, then we move forward a couple of years to Ocean's Eleven, from 2001. Join us, won't you? 

We so often complain that Hollywood has no original ideas, but then we're also forced to concede occasionally that from time to time, the remake actually does a better job of telling the story.

We don't enjoy conceding that, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

With that in mind, this is the first of two episodes taking a look at films whose remakes surpassed the originals. First one up is The Man Who Knew Too Much, from 1956. This Alfred Hitchcock-directed film leans heavily on weird coincidences to get the story rolling, but you'll feel the tension from the moment the characters do. You may not even hate hearing Doris Day sing what became her signature song.

In Part Two we'll jump to 1988 to talk about Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Here in Part Two, we look at the 2016 edition of Loving. This film, which was directed by Jeff Nichols, stars Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, the real-life couple who turned their relationship into a Federal case.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Our next episode is the first of two in which we examine remakes that surpassed their originals. And we start with The Man Who Knew Too Much, from 1956, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, from 1988. See you soon!

We return to the well of two films whose only commonality is their title. In this episode we look at Loving, from 1970 and 2016.

The first half of our episode stars George Segal and Eva Marie Saint, and was directed by Irvin Kershner. Segal stars as a freelance artist who's attempting to revitalize his career just as his marriage to Eva Marie Saint begins to fall apart. It's a serious story with a comic overlay and you'll wonder why it doesn't get more attention these days.

In Part 2 we'll look at a different film with a very different theme.

Our conversation jumps to 1987. This No Way Out stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman and Sean Young in a story of Cold War intrigue. We practically guarantee that you'll be caught off-guard by the way everything resolves. Strap yourself in; we had a LOT to say.

For the next two episodes, we'll be looking at films whose only commonality is their title.

In this episode we're screening two films titled No Way Out. In the first half, it's the 1950 version starring Sidney Poitier in his feature film debut, along with Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell and Stephen McNally. Poitier is a doctor who runs into race issues and a medical complication during his first night in a new assignment. The issue snowballs until there's a full race riot going  on. Poitier's character comes up with an interesting tactic to prove he did the right thing that first night, but it nearly backfires on him.

In Part Two of our episode, it's Starship Troopers, from 1997. Paul Verhoeven takes us to a far future society in which everyone is free so long as you're a Fascist. There are a lot of elements of Robert A. Heinlein's original story in there, but it's definitely a different plot line and a different mentality that, in hindsight, may have been more prescient than anyone suspected at the time.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In our next episode, we take a peek at a pair of films where the only thing they have in common is their title. After that, all bets are off. We'll be screening the films No Way Out, from 1950 and from 1987.

We've covered several different kinds of adaptations, and the one thing that they have in common is that they're in some way faithful to their source material. This time around, not so much.

And that's why this episode is titled "Subversive Adaptations." In these two films, the intent of some portion of the original story has been turned on its head to give you a similar story, but perhaps with a different point of view, or to present a different message from the source.

We begin with Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955. Robert Aldrich set out specifically to attack the right-wing ethos of Mickey Spillane's story, and we benefit from a constant romp of action and intrigue from beginning to end.

In Part Two, we'll look at 1997's Starship Troopers.

...nope, still ain't done.

From Texas we come to Boston and 2003's Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood. It's a powerful film about a trio of boys, one of whom is caught up in a bad situation. Many years later, this event still haunts all three of them.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Join us as we take on a couple of subversive adaptations. First up is Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955. Then we jump to 1997 or, if you prefer, the far future, with Starship Troopers. Were they good? Bad? Weird? Or did you just not get the message they were sending? Stay tuned!

...but it sure ain't done with us.

And that's what's going on with this week's extra-packed episode. We have a couple of films wherein the characters are trying to deal with events in the distant past.

We start it off with Lone Star, from 1996. John Sayles directed this film about a sheriff who's living in his father's shadow in a small Texas border town, and a murder from many years ago.

In Part Two, we head to Boston for a dip in the Mystic River.

In the second half of our episode, we're looking at the Oscar-winning film PARASITE, co-written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. In this film, a poor Korean family slowly infiltrates themselves into the lives of a wealthy family. That they do so isn't necessarily bad; how they do it is a little on the questionable side. But there are a lot of twists and turns in this dark comedy, and every time you think you know what's going to happen next, you'll find yourself surprised.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In Reel 61 (remember, we're a wee bit out of order, here), we visit a couple of towns where the residents think they're done with the past, but it isn't necessarily done with them. We have LONE STAR from 1996, and MYSTIC RIVER, from 2003.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

As we get back on track with our episode counts, we discover the downside of capitalism, specifically that there are people who need to take advantages of cracks in the system to get along.

In the first half of our episode we take a peek at SHOPLIFTERS, from 2018 and directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. It's a look at a very unusual family in Tokyo and the steps they take to keep themselves together.

In Part 2 we jump to Korea and look at PARASITE, from a year later.

In Part 2 of this episode, we look at the 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence, directed by Philip Noyce. In this film the characters aren't confronting their sins, but it's a modern-day reckoning of events that have taken place within the lifetimes of some people who are still alive today. You'll find yourself running through a gamut of emotions as you trail three young girls as they make their way across hundreds of miles of Australia on foot.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

As I noted, Episode 59 actually comes next, so we'll be back to Shoplifters and Parasite. Save all the notes you took, OK?

What happened to Episode 59? I hear you saying. Well...I explain it at the start of the episode, but the short answer is that I had a post-production issue, so the episode will be delayed. So because Episode 60 is the last of the Around the World in 20 Films series, we decided to release this one and give you a brand-new Episode 59 next time around. And just temporarily ignore the previews for Episode 61, although in that respect they'll be accurate.

So we take a brief detour to New Zealand and Australia, for a couple of films in which past sins are confronted. Here in Part 1 we're viewing Once Were Warriors, a 1994 film directed by Lee Tamahori. In this one the sins are rather recent, in the living memories of all the characters. It's a compelling story that will pull your emotions in different directions as you work out just who the bad guy is, here.

In Part 2 we jump to Western Australia to check out the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

In Part 2 of this week's episode, we move to Spain, for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), directed by Pedro Almodovar. It's a movie that takes some serious subject matters and plays them for comedy, but despite that there are no false notes among all the weird coincidences we bump into.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

We return to Asia for our next episode. Our first entry is the Japanese film Shoplifters (2018), which also has some serious moments in it, but overall it's a truly adorable story. Then in Part 2 we move to Korea for Parasite (2019), which won FOUR--count 'em, four Oscars, including three pretty big ones.

Films featuring women as the central character often have depressingly similar threads moving through them, as though women in general were monolithic beings. This time around, we continue our trip Around the World in Twenty Films with a look at two films centered on women who are affected by their jobs, but who aren't defined by them. In Part One we have When A Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960), directed by Mikio Naruse. It's a Japanese film that takes a glance askance at the Geisha life.

In Part 2, we'll move to Spain, to look in on a few Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown.

In the second half of our episode we're looking at events After the Wedding, from 2006. As with most big events, people learn things about themselves--and each other--and this is no exception. But the revelation that takes place this time around has some strange implications for someone who'd come to the event for another reason altogether.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Our journey Around the World in Twenty Films continues with visits to Japan and Spain. First up is When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, from 1960. Then it's 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a slightly misleading translation of the original title. Go watch them! Then come back here!

Weddings are funny things, but mostly if you're not directly involved with them.

They're typically big and with that bigness comes the big drama that comes with large numbers of people coming together in one place. But there's also a commonality to these events, even if the specific rituals are different.

In this episode we continue our Around the World in Twenty Films series, first with a stop in India, to check out 2001's Monsoon Wedding, directed by Mira Nair. It's a comedy that nonetheless has a dark-ish storyline getting lighter toward the end, and a second, lighter story getting darker toward the end. We see many of the events leading up to an arranged marriage of two young people. Will the events of the movie affect the wedding itself? Who knows! (Well, we do. We saw the film and we're reviewing it, so.)

Stay tuned for Part Two when we go to another part of India, then jump to Denmark for After the Wedding, from 2006 and directed by Susanne Bier.

In this mini-episode recorded on June 27, Sean and Claude talk about the recent staffing changes over at Turner Classic Movies and the impact it's having on people, not only the viewers but the people who are so intimately involved with the medium, such as Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Listen in, and worry along with us.

In the second half of today's episode, we'll be reviewing The Edge of Heaven from 2007, directed by Fatih Akim. It's a film entirely about missed connections that will frustrate you, but eventually you manage to settle in and accept what happens (or doesn't).

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Put on your rented tuxedo, because we're going to a couple of weddings. First, from 2001, it's Monsoon Wedding, an Indian comedy-drama directed by Mira Nair. Although it takes place in India, you'll recognize most of the drama that happens when extended families find themselves in one place. 

From there we're off to Denmark and 2007's After the Wedding, a 2006 Danish-Swedish drama directed by Susanne Bier. It's a complex story about people with complex motivations, and the people affected by them. 

This week we're focusing on a pair of films that feature many missed connections, giving our title a touch of irony.

In this first half we're featuring Exotica, from 1994, directed by Atom Egoyan. It's a film where two parallel storylines are tied together by a third one which, oddly enough, isn't concurrent with the other two. Egoyan plays fair, though: he leaves the clues there for you; it's up to you to pick them up and put the pieces together.

In Part Two, we'll travel from Canada to Turkey, to review 2007's The Edge of Heaven.

As noted previously, this half of the episode focuses on 2008's The Baader-Meinhof Complex, directed by Uli Edel. It's a true-story thriller that depicts the activities of a terrorist group in West Germany over a ten-year period beginning in the late 1960s. There are times when you're drawn into the story enough that you find yourself leaning toward rooting for the bad guys, but ultimately you'll come to your senses and see that there's no other way this story could end.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

As Sean notes, for the next few episodes the films will be from different nations. The theme of next week's episode is "Only Connect" and once you see these films you'll realize why. We'll begin with Exotica, from 1994, written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It's a Canadian film but it could take place anywhere in North America. And from there we go to 1997's The Edge of Heaven, a Turkish-German drama written and directed by Fatih Akın. It's a film whose near-misses you may find frustrating, but again there's no other way for this story to go.

Or, Claude Writes Another Too-Clever Title Prompting Sean to Send Perplexed DMs.

In this episode of our Around the World in Twenty Films series, we look at a pair of films in which German citizens are forced to confront their own past. This isn't in a whole "The Nazis were us the entire time!" kind of attitude but rather in the way that some of the tactics that were employed in the past are coming back in subtle ways to haunt their present.

And we start with The Lives of Others, from 2006, which was written and directed (his directorial debut) by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It's 1984 and the fall of the Berlin Wall is still a few years away, which means that everyone in East Germany is subject to surveillance of one kind or another. It's a Communist country and everyone is equal, but clearly some people are more equal than others. And people like Georg Dreyman, a playwright of some renown, is subject to extra scrutiny not because of his political views, which generally align with the government's, but because the Minister of Culture is hot for Dreyman's girlfriend. And Gerd Wiesler, the agent assigned to monitor Dreyman, spends most of his time listening in on Dreyman's life. What happens when Dreyman's work starts to turn its political eye in another direction? We talk about that, and a bunch of other stuff in Part One of our episode.

In Part Two, we jump to the other side of the Berlin Wall and 2008's The Baader-Meinhof Complex.

We continue our trip Around the World in Twenty Films with a stop in France, where we look at a couple of films largely from the criminals' point of view.

We start with 1960's Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard's innovative film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Sebring. Belmondo plays a criminal on the run who spends some time hiding out with an old girlfriend. Some of the foreign posters kind of give away the ending to this film, but it's doubtful that this conclusion would come as a big surprise to most viewers, anyway.

In Part Two we jump to 1970 to review Le Cercle Rouge.

In this half of the episode, we take a hard look at Performance, the 1970 film starring James Fox and Mick Jagger. They, along with Michele Breton and Anita Pallenberg, create a quartet that gets mixed up in drugs and sex to the point where minds are shattered. Most of the last 15 minutes of the film, we guarantee you will not see coming.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

In Episode 54 we go to France and review two movies that have crime at their center. From 1960, it's Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, followed by Le Cercle Rouge, from 1970 and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. We spend perhaps more time than necessary musing on the ending to Breathless. Come join us in the confusion, won't you?

In this episode Sean and Claude look at a pair of films involving people and their personalities, and how they can disassociate from themselves and each other, and manage to come back together in unusual ways.

First on the slate is Ingmar Bergman's Persona, from 1966. It stars Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman as a nurse and her patient who have been isolated in a beach house for several weeks. By the end of the film, it's unclear who has cured whom...and of what.

In Reel 53b, we continue the episode with Performance, from 1970.

In the second half of our episode, we look at The Secret in Their Eyes, a 2009 crime-drama that comes from director Juan José Campanella, which is far superior to the 2015 American remake. It's about a mystery that takes many years to solve, and features an ending that will literally have you gasping out loud, maybe all the way through the credits.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

From South America we go to Europe, for a look at a couple of movies where peoples' minds and personalities are somehow morphed into something else. First up is Ingmar Bergman's Persona, from 1966, and then we go to 1970 and a film called Performance, directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, and featuring Mick Jagger and James Fox.

Continuing our trip Around the World in Twenty Films, in this episode we're stopping off in South America.

We begin in an unnamed country that's almost certainly Uruguay, with the based-on-a-true-story State of Siege, directed by Juan José Campanella. It's a film whose ending you already know, but you quickly forget about as you get pulled into the storyline.

In Part 2, we'll be jumping to Chile for the crime drama The Secret In Their Eyes.

In this second half of our episode, we take a look at 2018's Roma, a film set largely in Mexico City, despite the title.

Roma has the distinction among Cuarón's films to be released on a very limited basis in theaters, and since then exclusively on Netflix. They've done this a couple of times (see also: The Irishman), but whether this turns into a larger model remains to be seen.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

We continue south on our world tour with 1972's State of Siege, directed by Costa-Gavras, and The Secret in Their Eyes from 2009, directed by Juan José Campanella. This is a compelling pair of films with very different stories.

Alfonso Cuarón does know his Mexico, and it shows in these two films as we begin our trip around the world.

We start with Y Tu Mama Tambien, certainly one of the horniest movies we've ever reviewed. This 2001 effort involves a pair of teenagers taking a road trip with a much older, quite attractive, married woman. There are sexy moments and there are sad moments, and there are other moments when you think you know what a character is doing, but are you ever so wrong in your guess.

In Part 2, we look at a more recent film of Cuarón's, Roma, from 2018. Join us, won't you?

Hey, folks: The next ten episodes are going to cover a variety of foreign films from all over the world. Sean went through a very meticulous process to curate this particular list, and in this mini-episode, we're going to chat a little bit about what first got us interested in foreign films, and the criteria that he used to select these titles. 

In the second half of our episode, we spend some time with Singles, from 1992 and directed by Cameron Crowe. This film is about the lives and loves of a half-dozen young adults, most of whom live in the same apartment complex. But, of course, this has nothing to do with the NBC hit comedy Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004. Cameron Crowe himself has said that he was approached about adapting Singles to a TV series but he turned the studio down; only a few months later, Friends gets the green light. Crazy coincidence, or what? You be the judge! 

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

During the next batch of episodes, we'll be taking you around the world. And we start by going south of the border, down Mexico way. We'll be looking at Y tu mamá también, and then Roma, both directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Despite both films having the same director, we're getting a pair of very different stories. Join us, won't you? 

Holy moley, we've made it to 50 episodes! 

This time around we're checking out a pair of films that were likely the basis of television shows, even though the official story is that there's no connection. 

We start off with Stalag 17, directed and co-written by Billy Wilder. This 1953 film stars William Holden in an Oscar-winning performance, along with Don Taylor, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Richard Erdman, Michael Moore, Sig Ruman, and Otto Preminger. Its worth noting that Strauss and Lembeck also appeared in the original Broadway production.

There are numerous elements of this film which turned up in the subsequent television show, Hogan's Heroes, which ran on CBS from 1965-1971. Those would include the fact that both productions are set in a World War Two German POW camp, both have a Sergeant Schulz, and both have a stove camouflaging an escape tunnel. (Claude noted that Hogan's Heroes is also in Stalag 17 but his memory is faulty here; Hogan and Co. were being held in Stalag 13.)

In Part Two, we take a look at another film that--on paper--has no connection to a TV series. 

In Part 2 of our episode, we jump to 2018 and the film Widows, directed by Steve McQueen and adapted from a British TV series. 

Claude really wanted to call this episode "Girls Kicking Ass," but he chickened out and didn't try to talk Sean into changing it, so "Female Thieves" it was and "Female Thieves" it remained. (Yes, we've used a few of Claude's titles, and Sean is kind enough not to roll his eyes too hard as he acquiesces.) 

But the fact is, the girls do kick ass in these two films, and they don't even bother taking names, 'cause that's just going to slow them down in their pursuit of whatever they're pursuing. And while both of these films involve women and their capers, it's interesting to see that they have vastly different approaches to them, based on circumstance and motivation.

To that end, we begin with 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's directed by Ang Lee and stars Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh. The film is a highly-stylized Wuxia film whose action sequences are simultaneously tough to believe and breathtakingly beautiful.

In part 2, we'll jump to 2018 and Widows, directed by Steve McQueen.