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Houselights: A Film Director Podcast
If you’re looking for the best movie podcast for everyone who appreciates movies, subscribe to “Houselights” today!
Each week, hosts Darren Moser, John Mills, and Tristan Riddell share what they see as a movie director’s signature approach and how it shaped the movies you love. Join them as they unpack the works of some of the most prominent directors - and the lost works of the most masterful auteurs.
Weekly episodes comprise series featuring works of different directors approached in…
Episodes
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) - Nicholas Meyer | Houselights #120
Released in 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country marked the end of the original Star Trek series' run of films. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, who also…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastWrath of Khan (1982) - Nicholas Meyer | Houselights #119
The 1982 classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered one of the best films in the beloved franchise. The movie follows the classic Star Trek formula…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastGroundhog Day (1993) - Harold Ramis | Houselights #118
Groundhog Day is a 1993 American comedy-drama fantasy film directed by Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a cynical television…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMad Max: Fury Road (2015) - George Miller | Houselights #117
Decades after Thunderdome, Tom Hardy slipped into the role of Max Rockatansky, with Charlize Theron joining him as the original character Furiosa. A box office…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) - George Miller | Houselights #116
Once again starring Mel Gibson and this time featuring Tina Turner - as well as a chart-topping, Golden Globe-and Grammy-nominated hit song - Mad Max Beyond…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMad Max 2 (1981) - George Miller | Houselights #115
George Miller returned to the apocalyptic landscape with The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2. Propelling Max Rockatansky further into a collapsed world fighting for…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMad Max (1979) - George Miller | Houselights #114
George Miller exploded onto the scene with 1979’s Mad Max, which held a world record for box office success for 20 years. Starring the unknown Mel Gibson, what…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastRocky Balboa (2006) - Sylvester Stallone | Houselights #113
Nearly 20 years after the disappointment of Rocky V, Stallone brought Rocky back for an unexpected sequel about an aging idol trapped by past fame and coming…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastRocky IV (1985) - Sylvester Stallone | Houselights #112
Sly Stallone never intended Rocky to go beyond a trilogy but directed him back into the ring for a fight that meant more than a title, but a statement on Cold…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastRocky III (1982) - Sylvester Stallone | Houselights #111
After proving himself with Rocky II, Sylvester Stallone got back in the ring, and the director’s chair, for Rocky III. Launching Mr. T into the stratosphere…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastRocky II (1979) - Sylvester Stallone | Houselights #110
After the hit film and creation of an icon in 1976, Stallone took over the reins as director in 1979 with Rocky II. One major criticism has been that the…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe World's End (2013) - Edgar Wright | Houselights #109
After taking a break to deliver Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright re-teamed with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in 2013 to try to get audiences to The…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastHot Fuzz (2007) - Edgar Wright | Houselights #108
After the success of Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright continued working with collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to deliver 2007’s Hot Fuzz. This…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastShaun of the Dead (2004) - Edgar Wright | Houselights #107
Few modern filmmakers have earned as much respect from fantasy and film fans as Edgar Wright. After a successful run on the cult TV series Spaced, he took on…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastCasino Royale (2006) - Martin Campbell | Houselights #106: Wing of Bond
Bond truly went back to basics in 2006’s Casino Royale, featuring Daniel Craig’s debut as 007. Based on Ian Fleming’s first novel, it updated and reconstructed…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastGoldenEye (1995) - Martin Campbell | Houselights #105: Wing of Bond
Martin Campbell and Pierce Brosnan are finally here as Houselights reviews 1995's "GoldenEye." We continue our "Wing of Bond" as we start in on this soft…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Living Daylights (1987) - John Glen | Houselights #104: Wing of Bond
Timothy Dalton brings a new spin to James Bond in "The Living Daylights" with the help of John Glen. Dalton only had two outings as our favorite spy. Was this…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastFor Your Eyes Only (1981) - John Glen | Houselights #103: Wing of Bond
John Glen's directorial debut of "For Your Eyes Only." saved Eon, and some regard it as putting #JamesBond back on track. This started the perpetual "Just one…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Guy Hamilton | Houselights #102: Wing of Bond
10 years after Goldfinger, Guy Hamilton offered one last Bond pic with “The Man with the Golden Gun.”It was a box office misfire that prompted producers to…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastGoldfinger (1964) - Guy Hamilton | Houselights #101: Wing of Bond
6 films. 5 Bonds. 3 directors. Guy Hamilton kicks off our look at different filmmakers' takes on James Bond through the decades with 1964’s "Goldfinger.” We…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMetropolis (1927) - Fritz Lang | Houselights #100
The Houselights team celebrates 100 episodes! They decided to go back almost 100 years to celebrate 1927's "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang. Does this influential…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Insider (1999) - Michael Mann | Houselights #99
Michael Mann’s The Insider saw him team up again with Al Pacino, this time as the TV producer-journalist who helped expose the deceit undergirding Big Tobacco…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastHeat (1995) - Michael Mann | Houselights #98
Al Pacino. Robert DeNiro. Michael Mann cast two of the most respected actors of a generation opposite each other in 1995’s epic crime drama set in Los Angeles…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Last of the Mohicans (1992) - Michael Mann | Houselights #97
After 1986’s Manhunter bombed, Michael Mann didn’t return to big screen direction until 1992’s The Last of the Mohicans, a sweeping adaptation of James…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMystery Men (1999) - Kinka Usher | Houselights #96
Ditching Demme's "Beloved" due to it being horrifying, we decided to find a one-time director in Kinka Usher and his "Mystery Men." This Schumacher-esque…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastPhiladelphia (1993) - Jonathan Demme | Houselights #95
1993’s Philadelphia was intended to make audiences examine their assumptions and perspectives about the homosexual community and the AIDS crisis. It opened to…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastManhunter (1986) - Michael Mann | Houselights #94: Wing of Hannibal
Michael Mann’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, Manhunter, was a box office bomb. Regardless, it’s gone on to hold a place of special reverence and…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastRed Dragon (2002) - Brett Ratner | Houselights #93: Wing of Hannibal
Critical and audience reception aside, 2001’s “Hannibal” was a massive success. Producers took the hint and went back to the original book to create a prequel…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastHannibal (2001) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #92: Wing of Hannibal
Eager to capitalize on the enduring legacy of Silence of the Lambs, filmmakers tapped Ridley Scott to helm a sequel ten years after Anthony Hopkins captured…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Jonathan Demme | Houselights #91
Released in 1991 and turning Sir Anthony Hopkins into a household name, The Silence of the Lambs remains a cultural landmark of filmmaking with an influence…
Houselights: A Film Director Podcast1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #90
500 years after Christopher Columbus helmed a famous voyage to the "New World," studios saw the potential for boffo box office by releasing movies to…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Last Duel (2021) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #89
2021’s The Last Duel was Ridley Scott’s star-studded foray back into historical epics and it was greeted with general acclaim by critics. But theatrical…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastKingdom of Heaven (2005) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #88
Originally receiving mixed reviews, 2005’s Kingdom of Heaven found new life with a 2006 Director’s Cut. Orlando Bloom anchors this tale set during the 12th…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastGladiator (2000) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #87
Loosely inspired by Rome at the end of the Pax Romana, 2000’s seminal crowd-pleaser Gladiator defined Russell Crowe’s career and remains a benchmark for…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastExodus: Gods and Kings (2014) - Ridley Scott | Houselights #86
Using state-of-the-art visual effects and 3-D immersion, Ridley Scott brings new life to the story of defiant leader Moses as he rises up against the Egyptian…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Howling (1981) - Joe Dante | Houselights #85
Houselights missed one! Joe Dante directed "The Howling" in 1981 and so his first film of the 80s is our last. This movie was a financial success and spawned…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe 'Burbs (1989) - Joe Dante | Houselights #84
Joe Dante closed out the 1980s with "The 'Burbs," a sendup of suburban life and sensibilities with Tom Hanks still in his comic acting phase, starring as an…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastInnerspace (1987) - Joe Dante | Houselights #83
Featuring the charm of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan and the comedy stylings of Martin Short, Joe Dante’s sci-fi comedy Innerspace spins the concept of Fantastic…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastExplorers (1985) - Joe Dante | Houselights #82
One year after Gremlins, Joe Dante delivered a loving homage to the spirit of invention and imagination with the decidedly kid-friendly Explorers. Starring the…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastGremlins (1984) - Joe Dante | Houselights #81
Joe Dante’s Gremlins became a phenomenon and merchandising gold mine, but generated enough controversy that it helped give birth to PG-13 as a rating in the…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastUncle Buck (1989) - John Hughes | Houselights #80
One of John Candy’s signature roles, Uncle Buck was the penultimate work of John Hughes’ directing career. While a broad comedy like his earliest works, does…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastShe's Having a Baby (1988) - John Hughes | Houselights #79
One of John Hughes’ lesser-known works, She’s Having a Baby remains a useful choice in any game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Looking at how pregnancy changes…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastPlanes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) - John Hughes | Houselights #78
Looking to break away from high school adventure stories, John Hughes wrote and directed a story fictionalizing something he knew from his ad agency life: the…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastFerris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - John Hughes | Houselights #77
Matthew Broderick became a household name thanks to John Hughes’ fantasy tale of a high school boy who can’t lose no matter what brash choices he makes. Acting…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastWeird Science (1985) - John Hughes | Houselights #76
John Hughes returns to raunchy adult comedy with teenage boys as the focus, their libidos powering a strange experiment that brings a sexual fantasy to life…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Breakfast Club (1985) - John Hughes | Houselights #75
Perhaps John Hughes’ signature work, the story of several high school malcontents in detention struggling to understand each other and themselves has remained…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastSixteen Candles (1984) - John Hughes | Houselights #74
With his first film, John Hughes exploded onto the scene, not just capturing but shaping the zeitgeist of 1980s teen cinema. Houselights looks back on a film…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Thirteenth Warrior (1999) - John McTiernan | Houselights #73
Released 21 days after The Thomas Crown Affair, this adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead starred Antonio Banderas and caused Omar Sharif to…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - John McTiernan | Houselights #72
Starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, this remake of Norman Jewison’s 1968 film was looking to be a surefire hit in the summer of 1999. But there was…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastDie Hard with a Vengeance (1995) - John McTiernan | Houselights #71
Searching for a hit and retooling a good script, John McTiernan reteamed with Bruce Willis to salve the let-down of Harlin’s Die Hard 2 with "Die Hard with a…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastLast Action Hero (1993) - John McTiernan | Houselights #70
Grab your magic ticket and break the 4th wall to revisit Arnold Schwarzenneger flexing his muscles and clout to make a star-studded action-comedy, helmed by…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMedicine Man (1992) - John McTiernan | Houselights #69
Houselights goes off the beaten path to discover Sean Connery in John McTiernan's film "Medicine Man." Did they discover a lost classic full of chemistry or a…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Hunt for Red October (1990) - John McTiernan | Houselights #68
Houselights enters the House of McTiernan with his work from the 90s. The classic "The Hunt for Red October," is first up and we ask that you give us one ping…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastSleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton | Houselights #67
In Houselights final Tim Burton film of the 90s, we travel to the town of "Sleepy Hollow." A creepy and genuinely funny movie with a powerhouse of cast makes…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastMars Attacks! (1996) - Tim Burton | Houselights #66
This week, Houselights discusses Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" Does this homage to B-movie sci-fi films of the past hold up or should it have never left the 90s?
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastEd Wood (1994) - Tim Burton | Houselights #65
Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" is beloved by critics but was a massive box office failure. The opening credits cost more than the original Ed Wood's "Plan 9."…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastBatman Returns (1992) - Tim Burton | Houselights #64
The last Houselights episode of 2021 discusses the superhero Christmas classic "Batman Returns." Tim Burton's final directorial outing with Batman is extremely…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastEdward Scissorhands (1990) - Tim Burton | Houselights #63
Merry Christmas Eve Eve to all! And what better way to celebrate than listening to Houselights' podcast about the holiday tale of Edward Scissorhands. @drscifi…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastDark City (1998) - Alex Proyas | Houselights #62
Houselights' last Alex Proyas #film is "Dark City." A bizarre film that doesn't spoon-feed the audience and shares a lot of themes with and gets overshadowed…
Houselights: A Film Director PodcastThe Crow (1994) - Alex Proyas | Houselights #61
The Crow - A dark avenger with an avian chaperone. Our next chapter of Houselights is with Alex Proyas as we go way back to the 90s and discuss this cult…