Hidden in the Mind: Ken Russell's Altered States 

This week Mr. Chavez and I continue our exploration of mind-altering narratives with a look at Ken Russell's 1980 Hollywood debut, Altered States. While not a completely successful film, there are elements here that force the audience to look deeper into the subject of sensory deprivation, isolation tanks, hallucinogenic drugs and the controversial work of counterculture  scientist, John C. Lilly. Perhaps a victim of 1980s cinematic limitations, Russell's film (from a screenplay by noted playwright and screenwriter, Paddy Chayefksy) touches on a number of interesting factors without being able to successfully depict them on screen. As always, it's an interesting conversation between the two of us, and one that we believe you will enjoy. There's quite a bit to unpack in this episode. We hope you'll join us. Questions, Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks. 

If you've listened to us over the years, or if you're new to the podcast, and you'd like to support us you can click on the link below and donate to this long-running labor of love. Simply click on the link below and go to the Buy Me a Coffee website. Anything and Everything is Appreciated.

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The Suffering in Between:

Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder

This week Ibrahim & I continue looking into the world of challenging and painful cinema. In 1990 Adrian Lyne directed Bruce Joel Rubin's  screenplay (considered one of the great unfilmed screenplays for the ten years before the production) of Jacob's Ladder (Rubin would also write that year's Ghost). Filled with troubling imagery and an arguably confusing narrative that rewards its viewers with a dark, pained, and powerful story, Lyne's film is one that failed at the box office, found a new life on home video and (it can be argued) led towards a darker cinema of the 1990s led by directors such as David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aaronofsky, and Christopher Nolan. Not an entirely successful film, but a film that was an early trumpeting of things to come. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks. 

If you've listened to us over the years, or if you're new to the podcast, and you'd like to support us you can click on the link below and donate to this long-running labor of love. Simply click on the link below and go to the Buy Me a Coffee website. Anything and Everything is Appreciated. 

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/watchrickramos

Tokyo Book of the Dead: Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void 

This week Mr. Chavez and I examine the work of a controversial and polarizing director, Gaspar Noé. Noé made headlines in the early 2000s with Irreversible, a film that continues to upset audiences and challenges filmmaking conventions. With Enter the Void (2009), Noé doubled down and created a film that divided critics calling it both "captivating and innovative" and "tedious and puerile." The argument continues on this week's episode. Watch the film, listen, and agree or disagree. We'd love to hear from you at gondoramos@yahoo.com 

If you've listened to us over the years, or if you're new to the podcast, and you'd like to support us you can click on the link below and donate to this long-running labor of love. Simply click on the link below and go to the Buy Me a Coffee website. Anything and Everything is Appreciated. 

https://bmc.link/watchrickramos

A Little Girl's Dream:  Terry Gilliam's Tideland

Troubled throughout his career for circumstances - oftentimes - beyond his control (inadequate budgets - Munchausen, studio interference - Brazil and The Brothers Grimm, flash floods - Quixote, and death - Parnassus), Terry Gilliam has somehow been able to create some of the most incredible images ever committed to the big screen. From the great adventures of Baron Munchausen through an abandoned Philadelphia future overrun by wild animals, into an acid trip vision of 1970s Las Vegas, Gilliam is responsible for creating magic on screen that can only be described by his own adjective - Gilliamesque. With his 2005 look into the life of a nine-year old girl, Jelizah-Rose (Jodelle Ferland), orphaned and left to survive in an abandoned home on the Texas plains, Gilliam began a strange and interesting late career struggle for understanding. The films definitely changed. Pulling strongly from Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, at 64 Gilliam created one of the most difficult and polarizing films of his career. (According to Gilliam, fellow Python, Michael Palin, called the film - either the greatest thing he has ever done, or the worst.) The fact is that polarizing and difficult films are the films that need to be looked at, examined, and talked about. That's all we're really trying to do with this (and every one of our) episode(s). Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com

Special Note: We're trying something new in this episode. If you've listened to us over the years, or if you're new to the podcast, and you'd like to support us you can click on the link below and donate to this long-running labor of love. Simply click on the link below and go to the Buy Me a Coffee website. Anything and Everything is Appreciated. 

https://bmc.link/watchrickramos