Join Adolfo and Mark on today’s adventure: Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) On this week’s show: Orange Fanta Criterion Collection discussions Organizing physical media TCM Wine Club Colorized newsreels The true story that inspired Saving Private Ryan The actors boot camp Late 90s young Hollywood The epic Omaha Beach sequence Helmets are useless Nazis are bad! Bryan Cranston! FUBAR The Statue of Liberty is kaput Are there “good” war movies? The biggest movie of 1998 The Academy...

We ARE big! It's the podcasts that got small. Today we delve into the Hollywood nightmare of Billy Wilder's SUNSET BLVD. (1950) On this week’s show: Our weird movie year COVID adventures RIP Chadwick Boseman Joe the Gigolo Skirting the production code How Gloria Stuart built Paramount Why Montgomery Clift turned down the film RIP Olivia De Haviland Is Holden too old for Olsen? How Wilder filmed the pool shot The original opening of the film What is a “reader” “This year I’m trying to make...

Fasten your seatbelts as Adolfo and Mark take you on a bumpy podcast! On today’s adventure: ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) On this week’s show: • Quarantine movie woes • Mark’s sleazy movie tastes • How we first experienced the film • Unmatched dialogue • Adolfo owns the film in multiple formats • Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert and Joan Crawford were all considered for Margot Channing. • Bette Davis’ “difficult” reputation. • Ronald Reagan was a ham • The on-set conflict with Davis and a young...

Yo, Adrian! Take your mind off what’s going on in the world and join Adolfo and Mark on today’s adventure: John G Avildsen’s ROCKY (1976) On this week’s show: How the current pandemic has affected the movie industry. How people’s first impression of Rocky is often wrong Thunderlips: The Ultimate Male Stallone is a carny Stallone’s story of the making of Rocky is a little too Hollywood The unlikely names suggested for the role of Rocky before Stallone insisted on playing the role himself The...

Merry Christmas! Happy Holiday! On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo goes solo as he dives into the 1942 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire Christmas classic, HOLIDAY INN! We go deep into the origins of the film, what song was SUPPOSED to be the big single, the legacy of the "White Christmas" song and the controversy of the "Abraham" number. Just in time for Christmas Eve, enjoy this present from the Essential Films Podcast!

Happy Thanksgiving! Let's celebrate those rare movies that celebrate annual autumn holiday that gives us pause to say thanks. So, to thank YOU for listening to the Essential Films Podcast, here's a bonus episode.

It's Alive! On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark know what it feels like to be God as they discuss James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN (1931) On this week’s show: How we first discovered the classic monster film Featuring ? as the Monster Feeling sympathy for the Creature Book Fairs and Famous Movie Monsters Mr. Willie’s Represent How Universal came to be known as the monster studio Bela Lugosi as the Monster?? The Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff “feud” The legend of how James Whale discovered...

Magic Mirror, on the wall, what is the greatest movie podcast of them all?... On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down to discuss SNOW WHITE AND THE DWARFS (137) On this week’s show: The voice casting process The differences between the film and the Brothers Grimm story Deafy, Jumpy, Baldy, Tubby, Hickey, Dizzy and Burpy? Rotoscoping The multiplane camera The storybook opening trope Misquoted movie lines Prince Charming is not woke The Queen's awesome transformation Snow White is a...

Join Adolfo and Mark on this bonus episode as they discuss Mark’s Alamo Adventures, CREEPSHOW (1982), MIDSOMMAR (2019), VERTIGO (1958), READY OR NOT (2019), THE GOONIES (1985), Cyndi Lauper, APOCALYPSE NOW: THE FINAL CUT, HOT SHOTS PART DEUX (1993), THE GODFATHER: THE COMPLETE EPIC, THE GODFATHER PART III (1990) and The GODZILLA Criterion Collection Set

Hello Darkness, my old friend... On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down to discuss THE GRADUATE (1967) On this week’s show: Adolfo goes into detail as to why he doesn’t like the film, but thinks everyone should watch it Netflix Disc Rentals Criterion Flash Sales Trying to impress girls with your wokeness Interesting names considered for Mrs Robinson and Benjamin Braddock roles Mrs Potts as Mrs Robinson? Redford as Benjamin Braddock The (lack of) significant age difference between...

On today's podcast odyssey, Adolfo and Mark journey into the unknown across time and space as they take a deep dive into Stanley Kubrick's enigmatic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). Listen as they discuss the origins of the film, how it was co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, the ahead-of-their time visual effects, the meaning of that head-scratching ending and the "soul" of HAL 9000. Plus: God, the creation of the universe and everything in between.

In this Bonus Features episode, recorded before our Silence of the Lambs episode, Adolfo and Mark discuss the glory that is Jeff Goldblum. From EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY to THE FLY to THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK to... VIBES?

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down with some fava beans and a nice chianti as they discuss Jonathan Demme’s horror classic THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)   On this week’s show:   The Polar Vortex Mark’s mother subjects him to the horrors of Hannibal Lecter Brian Cox: always a bad guy Gene Hackman… director? RIP Jonathan Demme Original casting choices including Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Connery The “real life” Jack Crawford: John Douglas Buffalo Bill is Captain...

MERRY CHRISTMAS! On today’s holiday podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss: 45 minutes all to myself Holiday shopping Holiday favorites Rosemary Clooney’s phenomenal performance of “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me” Fred Astaire was the original choice to play Phil Davis. VistaVision and the beautiful colors that pop off the screen. George Chakiris cameo Vera-Ellen’s tiny waist What happened to this business? Modern Musicals VS Classic Musicals Weirdsmobile! FILMS REFERENCED: HOLIDAY INN...

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark unsheath their swords and grab some sandals as they discuss William Wyler’s 1959 cinematic epic, BEN-HUR! On this week’s show: •Sauce or gravy? •Thanksgiving Movie Traditions •William Wyler’s work on the original BEN-HUR •“It took a Jew to make a good movie about Jesus.” •The genre of Christian Epics •Not showing Jesus’ face •No CGI, just a lot of money put into practical effects, props and sets •Charlton as a Jew or as a Mexican? •Homoerotic...

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark go a little mad for Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) On this week’s show: • Discovering Hitchcock • One of the earliest “slasher” films • The Bernard Herrmann score and Mark’s uh… impression(?) of it. • Hitchcock’s A-list B-Movie • “No Bail for the Judge” • How Hitchcock convinced Paramount to distribute the film • The book by Robert Bloch • Ed Gein and the on-screen villains he “inspired” • The “Inside Psycho” podcast • Setting a new level of...

NOTE: Watch Adolfo Acosta on Turner Classic Movies, introducing CITY LIGHTS with Ben Manciewicz, this Sunday, October 14 at 11 AM CT/12 PM ET On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark go back to the silent era for Charles Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS (1931)! The film that got Adolfo a fan programmer spot on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES(!) On this week’s show: Discovering Charlie Chaplin movies. The best introduction to Chaplin Silent films in the “Talkie” era CITY LIGHTS isn’t really a “silent”...

BONUS FEATURES Warning: The following is unedited raw audio with NSFW language. In this episode: Mark’s buried treasure Vinegar Syndrome Cult Movies Mark’s film canister unboxing Mark’s penchant for trash cinema Does Cinemax exist? Boutique Labels Shedding some DVD weight Films Referenced: ORGY OF THE DEAD (1965) THIS,THAT AND THE OTHER! (1970) I DRINK YOUR BLOOD (1970) SHAFT (1971) SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG (1971) TROUBLE MAN (1972) SUPER FLY (1972) PETS...

What is thy bidding, our masters? On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark learn about the ways of the force and resist the Dark Side as they discuss the 1980 STAR WARS epic: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! On this week’s show: The lack of hype for SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY How we first experienced EMPIRE The 1995 THX Remastered VHS tapes The film’s most famous line is often misquoted George Lucas as an independent filmmaker Hiring Irvin Kershner as Director The early versions of the story The 1997...

BONUS EPISODE! Raw unproduced audio of Adolfo and Mark shooting the breeze. On today’s adventure: Mark’s Alamo Drafthouse Adventures SEVEN (1995) 70 MM of HOWARD THE DUCK (1986) BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) “This is what happens when you French a stranger in the Alps!” THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) VERTIGO (1958) GREASE (1976) THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) GEMINI (2018) Arnie’s mustache PUMPING IRON (1977) SSSSSSS (1973) THE BIRDS II: LAND’S END (1994) PHASE IV...

We’re back from the Phantom Zone!On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark fight for Truth, Justice and the American way when they discuss the 1978 superhero movie pioneer SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE! On this week’s show: Clamshell VHS Tapes One of the first superhero films Christopher Reeves: Adolfo’s childhood hero Henry Cavill’s mustache Brandon Routh’s Christopher Reeves impression A time when Superhero films were non-existent All superhero movies trace their origin to Superman An important...

On today's show: 42nd STREET (1933) GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 (1935) THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942) GILDA (1946) RICHARD III (1955) THE SEARCHERS (1956) BREATHLESS (1960) BECKET (1964) THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971) THE GODFATHER (1972) EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) MEMENTO (2001) V FOR VENDETTA (2006)

This Week in Film History: •Fritz Lang's Metropolis •Oscar History •To Be or Not To Be •Children of Paradise •James Dean debuts •Vincent Price kills the undead •The Long Goodbye •Deep Red •Lethal Weapon •Fargo & The Big Lewbowski •The Birdcage •Korean horror •"This is Sparta!" and MORE!

This week in Film History: •The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari •The Pilgrim •Lost Horizon •King Kong •The Curse of the Cat People •The Lady Eve •Duck Amuck •This is Spinal Tap •The Hunt For Red October •Dark City •Oscars History

In today's Short Subjects episode, Adolfo goes down the entire list of Academy Award nominees, announced on January 24th. From Best Picture to Best Visual Effects; From Get Out to Dunkirk he covers his thoughts, his predictions and why he thinks Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is overrated.