Category Archives: Introductions

“Thank you for giving me back my love of making movies” as said Martin Scorsese at the end of a month of night shoots which, after a disastrous 1983 for the director, embraced chaos and just laughing. In this introduction I look at the fast-paced, stripped-back production of his film After Hours. The audio inContinue reading “After Hours – Introduction”

“I don’t know why people expect art to make sense when they accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense” – David Lynch While he claimed The Straight Story to be his most experimental film, in terms of production Inland Empire may well have that title amongst David Lynch’s work. Featuring much of his loveContinue reading “Inland Empire – Introduction”

Martin Scorsese claims that Raging Bull was where he entirely relearnt how to make films, having reluctantly taken it on after almost dying. In order to do this he may well have gone to his early influences that led him to fall in love with cinema in the first place, particularly Johns Ford and Wayne.Continue reading “Raging Bull – Introduction”

A film of in-the-moment make, rather than write, what you know, 8 1/2 brought a production technique that Federico Fellini would embrace for much of the rest of his career. An idea sparked at, as is the case with many great tales of classic films, just the moment he was about to announce defeat. Fellini’sContinue reading “8 1/2 – Introduction”

David Lynch loved LA. That love for the city and all the things it represented is all over Mulholland Drive. With its many interpretations, and the fact Lynch remained intentionally tight-lipped about it throughout his life, I chose to focus on that love in my introduction for the film. This was given for a screeningContinue reading “Mulholland Drive – Introduction”

“You have disgraced the industry that made and fed you! You should be tarred and feathered and run out of Hollywood!” While some industry executives were enraged by Sunset Boulevard, many cast out silent stars found hope that if Gloria Swanson, and Norma Desmond, could make a comeback so could they. The reactions erupted almostContinue reading “Sunset Boulevard – Introduction”

Possibly the most expensive joke in Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, a film first released in 1953, was inspired by 1975’s Jaws. I look into that, alongside Jacques Tati’s nostalgic condensing of human life into a French seaside town, in this introduction that I gave for the film in October 2025 at The Little Theatre in Bath.Continue reading “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday – Introduction”

David Lynch famously saw The Straight Story as his most experimental film. Yet, as it shows the director’s love of people and their mindsets it’s thoroughly Lynchian. Unlike other introductions that I’ve recorded, that can also be found on this website, the audio in the video below was recorded before the actual in-person screening, whichContinue reading “The Straight Story – Introduction”

“I want to take this time to talk about three people. Admittedly, one of them isn’t David Lynch. Although, of course, he comes up in his relationship and views of these people. Those three people: David Bowie, Richard Pryor and OJ Simpson.” Through these three people and the ways in which they each represented differentContinue reading “Lost Highway – Introduction”

How personal was Vertigo to Hitchcock? In terms of the director’s infamous control over his films, particularly on set, there may have have been a good deal of the director that went into the film. I look at how that comes through in the cycles of Vertigo in this introduction I gave to the filmContinue reading “Vertigo – Introduction”