The Film 89 Podcast

Episode 153 of The Film ’89 Podcast lands just in time for this year’s July 4th celebrations, and there’s no more fitting a film that the guys could be covering than one that honours that great American holiday. Joining Neil and Skye (who definitely aren’t American) is returning co-host, filmmaker, producer and master cinephile (and importantly, an American), Mr Adam Rackoff. And the film they’re discussing is an epic alien invasion film that takes its cues from ‘50s science-fiction, ‘70s disaster movies, and also one of the Film ’89 Team’s favourite pieces of event television, the early ‘80s miniseries, V. Tha...

On Episode 152 of The Film 89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by a trio of returning co-hosts, Jacob Rivera, Kyle Reardon and Leighton Winstone, to discuss one of the all-time great serial killer thrillers, director Jonathan Demme’s multi-Oscar-winning 1991 adaptation of Thomas Harris’ best-selling novel, The Silence of the Lambs. Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn and Ted Levine, the film would receive huge critical acclaim and worldwide box office success and would go on to become one of only three films to win “the big 5” at the Academy Awards; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor an...

On Episode 151 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by a trio of guest-hosts that may be the greatest ever assembled for a single episode of the podcast as they celebrate the 40th anniversary of James Cameron’s Aliens. The sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi-horror masterpiece, Alien, Cameron’s film wouldn’t be a retread, but an evolution of the story of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), as well as expanding what we know about the life-cycle of the deadly species she encountered in the first film. Featuring a superlative ensemble cast, an electrifying pace and endlessly quotable d...

The story of Episode 150 of The Film ’89 Podcast is one of ‘the episode that nearly wasn’t’. It was to be a gift to our listeners as Steve, Neil and Skye finally covered a film that has become the one most requested by our listeners to get the Film ’89 treatment, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The initial recording went well until, at the end, it quickly became apparent that Neil’s audio hadn’t recorded. In the days that followed, no fix could be found, and it was looking likely that the episode was lost. Then tragedy struck on Wednesday, May...

Just as they did on Episode 147, so they are doing so again on Episode 149 as the Film ‘89 team travel back in time to 1966, this time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of both a film and television show that, for a brief two-year period, was a worldwide phenomenon. Starring Adam West and Burt Ward, the television show is of course, Batman, and it would then transition to the big screen with 1966’s Batman: The Movie. Skye and returning co-hosts John Arminio and Martin Kessler, explore what made the show such a hit and take a deep dive into a film that...

On Episode 148 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, we’re back talking Star Trek as we continue our coverage of the original crew’s big screen adventures. Having already covered the first three films for each of their 40th anniversaries, it’s now the turn of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which brought an end to the “Genesis Trilogy” consisting of the second, third and fourth Trek films, where the story in each film follows directly into the next. Following the death and destruction of The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock, returning director and star, Leonard Nimoy, wanted a lig...

On Episode 147 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye and returning guest-host Stephen Simpson are celebrating the 60th anniversary of and also taking an in-depth look at the making of director John Frankenheimer’s epic, nearly 3-hour-long motor racing drama, Grand Prix. Starring James Garner, Yves Montand, Eva Marie Saint, Toshiro Mifune and a huge international supporting cast, Frankenheimer’s movie is a marvel of technical filmmaking that captures the thrills and danger of Formula 1 as few other films have. Filmed alongside the 1966/67 F1 season with unprecedented cooperation from the drivers and teams of the era, Grand Prix is arguably the finest...

On Episode 146 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Neil and Skye are traveling back in time 35 years to discuss a film that represented something of a transition from the typical ‘80s action film to the genre’s ‘90s iteration. Based on a script by Shane Black that Warner Bros. were willing to pay a then record setting fee of $1.75 million for, and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tony Scott, The Last Boy Scout starred Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans and a great supporting cast. Willis, following two recent box office failures in The Bonfire of the Vanities and Hudson Hawk, was in need of a hit...

On Episode 145 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Skye and returning guest host, filmmaker Kyle Reardon, celebrate the 70th anniversary of legendary director John Ford’s epic 1956 western, The Searchers. Directed by one of the most revered and influential filmmakers ever to step behind a camera, and starring one of cinema’s true icons, John Wayne, in one of his most complex roles, The Searchers tells the tale of civil war veteran, Ethan Edwards, a man wrestling with his own dark side, and his adopted nephew Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) and their years long search for Ethan’s niece, Debbie, taken from her...

On Episode 144 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, both Neil and Skye are mistaken for Paul Allen as they discuss director Mary Harron’s 2000 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel, American Psycho. Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of 1989, American Psycho follows the life of a wealthy young investment banker named Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale). Bateman narrates his everyday activities, from his charmed yuppie recreational life of pampering and fine dining among the Wall Street elite of New York to his forays into murder by night. The guys discuss the film’s complex plot, one that can have any number o...

On Episode 143 of The Film ‘89 Podcast it’s that time of year again. Towards the end of every year since 2022, Film ‘89 has celebrated the 60th anniversary of a James Bond film. In 2022 we started with Dr. No, in 2023 we covered From Russia With Love and last year we covered Goldfinger. Now Skye and one of the greatest film poster artists working in the business today, Tony Stella, return to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball, which had its world premiere in Tokyo, Japan on December 9th 1965. Thunderball came out at the very peak of Bondma...

On Episode 142 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Neil, Skye and regular co-host, Jacob Rivera are celebrating the 30th anniversary of an all time classic from 1995, David Fincher’s serial killer thriller, Seven, starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey. Based on an original screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, Seven would go on to become one of the most successful films of 1995, a year replete with incredible films and this one in particular, is now considered a genre defining classic, notorious for it’s bleak tone and THAT gut-punch ending. Featuring phenomenal performances from its leads, stunning cinematography, a wond...

On Episode 141 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by returning guest-host, John Arminio to give you their in-depth and spoiler-filled review and analysis of director Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein, a book and character that’s arguably seen more big screen adaptations than any other. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth, the Netflix produced film, which saw a very limited theatrical run before its release on the streaming platform a few days ago, has a budget of $120 million and aims to be the definitive adaptation of Shell...

It’s that time of year again on The Film ‘89 Podcast as we bring you our 2025 Halloween Horror Special. Joining Skye are two returning co-hosts, Stephen Simpson and John Arminio, and the horror film they’ve picked as the focus of this episode is Tom Holland’s 1985 cult classic, Fright Night, starring Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse and Roddy McDowell. Based on an original script by Holland, Fright Night blends elements of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window with Hammer horror and vampire lore as it tells the tale of teenager, Charley Brewster, who suspects that his new next door neigh...

On Episode 139 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye is joined by frequent co-host Leighton Winstone as well someone making her long awaited return to Film ’89 after she first appeared 5 years ago on Episode 55, our very good friend, Leanne Kubicz. This battle-hardened trio will be smearing axle grease across their brows and packing as much water as they can carry as they head into a post-apocalyptic wasteland to celebrate the 10th anniversary of director George Miller’s fourth entry in his long-running Mad Max saga that began in 1979, had sequels in 1981 and 1985 and then a 30 year gap before the 72 year old direct...

It’s become something of a recurring theme on The Film ‘89 Podcast of late where the film being discussed has been described as “one of the big ones”, a film of such significance to the hosts that it fills them with an almost dread anticipation that they might not do it justice. No film fits that bill more than the one being discussed on Episode 138, an episode that Neil and Skye have been teasing and putting off for the longest time. That film is Michael Mann’s epic tale of crime and obsession from 1995, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro an...

Episode 137 of The Film ‘89 Podcast marks the first time that the guys revisit a film that’s already been covered on a previous episode. 5 years ago on Episode 52, Neil and Skye recorded an audio commentary for the 45th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece, Jaws. That episode remains one of Film ‘89’s most downloaded episodes and one that regularly gets mentioned by listeners as one of their favourites. The commentary focussed mainly on the making of Jaws along with Skye and Neil’s analysis of the film, but this episode is going to be a companion piece to the that first e...

On Episode 136 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by a mighty trio of film experts, returning Film ‘89 co-hosts, Bill Scurry, John Arminio and Martin Kessler And this episode, your five hosts will be wearing their underpants over their trousers as they give their in-depth and spoiler-filled review and analysis of director James Gunn’s Superman, the 2025 big screen reboot for the caped crusader that’s intended as a launching point for Gunn’s new cinematic take on the DC Comics Universe. As well as the new film, the guys will be discussing the cinematic legacy of Superman t...

On Episode 135 of The Film ’89 Podcast, Neil, Skye and Steve celebrate the 35th anniversary of yet another Arnold Schwarzenegger film, this time it’s the 1990 action-science-fiction classic, Total Recall. Following on from the recent success of our Commando episode, the guys are once again giving their in-depth analysis of a film starring one of the Film ’89 team’s favourite movie stars, but this time, they’re also discussing one of their favourite directors, Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven. They discuss the source short story by Philip K. Dick upon which Total Recall is based as well as the making of this big b...

After a longer than expected Spring hiatus, The Film ’89 Podcast is back and on Episode 134, returning co-hosts Matthias Van De Roest and Bill Scurry join Steve and Skye to celebrate the 40th anniversary of acclaimed director William Friedkin’s 1985 crime drama To Live and Die in L.A. Something of a return to form for Friedkin after a number of critical and commercial failures, the film would tap into the same gritty police procedural approach that made his 1971 masterpiece The French Connection so successful. Starring William Petersen, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, John Turturro and featuring a br...

It is with much regret that we come to the end of the journey that has been The Film ’89 Podcast, as tonight’s episode marks for the guys a peak of sorts, a culmination of the last 7 years which has all led to the film we’re covering on this monumental episode. Steve, Neil and Skye are joined by a returning co-host who hasn’t been on Film ’89 since Episode 40, way back in November 2019, when he and Steve reviewed The Irishman, it’s our good friend, Tony Sower. Tony joins us to discuss his all-time favorite film, a film that we’ve b...

On Episode 132 of The Film ’89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by returning co-hosts, Jacob Rivera and Leighton Winstone to discuss a film from the director who has had the most coverage on Film ’89, with no less than 5 episodes dedicated to his films and one of those being a double bill, it’s legendary filmmaker, Martin Scorsese. The film being discussed is one that the guys have desperately wanted to cover since the podcast began, Scorsese’s 1980 biopic of former World Middleweight boxing champion, Jake La Motta, starring Robert De Niro, it is of course Raging Bull. Shot in back and...

On Episode 131 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Neil and Skye are joined by returning co-hosts, Bill Scurry and Matthias Van De Roest to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Academy Award winning crime thriller, The Usual Suspects (1995). Critically acclaimed upon its release and making a considerable worldwide box office haul on a meagre $6 million budget, it’s amazing ensemble case, incredible Oscar winning script, precise editing and sharp direction would make it an endearing classic of the 1990s. Unfortunately the film doesn’t get spoken about as frequently as it once did, likely due to the controversy that arose in the...

On Episode 130 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Neil & Skye will be grabbing their glow-rods and avoiding physical contact greetings as they jump forward in time from a crime ridden Los Angeles of 1996, to a seemingly harmonious, but borderline fascist utopian 2032 San Angles as they discuss the 1993 action-science-fiction cult classic, Demolition Man, from producer Joel Silver and then first time director, Marco Brambilla. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock in her breakout role. The guys discuss how this seemingly by-the-numbers ‘90s action film has transcended its roots due to it having layers of subtly clever social commentary and a le...

Episode 129 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, our first of 2025, is a companion piece to our episode from last February, Episode 112, where Steve, Skye and John Arminio discussed Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula, and both Tod Browning’s 1931 film adaptation as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For this episode, the same trio will be giving you their in-depth and spoiler filled review and analysis of director Robert Eggers’ remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German expressionist silent horror classic, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, this new version titled simply, Nosferatu. As well as Murnau’s film, the guys w...

On Episode 128 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Neil and Skye are joined by returning co-host, filmmaker, producer and master cinephile, Adam Rackoff. When planning what films to cover on Film ‘89, we invariably aim to choose films that we love and want to talk about but always consider whether you, our valued listeners would want to hear us discuss those same films. Well, for the film we’ve chosen for this episode, we’ve been wholly self indulgent for once. Christmas is coming so we’ve decided to treat ourselves and pick a film that Neil and Skye have wanted to champion a...

On Episode 127 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye and returning guest host, acclaimed film poster artist, Tony Stella, continue their annual coverage of the long running James Bond series of films with 1964’s Goldfinger. Directed by Guy Hamilton, Goldfinger is the third film in the series and is based on the seventh James Bond book by author Ian Fleming. This time Bond is tasked by the Bank of England and Mi6 to investigate gold magnate Auric Goldfinger, who they suspect is building up a vast inventory of gold by nefarious means. Sean Connery’s third outing as the British super spy is...

On Episode 126 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by returning co-host Becky D’Anna. Becky is a marketing executive for Sony Pictures, a seasoned podcaster and an expert on film and the film industry, making her the ideal guest-host with which to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller, Rear Window, starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr. Shot on just one location, a huge set built on the Paramount Studios backlot, Rear Window is the ultimate tale of voyeurism as Stewart’s wheelchair bound photographer, L.B. Jeffries, ropes in his beau...

Episode 125 of The Film ‘89 Podcast is our 2024 Halloween Horror Special and joining Skye and regular co-host John Arminio, is author, podcast producer, filmmaker and expert in all things horror related, J. Blake Fichera. Last year it was The Exorcist, and the focus of this year’s Halloween episode is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of another equally remarkable, influential and iconic horror classic, Tobe Hooper’s, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Made on a meagre budget with a cast of unknowns, Hooper’s film would quickly achieve iconic status and go on to permeate popular culture like few other ho...

On Episode 124 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Neil and Skye return to the films of James Cameron and his directorial debut (not counting Piranha 2), starring possibly the most prominent megastar of their childhood, Arnold Schwarzenegger. That film is Cameron’s gritty, action-science-fiction smash hit, The Terminator, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. The product of a fever dream Cameron had whilst in Rome during the Piranha 2 debacle, The Terminator represents one of the most cost effective filmmaking endeavours of the 1980s, whereby a potentially pulpy science fiction yarn was bolstered by some truly defining star turns, none more so t...

On Episode 123 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Skye and returning co-hosts, Leighton Winstone and filmmaker Kyle Reardon are covering another all-time classic, The Shawshank Redemption, a film that, according to the long-running IMDB Top 250, is the greatest film of all time. A big screen adaptation of the Stephen King Novella and directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption was released 30 years ago and was met with muted critical and commercial success and no wins despite 7 Academy Award nominations. But upon it’s release on home video, it became a huge success and in the years since has become a pere...

On Episode 122 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined once again by filmmaker, podcast host and producer, Martin Kessler, as the show continues its in-depth coverage of some of the greatest films ever made. And this episode it’s the turn of director Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece, Alien, a film our trio have been eager to discuss since the podcast began. They discuss the film’s inception, it’s production and the incredible creative talents that would craft one of the most visually astounding films ever made with a level of set design and an overall ae...

On Episode 121 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye is joined by returning guest host, filmmaker Martin Kessler, to give you their in-depth and spoiler-filled review of director Fede Alvarez’s new film, Alien: Romulus, the seventh film in the saga that began 45 years ago with Ridley Scott’s seminal Alien. Following Scott’s two most recent films in the franchise, pseudo-prequel Prometheus (2012) and it’s follow up, Alien: Covenant (2017), Alvarez’s film is set 20 years after Alien but 37 years before James Cameron’s Aliens to tell an isolated story of a crew of young Weyland Yutani mining colony workers who end up going h...

On Episode 120 of The Film ‘89 Podcast we’re doing something we haven’t done for a long time - reviewing a new comic book movie - Disney/Marvel Studios’ latest cinematic outing, and their first ever R-rated superhero film, Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. As well as giving their in-depth and spoiler-filled review and analysis of the new film, Neil and Skye give their thoughts on the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the superhero genre in general after several years of output that have been far from great in terms of critical and commerci...

On Episode 119 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Skye and Bill Scurry discuss a film that’s been high on the list of films that they’ve most wanted to dedicate an episode to since the podcast began. The one big stumbling block that was preventing them from doing so was it’s lack of availability on any kind of modern HD format, having never even had a release on Blu-Ray. But fortunately it was given a shiny new 4K upgrade earlier this year for its 35th anniversary. That film is of course The Abyss, James Cameron’s 1989 underwater science fiction th...

On Episode 118 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye discuss a film that they’ve been eager to cover since the podcast began, a film from the podcast’s namesake year of 1989, Spike Lee’s seminal story of a baking hot day in Brooklyn where the ever increasing heat pushes racial and cultural tensions to breaking point, Do The Right Thing. Joining them is a guest host making his long overdue Film ‘89 debut. He’s the founder and co-host of the brilliant Zebras in America podcast, his vast wealth of writing on film can be found at PinnlandEmpire.com, he’s a frequ...

On Episode 117 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, we address the fact that only one of director Quentin Tarantino’s films has had a dedicated episode of Film ‘89, way back in 2019. For our long overdue return to the work of one of modern Hollywood’s most revered auteurs, we’ve decided to finally cover one of our listeners’ most requested films, Tarantino’s stunning sophomore effort, Pulp Fiction. A sensation upon its release having taken the 1994 Cannes Film Festival by storm, winning the coveted Palm d’Or, Pulp Fiction would whip up a storm of controversy but also receive widespread critical acclaim, going o...

On Episode 116 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye is joined by returning co-hosts Adam Rackoff, Bill Scurry and John Arminio to continue Film ‘89’s coverage of the original Star Trek films. Having covered The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan on previous episodes, the guys now celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Following on from the harrowing events of the second film and the loss of Spock, actor Leonard Nimoy would make his directorial debut and craft a film about death and, as the title suggests, rebirth. Employing superb practical and optical effects that m...

On Episode 115 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Skye and returning guest host Stephen Simpson don their fire retardant suits as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Towering Inferno, Producer and co-director Irwin Allen and director John Guillermin’s big screen adaptation of not one but two books and a film that surely ranks as one of, if not THE greatest disaster films of all time. With a star studded ensemble cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner and many more, The Towering Inferno would go on to b...

On episode 114 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Leighton Winstone and filmmaker Kyle Reardon join Steve and Skye as they did two years ago when they celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Godfather. Now they’re back to celebrate the 50th anniversary of possibly the greatest sequel ever made, The Godfather Part II. A huge critical success upon it’s release, it would go on to be nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning 6 for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction/Set Decoration, Original Score and Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro. It currently sits at No.4 on the long running IMDB T...