Film Utopia

The Film Utopia summer quest thunders onward as Steven, Benjamin, and Sean venture into the fantastical mid-80s; 1984 – 1986. An era when fantasy cinema became darker, more kid-friendly, and occasionally farcical.

From the dreamy surrealism of A Company of Wolves and the childlike wonder (and childhood trauma-inducing) The NeverEnding Story to the neon-drenched Dungeonmaster, the ever-present loincloth-clad barbarian sights of Red Sonja and Barbarian Queen, and the iconic delights of Legend, Labyrinth, Return to Oz, and Highlander, we dig into a treasure chest of magic, monsters, and questionable wigs.

Along the way, we bicker over whether We...

The Film Utopia summer quest continues in this second instalment on fantasy cinema of the 1980s as Steven, Benjamin, and Sean tackle the shimmering, sword-swinging, and body oil-drenched years of 1980 to 1983.

From popular mainstays such as Hawk the Slayer (1980), Clash of the Titans (1981), Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Dark Crystal (1982) and Krull (1983), to side quests veering into the more eclectic cult offerings of Heavy Metal (1981), Conquest (1983), Deathstalker (1983), and Ironmaster (1983), we explore an exhaustive, yet somewhat curated list of muscle bound heroes, animatronic dragons, stop-motion mythical monsters, glistening boobs, and weirdly shifty wizards.

Along the way, we...

Before the loincloths, elf-muppets, crystal balls, dying horse trauma, and mullets of 80s fantasy cinema, there was… quite a lot, actually! In this opening episode of our new series on 1980s fantasy films, Steven, Benjamin and Sean gather round the mic to set the stage and trace the tangled narrative roots of fantasy, both on and off the screen, from a time before things got all neon-coloured and swordy.

We dive into everything from Ray Harryhaussen epics and surreal Euro-fairytales, to biblical epics, Bakshi’s animated LSD trips, Disney’s monopoly on German fairytales and folklore, and the un...

Steven and Sean continue their exploration of Italian genre cinema with a laid-back chat about the filmography of Lamberto Bava.

Unlike his father, horror maestro and Giallo godfather Mario Bava, Lamberto carved out his own unique legacy by straddling the line between art horror and sleaze – usually opting for the latter – with a mix of gore, kinetic pacing and trashy fun; trading in typical Giallo elegance for rubber demons, dodgy cash-in knock-offs, synth soundtracks, and pure VHS-era pulp.

On this episode we discuss Macabre (1980), A Blade in the Dark (1983), Blastfighter (1984), Devil Fish (1984), Demons (1985), You’ll Die at...

Steven, Benjamin and Sean conclude their retrospective of the late director, David Lynch, and find themselves heavily in agreement in some areas of the auteur’s directorial filmography, but completely opposed in others. On this episode, we discuss Twin Peaks (1990 – 1992, 2017), Fire Walk With Me (1992), Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006).

With the recent passing of auteur filmmaker David Lynch fresh in mind, Steven Benjamin and Sean reflect on the director’s legacy and discuss their thoughts on his innovative and influential theatrical filmography. In part one we cover Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1984), Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild At Heart (1990).

With Amazon Studios now in control of the Bond franchise, we thought we’d share our hopes and fears for the future of 007. At least, that’s how this episode was originally planned! However, as Sean wasn’t part of our original Bond retrospective review series back in 2015 that we’ve just republished over the last 10 days, we have decided to hear out his ranked list of the 25 Eon produced Bond films, in ascending order, while Steven and Benjamin chime in with any updated opinions they have of each film as well as lambast Sean for his placement of certain...

Originally recorded and published in 2021. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On the final part of our Bond retr...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On the fina...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On part 7, Stev...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On this epis...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On part 5, Stev...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On this part...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

In this epis...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’, our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On part 2, Stev...

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our former podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality efforts back then!

With Bond in the news again, and in the run up to our 2025 Bond update episode coming later this month, we’ve decided to reach way back into the depths of our archives and resuscitate one of our classic filmography review series’; our nine-part, complete James Bond movie retrospective, originally released back in 2015 to coincide with the release of Spectre (2015), plus a single-episode, stand-alone return in 2021 for a review of No Time to Die (2021).

On this firs...

We’ve made a YouTube Playlist of the full cues that we mention in this episode! Check it out HERE.

On part 2 of our ‘Some Great Music Cues’ double-bill, Steven, Benjamin and Sean each discuss another five music cues from films that float their boat, either as stand-alone pieces, or within the context of the movie scene that they are a part of. We will be mentioning the likes of Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL), Basil Poledouris, Loek Dikker, Alan Silvestri, Tyler Bates, Marvin Hamlisch, Pete Schickele, John Williams and many more!

Where applicable, the con...

We’ve made a YouTube Playlist of the full cues that we mention in this episode that we’d be delighted for you to check out HERE.

As much as we are film fanatics, we are also just as much music maniacs, and when both are combined in the medium of film scores and soundtracks; even better! On this episode, Steven, Benjamin & Sean highlight some of their favourite film music cues from across the board, including go-to nostalgia picks as well as more modern offerings that have tickled us or just get us right in the feels. Expe...

We’re back for another ‘Year in Film’ episode! Join us as we welcome back our co-host, Benjamin, from his short time away from the podcast and continue refusing to leave our cosy, nostalgia-tinted 1980s to talk our way through the films that made 1985 special for each of us.

And, oh my, what a year 1985 was at the flicks! Absolute bangers such as Back to the Future, Fright Night, Rocky IV, The Company of Wolves, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Demons, Return of the Living Dead, Legend, Brazil, Pale Rider, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Commando and The Go...

With the short break from our originally planned episodes for the start of 2025 still ongoing, Steven & Sean have taken the opportunity to indulge in a little passion-project of theirs!

Italian horror fans are in for a treat as we delve into the four early films of Michele Soavi. Starting with the Joe D'Amato produced 'StageFright' (1987), then the Dario Argento co-scripted and produced 'The Church' (1989) and 'The Sect' (1991) and finally, the self-produced 'Cemetery Man', aka 'Dellamorte Dellamore' (1994).

We thoroughly enjoyed deep-diving these, frankly crazy, movies and so we will definitely revisiting the topic of Italian Horror...

In a very last minute change to our December episode, Steven and Sean wrap up 2024 in cinema to discuss the highs and lows of the year. Including new movies, legacy re-releases and stand-out physical media releases of the year.  

Still pumped from our summer series in which we covered the major subgenres of science fiction in cinema, Steven, Benjamin and Sean have decided to revisit the topic in this bonus episode! We'll each be picking a film that we believe exemplifies the traits of all the subgenres we discussed previously: Time Travel, Science Out of Control/Machine Over Man, Dystopia/Utopia, Post Apocalypse, Alien Contact/Alien Invasion, Cyber/Steam/Bio Punk, and Space Opera, and explain why we think each is a shining example! Amazingly, we resisted mentioning Star Trek... OK, maybe once... but only briefly! 

We’re back for Part 2 of our Halloween Hellraiser Special! On this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean unpack the remaining movies in the Hellraiser series, including Rick Bota’s Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), Hellraiser: Deader (2005) and Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005), followed by Victor Garcia’s Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), Gary J. Tunnicliffe’s Hellraiser: Judgement, and finally David Bruckner’s reboot, Hellraiser (2022) before we each give our rankings to the whole series’ entries.

So, strap in and enjoy! Hopefully, your suffering won’t be legendary, even in hell!

Happy Halloween!

Continuing with our usual horror franchise "Halloween Special" format, this year Sean has picked the long running Hellraiser series for us to have a good old yarn over, across two episodes! Starting with the original 1987 movie based on The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker and directed by the man himself, the film series has developed over the years into all manor of miss-fires and return to forms alike!

In part one we're discussing Hellraiser (1987), Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (1992), Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) and Hellraiser V: Inferno (2000) and seeing which are hit...

We're back for part 2 of our Kathryn Bigelow theatrical retrospective!

Things get a little heated on this episode with divided opinions between Steven, Benjamin and Sean as we discuss a more drama-focused and historically themed selection of movies from our beloved Bigelow. Including; The Weight of Water (2000), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Detroit (2017).

It's Steven's choice for our latest director deep-dive and this time he has picked Kathryn Bigelow!

With numerous accolades to her name, a filmography that runs the gamut from iconic cult horror to Oscar winning war drama, and one of the finest action directors of a generation, Bigelow has long been a high ranking filmmaker for the three of us at Film Utopia.

We have split her 10 theatrical releases neatly across two episodes starting here with part one, covering; The Loveless (1981), Near Dark (1987), Blue Steel (1990), Point Break (1991) and Strange Days (1995). Join us as we explore...

Steven, Benjamin and Sean conclude their look at science fiction subgenres with an examination of the bizarre fascination with placing the noun ‘punk’ after various technological descriptors to create a subgenre within a subgenre for seemingly no other reason than superficial aesthetics. Yes, we're talking about Cyberpunk. And Steampunk. And Biopunk. And all the other 'punk's'!

While Sean and Benjamin can barely contain their disdain for this labelling trend, Steven valiantly attempts to keep things on track as we talk our way through the subgenre in cinema, including Johnny Mnemonic (1995), The Matrix (1999), Mortal Engines (2018), Treasure Planet (2002), eXistenZ (1999), The...

For the second time this year, the Film Utopia Podcast breaks from its traditional show format of legacy movie coverage to discuss Alien: Romulus; the latest film in the long-running Alien franchise. Hot on the heels of an impressive opening weekend, the Fede Alvarez helmed entry is certainly making waves, both financially and critically. But opinions seem to be divided; and they certainly are among us!

Also! To go along with this special episode, we have a special guest joining: a film industry practical effects artist and life-long Alien fan! Max Payn of Oracle FX, is on...

On the penultimate episode of our science fiction subgenres series, we discuss all things alien invasion, contact with other worlds and alien abduction stories in movies; including some literary influences to the world of cinema.

Join us as we talk our way through the early days of the genre in the 1950s and 1960s with the likes of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Invaders From Mars (1953) right through the ‘70s and ‘80s with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and E.T. (1982) and into the 90s and beyond when the genre was...

For part 5 of our Science Fiction Subgenres Series, Steven, Benjamin & Sean dive into the world of oppressive societies, shady governments and brutalist aesthetics with Dystopian set movies. We're calling it Utopia/Dystopia, though. Despite struggling to identify a utopian set narrative that isn't really just a dystopia in disguise!

Join us as we talk all things "Orwellian", from Gattaca (1997), Idiocracy (2006), 1984 (1984), Logan's Run (1976), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Equilibrium (2002) and more!

In part 4 of our Science Fiction sub-genres series, Steven Benjamin and Sean tackle the topic of "science out of control", or "machine over man", or "we've gone and created something for the betterment of mankind, and now it's going to kill us all"!

Join us as we discuss our way through the tropes of the sub-genre and touch base with a wide variety of movies such as The Matrix (1999), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Upgrade (2018), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Surrogates (2009), Splice (2009), The Fly (1986) and, of course, Star Trek!

In Part 3 of our Sci-fi sub-Genres in Film series, The FU trio dive into Space Opera – and spend much of the discussion debating precisely what defines the term, and what exactly constitutes a Space Opera in the first place!

From influential sci-fi authors of the 1940s, 50s 60s and 70s such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Philip K Dick, to the serials and comic strips of the 1930s such as Flash Gordon, right through to modern motion-picture epics and the revival of the genre – of sorts – in 90s television!

Expect the usual suspects of Sta...

Archive Episode!

Originally recorded and published in 2015 for our old podcast, Filmwerk. Please excuse our less-than-stellar audio quality and editing efforts back then!

Ahead of Mad Max: Fury Road, Steven, Benjamin & Sean dig deep into the George Miller created Mad Max movie franchise! From the trailblazing 1979 original, to the seminal sequel, Mad Max 2 (1981) – or “The Road Warrior” in the USA – and the 1985 follow-up ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’. Also included is our review of Mad Max: Fury Road, recorded fresh upon release in May 2015. There's laughs, love and hate to be had as well as some pretty spicy...

At the time of preparing our latest Sci-fi Subgenres episode, ‘Post Apocalypse’, George Miller released his recent Mad Max spin-off; Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. As we’re all big Miller and Mad Max fans here and also, as Furiosa is topical to our last main show episode, Benjamin & Steven decided to have a chat and share their ever-so-slightly divided reaction to the Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth starring movie! Sean sits this one out as at the time of recording he hadn’t yet seen the film!

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Steven, Benjamin & Sean continue their exploration of the many Science Fiction sub-genres with a discussion on Post Apocalyptic set movies – and have plenty of debate over what constitutes a Post Apocalypse Movie in the first place!

From ‘Mad Max’ to ‘Children of Men’, with pitstops at ‘Akira’, ‘Wall-E’, ‘Waterworld’, the multiple ‘The Road Warrior’ clones of the 1980s and many more in between!

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Science Fiction!

The Film Utopia Podcast summer project gets rolling with a wide look at the sub-genre and concepts of time travel in movies. From time machines to time loops, and paradoxes to alternative histories.

Steven, Benjamin & Sean talk about some of their favourite time travel movies, as well as the ins and outs of time travel as a story telling device and macguffin.

Movies mentioned include Primer (2004), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Timecrimes (2007), Predestination (2014), The Terminator (1984), Back to the Future (1985) and many more!

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Steven, Benjamin & Sean conclude their deep-dive of iconic cult movie director Stuart Gordon with a thorough chin-wag about his latter filmography.

From Castle Freak (1995) to Stuck (2007). The FU trio discover some hidden gems among these lesser known films and find themselves with differing opinions on others!

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Between 1985 and 2007, a former theatre director named Stuart Gordon embarked on an iconic movie directing career which, in later years, catapulted his filmography to cult status. With the help of producer, Brian Yuzna – himself a H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe enthusiast – he directed the notorious, independently-produced ‘Re-Animator’ in 1985 which led to a three picture deal with the now defunct Empire Pictures International, resulting in From Beyond (1986), Dolls (1987) and Robot Jox (1990) – all becoming cult faves, both at the time and in later years.

In part one of our Stuart Gordon retrospective review series, Steven, Benjamin and Sean – res...

Steven & Sean discuss their way through the many UK, USA and Australian boutique DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD disc distributors out there; going A-Z from Arrow to Vinegar Syndrome. We chat about our own collecting habits, our experiences and opinions of each label as well as some of our favourite discs we've owned over the years!

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Special features, commentary tracks, cast & crew interviews and other bonus disc content have historically been a real selling point for movie fans. Nowadays, physical media collectors are even hungrier for additional material for their favourite films of yesteryear.

On this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean recall some of their favourite physical media releases both in terms of additional disc material as well as overall presentation and visual/audio quality.

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