How To Watch Movies Like a Film Professor – Marc Lapadula
The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series
Welcome to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW on Sun City West Radio. I’m Paul Vogelzang and as part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living Interview Series, our returning guest is Marc Lapadula. Joining me again today is Yale University film professor Marc Lapadula, and we’ll dive into some remarkable examples of cinematic mastery that reflect technical innovation and complex thematic construction. Marc Lapadula will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates July 19, and the title of his Zoom presentation is How To Watch Movies like a Film Professor.
Great film directors all have one thing in common—lofty artistic ambitions. They take on the toughest issues and most provocative social themes of their day hoping to eloquently bring them to life on screen. Utilizing the movie screen the same way great artists gaze upon their canvases, cinema artists know that every inch of the frame offers a crucial opportunity to leave audiences spellbound by their handiwork.
The most challenging directors disguise their bold artistic intentions behind the mask of easily accessible genre forms, often burying something quite profound beneath a story’s glossy surface. This sort of subtext and the prospect of unraveling a hidden encoded message in the fabric of the film’s narrative is what drives some movie lovers (and film professors) to attempt to decipher what is really going on beneath the scenes playing out before our eyes and ears. There is always something mesmerizing to be uncovered in a great film.
Marc Lapadula and I will chat about how he selects films that accomplish their missions by creating some of the most memorable and timeless moments and performances ever captured on celluloid. Clips from You Only Live Once, Sullivan’s Travels, Touch of Evil, On the Waterfront, The Night of the Hunter, Rebel Without a Cause, Birdman, and other films will be discussed today.
Please welcome via internet phone, film professor Marc Lapadula.
My thanks to Marc Lapadula. Hopefully, today’s show will bring a smile on your face. Remember to check out our website for more details about Marc Lapadula’s upcoming Smithsonian Associates presentation on July 19. My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show. My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience…be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better. The Not Old Better Show. Until next time, thanks, everybody.
For more information, please click HERE for the Smithsonian Associates website: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/how-to-watch-movies-like-film-professor?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JUN21eAPopCulture6.22.21&utm_content=version_A&promo=257283