Redshirt Cinema Club

This week we’re delving into our mailbag to mark the end of our series on 80s fantasy movies (you can tell because people only “delve” in fantasy settings) and to share your nostalgia, nit-picks, and at least one bit of trivia - about David Bowie in Labyrinth - that blew our tiny goblin minds.

If you've been listening along to our journey through this decade's unique haul of fantasy films - Time Bandits, Highlander, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, The Princess Bride, Willow - then listen in as we sort through your comments and criticisms.

There's also some talk about what we'll be watching next, as we begin to formulate our Grand Videogame Adaptation Plan.

Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.
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This week - we’re falling through holes in the universe and landing in Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam’s visually cacophonous 1981 adventure about a small boy careening through time with a band of thieves pursued by God and evil itself. There’s… a lot going on.

It's possible that Time Bandits features the best backstory to a heist ever conceived (a band of God's minor manufacturers are sent to the repairs department for creating a very unusual tree, and use the map of all the holes in the universe ("it was a rush job, seven days...") to steal things instead of fixing the fabric of... everything. It's for absolute certain that it's another slightly-too-scary-for-kids-but-actually-great-as-an-adult adventure, and another glimpse into what Sean Connery was up to after that whole Bond deal.

Did we like it? Join us to find out…

Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A curious phenomenon emerges this week as we watch 1984's The Neverending Story.

It's a favourite from Dave's childhood which Nath and Rob were convinced they'd never seen. The evidence in fact points to them both having watched the film previously and entirely forgotten what happens, which is unfortunately also true of this latest rewatch (something to do with a sad horse and a flying dog, the details are lost to us).

Which is all to say that The Neverending Story has a strange energy - a tinge of Euro-weirdness, the half-logic of children elected heroes in the face of magical annihilation, and an episodic structure full of grotesque puppets and special effects. We love it! We've forgotten it. It makes us sad.

Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re losing ourselves again in the delightful maze of 80s fantasy, with Jim Henson’s extraordinary Labyrinth (which, like our very own Rob, turns 40 this year...)

Think of it less like a museum of childhood traumas, and more like a fun adventure with cool puppets and a brilliant - nay, magical - dance number. Now if we only figure out how to get inside…

Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! Sort of.

After a week's hiatus we're crawling out from the darkness of our plague cave with this impromptu mailbag episode - which we've decided is a good thing as there were LOTS of wonderful emails to get through. Thanks for your continuing correspondence - please keep the messages coming.

Thanks for bearing with us while we've been ill - normal service will be resumed next week once we're back to full strength. Updated schedule for our 80s fantasy series below if you fancy watching along!

- Labyrinth (1986) - 30th March
- Highlander (1986) - 1st April (Captain and Commander bonus episode)
- The NeverEnding Story (1985) - 6th April
- Time Bandits (1981) - 13th April
- Captain's Choice Bonus Episode - 15th April
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