Best Sam Neave Podcasts (2025)

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2002: Minority Report 41:32

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2M ago41:32

41:32

We close out season three with Steven Spielberg’s dystopian thriller Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow. Plus: the seeming immortality of Tom Cruise, Sam’s first feature, and yet another award nomination – but this time, it’s not for Sam. LINKS: Trailer for Minority Report Will Ferrell takes one i…

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2001: Mulholland Dr 42:58

2M ago42:58

42:58

This week we take a slow, spiraling ride down Mulholland Dr, David Lynch’s puzzle-box fever dream starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Justin Theroux. Plus: Transcendental Meditation, Adolescence, and the time James was up against Angelo Badalamenti for a film-scoring job. LINKS: Trailer for Mulhallond Dr Bob climbs over the sofa in Twin Peaks …

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2000: American Psycho 39:55

2M ago39:55

39:55

This week we slash our way through Mary Harron’s satirical horror-thriller American Psycho, starring Christian Bale, Chloe Sevigny, and Willem Dafoe. Plus: The Picard Maneuver! And Sam gets stalked by his auto mechanic. LINKS: Trailer for American Psycho The Picard Manoeuver Tom Cruise as inspiration for Patrick Bateman Support the show…

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1999: The Wind Will Carry Us 45:17

2M ago45:17

45:17

This week we explore Abbas Kiarostami’s meditative drama The Wind Will Carry Us, starring Behzad Dorani. Plus: Iranian hospitality, Marjie’s Broadway debut, and the movie that led to Sam and James meeting each other. LINKS: Trailer for The Wind Will Carry Us Trailer for Joe Gould's Secret Nick Cave on cold-water swimming Support the show…

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1998: Buffalo '66 & The Celebration 54:22

2M ago54:22

54:22

A double-bill! Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo ‘66, starring Gallo and Christina Ricci; and Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen, or The Celebration, starring Ulrich Thomsen, Paprika Steen and Thomas Bo Larsen. One of them became an instant classic for James. Plus: Dogme 95 and the “vow of chastity.” LINKS: Trailer for Buffalo '66 Trailer (a terrible and misleading …

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1997: Boogie Nights 39:29

2M ago39:29

39:29

This week we get into Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 kaleidoscopic end-of-an-era drama Boogie Nights, starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, and Burt Reynolds. Plus: James’s psilocybin adventure! LINKS: Trailer for Boogie Nights Ben Affleck on teaching miners to be astronauts The final scene of Big Night Support the show…

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1996: Lone Star 38:18

2M ago38:18

38:18

This week we explore John Sayles’s 1996 bordertown drama Lone Star, starring Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, and Kris Kristofferson. Plus: Sam goes to the Emmys! LINKS: Trailer for Lone Star A Scene from Taste of Cherry Doogh Support the show

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1995: Safe 40:59

2M ago40:59

40:59

This week we explore Todd Haynes’s prescient 1995 environmental-illness drama Safe, starring Julianne Moore. Plus: Emmy nominations, James’s upcoming psilocybin journey, and how bad Sam is at running. LINKS: Trailer for Safe Kripalu Sam's Emmy nominations Support the show

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1994: Shallow Grave 41:36

2M ago41:36

41:36

This week we dig up Danny Boyle’s suitcase-full-of-cash thriller Shallow Grave, starring Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox, and Christopher Eccleston. Plus: Ripley, the frustrations of tourism, and the European Cup. LINKS: Trailer for Shallow Grave Trailer for Ripley Trailer for Cry Funny Happy Deadline.com announcement of Sam’s football project Support the…

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1993: Carlito's Way 42:17

2M ago42:17

42:17

We kick off Season Three of the podcast with Brian De Palma’s crime drama Carlito’s Way, starring Al Pacino, Penelope Ann Miller, and Sean Penn. Plus: offensive accents, an update on Sam’s car, and the time we almost paid someone $10,000 to read a script. LINKS: Trailer for Carlito's Way The Globe and Shakespeare’s “anti-literalism” Trailer for Bon…

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1992: Scent of a Woman 46:43

1y ago46:43

46:43

We close out Season Two of the podcast with Martin Brest’s drama Scent of a Woman, starring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell. Plus: Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, and an encounter with a rude traffic warden. LINKS: Trailer for Scent of a Woman Trailer for The Holdovers Trailer for People I Know Support the show…

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1991: The Silence of the Lambs 39:11

1y ago39:11

39:11

This week week we’re taking a bite out of Jonathan Demme’s classic serial-killer thriller The Silence of the Lambs, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Plus: James comes out of film-scoring retirement. LINKS: Trailer for The Silence of the Lambs "Lotion" by Greenskeepers Austin Pendleton as a lawyer in My Cousin Vinny Support the show…

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1990: An Angel at My Table 39:48

1y ago39:48

39:48

This week we discuss the journey of author Janet Frame in Jane Campion’s biographical drama An Angel at My Table, starring Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, and Kerry Fox. Plus: Season Two of The Jinx, and the time Stanley Tucci took James to a Yankees game. LINKS: Trailer for An Angel at My Table Trailer for season two of The Jinx Dr McCoy treats a p…

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1989: Do the Right Thing 40:20

1y ago40:20

40:20

This week we explore Spike Lee’s comedy-drama Do the Right Thing, starring Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro and Rosie Perez. Plus: James eats a $35 salad, Don Mischer’s “Go balloons”, and 1990 as the year of sequels. LINKS: Trailer for Do the Right Thing Trailer for Thea Sharrock's Wicked Little Letters Don Mischer at the 2004 Democratic Nati…

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1988: Dangerous Liaisons 42:53

1y ago42:53

42:53

This week we discuss Stephen Frears’s film-adapted-from-a-play-adapted-from-a-novel Dangerous Liaisons, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Plus: James finally visits the Vanguard! LINKS: Trailer for Dangerous Liaisons Malkovich and Sinise in True West John Candy in Uncle Buck: "unbreakable" Support the show…

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1987: Fatal Attraction 40:20

1y ago40:20

40:20

This week we take a stab at Adrian Lyne’s classic romantic thriller Fatal Attraction, starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Plus: the two faces of Harrison Ford, and James’s habit of talking to the television. LINKS: Trailer for Fatal Attraction The original ending of Fatal Attraction Trailer for Running on Empty Support the show…

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1986: Sid & Nancy and Round Midnight 40:22

1y ago40:22

40:22

It’s a double-feature this week as we riff on two movies about musicians: Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight and Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy. Plus: burned-out cars, slow television, and the unhelpful advice Robert Redford used to get. LINKS: Trailer for Sid & Nancy Trailer for Round Midnight Siskel & Ebert on Round Midnight "Slow Television": the tra…

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1985: Ran 42:09

1y ago42:09

42:09

This week we survey the expanses of Ran, Akira Kurosawa’s epic adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Plus: beds in cinemas, Werner Herzog on psychotherapy, and Sam’s aversion to movies set on ships. LINKS: Trailer for Ran "VIP Beds" in UK cinemas How an 18th-Century Sailing Warship Works Werner Herzog on psychology as a “catastrophe” Support the s…

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1984: Blood Simple 40:47

1y ago40:47

40:47

This week we tackle the Coen Brothers’ gritty debut feature, Blood Simple, starring Frances McDormand, John Getz, and M. Emmet Walsh. Plus: Wayne Shorter, rock climbing, and our experiences with first-time directors. LINKS: Trailer for Blood Simple Trailer for Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity Let's go to court: a scene from The Insider Support the show…

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1983: Eureka 39:34

1y ago39:34

39:34

This week we discuss Nicolas Roeg’s period drama Eureka, starring Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, and Rutger Hauer. Plus: Wynton Marsalis, washroom attendants, and James's recent trip to London. LINKS: Trailer for Eureka Wynton Marsalis does Louis Armstrong The Wolseley Climax of The Natural (Randy Newman) Support the show…

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Holiday Special: Elf 36:26

1+ y ago36:26

36:26

It’s a special holiday episode! We’re deviating from our usual chronology to talk about Jon Favreau’s 2003 Christmas classic, Elf, starring Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, and James Caan. And it turns out that neither of us had ever seen this movie before this week. Plus: Ferris Bueller, overripe fruit, and “cross-hatched” dreams. LINKS: Trailer for…

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1982: Fanny and Alexander 41:41

2y ago41:41

41:41

This week we close out Season One of the podcast with a conversation about Ingmar Bergman’s family epic Fanny and Alexander, starring Bertil Guve, Ewa Fröling, and Jan Malmsjö. Plus: wind chimes, bookstore etiquette, and Gloomhaven. LINKS: Trailer for Fanny and Alexander Art Garfunkel in the studio Chevy Chase can't get left, from European Vacation…

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1981: Thief 39:03

2y ago39:03

39:03

This week we discuss Michael Mann’s gritty debut feature, Thief, starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld. Plus: spa treatments, house cats, and Pink Floyd knockoffs. LINKS: Trailer for Thief The VEMI treatment Steve Martin makes coffee in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid The end of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” (starting at 4:20) “Confrontation”, the final…

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1980: The Elephant Man 38:51

2y ago38:51

38:51

This week we explore David Lynch’s black-and-white period drama The Elephant Man, starring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, and Anne Bancroft. Plus: Just how bad was James’s first screenplay? LINKS: Trailer for The Elephant Man Michael Jackson bids for Merrick's bones Three pages from The Mourning Cloak (1999) Support the show…

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1979: Being There and Life of Brian 40:29

2y ago40:29

40:29

This week we tackle two movies. Hal Ashby’s American satire Being There, starring Peter Sellers; and Terry Jones’s biblical spoof Monty Python’s Life of Brian, starring the Pythons. Plus: blooper reels, the death of Black Panther, and the apparently ambiguous ending of Planet of the Apes. LINKS: Trailer for Being There Trailer for Monty Python's Li…

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1978: Days of Heaven 36:58

2y ago36:58

36:58

This week we discuss Terence Malick’s luminous period drama Days of Heaven, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and Sam Shepard. Plus: Virgil’s Eclogues, group dynamics, and the Identified Patient. LINKS: Trailer for Days of Heaven Steve Coogan's impression of Richard Gere (from The Trip) The "identified patient" Support the show…

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1977: Stroszek 38:44

2y ago38:44

38:44

This week we discuss Werner Herzog’s black comedy Stroszek, starring Bruno S, Eva Mattes, and Clemens Scheitz. Plus: Sam has a martini with Dianne Wiest. LINKS: Trailer for Stroszek Thieves stealing the "cat" Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason The afternoon tea menu Support the show

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1976: Rocky 38:07

2y ago38:07

38:07

This week we discuss John Avildsen’s rousing and immortal Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire. Plus: Real tennis, a dead car battery, and the time Sam’s parents met Mike Tyson. LINKS: Trailer for Rocky The LOKITHOR car charger Charlie Chaplin boxing in City Lights Real tennis Support the show…

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1975: The Passenger 36:49

2y ago36:49

36:49

This week we talk about Michelangelo Antonioni's existentialist thriller The Passenger, starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider. Plus: What George Plimpton found at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. LINKS: Trailer for The Passenger The Weather Channel explains "wintry mix" Trailer for Flesh Gordon (1974; NSFW) Support the show…

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1974: The Last Detail 34:02

2y ago34:02

34:02

This week we talk about Hal Ashby's road movie The Last Detail, starring Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and Randy Quaid. Plus: James shares a bedroom with Sam's parents. LINKS: Trailer for The Last Detail "The Man Who Never Heard of Frank Sinatra" Trailer for Flash Gordon (1980) Support the showBy James Lavino & Sam Neave

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1973: Don't Look Now 34:07

2y ago34:07

34:07

At Sam's suggestion, James starts his journey with Nicolas Roeg's 1973 horror-thriller Don't Look Now, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Plus, penalty kicks, second sight, and why not to keep loaded guns in the house. LINKS: Trailer for Don't Look Now Harry Kane misses World-Cup penalty Marquinhos's reaction after he misses his penalty…

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Series Intro 12:31

2y ago12:31

12:31

James accepts that it's time to overcome his fears and watch some movies, but he'll need some guidance. Sam, stuck in his car thanks to New York's alternate-side-parking regulations, is only too happy to oblige. LINKS: NYC alternate side parking rules Martin Scorsese’s thoughts on Tár Support the show…