Episode 54 – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) & Get Out (2017)

Bill and Ted discuss Stanley Kramer’s social problem film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) and Jordan Peele’s social thriller/horror film “Get Out” (2017). Released fifty years apart, Kramer’s film is about encouraging changing attitudes regarding racism in America where Peele’s film is about investigating how slow that progress actually has been. One film is filled with anxiety and optimistic hope, the other with anxiety and pessimistic doubt. Putting these films together is an exercise in comparisons and contrasts, a barometer of where N. American Culture has been and where it is now. Films aren’t only conversations with their audiences, sometimes they have conversations with each other. Join Bill and Ted for this experimental double feature episode.

If you enjoyed this film, you may also like these Ted’s Picks: The Defiant Ones (1958), In the Heat of the Night (1967), The Stepford Wives (1975)

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1960's, 2010's, Auteur director, Drama, Horror, Social Problem Film, Social Thriller, Thriller

Episode 39 – Cape Fear (1991)

Bill and Ted discuss Martin Scorsese’s 1991 film “Cape Fear,” featuring Robert De Niro as Max Cady, a hardened convict who, after 14 years of incarceration, obsessively seeks revenge on his former defense attorney Sam Bowden, played by Nick Nolte, who failed to keep Cady out of prison. Scorsese ramps up the tension in this remake of Lee Thompson’s 1962 black and white film noir inspired pulp fiction thriller Cape Fear. While he, his wife. and teenage daughter are stalked, threatened, and terrorized, Bowden increasingly faces having to take the law into his own hands.

If you enjoyed this film, you may also like these Ted’s Picks: Single White Female (1992), Unlawful Entry (1992), One Hour Photo (2002)

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1990's, Auteur director, Drama, Thriller

Episode 38 – Cape Fear (1962)

Bill and Ted discuss Lee Thompson’s 1962 suspense thriller “Cape Fear,” featuring Robert Mitchum as Max Cady a hardened convict seeking revenge on prosecutor Sam Bowden, played by Gregory Peck, who helped send him away to prison for 8 eight years. Tension in this black and white film noir inspired pulp-fiction thriller mounts as Cady threatens Bowden’s wife and teenage daughter as the prosecutor is faced with the prospect of having to take the law into his own hands.

If you enjoyed this film, you may also like these Ted’s Picks: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Changing Lanes (2002)

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1960's, B/W Film, Drama, Film Noir, Thriller

Episode 36 – Rear Window (1954)

Bill and Ted discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film “Rear Window,” featuring Jimmy Stewart as LB Jefferies a convalescing photo-journalist who can’t recuperate without spying on his neighbours with Grace Kelly as his socialite girlfriend Lisa who gets drawn into a world of intrigue. An intricately crafted claustrophobic mystery thriller about the ethics of surveillance and voyeurism with a plot that hinges on Jefferies’ suspicion that one of neighbours has committed murder. Hitchcock deftly provides tension coming from both inside and outside of Jefferies NYC Greenwich village apartment with the contrasting themes of romance and murder.

If you enjoyed this film, you may also like these Ted’s Picks: Dial M for Murder (1954), Blue Velvet (1986), The ‘Burbs (1989) [Music credit: Vienna Teng, The Hymn to Acxiom]

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1950's, Auteur director, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Uncategorized

Episode 35 – Director Alfred Hitchcock

Bill and Ted are joined by Tom Caldwell from “Good Evening: An Alfred Hitchcock Podcast” for a conversation about Hitchcock director of The Birds (1963), North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958) and his most famous work Psycho (1960). Often referred to as the father of horror flicks, his work is less about gore and more about suspense and tension. Loved by directors, critics and the public, Hitchcock provides just the right amount of white knuckled fear and cleaver storytelling to keep everyone hooked and on the edge of their seats.

Looking for more recent suspense thrillers? Here are Ted’s Picks: Frantic (1988), The Game (1997), Get Out (2017)

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Auteur director, Drama, Horror, Thriller

Episode 27 – Witness (1985)

Bill and Ted discuss Peter Weir’s “Witness,” a thoroughly satisfying 80’s classic. Harrison Ford as police detective John Book protects an Amish boy (Lucas Haas) and his mother (Kelly McGillis) after the child witnesses a murder in the big city. It’s a crime thriller, romances, and a compelling fish out of water story set in Philadelphia and the quiet Amish country of Lancaster County Pennsylvania. If you enjoyed this film you may also like these; Here are Ted’s Picks: North by Northwest (1959), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Cop Land (1997)

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1980's, Drama, Romance, Thriller

Episode 18 – Misery (1990)

Bill and Ted discuss Rob Reiner’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel “Misery,” a suspense-filled thriller where an injured romance novelist is held captive by an unhinged and deeply disturbed fan. This physiological horror film delves deeply into the nature of misery and what it can drive people to do. Here are Ted’s Picks for more great non-supernatural Stephen King film adaptations: Stand by Me (1986) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Dolores Claiborne (1995)

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1990's, Drama, Horror, Thriller