Rashmi & Zach begin Unit II of their International Noir Journey with a look into Police Noir.
The unit kick's off back in Hollywood with the legendary Fritz Lang and his 1953 crime classic, THE BIG HEAT.
Tune in to hear about the many ways Lang's masterwork establishes many of the noir tropes & portrayal of police in noir that would influence the world of cinema to follow.
Rashmi & Zach reach the end of their "One Last Job" unit of Noir with a trip to Australia and unspool the glory of Julius Avery's 2014 outing, SON OF A GUN.
Tune in to hear them breakdown how the film draws upon its Noir ancestors & indie filmmaking savvy to create a tight crime caper on a budget with style!
Rashmi & Zach pay a visit to the cinematically oft neglected country of Chad on their international Noir tour as they unpack Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's 2013 tale of dance and danger, GRIGRIS.
Tune in as the duo unpack the many ways the film is picking up very familiar tropes and traits of Noir past while able to bring forth an ending that the dawn of Film Noir could never achieve.
Rashmi & Zach's tour through the wide world of noir lands this week in Mexico as our hosts navigate the bleach bypassed world of Alejandro González Iñárritu and his 2000 debut feature, 'Amores perros'.
Tune in as the duo unpack this crime anthology that embraces its noir roots and comes across the unique ways that Iñárritu upends traditional noir tropes to create further dimensions for viewers to contemplate.
Rashmi & Zach's trek through the noir alley's of the world continues with a stop in Hong Kong; where with the twist of your hand and a flock of doves, noir and action combine in John Woo's THE KILLER!
Tune in to hear more about the making of the film, hear them deconstruct the crime thriller's plot, and analyze how John Woo takes the reliable plot elements & style of noir and intertwines them with the pulse pounding action he would become revered for.
Rashmi & Zach's tour through the wide world of noir lands them in Fance and at the door steps of an old friend, Jean-Pierre Melville, and his 1970 heist spectacular, LE CERCLE ROUGE!
Tune in to hear more of how Melville homages and updates the Noir genre of Hollywood that entranced him, thrill alongside our hosts as they unpack this meticulous and patient picture, and... swoon like crazy over the glory that is Alain Delon with a mustache!
To learn more about the beginnings of Melville and Delon's collaborations, listen to Rashmi & Zach's previous chat on Le Samouraï
https://ballyhoorevuepodcast.com/ep-87-wonders-of-world-cinema-le-samourai-the-samurai-1967-or-a-matter-of-birds-bullets/
Rashmi & Zach move along the map in their Noir journey and find themselves back in Japan to unravel the amazing heist and aftermath of Takumi Furukawa's 1964 caper, CRUEL GUN STORY (Kenjū zankoku monogatari)!
Tune in today to unpack all the glorious ways Furukawa blends together the various strands of noir in such an efficient way and how it stands in the grand gutter of Noir legacy.
PLUS: Joe Shishido becomes the greatest meme of all time.
To watch CRUEL GUN STORY, go to Criterion for Disc & Streaming Options
Criterion Listing: https://www.criterion.com/films/2958-cruel-gun-story
Disc (As part of the Eclipse series): https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/655-eclipse-series-17-nikkatsu-noir
Streaming: https://www.criterionchannel.com/cruel-gun-story
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Our upcoming film, Le cercle rougue (1970) can be purchased here: https://www.criterion.com/films/628-le-cercle-rouge
Rashmi & Zach set upon their first trip abroad in their international noir journey with a stop in France as they deep dive into the gritty world of Jules Dassin’s 1955 caper, RIFIFI.
Tune in to hear about the films unusual origin story, stories from the production, and how the film’s influence has permeated the world of film we experience today.
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Please take a moment to donate to or to share these links in support of the assistance to those affected by the Southern California Wildfire.
Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/local/california/los-angeles/about-us/news-and-events/press-releases/palisades-fire--red-cross-opens-emergency-shelter-.html
Direct Relief:
https://www.directrelief.org/2025/01/as-southern-california-fires-rage-medical-aid-en-route/
LA Food Bank:
https://www.lafoodbank.org/fire/
Welcome to the wide world of noir as Rashmi and Zach introduce the newest YBR Presents series: NOIR MONDIAL
The duo inaugurate this new series studying film noir here and abroad with their first study unit, 'One Last Job'. As a starter they dig into one of film lands most beloved noir heists, John Huston's 150 classic, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE!
Tune in today to hear them break down the film and how it influenced the wider world of both noir and film at large.
Zach and Rashmi conclude their journey through Japanese Horror Cinema with a leap forward in time to that terrifying new metal world as they deep dive Shinya Tsukamoto's 1989 cult classic, TETSUO: THE IRON MAN!
Join them as they get lost in Shinya's whirlpool of madness and the many ways this cyber-punk terror piece has shaped the world of horror and cinema at large.
PLUS: A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
Zach and Rashmi learn how to get ahead (or two) in life as they unravel the 1975 whirlpool of madness that is Masahiro Shinoda's UNDER THE BLOSSOMING CHERRY TREES.
Tune in to hear us pontificate about this dreamy-looking but terrifying horror tale!
Zach and Rashmi find themselves amid the haunted susuki grass as they settle in for an unnerving tale courtesy of Kaneto Shindō AS THEY UNPACK HIS 1964 opus, ONIBABA.
Tune in to hear how Shindō and his independent filmmaking skills came to bring about a timeless horror classic.
Zach and Rashmi get invited to a spinster aunt's abode where terrifying and darkly hilarious things lurk as they take a deep and crazy dive into Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 horror hit, HOUSE.
Tune in to learn how a surreal story from the imagination of Nobuhiko's daughter became an adored and legendary tale of terror whose impact is still being felt to this day!
Zach and Rashmi are on the highway to hell by way of Shintoho as they unravel the many layers and devilish sights of Nobuo Nakagawa's 1960 outing, JIGOKU
Tune in to hear about the many ways this startling and stunning piece of horror cinema has captivated the worlds attention and how its impact is felt in cinema at large to this day.
Zach & Rashmi get Shakesperean on Kowai as they tackle a fog laden land of Madness and Mifune with Akira Kurosawa's 1957 masterclass, THRONE OF BLOOD.
Tune in as the two extrapolate how Kurosawa lends a horror layer onto the familiar story of MacBeth and how it manages to prove itself a worthy entry into the canon of Japanese Horror.
PLUS: Zach demands a portrait of Toshiro Mifune gloriously riding an elephant.
Zach and Rashmi get entranced to an upper class home only to find the fantasy is the trance of a long gone soul as they take a closer look at Kenji Mizoguchi's ghostly 1953 tale, UGETSU.
Join them as they unpack the meticulous methodology of Mizoguchi and how his subtle hand at terrifying moments blend beautifully into this tragic tale.
Zach and Rashmi sift through an oft told tale under delicate and dread fueled care as they unpack Nobuo Nakagawa's 1959 chiller, TŌKAIDŌ YOTSUYA KAIDAN!
Settle in to discover how Nakagawa handles adapting a century plus old kabuki play into a spine tingling tale of cinematic terror whose influence has echoed down the decades to this very day.
Zach and Rashmi hop aboard a ghost ship and set sail for for the terrors found within Hiroshi Matsuno's 1968 pulp shocker, THE LIVING SKELETON.
Come aboard and listen to the duo as they unpack the film's high marks amid a low budget, dig deeper into the religious threads intertwined throughout, marvel at the many Western tropes of scares brilliantly achieved, and assess how this B- Picture makes them walk away feeling A+ satisfaction.
Zach and Rashmi wind down a spooky path or revenge as they take a closer look at Kaneto Shindo's 1968 tale, KURONEKO.
Tune in for a thrilling discussion that analyzes the haunting detail and the inspired visual flourish that brings this tragedy of trauma into the pantheon of horror film and how Shindo's use of silence creates a chill down your cinematic spine
Zach and Rashmi get caught up in a sweeping epic of the supernatural as they dive deeply into Masaki Kobayashi's 1964 supreme anthology, KWAIDAN!
Tune in for a production tale filled with swirling misfortune and perseverance, deep appreciation for the gradeur Kobayashi's technician's bring to the table, and become unabashed fans of Biwa music.
