Closed Set w/ Themistoklis Alexis

This month, we return to celebrate and examine the work of a personal favourite of mine: Greek-Cypriot director Yannis Economides (b. 1967). 

Heralded as one of several filmmakers responsible for a recent resurgence in Greek cinema and an auteur of modern realism, Economides has spent a 20-year career as a feature director exploring the darker sides of human nature and their many manifestations among the lower and middle class of m...

This episode takes a stab at covering the life and early work of Hal Ashby (1929-1988), a director who was synonymous with the New Hollywood era of the 70s and helmed a string of beloved films that often doubled as social commentaries, including The Landlord, Harold & Maude, The Last Detail, and Shampoo. We'll revisit these films, Ashby's apprenticeship under filmmaker Norman Jewison, his contradictions, and the parallels between h...

The show is (finally) back to celebrate the life, work, and legacy of Renaissance man Melvin Van Peebles (1932-2021), a well-travelled director, songwriter, actor, playwright, and novelist who played an integral role in breaking the color barrier for Black filmmakers in Hollywood during the late 60s-early 70s and helmed the groundbreaking and provocative independent hit Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, among many other triumphs.

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After a hectic month away, the show is back for a look at the life of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) and his portraits of existential dread in the modern world.

Antonioni helped pave the way for Italy's post-war neorealist movement with a series of short documentaries, then set a new standard for European art films in the 60s with L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, and Red Desert. We'll revisit these beloved wor...

The marvelous Elaine May (b. 1932) has worn many different hats over a lifelong career that began in the Yiddish theatre during childhood, and before she receives an overdue Honorary Academy Award at this month's Oscars, we're celebrating her with a look at the four films she directed in the 70s and 80s.

An accomplished improvisational comedian, actress, filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright, May first took the director's chair i...

Fans of old film noir know and love the director we're covering on today's episode: Joseph H. Lewis (1907-2000).

In a prolific career that saw him helm 40 films for every Hollywood studio in operation from the late 30s through the 50s, Lewis cemented himself as a workhorse with a knack for making the most of limited means. The New York native made low-budget westerns, war films, musicals, and everything in between, but his best wor...

Director, producer, screenwriter, film critic. Tony Richardson (1928-1991) held every one of these distinctions over his long and prolific career, but he's best remembered as a leading figure of the Free Cinema and British New Wave movements, which produced many great filmmakers and shed light on the plight of England's post-war working class in the late 50s and early 60s. His films Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer, A Taste of H...

After a rest and a surprise visit from the Rona, we're back with a slightly different format for a look at Alan J. Pakula (1928-1998) and his Paranoia Trilogy.

This trio of classic 70s films includes Klute, a murder mystery and character study carried by an incredible performance from Jane Fonda, the slow-burning conspiracy thriller The Parallax View, and All the President's Men, which dramatized two journalists' efforts to uncover...

We conclude our series on Elia Kazan (1909-2003) with a look at his later works, his marriages, his infidelities, and some allegations that surfaced long after his passing. The third act of Kazan's career saw him helm some personal passion projects, including America, America and The Arrangement, albeit with mixed results. Join us as we cover Kazan's last five films, his contradictions, his self-indulgence, and his greatest transgr...

In the second instalment of our three-part series on Elia Kazan (1909-2003), we cover his controversial testimony before the House of Un-American Activities Committee during the days of the Hollywood Blacklist, as well as the films he helmed throughout the 50s. Kazan's testimony made him a polarizing figure within the industry, and he followed it with silver screen classics like On the Waterfront, East of Eden, and the prophetic A ...

The podcast returns with the first of a three-part series covering Elia Kazan (1909-2003), a director, actor, and novelist whose career in film spanned over 30 years. In addition to being a celebrated theatre director who staged works from titans like Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, Kazan co-founded the Actors Studio and helmed films like Gentleman's Agreement, A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and East of Eden. Th...

We return for a look at the life and work of Jean-Pierre Melville (1917-1973), a beloved French director, screenwriter, and occasional actor who helmed the classics Le Silence de la Mer, Les Enfants Terribles, Leon Morin - Pretre, Le Doulos, and Le Samourai. After serving in the French Resistance during World War II, Melville returned to his native Paris to live out his dream of making films and was the only French filmmaker of his...

We return for a look at the life and work of the great Ida Lupino (1918-1995), a prolific and beloved actress, screenwriter, and director. Born to a family of performers, Lupino was the only woman of her era to claim a director's chair and drafted the blueprint for independent filmmaking in the US, all while maintaining an enviable output. In addition to directing 100+ episodes of television, she helmed seven feature films, many of...

This week, we take a look at the work of decorated American screenwriter and director Robert Benton (b. 1932). After working as an art director at Esquire and a writer on classics like Bonnie & Clyde and What's Up, Doc?, Benton tried his hand at directing in the early 70s and helmed some gems like the acid western Bad Company, the neo-noir mystery The Late Show, and family drama Kramer vs. Kramer. Join us as we celebrate these grea...

This week, we revisit the life and work of the great Czech-British filmmaker Karel Reisz (1926-2002). A seminal figure of England's Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave, Reisz announced his arrival with the 1960 "kitchen sink" classic Saturday Night and Sunday Morning before directing memorable films like Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment, Isadora, The Gambler, and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Join us as we celebrat...

In this episode, we desperately try to stave off the sophomore jinx with a comprehensive look at the life and work of George Roy Hill (1921-2002), who helmed classics like the western Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, caper film The Sting, the flapper-era musical Thoroughly Modern Mille, the cult classic Slap Shot, and the adaptation of John Irving's novel The World According to Garp. Join us as we revisit these works and more in t...

We properly kick off the Closed Set podcast with a celebration of the life and work of John Cassavetes (1929-1989), a pioneer of independent American cinema responsible for films like Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, and Love Streams. A uniquely talented director, actor, screenwriter, and playwright, Cassavetes remains beloved by filmmakers and cinephiles alike for his raw, honest, and most importantly, nuanced examinat...