Director's Club
Director's Club
Jim Laczkowski
A monthly show that reviews one film director per episode with the occasional bonus episode. Episodes 123-172 were hosted by Brad & Al. As of 2022, new episodes will be hosted by Jim and/or Bill. The spin-off show, B-Side Me, is also here (for now) which is all about music/bands!
Dial P For Podcast #8: Rope, Under Capricorn, Stage Fright, Strangers on a Train
Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.On this month's installment we see Hitchcock take flight with his own production company, his own projects, his own risks and bold formal gambits that no one else would ever be fool enough to try. In Rope (1948) Hitchcock embraces long takes, treacherous gays and color film, with Under Capricorn (1949) Hitchcock once again tries his hand at period costume drama and once again is humbled, Stage Fright (1950) finds Hitchcock returning to familiar moves and finding unexpected success, and finally Strangers on a Train (1951) sets a new path forward for Hitch, with a new trusted cinematographer and a new embrace of a dark bitter misanthropy that he makes look oh so good.All that and an impression of Jimmy Stewart as George Carlin! You can't lose!0:00 - 0:28 - Intro0:29 - 1:26:24 - Rope (1948)1:26:25 - 2:15:57 - Under Capricorn (1949)2:15:58 - 3:22:45 - Stage Fright (1950)3:22:46 - 4:29:13 - Strangers on a Train (1951)4:29:14 - 4:32:47 - Addendum4:32:47 - 4:33:02 - Outro
Sep 2
4 hr 33 min
Episode 247: Nicole Holofcener (feat. Kate Blair)
After an extended break, the regular format has returned for the rest of 2026. Then we'll see what happens in the new year. At the very least, you'll be getting the yearly traditions regardless if the regular format changes. For the next two episodes, I needed to discuss filmmakers that bring me joy and aren't too heavy. The first is a filmmaker I've been meaning to cover for a little while since back in 2002, I became a huge fan of Nicole Holofcener. This is appropriately a short and sweet episode, much like the director's work itself. Joining me in the discussion, focused on her breakthrough film LOVELY & AMAZING and her most recent work, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, is returning guest and friend to the show Kate Blair, making her fifth appearance and is always a delight to talk with. We also briefly sing the praises of the latest from Jane Schoenbrun during the introduction too!I am truly grateful to Patrick for his Dial P for Podcast series which will also continue till the end of the year and of course, to Kate for coming back on the show. Thanks everyone for your patience this summer and looking forward to bringing you more episodes this year.
Aug 27
1 hr 41 min
Dial P for Podcast #7: Lifeboat, Spellbound, Notorious, The Paradine Case
Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.As the Selznick era comes to an end we see an Alfred Hitchcock growing in confidence, ambition and struggling against the increasing interference of the overbearing producer. With Lifeboat Hitchcock takes on a seemingly simple premise that was in fact an enormous technical challenge, Spellbound found a David O Selznick obsession with psychiatry producing a mess of a thriller, Notorious finds Hitchcock hitting a career high and pissing off every censor in Hollywood, while The Paradine Case begs the question: if a murder happens and no actors capable of emoting can't react to it, does it make a sound?You can add the mid-40's to Hitchcock's list of playmates. Check it out!0:00 - 0:32 - Intro0:33 - 40:31 - Lifeboat (1944)40:32 - 1:08:31 - Spellbound (1945)1:08:32 - 1:53:26 - Notorious (1946)1:53:27 - 2:18:54 - The Paradine Case (1947)2:18:55 - 2:21:28 - Outro
Jul 31
2 hr 21 min
Bonus Episode: 2006 Review - The Year In Music
It's the first B-Side Me/Director's Club crossover (and the last if you listen to the intro). One of the other yearly traditions occurs when I step away from film and turn to my other favorite art form: music, alongside returning guests and lifelong friends J and Dan. I'll be putting all the year in music episodes in one happy archive soon enough but for now, please partake in this delightful bonus discussion all about 2006, as we run down our favorite records of that year. Included are many song clips, memories, laughs and a lot of recommendations that we all hope you'll seek out and enjoy as much as we did. If you enjoy the music talk (and previous episodes of B-Side Me) please subscribe using the RSS feed link below since all future episodes will be in their own separate feed! Thanks everyone for the support and huge thanks to Dan and J for spending a couple hours nerding out with nostalgia by going back 20 years. B-Side Me Is Now Available Here:B-Side Me - Apple PodcastsB-Side Me RSS FeedFollow Dan:dan solomonFollow J:for3stpunk
Jul 27
1 hr 48 min
Bonus Episode: Sneakers Commentary Track (feat. Erik Childress)
At first I was going to simply just write about my love of Phil Alden Robinson's spy thriller, Sneakers (1992), but then I decided it was time to start recording my voice again in hopes of returning to our regularly scheduled program next month. Since I needed something to lift my spirits, I asked friend and Chicago Film Critic Erik Childress to join me to talk for 2 hours all about a movie that means a lot to me. Another "Jim and his dad love this movie" example.Instead of only talking about why it's so great as a bonus episode, I thought a feature-length commentary track was in order, something I haven't done since recording last year with Bill Ackerman for the 4K release of At Close Range, another all-time favorite that I'd consider to be underrated. Erik was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to play a game a Scrabble, hop inside an unmarked van and wire-tap a mathematician in order to get our voyeuristic kicks. Even if you're not a fan or don't own this film to listen along as the film plays, feel free to simply just listen us nerd out for a couple hours about this all-star ensemble cast killing it every step of the way. It's a prescient film that has a lot to say and manages to be a blast the whole way through. Grateful to Erik and hope you enjoy what we have to say here!00:00 - 05:31 - Intro05:32 - 02:11:17 - Commentary Track02:11:18 - 02:17:59 - Outro
Jul 20
2 hr 17 min
Dial P for Podcast #6: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Suspicion, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt
Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.As we reach the midpoint of Alfred Hitchcock's career we see a variety of films, including a screwball comedy and another 39 Steps re-run, but we also see the full flowering of a Hitchcock driven by psychology, by terror of a much more domestic variety, a world at war while things aren't right at home, where the person you sleep next to could be your most sinister enemy. Homicidal Cary Grant, Thorton Wilder slumming it, the statue of liberty, fourth wall dismissal, surrealism and even honest-to-God psychic powers saturate this batch of films as Hitchcock settles into Hollywood and begins to turn it upside down.It's glowing like a poisoned glass of milk but you better drink it down anyway!0:00 - 0:36 - Intro0:37 - 30:55 - Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)30:56 - 1:38:47 - Suspicion (1941)1:38:48 - 2:24:53 - Saboteur (1942)2:24:54 - 4:13:55 - Shadow of a Doubt (1943)4:14:56 - 4:15:04 - Outro
Jul 1
4 hr 15 min
Dial P for Podcast #5: The Lady Vanishes, Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Foreign Correspondent
Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.In this episode Alfred Hitchcock finally escapes the confines of the British film industry, only to once again find himself a small fish in a large pond. With The Lady Vanishes (1938) he takes the 39 Steps formula into dizzying new heights of paranoia and sophistication, in Jamaica Inn (1939) he clashes with the ego of producer/star Charles Laughton, in Rebecca (1940) he breaks ground in Hollywood with a career high gothic romance classic and Foreign Correspondent (1940) finds him back to the thriller, but with greater production values and a more urgent plea for intervention than ever.One of the most important stretches of Alfred Hitchcock's career, producing some of the greatest works in his filmography! Check it out!0:00 - 0:33 - Intro0:34 - 46:00 - The Lady Vanishes (1938)46:01 - 1:18:20 - Jamaica Inn (1939)1:18:21 - 2:34:24 - Rebecca (1940)2:34:25 - 3:43:14 - Foreign Correspondent (1940)3:43:15 - 3:44:04 - Outro
May 31
3 hr 44 min
Dial P for Podcast #4: The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, Sabotage, Young & Innocent
Good evening. Welcome back to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.For episode 4 we find Alfred Hitchcock a newly christened international film star, taking the magic formula he discovered in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) in four very different configurations, with four very different results, as we discuss the ground crumbling from under him at Gaumont Studios. Also: his top three favorite methods of being a hideous creep at parties!Spies and bystanders, codes and MacGuffins, the Scottish Highlands to the Swiss Alps to Picadilly Circus, this episode finds Hitch sharpening the Hitchcockian thriller to a fine point, as well as discarding some truly useless pencil shavings!0:00 - 0:35 - Intro Music0:36 - 1:35:56 - The 39 Steps (1935)1:35:57 - 2:06:51 - Secret Agent (1936)2:06:52 - 2:58:11 - Sabotage (1936)2:58:12 - 3:22:34 - Young & Innocent (1937)3:22:35 - 3:23:46 - Outro Music
May 1
3 hr 23 min
Dial P for Podcast #3: Skin Game, Rich and Strange, Number Seventeen, The Man Who Knew Too Much
Good evening. Welcome back to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert.For episode 3 we find Hitchcock's clout at British International Pictures crumbling, his bosses increasingly fed up with his nonsense and a new beginning that would catapult him to international success. Plus: Alfred Hitchcock does drag!From turgid stage adaptations to bizarre pseudo-screwball, from old dark house farce to basically inventing James Bond, this is one of the wildest stretches of Hitch's career! 0:00 - 0:40 - Intro Music0:41 - 20:46 - The Skin Game (1931)20:47 - 51:41 - Rich and Strange (1931)51:42 - 1:22:06 - Number Seventeen (1932)1:22:07 - 2:26:49 - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)2:26:50 - 2:27:59 - Outro Music
Mar 31
2 hr 27 min
B-Side Me #5: Counting Crows
NOTE: After this episode, B-Side Me will be getting its own separate feed as a standalone show! If you enjoy the first five episodes, you'll have to subscribe to the new link which I will share soon!In addition to the monthly movie talk regarding directors (for Director’s Club), I'm happy to present the latest episode of the music version of that same format! Only this time, it's all about bands/musicians that we think are worth discussing. Along with fiancee Sharon Gissy, we both can’t wait for you to listen to us nerd out about music each month. This time, it's all about the divisive Counting Crows! Have you heard them lately? Without further ado, here is the 5th episode of B-Side Me.The format is simple: each of us picks an A-side to discuss (a more popular well-known song) and then we choose a B-side (a song that’s more obscure) that we think you should listen to ASAP. Add our choices to playlists, listen to us talk about another art form we both adore just as much as film! Thank you so much to Sharon for joining me on this nerdy podcasting journey and can’t wait for April (this summer, we will also have guests on). Grateful to all of you who listen to this one! Special shout-out to journalist and friend Dan Solomon for contributing too!Watch the new Counting Crows documentary on HBO MAX: https://play.hbomax.com/movie/3a004038-8df4-48c8-8fde-a1d7cfcea1a6
Mar 30
1 hr 37 min
Load more