Harold Becker - Malice

0:00 Here's my question to you, Scott, would you willingly cut off one of your fingers for a million dollars? No way, no, no, no, You're not even gonna think about it, not even not even just a digit. No, a million dollars, million dollars? Nope no, all right, Well, you know who agrees with you, Doctor Jed Hill and Andy Safian, characters from one of my favorite nineties thrillers. It sounds like you want to talked about a film by Harold Becker. Absolutely, let's talk about his nineteen ninety three underrated thriller Malice. Hello, and welcome back to a Film By podcast. I'm Jeff Johnson, Scott, Scott Hoffman. Glad that you're here. My usual co host Brad Cozo. He'll be taking a little time off for some very good reasons. Meanwhile, happy to have you here, Scott. Not your first time showing up on a Film By episodes,

1:36 though you had a very hilarious, very entertaining run with our nineteen eighty six series. Earlier this year you were co hosting with David Burns. We did a great thing a film at forty five where you guys were discussing the forty fifth anniversary of some really stellar movies from nineteen seventy eight. Here recently you just wrapped up you were doing the Strange New World's Recap show with Strange New Wednesdays, and and just a month ago you you you joined uh Andrew Blakeley for what I would say is an amazing, maybe a spectacular episode for our Patreon where you talked about the new Spider Man movie. Scott you were you. I guess it was only a matter of time before you made your way to the flagship show, right, like a fungus that just creep in everywhere. No, Yeah, it's always fun to have these conversations because, I mean, these are the things that we're talking about all the time.

2:36 It's the stuff that we love. Some of the stuff is stuff that we like to poke fun at, but it's all conversations that that we're having all the time, and I'm happy to join another one. Yeah. We always uh, you know, we love having quick little spoiler free reviews on back to the box office. What you and Andrew did for the Patreon episode where you guys talked about across the Spider Verse, it was a very very much a deep dive, spoiler full episode, which we we warned people ahead of time that that was that was going to be. But but I'll tell you the great thing now is for those that have not heard that episode, Scott, and have not heard some of the other great episodes, some of the awesome content that we have on Patreon, we are now offering free seven day trials. If you're on the fence and you thought I might check it out sometime, now some time to do it. Jump on there. You get seven days free. If you don't, you don't like what you're listed to, just turn it back off. And if you do, stay with us, because we have a ton of awesome content on Patreon and it's only gonna keep going. It's only gonna keep getting bigger and bigger. Yep, Scott, let's talk about Malice. Uh. For those that have not seen this this awesome thriller, tell me what it's all about. Malice is a twisted thriller that essentially turns itself into two interconnected stories set a relatively small college town.

4:00 Each story revolves around intimate triangle of players. You've got Andy, the associate dean of students, and his new wife, Tracy, who works with kids in a local hospital and doctor Jed Hill, a self proclaimed god of a surgeon who works at Tracy's hospital and also happens to be an old classmate of Andy's. Their lives begin to connect as a serial rapist stalks the students that Andy is responsible for, and Jed operates on one of the first students targeted by this unknown assailant. As Jed becomes more involved in Andy and Tracy's lives, tensions and suspicions continue to arise about everyone's true intentions. Then, in one night, the story behind the story begins to unfold. What begins as a small town thriller becomes a tangled web of malicious deceit that ruins several lives in the process. Excellent Malice originally titled Damages Scott. It's celebrating its thirtieth anniversary a month from now. My question to you, right off the bat, does this hitchcocky and style mystery up thirty years later? I would say so. Yeah. There's enough honestly unexpected twists in this that it surprised me. This is my first time seeing it, and I think it absolutely holds up as as something fresh. You know, earlier this month, Dayton Johnson of the docum based seventy seventh podcast joined me to discuss Pacific Heights, and we discussed, uh, this this subgenre that kicked off in the early nineties. You know, married couple meets unassuming threat and terror follows. So

5:33 before Malice, we got Pacific Heights, Deceived, Sleeping with the Enemy, Mortal Thoughts, consenting adults, unlawful entry, and guilty at sin Scott, I asked Dayton, I'm gonna ask you also your thoughts on these types of thrillers and do you have a favorite? So I think I think those types of thrillers at this time in the nineties were very popular. I know that Unlawful Entry is one of my favorites. You can't go wrong, you know, Rayleiota versus Kurt Russell. But the one that that stands out is probably the Threat from Within. I'm thinking about Sleeping with the Enemy, the performances by Julia Roberts specifically in that movie, and just that it's kind of the issues that it's bringing to the surface. You've got things like spousal abuse, You've got things like infidelity, all these things that are kind of ratcheted up to eleven basically, and and given that idea that this safe environment is not safe at all and it's not what you expect and some of the things that are going on behind the scenes. Yeah, for me it in that entire run. The one that I think is unforgettable is sleeping with the Enemy.

6:56 You know, here's the thing that is exactly the answer that Dayton Johnson gave. And right now he is somewhere listening to this episode and he is already hatching the idea of a sleeping with the Enemy episode that he's gonna he's gonna co host with you, Dayton. Look all all I asked is that you just plug a film by when it when it happens. That's right, Scott. Let's let's talk about this casting crew. So we got Bill Pullman as Andy Safian and Nicole Kidman as Tracy Safian. The chemistry is a little off early on, but once you get the reveal about Tracy, it kind of makes sense. Yeah, yeah, I'd say so. And I mean there there's some weirdness that they kind of set up, especially when Jed shows up to the house and looks at that newspaper clipping where the headline says professor Mary's favorite student. It's kinda like, I don't know if you want to say that in your college paper. Yeah, but yeah, I mean she's a little snippy with him right here and there very much. Yeah, like in a defensive kind of way. Right anytime he's asking her a question or kind of you know, calling one of her decisions into in a question or kind of judging one of her decisions, she absolutely kind of beats him down a little bit. And he seems to be very much the like, Okay, hey, I don't want to start your fight, like very unassuming, very much the you know, wearing his his tweed jacket or call it, very much the professor kind of role, you know, And it's very submissive,

8:31 very much feeling. Yeah, you can definitely see that she's in control of relationship. I'm gonna tell you right now, I love this movie, so I feel like it's okay to take some shots at it here and there along the way of this conversation. And I'm gonna tell you on early on maybe one of the the worst uses of Chinese food in a movie. Oh yeah, oh god, you well, don't make Chinese food. Nobody don't make Chinese food. Sexy. No one's meeting it in bad not that come on, not at all. For God's sakes, get some blinds. Well, it doesn't take long and just put them up. On that comment, I will say this. I know we're gonna be very careful not to spoil the big, the big twist ending the big reveal. This movie's got a bunch of fun little twists, and I know we'll get into a couple of them.

9:18 But yeah, I won't say anything about the curtains. However, let's talk about Nicole Kidman. So she's coming off of a dead calm Days of Thunder, Far and Away. She's always likable, right, absolutely, Yeah, this is fresh from Far and Away, that was just a year before in ninety two. This is big hair Nicole Kidman days, right, Yes, So I'm always thinking of her as like you know, doctor Claire from Days of Thunder and Shannon Christopher from Far and Away when you first see her in this movie. She's very much that type of character, right, Oh yeah, yeah, approachable, likable, down to earth, small town It's it's very interesting where her goes with us. We've touched it on her a little bit, but it is very interesting. This kind of turn for her as an actress. Yeah. Well, here she finally gets her chance to try an American accent, which she pulls off really good, I think.

10:15 Yeah, and she gets she gets a sinister role, her first sinister role. So Bill Pullman. Okay, Scott great actor, but his character, his character isn't too believable. How many assistant deans on college campuses are providing guidance counseling meetings with students and working closely with the police and checking up on students at their house. Yeah, not to mention the back half of the movie. He goes full Sam Spade detective mode. Right, it's just like, you know, maybe maybe maybe tone it down a little bit. Yeah, I mean the believability of especially about boundaries with the students, like going to a student's house. No, Scott, we both went to college.

11:03 I never even met the assistant dean. No, I mean, come on, who are we kidding here? Yeah, I don't know. I'll tell you what I do know. Alec Baldwin as doctor Jeedhill plays, in my opinion, the second greatest role of his career, the first being Mitch and Murray's messenger Blake in Glen Garry Glenn Ross. His dialogue in that is incredible, but here, as Doctor Hill, his delivery is indeed surgical, as he provides one of the greatest movie monologues of all time. Can we can we take a quick listen to that? Yeah, let's do it. The question is do I have a God complex? Doctor Kesler says yes, which makes me wonder if this lawyer has any idea as to the kind of grades one has to receive in college to be accepted at a top medical school, if you'll have the vaguest clue as to how talented someone has to be to lead a surgical team. I have an MD from Harvard. I am board certified in cardiothoracic medicine and trauma surgery. I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never ever sick at sea.

12:20 So I ask you, when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry, or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death, or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trauma from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying too? Now you go ahead and read your Bible, Dennis, and you go to your church, and with any luck, you might win the annual raffle. But if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November seventeenth, and he doesn't like to be second guest. You ask me, if I have a God, come let me tell you something. I am God. Wow. Yeah, yeah, So there's for Alec Baldwin. I've got to say this movie is Alec Baldwin's voice, right, his delivery of this. It's so calm and even keeled, even when you know everything's kind of crashing down on him, and there's that very low kind of growl underneath it. The just commands authority in that in that situation and commands attention.

13:33 I said it, I said it back then, I'll say it now. One of the greatest missed opportunities in the early nineties is that we didn't get Alec Baldwin playing Bruce Wayne Batman. Oh that would have been interesting. It was right there. You know he ends up. I know he did The Shadow, Yeah, and say what you will about the Shadow. You know, it's fun whatever, But he's wasted on that film because he could have the Batman and he could have had Batman's We could have had Batman's voice with this kind of confidence, this kind of coldness, and it still bothers me that we don't have that, although it'd be interesting to know where how he'd make the distinction between Bruce Wayne and Batman. Right, would he speak this way in a boardroom as Bruce Wayne? And then he's talking in the locker room and he's like, I really want you to like me. I really want everybody to like me in it, So I'm going to say something that will start fresh. When he's talking to doctor Robertson in the locker room, he's like, if you don't like my jokes, don't laugh. If you have a difference of opinion, please speak up. But if you ever say that I'm going to lose a patient, I'll take out your lungs with an ice cream scoop. That's kind of like, oh god, okay, buddy.

14:48 And in this kind of movie like that's that's one of the places where you know it starts off by showing this girl riding a bike and then being attacked in her house, right, and then very soon afterwards you see the doctor in the operating room, threatening another doctor with an ice cream scoop of all things. It squarely kind of sets him up as like this guy's got kind of a villainous streak to him, and then he just goes right back into a smile and walks out. You ask me if I have a bat complex, let me tell you something. I am Batman. See there, because then with all the early Warner Brothers, he just reveals that he's Batman, and like the first half hour, no secret identity laws, Scott, let's talk about a few more actors Worth noton bb new Worth as Danta, the detective work in the Cyril rapist case, pretty much the only person going for the Massachusetts accent. I mean she she's leading hot into it, you know, pocket car not too far from the yad can have it, Yad, Oh my god, and it's it's I love it. It's a great departure from you know, doctor Lilith Sterning from Crazy from Cheers, who were used to seeing her in just before this, if not at the same time, I love seeing her in movies. Obviously Jumanji is one of the ones that stands out, but this one, she does a great job. Maybe she could have done a little bit more than pamphlets. I agree with Andy

16:21 on that she is fantasting this, but I love her. She'll always be Lilith to me, and I'm happy that she's back this fall with the Fraser revival. I'm paramount. Plus I'm gonna God, I can't wait for that George. Okay, that that great God complex deposition we get. We get a quick scene with George C. Scott as Doctor Kessler, Baldwin's mentor. Yeah, that guy does no wrong. I don't care what the role is. Just put him in. You know. He's like, I'm in your movie, but I'm gonna do like two minutes. Yeah. Yeah, he doesn't have to leave the chair. He just his presence is enough. Yeah, he's ftastic. I'll tell another one who is just electrifying in this does a whole lot with a little bit of time and Bancroft playing Tracy's wreck of a mother, and uh, it's what I feel is in Oscar worthy performance.

17:15 Honestly. Yeah, it's definitely a standout and it's it's it's absolutely dynamite, like she's she's playing somebody who's you know, fallen apart. You can see where her behavior has had an influence on on Tracy, and you know who Tracy has become and all this other kind of stuff. But the things that she goes through, like the dynamics of the performance in that scene when she's just kind of casually toying with somebody and then going into kind of a couple of rage filled moments, she absolutely steals that scene. She does.

17:55 You know, I'm not saying that she beats Anna Paquin for Best Supporting Actress at the sixty six Annual Academy Awards, but a nomination, a nomination should have been expected. In the least, I think I would think, Yeah, here's here's a fun one. Tobin Bell, Jigsaw, John Kramer himself. He's playing the creepy maintenance man slash serial rapist on campus, Yeah Scott. This same year, he's also causing problems for Nicole Kimman's then husband Tom Cruise in the firm. He's made a career out of playing I see creepy guys. Yeah, absolutely, And that's one of the things, you know, seeing this through modern eyes, it's very hard not to see him as as the threat. Like it was a very Scooby Doo reaction I got to it seeing him carrying the what was it, like a little filing cabinet He's walking into the office with, and I'm like, oh, jigsaws here, Yeah, it's totally. It's gonna like seeing Robert England in the background, like, yeah, don't mind me just putting on the hat. I'll tell you what he needs. He needs to show up on like The Muppet Show, just as a palate cleanser, just to give him a shot at being like a little bit of a nice guy. I think I think that plot would run. That plot would revolve around him wanting to do like these musical numbers and these big extravagant things, and everybody just like not wanting to do anything with him, just being afraid of him, and be like, yeah, that's fine, we'll have this. We'll have this big dance number.

19:25 We'll all stand here like out in the periphery and not get anywhere close to you. I I could see them up. It's like having fun. Like Ernie's like, hey, let's let's play a game and him and then just you know, Toby bellboll And like, yo, I want to play a game. It'd be fantastic, man, I'll sell you what's fantastic. Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first adult role in a feature film, is in this movie, and it's also the first of three roles where she meets a very gruesome demise. Yeah, that was. That was disturbing. It was, but it's so enjoyable. Okay, hot take. I am so anti Gwyneth Paltrow. I think I can't stand her when she's in movies. Okay, So when I see her show, you know, like she's you know here, She's in Andy's office complaining I can't wake up on time. It's my fault that I remembers my exam. So later when she's you know, a corpse that's rotting in the backyard, I'm like, yes, I'm sorry, you know this seven contagion. When when she meets a gruesome demise, it's it's her best work. I'm sorry. I will I will not redactions her.

20:41 No, no, no, no, no no no, no. She she does do. I think she does do a great job. It was a very surprising appearance. Like when I'm I'm watching this with fresh eyes and not expecting to see her in there, to see you know, a very young, big hair Gwyneth Paltrow. I was. I was sad to see obviously what happened to her. But I think she did a good job of kind of, you know, being one of the students and getting you to identify with her a little bit, probably like her a little bit. And then it's kind of like Tobin leave her low. See, I she's a she's she's a great actress. Let's let's call it what it is.

21:21 She is a great actress, but she always plays characters that I find incredibly annoying. Like her most likable probably was in seven, you know, and I was shocked. I wasn't glad to see what happened to her and seven. I was shocked to see what happened to her and seven when that when that first came out. But she was, at least to me, she was likable in that movie everywhere everything else, I'm just so no pepper pots for you. Oh gosh, No, I was. Look, I was. I was okay with it the first movie, the second movie, the third movie. When she put the armor on, I was like, this is bullshit. I want to know the come on, Shane Black, what do you what are you doing? Yeah? You know the only thing that the only thing that I didn't like about pepper Pots is that I had heard that she didn't actually watch any of the performances or didn't see you totally buy into what was happening. And I was like, Oh, don't do that, though, because I liked when, like in in Homecoming, when she comes out and she's like, Oh, that's the best you've got. Fine, I love that scene. We stand opposed, we will stand upposed.

22:29 And before I lose the other three Gwyneth Paltrow fans that listen to this show, I'm going to move on. There you go, Scott, Let's let's talk about there's not a whole lot of background on this movie. No, I was surprised by that. But one thing that is that we got to talk about there is one more star that we have not discussed, and it's the guy delivering the screenplay, because we're talking about Aaron Sorkin. Yeah, yeah, Hot on the heels of an enormous hit with a few good men. Yes, surprisingly, this is his only work not nominated for an Academy Award or or a Golden Globe. I read that and I was like, it cannot be right. But I mean, it's Aaron Sorkin, it's got to be right, right, Yeah. Yeah, when you look at his his roster, I mean, he's got what we just mentioned, the American President, Charlie Wilson's War, the Social Network, Moneyball, He's had a ton of hits. Yeah, so he absolutely knows what he's doing. Yeah, but I've heard that he's not all that satisfied with this movie. He's not. And I have a theory on why he's kind of down on this because let's let's let's be honest. It's well written. It's got a creepy subplot with a serial rapist that segues into a mystery plot. It feels like a Hitchcock movie, especially with the clever plot twist reveal at the end that I know what we're not gonna We're not gonna give away, you know, for the people that do want to see this. Here's the thing, though,

24:02 he was definitely at odds with Harold Becker during the making this movie, and I think that's he's got a bad taste in his mouth because of that. I don't know if you know this. So Becker asked Sorkin for a steamy sex scene between Kidman and Baldwin and Sorkin refuses to do it. Talking about it in twenty seventeen, he says, quote, I said, are you out of your mind? First of all, I just did a movie with her husband. And second of all, no, I'm not going to write down what I'd like to see Nicole do and then hand the pages out to the crew and Nicole way to go. Sorkin, right, yep, Yeah, I appreciate that he goes to bat for you know. And again, this isn't like, you know, Harold Becker has been in the game for a couple of decades at this point, but this is not Aaron Sorkin's first rodeo. So and even if it was, it's Aaron Sorkin, So you're not going to bully him, you know. And the crazy thing is the scene exists that, you know, they just went and Becker just went and wrote it himself and and filmed it. Sorkin has nothing to do with it. And that's that's I think that's one of the reasons why he kind of disowns this film in a way. I think that probably explains the awkward Chinese food portion of it. That just I mean, that's something that seems unnatural. I mean, I think the the love scene, I think is necessary because it helps to illustrate one of the dynamics going on on the neighborhood.

25:32 And you know, it also shows them being kind of a you know, a young couple and they're still you know, very much in love with each other and you know, having a lot of freedom in their own house and all this other kind of stuff, which kind of underlines that idea of that h that feeling of safety, right being one of these nineties thrillers where it's kind of like you should feel safe and secure in this situation, but then there's this element that turns it on its head, that makes it very uncomfortable, and that's very much Jed when he comes in and he kind of shuts all that down, Like it goes from you see the one love scene between Tracy and Andy, and then juxtapose that with when doctor Hill is in and he has the nurse over and they have a fun time upstairs, and she's absolutely hating it. She's like, say, just looking at the ceiling with total disdain. So I think it's necessary, but I think credit to Aaron Sorkin to say, let's not make this you know, big and steamy and exploitive, like it's not that kind of an it's not that kind of story. Ye, we don't have to see a big, steamy sex scene.

26:41 The thing is he wants a steamy scene between her and Alec Baldwin, and that scene I'm not it's not steamy, you know, and it's not as revealing. So it but it also works. It fits, like especially the tone of how they are with each other, you know, and the way she's talking in that in that moment, like what she's done it full on revealed to who she really is. But initially when it's with Andy and it's supposed to be gentle, it feels a little gratuitous. Yeah, in a way. So it's I don't know, it's it's odd, but Scott, I want to let's let's talk about the pivotal scene here, you know, and you know when we talk about these, it's it's not what you saw on the trailer. It's not the big climactic moment, but you know you need it because it tells you a lot about this movie without telling you a lot about the movie. You know, Do you have a scene like that in mind? Yeah? So the one for me is a conversation over a single malt scotch, Yes, for sure. Like that's the one where it's a bit of exposition that kind of goes into, you know, helping Andy understand what's kind of unfolding in front of it, right because he has several suspicions about some things that are going on. There's a lot of tensions, a lot of things that he's kind of confused about and trying to explore.

28:08 He's just trying to find answers. Right, his entire life has been turned upside down an inside out, but this one conversation makes it all clear. And the the way that he you can start see him kind of start to break down, but you can also see him kind of turn from this unassuming professor into somebody who's going to finally take charge of his life and try to try to stand up for himself. This is where and Bancroft is spectacular. Yeah, and you know it's it's great because you know, you gotta if you're if your heart is breaking for Andy at any point in this movie, it's got to be right here because he has found out some he goes through a major crisis with his wife, you know, and her accident at the hospital. Then he gets some very disturbing news and then you know, the lawyer kind of puts him on the right track, and then he just finds out the truth about Tracy's nefarious past. I mean, can this guy catch a break? He can't, but we can. So that's pour a single ball Scotch. We'll be right back. Welcome to the All Eighties Movies Podcast. I'm Bill and I'm Jason, and this is the podcast where we talk about the blockbusters, the flops, and everything in between from one of the freshest decades for movies, the nineteen eighties. So whether you're a brain,

29:42 a jock, a valley girl, or a Jedi, we've got some Eighties classics for you to These movies stand the test of time. Are we discovering something new? Is there an Eighties movie we are finally watching for the first time. Join us each week as we dive into the cinematic nostalgia that inspire and influenced the generation, from the hits to the cult classics. We'll discuss our earliest memories, favorite scenes, fun facts, and are not still favorite movie moments too. You can find me All Eighties Movies podcast. Whoever you listen to your podcast, please subscribe and happy listening. All right, we're back, all right? So, Jeff, what else can you tell us about Harold Becker? Surprisingly, there's not a whole lot to tell about this guy, but I can't tell you next month. He celebrates his ninety fifth birthday on September twenty five, one day before I celebrate mine. Yeah.

30:38 He attended the prestigious Pratt Institute, where he studied art and photography and began a career as a still photographer. From there, he cut his teeth directing TV commercials and documentaries. In nineteen seventy two, he co directed his first feature film, The Ragman's Daughter with Salder Harris, and from there he he kind of becomes associated with the with the the New Hollywood movement and gains a reputation for directing thrillers. So what is that New Hollywood movement? Tell me a little bit more about that. This is this is a moment where Brad Kozo would be fantastic because he would give us a very perfect answer. But I will tell you this the New Hollywood movement, This is a time in the mid sixties to the early eighties classic Hollywood has kind of been declining and they're losing money. Studios are being brought up by by corporations, and this is kind of the moment where the film director becomes the the go to guy over the studio, like the you know, you don't need a studio to put a picture out, you need a director, and you gotta think about this is this is the time of Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg, all these guys, these young filmmakers. They're on the rise and they're gonna change Hollywood, you know. Yep. And and Harold Becker was part of it. So he's got a pretty eclectic filmography. I know we're probably not gonna talk about every movie because Scott, I'll be honest with you,

32:10 I've not seen some of some of his work, But if you don't mind, I do want to kind of skip around a little bit and talk about some of them. Yep. So, look, when you co direct something, I don't see that as basically being your feature film debut. So in nineteen seventy nine, he does this movie called The Onion Field. Did you see this one? No? I didn't see it, but I'll tell you right now. I do want to see it. He's kind of also known. I didn't mention this, but he's kind of known for working with some very amazing actors and actresses early on in their career, and he's got a reputation for getting great performances out of these people. And it kind of starts here with the Youngion Field. He's got James Woods, Ted Danson, Ronnie Cox, Christopher Lloyd who we met recently. Scott. Yeah, so Ngonfield.

33:02 I don't know a whole lot about this when I haven't seen it. LA police officers murdered, and you know there's some loopholes keeping the kidnappers from getting justice some you know, I heard. The one thing I did here was that James Wood's got a lot of accolades on this film. So interesting. I definitely put on the watch list. Yeah, and I think it was Ted Danson's first film, right, Yeah, first major film. So yeah, thanks checking out. Let's jump to U. Let's jump to nineteen eighty one in a movie I'm guessing you've probably seen. I don't know if this is his first team up with George C. Scott. He does the movie Taps, So I've got to admit that's one that I have not seen.

33:43 You've not seen Taps. I have not seen Taps. If you're gonna believe that, I mean, that's one that it was so big, especially when it came out, But for I would say through eighty five there were a lot of conversations around Taps and how much an incredible movie it is, and it's almost like required reading. I just yeah, man, not had that time to sit down with it. You gotta watch this one. You know, he's back with Ronnie Cox again. You got Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, and I know you're a fan of this guy. Giancarlo Esposito is also when it's Scott alright, alright, I gotta get Taps. Yeah, Taps. I know. I know a lot of our listeners they've had to have seen Taps. So we're not gonna talk too much about Taps, but I highly recommend it. If you have not seen it, you gotta check it out. Moving along to nineteen eighty five, this might be my favorite Harold Becker film. IM not gonna lie talking about Vision Quests.

34:36 You've seen vision Quests, no Ah, you're breaking my man. This is this is the quintessential high school wrestling movie. I mean, I know that. I know that's not a big subject. I know that's a big genre, but come on, man, I modine Linda Figentino again Madonna, and like, I'm pretty sure this is Madonna's feature film debut. Yeah, she's in the bar singing crazy for you. Oh yeah, And that's been stuck in my head, you know, the whole time I've been prepping for this. Scott Vision Quests. Yeah, man, Vision Quests, I mean talk about and look, you're a music guy. This is not one of the most kick ass soundtracks you've got do Journey Madonna. You gotta see Vision Quest man, It's a homework assignment. Put that. I'm almost ready to do a double Harold Becker episode just so we can do Vision Quests, and I'm gonna break the roles just so you can watch it. But all right, we're gonna move on. He spent the rest of eighty five doing music videos from Madonna, so you know, like her videos yep, which got continuous rotation on MTV. Yeah yeah, uh, late eighties. He's kind of he's doing a couple of movies that you know, they're a little forgettable the Big Town the Boost. Truthfully, I've never even heard of him.

35:59 Nope, Nope, what nineteen eighty nine? I have heard of Sea of Love, Scott. This is the movie that kind of puts Pacino back on the map. Have you seen this one? Of course I have No. I haven't seen this. I was seeing the trailer up and down in sideways. You've seen the trailer, well, I mean I've seen it in you know, heavy rotation at the time, but I wasn't necessarily, you know, looking for al Pacino and Ellen Barkin and you know, uh them steaming up the screen and you know, with John Goodman in tow it looks interesting, but it is not. When it's on my radar. This is like, this is like a basic instinct, you know, you got You've got a detective. He's investigating a bunch of murders. He gets involved with this woman and guess what, she might be the one behind it? You know, Yep. I'll say no more, Scott, because you know, it sounds like you've got a lot of Harold Becker homework to do, and I don't want to run him for you. I've got a lot of homework.

36:52 Yeah, we've been talking about Malice in ninety three. A couple of years later, he teams back up with with the Alpaccino does City Hall. Yes, okay, so you've seen city Hall. Yep. Okay, now we're now we're getting somewhere. Yeah, well hold on, you know, let's talk about city Hall for a second. Yep. Alpaccino, John Cusack, Danny Aello. Yeah, and I know that that was one. I think that was one where he got a lot of attention. Again, he had a lot of press for for his work on City Hall. Yeah. And this is also another another team up, another collaboration he does with Jerry Goldsmith.

37:35 Because we haven't even mentioned it, but Goldsmith is the man behind the score for Malice, which I love. It's got that it's got that lullaby like that innocent, safe moments of it, and it's got the yeah, but terrifying words yeah, creepy turns. Yeah, yep. Yeah, So love love Jerry Goldsmith's work and City Hall teams them up again. How about you mentioned Mercury Rising. This is this is where he teams back up with Alec Baldwin. Yep. Your thoughts on that one? Uh? So that one, it's it's it's hard not to focus on the kid, the central kid in that movie. Yeah, because I'm always going to see him as that kid from West Craven's New Namemare. I just can't shake it. Yeah, I mean he Okay, I'm with you on that. I just I don't know. I kind of feel like this one was kind of like a this is late nineties, and I feel like Mercury Rising. While it was, it's good, it's not memorable. Yeah, it's it's kinda I vaguely remember. I vaguely remember Bruce Willis protecting a kid, right right, And I probably remember the post or more than most of the movie itself. To be completely honest, and see, that's not the good sign of a no, a good movie. That's that's all right, Scott two thousand and one.

39:02 He does He does his final movie, Domestic Disturbance. John Travolta, Vince Vaughan. Did you catch that one? Yes? I like this one. Yeah, I thought, I think, you know, if it's if you're going to end the career, it's good to end on a high note. I think that was great performances by Travolta and Vallan. Well, Terry Polo, you know, playing the wife was awesome in that too. Yep, yep, absolutely good catch. It's it's not one that I go to on a regular basis. Also now, at the time I thought it was was very interesting. But it's it's just not un heavy rotation. It's not to say it's not a good movie, it's just not one that keeps coming back. You know what's odd about it is it comes out in two thousand and one, but it has a distinct feeling of mid to late nineties to it. Yeah, yeah, that's very true. Yeah. Well, I don't know a lot of you know you I could say maybe hit and miss with his career, but I think the hits are are big hits for Harold Becker. Yeah, I mean, if nothing else, the you know, Taps and Vision Quest keep you on the table. Will you please see Vision Quests soon? I will, I will. It's on my list. All right. Well, look, let's let's talk. Let's let's wrap up here.

40:21 Let's talk about what you thought about Malice Scott. Do you recommend seeing this film? I do, although it's a very hard define. I don't know if you had a hard time tracking this down, but I couldn't find any retinals online. I ended up buying it on iTunes less than fifteen bucks, so I think it's definitely worth that experience, or you know, going to the Dayton Johnson route looking for it in physical media. I know that you can catch it at the library, But where did you happen to see this one? I happen to pull this right off the shelf. I own a physical copy of this one. I gotta I got a DVD that, you know, I'd love to update to a Blu ray if it's out there.

41:05 But absolutely, I say, I see this movie. It is worth the price of admission for Alec Baldwin and and Bancroft's performances alone. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah yeah. And it's sad. I mean I'm sad that it's not streaming anywhere, even for like, hey, you rent it for a couple of bucks. You know, if you if you want to see it, you gotta you gotta buy it. You know, I know you can purchase it. You bought it on iTunes. I know you can also get it on YouTube, you can get on Apple, you can get on Amazon. I know you've I would never have thought about it, so I listened to you guys on a film at forty five when you start talking about going to the library and renting them, So I kinok that out, Yeah for sure. I mean there's a lot of these movies as they start to get a little bit older and possibly a little bit more obscure, they're just not in that you know, streaming rotation. But you know, it's it's a it's a great way to pick them up and also get that, you know, slightly in depth behind the scenes, if there's commentary, if there's documentaries. You know, it's it's something I kind of miss about streaming. You don't necessarily get that kind of depth with those. You kind of watch it and it disappears. So yeah, definitely worth checking out.

42:14 A lot of libraries let you reserve it at that location, so it's easy for you to pick up and you get it for a nice couple of days. So give it a shout out, I say, you know, if you want to be patient, I know, I know Brad has pointed us out several times where we'll do a movie that is not available anywhere and then within like a couple of weeks it shows up on on Max or Paramount Plus or Pluto or two by, So be patient. And you know, look, if you want to spend fourteen ninety nine and buy it, Uh, if you're really that upset with it and you don't like it, uh, just write us and Scott will refund your money, right Scott, Uh sure, sure, sure, Uh We're okay that that's We're not doing that.

42:57 That was just I'm just busting Scott's shops. But please do contact us at a film by podcast dot com. We got some fun stuff there. Now. The website kind of has been getting up polished. You know, there's some trivia stuff on there, and you know there's some fun stuff there. Get ahold of us there. Uh. Streaming social media, you know, at a film by podcast you can you can find us on a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Love interacting with people, Love hearing your thoughts on some of these these films. So if you've got something to say, please let us know. Yeah, for sure. And Jeff, where do we have coming up next? Oh? You know all this talk about im Bancroft. Next week we're discussing her husband, mel Brooks, with not one but two episodes. First up, Amber Lewis from The Docking Base seventy seven podcast joins us to discuss high anxiety and Scott, I'm happy to say you'll be back to discuss Silent Movie on our limited nineteen seventy six series yep and again.

44:00 And that's one where it's you know, it's it's not a lot easy to find, but it's definitely worth checking out. Absolutely well, we thank you for checking us out. We will see you next week, all right, Thanks everybody,