Episode 161: NIGHT MOVES (1975)

"Where were you when Kennedy got shot?""Which Kennedy?""Any Kennedy."On a special "John's Only" episode—John is joined by our recurring guest and resident Cassavetes scholar Dr. John Bruni to discuss the 1975 neo-noir NIGHT MOVES, starring the late Gene Hackman. This was the subject of some writing by Bruni on Media Magpies (link below in the description) back in March for the Criterion release. Much of our discussion centered around that, and we talked further on post-Watergate cinema, scuzzy and morally corrupt Hollywood, the film's depiction of mistreated women, the titular "knight moves" and what that means in the context of the film's mystery, the excellent Michael Small score, and much more. Before that, we went over the usual news and what we watched this week. We will be back in a few weeks to continue our Sofia Coppola watch series, talking 2017's THE BEGUILED.*quick correction, Night of the Hunter was directed by Charles LAUGHTON, not Charles Burnett.TIME STAMPS00:00:00 Introduction00:05:13 Shout outs: John's Montreal trip; Ottawa Bad Movie Nights00:13:22) New Releases (The Naked Gun; War of the Worlds; The Bad Guys 2)What We Watched This Week00:14:58 Videoheaven [w/ a Q&A with Director Alex Ross Perry] (Bruni)00:18:28 The Heartbreak Kid (Bruni)00:19:11 Welcome to L.A. (Bruni)00:21:01 Choose Me (Bruni)00:21:40 The Firm (Bruni)00:23:20 The Devil, Probably (John)00:30:28 The Opening of Misty Beethoven (John)00:36:26 Fantasia Fest 2025 recap (Dui Shaw, and The Angel's Egg)00:40:38 The Amityville Horror (John)00:45:20 Amityville Horror II: The Possession (John)0047:15 NIGHT MOVES Discussion01:31:00 Our ratings for NIGHT MOVES01:36:28 Coming Up Next!CREDITS AND PLUGSIntro: Night Moves Opening Theme - Michael SmallOutro: Night Moves - Bob SegerHere's the article by John Bruni and John Anderson : https://www.mediamagpies.com/through-the-american-past-darkly-a-new-release-of-night-moves-shines-light-on-gene-hackman/Follow John on Letterboxd—@johnnycakes91Curtis: https://www.the-back-row.com/ - check out 'Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month'https://curtisrunstedler.ca/Dr Curtis Reads: https://www.youtube.com/@curtisrunstedler