The Gregg Bruza View

Have you ever heard of this guy Jesus Franco?  I haven't and I can't believe I never have.  This guy did two of the most grittiest, coolest, slinkiest film noirs of all time and they remind me of Josef Von Sternberg's "The Shanghai Gesture".  Which is why I thought I'd make it a threesome.

Kim "anything's possible" Hunter.  Another character actress that I'm sure  most of you don't know about.  But she went from 0 to 60 in the make-up department in the original "Planet of The Apes", won an Academy Award, and is one of the greatest films of all time.  And she defied incredible odds.

She Haunts My Dreams - The Films of Marie WindsorI'm talking about The Goddess of Film Noir Marie Windsor.  Another short but sweet little podcast on a neat supporting actress who did small roles but left a big impression.

Dennis Weaver is a little known  actor who starred in the second most successful  tv series of all time, in my opinion, "Gunsmoke".  Which he did for nine seasons.  But along the way he left some choice other roles on the trail and I'm gonna point them out for you so you can see for yourself what a great character actor he was.  Take a ride with me.

Not Selena but you never know.  She could be a distant relative of this actor.  This is the first in a series on the great character actors/actresses of the 40s, 50s, 60s and a little beyond. We start with the actor Thomas Gomez the first Hispanic actor to be nominated for an Academy Award.  I'll introduce you to 5 of his films and two tv roles that you gotta check out.

Bob Mitchum is probably one of my top 10 favorite actors.  His body of work is killer and speaks for itself.  After taking on so many roles and working with so many great directors, he decided to come up with an original story, write an original song, and star in alongside his son, one great movie called "Thunder Road".  You gotta see this movie.  It's a lost gem.

The real history of America through film.  Not that crap that was in our school books.  I'll present to you 41 films, 21 based on actual true events and 20 based on actual characters, situations and time periods that show the real history of our country and the people who shaped it into what it is today.  And this is not me saying it.  The proof is in the pudding.  Come along if you dare because there's gonna be some "fan hittin'".  And you know what with.  Make sure to listen after the music outro at the end for one last message.

And that's what I'm going to do in this podcast.  Share with you what it was like to first see the trailer for "Rocky" in movie theaters, and then what it was like to have the near extinct "movie experience " of seeing it for the first time when it was released.  Also, why I think it is not only one of the most well written screenplays of all time, but one of the greatest boxing movies ever.  And it's a "love " story,

Part 3 in my series "The Best Film Noirs of All Time".  In Part 1 and Part 2 I talked about the 1st Top 10 List of Film Noirs.  Here in Part 3 I'll give you the 2nd Top 10 List of the best film noirs, in my opinion.  I'll introduce them to you, let you go away and watch them, then you come back in Part 4, and we'll fall deeper into them.  But you'll want to fall deeper into this 2nd Top 10 list - lots of twists and turns on this one for you film noir buffs.

Looking at the lesser known and great director Samuel Fuller and five of his films - one as screenwriter, the other four as writer/director.  An introduction to his work for all young writer/filmmakers not familiar with his films, and a keener look for those who are.  He is truly so different in his filmmaking approach and you will see things in his movies that you will not see in others.

My third installment on how I wrote one of my early songs on guitar.  This song "The Thought of You" I wrote in 1987 after my friends and I were sitting around and decided to have a contest to see who could write the best George Michael sounding song.

Part two of the 10 Best Film Noirs,  and why the 10 listed in Part One are the best.  We'll talk about their knockout spectacular endings, as well as the twists and turns each one takes, and the exceptional camerawork, great acting, and the story.  Man, the story.  Join me.  But only after you've listened to Part One,

I'll give you a brief set-up on the 10 best film noirs, but won't tell you the endings, so you can go and watch them.   After you experience the "kapow" that each one delivers, join me in Part 2 and I'll talk about what makes  each one so sensational.

Reading of the 30 page short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier, then compare and contrast how Alfred Hitchcock lifted it from the page to the movie screen.  With audio commentary on the famous "Gas Station Scene" that has more cuts in it than the shower sequence in "Psycho".

A run thru the 10 most famous or well known Twilight Zone episodes.  Then a look at "The Other 10" most famous Twilight Zone episodes which are just as good and some even creepier.

How I wrote my second song "Nothing Gonna Stop Me" by using chords from other radio songs, and trying to say something when I had nothing to say.

The first in an ongoing series looking at forgotten supporting actresses.  Here we look at clips from 6 films from the actress Madeline Kahn.

In depth look at, and audio commentary to, murder scenes from 7 of Alfred Hitchcock's Films - Blackmail, Strangers On A Train,  Psycho, Foreign Correspondent, Frenzy, Lifeboat and Torn Curtain

In depth look at, and audio commentary  to , 3 of the longest single Tracking Shots in film history by Orson Welles, from two of his movies "Touch of Evil' and "The Stranger".

For singer-songwriters  looking to sharpen their skills..  Gregg talks  about and shows how he wrote one of his songs on guitar.

In depth look at the great Billy Wilder's ten tips for screenwriters