The 24 Frames Cast

There are some films that feel less like stories and more like memories. In this episode, we talk about Call Me By Your Name — Luca Guadagnino’s tender, aching portrait of first love, longing, and the summers that seem to exist outside of time.We explore the film’s incredible use of sound, silence, music, and nature, from the constant hum of cicadas to the intimacy of Sufjan Stevens’ soundtrack, and how every frame seems filled with heat, desire, and nostalgia. More than that, we reflect on why this film reaches so many people so deeply: the way it reminds us of our own pasts, the people we can never fully forget, and the strange pain of remembering moments that were beautiful precisely because they could not last.This episode is ultimately about the power of cinema itself — how a film can make us feel seen, understood, and transported back into parts of ourselves we thought had disappeared. Call Me By Your Name isn’t just a love story; it’s a reminder of just how emotionally truthful and overwhelming great cinema can be.Subscribe here

Four months in and it's time to take a look at how 2026 is doing so far. You can find my video essay on Escape to Victory here Subscribe here

What happens when the system designed to protect humanity decides it knows better than us?In this episode, I dive into the chilling world of Colossus: The Forbin Project—a Cold War sci-fi that feels more relevant now than ever. From nuclear anxiety and early AI fears to questions about control and the films place in Sci Fi history. Subscribe

A new projector at home means it's time to buy Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia again. Are they worth the upgrade?Subscribe

In this episode, I explore An Ungentlemanly Act—the BBC’s understated dramatization of the opening hours of the Falklands War—and what it reveals about Britain at a turning point in its history. Moving beyond a simple retelling, I examine the political tensions in both Britain and Argentina in 1982, and how those pressures led to a conflict neither side fully anticipated.We place the film within the wider tradition of British imperial cinema, from Zulu to The Four Feathers, and consider how it both draws from and quietly questions those narratives. At its core, the film presents a familiar British story: a small group facing overwhelming odds with restraint, professionalism, and a sense of duty—but here, that story ends in surrender rather than victory.Subscribe here

In this episode, I explore the themes of science, faith, and belief through the lens of the film Contact. The discussion looks at how the story challenges the divide between evidence and personal experience, particularly when the film’s scientist protagonist finds herself defending something she cannot prove. Along the way, the episode reflects on how people understand scientific knowledge, why debates about design and evolution persist, and how both believers and non-believers search for meaning in the universe.

Bond returns with Goldfinger. Is this peak Bond?

This episode explores Manon as both a tragic love story and a sharp portrait of postwar France. We examine how Henri-Georges Clouzot adapts an 18th-century novel into a study of moral ambiguity in the shadow of Liberation and the trial of Philippe Pétain.The discussion focuses on Manon as a socially marked woman shaped by poverty, sexuality, and public judgment, and on Robert as a dislocated Resistance fighter whose devotion masks instability rather than heroism. We consider how Clouzot crafts a distinctly unsentimental “woman’s picture,” how his visual style reflects a climate of suspicion and exhaustion, and how the film anticipates the psychological pressure of later works like The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques.Subscribe here

A look at the past few weeks home media purchases. Subscribe

I love books about films so I thought it would be nice to share a recent recommendation. Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film is more than just a biography; it's a journey through the history of Hollywood in the Golden Age and an absolute must read.Buy hereSubscribe to The 24 Frames Cast here

Loveless is Andrey Zvyagintsev’s chilling portrait of a family — and a society — defined by emotional absence. Framed around the disappearance of a child, the film refuses the comforts of mystery or redemption, instead observing how indifference, distraction, and self-interest quietly shape everyday life. Through its restrained style and unflinching gaze, Loveless becomes less a story about loss than a study of what happens when care itself erodes — in private relationships and in the world beyond them.

A experiment with the podcast; short, sharp reviews of films I've enjoyed and think you will like too. This time it's Édouard Molinaro 1958 noir thriller Back to the Wall. Enjoy.

Wasn't going to BUT in case you wondered these were my top ten of 2025.

This episode explores Night Mail (1936) as both a defining work of British documentary cinema and a carefully constructed piece of modernist art. Through close discussion, the podcast examines how the film presents work not as glamorous or heroic, but as essential, collective labour that underpins modern life. It considers the historical context of the GPO Film Unit and John Grierson’s vision of documentary as a civic tool, alongside the film’s innovative production methods and stylistic choices.The episode pays particular attention to Night Mail’s formal design: its rhythmic editing, overtly composed soundscape, and the way image, music, and narration are tightly integrated. Central to this discussion is W. H. Auden’s poem, analysed as the film’s aesthetic and thematic climax, where industrial process, human connection, and national identity converge.By treating Night Mail as both a social document and a work of art, the podcast asks why the film still matters today—what it reveals about attitudes to labour, infrastructure, and collective responsibility, and what it continues to teach us about the expressive possibilities of documentary filmmaking.The film:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkvPG-iYHMWhere to buy:Amazon

Britain in the 1960s liked to imagine itself as a global saviour. James Bond told us we still ran the world.But The Ipcress File told a very different story.In this episode of Celluloid Underground, we take a deep dive into one of the most quietly radical spy films ever made — a Cold War thriller that strips espionage of glamour and replaces it with paranoia, paperwork, and psychological warfare.We explore how a fading post-imperial Britain is reflected in cramped offices, petty bureaucratic rivalries, and a hero who shops for groceries instead of saving the world. We examine Sidney J. Furie’s disorienting visual style, John Barry’s unsettling score, and how the film creates an atmosphere where no one — not even your superiors — can be trusted.This is not a story about power. It’s a story about uncertainty. About loyalty under pressure. And about what happens when the Cold War moves inside the human mind.If you think spy films are about gadgets and glamour, The Ipcress File will change your mind.Subscribe here:https://media.rss.com/the-24-frames-cast/feed.xmlhttps://x.com/thomas24fchttps://www.youtube.com/@tomjay1979

Happy New Year! Due to my girlfriend moving in over Christmas I haven't had time to record so instead I found this rather lovely chat from the podcast archive with Hunter Duesing from the Midnight Movie Cowboys. Enjoy!http://www.midnightmoviecowboys.comhttps://x.com/HunterDuesing

In this episode, we take a closer look at the PBS App—what it offers and whether it’s worth adding to your streaming lineup. From award-winning documentaries to trusted news and thoughtful storytelling, I also spend a little time with Ken Burns, one of PBS’s most iconic voices. Known for his deeply human approach to American history, Burns has shaped how generations experience documentaries—through powerful stories, unforgettable narration, and a style that invites you to slow down and really listen.All music licensed through Music Bed

This episode was inspired by a dinner party bust-up. What began as a casual conversation about favourite filmmakers turned into a spirited argument over one uncomfortable truth: even the greatest directors have made at least one genuinely bad film.In this episode, I take that argument to its logical conclusion. I examine ten widely respected directors—filmmakers whose best work has defined genres, influenced generations, and earned critical acclaim—and we focus exclusively on their weakest outings. Feel free to disagree, and no JJ Abrahams is not in the list because ALL his films are crap.

In this episode, we travel back to 1903 to explore the film that helped define American cinema long before Hollywood found its voice. The Great Train Robbery isn’t just an early Western—it’s a landmark collision of myth, modernity, and narrative invention. Released while real outlaws were still roaming the frontier, the film stands at a pivotal moment when the American West was fading into history but rising into legend.We examine how Edwin S. Porter’s short, violent, technically daring film transformed cinema from a novelty into a storytelling medium. From its startling alignment with the outlaws to its groundbreaking use of action, movement, and editing, The Great Train Robbery shaped the themes that would dominate American film for the next century: frontier justice, charismatic violence, technological change, and the thin line between spectator and participant.We also unpack the film’s iconic final shot—a bandit firing directly into the camera—and why it remains one of the most provocative gestures in film history.If you’ve ever wondered how the Western became myth, how cinema learned to tell stories, or why American film has always been fascinated with outlaws, this deep dive uncovers the origins of it all.A revisionist Western before revisionism existed. A myth created in real time. And a twelve-minute film that changed everything.Where to watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3mRDX0uqkAll music licensed through Music Bed

In this episode, The 24 Frames Cast dives deep into one of cinema’s most fascinating and overlooked revolutions: the rise of the 70mm blow-up. Beginning with Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal in 1963—an ordinary 35mm film that stunned audiences when projected in 70mm—the episode explores how Panavision, Eastman Kodak, and Technicolor worked together to create a process so convincing that even seasoned projectionists mistook it for true 65mm photography.From the widescreen arms race of the 1950s to the golden era of roadshow presentations, we trace how exhibitors’ demand for spectacle drove the development of blow-up technology. The episode examines the birth of Dolby 70mm six-track magnetic sound, the introduction of the famous “baby boom” bass channels, and how these innovations laid the foundation for the 5.1 and 7.1 systems we use in home cinemas today.The Movie Collector You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBss6hGjKeMIn 70mm Website:https://www.in70mm.comMusic: https://www.musicbed.com

In this deep-dive episode of The 24 Frames Cast, we journey into the dense Cambodian jungles to explore one of the most haunting and overlooked war films ever made: The 317th Platoon (1965). Directed by former Indochina War veteran Pierre Schoendoerffer, this stark, unflinching portrayal of a French platoon’s doomed retreat reveals the final gasps of France’s colonial ambitions and eerily anticipates America’s later tragedy in Vietnam.I will examine the film’s astonishing on-location production, its quasi-documentary realism, and the powerful dynamic between the young idealistic lieutenant and the hardened career soldier L’adjudant Willsdorf, whose lifetime of fighting France’s colonial battles becomes a symbol of a collapsing empire. Through scene analysis, historical context, and cinematic insight, this episode unpacks the film’s place in world cinema and why its quiet, devastating truth still resonates today.

Discover how Dolby Stereo revolutionised film sound. This episode explores its origins, its breakthrough films, and the hidden matrix magic that reshaped Hollywood and home cinema alike.Recommended films to listen too:Early & Landmark 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo:A Star Is Born (1976) – first commercial six-track Dolby releaseLogan’s Run (1976)Star Wars (1977) – legendary 70mm mixClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)Superman: The Movie (1978)Apocalypse Now (1979) – groundbreaking, experimental sound designClassic 35mm Dolby Stereo (Matrix Lt/Rt):Alien (1979) – atmospheric, tense use of surroundsThe Empire Strikes Back (1980)Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)Blade Runner (1982)E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)Ghostbusters (1984)Back to the Future (1985)Late-Era Dolby Stereo Highlights:The Fugitive (1993)The Lion King (1994) – superb theatrical mixToy Story (1995) – one of the final major Dolby Stereo flagships

In 1974, Francis Ford Coppola released The Conversation — a quiet, unsettling film about a man who hears too much and feels too little. At first glance, it’s a story about surveillance. But beneath the microphones and tape machines lies something far more human: guilt, loneliness, and the desperate need to stay unseen.In this episode, we step inside the private world of Harry Caul — a surveillance expert haunted by the sounds he captures and the silence he can’t escape. We explore the film’s key themes, its haunting sound design, and its eerie foresight into our digital age — when we all became both watchers and the watched.Further reading and viewing:The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)Klute (Alan J. Pakula, 1971)Michel Chion — Audio-Vision: Sound on ScreenLaura Mulvey — “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”Don DeLillo — White Noise (on paranoia, technology, and intimacy)

I went to watch RAN on 35mm with people who actually like films. Here's a report.

Kirk Douglas' 1975 was a first time watch a timely reminder the need for political satire.

I admit it. I hadn't seen all of Sergio Leone's films and the result was frankly incredible for both good and bad reasons. Plus some recent UHD pics.

Bond returns and he's off to Istanbul!

Gattaca is a 1997 dystopian science fiction classic. But what makes it dystopian and how does it warn us about the future?

Its time to talk about what I've been watching more and some recommendations I think you might like .

A look at the 1960's counter culture classic Easy Rider.

A look at the now closed, once former great Maidstone Granada cinema.

I will be on a journey through the Bond franchise, first up we are off to Jamaica for Dr No,

StudioCanal have an app, lets take a looks and see if it's worth it,

Alan Clarkes Elephant caused outrage on its release in 1989. A film that defies genre, it is a work of unrelenting bleakness that depicts 18 murders during The Troubles. I take a look at the films production, my personal experiences of spending time in Ireland and offer my take on this extraordinary film.

I love UHD and you should too. Here is a brief explanation of this format and the culture around it as well as my top ten picks you may wish to consider. Great You Tube creators who review UHD's https://www.youtube.com/@JeffRauseohttps://www.youtube.com/@moviecollector5920https://www.youtube.com/@ElliotCoen

In 2014, I became obsessed with the films of Michelangelo Antonioni and like an idiot ignored Zabriskie Point because some pesky critics didn't like it. I've now watched it more times than I can remember and hope in some ways this episode encourages you to seek it out.

Things are changing. For the better.