Paul Anthony Nelson – Emma Westwood

First project with Imprint Films, and it’s for this stunning boxset of 3 x films directed by Roman Polanski during the 1990s.

My mission: Join Paul Anthony Nelson from Cinema Viscera on the audio commentary for BITTER MOON (1992) and reposition it as the masterpiece it truly is. Did we succeed? I guess that’s up to the listeners, although my love of this nutty film has only been cemented by getting up-close and personal with it 30 years later. You’re invited to lean into the melodrama and sail its choppy seas with us.

We’re in good company. The other films in the boxset are DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (1994) with commentary by Josh Nelson, and THE NINTH GATE with commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, and visual essay by my devilish colleague, Sally Christie. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the goodies you’ll find in this triple-decker release.

Flinch if you hear the name ‘Polanski’? I’ve written about that too.

Time has got away from me, which means I’m pleased to announce not one but two new commentaries for the fine folks at Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

THE WAR (1994), directed by Jon Avnet and starring Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood, is a Southern-drenched allegory of war waged on two fronts: the internal conflict of a man returned from the Vietnam War and the one faced by his kids against the town bullies. I’m honoured to have danced this commentary with Paul Anthony Nelson who makes his debut behind the DVD commentary mic (and what a premiere!)

ISN’T SHE GREAT (2000), directed by Andrew Bergman and starring Bette Midler and Nathan Lane, is a candy-coloured biopic about the larger-than-life author of Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann. I get to unpick the threads of this lost curio with my commentary sister, Sally Christie, and continue our proclivity for all things Bacharach.

Both films are available for pre-order before their respective releases in February and March 2021. Visit the Kino Lorber website for more.

Over the holiday break, while Plato’s Cave was on hiatus, I was asked by my good friend, Sally Christie, to join her and another good friend, Lee Gambin, (and his stunning dog, Buddy) on her special summer show on Triple R, Caught in a Celluloid Jam.

Sally used Caught in a Celluloid Jam as a forum to present some of her favourite topics/genres of cinema. The episode in which Lee and I participated focused specifically on satanic cinema. And what a hoot it was! I strongly suggest you take a listen and hear us rabbit on about approximately 20 films of the devilish kind.

But something else happened over summer… Plato’s Cave has changed!

Now under the name Primal Screen at 7pm Mondays on Triple R, Plato’s Cave gets a same-same-but-different reworking, which includes a new lineup of weekly co-hosts: Paul Anthony Nelson, Sally Christie and Flick Ford.

Old faithfuls, Cerise Howard and myself, will be making the occasional appearance as guests but, in 2020, everything’s getting a makeover, including the show intro, which sounds something like this…

Tag: Paul Anthony Nelson

DIRECTED BY… ROMAN POLANSKI (1992-1999) boxset release

Two new commentaries: THE WAR and ISN’T SHE GREAT

Primal Screen and satanic cinema