The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 3

In our third Lockdown Special, we revive something we first did way back in 2012 for our First Birthday Show - Moviemind!

The three of us all chose an individual specialist subject which the other two compiled questions on, then we bring in a very special guest Quizmaster for a quick-fire general knowledge round.

Which Watcher won? Well, watch! 

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 5) - Documentary Special

Welcome to the fifth instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where the three of us discuss films that might help cheer you in these trying times. 

As you all know, cinema is a broad church that encompasses all forms of storytelling, all genres and forms. Documentary film-making is a vital and sometimes overlooked genre which helps us see into lives very different to our own and experiences we would never otherwise experience. 

So here are three documentaries which The Watchers recommend.

Matt recommends...

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Dir: Morgan Neville
Starring: Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers, François Clemmons

Fred Rogers is a father figure to millions of Americans. His children’s show, Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood first aired back in 1968 and broadcast its last episode in 2001.

Rogers was a minister who studied child psychology, once describing science as “the greatest gift we have”. Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood was never about selling toys, or forcing adult expectations down its young audience’s throats, instead it discussed big, weighty subjects in a way that empathised with children, spoke to them in ways that they could understand.

Morgan Neville’s documentary doesn’t reveal a man with sordid secrets like many British TV presenters. The revelation with Won't You Be My Neighbor? is that Rogers really was that gentle, caring man who spoke to America’s children through their televisions.

Through interviews with Rogers’ family and colleagues, Neville shows us how ahead of the times Fred Rogers was. Upset by news footage of black people being segregated in public swimming pools, he responded by having Officer Clemmons – black actor François Clemmons – share a paddling pool with him. Rogers also discussed Kennedy’s assassination, wrote an episode on divorce, and focused an entire week’s programmes on death. To the adults, Rogers seemed like a kindly do-gooder who would make Ned Flanders blush, but his mission was always to teach children about tolerance, accepting others and, most importantly, yourself.

Neville’s film is a wonderful ninety-odd minutes, but it will likely bring a tear to your eye. During animated cutaways, we are shown how the meek and mild glove puppet Daniel was Rogers’s anxieties that he could never quite express outside the studio. A clip from Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood has an actress singing to Daniel; she loves him exactly the way he is. Most children’s programmes would take the easy option and have Daniel agree with her, instead Daniel continues singing about his self-doubt. It is a beautiful song that simply and brilliantly explains mental health.

With British television it feels that no children’s programme is safe from having its creators outed for being charlatans, nothing like who they are on screen. Won't You Be My Neighbor? is extraordinary because Fred Rogers absolutely deserves the praise and hero worship from the Americans who grew up with him. Neville reaffirms Rogers’ lifelong message that each and every one of us is special, capable of kindness, and doing incredible things.

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Rhys recommends...

Becoming (2020)

Dir: Nadia Hallgren
Starring: Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Phoebe Robinson

Well, I didn’t think I would be writing this! If you want a real life, inspiring, feel good documentary, this film will do all the above.

Becoming is a inside look at the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others during her 2019 book tour for ‘Becoming.' 

Yes, not the typical film I would normally go for- but it was on Netflix and I am in lock-down and so I pressed play. It is a fantastically made documentary, very insightful and full of hope. An amazing woman. Watch it!

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Tez recommends...

Nothing Like A Dame (2018)

Dir: Roger Michell
Starring: Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith

Have you ever seen a group of good friends having a right old catch-up, gossiping, and putting the world to rights, and thought "I'd love to listen in"? Well, that's exactly what Nothing Like A Dame does.

The four titular dames- Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith- have been friends for decades. At a combined age of 342 years old (at the time of filming), they've had careers most actors could only dream of and have trod the boards throughout the UK and around the world.

In this wonderfully intimate portrait, these four amazing women discuss (amongst other things) working with one's spouse- Plowright was married to Laurence Olivier, whilst Atkins had been married to Julian Glover, Dench to Michael Williams, and Smith to Robert Stephens-, playing Shakespeare, taking part in major movie franchises, how to deal with critics, and growing older (gracefully or otherwise). Judi Dench, in particular, has a wonderful reaction to director Roger Michell's question about ageing. 

It's hard to pick any one feelgood moment that stands out in a film full of them, but a moment towards the end sums it up perfectly. Ruminating on chances missed or passed over, Maggie Smith rather gloomily says that "it's too late". Joan Plowright- at the age of nearly 90 and suffering from degenerating eyesight which impairs her ability to work- responds with "oh, it's never too late". 

What a fantastic philosophy. It's never too late to do that which you've always wanted to. Seize the opportunity.

Mini-Countdown: Five Ingenious Hitchcock Cameos

Few filmmakers have made such an impact on the cinematic landscape as Alfred Hitchcock. Over a career spanning six decades, going from silent films to talkies and black-and-white to colour, the Master of Suspense crafted over fifty films, many of which (such as Vertigo and Psycho) have rightly become cinematic classics. 

One of the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film- aside from a glacial female blonde, strikingly innovative visuals, and the inconsequential-plot-point that became known as the McGuffin- is the cameo appearance by the maestro himself. Hitch made cameo appearances in 40 of his major films, often carrying a musical instrument and sometimes even breaking the fourth wall to clock the audience directly.

So here, in chronological order, are five of Hitch's most ingenious cameos

Lifeboat (1944)

So, you decide to film a picture featuring eight disparate people crowded together in a lifeboat. OK. How on Earth do you do a cameo in that set-up? Dismissing the idea of floating past as a dead body from the torpedoed vessel, Hitch instead makes what I think is his most clever cameo: in the "before" and "after" pictures in the newspaper ad for "Reduco Obesity Slayer" (in real life, he had lost a lot of weight during the filming).


Rope (1948)

Hitch actually has two cameos in this film- his first is more traditional, in the opening credits, he is the man walking down the street with the lady- but his second cameo is the more ingenious one. Bear in mind the action of the film takes place entirely at the party in the apartment. At just under an hour in, Hitch makes a cameo as a red flashing neon sign of his trademark profile in the window.


Dial M For Murder (1954)

Another example of Hitch's cameo coming in an unexpected format. Approximately 13 minutes in, he can be seen on the left side in the class reunion photo that Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) shows to Swann (Anthony Dawson).


North By Northwest (1959)

As his reputation for making cameos increased, Hitch would make sure he appeared earlier so as not to distract from the story. Here, to make sure people weren't distracted from the rip-roaring case of mistaken identity, his cameo comes in the first two minutes: just after his name appears on screen, he misses the bus!


Topaz (1969)

Whilst Topaz might not be one of Hitchcock's better-known films, it does however feature one of his best cameos. At around 30 minutes into the film, at the airport, Hitch can be seen being pushed in a wheelchair. He gets up from the chair, shakes hands with a man, and walks off to the right!



Bonus: Psycho (1960)

Now, Hitch's cameo in the infamous 1960 slasher isn't necessarily in and of itself remarkable - he's seen standing with his back to the window as Marion (Janet Leigh) returns to the office from her lunch with Sam (John Gavin), wearing a fetching Stetson hat. 

The reason I bring it up is that the moment is recreated in Gus Van Sant's utterly pointless shot-for-shot 1998 colour remake which shows a figure remarkably similar to Hitch giving director Gus Van Sant a bollocking for something (probably for having the temerity to remake a film that's dangerously close to perfection and adding precisely zero to it)

So which is your favourite of Hitchcock's cameos? Let us know!

The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 2

In the second of our Lockdown Specials, we discuss the current state of play with cinema and the amended release schedule for several of the big movies that were due to be released over the coming months. 

This information was accurate at the time we recorded the Special, however, because the circumstances we are in are constantly shifting, they may have already changed again!

So, if you want to find out when to expect films such as No Time To Die, Black Widow and Fast & Furious 9, check out the video above!

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 4) - Disney Special

Welcome to the fourth instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where the three of us discuss films that might help cheer you in these times. Today's instalment are our favourite films from Walt Disney Studios.

Matt recommends...

Beauty And The Beast (1991)

Dir: Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Voice cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury

Everyone has their favourite Disney film, for me it is the original Beauty and the Beast. The House of Mouse has given us numerous classics for nearly a century, but Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise’s film was the first that felt like it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hollywood’s golden age: Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, or The Wizard of Oz (Beauty and the Beast was the first full-length animated feature film to be nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Picture).

1989’s The Little Mermaid saw Disney Studios return to its former glory after losing its way during the eighties, struggling to catch children’s imagination while Spielberg, Lucas, and Zemeckis were churning out blockbusters, but Ariel cannot hold a candle to Belle. Unlike previous Disney leading ladies, Belle does everything right here. Belle is fierce, she questions and stands up to those around her, and refuses to be labelled or put in a box – she is Disney’s first flesh-and-blood protagonist thanks to Linda Woolverton’s first-class writing.

The songs in Beauty and the Beast are all killer and no filler. Every one of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman’s musical numbers will stay in your head for the rest of your life. However, the standouts are "Beauty and the Beast" and "Be Our Guest". "Beauty and the Beast" is a masterwork in character development. Neither Belle nor the Beast say a word or sing a single lyric, but that scene pushes their bond, their characterisation further. Accompanied by Dame Angela Lansbury’s voice, the song – those two-and-a-half minutes on screen – are tender and heartfelt. For Beauty and the Beast’s 25th anniversary screening, Lansbury surprised the audience by singing the title song. The video is available here and you will struggle not to well up whilst watching it.

"Be Our Guest", I would argue, is Disney Studios’ first music video. It is a melting pot of 80’s MTV (Peter Cristopherson, Derek Burbidge, and Steve Barron to name three directors), the Moulin Rouge, and Broadway musicals, all given a good stir. Every frame grabs hold of your eyes; it is beautiful, wondrous stuff. Whenever I put on Beauty and the Beast, I cannot go past "Be Our Guest" without watching it again.

Hand-drawn animation probably looks weird to today’s children, when compared to something that was conjured up on a computer, but Beauty and the Beast’s animation and background design still stands the test of time and deserves to be watched on the biggest, most high-tech TV you can find.

Disney has many classic films, but Beauty and the Beast is a masterpiece that can be watched over-and-over and its magic never diminishes.

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Rhys recommends...

Aladdin (1992)

Dir: Ron Clements & John Musker
Voice cast: Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, and Robin Williams

Back in 1992, I was a teenager and not interested in musicals and definitely done with cartoon films from Disney! On a day out with family, we ended up at the cinema and they chose Aladdin. I was not happy and went in to watch it in a right grump! 

The film began and my eyes were opened to how Disney in the early 90s had changed things! Aladdin reintroduced me to enjoying animated films and, if I'm honest, musicals too! 

This film is one of my favourite films of all time, it is definitely one of my go-to feel good films of choice. It will whisk you off to a whole new world on a magic carpet ride! The film is pitch perfect; fun, uplifting and- for a child- it has one of the all time scariest villains in Jafar! It is massive in scope, from the "Friend Like Me" number to the ending with a giant gene looming overhead. This film is just plain brilliant! And, of course, the late, great Robin Williams' voice performance of the Genie made big name actors suddenly all want to be a voice in a cartoon! 

Just watch it if you haven’t already - and if you have, well time to watch it! 

Oh, and a final bit of fun trivia, Frank Welker- who is the voice of the Cave of Wonders- played Megatron in all the Transformers cartoons and films! 

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Tez recommends...

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Dir: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Voice cast: Daveigh Chase, Christopher Michael Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Jason Scott Lee, and Ving Rhames

From an enchanted French chateau via the desert lands of Agrabah to the sun-kissed shores of Hawaii for our final feelgood choice. Lilo & Stitch might seem like a bit of an odd choice, but for me it's second only to Beauty And The Beast for a Disney film that can make me feel good. 

Lilo is a bit of a misfit, being looked after by her older sister Nani after the death of their parents. As they try and rebuild the family unit, into their life comes Experiment 626, a genetically-modified alien bent on destruction which crashlands on Earth after going on the run. When he's found (after being hit by a fuel tanker), 626 ends up at a dog pound where he is adopted by Lilo and renamed Stitch. With threats both extraterrestrial and all too real, this dysfunctional little family must band together, demonstrating the true meaning of ohana.

Much like with Galaxy Quest and several of my other feelgood choices, what makes them feelgood to me is the philosophy behind them. In Lilo & Stitch, it's all to do with the Hawaiian concept of ohana. Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. When the chips are down and it's all looking grim, your family- whether by blood or the family you create- are there for you. It's that sentiment, borne out by the events at the end of the film, that give me the warm fuzzies.

Also, there's a great deal of humour from the odd-couple antics of Dr. Jumba Jookiba (a superb voice performance by the late, great David Ogden Stiers) and Agent Pleakley (a similarly strong turn by Kevin McDonald) who are sent to Earth to find Stitch and bring him back and some truly inspired visual gags- such as Stitch and Jumba passing a soon-to-explode plasma gun back and forth like a demented game of pass-the-parcel, or a running gag involving a tourist and his ice-cream. 

When advertising Lilo & Stitch, Disney took an unconventional but inspired approach (which neatly links into the idea of ohana and a slightly dysfunctional family) where Stitch was inserted into several iconic Disney moments and causes mischief- including two scenes from the films mentioned above. These can be seen here, and are definitely worth a watch.

There's also a cracking soundtrack which takes in everything from traditional Hawaiian music through to several of Elvis Presley's most iconic songs. 

Lilo & Stitch is well worth a try if you've not seen it before.