RTÉ: The Last Picture Show

mikemac

I've had a search, didn't find any threads on this

Anyone remember this show from the 90's? It was on late Friday night, after the Late Late Show

Brian Reddin would introduce the film and give lots of info and then you sit back and watch

Saw some great films over the years.
One especially was Cutters, about students starting a cycling team and had a very young Denis Quaid.

Would love RTÉ to bring this back, they could even re-run what they've shown already and do it late at night so it's not taking a primetime slot

Do you remember this? Remember any gems?

fluke

mikemac wrote: »

I've had a search, didn't find any threads on this

Anyone remember this show from the 90's? It was on late Friday night, after the Late Late Show

Brian Reddin would introduce the film and give lots of info and then you sit back and watch

Saw some great films over the years.
One especially was Cutters, about students starting a cycling team and had a very young Denis Quaid.

Would love RTÉ to bring this back, they could even re-run what they've shown already and do it late at night so it's not taking a primetime slot

Do you remember this? Remember any gems?

Loved that show. Some of the best movies I had seen in my life during this time - Planet of the Apes, The Wicker Man, Dirty Harry.

I remember watching Cutters. It was good!

Would love it if Brian returned and looked at movies from the last couple of decades!

The King of Moo

I absolutely loved that, full of absolute classics from the 60s and 70s, with a great mix of films I'd heard of and stuff I knew nothing about but loved.
One of the main reasons I got really into films, as, only having rte1 and 2 at the time, and being fairly young, it was one of the few outlets for great films I had.
I also remember they used to have Hitchcock films on around that time, though I think that was after Brian stopped presenting it and they dropped the name. It was the first time I saw his best films including Psycho, Vertigo and Rear Window.

plastic glass

The King of Moo wrote: »

I absolutely loved that, full of absolute classics from the 60s and 70s, with a great mix of films I'd heard of and stuff I knew nothing about but loved.
One of the main reasons I got really into films, as, only having rte1 and 2 at the time, and being fairly young, it was one of the few outlets for great films I had.
I also remember they used to have Hitchcock films on around that time, though I think that was after Brian stopped presenting it and they dropped the name. It was the first time I saw his best films including Psycho, Vertigo and Rear Window.

me too. The Hitchcock season was brilliant. Remember staying up late to watch these on a friday night I think. Rope North by Northwest also stick in mind.

There was also a film noir season with the Big Sleep, the Maltese Falcon and Body Heat among others. Some great films and yer man presenting it could be great. I had such an appetite for the older films when I was younger that I have sadly kinda lost now. Not sure why. Still have an appetite for arthouse and indie movies though.

Nolanger

mikemac wrote: »

One especially was Cutters, about students starting a cycling team and had a very young Denis Quaid.

Breaking away.

RubyRoss

Snap - I've been thinking how how great this show was for the last few days - Rather than sneak into nightclubs I would stay in on Fridays just for this.
It was bad enough that RTE dropped his introductions but the Friday night movie became progressively worse after that.

I still have the tapes of the Hitchcock season in a box but my favourite was Angles With Dirty Faces which he introduced with the unforgettable factum that a sequel was made about the kids called The Angels Have Washed Their Faces.

ger vallely

I remember him introducing 'The Perfect Storm' a fabulous movie. Very interesting characters and compulsive story line,I was hooked. Not just by the movie but by Brians' introduction to the movie. He was on a couch or chair? It flet like you were watching a movie with a mate..Yeah, bring it back.

FlashD

Yeah, I remember this too.

I think the show itself would last about 10 minutes before the film was shown though...correct me if i'm wrong.

Was always cool to get a bit of history and gossip of the time on the film before it started.

Regards

Skinfull

I loved this show! It felt like watching a movie with a mate...

Mr. Denton

Liked the movies it showed but I didn't like the presenter. He had a very (for loss of a better description) "let me tell you a secret" style of delivery for film information that was common knowledge.

irishh_bob

it was similar to something bbc2 done in the early nineties , moviedrome which was presented by cult director alex cox ( i think his name was )

fluke

Mr. Denton wrote: »

Liked the movies it showed but I didn't like the presenter. He had a very (for loss of a better description) "let me tell you a secret" style of delivery for film information that was common knowledge.

It's easy enough to find any info now but speaking from my experience in the pre-internet days his insight and info was cool

Mr. Denton

fluke wrote: »

It's easy enough to find any info now but speaking from my experience in the pre-internet days his insight and info was cool

Yeah that's fair enough. But you could have picked up any paperback cinema guide at the time eg Halliwells or even one of those "20000 movie and video reviews" books that were popular at the time and already have had the edge on the guys info. I know because that's what I did at the time before internet.

Personally I just didn't like the guys delivery, almost a patronising "now kiddies I'm gonna tell ya all about a movie and what each key scene means" because you wouldn't be able to get anything from it yourself.

Wouldn't mind as much but he'd even show clips from the movie and talk about them specifically before the thing had even started. I made a habit of just recording to VHS tape and then FF-ing thru his bit just to avoid spoilers.

fluke

Mr. Denton wrote: »

Yeah that's fair enough. But you could have picked up any paperback cinema guide at the time eg Halliwells or even one of those "20000 movie and video reviews" books that were popular at the time and already have had the edge on the guys info. I know because that's what I did at the time before internet.

Personally I just didn't like the guys delivery, almost a patronising "now kiddies I'm gonna tell ya all about a movie and what each key scene means" because you wouldn't be able to get anything from it yourself.

Wouldn't mind as much but he'd even show clips from the movie and talk about them specifically before the thing had even started. I made a habit of just recording to VHS tape and then FF-ing thru his bit just to avoid spoilers.

Actually that bit I've highlighted is very true of something that happened with my brother. He watched Psycho on the Last Picture Show (he had never seen it before) and Reddin goes and says

'Janet Leigh's character dies early on in the movie'

. Brother was like 'oh well I know that now'

delbertgrady

The format certainly provided the opportunity to see a hell of a lot of stuff that either wasn't available on video at the time, or was very rarely on TV. What annoyed me about it - apart from his giving too much away about the films - was that he used to poach many of his comments wholesale from Mark Cousins on BBC's Moviedrome. I remember in particular that his introduction to Nicolas Roeg's Bad Timing (which had been shown relatively recently on the BBC at the time) was a real case for the prosecution.
I'm not disputing that some of his introductions were informative (especially for really weird, cult stuff like I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!), but there was very much an element of "wallowing in his own coolness" when - even in a pre-internet age - he wasn't really saying much that an above-average movie fan couldn't convey, given the opportunity.

Puhvogel

It followed the Late Late for sure BUT after the Late Late there was The End with Sean Moncrieff and then The Critic cartoon which was great. The End would always run much later than it should with oddball interviews. Some of the movies I saw there were "I love you Alice B Toklas!" and "The Warriors". Occasionally someone recommends me an unknown movie and I start to watch it and realise that I saw it years ago on The Last Picture Show. What else did they play on there? It would be cool to get a list together!

Puhvogel

Oh my! "The taking of Pelham 123", the original version. Soooooo good

Miguel_Sanchez

Puhvogel wrote: »

It followed the Late Late for sure BUT after the Late Late there was The End with Sean Moncrieff and then The Critic cartoon which was great.

The End was on RTE 2 so it ran concurrently with the last half hour or so of The Late Late Show on RTE 1.

It was great though. I worked with one of the producers a few years back and he told me the story of the time a guest had pulled out so they had a 10 minute hole in the show. Murphy sent someone off to the archives to grab the tape of the Ireland v Italy game from USA '94 and they proceeded to watch the game up until the Ray Houghton goal. They got a bollocking from the powers that be afterwards apparently. I remember thinking it was hilarious though.

darkdubh

I was looking to see if there were any threads on this,excuse me for resurecting a thread from a few years ago but I'd just like to add a word or two.The first film I remember seeing on it was Performance with Mick Jagger,wouldent have been the first to be screened in the series as I think it had been on for a while before I started watching it.Some of the other films that haven't been mentioned yet,in no particular order were.

Moonlighting:Polish/UK movie with Jeremy Irons.
Bladerunner.
The Conversation by Francis Ford Coppola.
The Man Who Fell To Earth.
Chinatown.
Some which I remember seeing on the telly around the same time but which I'm not totally sure if it was as part of this were Five Easy Pieces,Easy Rider and Lyndsay Andersons If.

geraardo

You can get the bbc Moviedrome on youtube.

Agent Coulson

Alex Cox hosting Moviedrome will never be topped for me.


It would be great to see a show of this kind for this generation on terrestrial television.


A Letterbox of the films from the Alex Cox years of Moviedrome a lot of the intros can be found on Youtube.

Director Alex Cox curated BBC2's Moviedrome from 1988 to 1994.

In his own words:

"What is a cult film? A cult film is one that has a passionate following, but does not appeal to everyone. James Bond movies are not cult films, but chainsaw movies are. Just because a film has become a cult movie does not automatically guarantee quality. Some are very bad; others are very, very good. Some make an awful lot of money at the box office; others make no money at all. Some are considered quality films; others are exploitation movies.

One thing cult movies do have in common is that they are all genre films - for example gangster films or westerns. They also have a tendency to slosh over from one genre into another, so that a science fiction film might also be a detective movie, or vice versa. They share common themes as well, themes that are found in all drama: love, murder and greed

LIST BY
sizemore

http://letterboxd.com/sizemore/list/moviedrome-the-alex-cox-years-1988-1994/

shazzerman

"And in the words of Sidney Falco..." (Cox takes out flick "knife"), "...every dog has his day." Cox combs his hair with his knife, as Elmer Bernstein's brilliant jazzy score fades in and "Sweet Smell of Success" starts up. First time I ever saw that film - still remember Cox's patter. He introduced me to many a fine piece of cinema.

Nerdlingr

I remember this and quite liked the format and as had been said shoed some great old classics. My only gripe was he'd give too much away of the film you were about to watch with some of introductions! I'd be sitting there and he'd be describing events in the final act spoliering it!!
Would like to see a return of it in some form though, God knows RTE could do with it.

darkdubh

The opening and introduction to Last Picture Show start here at the 9 minute mark. I'd been looking for it on YT for a while. The featured film here is Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. This is from December 1998 so it ran longer than I'd remembered, I thought it had finished 1996-ish.

RubyRoss

He be perfect for a film history podcast.

branie2

This show introduced me to Alfred Hitchcock, my favourite director

Hangdogroad

darkdubh wrote: »

The opening and introduction to Last Picture Show start here at the 9 minute mark. I'd been looking for it on YT for a while. The featured film here is Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. This is from December 1998 so it ran longer than I'd remembered, I thought it had finished 1996-ish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OkPuJ_9OQ0

FYP

For some reason they briefly changed the name of the slot in 1997 to the Last Frame . I'd forgotten it had moved to Network 2 at this stage.

shazzerman

Hangdogroad wrote: »

FYP

For some reason they briefly changed the name of the slot in 1997 to the Last Frame . I'd forgotten it had moved to Network 2 at this stage.

Did they show a colourised version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre?! Say it ain't so...