The Pink Smoke podcast

Martin Kessler, who previously brought books about an immortal centurion and an omnipotent alien god to the podcast, returns to discuss The Ninth Configuration by William Peter Blatty. A reworking of the Exorcist author's 1966 novel Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane! and basis for his 1980 movie, Configuration is set at Center Eighteen, a military sanitarium in an isolated castle deep in the Washington woods. Rehearsal for Shakespeare plays starring dogs and the sledgehammering of uncooperative atoms are only some of the routine events witnessed by the new enigmatic head psychiatrist, a man determined to learn why one of the inmates freaked out during a scheduled space mission and refused to go to the moon. It's a unique and intimate novel full of the kind of theological discourses Blatty explored in all his best-known work. Among other topics, Kessler talks with hosts Christopher Funderburg and John Cribbs about how Blatty's comedy background shaped the tone of the book, the existential horror of dying in space and the problem of the world's smartest dog. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon:
 www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: 
twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter:
 twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter:
 twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

"Had she asked him to lie down and die for her then and there, he would have been glad to do it, and glad of her having asked it, as well." Amour fou is the flavor of this episode, in which hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg delve into the longest and most experimental novel written by crime fiction legend Cornell Woolrich. The book, 1947's Waltz Into Darkness, begins as the straight-forward story of a New Orleans lonelyheart targeted by a beautiful, conniving imposter but becomes something else entirely once he meets her again and finds that his obsession outweighs his need for vengeance. For more Woolrich goodness, join our Patreon for access to a feature-length commentary on Tobe Hooper's 1990 TV movie I'm Dangerous Tonight, the greatest cursed Aztec cloak-turned-into-cocktail dress film ever made. Researched and recorded by John Cribbs, the commentary examines everything from the mythology of animism to the interesting connections between the film and the life of Cornell Woolrich, whose novella of the same name inspired the movie. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Support our Patreon:
 www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: 
twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: 
twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter:
 twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas”

On this episode hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg are joined by filmmaker & historian Bill Teck to discuss their shared love of Philip Kaufman’s cult classic The Wanderers - a coming-of-age comedy about teenage gangs in the Bronx in 1963. The conversation explores the film’s singular tone, how Kaufman remained an outsider even among the New Hollywood mavericks of the 70’s, and the ways in which The Wanderers resembles an American Fellini movie. It’s free-flowing conversation about a film that brings the trio joy while provoking them to grapple with issues of consequence - the film itself is a serious goof, a heavy comedy, a brutal lark and a true cult phenomenon in an era when such films are increasingly rare. Get your baseball bat & satin jacket, we’re headed into Ducky Boy country… The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Support our Patreon:
 www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke Bill Teck: https://twitter.com/billteck The Pink Smoke on Twitter:
 twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: 
twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: 
twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas”

With the tedious inevitability of an unloved season, host John Cribbs returns with special guest John Arminio to continue their decades-spanning reappraisal of the James Bond franchise one film at a time. That means moving from the mud clone/gorilla transforming/Sausage King madness of Diamonds Are Forever into the Roger Moore era that took cinema's favorite secret agent from Bond... to beyond. Whether playing hopscotch on the heads of 'gators, corkscrewing a Hornet 'cross a ravine, escaping enemies via free-fall with and without parachute, the extremes of 70's Bond ensured that even as the Cold War got colder, nobody did it better! Cribbs & Arminio examine every eye-popping stunt and shameless one-liner of this remarkable period of the series that sent its hero to an oil rig in Baja, a funhouse in Thailand, deep underwater and into outer space. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: 
www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: 
twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: 
twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: 
twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

For what would’ve been the filmmaker’s 75th birthday, hosts John Cribbs and Christopher Funderburg are joined by editor/producer Eric Pfriender to discuss the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. They’ve each picked a film to discuss from the notoriously volatile director, a Triple Feature of Fassbinder’s work that serves as a jumping off point for exploring the legendarily prolific filmmaker’s philosophies and obsessions. In Love is Colder than Death, The Merchant of Four Seasons, and In a Year of 13 Moons, we can see the themes that would repeat and repeat themselves throughout his career: the disappointments of romantic love, the instability of identity (specifically sexual identity), the stresses and miseries of domestic life, the ironic way in which unhappy people can be both victims of fate and injustice while at the same time being the source of their own problems. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: 
www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter:
 twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter:
 twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: 
twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

A remembrance of Stuart Gordon, who passed away earlier this week. Gordon is one of the Patron Saints of The Pink Smoke, a fearless, risk-taking artist who refused to be confined to any particular corner of genre filmmaking. This episode covers the essential viewing in Gordon’s filmography, the films that resonated on a personal level with the hosts & the wildcards in an unpredictable career lined under-appreciated detours into weirdness. Gordon will be missed, especially by us. The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

On this episode of The Pink Smoke podcast, we dig into Charles Portis’ classic Western, True Grit. Portis is a favorite author of hosts Christopher Funderburg & John Cribbs, a sui generis talent whose oddball humor & low-key weirdness defied easy categorization. The discussion focuses, naturally, on the how the novel defines “true grit” in a moral context: the line separating “righteousness” from “goodness” - but mainly the hosts marvel over the novel’s marvelous language, sharp characterization, narrative ease and general genius. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter:
 twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter:
 twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

“The artist alone is the final judge of his work.” Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss Charles Willeford's twisty thriller set in the hip, commercialized art world of Miami in the early 70's. It's a funny, cynical and self-critical book about the relationship between artists and critics, but at the same time a typically outrageous & unpredictable work of Willeford pulp crime fiction. Join them as they discuss one of their favorite novels from one of their favorite authors. The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss the upcoming reprint of Donald E. Westlake’s Enough, a pair of novellas that have been given the much more appropriate title Double Feature in conjunction with the re-release. The two works, A Travesty and Ordo, have been out of print for nearly 40 years despite ranking among Westlake’s very best work. The breathless episode touches on everything from the history of Los Angeles as depicted in crime literature, the technicalities of locked room mysteries, the relationship of Westlake’s work to that of Charles Willeford as well as the strange moments when pulp fiction seems to transcend the pulp genre and transform into legit literature. Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime! order the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RL8THY7 The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

The Decade of Horror I: https://soundcloud.com/user-564624820/the-decade-of-horror-i The Decade of Horror II: https://soundcloud.com/user-564624820/the-decade-of-horror-ii What are your favorite horror films from the last 10 years? The third and final part of our epic Best Horror of the Decade series begins with Hellbent for Horror's S.A. Bradley sharing his love for one of the great under-appreciated horror films of the last 10 years. Christopher Funderburg chimes in with one of the most artful horror movies from the last decade and John Cribbs cautions to think twice before angering the Gods. Mr. Bradley and our hosts sound off on some other great horror films from lists contributed by such notable horror filmmakers, writers and experts including freelancer writer Anya Stanley, horror film director and illustrator Patrick Horvath, horror watchdog Tim Lucas and writer-artist Tenebrous Kate. The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.