Frank Burke is a leading film scholar with a long interest in Italian director Federico Fellini (1920-1993). Few artists were more obsessed with their dreams than Fellini. In this conversation we talk about his early interest in puppets and circus, and his jobs, before moving into film, as an illustrator and caracaturist. Drawing was always an important part of his preparation for movies but he also kept a graphic, drawn dream diary in the '60s and '70s, at the suggestion of Jungian analyst Ernst Bernhard. We discuss his interest in the work of another analyst, James Hillman who leaned more to the mystical and symbolic, and explore the recurring themes in those diaries (published postumously). Films in which dreams feature large are also discussed - we mention several but we focus on four including the feted 'Eight and a half'( 1963) and the vilified 'City of Women' (1980). To close Frank suggests movies that listeners new to Fellini may watch as an as a way into his work (depending on their interests and state of intoxication).

Participants:

Frank Burke, Independent film scholar and Professor Emeritus, Department of Film and Media, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. https://www.queensu.ca/filmandmedia/people-search/frank-burke

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist: http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk

More on Federico Fellini: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Fellini

Some films discussed:

Eight and a Half: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/

Juliet of the spirits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059229/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_in_0_q_%2520%2520Juliet%2520of%2520the%2520spirits

City of Women: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080539/

More on James Hillman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_HillmanParticipant:

More on Carlos Castaneda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda

A version of this conversation was first released on the Brainland podcast in November 2025 (https://shows.acast.com/brainland)

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown

Collage by KB illustration

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Introducing the Capolavoro podcast: 20 movies from 20 different directors, from Luchino Visconti’s influential 1943‘Ossessione’ to Maura Delpero’s brilliant 2024 ‘Vermiglio’. If you want to know more about post-war Italian cinema the Capolavoro podcast is a great place to start.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film and the movie poster we discussed: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In this extended series finale we talk about 1968 film 'Once Upon a Timer in the West', Sergio Leone's operatic and big budget return to the Spaghetti Western. Russ discusses the script, elements of the story assembled from earlier westerns, the main characters and the cinematography. We discuss the central role of Claudia Cardinale and a problematic scene with Bronson, Fonda's inspired casting against type and Robard's masterly performance. Morrecone's score is centre stage and we discuss his inclusion of a musical theme for each of the main characters ( a practice common in opera) how rehearsals of set pieces were accompanied by the music and how some shots were synchronised with the music. We touch on possible political resonances, critical responses to the film and the classic movie poster also gets a mention.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film and the movie poster we discussed: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In Mario Martone's 2022 movie, based on Ermanno Rea's 2016 novel, 'nostalgia' is not a bittersweet reflection on the past but an obsessive need to return to the Naples of the main character's youth. We talk about the contrast with 'Gomorah', another movie involving the Camorah discussed earlier in the series, and the excellent award winning performances, particularly Pierfrancesco Favino as Felice and Aurora Quattrocchi who plays his elderly and infirm mother. The effective and unusual (in terms of presentation) use of flashback gets a mention and the central importance of the old district of Sanità where is is shot. We also talk about the music, a play list rather than score, featuring particularly the long established German electronic band Tangerine dream.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14034614/

Ermano Rea:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermanno_Rea

Tangerine dream:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Dream

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In this episode we discuss the 1978 film - ‘L'albero degli zoccoli’, 'The tree of wooden clogs', directed, scripted, shot and edited by Ermano Olmi. We talk about the four stories that make up the film, the way in which Olmi slowly evokes the lives of his protagonists, all local people rather than professional actors ,and the extraordinary performances he gets from them. Russ talk about the links that have been made to this film and the neorealist cinema of the late '40s and early '50s including underlying political messages and ths subtle why these are handled here. We discuss key characters, scenes and story arcs, the look of the film and the high regard in which it is held, inlcuding by the Italian Ministry of Culture who include it in their list of 100 films that ''changed the collective memory of the country'. A great watch, and it can be seen for free - see the link below.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077138/

Watch for free on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/the-tree-of-wooden-clogs-1978

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In this episode we discuss the 2024 multi-award winning film 'Vermiglio' written and directed by Maura Delpero, set in Trentino and based on interviews and her own family history. We discuss the casting, of many untrained local children and adults alongside experienced professional actors, the extraordinary colour palate, inspired in part by paintings by nineteenth century artist Giovanni Segantini and the unusual mix of very familiar music (such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons) with a more spare modernist score by Matteo Franceschini. A great contemorary classic worth seeing at the cinema if you can.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiglio_(film)

Conversation between Maura Delpero and Alice Rohrwacher:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZsno5SSiJc

Giovanni Segantini paintings: https://www.artrenewal.org/artists/giovanni-segantini/5713

The version of Four Seasons we discuss: https://open.spotify.com/track/0VQMAup2VdeQWLCvM14Uz2?si=71fed2d1b56d443e

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In this episode we discuss the penultimate film of Vittorio De Sica, one of the giants of Italian cinema. 'The Garden of the Finzi-Continis' (1970) is based closely on the 1962 semi-autobiographical novel by Georgio Bassani andtells the story of a group of people, mostly in the Jewish community in Ferrara, as racial laws are introduced in fascist Italy in 1938 and the aftermath in 1940s. We discuss similarlities and differences between the novel and the film, the period cinematography, role of the music by De Sica's son Manuela, the acting and more. Anotehr holocast film but from a very different perspective to and less contravertial than 'The Night Porter'.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_the_Finzi-Continis

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065777/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

A Brainland Collective production.

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After discussing Liliana Cavani's backstory, which included documentaries on the 3rd Reich and women in WW2, we unpick the unusual mix of storylines in 'The Night Porter', an English languarge film that, despite a critical mauling in the US and UK on release, has endured and perhaps increased in stature. After discussing the extraordinary lead performances, the marketing use made of critical accusations of depravity, and much else, Russ talks us through some of the more recent critical thinking on the film.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer, podcaster and former neuropsychiatrist (UK) http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071910/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

A Brainland Collective production.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.