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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep727: NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) - Movie Review

Ep727: NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) - Movie Review

Ian Simmons

Ian and David are midway-bound with their review of Edmund Goulding's 1947 carnie-noir, Nightmare Alley!

In advance of Guillermo Del Toro's new adaptation of the William Lesley Gresham novel, the guys look at its cult-classic predecessor. Tyrone Power stars as Stanton, a carnival laborer who teams up with a fake psychic to fool the rubes and rake in the cash. One double-cross follows another, and soon Stanton finds himself building a small empire of deceit among Chicago's high society!

Things get weirder from here, and in this spoiler-filled exploration, Ian and David talk about whether or not Nightmare Alley qualifies as "film noir"; what makes it such an unusual candidate for cult status; and why Del Toro's vision for the material makes Ian a bit nervous.

Plus: David shares some of his favorite special features from the recently released Criterion Collection Blu-ray.

Show Links:

  • Watch the Nightmare Alley (1947) trailer.

  • Watch the Nightmare Alley (2021) trailer (discussed in the show).

  • Buy Nightmare Alley on DVD or Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

  • Order the novel on which Nightmare Alley was based (also discussed in the show).

  • Follow David's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Accademia Giallo: DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS (1971)

Accademia Giallo: DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS (1971)
Ep726: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021) - Movie Review

Ep726: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021) - Movie Review