Cinema Eclectica

Our Halloween special is over and done with, but this week Graham faces his most terrifying challenge yet - enjoying a film about jazz. If you're going to watch one film about jazz, though, Bertrand Tavernier's 'Round Midnight is the one to watch. Its bona fides are impeccable: named after a Thelonious Monk song, starring Dexter Gordon, with a score by Herbie Hancock and inspired by the lives of Lester Young and Bud Powell. That's a lot of jazz, and fortunately Aidan is back on the show to help Graham navigate it. But there's more to Tavernier's film than its music. It's a profoundly cinephilic film as well, with a memorable late appearance by notable Letterboxd user Martin Scorsese. Graham also gets to venture his classification system for 1980s French cinema, which won't be approved by Cahiers du Cinema any time soon but eh, it just about works. If you want to help us manage our tormented yet strangely stylish alcohol addictions, you can donate to our Patreon where we're