Selects: Some Movies That Changed Filmmaking

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The transcript is a playful, wide-ranging Stuff You Should Know episode centered on films that changed filmmaking, tracing innovations from silent-era montage and stunt work to sound, non-linear storytelling, French New Wave techniques, surrealism, CGI, and Kubrick’s sci-fi realism. Along the way, the hosts mix film history, personal reactions, and side debates about critical theory, endings, and movie aesthetics.

Main Topics: Silent-era breakthroughs: montage and stunt filmmaking: The discussion begins with Battleship Potemkin and The General, emphasizing Soviet montage, the Odessa Steps sequence, and Buster Keaton’s physically dangerous practical stunts and deadpan performance style. The arrival of sound and talkies: The Jazz Singer is highlighted as the first major feature with substantial spoken dialogue, with a note on the awkward early technology required to synchronize records and film. Non-linear storytelling and cinematic technique in Citizen Kane: Citizen Kane is presented as a landmark for deep focus, low-angle framing, ceilings in shots, off-center composition, expressionistic lighting, wipes, and expansive flashback structure. French New Wave and modern indie aesthetics: Breathless is used to explain jump cuts, handheld realism, and the influence of French critics-turned-filmmakers on later indie cinema and editing style. Surrealism and meta-filmmaking in Eight and a Half: Fellini’s film is described as a key influence on surreal, dreamlike filmmaking and on films/videos that portray creative anxiety and subjective experience. CGI animation and family-film evolution: Toy Story is discussed as the first all-CGI feature, which paved the way for later animated films, new Oscar categories, and more dialogue-rich children’s films that appeal to adults too. Kubrick’s 2001 and scientific realism: 2001: A Space Odyssey is framed as a watershed for visual effects, restraint, silence, hard-science presentation, and unmatched directorial control, with comparisons to later sci-fi and debates over explanation versus ambiguity.

Key Arguments: Technical and editorial innovations often mattered as much as story in shaping film history, especially in early cinema when many forms were still being invented. Battleship Potemkin’s montage and the Odessa Steps sequence became some of the most imitated images in cinema. Buster Keaton’s deadpan style and self-risking stunts influenced generations of comedic actors and action filmmaking. The Jazz Singer changed the industry by proving that feature-length films with synchronized dialogue could be a commercial success. Citizen Kane advanced film language through deep focus, low angles, ceilings in frame, and non-linear narrative structure. Breathless and the French New Wave normalized jump cuts and looser, more observational filmmaking that later defined indie cinema. Toy Story redefined animation by making a fully CGI feature film commercially viable and artistically respected. 2001: A Space Odyssey showed that sci-fi could be scientifically grounded, visually ambitious, and narratively spare without losing impact. Kubrick’s refusal to over-explain his films is praised as a model of trust in the audience, contrasted with newer films that repeatedly restate the plot. The hosts argue that film innovation is easier to identify in earlier eras, but still occurs when artists find new ways to tell stories or use technology. There is a strong distinction drawn between movies that explain everything and movies that let viewers infer meaning through imagery and structure.

Data Points: Battleship Potemkin release year: 1925 - Cited as an early landmark in montage and propaganda cinema. The General release year: 1926 - Used to discuss Buster Keaton’s stunts and deadpan performance style. The Jazz Singer release year: 1927 - Discussed as the first major feature with substantial spoken dialogue. Citizen Kane release year: 1941 - Used as a landmark for deep focus and non-linear storytelling. Breathless release year: 1960 - Referenced as a key French New Wave film that popularized jump cuts. Eight and a Half release year: 1963 - Discussed as a surreal, self-reflexive film about filmmaking. Toy Story release year: 1995 - Identified as the first all-CGI feature film. 2001: A Space Odyssey release year: 1968 - Highlighted for its technical innovation and scientific realism. The Jazz Singer commercial gross: $3.5 million - Reported as the film’s box-office performance in 1927. The Jazz Singer dialogue share: At least 25% spoken dialogue - Used to define why it counted as a transformative feature-length talkie. 2001: A Space Odyssey dialogue duration: 40 minutes - The hosts note that only 40 minutes of the 146-minute film contain dialogue. 2001: A Space Odyssey silent sections: Two 30-minute stretches - The film is described as having about 30 minutes of silence at the beginning and end. 2001: A Space Odyssey runtime: 146 minutes - Mentioned while discussing the sparse use of dialogue.

Pivotal Quotes: "We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions." — Jonas Brothers promo segment: Opening podcast-ad parody before the film discussion begins. "If you think we're overstating this, go watch any Buster Keaton movie. You will be thrilled and delighted." — Josh Clark: Defending Keaton’s influence and practical stunt legacy. "I just want to smash." — Chuck Bryant: Reaction to films being called 'Kubrickian' when they over-explain themselves compared with 2001.

Implications: The episode reinforces that cinema evolves through technique, technology, and restraint—not just plot. For listeners, it frames classic films as templates still visible in today’s editing, animation, and sci-fi storytelling.