May 14, 2023

Comfort Films 75: Howl's Moving Castle

Comfort Films 75: Howl's Moving Castle
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Comfort Films Podcast

For this second week of our AniMAYtion month, we're taking a look at one of our favorites from Studio Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle (English dubbed). We talk aesthetics, from steampunk fairy tale to Dark Academia to Steve Martin, Howl as superhero, the freedom of living in disguise, the corrupting power of magic, Hayao Miyazaki's boundlessly creative yet realistically cinematic style, Joe Hisaishi's perfect musical score, and themes of greed, vanity, and the uselessness of war. It's a discussion almost as rich as the film itself, so jump on the steam-powered airship and ride into the sunset with us!

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Nov. 3, 2023

Comfort Films 98: The Amusement Park (1975)

“The grotesque has never really affected or frightened me. I guess it’s real-life stuff that frightens me much more.” (George A. Romero) In this special bonus horror episode, John and Georgia are pleased to welcome Ryan Carr...

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Nov. 18, 2023

Comfort Films 100: The Birdcage (1996)

It's our 100th episode!! To celebrate, we welcome back one of our earliest guests, the great Kate Duffy, to discuss a film that has been our number one requested comfort film over the course of the show. We talk about …

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Dec. 8, 2023

Comfort Films 102: Interview with Writer/Director/Composer John Harri…

In this special episode, John and Georgia spoke with writer, director, producer, composer, actor and all-around fine, upstanding Pennsylvanian, John Harrison. We discuss his 2023 novel, Passing Through Veils, which combines e...

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Feb. 23, 2024

Comfort Films 108: Sense and Sensibility (1995)

For the second episode of our Jane Austen adaptations month, we welcome first-time guest and world class soprano Jessica Sandidge to discuss her top comfort pick, Sense and Sensibility! This film was Emma Thompson's first fea...

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