Ambassador Radio

This morning, I was thrilled to watch the 1956 Greek film The Ogre of Athens (original title O Drákos) by director Nikos Koundouros. What an astonishing film — it brilliantly deconstructs tropes from the heist movie, murder mystery, noir genres, and even comedy.

Identity is everything in this story. Who is the Ogre ?
Thomas, the protagonist, is a meek, drab bank clerk whose unremarkable life suddenly shifts when he’s mistaken for a notorious criminal. Because he resembles this “Ogre”people treat him like an outlaw—a Robin Hood type folk legend. It raises such a compelling question: might mistaken identity actually feel like a gift to someone stuck in a dull, boring existence?

Even though we never fully know what the real “Ogre” did to earn his legend, the transformation that Thomas undergoes is haunting. He starts to internalize the persona, as if the Ogre persona is more real than his old, timid self.

It’s a crime that this spellbinding film isn’t embraced by cinema lovers as an unmitigated classic of world cinema—moody, satirical, tragic, and deeply political. The score by Manos Hatzidakis deserves a proper vinyl release!

Happy Belated Birthday to the late silent film star, Louise Brooks.

Happy Birthday (Nov 14) to the one and only Louise Brooks! 🖤

In interviews, Louise Brooks claimed to have written a great, lost, 400-page autobiography that no one except her ever read: “To learn how to write, I wrote an autobiography, ‘Naked on My Goat.’ It’s a wonderful title. It’s from Goethe; out of the witches’ Sabbath, Faust. And I did that simply to learn how to write. Because what better way than an autobiography? And it ran about 400 pages. And I typed and I typed and I typed the 400 pages, and when I was through, I threw it down the incinerator.”

(Brooks did, of course, also write the autobiographical Lulu in Hollywood, published in 1982, a few years before her death in 1985.)

Brooks was considered a relatively minor star until French New Wave critics reappraised her work and touted her greatness. “There is no Garbo. There is no Dietrich. There is only Louise Brooks!” Henry Langlois of the Cinémathèque Française exclaimed in 1958.

Megadeth - I Don't Care (Official Music Video) Official video for Megadeth's "I Don't Care". Pre-order the new album http://selftitled.megadeth.com/preorder Director / DP: Keith J. Leman Producer: Aleth...

War On Women - Precious Problem (Official Lyric Video) Listen to the new single "Precious Problem" from War on Women on Smartpunk Records: https://ffm.to/preciousproblemLyrics: I put up a wallto protect this hous...

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The Invisible Man opened November 13, 1933

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"World Downfall" is the debut album by TERRORIZER. It was released on November 13, 1989.

Starting off an evening of revisiting cinema with one of my top five Jesús Franco films — The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966). Franco is at the top of his game here, crafting a stylish blend of sci-fi and Gothic horror that’s also one of his most accessible works. The film features the legendary Franco collaborator Howard Vernon, whose presence adds an extra layer of eerie charm.

The Diabolical Dr. Z marks a key turning point in Franco’s career — made just before his dive into the surreal eroticism that would define much of his later work. It showcases his fascination with mad science, hypnotic women, and the thin line between control and chaos, all wrapped in crisp black-and-white visuals. Vernon, as always, brings a distinct menace and sophistication that became a hallmark of their collaborations throughout the 1960s and beyond.

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¡Qué foto tan increíblemente hermosa y llena de emoción! Esta imagen de Celia Cruz y Marc Anthony es un tesoro que captura una conexión genuina y la herencia de la salsa. ❤❤❤❤

Every so often, I get the urge to feed my love for homegrown cinema — those mostly underwhelming, shot-on-video productions that thrived during the 1980s and 1990s, the true renaissance of Let's Rent a Video Camera filmmaking.
This morning we kick things off with Suroh the Alien Hitchhiker from 1995, directed, written, and produced by Patrick McGuinn. From what I understand, the film was originally filmed on S-VHS.

Tonight’s double feature takes me back to my sophomore year of high school. That year, these two films hit home video, and my best friend and I rented them endlessly.

Dust Devil (1992) — written and directed by Richard Stanley — remains my favorite of his films. Loosely inspired by South African folklore and Stanley’s own short film Dust Devil: The Road to L., it’s a surreal mix of Western, horror, and mysticism. I didn’t see the director’s cut until years later, and it was truly an underrated masterpiece.

Hard Boiled (1992) — directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung — was the second. It’s the peak of Hong Kong heroic bloodshed cinema: balletic action, chaos, and heart all rolled into one bundle.

New music from one of the more interesting and long running post-Hardcore bands, Nothing

Nothing announce new album 'A Short History of Decay' (new song & exclusive vinyl) It's Nothing's first full-length for Run For Cover, and first with Best Coast's Bobb Bruno on bass.

PRIMITIVE MAN - Social Contract (Official Music Video) Pre-Order 'Observance' Here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/primitive-man-observancePre-Save/Streaming: http://orcd.co/primitiveman-observanceSubscribe to Rel...