The Movies That Made Me… Episode 5: Screen Partnerships
Luke Sorba wrote and directed his first movie on Super 8 when he was 18 years old. "The Mirror Within" won in the Novice Category at Streatham and Norwood Amateur Film Club's Annual Awards. He only made one more (apart from some YouTube sketches) but he has since watched 6000 movies made by other people and owns 1600 on DVD. He spent more teenage hours at the National Film Theatre and the Electric Cinema than anywhere else, and is currently on first name terms with staff at Peckhamplex.
Over two hundred books on cinema fill his shelves and he has a complete collection of Monthly Film Bulletin magazines (incorporated in Sight and Sound since 1990) going back to 1964. As an actor and writer, as well as a teacher of story telling Luke brings professional experience to his observations but it his status as a super-fan that sets him apart.
He is rare among enthusiasts in that there is no period nor genre nor country whose movies he is not curious about. From Intolerance to Inception, The St Valentine's Day Massacre to The Belles of St Trinian's, Do the Right Thing to Dr Dolittle, Zombieland to Nomadland, Superfly to Superman, Tod Browning to Todd Haynes, Federico Fellini to The Fast and Furious, Monika Treut to Monica Bellucci, there is a place for everyone in The Movies That Made Me.
Luke Sorba and Andrew Paine previously collaborated on the online improvised comedy show "Unmute". Together they make up Picard Productions.
Episode 5 features…
Lesley Ann Albiston is a comedy playwright, theatre director, actor improviser, teacher and fine artist. Her recent plays Chop Me Up Or Let Me Go and A Slice Of Eel Pie have been performed on the London Fringe to great reviews. Lesley Ann shares her birthday with one of her favourite film directors, Alfred Hitchcock. 
Twitter: @LesleyAnnAlbist
Neil Cole is an actor, playing several roles in Amazon Prime horror anthology series Dark Ditties Presents… and lead roles in forthcoming feature films The Chain and Sentinel. He is a also an award-winning comedian and presenter (MTV, National Geographic, Eurosport)
Twitter: @neilcole
https://theneilcoleshow.com
 
Howdy Partners...
WAY OUT WEST   d James Horne (1937) Peak sound era Laurel and Hardy, the template for so many male comedy double acts from Abbott and Costello to Dumb and Dumber.
Contrast: Stan and Ollie (2018)
FIGHT CLUB   d David Fincher (1999) Edward Norton in a study of toxic masculinity from before the term was coined and when Brad Pitt was still a screen actor (and a good one!) rather than just a screen persona.
Contrast: A Beautiful Mind (2001) when Russell Crowe was still a screen actor (and a good one!) rather than just a screen persona.
SOME LIKE IT HOT d Billy Wilder (1959) The second Billy Wilder movie to be chosen by a guest on The Movies That Made Me… and why not? Starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, this is genuine Hollywood gold (albeit based on an obscure French movie from 1935 called Fanfare of Love).
Contrast: Shakespeare in Love (1998) See below…
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE d John Madden (1998) More cross-dressing and disguises (see above) this time with Joseph Fiennes. One of the best ever representations of theatre on film. Plus one of a tiny number of movies in which you don’t wish Gwyneth Paltrow had been replaced by another actress.
Contrast: Stage Beauty (2004)
THE PRODUCERS d Mel Brooks (1967) Quite simply my favourite comedy ever, with career-defining performances from Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Though originally scheduled to star Peter Sellers and Dustin Hoffman!
Contrast: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971) Inter-generational satire from Hal Ashby more famous for box office hits Being There and Shampoo, critically-acclaimed The Last Detail and Best Picture Oscar winner Coming Home. Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon star in his most original film.
Contrast: The Mother (2003)
End Credits
Luke Sorba: Host
Twitter: LukeSorbaLabour
Andrew Pai