Ford Focus

Harrison Ford reunited with his Working Girl director Mike Nichols for this drama, released in the heart of the summer of 1991, in which he plays an unscrupulous hard-charging lawyer who yells at his kid and is generally kind of a jerk to everyone. Until, that is, he's shot in a convenience store robbery and his traumatic brain injury resets his personality. Annette Bening co-stars as Ford's wife alongside Bill Nunn as Bradley, an occupational therapist who may have a dark side (it's a subject of debate in the episode). Oh, and the screenplay comes from a young J.J. Abrams.We're joined by Josh Horowitz, host of the Happy Sad Confused podcast and the Who's a Good Guest? video series (where he interviews celebrities alongside their pets) for a lively discussion of one of the most unusual films in the Ford Filmography.Finally, if you like this podcast and want even more Ford Focus, please support us on Patreon, where we post bonus episodes and more.

Since we launched Ford Focus we've been regularly releasing bonus episodes of the show for subscribers to our Patreon. We call this show within a show Ford Escape, as it usually covers movies in which Ford doesn't appear but are related, sometimes loosely, to the movie on our main feed. This week we decided to drop one on the main feed to give our free subscribers a listen to what they've been missing. While talking about Blade Runner Mike brought up another sci-fi film he always associated with it because it played alongside Blade Runner on cable: Looker. If you don't know it, it's a Michael Crichton directed film in which Albert Finney plays a Los Angeles plastic surgeon who gets caught up in a conspiracy involving an evil corporation that's killing models. Why? It's complicated. And it involves light guns and smoke guns, for some reason. Obviously, Blade Runner has proven more enduring, but Looker's a fascinating film in its own right, one filled with smart ideas that's still somehow pretty dumb.To help us talk about it we turned to Max Evry, a long-serving film journalist with a particular affinity for '80s science fiction, as evidenced by his two books: A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune, an Oral History and Stranded on Earth: How Night Skies Became E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. (The latter comes out October 27th, but can pre-order it now.)We hope you enjoy this side trip. And, once again, that Patreon link is: patreon.com/c/FordFocusPodcast.

Blade Runner is now recognized as not just one of the cornerstones of Harrison Ford's filmography but as one of the most influential and endlessly discussable films of its era. But it wasn't always so. Released on June 25th, 1982 (apologies for getting the date wrong in the episode itself), Blade Runner debuted to mixed reviews and disappointing box office but soon picked up a cult following. That cult expanded considerably in 1992, when Ridley Scott released his director's cut, which removed the clarifying voiceover recorded late in the production process, lopped off the original cut's "happy" ending, and restored a few moments Scott had to trim.Which version is better has since become a subject of much debate, as it is in this episode. Vulture and New York magazine critic Bilge Ebiri joins us to discuss the film's themes, its legacy, Ford's performance and a lot more.Also, here are a few links to more info about the items we referenced.• Marvel's Blade Runner adaptation, written by Archie Goodwin with art by Al Williamson.• Jonathan Rinzler's The Making of Return of the Jedi• The Blade Runner FAQFinally, if you like this podcast and want even more Ford Focus, please support us on Patreon, where we post bonus episodes and more.

Harrison Ford joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hulks out in a big way as the President of the United States, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. Ross is a man with a troubled history, as chronicled in previous MCU films like The Incredible Hulk and Avengers: Endgame, where he was played by William Hurt. (Like Jack Ryan, this is a role that Harrison Ford did not originate.) Does Ford fit into the MCU? Is Ross a Peloton enthusiast? We discuss all that and more with our special guest Germain Lussier, a reporter who covers entertainment news for Gizmodo and io9.This episode was requested by one of our Patreon supporters. If you want to tell us what to watch and enjoy other benefits of being a Patreon supporter, click here.

A high-concept rom-com mostly set on a desert island, this 1998 film teams Harrison Ford with Anne Heche (and, to a lesser extent, David Schwimmer) for an unlikely love story. Heche plays a big-city magazine editor. Ford plays an easygoing tropical pilot. The two have nothing in common, but when Ford's plane crashes in the middle of nowhere, is it possible they might fall in love. (Answer: yes.)ScreenCrush editor Matt Singer, author of Opposable Thumbs, a terrific dual biography of Siskel and Ebert, and the brand new (as of October 6), Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever joins us for a discussion of an Ivan Reitman comedy that did pretty well when it played theaters but undoubtedly reached an even bigger audience because it came free when you bought a DVD player in the late 1990s. Also discussed: the film career of David Schwimmer, which Ivan Reitman movies are actually good, and the film's poster, which doesn't exactly scream "here's a fun comedy."Also, if you want to help this podcast be sure to:a) Tell your friendsb) Rate, review and subscribe wherever you listen to podcastsc) Subscribe to us on YouTube, which will help a lot. Here's the link.

TV critic Alan Sepinwall—writer of the What's Alan Watching? newsletter and the upcoming Serling: A Journey into the Twilight Zone with TV's First Visionary—joins us to discuss his favorite Indiana Jones movie: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.Released in 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade found Harrison Ford dawning his famous fedora for what seemed like it might be the last time for a globetrotting adventure in search of the Holy Grail. Along for the ride: Sean Connery as Indy's distant, eccentric dad.Join us as we talk about Ford's attempt at a Scottish accent, whether or not Indy and his dad are immortal and, inevitably, which cast members also appeared in James Bond movies.

Writer, podcaster, and content strategist Wynter Mitchell joins us to discuss Harrison Ford's first big post-Star Wars movie: Force 10 from Navarone. A sequel to The Guns of Navarone, Force 10 features none of the original cast, but it does have a star of Jaws (Robert Shaw), a star of Rocky (Carl Weathers), a Bond villain (Richard Kiel), a Bond girl (Barbara Bach) and a Django (Franco Nero). Critics thought it played like a film out of time in 1978. How does it play now? Join us to find out, and to hear our official opinion on Nazis. (Spoiler: They're bad, bad, bad.)

Michael H. Weber, co-writer of 500 Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now, and The Disaster Artist (for which he earned an Oscar nomination with his partner Scott Neustadter, joins us to discuss Apocalypse Now, in which Harrison Ford plays a nervous colonel who sends Martin Sheen's Captain Willard on his way. We discuss Ford's small but important role but also what happens when you see a great movie under the wrong conditions, the curious case of Apocalypse Now's (seemingly) multiple endings, whether it's possible to make an anti-war film (with a tap of the cap to Francois Truffaut), G.I, Joe, Megalopolis, The Rainmaker, The Doors, and much more. (It's, as usual, a pretty digressive conversation).