THE LAST CASTLE with Jason Bailey!
It’s Die Hard in a military prison!
This week on DIE HARD ON A BLANK, we are storming THE LAST CASTLE with returning special guest Jason Bailey, author of GANDOLFINI: Jim, Tony and the Life of a Legend.
When decorated three-star U.S. Army General Eugene Irwin (Robert Redford) is sentenced to a term in a military prison overseen by Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini), both men gradually slide into a destructive power struggle…and when Irwin witnesses Winter’s brutal tactics firsthand, he eventually leads the prisoners in a full on uprising against his opposite number.
As we examine Rod Lurie’s highly underrated 2001 siege drama, we dig into the film’s resonant themes of anti-authoritarianism, courage under fire, and personal honor, and debate whether this might be that rare bird: a pro-military movie with liberal politics.
But mostly, we dive deep on James Gandolfini’s extraordinary performance as one of the most human and sympathetic “villains” in modern action movie history — a turn that may just be his best ever big-screen role. Plus: the Die Hard Oscars, Double Jeopardy trivia, and some inside baseball on the off-screen relationship between Gandolfini and Robert Redford during the film’s difficult shoot. Lurie Lads rise up!!
ORIGINAL TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsxA8Euaiw0
At the time of release, THE LAST CASTLE is available to stream on Paramount Plus and is available rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms, as well as on physical media!
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Die Hard On A Blank
Welcome to the party, pals! This is DIE HARD ON A BLANK, the podcast that explores the influence of DIE HARD on action cinema -- one action movie at a time. In each episode of DIE HARD ON A BLANK, hosts Philip Gawthorne and Liam Billingham discuss one major mainstream action movie that was released after DIE HARD. Phil and Liam break down the story, heroes, villains, action, humor and the 'DIE HARD DNA' that infuse each film, including common cast and crew members. They rate each film and hand out DIE HARD-themed awards. For casual fans and action movie die hards, DIE HARD ON A BLANK is a fun movie discussion podcast that treats the action genre with real respect and love. DIE HARD ON A BLANK is produced by Liam Billingham and Philip Gawthorne. Mike Mayer and Michael Sugar are the executive producers. Tyson Hubley makes our artwork and videos. You can follow Die Hard On A Blank on Twitter and Instagram here. Follow @liamgbillingham and @philipgawthorne on twitter. You can e-mail us with questions at [email protected]Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- No. of episodes: 79
- Latest episode: 2025-07-16
- TV & Film Film History Film Reviews
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