In Contrast

In episode 12, Alan & Nisha discuss another classic of gothic horror: Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death! They marvel at how well this story holds up even 180 years later, and even still has some notable parallels to our modern world.

For the film adaptations, they focus on the most well-known version put to film: the 1964 film of the same name, as well as the early 1919 silent film The Plague in Florence. The first ...

In episode 11, Alan & Nisha once again visit with pod favorite H.P. Lovecraft to discuss his 1927 short story, The Colour Out of Space. Often cited as perhaps the favorite work of Lovecraft himself, this story has been adapted numerous times over the years and inspired countless more.

For the discussion, they also focus on two films: The 2019 film The Color Out of Space starring Nicholas Cage, and the lesser-known 2010 film Die...

In episode 10, Alan & Nisha tackle the well-known crime thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley. Written by Patricia Highsmith and released in 1955, this novel kicked off a series of five books that would be published over the next few decades.

This first book has 3 major adaptations, all of which are discussed in this episode. Purple Noon is a French adaptation starring Alain Delon as Tom, released in 1960. The Talented Mr. Ripley, p...

Happy 2025 from In Contrast!

Alan & Nisha are ringing in the new year by discussing a seminal work in modern young adult fantasy and a personal favorite of Nisha's: The Golden Compass. This book (also known as The Northern Lights) was written by Phillip Pullman and released in 1995. It is the first entry in the His Dark Materials trilogy, but this conversation specifically focuses on the first book and its adaptations.

The book...

In Episode 8, Alan & Nisha discuss one of the major classics of American literature: To Kill a Mockingbird.

They talk about the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 novel by Harper Lee, and compare it with the film adaptation released just two years later in 1962. This remains the only major adaptation of this book. How does the film deal with the large and sometimes scattershot story of its source material? How does the social commenta...

Alan and Nisha are back in Episode 6 to talk about another classic: The Island of Dr. Moreau. This story was originally published as a novel by legendary science fiction writer H.G. Wells in 1896. It tells of a far away island and the mysterious doctor who lives there conducting strange experiments.

This novel had been adapted many times over the years, so Alan watched a total of four...yes, FOUR film adaptations to prepare for t...

In Episode 5, Alan and Nisha discuss No Country for Old Men, looking at both the 2005 novel by legendary author Cormac McCarthy, as well as the film directed by the Coen Brothers just 2 years later in 2007.

The film is not only widely considered a great adaptation, but one of the Coens' best films in their critically lauded career. Does the source material hold the same place in McCarthy's similarly celebrated bibliography? What we...

In Episode 4, Alan & Nisha delve into The Phantom of the Opera. Originating as a 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, this story has been adapted numerous times in different mediums, including one of the longest running stage productions of all time.

They discuss this cultural impact and focus on 3 versions put to film: The 1925 silent film featuring Lon Chaney, the wildly different 1943 film by Arthur Lubin, and the 2004 film based on...

Alan and Nisha are back for Episode 2!

This time they discuss the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, as well as its 1982 film adaptation Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford. There is also some discussion of how the 2017 legacy sequel Blade Runner 2049 expands on these works.

Both the novel and the film were highly influential in their times to science fiction and can even...