FRESH AIR
The American Film Institute (AFI) has named the top ten American films in ten popular genres. From sci-fi flicks to classic Westerns, the lists include some of the most influential works in American cinema. Today’s Fresh Air presents archival interviews with several of the actors and a screenwriter whose work has been recognized on the new list:
Eva Marie Saint, star the AFI’s seventh-ranked mystery movie, North by Northwest, speaks with Terry Gross about her career, her Oscar-winning role in On the Waterfront and being typecast as a “sexy spy lady.”
Screenwriter Robert Towne and actress Faye Dunaway worked together on Chinatown (Mystery, #2) and Bonnie and Clyde (Gangster, #5).
Kirk Douglas’ and Tony Curtis’ performances in Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus helped earn the film the fifth position in the epics category.
Lawrence of Arabia, which starred Peter O’Toole, was named the best epic. Eva Marie Saint’s interview was originally broadcast on December 15, 1988; Robert Towne’s on December 15, 1988; Faye Dunaway’s on
January 11, 1996; Kirk Douglas’ on August 2, 1988; Tony Curtis’ on April 19, 1991 and Peter O’Toole’s on April 16, 1993.
ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: SONG OF THE DAY
The War on Drugs: The Music of Rootlessness
THE WORLD CAFE
It’s a summer kick-off special as World Café host, David Dye, spins a mix that celebrates the season, including one listener’s top five summer tunes. Also Breakthrough Welsh songstress, Duffy, stops by the studio with music from her debut, Rockferry. Already a smash hit in her native Britain, she sings with roughness and soul, perfectly suiting the album’s themes of disillusionment and frustration. She’s got a unique brand of lush, Motown-influenced pop that’s sure to help beat the heat.