Films To Be Buried With with Brett GoldsteinRay Winstone • Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein #289
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Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with one of the UK's finest, it's RAY WINSTONE!
You did indeed read that correctly. Brett caught up with Ray for a glorious episode which could have only been improved if it was conducted in person, but if Ray is available you take him any way you can bloody well get him. If you don't know him, he starred in huge films such as Sexy Beast, The Departed and Beowulf to name a few. Of course, a lot of his filmography gets covered here but on top of that, we hear about shouting at the screen, early David Lynch experiences, creating magic on a non-real film set, being an avid viewer of movies from all across the globe, getting over language hurdles in films and so much more. A true delight. ENJOY!
(note: Ray mentioned a film where someone has amnesia - looks like it might be 'Random Harvest' - in case you're curious!)
Video and extra audio available on Brett's Patreon!
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It's only films to be buried with. Hello, and welcome to films to be buried with. My name is Brett Goldstein. I'm a comedian and actor, a writer, a director of Fishing Hook, and I love films. As Brody Ashton once said, the great heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with. Like David Lynch was gifted the power of art and he chose to completely fuck with our heads with it.
I love that shit. Yeah, agreed, Thanks Brody.
I'm recording this in the car by the way, so sorry for the noise. Every week I'm invite a special guest over. I tell them they've died, then I get them to discuss their life through the films that meant the most of them. Previous guests include Barry Jenkins, himesh Patel, Sharon Stone, and even Queed Clambles. But this week it is an all time hero and national treasure one of my favorite actors, Gay Dave himself. It's mister Ray Winster. Head over to the Patreon at patreon dot com forward Slashbrett Goldstein, where you get fifteen minutes extra chat with Ray. We talk beginnings, we talk secrets. He tells me it's secrets. He does a dance to the Patreon theme tune. You get all that and more ad free, and you get it as a video. Head over to the Patreon at patreon dot com, forward slash Brett Goldstein and join. So Ray Winston, this was a big one for me. Ray is one of my all time favorite actors. I think he is one of the most charismatic formers working today. Sexy Beast is one of the films I've watched the most in my life. I was so delighted when he agreed to come on the show. We recorded this on Zoom. We'd never met before. I had no idea what he'd be like, and he was absolutely fucking delightful. I really think you're going to love this one. He has two things coming out. He's got The Gentleman on March seventh and Damsel on March eighth. Both of these are on Netflix, and make sure you watch them all. So that is it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode two hundred and eighty nine of Films To Be Buried With Hello and Welcome to Films. To be Mereis With It is I Brett Goldstein, and I'm joined today by a producer, an actor, a movie star, a nil By Malfa, BeO Wolf, Swedey Todd, one of the three Bears nowhere. He's a black widower, he's a Hugo, he's a departed he's in Indiana Jones, and he's in one of my all time favorite films of all time that I'm absolutely obsessed with. He's a sexy beast. Please will you welcome to the show. He's a national treasure. I can't believe he's here. It's the one and only here he is. It's mister Ray Winston.
Ah what I want to build up? That was Brett. Thank you for it. Match, It's lovely.
Nice to be It's nice a little chat about movies before Christmas as well, because it keeps my memory going.
Yeah.
Now, Ray Winston, if I may say you National Treasure, you're amazing sexy Beast. Of all the films, you know, one of the questions is what's the film you think you've watched the most. I think Manely is Sexy Beast. Really, I love Sexy Beast so much. I think you're phenomenal in it. Well, Pleasure and I think it's a really beautiful love story.
It is, Yeah, it is. I think the film I've watched the most over the years is probably Zulu.
Really is.
Just amused. You just do it when it comes in of at least, and you just I'm on it.
You know, I don't know every word in it, and you know, I just love it. I love Michael, you know.
They're all in it. You know. It's just a great and they keep talking about wanting to make it again. You know, why why would you make that again? It is a perfect film, you know, and it's they nailed it. They nailed it, did you.
I was looking over your credits and there's a lot of them, and I was like, are you how are you not working? Are you always working? Are you good at not working? And I haven't been working the last year. We've been on strike, you know, yeah, strike and all that.
Have you got mad? Yeah, a little bit. At first.
I was quite pleased about it, but not about what we were striking for, because it was it was correct, the stripe was correct. But but just that little bit of time and thinking, you know, but you've got to go back to work, you get a little bit.
Itchy, you know, and it's kind of waiting for the right thing to come along, you know, the right script, which I think I found now because we're back to work.
I start working February, so you know that's all right. I feel fresh, like I'm yeah, you can't tell me what it is. I'm as human.
Jimmy White story, you know, so, and it's I know, I've known Jim Jimmy for many, many years.
But it's actually written brilliantly by Stephen Waddington, you know who I've worked. It's quite surreal actually, you know.
It's about a certain period in his life and he's telling his story, you know, for this kind of illness he has.
You know, it's all been through it sometimes you drinking drugs and all that kind of shit.
It's brilliantly written, and it's great to find a script like that about a sportsman, you know, yeah, a genius in his own right.
You know. That's very exciting, that's very cool. I'm not blaming you be White, by the way, I'm sure. Yeah's manager.
Okay, where are we recording this from? By the way, where are you? You're in a cupboard?
I'm in Essex.
Yeah, yeah, I like that a lot.
Ray. Ye, there's something I've forgotten to tell you, which I should have said up front.
Yeah, I think.
I should have. I actual should have said it when we logged on. But oh fuck, I don't know you're going to take it. You've you've died, You're dead. I thought I had, you know, yeah, I had this kind of feeling down on you know, it was a stupid thing.
All how do you die? What do you do? I'm sixty years of age.
It was old season in November, and you know, you still think you can do things when you were thirty, you know, you know, be greedy in a way.
It's greed.
Greed that killed me really, because you know, we got these things that kind of whap the tree, you know, and the olives out of the tree and then go into a net and we collectible up which out more. But sometimes when the tree is a little bit large, you can't get the top. So I thought, you know, agreed, these beautifuls. I just didn't want to leave the rot on the tree, you know, so I climbed up the tree. And I don't it very successful climbing up the tree. There was not a problem, you know, THEND the injection in the arts earlier on in the day, so the right and I could climb so and I got to the top of the tree and I managed to but it was a couple just a little bit further out on the branch, and I felt Jesus fell from the tree. And I wasn't really that aware that I've actually passed over. But I must say it must have been pretty quick. I must think about I'm like instant, you reckon, I like to think so I did. I can't remember stuff in anyone, but it's been I made this kind of funny vibe going on that I'm not quite there, you know.
Yea, thank you for explaining me. I've had a good life. You've had. It seems like you've had a great life. Tell me this. Do you do you worry about death? Not anymore? Because I'm bid.
That I should have pulled Tonic, but everyone had poured out Gil and Tonny.
Do you think there's an afterlife? Be on this podcast? I can't vote, so it's kind of weird. My bigdea of what after like is I've thought about that quite a bit.
Actually, it seems Please please tell.
Me all this information we've kind of collected and we've got insilence and this life and what we've left behind.
It's can't just be like that, surely, I mean, is that nature? Is that where it is? I caess it is. But to me, it's kind of like almost like the film. You know, I like a video tape if you like, But when it stops, it rewinds and it starts again. And maybe that's what the soul is.
Maybe the soul is a memory, you know that it's just gives to an end and it stops and it rewinds and you go through it all again. And maybe in the film you take a different chance, you don't in a different direction. I don't know, but I think the body dies, but maybe the memory doesn't, you know.
I like to think that anyways.
So so like reincarnation, you're not saying you come back as Ray Winston and do it all again.
I don't know if it's reincarnation, it's just but it's just a memory, the memory something there that kind of goes on, I don't know, always left.
And maybe maybe the memory is left in your children. I don't know.
I like that a lot. Well, here's the truth, Ray, because I know you're going to heaven. You think Yeah, you're going to heaven. There's a heaven and you're welcome there and it's filled with your favorite thing. But what's your favorite thing?
Well, my favon I've got a lot of them, got a lot of favorite things. You can have a few. I'm watching a good thing. Yeah.
My favorite things, I guess are watching my kids craft, you know, watching my grandchildren role you know, and that to me, I'd love to be there when they have their kids.
You know, one of my children's had well, you know, my grandson. But that's the most magical moment in the world, you know, seeing something that you've produced produced something else that actually looks like.
You as well, which is amazing. Yeah.
Yeah, is it more amazing having a grandkid than a kid when they were first born?
Did the blow your mind even more? It's funny, It's it's kind of funny. Yeah, in a way, it is.
Yeah, you know, because something that you your wife is given birth to, that comes from you, you know, give us birth to something else that looks like you, and it's kind of poor little fingure get over it.
You know, it's quite it's quite amazing, you know, that is incredible. Yeah, it's kind of working net change working that reincarlation if you like.
Yeah, there's the memory. Well they're all you can see all of them in heaven and and it's and you can watch some films and everyone in heaven is very excited to see you. They're big fans. Okay, anyway, the bars open and it's already ready for you, and they want to talk to you about your life. But they want to talk about your life through film. And the first thing they asked you was the first film you remember seeing Ray Winston?
Very good question. The first one I remember was one hundred and one Dalmations.
It was with my mum. Yeah, into the pictures in west Ham see it. And by all accounts I got the rund with Kuella.
Deville and I escaped from where we were sitting and reading down to the front of the screen and shook me fished and shaid Couella Deville lead those doggies.
Alone, this lovely stime.
Probably about five. That's very nice, Yeah, probably about five. Been in the early sixties, in the early sixties sometime.
Yeah, that's very nice. I like that very much. Do you have siblings? Can I ask or was this who were you with.
My sister would have been free, right, so she might be she might have been there with mum.
Yeah.
Maybe it's funny because when we went pictures years later and we used to always go.
To the cinema Mom and dad.
Always my dad to take me on a Wednesday afternoon when he finished in the fruit market on a meat market where he was working and he picked me up from school and taking the pictures to see a war film or western and all that kind of stuff. When I was about six seven, eight years awage, you know, but we'd go about once a month and we got up the West End to watch a film, whether it was Thomas and Beckett, you know about Beckett.
It was Zulu or whatever.
And we got there, but my sister always always all had to go to the toilet halfway through the film. So everyone, yeah, I know we're getting yet always I want to go just try to look at the toilet, that's all.
It was kind of there. Yeah, what about scared? What's the film that's scared? You didn't do you like being scared?
Yeah? I do. The scariest film. I've got to explain the situation.
Around it why it was so scary. I was I was working on a TV program many years ago in Jersey called Burger. I had a bit of time off during the day and we were we were actually stationed where we were, but the green room was was in an old cinema which was not working at the time. But we had a teley and a VHS machine there. I think it was a v machine at the time.
We would have been. And they had two.
Films, and the first film was it was Only Me And by the way, sitting there in a cinema, they said.
The lights on or off?
I turn the lights off. I watched Midnight Express. First Midnight Express, very good, excellent film, brilliant film. And then they had this other film which in the dark cinema, right on your own right, we couldn't see how fucking thing right.
I put on a raz your head, oh man, that was scared the share of you.
Ah no, on my own right, and I couldn't move. I couldn't even reach every ahs to turn it off. I was too scared to get out and run out of the cinema. I said there and I told this film, which I'm glad I did because it's.
A fantastic move, and I got out of it. Was it's a guy out of the night. You know. It's just he's just got as going on in his mind, you know.
And to be quite I've seen it again since and I got a little bit more out of it, you know, But I think that is probably the scariest film I've ever seen due to the situation I was in as.
Well, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, David Lynch made the scariest things I've ever seen for sure. I mean, very clever man, and they raise ahead I think. Now I'm older and i've seen it again, I'm like, oh, it's about he just had a baby. It's about a man terrified of he's had a baby. Yeah, and then annoyse do you know what got out of it as well?
The noises in films, you know, which we don't concentrate enough on, just the atmosphere of noise and how important sound is making a movie. You know, it was quite incredible, just a clanging and the drops of water and all that kind of shit was going on.
You know.
It was really an atmospheric film mainly to do with the sound that was.
You know, and he's just just quite standing there, flickering, you know.
Yeah, yeah, I lost some weight that ye.
Can I ask you acting question, which is, have you ever worked on a film where acting in it? Because there was no atmosphere, there's no sound, there's no music, there's no nothing where you thought, actually, I think this might be ship and then when you've seen the finished product, you're like, oh no, it's brilliant, like they put it together so brilliantly. But when you were feeling it, you thought it might not work.
Yeah, I guess bear Wolf really, Oh yeah, I'm.
Not I ever thought it was going to be shipped because you got no you had no sounds, you had no drances such. You literally were in a in a room with white walls, you know, with doctoring your head. But what it made you do as an actor, it actually made your imagination work one hundred times morning would on a normal film because you've got to see everything.
Now it's not you.
You're got to have it in your mind, you know. So in one way, I thought, at first, I don't know how this is going to fucking work quite, you know, and you didn't have that thing. But the great thing about it is you had all the other actors they're doing the same thing. So it was because you wouldn't do say one tape of that, you would do the whole scene, the whole scene. And it's because it's related to related cameras on there picking up all the close ups and so you're playing it in one I mean, I think we actually shot it in less than six weeks, and it took them two years from what we are working and all of that kind of stuff, and the result was quite incredible, really, you know, Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
Yeah, I mean I had an appec it's quite fantastic. It looks all right, yeah, did you?
Does he love it? This type of acting with the police.
Actually, it's probably one of the most enjoyable jobs I've ever done.
To be honest with you. Oh, you know you're with John Malcolm Icture, with Anthony Hopkins, you know, and the Gilts, and it was it was just just fantastic to be in that sort of company with those sort of iconic kind of acts actors, you know, and little old meat, you know, not going a bat from the Eastend.
You know, you ever intimidated. You've worked with the greatest directors of all time, have you you are you ever like nervous?
Yeah? Yeah, I'm not. Yeah, of course, Yeah, you get nervous.
I think I'm glad I get nervous because I think that kind of gives you that little spurt, you know, intimidated, No, not so much intimidated, because they want you, They want you to be there.
You know.
I've worked with a couple of directors who actually I knew didn't want me on the film. You know, they're someone else in mind for the part, right and that doesn't that doesn't end well because you know they right away they made up their mind and you're not the one for the part. And you can feel that, and it does affect your performance, It affects what you do. So that's that's happened. But normally it's with people that want you there and believe in you so and that gives you the greatest confidence in the world, you know.
Yeah, yeah, what about crying? Are you a crier? What's the film that made you cry the most?
I've got a few nuns in the old film One of them was a film I can't remember the name of, but it was water Pidgeon in it, and it's about a guy who loses his memory. He gets right, he gets knocked down by a bus and when he's off somewhere and the woman he loves, he's forgot what she is if he married someone else, right, the woman becomes his secretary.
And at the end there at this gate and his name.
Is Smith Smithy and she goes Smithy Smithy and these memory comes about.
I was crying. I was crying. Like the other film is, which I'll watch all.
The time as well. When it comes, I can't miss it. It's this Happy Breed and it's Robert Newton, and it's about London.
During before, during and half of the wars at the World War, you know, and our people's lives were and you just look back, I mean in ours is that we used to live in, you know, when I was a kid. I was born in nineteen fifty seven, so it was twelve years after the Second World War. We lived around bombed houses, you know, and there were still like bombs in the grounds, you know.
And it's and so when I watched this film with a family who lived with them then and then make them next door and over the road, it's just remind as we of Britain, England, especially in London when I was a kid. And to be honest, I missed that you know, and just this thing of this family breaking up and having to move away, and it just absolutely breaks my heart. So it would be this happy breed, you know, I mean a raging book, you know. Yeah, yeah, The Raging Bulls about boxing. It's about a guy who comes from the streets. But my connection with boxing, and I understand that mentality, and me and my mate who boxed together, who are still great mates to this day. You know, we went to see it when he first come out, and we're both fighters, both ex fighters, and we're both seeing not about the violence or anything like that, but just about this means pain he's going from, you know, as a fighter and trying to express himself, you know.
And so yeah, it's quite diverse films. But yeah, I get very emotional about things, you know, and oh, you.
Don't always cry because you're unhappy, you know, you're quite happy.
You know. I'm fine with that, you know. Yeah, it just releases a lot of things, you know. Yeah, when did you stop boxing? You were? You were you did a lot of it, right, you were praying for it.
Yeah, oh yeah, it was quite a lot. But I stopped when I was about twenty two. Then I made a comeback by a couple more fights, because you get like that. You just think people love doing it. But you know, I went, I went into a ring about twenty years ago in Ireland, no the Irish Champion and when we had a.
Little spark, God, I can't know, you can't. You just mustn't get that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right. What is the film that you love?
It is not critically acclaimed, most people don't like it, but you love it no matter what anyone says.
It's a film I don't Actually it's not. He's a couple of them that I don't. We won't critically acclaimed, but I just love doing it. If you don't want me saying once tracker that I filmed in News in and I love filming the News Zealand. And it was with Ian Sharp, who was a great old friend, you know, and we went and made a film out there and I loved doing the film.
I loved making the film and I think it's a really nice, good film, you know.
And it didn't quickly came, but that's fine, you know, I'm pleased have done it. And the other one was a film called forty four Inch Chest with Malcolm Venville.
Which love film, you know.
I mean, you know, we had a lot of we were up against it on that film. A lot you know, special effects was taken away from us.
You know.
So there's things we're doing and it don't really get explained really that well, you know, but for a performance piece and the writing, you know, the boys that.
Great writings.
You know, it's when you're saying words that you really haven't got to do too much.
The words are doing it, you know.
And just the work with John Hurt and McShane and Ian McShane again, and you know, and and everyone that was involved in that. It was it was a great time in my life, you know, to perform, you know, So I would I would say those were the two that really didn't get particularly and probably quite so, I don't, you know.
I saw a forty four inch chest at the festival, I think at the London Film Festival, and I loved it and I went to see it because it was You and the Sexy Beast writers. I love it and I think about it quite often because I like it was a really good film about masculinity, about like ego and masculinity and how he love can.
Take you down a certain road as well. You know.
Yeah, you know, what do we say? Love with love is love fighting for someone of his love let him go? You know, Yeah, I love you. You know, it's all that kind of shit going on. It's very lever stuff, you know.
And it's quite like it's it's sort of the ending. I think it's a great film. Oh good, that's made my day love. Yeah, yeah, I think you. I think you're right to have picked that one. On the other hand, what is a film that you used to love but you have what's recently and you thought I don't know this anymore for whatever reason that moment.
You know.
Really, it's really because that's the one question I found, you know, I spoke to you before.
I found it really difficult to actually dig one out.
I think because when you've got a film in your head that you really did like, you love, it's still there, you know, it's still it's always going to be there and it's never going to go away, honestly.
And I went trying to think about this.
Yeah, I think I think of a film.
Yeah, strange it because you think time changes things. We get I'm very nostalgia, you see.
I can look back to the old films and they might be old fashioned there, but that's.
Kind of what I like about them, you know, I do.
Fair enough, I'm gonna let you off. What is the film that means the most to you? Not necessarily the film itself is any good, but the experience you had around seeing it will always make it special to you, very instant.
There's a few. Actually it's for really funny and funny reasons.
You know, I'd have to say The Raging Book, you know, meant a lot because you know, if the film was becoming something else at that time, you know, watching scors films like Me and Streets and all that kind of stuff coming through, and the difference between being an English actor film actor. We don't necessarily back in the day I'm going now, I'm much talking about today, but back then we didn't really learn what it was like to actually act on film, you know, and to bring in a movie. And so there's a lot of these guys, you know, if you look back on and back in the day when he was watching films like somebody up there likes me, Paul Newman back boxing again, but you know, it's the first time he saw Steve McQueen in the film, you know, on top of the roof of a thrick blade and out there he's a kid off the streets.
And you know, you knew all.
These kids came out of kind of the New York school of acting. So it was all kind of reality. It wasn't real, it was right and reality. And so you all came through that bit, and then you were watching de Niro's and the Pecies and all that being people that we knew, Oh this is this is a game changer.
This is a little bit of a game changer.
So I'd have to say at the time, the Raging Raging Ball was, and of course once upon a time in America, which was for me, which we'll get on to later. We're talking a bit about that they, I guess, but I'd have to say that the Raging Ball for me, there's one that changed my whole outlook on film one film only really, and that was the Tin Drum to German film.
Oh, I see you how I saw that. I saw that.
I was in New York and I forget what it was, it was probably about nineteen seventy nine or something, and I was walking about and there's a cinema on an arts cinema in New York and it's a film called The Tin Drum. I thought it would be about the American Civil War. It's a war film something, so I didn't know. I wasn't that art and all that kind of stuff. And I paid me my money, went in and all of a sudden it started. It's in fucking German, and I went and I got to see you. After five minutes, I stopped reading the subtitles and I knew what the film was about in the sound, you know, very much like a rasierhead, the sound and that kind and it hit me like a rasiahead hit me in a certain way where European film is more like British in a way because it's real.
It's reality. But that was in a very surreal kind of way.
And I think that changed my whole outlook on how films should be made.
You know. It was a big changing point for me in movies.
Yeah, and I watched a lot of international films since Japanese, Korean, you know, and forgot about you know, the way I look at it is that if I stopped reading the subtitles and I know it's all about, then I'll correct it.
It's fine, watch.
Italian movies and all that, you know, because to be honest with you, a lot of American films and ship you know, I don't want to watch it when they make it.
Good, and they really do make it good, you know, they really I.
Get more drawn into the European British kind of film making is I don't know, there's no redenttion, you know, it is what it is, you know, And I kind of like that.
And then then I like, I see Russian films in wonderful, you know, and then you watch Korean films and you know, and you go, Jesus Christ, the value.
They get out of the way they shoot Anni Morphing and make it is a movie.
You're watching a movie, you know.
And so for me, you know, Raising Ball for waking my eyes up and going, wow this we can we can play these scenes, we can do these things, we can play these people, and we.
Can play them in a way that I'm interested in playing them.
And then the drum purely for cinema and selling the store, and it doesn't matter what they're interesting.
So yeah, having seen Raising Bull and going and you were saying like British people weren't taught sort of a screen a thing. Do you think you just learned it by doing it? Like, did any did you then have any did anyone help watching films?
I think by watching the film.
I always had this kind of idea that action is about not being seen to act, you know. I mean if Gary always said to me your women was doing right, I don't say you acting, thanks, Karen, it was it was That's that's the kind of role we was going in because you know, the sort of stuff that I like to do is very social. It's about people where you know, I know where they come from. That was a lot of my early stuff was that, So.
You kind of be a kind of documentary actor in the way you'd.
Be instead of like, look I'm performing now, Oh, here we go, it was more like, you know, your your performance was about not being seen. Perform ain't easy because you don't always get it right. But that's that's where I come and that came from watching The Raging Ball, probably watching Albert Finney as well as Saturday Sunday all this life.
Loneliness is a long distance runner. You know.
They were British films that actually came out I think in the sixties.
If I'm right, like probably.
Late fifties, early sixties around that time, and they were the films that kind of said to me, oh, I could do that. These guys come from where I come, maybe up north, but the working class boys.
You know. So that was the kind of that was my kind of trip into it. You know.
My other question for you is, given how you feel about cinema and how you see it and you can visualize it and hear it, would you ever want to direct?
Do you want to direct? Have you done it?
I've got some really blinded ideas, but you know, it finds me watching Gary Oldman and directors I've worked with. With the directors, is it's kind of three or four years of your life. Yeah, you know, you know the post of pre and the actually the actual filming of it is the fun, you know, and that's that's very weird.
You gotta put.
It and then you've got to edit it, and you've got to go out on the road, and you know, and I get Gary would love to direct again.
You'd love doing direct again, but you can't afford to.
You just cannot afford to four years away from doing the stuff you're doing, because you know, the living and directors don't get.
The money they're in told to get anyone. Yeah, the one.
Like like the writer as well as well. Yeah, I mean we've got a director on the right. You ain't got film with me, so she'd be well looked after.
Well, I sort of want you to always be busy, but I'd like you to have a three year gaps.
You could direct something, because it sounds like it would be interesting. As I'm getting older, I might ever go yes.
All right, Oh, I can't tell you one thing about Raising Bull that I'm sure you know that.
Do you know that?
At the premiere of it, Jake Glmutter was there with his girlfriend of with an ex wife I think, and he cried and he turned to her after it and he said, was I really that bad?
And she said you were worse?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, what is the film that you most relate to.
There's a couple of them as well, which I've albably mentioned This Sporting Life, Saturday night, Sunday Morning.
So it's you know, just a working guy or what do you want to do? What do you want to do your life?
This is what life isn't if you're lucky enough to be working it's okay. You know, my dad works in the meat market and the fruit markets and all that on his life and then he went into only fruit shops.
And then they ended up was a black cover. I come from a family grafts, you know, and they kind of let our heroes working class heroes, you know.
So I'd have to say a film like Saturday Night Sunday Morre it was, you know, more or less the inspiration and you look at I'm not saying that that's my life, but yeah, it just kind of hit and know, you know, it kind of struck a call with me about you know, people have becoming very aware and what what what happens is when you start making films and you shit back and you have to look at your own life in a way and you say, well, what's stopping me from going out and being something else, being something different?
You know?
And if you've got the mother and dad who would like minded and help you do that and create that the possibility that you must grab it with both hands and at.
Least have a cold, you know, and I'd say the film was going to do that. It'd probably be that. And looking at Waging Boys, you kin'd say, do I want that life, No, I don't you know, you don't.
You know, surrounded by the violence, the gangsters and all that we played it now on film.
We haven't got around it. You know.
You know what sort of age was it where you were like I want to go for it, and that.
I was sixteen seventeen.
I think my mom and dad actually kind of moved me on because I'd probably shut my arms and done, you know, and they kind of saw a little way out for me, you know, out of what. I don't know, you know, but you know I was just like an old kid. I was out on the streets with the boys and doing with what boys do you know?
And I spoke for them.
It was just, you know, there was another way of life, right, you know, you don't remember it was. It was kind of a very strange, you know for kids and my age to go into drama school and want to go and be an active from where I came from. You know, it was was he one of them, you know, you know, it's quite brave with my mom and dad, or maybe they thought I was that way inclined. I don't you know, but anyway, they looked after me and they sent me off and and thank god, you know, I went on and I you know, yeah, I.
Wonder if they because if you hadn't done they hadn't seen you act, right, you hadn't done like school plays or something.
They just frame in the.
School player, all right, So they're like, I went to school Player because there was a girl in the play that I fancied.
So I thought I'll go in and do a play A closer it go.
Yeah, that was was I got anyway, you know, but the players all right, and you know, people laughed and it was called one of the Detectives, and I've got good, good reviews written and all that kind of Yeah.
I thought, oh, all right, Winston, what is the sexiest film you've ever seen? West Winning the Cup?
I think there's a moment in one film that is very, very sexy, and it's done in such good taste. I think maybe I'm perfid.
I don't know, let I know exactly what you're talking about. You know, when when you know.
When she's I mean, she's a beautiful looking lady anyway, always there's been a favorite way.
But when she's massaging herself.
With lemons, I'm going to commit to switch. I think that was probably one of the Yeah, I mean, space posh is no good, but just you know, watch this woman do that.
No, I think that's a I think that's a classic answer. I see it's a very Yeah.
She's she's just finished work and she's cleaning herself with some lemons.
Yeah.
Absolutely, but yeah, it's yeah, yeah, there's a sub category ray and I'm almost horrified we're doing this, but troubling bone and is worrying.
Why don't it's a film? I thought about it. I'm trying to think the one. I'm sure there's help us. I know we get it. I'm just trying to think. I actually, actually I actually.
Worked with an extress once and on TV. Things were a really nice girl, good girl. We's ke funny and we had a little kischen and roll about on the bed and all that, and she.
Said, oh my god, I got a wide one. I never heard. I never heard the staying before.
Oh my god, yeah, good day.
I'm just I'm trying to think. I mean, I'm quite I'm quite weird. I come from that. You know. Anyone was kissing on telling years ago.
Mom and Daddy's going on the proper stuff. It was a little bit pretty conservative, an old hat in my house. You nine and a half weeks it's Mickey Rourke and he's he's But I mean that was I mean that was being on what.
I mean, yeah, I mean that's shaving that.
No.
I think it's right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know whether they can make it, but I mean it's about it. Yeah, weeks was a bit there in the mark. Yeah, probably, I probably couldn't. The other probably felt a drink for about ten minutes.
All right, what is it objectively the greatest film?
I've all take?
This does not mean your favorite necessarily, this is what you consider to be the pinnacle of cinema.
Okay, I would say once upon a time in America. I love it. I love it for me.
There's so many layers in that film. You have to go back and watch it. And it's sort of there with drugs, you know, in the open. It's also to do with what might have happened, what might have been, And the telephone is so important to the film, ringing, ringing, ringing, And you watch it and it's about something that never really happened. At some point, you know, it's a man laying on a bit thinking what if what I've done it that way unless the main way he smiles at the end, you go film, you know he ain't.
He's dreaming, mean about what it might be, what might happen.
But then again, you watch it again, you will see something else. It's the way it shot, the music Indian morning Car directed that I think.
No, I think it's okay, sorry, yes it was.
And just the performances, you know, it's the perfect, perfect film that doesn't treat an audience like an idiot. It makes you think you have watched the film, and for me, that's the greatest film ever made.
You know what, It's never come up on the podcast, and I'm so glad that you've said it. It's a really exceptional film, and I think you're probably right. Well, don't forget. Finally someone got it right. Yeah, okay, what is the film you could or have? What's the most over and over again, I'd.
Have to say this. There's a couple, as I said, the Vikings. I love the Vikings. Kirk Douglas. Yeah, the Viking is unbelievable. The talking Bronx, it's like New Jersey accents, you know, got New Jersey, you know.
How rag how Ragna has been.
Yeah, it's just just a film.
What I just love it.
It's a bit other films, a lot the such as The Search for John Wayne is immensely this film.
It's just so underwrated, isn't it? You know?
And it kills me. He just got better and better and better and better as he got older. But this film he plays are big and it's you know, you're against it. This is a man who's hero and we see both sides of a story in a way. And I read the book. I don't read many books, gotta be honest with you, but reading the Book of the Searchers so brilliant. But it's very small chapters and you read it before you go to sleep at night. Didn't read another chapter. Smell of the Prairie and you hear it. You need the noises when you.
Watch the film, it's like the book.
It says toast the book is you're going to be a film right, and it's just incredible. You know, give them a loan, give them a loo I know the film backwards, but when it's done, got a rabbit.
You just got to have it.
And yeah, for me, they're the films that I would beck it. You never seen Beckett, which is Rotal Richard Burton man for a seasons. No, no, no, that's a great film memphoces.
But Beckett is Peter Rotel and Richard Burton beat in two mates.
One is the King of England once the arts fish and right and they it's like two geges having a rabbit, a boat, girls and things, you know, and it's it's immense, it's fantastic, historical and it is it is shocked beautifully and.
It's actually superbly.
I mean to the finest actors that would come out of this country who were stage actors who work on film, fantastic. No one talking about the work, who might just move probably pistol all the time, but they were fantastic. It's a film there there, They're my films that I would watch over and over again.
Aside from the directors you've worked with, it seems like you've ended up working with also some of your favorite actors. Were nervous that first time working with those people that you really loved, and.
Yeah, I would have been nervous, you know. But it's funny.
You know, people that are usually good, I mean, it's except there are exceptions.
To the rule.
But people are usually really good, you knowle to work with because you know, they realized that it's got to be If there's two year in the scene, there's two year, it's got to work.
So we've got to get on thing.
You know.
And you know, in which Shane is one of my favorites too. I love with Shane to work with.
You know.
There's also John. You know, we a funny old relationship being. John would argue all the time, I kind of love one. I know it, you know it was it was a good old and just thought all the all them old checks, you know. I mean, I made a film last year a guy it was a great mate onner, Johnny Harris.
We made a film called jaw Bone, you know, and you know it's when you do studio films, it's he was a great defence. You know.
It's it's thousands of people on a film set and you never really get to talk to anyone, know anyone.
You know, you can't remember anyone's name. I don't know. You know, you've been working with his name, I don't know.
But then you'll go and do something like jaw Bone where you've got forty crew or you do something which was last year a Bit of Light with Steven Moyer and you know, during COVID as well, and it was with you know, twenty five people, and you all of a sudden you're making a film again and you're talking to people and the film becomes better for it, you know, it becomes more personal, you know, and uh kind of like that. And I know when we go and do this Jimmy White film, I know that's going to be the same is We're going to have a really small crew and I'm just looking forward to that rather than being lost in this great big machine.
You know, bast is fine. You know, when you turn up, you get a buzz by it. But when you go to work and you want to go work with people, know, you know.
To know, I agree, Yeah, I don't think you're going to be able to answer the next question, which is, what is.
The worst film you've ever seen? It's the worst film and probably my favorite film. I can answer.
Answer to questions the worst film I ever saw. It is not my favorite film. I can't tell you what it's called. Harvey Cte was in it, who I love as an actor, and it was written I believed by David Memmi and it.
Was that quick fire I'm talking.
And I stood sett in the theater for half an hour in cinema. It's the only time I've ever worked at thoughts out on the film.
I get and they're going over a beer. It was killing me.
It might have been just the mood I was in, right, Yeah, I might because don't men it's a very clever writer. Oh he's a great actor, you know, and academic. It was just you know, fast talking, bust snappy, shut up from me, shut up, give me, let me give you breath, you know. And I walked out of that one the worst film ever made. Who are the best films?
I love them?
Death is the Sharknado film, you know, Mega Shark and Mega donand.
They love them. I mean, my daughter goes, are you watching that shark mad? Yeah? They coming on look this because your fix is so appalling. It's great. It's laughing.
It makes laugh, you know, there's always someone going to get eat there chopped the with platst.
For and everywhere.
It just gives me a smile on me FA the terrible film horrible. It's all violently, it's all horrible, but it's just makes me laugh. And so the worst films, Yeah, but the greatest films in the world watching ever laughed.
Yeah, twist, twist. No one saw this coming. All right, all right, what is the film that made you laugh?
The most Life of Bryan fantastic, that's the the laugh of Brian.
I went with my wife, who was a good Catholic, you know, she's a good I said, we're going to go and see Monkey Pipe. This the film and you know, I mean, I like the other one when the Romans and you're fucking so. I said, we can't see the laugh of Brian and she said, what's that about? I said, religiously. Okay, so we're sitting there. She never laughed once.
It was blessing us, but it was blessed for me, and this she is blessed. I was crying. I can see you. You know, it is just the business for me. That was very rude, funny. I got a bit lost when the ady come down and yeah, what's up? Get to the humor. But it was. It was hilarious, probably the funniest film while super long that.
It's fucking brilliant as well. It's a really well made film. Look, it's quite moving in the end. I think, like, I really the ending is like it's profound that I think it's a fucking great filmy, Ray Winston, You're an absolute pleasure. I have loved this so much. However, when you went out, it was olive season November. You went out in the garden and you've got your olive tree, and you know, you stuck an injection in your bum to sort arris I'm ready to go. You put some adrenaline in as well. You went, I'm up for this. You climb the tree like an absolute lad. People at the bottom of the tree they were going, ok, you know, it's a big tree. Well done, and you're like, yeah, no problem at all. You're knocking down lives everywhere, olives knocking down and then you're like there's something at the end of this thing, and.
Everyone in the bobs going, don't worry about it.
We've got enough for olives, and you going, no, no, I got it, seriously, We're fine, we don't need this many olives.
You go, I got it. You crawled out. They said it looks quite dangerous and he said, I've got it. Stop telling me what to do.
And then you fell, landed on your head, broke your neck died. I'm walking past with a coffin, you know what, I'm like, and I'm said, what just happened here?
I heard that?
I said, Ray, Ray was just picking your olives and he went out on a branch and he's dead. And I went, oh, bloody hell, that's well.
I was just sort of like, what's he doing going to the end of the branch.
And they went, well, you know, we say, we did say, but you know, he was trying to prove something.
I said, that's crazy. He's he's a national treasureation.
Everyone respected him, they weren't respect him more because he went further out on a branch.
Anyway, dead is dead. So I come along. I'm like, can you help me get in?
But you're covered in our lives to chop you up into bits with a bit of an axe, everyone's gathered around chopping up into bits. We get all your bits and we stuff them in the coffin. But the coffin is absolutely round.
If I live is in you there's no room in this coffin.
There's only enough for slide one DVD into the side for you to take across to the other side. And on the other side it's movie night every night, and one night it's your movie night. What film are you taking to show the people of heaven, mister A. Winston when it is your movie night? The searchers excellent choice. No one else has brought it.
Yeah, the searchers. It's a wonderful film. John Ford can't be best was the white shot Ali's you know, it's just incredible film that shot at the end when he's standing in the door. Yes, and I watch it every time I watch it, and I see it's a floor. It's it's flaws and films and I love and as the door shut, it's obviously someone laying on the floor, because that's technical lot we are, you know you've got, And someone's obviously pushed the ladder on the floor and then pushed the door. And the next time you're watching, you know, John standing there and the winds blowing that way, and as the door shuts, it's a little stumble there, a little crack like you watch it, right, It ain't like so it's just it's a little clo comes open.
Just have a little look at it.
It's a great it's real, you know, it ain't just so perfect, And yeah, I love that. It's a film for the atmosphere of it and everything I absolutely adore.
Yeah, it's right.
Is there anything you would like to tell people to watch out for coming up?
Oh?
For me, Yeah, I got I've got Damsel coming up, yeah, which is a Netflix thing with Mini Bobby Brown.
Yeah, and that comes out, I believe in March, March the eighth, I think, so we got that. Yeah, I saw the trailer for that. It looks exciting. Yeah, I play. I player dad. You know, it's the lord of a part of the territory, and I play.
I tried to play it in a different way and what it's written funny enough, because you know, it's like the bad guys and all that kind of stuff.
I changed around being the dead, you know.
And I spoke to One Caluss, the director, about it, and we sat down and the words it makes it much more interesting characters, I think, yeah and so, and just because you're doing one of those kind of films, and it doesn't mean to say you sit back and just played the part. You know, you bring your game to the table and as long as you're part of that process, in your part of making a.
Movie, you know, And that's that's for me. What it's all about you're not allowed to perfect, right, it's beyond and to have done this with you. Thank you for your time. Thank you for doing this. I really enjoyed it enough because I want to find out a few things. Yeah, I mean that's the biggest thing I space. Yeah. Well, good luck with the Jimmy White. Yeah. Pleasure than you and thank you so much.
So.
That was episode two hundred and eighty nine. Head over to the Patreon at patreon dot com. Forward slash Brett Coldstein for the extra fifteen minutes of chat Secrets of Video with mister Ray Winston. Go to Apple Podcast give us a five star rating. But right about the film that means the most to you and why my neighbor Marian likes to read them and it always touches her, you know what I mean, She's always moved by them.
So thank you for that.
Thank you so much to Ray for being so wonderful. Thanks to Screbius, Pip and the Distraction Pieces of Network. Thanks to Buddy Peace for producing it. Thanks to iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network for hosting it. Thanks to Adam Richardson for the graphics and leads to Lay them for the photography. Come and join me next week for another right banger of an episode.
But that is it for now.
I hope you're all well in the meantime, have a lovely week, and please, now more than ever, be excellent to each other.
