I don’t know how much BBC Radio 4 material is accessible outside the UK without buying it but there is certainly huge piles of excellent comedy and drama available online if one can access it.
And I will happily second, third, fourth and twenty seventh “Cabin Pressure” and the need to listen to all the episodes in order (and that “St Petersburg” is definitely one of the heavy hitters of the series). In addition to this and Souvenir Programme, Finnemore also has written two series of half-hour two-handed comedy dramas called “Double Acts” which I also recommend - they’re not all winners but some of them are spectacular (personal fave: “Penguin Diplomacy”).
I’m half-tempted to recommend Baby Driver but there is a lot of visual stuff going on. So instead I’ll merely recommend the soundtrack. Which is excellent.
So, I might have missed it, but is there a relatively easy way to download a movie or tv show audio-only?
Or convert a video file to audio? The mpeg to mp3 software* (and web sites devoted to that) are made for YouTube, but how can I do that with a movie (that I’ve already paid for, that’s only fair)?
This thread makes me want to listen to some movies, now!
*as it’s processing, it even says “Discarding video, converting audio to mp3” as it’s ripping a video clip.
I suggest “A Walk in the Woods,” which is based on Bill Bryson’s book about hiking the Appalachian trail with his old travel companion. It’s basically an Odd Couple story about two grumpy old guys who embark on their hike with different motivations and preparation. Robert Redford plays the charming sophisticate. Nick Nolte plays a grizzled alcoholic. Great short cameos by Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation and Kristen Schaal from 30 Rock and Bob’s Burgers. I’m guessing you’ll recognize their voices which might help you to picture the scenes a little better.
The dialog might be a bit slow at times but it pays off with a lot of great moments between the leads. You’ll miss the footage of the wilderness but you’ve seen woods before. These woods look like that.
I would add to that Guy Richie (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sherlock Holmes) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim…). Still pretty action oriented, but a lot of snappy dialogue. Even if a lot of it is spoken in a Jason Statham Cockney “are you takin’ a piss?” accent.
I saw both of Guy Ritchie’m Sherlock Holmes movies back when I could see . He & I will have peace when he is hanging from a gibbet for the sport of his own crows.
This isn’t a movie and they are pretty hard to find, but have you considered Jeeves and Wooster, a British series based on the Wodehouse novels/stories? The 1920s dialogue is the basis of the entire show. (I believe that the DVDs are available through Netflix, or perhaps a local library.)
A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Tim Hutton) is also very similar.
YES to any Wodehouse. We just had a “Where to start with Wodehouse?” thread here. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are wonderful as Jeeves and Wooster.
Audiobooks of Wodehouse are easy to find, and many are read by the (Oh So Quite British) Jonathan Cecil*…
… Ripping fun, I say, what?*
DO get a way to save videos online as mp3s, because there are also an assortment of treats from Stephen Fry (his Explanation of Brits for Americans is wonderful), and I’ll bet you can get A Bit of Fry & Laurie as well.