Episode #21 - Victor Morton (Rosetta)

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"Does the film offer a space or entry point to someone who is not sympathetic to its agenda? That's something I think all films should do."

Since film discussion has been on the Internet, so has Victor Morton. The very opinionted and didactic film blogger joins Peter for a journey through his cinephile life. Victor tells the tales of growing up in both Scotland and Texas, before finally finding a voice on the famous UseNet groups of the early Internet. The two then discuss his approach to cinema as a conservative, the influence and analysis of viewing films through a Catholic prism, and the continuing wonders of Romanian cinema. Finally, the two dive deep into Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Rosetta, a film which might not have any specific Christian themes on its surface, but the two find to be deeply, deeply spiritual.

0:00-1:00 Opening 

2:22-6:57 Establishing Shots - Allan Dwan / Trivia Round

7:42-1:29:03 Deep Focus - Victor Morton

1:29:54-1:59:27 Double Exposure - Rosetta (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)

1:59:28-2:02:51 Close / Outtake - Victor on A Clockwork Orange

Read Victor on Rightwing Film Geek.

Follow Victor on Twitter.

 

Episode #20 - Andreas Stoehr (The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T)

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"There are thousands of older movies we could be talking about right now!"

Being a cinephile outside of places like New York or Chicago is a very different experience than what Peter is used to, so he treks to Northfield, Minnesota for this conversation with blogger Andreas Stoehr. Andreas discusses growing up on classic horror movies and how one manages a cinephile life when the town you live in doesn't even have a multiplex. The two also discuss the major challenges in the blogging universe, the fascinating creatures of horror movies, and the state of LBGTQ cinema. Finally, Andreas invites Peter to examine The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which is the only film ever written by Dr. Seuss and somehow manages to subvert  every social anxiety of 1950s American life. Plus, in honor of Father's Day, Peter has a quick chat with his dad about his cinephile life.

0:00-0:57 Opening 

2:22-9:55 Establishing Shots -A Father's Day Interview with Theodore Labuza
10:08-11:10 Trivia Round

11:55-1:07:52 Deep Focus - Andreas Stoehr

1:09:10-1:37:50 Double Exposure - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland)

1:37:51-1:39:53 Close / Outtake

Listen to The Cinephiliacs on Stitcher Radio

Read Andreas's work on Pussy Goes Grr, 366 Weird Movies, The Film Experience, Press Play, and Movie Mezzanine.

Follow Andreas on Twitter.

 

Episode #19 - David Schwartz (Beauty #2)

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"What a film series does is let you take a critical idea and then put into practice. You say, 'let's look at these films, and what do the actual films on screen show us.'"

Exploring cinema doesn't just end when the final reel spools; it's also about learning the history and future of how moving images play into our daily lives. At the Museum of the Moving Image, David Schwartz programs the films that accompanying and work into the Astoria-based institution dedicated to this mission. In his conversation with Peter, David describes how he originally got hooked into New York's repertory film scene and how it eventually led him to programming. They discuss the importance of exploring new media and the avant-garde, the difficulties and advantages of the digital transition, and working with an ever changing audience. They finish off their conversation with a discussion of Andy Warhol's Beauty #2, an avant-garde work that David argues for the very precise control of the director in this apparently improvised movie. 

0:00-0:57 Opening 

2:03-6:00 Establishing Shots - Harris Savides / Trivia Round

6:45-1:00:42 Deep Focus - David Schwartz

1:02:07-1:25:18 Double Exposure - Beauty #2 (Andy Warhol)

1:25:20-1:27:17 Close / Outtake

Visit the Museum of the Moving Image's website and view upcoming programs. Read David's writing and interviews on Moving Image Source.

Follow David on Twitter.

Episode #18 - Ben Model (Modern Times)

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"Silent film is an experience, and it deserves to have live music."

Silent films were never truly silent: vaudeville acts, narrators, and of course, musical accompanists filled the air with sounds. Ben Model continues that tradition by performing musical accompaniments to both canonical and rare silent films throughout the nation, as well as curating and preserving films himself. Ben takes Peter through his strange path to the unique position, including his "Three Godfathers" who influenced him, and then explains the nuts and bolts of how to actually create music for a film with none at all. They discuss his techniques he learned from improvisation, the task of collecting and searching out rare and missing works, and the pains and pleasures of the analog to digital switch. Finally, Ben explains to Peter some of the hidden secrets behind Charlie Chaplin's masterwork Modern Times, including how under-cranking the film is the trick to star's balletic work.

0:00-1:02 Opening 

2:07 -6:56 Establishing Shots - Delmer Daves / Trivia Round / Donations

7:44-1:08:45 Deep Focus - Ben Model

1:09:54-1:30:33 Double Exposure - Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin)

1:30:35-1:32:34 Close / Outtake

Visit Ben's website, his YouTube page, and his blog. Subscribe to his podcast here.

Follow Ben on Twitter.

Episode #17 - Vadim Rizov (Le Cercle Rouge)

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"When people are not sympathetic to a filmmaker, they will fall into a stance...I don't want to act like I'm saying things that are obvious to me and therefore they should be obvious to everyone else."

Strongly opinionated but never dogmatically so, the prolific Vadim Rizov ranks among the best of the new generation of cinephiles in Peter's opnion. So the young writer joins him to discuss his unique voice in the critical community. Vadim discusses his early forays into cinema at a young age, and how his frustrations with Austin's film scene led him to New York (only to more frustrations at NYU). The two then get into his fascinating writing style and how it stands against the majority of contemporary film writing, his interest in the evolving contemporary cinema, and why he goes back again and again to the True/False Film Festival. The two then dive into Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge, a type of closed circuit movie that might be out of style with many cinephiles today, but is full of wondrous pleasures for those that pry its pieces apart.

0:00-1:05 Opening 

1:55 -5:50 Establishing Shots - Roberto Rossellini's Voyage to Italy / Trivia Round

6:34-56:56 Deep Focus - Vadim Rizov

57:49-1:20:04 Double Exposure - Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville)

1:20:06-1:22:22 Close

Read Vadim Rizov at Letterboxd, Filmmaker Magazine, The AV Club, Green Screen Daily, Little White Lies, Film.Com, L Magazine, The Village Voice, Time Out, IFC.Com, and The House Next Door. (Sight and Sound is not online). More reviews via Rotten Tomatoes.

Follow Vadim on Twitter.

Episode #16 - Miriam Bale (Johnny Guitar)

Photo credit: Stephen Yang

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"Film culture is at its best when it's in conversation."

Miriam Bale is interested in cinema, but she's almost more interested in the conversations that develop out of cinema. So naturally, Peter thought it would be a great idea to bring the programmer and critic to discuss how she found her way to the movies. Miriam discusses how music taught her how to curate cinema, her love of repertory cinema, and the love of minor literary genres from actress autobiographies to cookbooks. The two also talk about her feminist film criticism and the journal Joan's Digest she started, as well the La Di Da Film Festival and the ways to build a new type of "community" film festival. Finally, they dig into Johnny Guitar, Nicholas Ray's intoxicating western starring Joan Crawford, which Miriam sees as a way to truly build surreal space and time.

0:00-1:05 Opening 

1:45 -6:15 Establishing Shots - Michael Mann's Miami Vice / Trivia Round

6:57-1:06:07 Deep Focus - Miriam Bale

1:07:00-1:26:27 Double Exposure - Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray)

1:26:29-1:28:12 Close

Listen to The Cinephiliacs on Stitcher Radio

Read Miriam Bale at The Reeler, L Magazine, Mubi, Bomb Magazine, NY Daily News, Filmmaker Magazine, and The House Next Door.

Follow Miriam on Twitter.

 

Special Episode - Remembering Roger Ebert

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On Thursday, April 4th, 2013, the film critic Roger Ebert passed away at the age of 70. It was hard to deny the influence of someone who was easily the most recognizable film critic of all time, so Peter felt compelled to dedicate an entire episode to his legacy and work. For this special episode of the podcast, Keith Uhlich, Matt Prigge, Kenji Fujishima, and Godfrey Cheshire all join Petter for a discussion of his life, work, and legacy of its legend. The topics run far and wide, from his honest writing style, to the critics he plucked and championed, to his reflections of life and death, and even his own admittance of occasional failure with certain films and filmmakers. The five dig into the times they encountered Ebert (some in person and some online), and attempt to honor someone who will be with them forever. 

Read Roger Ebert's writing on his website.

Follow Roger Ebert on Twitter.