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The Cinémathèque française — celebrating 90 years and 2 revolutions (rewind) Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

90 years ago in Paris, a little 50-seat screening room opened its doors... and soon become probably the most important cinema ever. This month, the Cinémathèque française celebrates its birthday with a retrospective, so we are too: with this encore upload of our episode all about the revolutions the theater launched, both on movie screens and in the Paris streets. Host Rico Gagliano tells the wild tale, with help from directors Barbet Schroeder (BARFLY, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE) and Luc Moullet (BRIGITTE ET BRIGITTE), plus L.A. Times film critic Amy Nicholson and many more. Vive le cinema.

The Faust Bible: The Making of F.W. Murnau’s Masterpiece will be publishedglobally through MUBI Editions on October 17 in partnership with the Cinémathèque française. It brings to light an extraordinary, recently rediscovered artifact: a visual diary of around 400 photographs and original illustrations documenting the making of Murnau’s Faust almost step by step, now published in full for the first time.

17 October - Official Launch at la Cinémathèque française, Paris
To mark the launch of The Faust Bible, MUBI Editions and la Cinémathèque française host a special centenary screening of Faust, featuring an introduction by Laurent Mannoni and live musical accompaniment by Christine Ott and Mathieu Gabry.
25 October - Filmmuseum München
To continue the celebrations, MUBI Editions and the Filmmuseum München host a special screening of Faust, featuring an introduction by Stefan Drössler and live musical accompaniment by Sabrina Zimmermann and Mark Pogolski.
1 November - Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles
To celebrate the publication of The Faust Bible, MUBI Editions and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures host a special centenary screening of Faust, featuring an introduction by K.J. Relth-Miller and live musical accompaniment by Julianna Barwick.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

ROSEBUSH PRUNING — Riley Keough eats the rich (and survives MAD MAX) Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Cannes-winning actor/filmmaker Riley Keough (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE) is no stranger to the worlds of wealth or fashion, and in the bloody, bawdy new satire ROSEBUSH PRUNING, she inhabits a larger-than-life character who is way too into both. Keough tells Rico what drew her to director Karim Aïnouz's weird-wave black comedy, and about finding love on the infamously intense set of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.

ROSEBUSH PRUNING is streaming exclusively on MUBI from August 21 almost globally.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

THIS IS ENGLAND — Shane Meadows's 2-Toned look at skins and ska (w/ Jack O'Connell) Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Rico gets a primer on the skinhead history—and ska-fueled soundtrack—behind THIS IS ENGLAND: The 2007 indie hit about misunderstood kids in a misunderstood subculture. Guests include stars Jack O'Connell (SINNERS) and Andrew Shim (A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS), producer Mark Herbert, and Neville Staple, frontman for '80s ska legends The Specials.

Our audio documentary podcast returns with a sequel to our popular 2023 season that dives deep into the grooves of classic movie “needle drops.” Titled “Needle on the Record, Side Two,” in each episode host Rico Gagliano tells the story of a film that fused music and image to make magic—and sometimes, changed popular culture.

KES is now streaming on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Turkey.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu & Rodrigo Prieto look back on AMORES PERROS Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (THE REVENANT) and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET) have a blast telling host Rico Gagliano about the making of their high-octane 2001 breakthrough AMORES PERROS—the story of a car crash, its victims, and their dogs.

Topics include: the pair's early days as ad men, discovering star Gael García Bernal, the movie's literally toxic visual process...and where they got the cojones to pull it all off.

The 4K restoration of AMORES PERROS is streaming on MUBI from July 10 worldwide.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

BELLY — Hype Williams and Soul II Soul bring hip hop "Back To Life" Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

In the '90s, there was no music video director in hip-hop bigger than Hype Williams. And he concentrated all his visual powers on his first (and for now, only) feature film, BELLY (1998): a gangster film that looked—and sounded—like no other, especially its iconic opening heist sequence, set to Soul II Soul's "Back to Life." Rico talks with Soul's songsmith Simon Law about the '80s UK club scene that birthed that megahit track and learns why this once-maligned movie has become required viewing for hip-hop nation. Other guests include the film's co-story writer Anthony Bodden and hip-hop critic Panama Jackson.

MY FATHER'S SHADOW is now streaming on MUBI almost globally.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

ALL OF US STRANGERS — Andrew Haigh believes in the Power of Love Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Isolated during the COVID pandemic, director Andrew Haigh (LOOKING) wrote a feature about a man trying to break out of isolation and loss...and peppered it with the dance-pop hits that made him feel less lonely as a gay teen in the '80s.

Andrew tells host Rico Gagliano about the cathartic making of his award-winning tearjerker ALL OF US STRANGERS (2023), and gives a song-by-song breakdown of almost every tune in the film, from Pet Shop Boys to Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

AFTERSUN is now streaming on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Latin America.

THE HISTORY OF SOUND is now streaming in the US and Canada.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM — Gurinder Chadha shoots and scores Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

On the opening day of the World Cup, we take a look and a listen to the soccer-centric sleeper BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2002). Director Gurinder Chadha tells Rico about making her breakthrough rom-com about girl power, British Asian identity, and football—and how its mashup soundtrack of pop hits and Bhangra bangers scored goals of its own. Other guests include superstar DJ/producer Bally Sagoo, and the film's music supervisor Liz Gallacher (THE FULL MONTY).

GREGORY'S GIRL is streaming on MUBI in the US & CA as a part of the The World’s Game: Football on Screen collection starting tomorrow.

OFFSIDE is now streaming on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Latin America, Netherlands, Australia and Turkey.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

CHUNGKING EXPRESS — Wong Kar Wai puts "Dreams" on the menu (rewind) May 21, 2026

Show notes

Shot on a shoestring in six wild weeks, CHUNGKING EXPRESS is the movie that put legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai on the international map—along with his star, pop diva Faye Wong...and her Cantonese cover of The Cranberries's hit "Dreams."

In this classic episode form our archives, host Rico Gagliano learns how the song, the director, and the singer all came together to capture Hong Kong at a moment of anxiety and hope—and how the tune still unites people in karaoke bars across Asia.

Featuring Cranberries guitarist Noel Hogan, Hong Kong-born indiepop star Emma-Lee Moss (aka Emmy The Great), "Chungking" score co-composer Roel A. Garcia, and NPR critic-at large John Powers—the author, with Wong Kar Wai, of "WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai."

CHUNGKING EXPRESS is now streaming on MUBI in Italy, the Netherlands, Latin America, and many other countries.

Wong Kar Wai's full new series BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI is exclusively streaming on MUBI in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Latin America, and many other countries.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

DONNIE DARKO — Richard Kelly makes the ultimate ‘80s mixtape (rewind) May 14, 2026

Show notes

Another classic episode about great music in a great movie: DONNIE DARKO. Richard Kelly's genre-busting rookie feature was one of the first cult hits of the 21st century... and it took the music of '80s band Tears for Fears along for the ride.
Host Rico Gagliano tells this twisty tale with the help of Kelly, star Jena Malone (THE HUNGER GAMES), and the film's composer Michael Andrews—whose stripped-down cover of Tears's "Mad World" became maybe the most unlikely smash hit in UK history.

SOMETHING WILD is now streaming on MUBI in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France and Latin America.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY — Stanley Kubrick finds heavenly music on vinyl (rewind) May 07, 2026

Show notes

While we polish up some brand-new episodes all about iconic movie needle-drops... we're resurfacing some classic episodes that tackled the same topic! Starting with this one, about the time Stanley Kubrick decided to score his sci-fi spectacular 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY with classical tracks — something he did against the advice of just about everybody, and to the detriment of at least two composers’ mental and physical health. Guests include Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan.

SHOWGIRLS is now streaming on MUBI in the US, Canada, Australia and Latin America.

To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.

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