The Cinephiliacs

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TC #13 - C. Mason Wells (The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums) Feb 11, 2013

Show notes

It is a little odd how similar Peter and his guest C. Mason Wells are in certain ways. Both are New York cinephiles from the Midwest who are also passionate fans of Andrew Sarris Both went to Columbia University (and both participated in one of its oldest traditions), and now both are 35mm repertory junkies. However, Chris diverges in that often he's the one programming the great content, while Peter simply writes about it. Chris takes Peter through his journey of becoming a cinephile, including his work making films like LOL and The Color Wheel, and eventually how he found himself programming. The two give a look at his latest series, "Andrew Sarris: Expressive Esoterica," dedicated to the late critic, before diving into Chris's favorite film of all time, Kenji Mizoguchi's powerful 1939 drama, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums.

0:00-1:18 Opening 2:08-4:57Establishing Shots - Child Acting5:58-57:35 Deep Focus - C. Mason Wells58:38-1:18:55 Double Exposure - The Story of the Last Chrysnathemums (Kenji Mizoguchi)1:18:58-1:23:44 Trivia Round, Close, and Outtake

The Cinephiliacs #12 - Kevin B. Lee (Slacker) Jan 28, 2013

Show notes

When Peter sat down to do a video essay on his own a few years back, he primarly studied and examined the work of Kevin B. Lee. Luckily, Peter has gotten to know Kevin, and was thankful to sit him down for a podcast while in Chicago last month. Kevin explains his long winded path into filmmaking and finally film criticism. The two discuss the art and process of making video essays, the importance and frustrations with film canons, and his work in highlighting the work of independent Chinese filmmakers. Finally, they open up a can of worms with Richard Linklater's Slacker, a film Kevin describes as similar to today's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

0:00-1:20 Opening1:20-4:22 Establishing Shots - Side Effects5:20-1:14:10 Deep Focus - Kevin B. Lee1:15:33-1:45:12 Double Exposure - Slacker (Richard Linklater)1:45:13-1:48:57 Trivia Round, Close, and Outtake

The Cinephiliacs #11 - Keith Phipps (Petulia) Jan 14, 2013

Show notes

One of the New Year's Resolutions for The Cinephiliacs this year is to explore the world of cinephiles outside of New York, so Peter decided to make a trip to Chicago to interview the windy city's best and brightest. First up: Keith Phipps, the former head of the pop culture monster The A.V. Club. Keith describes his movement from graduate school to VHS junkie at a local video store in Madison. The two then discuss the world of the AV Club, as well as Keith's own interest in road trip movies and James Bond. Finally, they close out the show with a discussion of a Richard Lester film that doesn't star The Beatles—Petulia, which might actually be the truer landmark of the 1960s.

0:00-1:23 Opening 1:23-6:07 Establishing Shots - Jackie Brown 6:24-44:10 Deep Focus - Keith Phipps 45:21-1:09:20 Double Exposure - Petulia (Richard Lester) 1:09:20-1:13:01 Trivia Round, Close, and Outtake

The Cinephiliacs - 2012 Favorites (Part 2) Dec 31, 2012

Show notes

Peter believes that the Top 10 list is less of a summation of a year in film than a personal statement on how one view's cinema at that moment. So in this epic 2+ hour episode, he invites the idiosyncratic Keith Uhlich to join him on a journey through the year in film. They discuss terrorists and presidents, romances and mentors, artificial and stylized views of the world to authentic miracles. Plus some of Peter's former guests and friends of the show call in with their picks, and they also list some of the great films of years past that they finally caught up with. (This is Part 2 of the show. Please listen to Part 1 first).

0:00-2:25 Introduction to Part 22:26-8:22 Favorite Filmic Discoveries8:23-1:30:01 Picks for #5 through #11:30:01-1:35:30 Picks for #20 through #111:35:30-1:39:14 Trivia Round / Close / Outtake

The Cinephiliacs - 2012 Favorites (Part 1) Dec 31, 2012

Show notes

0:00-1:42 Opening / Announcement1:42-3:54 Introduction to Top 10s3:55-1:01:04 Picks for #10 through #61:01:04-1:02:14 Close

The Cinephiliacs #10 - Katey Rich (Take This Waltz) Dec 17, 2012

Show notes

Peter can often get lost in the history of cinema that he often forgets that movies were born in the industry, and Hollywood keeps that art alive. So for his last interview of the 2012 season, CinemaBlend editor-in-chief Katey Rich joins him for a lively conversation about the ins and outs of the movie industry. Katey discusses her origins as a moviegoer in South Carolina and her interest in why things were popular to the trials, tribulations, and pleasures of running a site that is always about the "now." They then get into some of the more interesting pieces she's written about the depiction of women in Hollywood, as well as why it's okay to nitpick. Finally, they dive into one of 2012's more intimate and underrated films, Take This Waltz, and discover how Sarah Polley can add real magic to a story as old as time.

0:00-1:01 Opening1:52-5:37 Establishing Shots - Zero Dark Thirty5:52-46:16 Deep Focus - Katey Rich47:11-1:01:19 Double Exposure - Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley)1:01:19-1:09:10 Spoiler Discussion of Take This Waltz1:09:12-1:12:03 Close and Outtakes

The Cinephiliacs #9 - Godfrey Cheshire (Close-Up) Dec 03, 2012

Show notes

Godfrey Chesire has seen it all. From his early experiences with the Westerns of John Ford, to his experience of the 1970s films while abroad in Europe, to the discovery of Chinese and Iranian cinema in the 1990s, Cheshire has remained an essential voice about how to talk and think about cinema in an honest and humanizing way. So Peter is quite excited to take him back through a whirlwind tour of his career, from the alt-weeky The Spectator to the heyday of the New York Press, and through his experiences with Edward Yang and writing about the emergence of digital cinema. The two also discuss his documentary Moving Midway, a film that battles his own personal history and cultural history of the plantation, and end their discussion with Abbas Kiarostami's all-too-fascinating text Close-Up, which they easily declare the Citizen Kane of Iranian film.

0:00-1:27 Opening1:27-4:47 Establishing Shots - Portrait of Jason Kickstarter 5:02-1:01:57 Deep Focus - Godfrey Cheshire 1:03:08-1:30:09 Double Exposure - Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami) 1:30:11-1:31:50 Close

The Cinephiliacs #8 - Matt Singer (The Buried Secret of M Night Shaymalan) Nov 19, 2012

Show notes

Peter remembers seeing Matt Singer during news and festival bits on the IFC channel back in the day, so he was quite excited to bring it the man to sit down to talk about his work on Criticwire and elsewhere. Matt discusses the winding path he took to entering film criticism, his genuine interest in working in various types of media, and of course his fascination of superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger. The two also explore his explanation for watching "bad" movies, the wonderful world of Internet commenters, and the ever notorious Kevin Smith. Finally, Matt brings in a strange pick for 'Double Exposure' - A TV documentary called The Buried Secret of M Night Shaymalan, that is truly one of the most maddening films ever produced, provoking a discussion that proves to be just as bonkers.

0:00-4:43 Opening / Establishing Shots - "To The Film Industry in Crisis"

4:57-58:25 Deep Focus - Matt Singer

59:21-1:20:30 Double Exposure - The Buried Secret Of M. Night Shaymalan

1:20:33-1:22:22 Close / Outtake

The Cinephiliacs #7 - Ali Arikan (Withnail and I) Nov 05, 2012

Show notes

Peter takes cinema very seriously, but sometimes we all need a good laugh, and no one makes Peter howl in laughter than reading the work of Ali Arikan. So laughs are abound when Ali comes in from Turkey to join him on The Cinephiliacs. Ali discusses his early forays into movies while in his home country (as well the troubles with viewing films there) and the journey he took to becoming an established critic working for English language sites like The House Next Door, Press Play, and as a member of Roger Ebert's Far Flung Correspondents. From there, the two dive into the problem of nostalgia in film, a bonafide love for Steven Spielberg, and a defense of one of the most derided films in the last twenty years. Finally, Peter challenges Ali to make him lov;Withnail and I, a cult comedy from Bruce Robinson that might be more tragic than even its alcoholic protagonists realize.

0:00-0:56 Opening

1:43-4:40 Establishing Shots - Pierre Étaix and Le Grand Amour

4:56-1:01:56 Deep Focus - Ali Arikan

1:03:09-1:24:19 Double Exposure - Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson)

1:24:20-1:26:10 Close / Outtake

The Cinephiliacs #6 - Farran Smith Nehme (Three Strangers) Oct 22, 2012

Show notes

After three weeks of new movies, The Cinephiliacs returns by going to old school filmmaking as Peter sits down with Farran Smith Nehme, aka the Self-Styled Siren, blogger extraordinaire when it comes to classic Hollywood movies. The two discuss how she first fell in love with the movies of Hollywood's golden age, approaching classic cinema beyond the expected titles and myths, and living the dream by appearing on Turner Classic Movies. They close out the show by examining Three Strangers, a film noir by Jean Negulesco and co-written by John Huston that might not be the best film ever made, but damn if it doesn't have some out of this world sequences and killer performances by Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Peter Lorre as a romantic lead, of all things!

0:00-1:13 Opening

1:14-4:58 Establishing Shots - Kant and Criticism

5:12-45:15 Deep Focus - Farran Smith Nehme

46:30-1:05:38 Double Exposure - Three Strangers (Jean Negulesco)

1:05:39-1:07:32 Close / Outtake

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