The Film Comment Podcast

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The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 One Jan 25, 2019

Show notes

In the first of a series of updates from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold hits the slopes with Eric Hynes, FC contributor and curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image. In addition to discussing their dietary regimens (one must maintain strength in the face of this cinematic avalanche), the two trade highlights from their first day in Park City. Rapold and Hynes kick off with a chat about Bart Freundlich's soapy After the Wedding (featuring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams) before digging deeper into a slate of documentaries: Petra Costa's The Edge of Democracy, Todd Douglas Miller's Apollo 11, and Alexandre O. Philippe's MEMORY—The Origins of Alien. Check back over the next week and a half for updates on all the highlights from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Preview Jan 23, 2019

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In the calm before the storm, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold sits down with critic and FC contributor Amy Taubin to chat about some of their more eagerly anticipated film from Sundance 2019, opening January 24 and running through February 3. Perhaps appropriately, the conversation begins with films that aren’t actually in competition, but will be showing as part of Slamdance, the Sundance alternative celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In addition to Steven Soderbergh’s High Flying Bird (screening February 7 as part of Film Comment Selects), the two also touch on Beniamino Barrese’s The Disappearance of My Mother and Nick Broomfield’s Leonard Cohen documentary, among others. Check back in throughout the next week and half for regular updates from the snow-topped cinemas of Sundance.

Amazing Grace and Other Concert Films Jan 18, 2019

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From Woodstock to Stop Making Sense to Madonna: Truth or Dare, the concert film provides an up-close-and-personal—and otherwise unattainable—perspective on performance and performer. In the new issue of Film Comment, out now, contributor Andrew Chan digs into the long-awaited 1972 Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace, finally released in 2018 after years of legal wrangling and building anticipation. The wait was well worth it, as the Sydney Pollack-directed film documents Aretha’s transcendent gospel and R&B and provides (as Chan writes) “access to the woman behind the microphone while at the same time radiating a ghostly effect that’s impossible to shake.” For the latest Film Comment Podcast, Nicolas Rapold sat down with Chan, who is also web editor at The Criterion Collection, and Film Comment contributor and Rogerebert.com critic Sheila O’Malley to discuss Amazing Grace and three other specially selected concert films: The T.A.M.I. Show, Sign o' the Times, and Can’s 1972 Free Concert.

The Rep Report #4 Jan 11, 2019

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New year, new rep report! Our latest edition looks at the annual mainstay of the restoration calendar, To Save and Project at the Museum of Modern Art—featuring everything from Chantal Akerman to Nude on the Moon—as well as a wide-ranging survey of the city symphony film at Anthology Film Archives. And on the new release side of the episode, we play catch-up with the likes of Welcome to Marwen and more. Joining Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold this time were our regulars from Screen Slate, its founder Jon Dieringer and FC contributing editor and independent programmer Nellie Killian; and two colleagues from the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Programming Assistant Maddie Whittle and Digital Marketing Manager Jordan Raup, also founder of The Film Stage.

The Rest of 2018 Jan 02, 2019

Show notes

All too often, the ritual of ranking films at the end of the year leaves a lot of worthy movies on the cutting floor. Some don’t receive enough votes to make our Best of 2018 list; others maybe don’t leap to mind when weighing the artistic strengths and weaknesses of movies. So now that you’ve read about the best of 2018, we present the rest of 2018—a few films that we enjoyed but that, for one reason or another, didn’t crack the hallowed top 20. Editor-in-chief Nicolas Rapold talked with Michael Koresky, editorial and creative director at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and two colleagues in FSLC Programming, Maddie Whittle and Tyler Wilson.

Matt Dillon (The House That Jack Built) Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

For the final Film Comment Talk of the year, Matt Dillon came to the Film Society of Lincoln Center to talk about his new film, The House That Jack Built, directed by Lars von Trier. The film stars Dillon as a serial killer who recounts a series of his murders over several years. Dillon talked about playing a depraved character and working with von Trier. Maddie Whittle of the Film Society of Lincoln Center moderated the dialogue.

The Rep Report #3 Dec 19, 2018

Show notes

The Rep Report continues with another joyous discussion of the latest in repertory and new release. This time we venture into the shadows of the Jacques Tourneur retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, along with some choice selections from New York’s wealth of offerings. Then it’s time for a holiday surprise—at least, that’s how the movie has affected our critics, who saw it only after deadlines for the best-of-the-year polls had passed: The Mule, directed by Clint Eastwood, who stars as a charming drug courier of a certain age. For this episode, I was joined by K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair; Jon Dieringer, co-founder of Screen Slate; Nellie Killian, a contributing editor at Film Comment and programmer; and Nick Pinkerton, regular FC contributor.

The Best Movies of 2018 Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

Every year we send out a poll to our critics and staff and put together a list of the best movies of the year. For 2018, we did something a little different and fun: we counted down the best movies of the year at a live Film Comment Talk at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Along the way, Film Comment editor-in-chief Nicolas Rapold discussed the results with a group of all-star critics: Molly Haskell, critic and author; Michael Koresky, director of editorial and creative strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center; and Sheila O’Malley and Nick Pinkerton, also frequent Film Comment contributors.

NYFF Live Filmmakers Chat 2018 Dec 07, 2018

Show notes

At the New York Film Festival, Film Comment presents a series of talks that includes our reliably energizing and insightful conversation with a group of directors. Our 2018 Filmmakers Chat—posted for the first time now—featured a unique and invigorating mix of talents in a discussion about the art and craft (and anxieties and rewards) of making movies. I was honored and delighted to be joined at the Film Society of Lincoln Center by Louis Garrel, director of A Faithful Man; Jodie Mack, director of The Grand Bizarre; Alex Ross Perry, director of Her Smell; and Albert Serra, director of Roi Soleil.

The Rep Report #2 Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

The Rep Report, our new Film Comment podcast series devoted to repertory programs and new releases, continues this week with its latest installment. Once again we talked about the latest movies (new and old) that we’ve seen, desperately want to see, or have wept bitter tears over missing, with special emphasis on the rich offerings of repertory / art-house cinemas. For the first half, I was delighted to join FC contributing editor (and Screen Slate board member) Nellie Killian, and Screen Slate founder, publisher, and editor Jon Dieringer. We talked about everything from a freshly restored Detour at Film Forum to vérité rediscovery Inquiring Nuns at the Museum of the Moving Image to a beguiling SculptureCenter video program. And for the new release portion of the episode, I discussed The Favourite, Roma, and the joys of Thanksgiving viewing with FC contributor Maddie Whittle of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

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