The Film Comment Podcast

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The Summer of '66 Jun 22, 2016

Show notes

Today, the term “summer movie” is synonymous with big budgets, explosions, superhero franchises, family-friendly animated films, and sequels. Yet this wasn't always the case. In the summers of the 1960s, years before 1975’s Jaws began to redefine the blockbuster, successful new releases were held over in certain cities for months, and risqué international films were shown alongside schlocky American B movies. For this week’s episode, we flash back to the summer of 1966 to see what was playing in Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City (all five boroughs), featuring J. Hoberman, critic for The New York Times; Nick Pinkerton, regular FILM COMMENT contributor; and Ina Archer, co-chair of the Women’s Film Preservation Fund for New York Film and Television, in conversation with FC Digital Editor Violet Lucca.

Hong Sangsoo Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

Hong Sangsoo is a filmmaker who isn’t afraid to repeat himself. Fashioning narratives around lonesome or just pathetic male artists’ attempts at finding romantic connection, Hong’s films are characterized by their long takes and minute variations—a slightly off-center frame of two people talking, a digital zoom, a subtle readjustment of focus—that make us question what’s really going on in the scene. In honor of his soju-fueled comedy of manners, Digital Editor Violet Lucca served as bartender for Genevieve Yue, assistant professor at Eugene Lang College at the New School, Leo Goldsmith, co-editor of the film section of The Brooklyn Rail, Max Nelson, editorial assistant at the New York Review of Books, and Jeff Reichert, filmmaker and co-editor of Reverse Shot.

Brian De Palma Jun 03, 2016

Show notes

In their intimate and insightful documentary De Palma, directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow sit down with the legendary filmmaker to discuss his audacious career. With no authorial voices included, the film takes the form of a two-hour introspective monologue, in which the maestro reflects on his directorial approach and why he loves filming beautiful women so much. Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with FILM COMMENT and Film Society Editorial Director Michael Koresky, and critic Ashley Clark, about their takes on the documentary and Brian De Palma's thrilling films, including Dressed to Kill, Carlito's Way, Carrie, and Femme Fatale.

Cannes Redux and Whit Stillman May 27, 2016

Show notes

Believe it or not, but occasionally the critics attending Cannes take umbrage with the jury’s choices for awards—so much so this year that the Grand Prix recipient, Xavier Dolan, was booed during the ceremony. But who really got it right this year, and which films will endure as highlights? Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with FILM COMMENT and Artforum contributing editor Amy Taubin; Brandon Harris, assistant professor at SUNY Purchase and Vice contributor; and FILM COMMENT editor Nicolas Rapold about films including Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, Michael O’Shea’s The Transfiguration, Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman, Albert Serra’s The Death of Louis XIV, Alain Guiraudie’s Staying Vertical, The Romanians, and more. In this week’s special second segment, Whit Stillman talks with FC contributor Nick Pinkerton about his new film, Love & Friendship, adaptation, and the finer points of writing a novel.

Live from Cannes 2016 May 20, 2016

Show notes

Comedies and genre films may not be the usual Croisette fare, but that wasn’t the case with the 69th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Touching on Maren Ade’s unanimously praised Toni Erdmann, as well as more divisive films like Olivier Assayas’s Personal Shopper and Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, a roundtable hosted by editor Nicolas Rapold and featuring Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times; Nicholas Elliott, New York correspondent for Cahiers du Cinéma; and FILM COMMENT contributing editors Jonathan Romney and Amy Taubin breaks down this year’s unique selection.

History in the Making May 10, 2016

Show notes

Plenty of films are set in the past, either adapted from texts from the period or written by authors looking back on history (and likely bringing their own biases to it). Yet only a select few of such works manage to so convincingly convey a tactile sense of the time that they approach the immersive. And which genuine traces of the present captured by filmmakers—be it locations, attitudes, or small details like trash in the street—will serve as accurate snapshots for the future? Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with Nick Pinkerton, regular FILM COMMENT contributor, and Eric Hynes, FC columnist and associate curator at the Museum of the Moving Image, to discuss how history is made (or unmade) on film.

The May/June Issue + Straub/Huillet May 03, 2016

Show notes

It’s that most special time of year: the May/June issue has arrived! What’s inside? We’re glad you asked: FILM COMMENT Digital Editor Violet Lucca takes an informative stroll through the new issue with Nicolas Rapold, Editor in Chief. And, in the second half of this episode, we expand upon the new issue’s major feature on French filmmakers Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. For decades, the pair created an insightful body of work that delved deeply into history and art. Working closely together in all aspects of film production, they created personalized cinematic visions, frequently using the works of other artists—literature, painting, and film—as a jumping-off point to explore contemporary political issues. Violet Lucca speaks with Dan Sullivan, programmer at Film Society of Lincoln Center; Ted Fendt, editor of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet; and Josh Siegel, curator at MoMA, to discuss MoMA’s complete retrospective of Straub-Huillet that begins this Friday.

Queer Cinema Before Stonewall Apr 26, 2016

Show notes

On June 28, 1969, following a police raid of the Greenwich Village LGBT bar Stonewall Inn, a riot broke out around the neighborhood that continued into the following evening. The upheaval is commonly treated as the beginning of the contemporary gay rights movement. As with many accounts of history, the clear demarcation—as if the lights were suddenly flipped on—doesn’t entirely hold water under close scrutiny, but the Stonewall Riots have become a useful point of reference as well as a symbol. The Film Society's repertory series “A Clue to the New Direction: Queer Cinema Before Stonewall,” curated by FSLC programmer at larger Thomas Beard, takes these events as an opportunity to explore multiple histories of queer cinema through a variety of Hollywood, experimental, nonfiction, and foreign films. Digital Editor Violet Lucca discussed the films, and the history, with Mark Harris, film historian and columnist for Vulture; Michael Koresky, director of publications at the Metrograph Theater; and Manuel Betancourt, FC contributor.

Vincent Lindon + Masculinity Apr 19, 2016

Show notes

Described by Joan Dupont in the March/April issue of FILM COMMENT as “too haunted to be the suave lady-killer and too classy to be the loser,” Vincent Lindon has slowly gained prominence outside of France in his quietly simmering performances in films like Claire Denis’s Bastards and Stéphane Brizé’s The Measure of a Man. Wesley Morris of The New York Times and Amy Taubin, contributor to FILM COMMENT and Artforum, spoke with Digital Editor Violet Lucca about the actor’s working-class charms, the “polymorphous sexuality” of visual artist Ryan Trecartin's work, and the strengths and weaknesses of other actors from John Goodman to Robert Redford.

Everybody Wants Some!! + Sports Apr 12, 2016

Show notes

Following the bold experiment of Boyhood, Richard Linklater returns with Everybody Wants Some!!, a semi-autobiographical movie about the infinite potential that awaits at the cusp of adulthood. A few days before the start of college classes, Jake (Blake Jenner), a freshman pitcher, moves into a house with his fellow ball players; drunken hilarity and horndogging ensue, while salient points about identity get made. FILM COMMENT Digital Editor Violet Lucca asked David Fear of Rolling Stone and Nick Pinkerton, frequent FC contributor, for their thoughts on Linklater’s latest and their leading contenders for their top sports movies.

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