Podcast appearances and mentions of Amy Taubin

Ep. 310: Amy Taubin on Dying for Sex, The Shrouds, Adolescence, Marina Zurkow, Hoberman Book, Black Bag, Zero Day, Mickey 17, plus Warfare Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. What better way to begin the glorious spring than a deluxe episode with the one and only Amy Taubin! The legendary critic returns to the podcast to talk about what she's been watching, seeing, and reading. Among the works discussed: Dying for Sex, Adolescence, Black Bag, The Shrouds, J. Hoberman's new book Everything Is Now, Marina Zurkow's Whitney show, shows of John Zorn and Ericka Beckman at the Drawing Center, Zero Day, Mickey 17, and more. I chime in with some thoughts on Warfare and 2,000 Meters to Andriivka and some recent reading. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 295: Amy Taubin on BLKNWS, Ricky, Sorry Baby, Alabama Solution, The Things You Kill Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. There are still great movies to catch up with from Sundance 2025, and once again I was fortunate to talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about her highlights. Films we discussed included stand-outs and prize-winners from this year's edition: BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions (directed by Kahlil Joseph), Ricky (Rashad Frett), The Things You Kill (Alireza Khatami), The Alabama Solution (Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman), and of course Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor). Plus a few words from me about Train Dreams (Clint Bentley). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 285: Amy Taubin 2024 Finale: Juror No. 2, Robert Frank, Nosferatu, The Clock, His 3 Daughters, Flow, Conclave Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For the latest episode, I close out the year with the one and only Amy Taubin, as we catch up with a few movies we missed to talk about in 2024. The discussion includes Juror No. 2 (directed by Clint Eastwood), Nosferatu (Robert Eggers), His Three Daughters (Azazel Jacobs), Conclave (Edward Berger), and Flow (Gints Zilbalodis), plus two exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art: the Robert Frank exhibitions and Christian Marclay's The Clock. Thanks for listening, and check back in the new year for more new episodes! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 273: Amy Taubin on NYFF: Nickel Boys, My Undesirable Friends, New Godard and Albert Serra, No Other Land, Rumours Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the New York Film Festival presents a kind of best-of-the-year selection for its 62nd edition, I sat down with the one and only Amy Taubin to discuss a few highlights. Titles discussed include: Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross's extraordinary debut fiction feature which we had just seen on opening night; Jean-Luc Godard's Scénarios and Exposé du Film annonce du film “Scénario”; It's Not Me (Leos Carax); My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow (Julia Loktev), a world premiere; No Other Land (Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor); Union (Brett Story, Stephen Maing); Dahomey (Mati Diop); All We Imagine as Light (Payal Kapadia); Rumours (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson); and Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 258: Amy Taubin on Tribeca Picks, Agnieszka Holland, Bleak Week, Mireia Sallarès's Little Deaths Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. Why go through the summer without a return visit from the inimitable Amy Taubin? On this episode we discuss a few films cherry-picked from this year's Tribeca Festival; Agnieszka Holland and her incisive latest film Green Border; the intriguing repertory series known as Bleak Week, held annually at L.A.'s American Cinematheque and recently exported to New York's Paris Theater; and two works by Mireia Sallarès, Little Deaths and The Potential History of Francesc Tosquelles, Catalonia and Fear. Plus: I share a remarkable documentary about police investigations called Roubaix, Police Department, Ordinary Business, a discovery on the OVID streaming service. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 256: Amy Taubin on Leos Carax's It's Not Me, The Shrouds, Charles Atlas, Arthur Jafa, Man Ray, and More Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The one and only Amy Taubin comes back to The Last Thing I Saw for a wide-ranging conversation about what she's been watching. That includes at least a couple of Cannes titles—Leos Carax's It's Not Me and David Cronenberg's The Shrouds—and New York repertory highlights from the spring: the enormous Charles Atlas retrospective at Anthology Film Archives (which is still ongoing through June), the Man Ray restorations touring with new Jim Jarmusch–led score, and Arthur Jafa's shattering reimagining of the brutal ending to Taxi Driver, titled “*****”, shown at the Gladstone Gallery. There are also shout-outs to the Antoinetta Angelidi revival in Prismatic Ground, a new Blu-ray of Too Much Sleep, and more. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Avant-garde cinema emerged in direct conversation with the film criticism that contextualized, championed, and critiqued it. Writing about work that is premised on defying formulaic intelligibility, and which invites us to reach beyond language to other modes of interpretation, can be both challenging and thrilling—requiring the critic to draw on a deep historical knowledge and a finely-tuned sensory awareness. And reading such criticism can be at once an eye-opening entryway into better appreciating experimental cinema, and its own creative encounter with connections across image and thought. Last Thursday, Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish sat down with Amy Taubin, Genevieve Yue, and Ayanna Dozier, some of the best critics of the avant-garde working today, to discuss the history of the craft, the nitty-gritty of this niche beat, what good writing on avant-garde cinema looks and sounds like, and what to even call the genre—avant-garde? Experimental? The other cinema? The talk took place at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema in Downtown Manhattan as part of this year's edition of Prismatic Ground, an exemplary and boundary-pushing festival dedicated to experimental documentary. Throughout the inspired conversation, the group referred to a few exemplary passages written by the esteemed panelists. Go to Film Comment's website to read: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/the-film-comment-podcast-writing-about-avant-garde-cinema

Ep. 223: Manohla Dargis and Amy Taubin on Sundance 2024 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For my final (?) episode on Sundance Film Festival 2024, I am pleased to present a grand finale with Manohla Dargis, chief film critic of The New York Times, and the inimitable Amy Taubin (who will be filing a report for Screen Slate). They discuss the role of Sundance, what felt different about this year's edition (and what didn't), and the question of story. And we discuss a number of films: A Real Pain (directed by Jesse Eisenberg), God Save Texas: Hometown Prison (Richard Linklater), Presence (Steven Soderbergh), Rob Peace (Chiwetel Ejiofor), War Game (Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber), Exhibiting Forgiveness (Titus Kaphar), Black Box Diaries (Shiori Ito), Will & Harper (Josh Greenbaum), and Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass). Also included: Porcelain Wars, Sugarcane, Gaucho Gaucho, Desire Lines, and Freaky Tales, Kneecap, and a special recommendation for cats. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 218: Amy Taubin on I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Fellow Travelers, Sundance Past + My Napoleon Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. It's time to ring in 2024 with the one and only Amy Taubin! After some thoughts on the challenges of the contemporary film landscape, she talks about I Heard It Through the Grapevine, the elegiac 1982 civil-rights documentary featuring James Baldwin and co-directed by the late Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley, playing at Film Forum; Too Much Sleep; Fellow Travelers, a dramatic series on Showtime; and remembrances of Sundance highlights past, on the occasion of a Criterion Channel selection from the festival's history. I also share my experience watching Ridley Scott's Napoleon in a special format. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Last night, Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish headed a panel of special guests—Bilge Ebiri (critic, Vulture), and Amy Taubin (critic and FC contributing editor)—for a real-time countdown of the films topping our year-end critics' poll. The evening featured a lively discussion (and some hearty debate) about the films as they were unveiled—and now it's here in Podcast form, for your home-listening pleasure. Consider it a holiday gift from us to you, our loyal listeners. Read the full list, plus Best Undistributed Films, individual ballots, and more, here: https://www.filmcomment.com/best-films-of-2023/

Ep. 208: Amy Taubin on the New York Film Festival 2023 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This year, the 61st New York Film Festival curated a notably strong selection of films drawn from other festivals as well as a few premieres of its own. To discuss her critical highlights, I was delighted to welcome back the one and only Amy Taubin (whose report on this edition appears in Artforum). Among the films discussed are Agnieszka Holland's Green Border, May December (Todd Haynes), Jean-Luc Godard's final film, Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos), Janet Planet (Annie Baker), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson), Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros (Frederick Wiseman), and The Sweet East (Sean Price Williams). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 191: Amy Taubin on Oppenheimer, Barbie, Command-Z, Richard Kelly Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about the double feature that has attracted crowds to movie theaters this weekend: Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, and Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. We pick apart what we loved (or hated) about the two films, and then we discuss Steven Soderbergh's surprise series Command-Z, available only online. Plus a few thoughts on upcoming Richard Kelly screenings. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 189: Amy Taubin on the Tribeca Festival 2023 and Beyond Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about the 2023 edition of the Tribeca Festival. We discuss Taubin's favorite from the festival; a couple of hard-hitting documentaries, Transition and Rule of Two Walls; video game titan Hideo Kojima and auteurs in dialogue David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh; and other notable titles like Mountains and A Strange Path. Plus thoughts on recent viewing and what's to come. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 172: Amy Taubin on Dead Ringers, Warhol's Batman Dracula, High Flying Bird, Joie Lee, Elephant Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I'm pleased as punch to speak with the critic Amy Taubin about her ongoing “Carte Blanche” series at the Museum of Modern Art, plus some recent viewing. Titles include: Dead Ringers (TV), Warhol's unfinished Batman Dracula, High Flying Bird (directed by Steven Soderbergh), Fuller's Pickup on South Street, shorts by Joie Lee, and Agnieszka Holland's Washington Square, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. I also ask Amy about interviewing Barbara Loden for the Soho News, and we chat about my latest pick for New Essentials at the Roxy Cinema in New York: Gus Van Sant's Elephant. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://thecitylife.org/2023/04/22/moma-presents-carte-blanche-amy-taubin/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/support

Can anyone introduce me to film critic, Amy Taubin? I discovered her awesomeness when I went searching for some sensible criticism about the much lauded film, Tár, and found her on a podcast talking a great deal of sense. She said, “It has to be one of the stupidest movies I've seen in many a long year” and I could not have agreed more. I said something similar, out loud, multiple times, as we watched it (at home, don't worry. I wasn't exclaiming in public!). It was a very stupid movie, which was all the more irritating given how smart it thinks it was. I have a long list of things I found exceptionally stupid – but I feel like I should mostly focus on one because I'm worried that it's a bit of stupidity that might become extremely popular, given the accolades this stupid film is receiving. To keep reading The Stupidity of Tár visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 345 Song: Stupid Image of Amy Taubin lifted from the internet. Sorry! I just wanted you to see her marvelousness too. To support this podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review! Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/ Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis or PayPal me: https://www.paypal.me/strugglingartist Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd Me on Mastodon - @erainbowd@podvibes.co Me on Hive - @erainbowd Instagram and Pinterest Tell a friend! Listen to The Dragoning here (it's my audio drama) and support via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany As ever, I am yours, Emily Rainbow Davis

Ep. 157: Sundance 2023 Two with Amy Taubin Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival is back in action, returning to in-person screenings and events after two virtual years. I sat down with Last Thing I Saw regular and veteran of Sundance, critic Amy Taubin, about some of the highlights (and otherwise) at the festival, including Past Lives, Polite Society, and a Nam June Paik documentary. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

If the Back To One podcast has one tradition, it is the yearly visit from its very first guest, the living patron saint of the working actor, Kevin Corrigan. This is his fifth time on the show (Ep. 1, Ep. 67, Ep. 133, Ep.185), and as you'll hear, he still has a healthy supply of great stories, laughs, and inspiration to dish out. He talks about his recent stints on “Law and Order: Organized Crime,” “City on a Hill,” and the indie film “Bang Bang;” tells a hilarious story illustrating the ways he practices acting when not on a job; gets nostalgic describing the masterful mix tapes he used to make; plus much more! It all starts out with my recounting of a Corrigan-themed phone call I had with the legendary Amy Taubin minutes before the interview. Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

Ep. 152: Amy Taubin on Godard, Greatest Films, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm Nicolas Rapold. Critic Amy Taubin joins the podcast for another delightful year-end discussion. She shares her thoughts on Godard by way of See You Friday, Robinson, a remarkable film that connected the late French master in a correspondence with Iranian writer-director Ebrahim Golestan. Then it's on to the ever-vexing issues and omissions involved in selecting the greatest films of all time, viewed from Taubin's career-spanning vantage point. Also: a TV recommendation. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Amy Taubin on Eo, Master Gardener, Alcarras, Tar, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Kira Muratova Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the New York Film Festival continues, I spoke with the one and only Amy Taubin about some of its selection of movies assembled from the year's highlights. She shares her thoughts on a wide range, including Jerzy Skolimowski's Eo, Paul Schrader's Master Gardener, Carla Simon's Alcarras, Todd Field's Tar, and Laura Poitras's All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, plus the long-suppressed work of Kira Muratova. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Amy Taubin on Tribeca 2022 + Leos Carax's Pola X (extended TV version) + Artists Space Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I was delighted to catch up with Amy Taubin to discuss the latest edition of the Tribeca festival and other recent viewing. We share some of our highlights from the festival, and we also mull the recently surfaced, extended TV version of Pola X from director Leos Carax. Plus: the Attention Line exhibition at Artists Space. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 118: Cannes #4 with Amy Taubin: Crimes of the Future and Forever Young (Les Amandiers) Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. The highlights from the Cannes Film Festival continue in this very special episode with critic Amy Taubin, who joins to discuss David Cronenberg's hotly anticipated Crimes of the Future, about a world of organ performance art; and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's outstanding chronicle of young actors, Forever Young (also known as Les Amandiers). Be sure to read Taubin's feature and interview with Cronenberg in the upcoming print issue of Artforum. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Village Voice loomed large for me as a critic and an editor. The Voice I grew up with may be long gone, but it's been a joy to continue reading my favorite critics who wrote there. For this episode, I'm honored to bring together three all-star alumnae of the Village Voice to talk about movies. Manohla Dargis, the co-chief film critic of The New York Times, started writing about avant-garde cinema at the Voice early in her career. Lisa Kennedy has written for The New York Times, Essence, American Theatre, Variety, and the Denver Post, on both film and theater, and she was an editor at the Voice for a decade, editing pieces by Manohla Dargis and Amy Taubin. Amy Taubin is a contributing editor at Artforum and Sight & Sound, who wrote full-time at the Voice for 14 years; This episode is something like a dream come true for me, and so I had to ask a little about their memories of the Voice, before we talked about some recent highlights from their viewing. And I encourage everyone to spend some quality time with the Village Voice archives. My deep thanks to Amy, Lisa, and Manohla for taking the time to talk. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more.  The pieces in David Schwartz, David Cronenberg: Interviews (UP of Mississippi, 2021) reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work. Nathan Abrams is a professor of film at Bangor University in Wales. His most recent work is on film director Stanley Kubrick. To discuss and propose a book for interview you can reach him at n.abrams@bangor.ac.uk. Twitter: @ndabrams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Episode 96: Sundance 2022 #3 with Amy Taubin (Nanny, Master, Call Jane, Resurrection, You Won't Be Alone) Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival is here, there, and everywhere, screening in a virtual edition. For this episode, I'm delighted to talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about yet another year of Sundance selections. We talk about a few highlights of her viewing so far, including Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny, Mariama Diallo's Master, Phyllis Nagy's Call Jane, Andrew Semans's Resurrection, Ricky D'Ambrose's The Cathedral, Goran Stolevski's You Won't Be Alone, and Alex Pritz's The Territory. If you listen to this, please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow's Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Episode 90: Amy Taubin on the Best of 2021 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. It's that time of year again, when we look back at the year in movies. Joining me to share her highlights is the critic Amy Taubin, a regular guest on the podcast. We start with one movie you might not have heard as much about this year, and go on to trade our top picks, with reflections on another strange year for moviegoing and moviemaking. Here's to the best of 2021, and beyond! You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Two films in this year's NYFF lineup take us back to the ‘60s heyday of the New York avant-garde: in the Main Slate, Todd Haynes's The Velvet Underground offers a revelatory portrait of the milieu that gave rise to the eponymous band and its boundary-pushing music, while in Revivals, Ed Lachman's Songs for Drella captures Lou Reed and John Cale in concert, paying tribute to the late Andy Warhol with riveting intimacy. On Sunday, October 3, Film Comment editor Devika Girish and Clinton Krute joined Haynes, Lachman, critic Amy Taubin, and the editors of The Velvet Underground, Affonso Gonçalvez and Adam Kurnitz, for a roundtable talk. In our wide-ranging conversation on the stage of Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. We touched on the making of the two films, as well as the enduring legacy of the historic moment of artistic innovation they so vividly evoke. Stay tuned to filmcomment.com for more coverage of this year's New York Film Festival, both on the podcast, and in the Film Comment Letter.

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. As promised, this is another episode about notable movies from the Toronto Film Festival, with critic Amy Taubin. It's also another episode where you the listeners can support the podcast. I've recorded over 75 episodes with leading critics and filmmakers. It's all created with love and care on a weekly basis and sometimes daily, at home and at festivals. The new episode with Amy Taubin is available now to paid subscribers of my substack. So I invite you to show your support and get immediate access. You can do so by going to rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I'm your host, Nicolas Rapold. This is a special episode of the podcast for a couple of reasons. It introduces a series about notable premieres at the Toronto film festival -- highlights that you'll want to know about. But it's also a special episode because it's a chance for you the listeners to support the podcast. The new episode about Toronto, with curator and critic Eric Hynes, will be followed by one with another beloved regular guest, Amy Taubin. You can support this podcast by subscribing at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

In a 2007 Film Comment essay, Amy Taubin wrote in praise of Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke, a documentary about the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the communities that bore its brunt. For Amy, “Lee makes it possible for their stories to be inscribed in history. It is left to us not to forget them.” The same could be said of Lee's epic new mini-series NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½, a deep-dive into New York City's recent history of trauma and resilience, from the September 11 attacks to the COVID-19 pandemic. On today's podcast, FC editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish sat down with Amy as well as critic, artist, and archivist Ina Archer to discuss the fascinating sprawl of the show, a highly personal tribute to the spirit of Lee's hometown.

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. We heard from Amy Taubin at the beginning of this Cannes series, and now that the festival has wound down, I got together with Amy once more. This time, we single out some strong movies that could use more attention. That includes a remarkable group of films set in Latin America: Prayers for the Stolen, La Civil, and Clara Sola. We also talk about the Bangladeshi drama Rehana, and Amy gives a few preliminary thoughts on a much-anticipated title that arrived late in the festival. If you like what you hear, please support this podcast: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. We are back talking about the highlights of the Cannes film festival with critic Amy Taubin. Last time we talked about the Velvet Underground and now we move on to another musical selection, Annette, the new film from Leos Carax, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. We also devote some time to two movies that haven't been talked about as much in the frenzy of the festival's first week: A Chiara, from Jonas Carpinagno, and Ari Folman's newest animated feature, Where Is Anne Frank. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Cannes Film Festival kicked off this week and so I joined forces with critic Amy Taubin, who is a veteran of the festival. This year Cannes is a little different for a number of reasons, which we talk about, but we also discuss the new film about The Velvet Underground from director Todd Haynes. Amy is actually in the documentary, and she was kind enough to share some of her firsthand experiences at the time with the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, and of course Warhol's Screen Tests, many of which appear in Haynes's film. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week is a two-part episode, with a special interview. First I chat with the one and only Amy Taubin about our recent viewing, starting with the new Steven Soderbergh movie, No Sudden Move, a highlight of the summer. We also cherry-pick a couple of films from festivals, Courtroom 3H and Souad. And looking at the big picture, we celebrate online programs like Another Screen. And then the grand finale: I chat with No Sudden Move star, actor-writer-director Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience, She Dies Tomorrow, Pet Sematary). Seimetz plays Mary, an executive's wife held hostage by criminals (played by Don Cheadle and company)who are putting the squeeze on her husband. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. The one and only Amy Taubin joins to talk about a couple of selections from the Berlin Film Festival and Berlin Critics' Week, with some comments on watching on the small screen. Movies discussed include Ballad of a White Cow, An Unusual Summer, Nous (We), and Petite Maman. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. As our week of Sundance comes to a close, Amy Taubin returns to discuss Judas and the Black Messiah, Bring Your Own Brigade, a discovery in the episodic series section, the Sparks documentary, and her reason for missing the Summer of Soul concerts in 1969. For complete show notes with links, sign up for my newsletter at rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. On this episode we look at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival with the one and only Amy Taubin, who has been attending since the year of Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Taubin shares some of the movies and events she is looking forward to and reflects on what's different about this pandemic-era edition of the festival. For complete show notes with links, sign up for my newsletter at rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. This is the 20th episode of the podcast, and we'll be sharing our highlights from the year in movies. You might notice a few likely candidates are missing, such as First Cow or Time, but that's because we tried to talk about movies that haven't been covered as much on this podcast, though a few old favorites do sneak in. It's been a long year so I got some brilliant critics to share their picks: Amy Taubin, contributing editor at Artforum; Eric Hynes, curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image; Beatrice Loayza, a widely published freelance critic; and for the first time, Jessica Kiang, a veteran of Variety and other publications. For complete show notes with links, sign up for my newsletter at rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Because our mascot is a turkey, and because we generally frown upon genocide, Paul and Arlo are spending Thanksgiving weekend discussing films with ties to Native American culture. For this Geek Challenge, Paul urges Arlo to watch Michael Apted's 1992 conspiracy thriller Thunderheart, starring Val Kilmer as an FBI agent who grows to embrace his Sioux heritage. In turn, Arlo makes Paul watch Jim Jarmusch's 1995 psychedelic Western Dead Man, wherein Johnny Depp's iteration of William Blake takes an offbeat journey to the next life. The boys address the major caveat of both films starring white men, as well as their own lily whiteness; determine that Graham Greene and Gary Farmer walk away with their respective movies; and discuss how both films explore spiritual death and rebirth. With a bonus discussion of Apted's documentary Incident at Oglala!   NEXT: Arlo's having a baby. We're going on hiatus with hopes of returning in mid-to-late January. We wish everyone a happy and, more importantly, safe holiday season. We love you.     BREAKDOWN 00:01:00  -  Intro / Guest 00:07:15  -  Thunderheart 01:08:16  -  Dead Man 02:09:36  -  Outro / Next     LINKS   “The Best of Both Worlds: Otherness, Appropriation, and Identity in Thunderheart” by Sam Pack “FILM VIEW: One Director, Two Routes to American Indian Travail” by Caryn James, New York Times “Dead Man: Blake in America” by Amy Taubin, Criterion “Unveiling the spiritual nature of Dead Man” by Briana Berg, Cinescapade “The Untamed Territory of Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man” by Scout Tafoya, The Spool “For Native Peoples, Thanksgiving Isn’t a Celebration. It’s a National Day of Mourning” by Tonya Mosley and Allison Hagan, wbur.org     MUSIC “Grafitti Man” by John Trudell, A.K.A. Grafitti Man (1986) “NDN Kars” by Keith Secola, Circle (1992)     GOBBLEDYCARES Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/ Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/ Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. This week, I start with a featured look at Time, directed by Garrett Bradley. I talk with the wonderful Amy Taubin about the movie, which is one of the year's best. On the second half of the episode, I look at a terrific collection of 1970s horror available at the Criterion Channel. Critics Beatrice Loayza and Christina Newland join me to discuss the pleasures and politics of the movies, including: Death Dream, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, George Romero's The Crazies, Death Line, and special bonus title, The Velvet Vampire, directed by Stephanie Rothman. Look for more of what I'm blithely calling audio magazine features in future episodes, with in-depth looks at films and filmmakers, interviews, and other stories. For complete show notes with links, sign up for my newsletter at rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, a podcast where we reach out to friends to talk about what we've been watching. It's as simple as that. Joining Nicolas Rapold this time are critics Amy Taubin and Michael Koresky. This time of year, our heads are usually full of brand-new movies from film festivals, which are a good way to preview fall releases as well as titles that might otherwise be hard to see. We talked about a number of films including: American Utopia, Spike Lee's movie of David Byrne's Broadway show; Sam Pollard's documentary MLK/FBI, about the FBI's relentless surveillance of Martin Luther King; Regina King's One Night in Miami, which dramatizes the meeting of four great historical figures in 1965; and a French comedy that plays out in a prison, The Big Hit, directed by Emmanuel Courcol. Finally, because we just couldn't help ourselves, we talked about Lovers Rock, actually the opening night selection of The New York Film Festival. Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, a podcast where we reach out to friends to talk about what we've been watching. It's as simple as that. Joining Nicolas Rapold this time is Amy Taubin, a mainstay of film criticism and a longtime inspiration. It's always a rich and varied journey when Amy shares her viewing notes, and this time was no different. Among the movies discussed were John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, Charles Burnett's police drama The Glass Shield, Gina Prince-Bythewood's Love and Basketball, the pioneering work of Monika Treut and Elfi Mikesch, Spike Lee's Da Five Bloods, Werner Herzog's Family Romance, plus a couple of short films and a Kanye West music video. Photo by Steve Snodgrass

New York-born master filmmaker Alan Pakula produced To Kill a Mockingbird and directed Sophie's Choice, but, as WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests tell us, he's also known for a trio of dark and urgent thrillers which are not getting old - they're getting new. (Produced in 2018) Amy Taubin is a film critic and contributing editor for Film Comment and Sight & Sound. Matt Zoller-Seitz is the Editor-at-Large for RogerEbert.com and a TV critic for New York Magazine. Alan Pakula's Selected Filmography Fear Strikes Out (1957) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) Inside Daisy Clover (1965) Klute (1971) Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973) The Parallax View (1974) All the President's Men (1976) Starting Over (1979) Sophie's Choice (1982) Presumed Innocent (1990) The Pelican Brief (1993) Fishko Files with Sara Fishko Assistant Producer: Olivia BrileyMix Engineer: Wayne ShulmisterEditor: Karen Frillmann

Critics Amy Taubin and Michael Koresky join Nicolas Rapold to discuss their recent favorites, including The Fabulous Baker Boys (and Michelle Pfeiffer's star presence), Damien Chazelle's new Netflix series The Eddy, and much more. Original music by Nate Kinsella Photo by Steve Snodgrass

As you may have noticed, Film Comment went to the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah. We recorded a series of podcasts and now at last we have our thrilling conclusion. For our final episode in Park City, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold was joined by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times; Amy Taubin, contributing editor at Film Comment; and Devika Girish, our assistant editor. We talked about several movies including Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Lee Isaac Chung's Minari, Benh Zeitlin's long-awaited Wendy, and the documentary On the Record about accusations against hip hop mogul Russell Simmons. Plus, Miranda July's Kajillionaire, Michael Almereyda's Tesla, and more. For more on Sundance, be sure to listen to our previous podcasts and check our website for features. Let's go now to our conversation.

It's January, which means it's time once again to see some movies in the snowy wilderness of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Once again, the Film Comment Podcast will be on the scene, recording regular episodes, with the latest on the festival, the movies, and the filmmakers. We're kicking things off with a preview of the 2020 edition's offerings, talking about the movies we're most looking forward to, and providing some context to the festival and what's changed over the years. FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined for this discussion by Amy Taubin, contributing editor, and Devika Girish, Assistant Editor.

Little Women is without question one of the best movies of the recently-ended year, and it's a wonderful triumph for director Greta Gerwig. That's why we put it on the cover of our November-December issue, featuring Gerwig's delightful interview by Devika Girish. But there's even more to say about the movie and its intelligent, complex, and visually rich adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel. So Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold sat down with Devika and Amy Taubin, contributing editor to FC, to talk about what makes Little Women a great and important movie that shouldn't be missed in the hustle of the new year.

It's that time of year again! Film Comment has made a list and we've checked it twice: the best films of 2019, chosen through a poll of our contributing writers. And according to our new annual tradition, we announced the results live at a special Film Comment Talk. This year, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold was joined to unveil and discuss the films by Amy Taubin, longtime contributing editor at Film Comment; Soraya Nadia Macdonald, who writes for The Undefeated and is a contributing editor at Film Comment; Michael Koresky, all around Film Comment all-star; and Devika Girish, assistant editor at Film Comment. You can read the full Best of 2019 list online, including best unreleased films, and don't forget to follow along with our special podcast series The Decade Project, about the 2010s. But now, our Best Films of 2019 countdown.

By any measure, the 2010s have been a confusing and turbulent and also exciting time. That goes for both movies and the world at large, and that's saying a lot after the 2000s. At Film Comment, part of our goal is to offer a critical chronicle of the movies as they're happening, putting things in historical perspective, pointing out the bold and the beautiful in the art and craft of film, and hopefully offering an insight or two along the way. That's often hardest to do with contemporary history, and so to grapple with the 2010s, we're starting a series of Film Comment podcasts we're calling The Decade Project. We'll look at the movies from different angles and do our best to map out a vivid but often hard to characterize time. This week, we'll talk about some of the major shifts and changes that happened over the last ten years, and some of the decade's pivotal movies. It's also an opportunity to talk about the big picture in movies, which probably means having a healthy skepticism about thinking in terms of decades altogether. Joining FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold for this discussion are longtime contributing editor Amy Taubin; FC regular Michael Koresky, who is co-editor of the Reverse Shot book, Martin Scorsese: He Is Cinema; and Nick Pinkerton, who's written a number of essays for us looking at the big picture. Stay tuned for more of The Decade Project with guests Ashley Clark, Sheila O'Malley, Andrew Chan, Molly Haskell, and more. Let's go to the beginning of our conversation.

Dark Waters is the new film from Todd Haynes, and it's a change of pace from his last feature, Wonderstruck, and much of his work generally. Dark Waters is a whistleblower drama about Rob Billott, a lawyer who began investigating the chemical company DuPont, which his own firm was doing business with. To discuss the movie, contributing editor Amy Taubin sat down with Haynes for an extended interview. They cover the challenges of making political work today, the connections Dark Waters has with his previous films, details about shooting the movie, and more.

At Film Comment, we love it when we get behind a movie and then see other movie-goers share the love. Parasite, the funny and fierce thriller from Bong Joon Ho, was on the cover of our September-October issue, but wasn't released in theaters until mid-October. But what a release! Audiences are packing the theaters. To talk about the movie's appeal and Bong's masterful filmmaking, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold sat down with contributing editor Amy Taubin, who wrote out September-October feature on Parasite, and FC columnist and critic Michael Koresky. And don't miss the essay on Parasite by Midsommar filmmaker Ari Aster, also available in our latest issue.

For the festival's final week, contributing critics and editors gather together for a spirited discussion with Film Comment‘s Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold about the movies they've seen in the NYFF57 lineup. Panelists include programmer and FC contributing editor Nellie Killian; Michael Koresky of Film Comment and Reverse Shot; Amy Taubin of Film Comment and Artforum; and critic Phoebe Chen. The panel discusses Kiyoshi Kurosawa's To the Ends of the Earth, Bertrand Bonello's Zombi Child, Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela, Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, Kelly Reichardt's First Cow, Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro's Endless Night, among many others.

On Day 5 of our New York Film Festival daily podcast, Eugene Hernandez, FLC's Deputy Director and Co-Publisher of Film Comment, is joined by Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold to discuss Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which the magazine is presenting at the festival. They also talk about the trio of Film Comment free talks, which one can learn more about here: filmlinc.org/free Then we go to last night's Q&A for Portrait of a Lady on Fire, featuring writer-director Céline Sciamma and stars Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant. Moderated by Amy Taubin, they discuss a David Lynch-esque approach to sound design, the similarities between directing and painting, how art consoles the soul, the costume design, and (spoilers!) the film's final scene. The 57th NYFF continues through October 13! See all available tickets at filmlinc.org/nyff This podcast is brought to you by Film at Lincoln Center.

Tomorrow in Manhattan, a film festival opens in honor of the late movie critic Pauline Kael, born 100 years ago this month. A film festival - for a critic? WNYC's Sara Fishko has more in this episode of Fishko Files. "Losing It at the Movies: Pauline Kael at 100" runs at Quad Cinema tomorrow, June 7 through Thursday, June 20. David Denby is a critic and staff writer for The New Yorker. Peter Rainer is the film critic at the Christian Science Monitor and author of "Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing in a Turbulent and Transformative Era." Amy Taubin is a film critic and contributing editor at Artforum, Film Comment, and Sight & Sound. Fishko Files with Sara Fishko Assistant Producer: Olivia BrileyMix Engineer: Wayne Shulmister & Jared PaulEditor: Karen Frillmann

We're back from Cannes, this time with a recording of a live Film Comment event at the American Pavilion. Joining Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold on the stage were Film at Lincoln Center Deputy Director Eugene Hernandez, FC contributing editor Amy Taubin, and FC contributor Jonathan Romney. Through the fog of ”baguette overdose,” the four take a big-picture look at the festival and discuss the 2019 entries they believe will stand the test of time. The films discussed (and debated) include Bong Joon Ho's Parasite, Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, Robert Egger's The Lighthouse, Abel Ferrara's Tomasso, and many more.

We're back from Cannes with day 5 of our podcasts covering all the cinematic goings-on in the south of France. For today's episode, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by FC contributing editor Amy Taubin and Justin Chang, critic at the Los Angeles Times. The three kick things off a conversation about Pedro Almodóvar's Pain and Glory before taking a look at Mati Diop's Atlantique, Mounia Meddour's Papicha, Michael Angelo Covino's The Climb, and Jessica Hausner's Little Joe, one of the most anticipated entries at the festival. Check out all of our Cannes coverage: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/category/cannes/

Let the games begin! We've touched down in Cannes and, for our first of many podcasts from the festival, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold found a quiet corner with FC contributing editor Amy Taubin to talk over some of the titles—both big and small—that we're most excited about. On this episode, we focus on the opening film, Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, and chat about the expectations surrounding Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. We also touch on Pedro Almodóvar's Pain and Glory, Mati Diop's Atlantiques, Bong Joon Ho's Parasite, Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, and many others. Check back over the course of Cannes for a regular stream of new episodes diving into these and other films. And, in case you missed it, be sure to check out Taubin's interview with Jim Jarmusch, posted yesterday: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/cannes-interview-jim-jarmusch/

They say that "democracy dies in darkness," but a handful of new films, including Mike Leigh's Peterloo and Jordan Peele's Us, argue otherwise, providing evidence that the subject is alive and well in darkened theaters across the country. This week, we discuss how these films—along with the work of Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, and Frederick Wiseman—portray democracy on screen. Film Comment Editor in Chief Nicolas Rapold, contributing editor Amy Taubin, and FC contributor Shonni Enelow convene a committee to explore how these filmmakers and films approach the often messy, non-linear, and multi-faceted process of collective governance.

The Film Comment Podcast returns with another update from Park City. FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined this time by New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis and FC contributor Amy Taubin for a rundown of standout films from the festival, both fiction and documentary. These include Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir, Nisha Ganatra's Late Night, Rachel Lears's documentary Knock Down the House, Chinonye Chukwu's Clemency, Julius Onah's Luce, Joe Talbot's The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang's One Child Nation.

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.

New York-born master filmmaker Alan Pakula died just 20 years ago in an auto accident. Pakula produced "To Kill a Mockingbird" and directed "Sophie's Choice," among many others. As WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us in this edition of Fishko Files, some of his films are not getting old - they're getting new. Amy Taubin is a film critic and contributing editor for Film Comment and Sight & Sound. Matt Zoller-Seitz is the Editor-at-Large for RogerEbert.com and a TV critic for New York Magazine. Alan Pakula's Selected Filmography Fear Strikes Out (1957) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) Inside Daisy Clover (1965) Klute (1971) Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973) The Parallax View (1974) All the President's Men (1976) Starting Over (1979) Sophie's Choice (1982) Presumed Innocent (1990) The Pelican Brief (1993) Fishko Files with Sara Fishko Assistant Producer: Olivia BrileyMix Engineer: Wayne ShulmisterEditor: Karen Frillmann

In this episode, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Amy Taubin, Jonathan Romney, and Eric Hynes to discuss Lars von Trier's “provocative” The House That Jack Built and Spike Lee's provocative BlackKklansman. The writers also discuss Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey into Night, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Asako I & II, and the latest Stéphane Brizé & Vincent Lindon collaboration, At War.

Following the high-profile “82 women” red carpet protest, FC and Artforum contributing editor Amy Taubin joins FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold to discuss the festival's failure to find (good) films by female directors. Plus: Jafar Panahi's Three Faces; Eva Husson's Girls of the Sun; Vanessa Filho's Angel Face; Alejandro Fadel's Die, Monster, Die; Lukas Dhont's Girl; and more thoughts about Godard's The Image Book.

It's Cannes, day one! FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Amy Taubin, FC contributing editor and Cannes veteran, to discuss the films they're excited to see at this year's edition (Jean-Luc Godard's The Image Book, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's The Wild Pear Tree, Alice Rohrwacher's Lazzaro felice) and a few they're anticipating with some trepidation. The two also discuss the opening night film, Ashgar Farhadi's Everybody Knows. Plus: an incredible anecdote about Lucrecia Martel and Marvel.

It's Sundance, day seven! FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Amy Taubin, FC contributing editor and Sundance veteran, to discuss the evolution of the festival over the years and, of course, what they've seen. Taubin touches on the problematic nature of Jennifer Fox's The Tale, argues for the intelligence of Craig Michael Macneill's Lizzie, and praises Crystal Moselle's skater-girl-driven Skate Kitchen. Other films covered include Robert Greene's hybrid reenactment drama Bisbee '17, Reed Morano's postapocalyptic I Think We're Alone Now, Claire McCarthy's Shakespeare-expansion Ophelia, Betsy West and Julie Cohen's RBG (about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Nathaniel Kahn's art world doc The Price of Everything. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

We’ve been compiling this episode for about 6 months now and we’ve conducted interviews in New York, Bristol, The Shetland Islands and via Skype. We hope our delve into film criticism is worth the wait. Thank you firstly to our participants, so generous with their time and thoughts. A huge thank you also to our roving reporter Charlotte Crofts for the amazing interview with Tara Judah featured in the episode, and others we couldn’t manage to get in. Thank you finally to our listeners who suggested this episode. The wealth of material we got was overwhelming so look out for all the interviews being uploaded in January while we are on our winter break. That should keep you going in the cold winter months. Participants Tara Judah https://tarajudah.com/ @midnightmovies Sam Fragoso http://talkeasypod.com/ @SamFragoso Simran Hans https://www.theguardian.com/profile/simran-hans @heavier_things Ashley Clark http://www.bfi.org.uk/people/ashley-clark  @_Ash_Clark Violet Lucca https://www.filmcomment.com/author/vlucca/ @unbuttonmyeyes Mark Kermode https://www.theguardian.com/profile/markkermode @KermodeMovie Prof. Linda Ruth Williams https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/film/staff/lwilliams/ @lindaruth1 Tom Shone http://tomshone.blogspot.co.uk/ @Tom_Shone Roll of Honour All the critics given shout outs across our interviews... Sophie Mayer, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Cerise Howard, Emma Westwood, Thomas Caldwell, Josh Nelson, Jack Sargeant, Dana Linssen, Kees Driessen, Rüdiger Suchsland, Adrian Martin, Catherine Grant, Cristina Alvarez Lopez, Kevin B. Lee, Michael Wood, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Robin Wood, Victor Perkins, David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Hadley Freeman, Marina Hyde, Ren Zelen, Christina Newland, Molly Haskell, Ashley Clark, James Baldwin, Graham Greene, Cahiers Critics, Bogdanovich & Schrader, Toby Hazlet, Violet Lucca, Doreen St. Felix, Jia Tolentino, Vinson Cunningham, Hilton Als, Wendy Ide, Simran Hans, Guy Lodge, Pauline Kael, Kim Newman, Roger Ebert, Andrew Sarris, Alan Jones, J Hoberman, Anne Billson, Kate Muir, Kay Austin Collins, Ira Madison, Alyssa Wilkinson, Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robertson, Tim Grierson, Anjelica Jade, Nathan Heller, Jeremy O’Harris, Hunter Harris, Wesley Morris, Nick Pinkerton, Eric Hynes, Badlands Film Collective, AO Scott, Anthony Lane, David Edelstein, Elvis Mitchell, Amy Taubin,  Christian Lorentzen, Senses of Cinema, Four Columns and Reverse Shot. The incidental music for this episode is from Giorgio Gaslini's score for Antonioni's La Notte.

Have we passed 100 episodes already? Apparently so! This week, we invite listeners to look back at some of the most memorable moments of The Film Comment Podcast, including choice blurts from Kent Jones, Amy Taubin, Maitland McDonagh, Molly Haskell, Nick Pinkerton, and other special guests. We also look forward with FC Digital Producer Violet Lucca's interview with Ruben Östlund about The Square, what it means to be Swedish, and the power of YouTube.

Kathleen Jones Odom was the consultant for the film, 'Letters from the Big Man' - Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said "unlike any Bigfoot movie you have ever seen," Amy Taubin of Artforum Magazine found it to be a "must-see... I believed every minute of it." Kathleen shares her extraordinary connections.

The agony and the ecstasy of festivalgoing continues on this week's episode. In the second week of Cannes, two television shows by established auteurs—Jane Campion's Top of the Lake and David Lynch's Twin Peaks—premiered, along with grittier indie fare, like Josh and Benny Safdie's Good Time and Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here. Film Comment Editor Nicolas Rapold was joined by contributing editors Amy Taubin and Jonathan Romney, as well as Jordan Cronk, co-founder of the Locarno in Los Angeles Film Festival, to discuss the standouts and the failures.

The dark of the theater and the sunny seafront come together but once a year at the Cannes Film Festival, and in this week's episode of the Film Comment Podcast, the critics weigh in live from the south of France on the slate's standouts, surprises, and offenses so far. Film Comment Editor Nicolas Rapold chats with a roundtable—namely Jordan Cronk, co-founder of the Locarno in Los Angeles Film Festival; Nicholas Elliott, New York correspondent for Cahiers du Cinéma and contributing film editor for BOMB; and FC Contributing Editors Jonathan Romney and Amy Taubin—about the first week of screenings, including Claire Denis's Un beau soleil intérieur, Agnès Varda and JR's Visages Villages, Bong Joon-ho's Okja, Ruben Östlund's The Square, and Michael Haneke's Happy End.

Presented by Volume and ICA LA, Nayland Blake meets with Marc Kate for a live episode of Why We Listen at the Cooper Design Space Penthouse to listen to and discuss: Amy Taubin – ‘Life on the Inside’ X-Ray Spex – ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours’ Tunde Olaniran – ‘Namesake’ Nayland Blake is an artist from New […]

Ideology and aesthetics have somehow come to be positioned opposite one another—in film criticism, should one be privileged over the other? This episode of The Film Comment Podcast discusses how race, ethnicity, and other markers of identity factor into film criticism and cinema generally. FC Digital Editor Violet Lucca unpacks the topic with Amy Taubin, Contributing Editor to FC and Artforum, and Ashley Clark, FC contributor and programmer, in a conversation that spans multiple decades of film history—from Taxi Driver to OJ: Made in America to Notting Hill to I Am Not Your Negro, to the canceled Michael Jackson episode of Urban Myths starring Joseph Fiennes.

Hailed as one of the rising stars of the DIY/indie film scene at the turn of the 21st century -- including a "favorite filmmaker" designation by perennial bellwether critic Amy Taubin and a "Someone To Watch" Award given by the Independent Spirit Awards -- Andrew Bujalski, rather unwittingly, has been called the pioneer of the so-called "Mumblecore" movement in cinema. Perhaps the most recent alternative film ethos (or maybe just a marketing catchall by lazy journalists -- you decide), Mumblecore has boasted such "graduates" as Greta Gerwig, the Duplass Bros., Lynn Shelton and Joe Swanberg, amongst many others. And it all started -- for good or ill -- with Bujalski, whose films include Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation and Computer Chess. As the Mumblecore gang has grown up, with Bujalski himself having had recent mainstream success with his Support the Girls and screenplay for Disney's upcoming live-action Lady and the Tramp, we can now ask: What happens when film nerds and geeks become major movie stars and big-time directors? Find out on the this episode of NERTZ when Bujalski does far more than merely ... ahem ... MUMBLE his own thoughts on the answer.  

Wong Kar-wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS is a little different from the psychological thrillers and existential horrors this show usually talks about, but it's no less experimental and just as much a ride through crazytown. It's appropriate that the 1994 film could be called Pulp Fiction meets Reality Bites, since the film's Western popularity is largely thanks to Quentin Tarantino, who brought it to U.S. theaters. Today, Bill and Renan also discuss: whether it matters that Faye Wong is a so classic "manic pixie dream girl"; the cinematography and contributions of Chris Doyle; how it relates to Hong Kong's recent history; also: Bill buries the lead and eventually gets around to sharing his personal experiences of Hong Kong, Chungking Mansions, and mid-level escalators. Film links: Chungking Express on IMDb Chungking Express on Wikipedia Roger Ebert 1996 review Quentin Tarantino gushes about the movie The Dissolve on "22 seconds [of] eternity" Amy Taubin essay for Criterion Janet Maslin's misbegotten review Feminist Music Geek on "manic pixie dream girls" AV Club on "California Dreamin'" in Chungking Express Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" Faye Wong's "Dream Person"; Cranberries cover Dennis Brown's "Things in Life" Hong Kong links: The Stranger on Chungking Mansions Chungking Mansions on Wikipedia Mid-level escalators on Wikipedia Follow-up links: Karyn Kusama on Bret Easton Ellis podcast Alfred Hitchcock's Rope on Wikipedia NY Mag: "literary chauvinists" love DFW Salon: DFW "was not a bro" LitHub: "Reclaiming" DFW from the "lit-bros" Show links: Rate us on iTunes!  Friend us on Facebook! Reblog us on Tumblr! Follow us on Twitter! Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!  

Wong Kar-wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS is a little different from the psychological thrillers and existential horrors this show usually talks about, but it's no less experimental and just as much a ride through crazytown. It's appropriate that the 1994 film could be called Pulp Fiction meets Reality Bites, since the film's Western popularity is largely thanks to Quentin Tarantino, who brought it to U.S. theaters. Today, Bill and Renan also discuss: whether it matters that Faye Wong is a so classic "manic pixie dream girl"; the cinematography and contributions of Chris Doyle; how it relates to Hong Kong's recent history; also: Bill buries the lead and eventually gets around to sharing his personal experiences of Hong Kong, Chungking Mansions, and mid-level escalators. Film links: Chungking Express on IMDb Chungking Express on Wikipedia Roger Ebert 1996 review Quentin Tarantino gushes about the movie The Dissolve on "22 seconds [of] eternity" Amy Taubin essay for Criterion Janet Maslin's misbegotten review Feminist Music Geek on "manic pixie dream girls" AV Club on "California Dreamin'" in Chungking Express Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" Faye Wong's "Dream Person"; Cranberries cover Dennis Brown's "Things in Life" Hong Kong links: The Stranger on Chungking Mansions Chungking Mansions on Wikipedia Mid-level escalators on Wikipedia Follow-up links: Karyn Kusama on Bret Easton Ellis podcast Alfred Hitchcock's Rope on Wikipedia NY Mag: "literary chauvinists" love DFW Salon: DFW "was not a bro" LitHub: "Reclaiming" DFW from the "lit-bros" Show links: Rate us on iTunes!  Friend us on Facebook! Reblog us on Tumblr! Follow us on Twitter! Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!  

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.

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.

The Movie Geeks celebrate the 40th anniversary of director Martin Scorsese's landmark film Taxi Driver with the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader and critic and author Amy Taubin.  Support this podcast

The Movie Geeks celebrate the 40th anniversary of director Martin Scorsese's landmark film Taxi Driver with the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader and critic and author Amy Taubin. 

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.

Now in its 45th year, New Directors / New Films showcases fiction and documentary work from around the world. These filmmakers offer bold visions and confidently stake out fresh territory on cinema's frontiers. FILM COMMENT Digital Editor Violet Lucca was joined by David Fear of Rolling Stone, Eric Hynes, FILM COMMENT columnist and Associate Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, and Amy Taubin, New York Film Festival selection committee member and contributing editor to FILM COMMENT and Artforum, discuss what films in the lineup left them raving (or loudly sighing).

Director Mike Leigh sat down with Amy Taubin during the 52nd New York Film Festival to discuss his new film "Mr. Turner." The conversation was part of NYFF's Directors Dialogue series, which is sponsored by HBO®.

A discussion with film critic Amy Taubin about the cultural impact of TAXI DRIVER

A discussion with film critic Amy Taubin about the cultural impact of TAXI DRIVER