Why This Film?

"Why do you want to live?"

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film critic and author Pamela Hutchinson to explore The Red Shoes, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 backstage melodrama and Criterion Collection Spine #44.

The Red Shoes follows Vicky Page, a rising ballerina cast as the star of a new ballet built from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, in which a pair of enchanted red shoes dance a woman to her death.

Pamela Hutchinson is a writer, critic, and film historian specializing in silent and classic...

"There was a great moment in the 90s with noir films, and I think Deep Cover should always be a part of that consideration."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film scholar Michael B. Gillespie to explore Deep Cover, Bill Duke's 1992 noir thriller.

Deep Cover follows Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati police officer recruited by the DEA to go undercover at "John Hull" and infiltrate the West Coast's largest cocaine supply chain. As Stevens climbs the ladder, the line between cop and the character he's playing...

"You walk out taking away an awful lot of knowledge of American history that you were never told."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film scholar Jack Ryan to explore Matewan, John Sayles's 1987 masterpiece and Criterion Collection Spine #999.

Matewan follows Joe Kenehan, a union organizer sent to a small West Virginia mining town in 1920 to bring together workers all kept apart by a coal company determined not to let them realize how much they actually have in common. Sayles builds the tension until the ultimate massacre most of us...

"See how far the truth gets you."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film scholar Sid Gottlieb to explore The 39 Steps, Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 masterpiece thriller and a Criterion Collection essential, the film where Hitchcock became definitively Hitchcock.

The 39 Steps follows Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), an ordinary Canadian accused of murder he didn't commit. Fleeing across the Scottish Highlands, he's handcuffed to Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), a woman who doesn't believe him. What starts as a spy story becomes a meditation on trust and survival. To survive, Hannay must convince strangers...

"It captures an uncanny feeling that relates to grief, that there's something after, the hope we could get more time with someone we love."

In this episode of Why This Film?, Film critic Carlos Aguilar joins me to explore Birth, Jonathan Glazer's 2004 psychological thriller and Criterion Collection Spine #1298.

Birth follows Anna, a widow living a comfortable Manhattan life who has finally agreed to remarry, ten years after the sudden death of her husband Sean. Then a 10-year-old boy appears at her mother's birthday party claiming to be him. What follows is an unsettling...

"It's an incredibly rich film."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film critic and scholar Girish Shambu to explore La cérémonie, Claude Chabrol's 1995 masterpiece and Criterion Collection Spine #1199.

La cérémonie follows Sophie, a withdrawn live-in maid hired by the welcoming Lelièvre family at their country estate. The family is pleasant. The job is fine. And then Sophie meets Jeanne, the local postmistress. Jeanne is sharp, reckless, and already on bad terms with Sophie's new employer. The two women become close. And that friendship, combined with...

"It's a perfectly imperfect film."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film editor Caleb Tyson to explore Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022), the Academy Award-winning stop-motion feature and Criterion Collection entry that reimagines one of the world's oldest stories through an entirely new lens.

Set in Mussolini's fascist Italy, del Toro's Pinocchio follows a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto who, lost in sorrow after losing his son Carlo, carves a puppet from a pine tree grown near his son's grave. When a wood sprite brings the puppet to life, Pinocchio must...

"Is our identity predetermined or something we can create?"

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by Michael Repsch, President of Dark Star Pictures, to explore Kagemusha - Akira Kurosawa's sweeping historical epic and Criterion Collection Spine #267.

Released in 1980, Kagemusha follows a thief who is spared execution because of his uncanny resemblance to the powerful warlord Takeda Shingen. When Shingen dies, the thief is forced to assume his identity, and the fate of the entire clan depends on if the illusion can be sustained.

Michael brings his perspective as a long...

"To me, it's a perfect film."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by assistant director Chris Cook to explore The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Wes Anderson's meticulously crafted family drama and Criterion Collection Spine #157.

Released in 2001, The Royal Tenenbaums follows the once-brilliant Tenenbaum siblings - Chas, Margot, and Richie - whose early promise has long since faded. When their estranged father Royal suddenly re-enters their lives under false pretenses, the family is forced into a reluctant reunion.

Chris Cook brings his perspective as an assistant director working across film and telev...

"I think of it as Saving Private Ryan for thinkers."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by historian, author, and educator Jared Frederick to explore The Thin Red Line (1998), Terrence Malick's philosophical World War II epic and Criterion Collection Spine #536.

Released in 1998 after a 20-year hiatus from filmmaking, The Thin Red Line marked Malick's long-awaited return to cinema. Adapted from the 1962 novel by James Jones, the film follows soldiers of C Company as they arrive on Guadalcanal during the brutal Pacific Theater campaign of World War II, confronting both the...

“The regular world still has something special for someone who is weird.” 

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by comedian, broadcaster, and Maximum Fun founder Jesse Thorn to explore Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the feature film debut of Tim Burton and one of the most unique comedies of the 1980s.

Released in 1985, Pee-wee's Big Adventure follows Pee-wee Herman, played by Paul Reubens, as he embarks on a cross-country journey to recover his stolen bicycle. What begins as a simple quest unfolds into a surreal road movie through a hyper-stylized version of Ameri...

"Otto is Forrest Gump."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by assistant director James Chestnut to dive into Repo Man (1984), Alex Cox's punk-rock, sci-fi, anti-Reagan cult classic that refuses to sit still or make sense in a conventional way.

Released in 1984, Repo Man follows Otto, a disaffected LA punk who stumbles into a world of car repossession. He soon finds himself caught up in conspiracies, aliens, the government, and the "lattice of coincidence." The film moves with deliberate disorientation, treating genre, narrative, and meaning as things to be challenged.

"The gun really doesn't mean anything until people start obsessing over it."

In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by historian and author Brady Crytzer to explore Winchester '73 (1950), Anthony Mann's landmark Western starring James Stewart. Released as Criterion Collection Spine #1248, Winchester '73 helped redefine the Western genre by shifting focus from frontier justice to obsession, revenge, and moral ambiguity in postwar America.

Directed by Anthony Mann, Winchester '73 centers on a prized rifle known as "the gun that won the West" as it moves from person to person, leaving violence...

"It's such an important film in his [Scorsese's] filmography. I'm so happy people are discovering it and Criterion decided to focus on it."

In this episode of Why This Film?, Ron is joined by critic and writer Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com to discuss After Hours, Martin Scorsese's dark comedy and anxiety-driven odyssey through late-night SoHo. Sheila also wrote the essay for Criterion's release of the film.

Together, they walk through the film scene by scene, tracing how the evening spirals out of Paul's control. The poor guy just wants to go home...

In episode 3 of Why This Film?, Ron is joined by Ciara Moloney to discuss The Breakfast Club, John Hughes's defining 1980s teen film.

Together, they walk through the film scene by scene, talking about why these characters still resonate 40 years later. They discuss the film's use of archetypes and how it reveals we are often more alike than we may seem on the surface.

Along the way, they unpack the film's emotions, its humor, its blind spots, and why it continues to connect with audiences who didn't grow up in 1980s American suburbia.

...

"If retirement means you're in a lovely flat in Paris and your fridge is full of foie gras and champagne - I'm okay with that."

In episode 2 of Why This Film?, Ron discusses Jacques Becker's Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) with Ginette Vincendeau, one of the most influential scholars of French cinema working today.

Together, they explore how Grisbi reshapes the gangster genre through efficient storytelling and the routine life away from violent action. They move through the film's pacing, its focus on aging and friendship, and the authority of Jean Gabin's performance.

“The past is dead!”

In the premiere episode of Why This Film?, I sit down with Dr. Dennis Weiss to explore Chris Marker's La Jetée (1962), a groundbreaking French science fiction short film that redefined what cinema could be. Released as Criterion Collection Spine #387, this 28-minute masterpiece is composed almost entirely of still photographs, creating a meditation on memory, time, and human longing.

Directed by Chris Marker and starring Jean Negroni, La Jetée tells the story of a man sent back in time. Shot in black and white with a photomontage technique, the film influe...