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by Why This Film?
🎬 Exploring the Criterion Collection, one spine at a time. In each episode, I sit down with film historians, critics, filmmakers, and scholars for in-depth conversations about a single film from the Criterion Collection. I'm Ron, and I guide these expert-driven discussions examining the artistry, cultural significance, and historical context of classic and contemporary cinema. From French New Wave masterpieces to American westerns, from experimental shorts to beloved classics, we unpack what makes these films essential viewing. Whether you're a longtime Criterion collector, a film student, or simply curious about cinema history, Why This Film? offers thoughtful analysis and engaging conversations about the movies that shaped filmmaking.
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- 3 weeks ago1h 4m
Daisies (1966, Věra Chytilová) with Maggie Hennefeld - Criterion Collection Spine #1157
"Cake fights over war." In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by Maggie Hennefeld to explore Daisies, Věra Chytilová’s 1966 Czech New Wave film and Criterion Collection Spine #1157. Two young women, both named Marie, decide that if the world has gone bad, they may as well go bad too. What follows is a kaleidoscope of conned suitors, demolished banquets, and scissored bananas. My guest is Maggie Hennefeld, Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University...
- Sep 30, 20261h 29m
Lone Star (1996, John Sayles) with Domino Perez - Criterion Collection Spine #1202
"Blood only means what you let it." In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by Domino Perez to explore Lone Star, John Sayles's 1996 neo-western murder mystery and Criterion Collection Spine #1202. A skeleton turns up in the Texas desert, and Sheriff Sam Deeds starts pulling a thread that leads straight back to his own father: Buddy Deeds, the legendary lawman the whole town reveres. What emerges is a film about how a community survives the gap between the story it tells about itself an...
- Sep 3, 20261h 32m
The Red Shoes (1948, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger) with Pamela Hutchinson - Criterion Collection Spine #44
"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 his...
- Aug 17, 20261h 14m
Deep Cover (1992, Bill Duke) with Michael B. Gillespie - Criterion Collection Spine #1086
"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 ...
- Aug 6, 20261h 17m
Matewan (1987, John Sayles) with Jack Ryan - Criterion Collection Spine #999
"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 b...
- Jul 26, 20261h 20m
The 39 Steps (1935, Alfred Hitchcock) with Sid Gottlieb - Criterion Collection Spine #56
"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...
- Jun 30, 20261h 14m
Birth (2004, Jonathan Glazer) with Carlos Aguilar - Criterion Collection Spine #1298
"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 ...
- Jun 5, 20261h 13m
La cérémonie (1995, Claude Chabrol) with Girish Shambu - Criterion Spine #1199
"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 ne...
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About Why This Film?
🎬 Exploring the Criterion Collection, one spine at a time. In each episode, I sit down with film historians, critics, filmmakers, and scholars for in-depth conversations about a single film from the Criterion Collection. I'm Ron, and I guide these expert-driven discussions examining the artistry, cultural significance, and historical context of classic and contemporary cinema. From French New Wave masterpieces to American westerns, from experimental shorts to beloved classics, we unpack what makes these films essential viewing. Whether you're a longtime Criterion collector, a film student, or simply curious about cinema history, Why This Film? offers thoughtful analysis and engaging conversations about the movies that shaped filmmaking.
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