Deep Cut: A Film Podcast
By Wilson, Ben, and Eli
Join us on discord: discord.gg/QsNY5hKPbC
Deep Cut: A Film PodcastNov 20, 2021
2023 Film and TV in Review
The Oscars may tell us Hollywood’s popular picks, but what about the… Deep Cut picks? Deep Cut’s 2023 in Review is ready to give the last word on yesteryear’s best in motion pictures. Tune in for debates on the year’s biggest hits and hot takes on the year’s shabbiest flops. It all culminates in Wilson, Ben, and Eli’s top three favorites of the year… Share your favorite films of 2023 in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Facebook, and Letterboxd. Alphabetical list of all films mentioned in our 2023 in Review and their directors: A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang) A Holy Family (Elvis Lu) Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet) Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Kelly Fremon Craig) Barbie (Greta Gerwig) Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster) Blackberry (Matthew Johnson) Blue Giant (Yuzuru Tachikawa) Close (Lukas Dhont) Closing Time (Russell Goldman) Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Radu Jude) Elegies (Ann Hui) Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Daniel Goldhaber) Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese) Knock at the Cabin (M. Night Shayamalan) Kokomo City (D. Smith) May December (Todd Haynes) Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros (Frederick Wiseman) Monster (Hirokazu Kore-eda) No Bears (Jafar Panahi) Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan) Passages (Ira Sachs) Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos) Ponniyin Selvan: II (Mani Ratnam) Return to Seoul (Davy Chou) Rye Lane (Raine Allen Miller) Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt) Skinamarink (Kyle Edward Ball) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson) Sparta (Ulrich Seidl) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Jeff Rowe) The Eight Mountains (Felix Van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch) The Taste of Things (Tran Anh Hung) The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer) They Cloned Tyrone (Juel Taylor) Tótem (Lila Aviles)
Hirokazu Kore-eda: Monster
Awarded the Queer Palm at Cannes in 2023, Monster is a return to form (and Japan) for Kore-eda, igniting a sprawling conversation about the film and its connections to his larger ouevre. We debate the film's visual treatment, the limits of its Rashomon-esque structure, and share our thoughts on what kind of story the ending is really trying to tell.
Jessica Yeung's Review
Kore-eda Interview with Filmmaker Magazine (2009)
Ben's Video Essay on Still Walking (Spoilers!)
Find refuge from the storm in our Discord server!
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Marilou Diaz-Abaya: Moral
Are you a fan of Filipino cinema? Tell us on our discord!~
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Kelly Reichardt: Showing Up
We're digging a big hole in our Discord server, come see!
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Todd Haynes: May December
You can join our Discord, but we might not have enough hot dogs.
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Frederick Wiseman: Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros
Bon appetit! The DC Trio are in for a treat this week as we savor Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary, MENUS PLAISIRS - LES TROIGROS, a scrumptious looking film about three French restaurants, and the family that runs it. From the bustling kitchen to the tense moments shared between members of the Troigros dynasty, the trio immerses themselves in this four-hour culinary exploration. Ben and Eli ponder the central question of the work and Wilson finds a strong appreciation of Wiseman’s perspective on the food industry.
MENUS PLAISIRS - LES TROIGROS is out now in theaters. A big thank you to the folks at Zipporah Films for helping make this happen.
Ever had an unforgettable meal? Let us know on our #food channel on our discord!~
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Marilou Diaz-Abaya: José Rizal
What is your deep cut historical biopic? Let us know on our discord!~
Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Mani Ratnam: Ponniyin Selvan: Part II (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
With special guest and friend Thanmye Lagudu we come together to crown a new king. Mani Ratnam completes his magnum opus with Ponniyin Selvan: Part II and we're back in the theatre again for more palace intrigue, romantic entanglements, and some of that signature Ratnam flair. Can Ratnam one-up himself with part two? We discuss PS2's visual glow-up, the challenges of adapting a literary classic, and bicker about who put in a better performance: Vikram or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?
Once again we are asking you to join the Church of Ratnam in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Follow Thanmye on Letterboxd and Twitter. Read his essay on PS2 here.
CAST:
Vikram - Aditha Karikalan
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Nandini
Karthi - Vanthiyathevan
Jayam Ravi - Arulmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan
Trisha Krishnan - Princess Kundavai
Sobhita Dhulipala - Vanathi
Aishwarya Lekshmi - Poonguzhali
Prakash Raj - King Sundara Chola
R. Sarathkumar - Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar
R. Parthiban - Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar
Jayaram - Alwarkadiyan Nambi
Rashin Rahman - Madurantaka Chola
CREW:
DIRECTOR
Mani Ratnam
PRODUCERS
Mani Ratnam
Subaskaran Allirajah
Sivakumar Ananth
WRITERS
Mani Ratnam
Jeyamohan
Elango Kumaravel
Original Novel: Kalki Krishnamurthy
EDITOR
Sreekar Prasad
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ravi Varman
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Thotta Tharani
VISUAL EFFECTS
Sanjiv Anand Naik
COMPOSER
A. R. Rahman
MAKE-UP
Vikram Gaikwad
HKIFF 2023: Interview with Daishi Matsunaga
As part of his coverage for HKIFF 2023, Wilson interviews Japanese director Daishi Matsunaga, a day after the Hong Kong premiere of his new film, Egoist. Director Matsunaga talks about the film's moving story, the specific visual language he uses, his thoughts on iPhone footage, and so much more. A massive thank you to dear friend of the pod Fumiko Nago for helping interpret this interview. Films discussed in the interview: Egoist - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Hanalei Bay - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Call Me By Your Name - dir. Luca Guadagnino The Son - dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne Sweating the Small Stuff - dir. Ryutaro Ninomiya Check out our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
HKIFF 2023 Dispatch
As Cannes wraps up in the South of France, we bring you a dispatch from another festival halfway across the world. An exhausted Wilson joined Ben and Eli in the middle of his festival marathon to dish about the movies he saw at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival, and talk about the experience of officially covering a festival for the podcast for the first time! Includes interviews with top Hong Kong directors Soi Cheang and Ann Hui.
Check out Wilson's full HKIFF list here: https://letterboxd.com/wilsonlai/list/hkiff-47/
Films/Sections Previewed: A City of Sadness (4K Restoration) - dir. Hou Hsiao Hsien Plan 75 - dir. Chie Hayakawa Juzo Itami Retrospective New Blood - dir. Soi Cheang Egoist - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Stars at Noon - dir. Claire Denis Sparta - dir. Ulrich Seidl Our Body - dir. Claire Simon Saint Omer - dir. Alice Diop A Still Small Voice - dir. Luke Lorentzen A Holy Family - dir. Elvis Lu in water - dir. Hong Sang Soo Tótem - dir. Lila Avilés Dust of Angels (4K Restoration) - dir. Hsu Hsiao-ming What festival should we cover next? Let us know in our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
S. S. Rajamouli: RRR
Here it is. Our long awaited Deep Cut Upkeep episode on the S.S. Rajamouli worldwide phenom RRR, and it’s a doozy. Hear the Deep Cut Trio talk about why Rajamouli’s brand of action filmmaking has entranced audiences, and why Ben and Wilson have this film at the top of their 2022 year end lists, while Eli explains why he prefers Rajamouli’s previous outings. Most importantly, they discuss the important and dangerous imagery and narrative co-opting that Rajamouli deploys in this film, and how it is used to fuel the fire of right wing Hindu nationalists in India.
Read Ritesh Babu’s writeup on RRR: buttondown.email/riteshwriter/archive/6-unpacking-rrr-indian-politics-and-cinema/
Read Wang Bing’s State of Cinema 2022 writeup: sabzian.be/text/state-of-cinema-2022-0
Join our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
2022 Film and TV in Review
Another year has wrapped production, and the production assistants are here to clean up! Just in time for the 2023 Oscars, Ben, Wilson, and Eli mop up the mess left by superheroes and conductors, stop motion shells and Na’vi, interdimensional travelers and cannibals, mourners and partiers. By breaking down the year’s big trends–– directors fictionalizing their autobiographies, Marvel sinking slowly, rich filmmakers attempting to pillory wealth inequality–– the Deep Cut trio gets a handle on what made 2022 so weird. The boys get personal, too, talking about the movies and moments from last year that shaped who they are as moviegoers and friends. Finally, each co-host’s coveted top 3 films of the year are revealed…
Dunk on the Oscars with us in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Movies discussed on this episode:
Aftersun (dir. Charlotte Wells)
Ambulance (dir. Michael Bay)
Armageddon Time (dir. James Gray)
Autobiography (dir. Makbul Mubarak)
Avatar the Way of Water (dir. James Cameron)
Babylon (dir. Damien Chazelle)
Banshees of Inisherin (dir. Martin McDonagh)
Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
The Batman (dir. Matt Reeves)
Benediction (dir. Terrence Davies)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (dir. Ryan Coogler)
Bones and All (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Broker (dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu) - Listen to our Kore-eda episode here.
The Cathedral (dir. Ricky D’Ambrose)
A Couple (dir. Frederick Wiseman) - Find our episode on this here, and our interview with Wiseman here!
Crimes of the Future (dir. David Cronenberg)
Decision to Leave (dir. Park Chan-wook)
Deep Water (dir. Adrian Lyne)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (dir. Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, a.k.a. The Daniels)
The Fabelmans (dir. Steven Spielberg)
Fire Island (dir. Andrew Ahn) - Find our episode on this here.
Girl Picture (dir. Alli Haapasalo)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (dir. Rian Johnson)
Hit the Road (dir. Panah Panahi)
Il Buco (dir. Michelangelo Frammartino)
Joyland (dir. Saim Sadiq)
Leila’s Brothers (dir. Saeed Roustayi)
Low Tide: A Newly Restored Work by Thomas Wright (dir. George Matthews)
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (dir. Dean Fleischer Camp)
Memoria (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
The Menu (dir. Mark Mylod)
No Bears (dir. Jafar Panahi)
Nope (dir. Jordan Peele)
The Northman (dir. Robert Eggers)
The Novelist’s Film (dir. Hong Sang-soo)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (dir. Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson)
Ponniyan Selvan Part 1 (dir. Mani Ratnam) - Find our episode on this here.
Return to Sender (dir. Russell Goldman) - Watch Russell's short here!
Return to Seoul (dir. Davy Chau)
RRR (dir. S. S. Rajamouli) - Our extended coverage on this forthcoming!
Small, Slow But Steady (dir. Sho Miyake)
Tár (dir. Todd Field)
Teenage Emotions (dir. Frédérick Da)
The Territory (dir. Alex Pritz)
To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self (dir. Mabel Cheung & William Kwok Wai-Lun)
Top Gun Maverick (dir. Joseph Kosinski)
Trenque Lauquen (dir. Laura Citarella)
Triangle of Sadness (dir. Ruben Östland)
Under the Fig Trees (dir. Erige Sehiri)
The Whale (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
When the Waves Are Gone (dir. Lav Diaz)
White Noise (dir. Noah Baumbach)
The Worst Person in the World (dir. Joachim Trier)
2022 TV Mentions:
Better Call Saul (created by Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould)
Irma Vep (created by Olivier Assayas)
The Rehearsal (created by Nathan Fielder)
Miranda July: The Future
We conclude our series on Miranda July's filmography with her divisive sophomore feature, The Future. Tune in for a feisty episode where Ben tries desperately to defend his deep cut choice while Eli and Wilson have their limits tested by July's storytelling tendencies.
See the future in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CAST
Sophie/Paw-Paw: Miranda July
Jason: Hamish Linklater
Marshall: David Warshofsky
CREW
Director/Writer: Miranda July
Producers: Sue Bruce-Smith, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul, Gina Kwon
Editor: Andrew Bird
Cinematography: Nikolai von Graevenitz
Production Design: Elliott Hostetter
Art Direction: Ruth de Jong
Composer: Jon Brion
Sound: Lars Ginzel, Rainer Heesch, Dominic Fitzgerald
Miranda July: Me and You and Everyone We Know
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We continue our journey through Miranda July's filmography with her debut feature, Me and You and Everyone We Know. With a large cast of supporting characters, Ben finds the thematic ties across the film's vignettes, Eli praises its winning child performances, and Wilson investigates the film's place within the realm of the "web-of-life" film.
Find connection on our discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Cover art by Justina Yam
Director/Writer: Miranda July
Producers: Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, Gina Kwon, Holly Becker, Peter Carlton
Editors: Andrew Dickler, Charles Ireland
Cinematography: Chuy Chávez
Production Design: Aran Mann
Art Direction: John Wyatt, Erinn McCormack, Emily Bulfin
Set Decoration: Bryan Venegas, Lauren Rosenbloom, Elizabeth Leister, Andrew O'Melia
Visual Effects: Scott M. Davids, David Sosalla
Composer: Michael Andrews
Sound: Meg Taylor
Costumes: Christie Wittenborn
Miranda July: Kajillionaire
Deep Cut returns to regularly scheduled programming with the decidedly irregular films of American independent director/writer/actor/multi-hyphenate Miranda July. You might even call them quirky. We begin our series by learning about her long list of artistic endeavours and discuss the connotations of "quirk" in the context of July's films before diving in to her most recent and most critically acclaimed work yet: Kajillionaire. Ben highlights Evan Rachel Wood's physically specific performance as "Old Dolio", Wilson celebrates Emile Mossieri's emotionally vibrant soundtrack to July's little "heist of the heart," while Eli tries his best to understand what makes the movie so special to his fellow co-hosts.
Get riled up in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CAST:
Old Dolio: Evan Rachel-Wood
Robert: Richard Jenkins
Theresa: Debra Winger
Melanie: Gina Rodriguez
CREW:
Director/Writer: Miranda July
Producers: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Megan Ellison, Youree Henley, Sarah Esberg, Jillian Longnecker, Evelyn Fredrich
Editor: Jennifer Vecchiarello
Cinematography: Sebastian Winterø
Production Design: Sam Lisenco
Art Direction: Jessica Shorten
Composer: Emile Mosseri
Sound: Kent Sparling, Bjorn Ole Schroeder, Doug Winningham, Tony Villaflor
Costumes: Jennifer Johnson Make-Up: Kathleen Karridene, Jeremy Bramer
Sundance 2023 Dispatch (featuring Russell Goldman)
You can check out Russell’s work at: www.russellgoldman.com/
Films Previewed:
Birth/Rebirth - dir. Laura Moss
Bad Behaviour - dir. Alice Englert
Passages - dir. Ira Sachs
Infinity Pool - dir. Brandon Cronenberg
A Little Prayer - dir. Angus MacLachlan
Drift - dir. Anthony Chen
Fremont - dir. Babak Jalali
Shortcomings - dir. Randall Park
Did you catch any Sundance films this year? Let us know on the DC Discord. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Check out the letterboxd video we talked about here: twitter.com/wilstuf/status/1618710341038522368
Interview with Frederick Wiseman
Listen up Wiseman-heads, oh do we have a treat for you! The Deep Cut trio are joined by the man himself, Frederick Wiseman, to talk about his new film A Couple (2022) and his expansive documentary filmography. The discussion topics include Nathalie Boutefeu’s arresting performance as Sophia Tolstoy, the secret meaning behind filming in a garden, and Fred’s views on life and death.
It was an honor for us to speak with the revered filmmaker, and we would like to thank everyone at Zipporah Films for helping to make this happen.
Check out our most recent episode on A Couple, and our introduction to Wiseman’s filmography with our older episode on Titicut Follies (1967), In Jackson Heights (2015), and City Hall (2020).
What question would you ask Wiseman? Tell us on the DC Discord. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Frederick Wiseman: A Couple
Can you say "Deep Cut Upkeep A Couple" ten times fast?? Legendary, prolific American documentarian Frederick Wiseman has returned with one of only 3 fiction films in his 55 year career. A Couple finds Nathalie Boutefeu performing monologues from the letters of Sophia Tolstoy in the beautiful Brittany coast.
The DC Three admit defeat to the literary gods for not having read a Tolstoy novel, but instead reflect on the nuanced simplicity of Wiseman’s stylistic techniques, along with the multi-layered performance Wiseman and his star / co-writer balance.
Check out our previous episode on Wiseman here.
What is your dream Wiseman doc (Podcast, anyone??)? Tell us on the discord. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
A Couple Crew
DIRECTOR Frederick Wiseman
WRITERS Nathalie Boutefeu, Frederick Wiseman
EDITOR Frederick Wiseman
CINEMATOGRAPHY John Davey
COMPOSER Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
SOUND Jean-Paul Mugel
A Couple Cast
Nathalie Boutefeu as Sophia Tolstoy
Deep Cut 2022 Summer Movie Roundup
In a long-awaited bonus set of episodes, Ben, Wilson, and Eli go over their 2022 movie-watching summers, where each of our co-hosts maintained an audio diary of all the films we saw over the summer. Come along on our summer movie adventure, as we cover watching highlights from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, to Jurassic World Dominion.
List of films (and TV) discussed in this roundup:
Ben: Donkey Skin (Demy), We Are Lady Parts (TV), Cure (Kurosawa), The Last Days of Disco (Stillman), Jurassic World Dominion (Trevorrow), Heat (Mann), Poetry (Lee)
Wilson: Mass (Kranz), Fast & Feel Love (Thamrongrattanarit), Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai), The Adventures of Rosette (Rosette, Rohmer), Keep Rolling (Man), Katatsumori (Kawase), Love Massacre (Tam)
Eli: Pulse (Kurosawa), Fast & Feel Love (Thamrongrattanarit), Memoria (Weerasethakul), O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization (Szulkin), Court (Tamhane), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park)
What did you watch this summer? Tell us on our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Eli's Summer 2022 Film Diary
Welcome to Eli's summer film watching audio diary! Over the summer of 2022 each of us recorded little audio snippets reviewing every film that we watched, and these are Eli's! You can listen to our combined discussion of our summer movie watching in our roundup episode. We recommend you start there!
Wanna tell us about the films you're watching? Come join our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
(2:50) - Hamlet (2018, dir. Rhodri Huw, Robert Icke)
(6:47) - Kairo (Pulse) (2001, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
(9:50) Videodrome (1983, dir. David Cronenberg)
(11:21) - Memoria (2021, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
(13:23) - Crimes of the Future (2022, dir. David Cronenberg)
(15:11) - O-Bi, O-Ba, The End of Civilization (1985, dir. Piotr Szulkin)
(20:27) - Lost Highway (1997, dir. David Lynch)
(23:05) - Mad God (2021, dir. Phil Tippett)
(27:20) - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022, dir. Dean Fleischer-Camp)
(29:41) - The Poseidon Adventure (1972, dir. Ronald Neame)
(30:21) - Court (2014, dir. Chaitanya Tamhane)
(32:17) - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005, dir. Park Chan-wook)
(35:38) - The Fly (1986, dir. David Cronenberg)
(37:21) - Resurrection (2022, dir. Andrew Semans)
(38:55) - Ishtar (1987, dir. Elaine May)
Ben's Summer 2022 Film Diary
Welcome to Ben's summer film watching audio diary!
Over the summer of 2022 each of us recorded little audio snippets reviewing every film that we watched, and these are Ben's! You can listen to our combined discussion of our summer movie watching in our roundup episode. We recommend you start there!
Wanna tell us about the films you're watching? Come join our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Timestamps:
(01:33) Donkey Skin
(03:20) What's Up Doc?
(06:04) Sanjuro
(07:59) The Long Day Closes
(10:11) The Northman
(13:22) Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick
(18:02) The Virgin Suicides
(20:15) Vikram
(23:31) We Are Lady Parts
(26:44) Band of Outsiders
(28:18) Cure
(30:54) Last Days of Disco
(33:11) The Wonders
(36:32) Repulsion
(37:49) Jurassic World: Dominion
(40:04) Collateral
(42:31) The Marquise of O...
(45:32) The Beautiful Troublemaker
(49:16) Eat Drink Man Woman
(50:27) Manhunter
(52:30) Heat
(54:03) Poetry
(56:40) Basic Instinct
(58:53) Broker
(1:01:42) Pulse
(1:02:51) Thor: Love and Thunder
(1:04:37) Decision to Leave
(1:06:07) RRR
(1:06:34) Dual
(1:07:28) The Innocents
(1:08:30) Picnic at Hanging Rock
(1:09:48) Irma Vep (2022 TV series)
(1:12:53) Happening
(1:16:12) Tokyo Sonata
(1:17:55) Red Rocket
(1:20:32) Nope
(1:22:50) Prey
Wilson's Summer 2022 Film Diary
Welcome to Wilson's summer film watching audio diary!
Over the summer of 2022 each of us recorded little audio snippets reviewing every film that we watched, and these are Wilson's! You can listen to our combined discussion of our summer movie watching in our roundup episode. We recommend you start there!
Wanna tell us about the films you're watching? Come join our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
List of Films Discussed:
- 3/6 Pompo the Cinephile
- 3/6 Notting Hill
- 3/6 Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
- 1/7 You’ve Got Mail
- 1/7 Mass
- 1/7 Top Gun: Maverick
- 4/7 Elvis
- 5/7 RRR
- 7/7 Lost Highway
- 10/7 Project A: Part II
- 10/7 Ritual
- 11/7 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- 13/7 Sanjuro
- 14/7 Mad God
- 14/7 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
- 15/7 Fast & Feel Love
- 18/7 The Lost City
- 19/7 Goodbye, Dragon Inn
- 20/7 Fire of Love
- 21/7 Miami Vice
- 22/7 Nope
- 30/7 The Big Sleep
- 30/7 Full Alert
- 30/7 Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
- 14/8 Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- 19/8 In Another Country
- 22/8 The Adventures of Rosette
- 22/8 Keep Rolling
- 23/8 The Weaving of a Dream: Johnnie To’s Vision and Craft
- 23/8 Katatsumori
- 24/8 Broker
- 27/8 The Actress and the Poet
- 29/8 Funny Pages
- 30/8 Moments in a Stolen Dream
- 30/8 All About Love
- 30/8 Love Massacre
Mani Ratnam: Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
After a brief summer hiatus, the gang (and special guest Thanmye Lagudu) are back to discuss India’s biggest box office draw of the season, and the first part of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus: Ponniyin Selvan: I. Our first Mani Ratnam Deep Cut Upkeep episode gets heated, and battle lines are drawn between hosts. Is this movie Ratnam’s bold execution of a timeless historical epic, or did Ratnam buckle under the weight of a massive budget, and a source material that seems to resist being adapted to the big screen? Find out in the episode!
Join the Church of Ratnam in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Follow Thanmye on Letterboxd and Twitter.
CAST:
Vikram - Aditha Karikalan
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Nandini
Karthi - Vanthiyathevan
Jayam Ravi - Arulmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan
Trisha Krishnan - Princess Kundavai
Sobhita Dhulipala - Vanathi
Aishwarya Lekshmi - Poonguzhali
Prakash Raj - King Sundara Chola
R. Sarathkumar - Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar
R. Parthiban - Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar
Jayaram - Alwarkadiyan Nambi
Rashin Rahman - Madurantaka Chola
CREW:
DIRECTOR
Mani Ratnam
PRODUCERS
Mani Ratnam
Subaskaran Allirajah
Sivakumar Ananth
WRITERS
Mani Ratnam
Jeyamohan
Elango Kumaravel
Original Novel: Kalki Krishnamurthy
EDITOR
Sreekar Prasad
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ravi Varman
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Thotta Tharani
VISUAL EFFECTS
Sanjiv Anand Naik
COMPOSER
A. R. Rahman
MAKE-UP
Vikram Gaikwad
S. S. Rajamouli: Eega (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
How does the king of beeg cinema go small? Trick question, he don’t! Small in scope but still big on imagination, we’re (mostly) abuzz with praise for Wilson’s Deep Cut pick for Rajamouli, 2012’s Eega.
Eli praises the positively fly performance of Sudeep, a villain you love to hate, Thanmye highlights Rajamouli’s overlooked talents as a director of comedy, and Wilson celebrates Rajamouli's maximalist imagination as well as his mastery of telling stories regarding fate/destiny. Ben assumes the villain mantle and questions if the film successfully blends violence, comedy and revenge: does it go too far or is Ben just bugging out?
Spread your wings in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Follow Thanmye on Twitter and Letterboxd.
Cast:
Nani: Nani
Sudeep: Sudeep
Bindhu: Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Crew:
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
Co-Director: J.V.V. Sathyanarayana
Producers: Daggubati Suresh Babu Sai Korrapati
Writers: S. S. Rajamouli Vijayendra Prasad
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Cinematography: K.K. Senthil Kumar
Art Direction: Raveendar
Composer: M.M. Keeravaani
Sound: Akula Bhaskar
Costumes: Rama Rajamouli
S. S. Rajamouli: Baahubali: The Beginning & Baahubali: The Conclusion (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
Long live Deep Cut! The DC Trio welcomes back distinguished guest and friend Thanmye Lagudu to launch a discussion on the legendary Masala blockbuster director S. S. Rajamouli (of this year’s international hit, RRR). There’s no better a popular pick than the renowned historical fantasy duology, Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion, based on the Sanskrit epic poem Mahabharata. In their epic conversation, Thanmye shares his deep connection to the movies of Rajamouli, Wilson breaks down what makes the action so spectacular, Ben notes the benefits of non-photorealistic CGI, and Eli explains how Rajamouli writes truly smart characters. Ultimately, Thanmye hopes for a new path forward in cinephilia that fully respects the depth and goals of Indian popular cinema.
Fight alongside your best friends in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
The Baahubali Duology Crew:
Director: S.S. Rajamouli
Producers: Prasad Devineni, Shobu Yarlagadda, Iliya Sotirov, K Raghavendra Rao
Writers: S.S. Rajamouli, Vijayendra Prasad, Rahul Koda
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Cinematography: K.K. Senthil Kumar
Production Design: Sabu Cyril
Art Direction: Manu Jagadh, Sagar Mali
Visual Effects: V. Srinivas Mohan
Composer: M.M. Keeravaani
Sound: Justin Jose, P. M. Satheesh, Manoj M. Goswami
Costumes: Rama Rajamouli, Prashanti Tipirneni
The Baahubali Duology Cast:
Prabhas: Shivudu / Amarendra Baahubali / Mahendra Baahubali
Rana Daggubati: Bhallaladeva
Anushka Shetty: Devasena
Tamannaah Bhatia: Avanthika
Sathyaraj: Kattappa
Ramya Krishnan: Sivagami
Nassar: Bijjaladeva
Sudeep: Aslaam Khan
Prabhakar: Kalakeya War Lord Inkoshi
Rajsekhar Aningi: Bhalladeva Samantha Raju
Tanikella Bharani: Swamiji
John Kokken: Kalki Brothers
Rohini: Sanga
Adivi Sesh: Bhadra
Preity Üpala: Tapsi Awhan
Subbaraju: Kumara Varma
Meka Rama Krishna: King of Kunthala
Abderrahmane Sissako: Waiting for Happiness & Life on Earth
Deep Cut rounds out its study of Malian/Mauritanian master director Abderrahmane Sissako with his first two fiction features: Life on Earth (1998) and Waiting for Happiness (2002). The documentary-fiction hybrids provide an illuminating keystone in understanding Sissako’s later, more complex works. Wilson prefers the deep well of sadness in Waiting for Happiness, but Eli adores the celebratory simplicity of Life on Earth. Meanwhile, Ben reconsiders his approach to the wholly unique, unplaceable films of Sissako.
Wait for a Life of Happiness on Earth in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Abderrahmane Sissako: Bamako
Abderrahmane Sissako sets his late father’s backyard as a courtroom for the injustices of economic neocolonialism in his 2006 drama Bamako, our second of three forays into the work of the Malian/Mauritanian master director. In a work that inextricably binds the political and the personal, Wilson notes how Sissako creates a sense of place that makes an intellectual argument emotional and Eli suggests that the movie can be viewed as a testimonial. Meanwhile, Ben asks if a fiction narrative is the most cogent mode for Sissako’s argument.
Tell it to the judge in our Discourt server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director & Writer: Abderrahmane Sissako
Producers: Danny Glover, Denis Freyd, Abderrahmane Sissako, Joslyn Barnes, Arnaud Louvet, Maji-da Abdi, François Sauvagnargues
Editors: Nadia ben Rachid, Pauline Casalis
Cinematography: Jacques Besse
Production Design: Mahamadou Kouyaté
Costumes: Maji-da Abdi
CAST:
Melé: Aïssa Maïga
Chaka: Tiécoura Traoré
Saramba: Maimouna Hélène Diarra
Falaï: Balla Habib Dembélé
Chaka’s Sister: Djénéba Koné
Journalist: Hamadoun Kassogué
Civil Party Lawyer: William Bourdon
Defence Lawyer: Mamadou Kanouté
Prosecutor: Gabriel Magma Konate
Témoin 2: Aminata Traoré
Cow-boy: Danny Glover
Cow-boy: Elia Suleiman
Cow-boy: Jean-Henri Roger
Cow-boy: Zeka Laplaine
Abderrahmane Sissako: Timbuktu
Deep Cut begins a special three-episode run on Malian/Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako with his poetic, vibrant tragedy Timbuktu (2014). Wilson contextualizes Sissako’s most well-known work within Sissako’s varied and inventive filmography, Ben considers the humanizing characterization of the film’s jihadist characters, and Eli breaks down one of his favorite shots in cinema history. Sissako is the first filmmaker born in Africa covered on the podcast, but tune in to find out why both Sissako and the DC Trio reject the notion of a singular “African Film” culture.
Help shepherd the cattle in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Frédérique Dumas-Zajdela, Étienne Comar
Writers: Abderrahmane Sissako, Kessen Tall
Editor: Nadia ben Rachid
Cinematography: Sofian El Fani
Production Design: Sébastien Birchler
Visual Effects: Matthias Weber, Stéphane Bidault, Mathieu Jussreandot
Composer: Amine Bouhafa
Sound: Roman Dymny, Thierry Delors
Costumes: Ami Sow
CAST:
Kidane: Ibrahim Ahmed
Abdelkerim: Abel Jafri
Satima: Toulou Kiki
Toya: Layla Walet Mohamed
Issan: Mehdi A.G. Mohamed
Zabou: Kettly Noël
Imam: Adel Mahmoud Cherif
Andrew Ahn: Fire Island (featuring Andrew Ahn)
Stock up on some rosé and lose the shirt because we're going to FIRE ISLAND, baby! We are so delighted and honored to have director Andrew Ahn (SPA NIGHT, DRIVEWAYS) back on the podcast to preview his upcoming feature FIRE ISLAND. Coming to Hulu on June 3. Andrew shares with us his experience directing a studio rom-com, fighting to keep the film’s gayness, collaborating with Joel Kim Booster (STAR and screenwriter), and MUNA’s cover of an iconic Britney song.
SPOILERS incoming, so watch the film before taking a listen.
Also, Andrew selects a FIRE ISLAND adjacent Deep Cut pick, Alice Wu’s brilliant SAVING FACE, another wonderful queer AsAm romantic comedy to chat about alongside his film. There's your perfect Pride month double bill.
Andrew Ahn's Instagram, Twitter. (@andrewahnfilms)
Fire Island Socials (@fireislandmovie): Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.
Take a trip to our very own Pines (the Deep Cut Discord server) to talk more Fire Island! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director: Andrew Ahn
Producers: John Hodges, Tony Hernandez, Brooke Posch, Joel Kim Booster
Writer: Joel Kim Booster
Editor: Brian A. Kates
Cinematography: Felipe Vara de Rey
Production Design: Katie Hickman
Art Direction: Patrice Andrew Davidson
Set Decoration: Nisa Schoonhoven
Composer: Jay Wadley
Costumes: David Tabbert
CAST:
Noah: Joel Kim Booster
Howie: Bowen Yang
Will: Conrad Ricamora
Erin: Margaret Cho
Charlie: James Scully
Luke: Matt Rogers
Keegan: Tomás Matos
Max: Torian Miller
Cooper: Nick Adams
Dex: Zane Phillips
Rhys: Michael Graceffa
Braden: Aidan Wharton
Moses: Peter Smith
Johnny: Bradley Gibson
Paul Fejos: Lonesome (featuring Graham Brown)
We’re not on our Lonesome anymore with special guest and friend, Graham Brown. Graham is an Assistant Preservation Officer at the George Eastman Museum and he has graced the pod with his extensive knowledge on the process of film preservation. Join us as we learn about Lonesome’s film preservation journey, and discuss the first silent film (okay… part-talkie) featured on the podcast!
Wilson celebrates the kinetic cinematography of Paul Fejos’ Lonesome (1928), Eli hones in on its innovations in synchronized sound, and Ben examines Fejos’ anthropological approach to his working-class characters.
Insider video on film preservation featuring Graham.
View digitized films from the George Eastman Museum at: www.eastman.org
Get tickets to the The Nitrate Picture Show (June 2-6, 2022) at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY.
We’ll be loving you always in our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director: Paul Fejos (or Pál Fejős)
Producer: Carl Laemmle Jr.
Writers: Edward T. Lowe Jr., Mann Page
Editor: Frank Atkinson
Cinematography: Gilbert Warrenton
Art Direction: Charles D. Hall
Composer: Joseph Cherniavsky
CAST:
Mary: Barbara Kent
Jim: Glenn Tryon
Wong Kar-wai: 2046
Welcome to 2046: a place that you can never leave, and an era in Wong Kar-wai’s filmography that will never return. Wilson opens up about how his Deep Cut Pick is a forlorn love letter to Hong Kong, his "city of heartbreak." Meanwhile, Eli shares the pop music playlist that Wilson made the DC trio, and Ben shocks them both with his opinion on what may be Wong's last great film. Tune in for the grand finale of Deep Cut’s epic, tender, four-part series on the world of Wong Kar-wai!
Recapture lost memories in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Producers: Zhong-lun Ren, Chan Ye-cheng, Gilles Ciment
Writer: Wong Kar-wai
Editor: William Chang
Cinematography: Christopher Doyle, Kwan Pung-Leung
Art Direction: Alfred Yau
Composer: Shigeru Umebayashi
Costumes: William Chang
Make-up: Kwan Lee-na, Law Pui-Yan
CAST:
Chow Mo-wan: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
Su Li-zhen: Gong Li
Wang Jing-wen / Android: Faye Wong
Tak / Wang Jing-wen's Boyfriend: Takuya Kimura
Bai Ling: Ziyi Zhang
Wong Kar-wai: In The Mood for Love
Shhh, don’t tell the neighbors we cheated… because Ben’s Deep Cut pick isn’t really a deep cut at all! We enter the forlorn, romantic world of Wong Kai-wai’s most critically acclaimed film: In the Mood for Love (2000), starring the incomparable Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. Ben tries his darndest to find the flaws in his favorite film of all time, Wilson admires the impeccable craft of Wong and all his key collaborators, while Eli finally tries his turn at being the villain (!!) in our discussion.
Send noodles in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Cover art by: Justina Yam.
CREW:
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Producers: Wong Kar-wai, Chan Ye-cheng
Writers: Wong Kar-wai
Editors: William Chang, Wong Ming-Lam
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle, Kwan Pung-Leung, Mark Lee Ping-Bing
Production Designer & Costumes: William Chang
Art Direction: Man Lim-Chung
Sound: Tang Shiang-Chu Kuo Li-Chi
Make-up Artist: Kwan Lee-na
CAST:
Chow Mo-Wan: Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Su Li-Zhen (Mrs Chan): Maggie Cheung
Mrs Suen: Rebecca Pan
Ping: Siu Ping-lam
Wong Kar-wai: Happy Together
“Let’s start over” with Eli’s Deep Cut Pick from the filmography of arthouse legend Wong Kar-wai, Happy Together (1997). With lushly experimental cinematography and a quick temper, Happy Together tangos the Deep Cut Trio into a tizzy of passion. Wilson details why Wong’s film about gay main characters was groundbreaking for both 1997 Hong Kong and its stars, Ben unpacks the toxic romance at the movie’s center, and Eli opens up about his personal experience with getting lost in Argentina.
Weep softly in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Cover art by: Justina Yam.
CREW:
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Producers: Wong Kar-wai, Jacky Pang, Chan Ye-cheng
Writers: Wong Kar-wai, Manuel Puig
Editors: William Chang, Wong Ming-Lam
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle
Production Designer: William Chang
Art Direction: William Chang, Marcelo Bosco, Maria Janello, Wen Nien-Chung, Jo Johannes
Composer: Danny Chung
Sound: Tu Duu-chih, Ching Siu-Lung, Terry Tu
Make-up Artist: Kwan Lee-na
CAST:
Ho Po-wing: Leslie Chung
Lai Yiu-fai: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
Chang: Chang Chen
Wong Kar-wai: Chungking Express
Deep Cut launches into a new season with a mega-sized introduction to the cinema of Wong Kar-wai, and the film that shot him to international stardom: CHUNGKING EXPRESS. Wilson reveals why this is his favorite movie of all time, Ben establishes a scientific theory on Wong’s Magic Himbo Dream Boys in Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Eli spots Wong’s knack for transforming emotions by repeating objects, songs, and shots.
Join our Discord server; the password is: "愛你一萬年" ("love you for 10,000 years"). Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Writer & Director: Wong Kar-wai
Producers: Jacky Pang, Jeffrey Lau, Pui-wah Chan, Yi-kan Chan
Editors: William Chang, Eric Kwong Chi-Leung, Hai Kit-Wai
Cinematographers: Christopher Doyle, Andrew Lau
Production Designer: William Chang
Art Director: Wai Ming Yau
Composers: Michael Galasso, Roel A. García, Frankie Chan Fan-Kei
Costume Designers: William Chang, Yao Hui-ming
Makeup Artist: Kwan Lee-na
CAST:
Woman in Blonde Wig: Brigitte Lin
Cop 663: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
Faye: Faye Wong
He Zhiwu (Cop 223): Takeshi Kaneshiro
Air Hostess: Valerie Chow
Manager of Midnight Express: Piggy Chan
Joel Coen: The Tragedy of Macbeth
By the pricking of my thumbs, Deep Cut Upkeep this way comes! After splitting from his brother Ethan last year, Joel Coen went back to the book and then threw it out the window with his divisive, postmodern take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Glorious set design, gorgeous cinematography, but methinks that none of the Deep Cut Trio are convinced: Wilson isn’t moved by Denzel Washington’s lead performance, Ben finds the heightened artifice pointless, and Eli finds Coen’s examination of the themes in the text to be lacking. But hey: there’s always Skip Lievsay, shining golden boy of the aural sense.
I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
CREW:
Director: Joel Coen
Producers: Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, Robert Graf
Writers: Joel Coen, William Shakespeare
Editors: Joel Coen, Lucian Johnston
Cinematographer: Bruno Delbonnel
Production Design: Stefan Dechant
Art Direction: Jason T. Clark
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh, Tim Croshaw, Jane Wuu, Michael Thurman, Trinh Vu, Colin Sieburgh
Visual Effects: Alex Lemke, Michael Huber, Rich Pernice
Composer: Carter Burwell
Sound: Skip Lievsay, Paul Urmson, Peter F. Kurland
Costumes: Mary Zophres Michelle Kurpaska Mark Avery
Make-Up: Jean Ann Black Josh Foster
CAST:
Macbeth: Denzel Washington
Lady Macbeth: Frances McDormand
Ross: Alex Hassell
Banquo: Bertie Carvel
Duncan: Brendan Gleeson
Macduff: Corey Hawkins
Malcolm: Harry Melling
Lennox: Miles Anderson
Donalbain: Matt Helm
Lady Macduff: Moses Ingram
Witches / Old Man: Kathryn Hunter
Fleance: Lucas Barker
Porter: Stephen Root
Angus: Robert Gilbert
Macduff's Son: Ethan Hutchison
Seyton: James Udom
Siward: Richard Short
Monteith: Sean Patrick Thomas
Captain: Ralph Ineson
Doctor: Jefferson Mays
Wheyface: Jacob McCarthy
Asghar Farhadi: A Hero
Deep Cut hits the panic button as our beloved Asghar Farhadi is embroiled in scandal! Iranian documentary filmmaker and former student of Farhadi, Azadeh Masihzadeh, has sued him over the claim that he stole the story for his 2021 release, A Hero, from her 2015 documentary, All Winners, All Losers and pressured her into signing over the rights to her film. Wilson, Ben, and Eli discuss the dismaying news before talking about A Hero itself. The conversation includes Wilson’s love for Amir Jadidi’s lead performance (what a smile!), Ben’s questions about the main character’s naivete, Eli’s classification of the types of Farhadi movie, and Farhadi’s unusual use of editing to convey emotion.
Be *OUR* hero on our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
2021 Film & TV in Review
With those dang Academy Awards right around the corner, the Deep Cut Trio continues its annual tradition of reviewing the movies and television of yesteryear. What kind of year was 2021 for motion pictures? Why does Wilson think every director is in their “late era?” Does Dune satisfy Ben’s hunger for good sci-fi? How did Eli meet Jane Campion, director of The Power of the Dog? Why is there neither pizza nor licorice in Licorice Pizza? Do Disney and Marvel own our eyeballs? Are we getting Succession burnout? All these questions and more will be answered in Deep Cut’s beefiest episode to date.
Tune in to hear bite-size talks on the movies and TV that Wilson, Ben, and Eli loved and hated before they lay out their highly anticipated top 3 movies of the year. Buckle up for the Big Bad Hot Takes and the Small Good Cold Takes.
Tell us your 2021 faves on our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Find what you’re looking for with this handy guide to the episode’s chapters:
(00:00:28) Introduction
(00:01:40) 2021 Overview (how was this year in movies?)
(00:06:16) Honorary Mentions
(01:03:06) Obligatory Mentions
(01:24:50) Wilson, Ben, and Eli’s Top 3 Movies
(01:50:07) TV Talk
(02:12:29) Watching Goals for 2022
(02:15:23) Deep Cut's 2022 Plans
Movies Discussed:
In Front Of Your Face (Hong Sang-soo), The Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane), Azor (Andreas Fontana), The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson), Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude), Drowning in Potential (Joel Haver), The Mitchells Vs. The Machines (Michael Rianda), Belle (Mamoru Hosoda), The Last Duel (Ridley Scott), Sardar Udham (Shoojit Sircar), Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven), Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion), Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve), A Hero (Asghar Farhadi), The Humans (Stephen Karam), All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony), Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Žbanić), Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (Josh Greenbaum), Nine Days (Edson Oda), What Do We See when We Look at the Sky? (Alexandre Koberidze), Anne at 13,000 ft (Kazik Radwanski), Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen), Test Pattern (Shatara Michelle Ford), The Father (Florian Zeller), Hell is Empty (Jo Shaffer), Dune (Denis Villeneuve), Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton), Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts), Black Widow (Cate Shortland), West Side Story (Steven Spielberg), The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Titane (Julia Ducournau), Annette (Leos Carax), Hand of God (Paolo Sorrentino), This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection (Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese), Summer of Soul (Questlove), Mass (Fran Kranz), The Inheritance (Ephraim Asili), C’mon, C’mon (Mike Mills), We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun), Petite Maman (Celine Sciamma), Mad God (Phil Tippett), Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
TV Discussed:
The White Lotus, Arcane, Joe Pera Talks With You, Pen15, Search Party, City of Ghosts, Loki, Feel Good, Love Life, Genera+ion, Naomi Osaka, Reservation Dogs, I Think You Should Leave, The Other Two, Smiling Friends, How To With John Wilson, Succession
Phew! Love you all!
Pablo Larraín: Spencer
After adoring director Pablo Larraín’s Jackie and Ema last season, the Deep Cut Trio had high hopes for his follow-up, Spencer, but not as high as Steven Knight was when he wrote the script. On this episode, Wilson, Ben, and Eli ask one simple question: what the heck happened here? Ben sees it as a narrative problem, where we don’t get access to Diana’s perspective. Eli thinks it’s a lack of empathy for a real-life figure, where the movie gawks at Diana. And Wilson? He’s got a thought or two about the color timing.
We only talk about beloved British character actor Timothy Spall on our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Lana Wachowski: The Matrix Resurrections
Things heat up in our most divisive episode to date! Lana Wachowski returns to the Matrix franchise after nearly two decades to put out her most personal work to date. Does it pay off? We’ll have to see as Ben, Eli and Wilson duke it out. Wilson can’t comprehend how anyone can’t appreciate this reflection on blockbuster entertainment, Ben can’t comprehend how anyone likes this messy film and Eli tries to keep the peace.
Have hands to throw? Have a side to pick? Come yell in our void (discord server). Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
The Wachowskis: Bound
On the season 2 finale of Deep Cut, the Wachowskis stage a heist to steal the DC Three's hearts with their directorial debut, Bound (1996). As they skirt the perils of accursed Film Twitter Discourse (where'd unironically horny cinema go???), Ben explores each type of thrill sequence that coheres into a tight script, Eli is wowed by the Wachowskis' subversion of the noir genre, and Wilson can’t keep the words "Paul Verhoeven" from escaping his mouth. What are the seeds of The Matrix that the DC Three find in the Wachowskis' prior film? Pick up your phone and listen: "the walls here are just so thin."
So long, farewell, we’ll see y’all next season. Stay in touch between seasons on our Discord. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
The Wachowskis: The Matrix
Right before one of the most highly anticipated 2021 releases, join the trio for a talk about the American action classic The Matrix. As well as their highly acclaimed directors, sisters Lana and Lily Wachowski. Wilson reminisces about the joy of watching The Matrix as a child. Ben ponders the romantic relationship at the core of the film, and Eli shows some love to the work of infamous action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping.
Are you hyped for The Matrix Resurrections? Because we sure are.
Jack in to our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Todd Haynes: Far From Heaven
Wistfully contemplate your loves of yore in our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Read Scott Higgins’ essay on the color score in Far From Heaven (Chapter 9, pages 101-113).
Todd Haynes: Carol
Step right up as we guess The Price of Salt in our coverage of Todd Hayne’s Carol (2015). Recently crowned by BFI as the “best LGBT film of all time”, the Deep Cut Trio revisit this critical favorite and find its place in the New Queer Cinema Canon. Ben gets lost in the eyes of leading ladies Blanchett and Mara, Wilson considers the film’s legacy in the wake of recent LGBT film standouts, and Eli feels personally attacked for all of us by the characterization of a certain John Magaro character...
Get flung out of space in our Discord server! Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Pablo Larraín: Ema
Looking for arson, psychosexual manipulation, and reggaetón? It’s a good old-fashioned fight on this week’s episode as the Deep Cut Trio steps up to Pablo Larraín’s 2019 anarchic dance feature, Ema. Wilson adores the movie’s arresting intensity, while Ben finds Ema’s motivations oblique. But where does Eli land? He builds the suspense while everyone considers how Larraín builds narratives and makes stylistic choices that stem from the personalities of his protagonists.
Sow discord on our Discord server. Keep up with Deep Cut on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Letterboxd.
Pablo Larraín: Jackie
Take a live, televised tour of our Discord server–– it’s the people’s house, after all.
Mani Ratnam: Dil Se... (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
What would you choose? Love…… or terrorism? The trio are joined by special guest Thanmye Lagudu to talk about Mani Ratnam’s most popular film, Dil Se, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Wilson marvels at Ratnam’s ability to trojan horse a radical ideology into mainstream Bollywood screens, Eli wraps his head around the audience’s critical distance from the leading man, and Ben pushes against the film’s allegorical layering of meaning through musical numbers. Whether you love Dil Se or hate it, Thanmye encourages cinephiles to explore the work of the master, Mani Ratnam.
Follow Thanmye on Twitter!
Is Mani Ratnam your OG number 1? Tell us on our discord.
Mani Ratnam: Bombay (featuring Thanmye Lagudu)
Strap in for a conversation on one of the greatest romantic epics put to screen and Deep Cut’s first foray into South Asian Cinema. Our special guest Thanmye Lagudu baptizes the three hosts into the “Church of Mani Ratnam” by bringing his 1995 historical fiction epic Bombay based on the Bombay riots. Wilson theorizes how this film probably served as inspiration for Alfonso Cuaron, Eli ventures into the muddy waters of representing real life events on a fictional screen, and Ben zeroes in on all the horny parts of the movie.
Follow Thanmye on twitter & express your love for us via B(T)ollywood song in our discord.
Éric Rohmer: Boyfriends and Girlfriends
Another Rohmer film, another incredible ending. We end our series on Rohmer with Ben’s second Deep Cut pick and favorite Rohmer film, the effortlessly loveable and relatable Boyfriends and Girlfriends (1987). Listen to us swoon as we recollect our favorite moments from this classic romantic tale. Wilson celebrates the film’s reverence for young people in love, Eli dives deep to find undercurrent themes in Rohmer’s anthropology of young professionals in France in the 80s, and Ben makes a case for ~vibey~ directors.
Do you, like us, think there should be a queer reimagining of this? Who should direct it? Let us know in our discord server!
Éric Rohmer: Love in the Afternoon
Sink into moral quicksand with us as we discuss the final of Éric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales: Love In The Afternoon (1972). Wilson contemplates the duality of man from the sidelines as Eli and Ben have a “straight man-off” with wildly different takeaways from the film’s heartstopping moral ending. We also get into the film’s stylistic deviations from Rohmer’s filmography, admire Zouzou’s iconic looks, and Marvel (pun unfortunately intended…) at the film’s narrative momentum and excitement.
Also, Frédéric: hot or not? Tell us in the discord server!
Éric Rohmer: The Green Ray
Join us as the trio journey into a bout of summertime sadness with The Green Ray (1986), the first of our episodes on Éric Rohmer’s breezy films on love and longing. We learn about Rohmer’s secretive private life, the improvisational process behind The Green Ray, and we all fall in love with Delphine a little bit.
Is lettuce a friend? Tell us in the discord server!