Shows
The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E7 - The Experiments ContinueWhile the “nickelodeon boom” began in the United States and the global film industry was standardizing certain production elements, many of the conversations for this 1905 season turned to how wide the modes of moviemaking still were, resulting in strange yet beautiful experiments. As this year’s five guests have shown, cinema in even in an apparently obscure period such as the mid-1900s can still yield up riveting viewing experiences.Films mentioned:The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach (1905) - Albert and Willy MullensConey Island at Night (1905) - Edwin S. Porter...2025-06-1805 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E6 - Mary MalloryFilm historian and author Mary Mallory has written five books about cinematic yesteryear. With her research of past traditions and underappreciated figures in mind, Mary selects some films that reflect the intermediality of early film and its basis in stage tricks, poetry, and even postcards, while others demonstrate new cinematic inventions.Mary’s most recent book is First Women of Hollywood: Female Pioneers in the Early Motion Picture Business. She is also a lecturer for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and blogger for the LA Daily Mirror.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own to...2025-06-1141 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E5 - Chris O'RourkeChris O’Rourke, Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick, explores the early history of film acting, stardom and fandom in Britain up to the end of the silent era in his book Acting for the Silent Screen: Film Actors and Aspiration between the Wars. While film acting wasn’t quite a specific discipline in 1905, that distinction would arise sooner than one might think, and in the meantime, Chris’ picks explore UK innovations in editing, pace, and length, French spectacle, and American actuality.Chris also developed the website London's Silent Cinemas, which mapped early...2025-06-0447 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E4 - Scott CurtisScott Curtis, associate professor of radio/film/television and communication at Northwestern University, has published extensively on the use of moving images in scientific and medical research, education, and communication. That particular interest certainly informs most of his picks, but the conversation also includes the spectacle of sound and fantasy.Scott is the author of The Shape of Spectatorship: Art, Science, and Early Cinema in Germany. He is the former president of Domitor, the international society for the study of early cinema.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five of 1905!2025-05-281h 02The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E3 - Shawn HallShawn Hall brings his love of silent films to new audiences through his Shawn Toks Silents TikTok account, where he is currently working his way through reviewing each movie on Silent Era’s Top 100 Silent Movies List. He stretches back a little bit further than most silent film enthusiasts, however, by exploring 1905 through films of “serious” topics and advancing forms of comedy and feel-good stories.Shawn also writes his long-form thoughts on silent cinema and early Hollywood at his blog The Everyday Cinephile.Films and resources mentioned:The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Withou...2025-05-2154 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E2 - Dan WillardDan Willard’s interest in film was fostered by a viewing of Eraserhead in 1977 and a number of UCLA film classes. In more recent years and reflecting the depths of his cinephilia, that has manifested in his extensive Films by the Year site and YouTube channel, which have been linked to many times in this very show’s notes (in this case, ranging from comedy and the féerie to “message films” and naturalism).Dan is also a professional musician, composer, producer, and teacher and is currently working on an online History of Western Art Music.Visit the...2025-05-1431 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1905 E1 - The Nickelodeon BoomThe year 1905 pops up early in many film histories to address the start of the "nickelodeon era." As past seasons have shown, the Harris brothers' Pittsburgh storefront wasn't truly the first space dedicated to showing movies, but it and others shifted the needle in forming the activity of moviegoing. This season and its guests address the unification of the global "trade" of filmmaking and the changing aesthetics that supported that.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1905!2025-05-0703 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E7 - An Awkward YearThis season’s conversations about film in 1904 often turned to the “awkwardness” of finding standout titles and defining the most representative developments in the art, business, and reception of cinema. Nevertheless, this year’s five guests presented exciting threads of potential futures that, in many ways, were resolved into the narrative model one expects a few years later.Films mentioned:Court Ladies Bathing (1904) - unknownHow a French Nobleman Got a Wife through the New York Herald Personal Column (1904) - Edwin S. PorterA Butterfly’s Metamorphosis (1904) - Gaston VelleDog Factory (1904) - Edwin S. PorterThe Impossible Voyage (1904) - Georges...2025-04-2306 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E6 - Céline RuivoFilm preservationist Céline Ruivo brings an eye for color and pre-cinema to her five early cinema picks for 1904. From scientific intent to fantasy, and industrialism and modernity in between, she demonstrates how an apparently unmemorable year like 1904 can still provide great insight into the art and technology of cinema at the time.Céline holds a doctorate in cinema and teaches film preservation at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). She is currently in charge of film restoration projects with two European cinémathèques and also directed the documentary Cinégraphies, les femmes de la tempête (202...2025-04-1644 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E5 - Martin L JohnsonMartin L. Johnson, film historian and Associate Professor in English and Comparative Literature at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has literally written the book on local films in the United States. While most of his picks fit into that definition, he also brings comic chases and early filmic nudity into the conversation.Martin is also co-president of Domitor, the international society for the study of early cinema. He is currently completing a monograph on the history of the advertising film and co-editing, with Liz Clarke, a forthcoming collection on silent cinema that features films that expand...2025-04-0942 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E4 - Dimitrios LatsisDimitrios Latsis, Associate Professor in Digital and Audiovisual Preservation at the University of Alabama, has worked extensively in the fields of American visual culture, early cinema, archival studies, and digital humanities. These interests are brought into the conversation about his five eclectic picks, in addition to some “runner-ups” that paint a fuller picture of cinema in 1904.Dimitrios is the author of How the Movies Got a Past: A Historiography of American Cinema, 1894-1930. He has also co-edited a special issue of The Moving Image, the journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists on the topic of Digital Huma...2025-04-0249 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E3 - George WillemanGeorge Willeman has been the Nitrate Film Vault Leader at the Library of Congress for 41 years. Having been in love with movies as far back as he can remember, George is still constantly amazed at the discoveries found within the Library’s nitrate film collection, and his picks reflect the enthusiasm and intrigue that occur at least weekly in his role.At a young age, George got hooked on 8mm releases from the renowned Blackhawk Films company. He brought this lifelong passion to his degree in film production and began his time at the Library with a part-time jo...2025-03-2650 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E2 - Steve MassaFilm historian Steve Massa is a particular expert on silent film comedy. His five choices for 1904 certainly reflect that interest, as they feature premises and gags that can still rouse surprise, chuckles, and laughs today.Steve is the author of Lames Brains and Lunatics: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Comedy and its sequel as well as many other books. He also co-hosts Silent Comedy Watch Party with Ben Model, has curated comedy film programs for institutions and festivals, and has provided essays and commentary tracks for DVDs and Blu-rays.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever...2025-03-1942 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1904 E1 - The Story of Narrative ContinuesWhile 1904 doesn't have an iconic film like the past two seasons have each featured, that doesn't mean it doesn't have its share of worthwhile films and intriguing aspects of film history to explore. From the eve of the nickelodeon boom to expanding narrative ambitions, this season will explore both returning and new threads of the cinematic discourse of the early cinema period, from its time to now.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own picks for 1904!Films mentioned:A Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Great Train Robbery (1903...2025-03-1203 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E7 - Editing and OtherwiseWhile one particular film was explored in-depth this season, every guest (whether they selected The Great Train Robbery or not) explored lesser known or at least lesser appreciated arenas of cinema in 1903. The myth busting, amateur spotlighting, and spectacle showcasing elements of this season's conversations make the case for the expansion of the art form in this calendar year, which may indeed deserve its special attention.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to view the full list of films submitted for 1903 (and beyond)!Films mentioned:The Enchanted Well (1903) - Georges MélièsAlice in Wo...2025-02-2606 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E6 - Colin WilliamsonColin Williamson, Assistant Professor in Cinema Studies at University of Oregon, has wide-ranging interests, including animation, special effects, and media archaeology. With these angles and more in mind, he brings a unique perspective and some myth busting to his standout films of 1903.Colin is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema and the forthcoming Drawn to Nature: American Animation in the Age of Science. He is also currently Associate Editor at Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.Films and resources mentioned:Electrocuting an Elephant (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe...2025-02-1958 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E5 - Rob StoneFilm archivist and historian Rob Stone has always been interested in silent film. With his five picks, he charts evolving storytelling capabilities in the medium’s earliest days and the darker side of the fading actuality, mostly as represented by one filmmaker!Rob’s publishing company Split Reel specializes in books and other media highlighting lesser-known aspects of the entertainment industry, especially the silent era. He was also Moving Image Curator at the Library of Congress for over 15 years.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1903!Films and reso...2025-02-1242 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E4 - Jay WeissbergPordenone Silent Film Festival director Jay Weissberg has facilitated an array of programs that expand the canonical ideas about what was made in the silent era and what can be appreciated now. With his picks (which he stretches a bit past five with two more must-sees), he showcases international, amateur, and aesthetic ambitions in 1903.Jay also worked as a film critic for 18 years with Variety and contributes essays for a host of festivals, retrospective catalogues, and international publications with a particular focus on contemporary Arab cinema. Among his published works as a film historian are essays on the...2025-02-051h 11The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E3 - Bruce CalvertSilent film historian Bruce Calvert has been collecting silent film memorabilia for 30 years, showcased on his site The Silent Film Still Archive. He shares his story of how he came to develop this interest and addresses how supporting materials can help us understand how incomplete, missing, and even fully surviving movies were made, seen, and received.Bruce is also a moderator of the classic film discussion site NitrateVille.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1903!Films and resources mentioned:The Melomaniac (1903) - Georges MélièsEccentric Walt...2025-01-2942 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E2 - Neil BrandNeil Brand has been a silent film accompanist for nearly 40 years. He shares his musical expertise, which also includes composing new scores for silent film re-releases, while exploring exciting threads of fantasy, comedy, and violence in his five picks.Neil regularly plays at the Barbican and BFI National Film Theatres in London and film festivals around the world. His scores include Blackmail (1929), Underground (1928), Easy Street (1917), Robin Hood (1922), and The Lodger (1927) and he is also a prolific writer, television presenter, and Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your...2025-01-221h 12The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1903 E1 - The Great Film RobberiesThe law (at least in America) had a significant effect on the development of film genres, aesthetics, production, and viewing practices from 1903 on. The world over, tightly run studios were becoming more and more prevalent, shifting story films further and further into the spotlight, and dedicated filmviewing spaces were cropping up. It's difficult to define any one calendar year as fundamentally shifting the development of cinema, but as guests will demonstrate, new techniques, technologies, and industrialization make the case for an exciting year.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1903!...2025-01-1504 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E7 - From the Streets to the StudioIt's not like the established actuality suddenly evaporated in 1902, but as guests have pointed out throughout this season, a diversification of film topics, aesthetics, and technology fostered new genres and production styles. In this season finale, Tristan briefly summarizes the common threads of his conversations and puts together the most selected 1902 films.Films mentioned:The Treasures of Satan (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Spring Fairy (1902) - Ferdinand ZeccaGulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902) - Georges MélièsJack and the Beanstalk (1902) - Edwin S. PorterA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsMiss...2025-01-0205 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E6 - Tamara Shvediuk and Federico StriuliTristan welcomes two guests to one episode for the first time: the husband-and-wife film historian, archivist, and curator duo of Tamara Shvediuk and Federico Striuli. The pair showcase spectacle with their five picks, from the féerie to chronicles of a significant political change.Tamara has curated film programs for several events, including the Moscow International Festival of Archival Films and the Cinema Ritrovato film festival in Bologna. She also has collaborated with archives such as the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique, the Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and the Cineteca di Bologna.Federico holds a Ph.D...2024-12-261h 03The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E5 - Vanessa ToulminVanessa Toulmin, Chair in Early Film and Popular Entertainment at the University of Sheffield, is an expert on variety theater, circus, travelling exhibitions, fairgrounds, and other aspects of the history of show business. She brings this expertise to her five picks from 1902, ranging from her vast experience with the Mitchell & Kenyon films to an intriguing connection between A Trip to the Moon and an early amusement park ride.Vanessa has published 11 books including Electric Edwardians: The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon and four books on Blackpool's entertainment heritage and was the curator of the Mitchell & Kenyon Collection for...2024-12-181h 05The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E4 - Lea StansLea Stans has been writing about the silent era on her blog Silent-ology since 2014, informed by her college interests and even younger fascinations with the obscure. Her 1902 picks reflect the increasing diversity of the worldwide filmic output of the year, from the French féerie genre to actuality chronicles of downtown Indianapolis and northern England.Lea is also a columnist for Classic Movie Hub and has written for The Keaton Chronicle and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1902!Films mentioned:2024-12-1143 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E3 - Karl WratschkoKarl Wratschko, curator, filmmaker, and artist, has been working as a film curator for the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna since 2016. He brings his experience of programming screenings based in specific years, not unlike this very show (he’s even done 1902 for the festival!), to craft an abridged program you might have seen in that year.Karl’s artistic work includes film, photography, installation, radio art, and public art. He was co-responsible for several retrospectives of early Austrian film at the Viennale and a member of the Austrian team of the EU-funded research and development project European Film...2024-12-0452 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E2 - Clara AuclairFilm scholar and preservationist Clara Auclair and Tristan talk quite a bit about comedy and tricks, those originating from the stage and those that could only come from the magic of filmic technology. That conversation leads into discussing the phenomenon of early recreations of real events…or are they “fakes!?”Clara teaches media studies at DIS Stockholm and works as a consultant for film archives. She is a DAFIV research fellow and co-secretary of Domitor, the International Association for the Study of Early Cinema, and is currently working on an edited collection of essays dedicated to the films of Ali...2024-11-2756 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1902 E1 - A Trip to the "Industry?"A Trip to the Moon looms large in looking at the picture of 1902 in film. Georges Méliès' masterpiece is inarguably the most famous film of the early cinema period. But as will be explored by this season's guests, its part in reshaping the aesthetics, genres, and industrialization of the global film community exists alongside another version of film history.Films mentioned:A Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges Méliès2024-11-2003 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E7 - Truth and TricksPropaganda, comedy, tricks; these approaches may seem to obscure truths. That is certainly their potential in film, but in this 1901 season finale, Tristan reflects on the through lines of his guests' picks and the conversations that stemmed from them.Also, he shares his personal five selections for 1901 and puts together the collective list of guest and listener submissions. That list, including all films submitted for the season, can be found at the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list.The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever: 1902 coming soon!Thank you to the guests of the third season:2024-11-0606 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E6 - Lawrence NapperAll but one of the picks from Lawrence Napper, senior lecturer in Film Studies at King’s College London, come from the huge trove of discovered Mitchell & Kenyon films. These fascinating records of everyday life in Victorian and Edwardian England and the United Kingdom lead to an array of exciting tangents, while Lawrence also uses his one fictional choice to make a resonant comparison between repeat film viewing and traditional religious ceremonies.Lawrence’s publications include The Great War in Popular British Cinema: Before Journey’s End (2015) and Silent Cinema: Before the Pictures Got Small (2017). He is a regula...2024-10-301h 11The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E5 - Elif Rongen-KaynakçiTristan has been the grateful viewer of many an eye-popping restoration from Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam on YouTube. He expresses his thanks to Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, Curator of Silent Film at Eye, before the two mostly discuss comedy films, with the broad genre nevertheless inspiring many different tangents from sexuality to the beginning of the film industry’s self-parody.Elif has worked on the discovery, restoration, and presentation of presumed lost films starring forgotten or neglected actresses such as Rosa Porten, Little Chrysia, Valeria Creti, and Constance Talmadge. She is directly involved with the programs of international archival fes...2024-10-231h 02The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E4 - Grazia IngravalleGrazia Ingravalle, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Film at Queen Mary University of London, focuses her 1901 picks in relation to colonialism. She creatively tackles the premise of this show by talking not of the “best films” of the year, but “quite the opposite,” in her own words, to illustrate the effect of the medium at this time and beyond.Grazia has published about film archives, digitization, archival remix, colonial histories, and decolonization in several edited volumes and in The Moving Image, Screen, and the JCMS. Her monograph, Archival Film Curatorship: Early and Silent Cinema from Analog to Digital (also ver...2024-10-161h 05The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E3 - Pamela HutchinsonPamela Hutchinson's Silent London has been a great resource for Tristan since even before he started the written essay series that gives this podcast its name about seven years ago. Now, she joins the show to provide some context yet again, especially for how 1901 filmmakers weren't marching neatly toward narrative (they were tiptoeing toward it, dancing around it) and how some were specifically deconstructing the still-fledgling medium, through the lens of her five picks.Pamela is a freelance writer, critic, curator, and film historian. Among her publications are two installments in the BFI Film Classics series: Pandora's Box a...2024-10-0951 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E2 - Ian ChristieFilm historian Ian Christie rewires Tristan’s brain a bit in this episode, as Ian draws parallels between the early film “adaptation” and the tableaux painting, both of which benefit from contemporary shared pathos. During the discussion of his five picks, among other things, he also provides insight into the Anglo-Boer War and the actuality genre’s dominance in 1901 even as trick films still draw our contemporary eyes.Ian is an author and Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck, University of London. Among his many works are the book Robert Paul and the Origins of British Cinema (2...2024-10-0257 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1901 E1 - Entertainment as PropagandaAbout five years into film's existence as a publicly available invention and art form, 1901 offers up a number of exciting threads for where the medium did and did not go. Some aspects may appear familiar: a form of a "close-up," attempts at adapting "narrative," and the use of the movies as a propaganda tool.But as guests will point out, the intent and reception of such things may be alien to our modern eyes, from the idea of a moving picture "tableaux" to colonizing forces. Join host Tristan Ettleman for an exploration of 1901 with The 5 Best Films of...2024-09-2504 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E7 - Sound, Color, Trickery, Oh My!Although this season has emphasized that the sudden transition into the 20th century didn't magically advance the still very young art form of cinema, the films selected by the guests for the 1900 edition of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever represent exciting developments. Color, sound, trickery, medicine, animation, and the ever-present regret that so many films from this era are lost were recurring themes in the conversations throughout the season.In this finale, host Tristan Ettleman briefly summarizes these themes, shares his five picks for 1900, and creates a high-level list from guests' and listeners' picks. That list...2024-09-1106 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E6 - Enri CeballosThe affinity Enri Ceballos has for dance is intensely represented by his picks for 1900, four of which feature the sheer joy of human movement. Both in front of and behind the screen, these films (all French and helmed by women!) also represent the diversity of gender and sexuality at play, along with sound and color technologies, in early cinema's history.Enri is the General Director for the Mexico International Silent Film Festival, a PhD student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and a member of Women and Film History International.Films and resources...2024-09-0442 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E5 - Carolyn JacobsConsidering Carolyn Jacobs' research focuses on the cultural history of media, especially in relation to histories of medicine, science, and public health, it makes sense that she examines her five picks through those lenses. From kissing panics to women being barred from performing surgery, the medical view of the discussed films brings new angles to understanding early cinema.Carolyn is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies in the Communication Department at Central Connecticut State University. Her current book project, Sanitizing Cinema: Public Health and the Regulation of American Film, considers the effects of health emergencies on the development o...2024-08-2843 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E4 - Frank KesslerFrom misattribution to missing sound, this conversation with Frank Kessler has a bit of lamentation for the lost works and context of early cinema. But there's also some celebration that we can view any films from the turn of the century (and earlier), including his picks that include trickery and evolving film language.Frank is professor in media history at Utrecht University. His research activities concern mainly the field of early cinema and visual media in the 19th and early 20th century. His work includes the research program "The Nation and Its Other" and he acted as project...2024-08-2155 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E3 - Matthew SolomonMatthew Solomon has taught film history and theory at the University of Michigan since 2011, with special interests in early and silent cinema, classic Hollywood filmmaking, and French film. He brings all that to bear on his five picks for 1900, which contain techniques that have only retroactively been considered early displays of evolving film grammar...and indeed, they are two-fifths French.Matthew is the author of Disappearing Tricks: Silent Film, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century and Méliès Boots: Footwear and Film Manufacturing in Second Industrial Revolution Paris, among many other books, articles, and publ...2024-08-1444 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E2 - Malcolm CookMalcolm Cook, Associate Professor of Film at the University of Southampton, found it challenging to pick just five works to represent 1900. But his selections embody the cross-section of genres and approaches across three countries, demonstrating how the turn of the century didn't suddenly disrupt the paradigms of the cinema of attractions but evolved them in exciting ways.Malcolm is the author of Early British Animation: From Page and Stage to Cinema Screens (2018) and co-editor (with Kirsten Moana Thompson) of the collection Animation and Advertising (2019). His current research focusses on useful animation, especially in relation to petroleum industries, with recen...2024-08-0744 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever1900 E1 - The Beginning of a CenturyThe second season of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever narrows down from the decade-plus of the first down to just one calendar year. The first year of the 20th century didn't suddenly erupt the cinematic world into wholly unprecedented developments. But it fits into the trends and patterns steadily evolving through the last years of the 1800s, even as exciting changes and quality films illustrate increased output and popularity.From medical viewpoints to "animation," retroactive markers of "filmic language" to attribution mysteries, the conversations with host Tristan Ettleman's guests are sure to dispel some myths and...2024-07-3104 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E7 - The End of a CenturyInvented within the last decade or so of the 1800s, "cinema" (a fluid definition not owed to any one person or group as this season has demonstrated) grew exponentially through the end of the century. The guests for this first season of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever have demonstrated the diversity of filmic form in this incubatory period, including technologies, genres, and representation before and behind the camera associated with much later decades. In this finale, host Tristan Ettleman summarizes the trends of the era, shares his five picks for the 1800s, and creates a "mini-canon" from guests...2024-07-1707 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E6 - Peter DomankiewiczPeter Domankiewicz is a film director (Tea & Sangria), screenwriter, and journalist with a long-standing interest in the origins of cinema. That interest manifests in five picks that deconstruct some of the myths surrounding early film, including the definition of “cinema” and its “invention,” a widescreen format at least 70 years before it became a standard, and a genuinely exclusive explanation of a film residing in the French national film archive that Peter was able to identify this summer.He is currently in the final year of a fully-funded PhD at De Montfort University, examining the work and inventions of the cont...2024-07-101h 11The 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E5 - Bryony DixonBryony Dixon is the curator of silent film at the BFI National Archive and her picks for the 1800s reflect that expertise. Bryony discusses five British films that are emblematic of key developments in the earliest days of film, which align with the end of the Victorian era that she details in her book The Story of Victorian Film.Bryony is also the author of 100 Silent Films and has written numerous articles and book chapters on silent cinema and archiving. She is co-director of the British Silent Film Festival and has programmed films for many international festivals. She ha...2024-07-0353 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E4 - Maggie HennefeldMaggie Hennefeld, Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, has literally written the book(s) on early cinematic feminist humor. Death by Laughter: Female Hysteria and Early Cinema and Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes tackle similar themes to those explored in her five picks from the 1890s, which reveal the expansive possibilities of the earliest days of film, from anarchic comedy to those who worked behind the camera.Maggie is also a curator of the 4-disc DVD/Blu-ray collection Cinema's First Nasty Women and co-director of Archives on Screen, Twin...2024-06-2650 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E3 - Aurore SpiersAs a feminist film historian and scholar, Aurore Spiers (she/her) is mainly focused on women’s contributions to film, with her work interrogating historiographical processes—what history gets written, how, and why—through the lens of gender and intersectional and multidimensional feminism. That focus is reflected in her five picks for the 1800s, as the labor behind the camera is explored and expectations of this period in film are challenged.Aurore received her PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from The University of Chicago in 2022. Since 2015, she has been a contributing editor to the Women Film Pioneers Projec...2024-06-191h 00The 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E2 - J.J. DiUbaldiAs the first guest of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever and its 1800s season, writer and avid "prehistoric" film watcher J.J. DiUbaldi explores sound, color, and positive racial depictions (among other topics) through his five picks; things one might not expect to find in the earliest motion pictures of the 1880s and '90s.J.J. maintains zepfanman.com, an eclectic hodgepodge of his interests over the years. His goal is to connect people and facilitate sharing in a way that only the internet can provide, which includes a 10 Years 10 Films blog series that is...2024-06-1242 minThe 5 Best Films of Every Year EverThe 1800s E1 - The Invention of CinemaWelcome to The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever. Ahead of guests and listeners sharing their picks for the first decade or so of cinema up until the end of the nineteenth century, instructor and host Tristan Ettleman provides some context on the podcast and the creation of “moving pictures.”2024-06-0504 min
The Complete CatalogS1 E21: Tears of the Kingdom (w/ Luke Stoutenburg)The boys are back nearly a year after Tears of the Kingdom's release to bring you a bonus episode reflecting on the latest installment in The Legend of Zelda series. Its massive scope has digested a bit and they have opinions (especially Isaac).Also, guest Luke Stoutenburg shares how the new hit affected him in the midst of a deeper dive into the franchise in general. And an updated guest ranking list is "calculated" and shared!2024-04-241h 19
CinemallennialsMarch of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)Hello my name is David Lewis and I am the host of Cinemallennials, a podcast where myself and another millennial watch a classic film ranging from the 1890s to 1969 and discuss its significance and relevance in our world today.
On this episode of Cinemallennials, I talked with educator and Tiktoker, Tristan Ettleman, about one of my favorite films of all time, Laurel and Hardy’s 1934
Christmas classic Babes in Toyland, also known as March of the Wooden Soldiers.
Babes In Toyland does not only have personal significance for me as...2023-12-2158 minThe Complete CatalogS1 E20: FinaleThe end of Butt Heads season 1 is here...for now! On the eve of the release of Tears of the Kingdom, the boys look back on their journey across the 19 (soon to be 20) mainline games in The Legend of Zelda series.Tristan and Isaac walk through their respective lists, butting of heads actually results in some changes, the "Boscars Hemmys" are awarded to various outstanding aspects of the series, and friends of the show's first season share what Zelda means to them and their own ranked lists, all building to a crowd-sourced ultimate "guest list."It's...2023-05-101h 48The Complete CatalogS1 E19: Breath of the Wild (w/ Corey Sotelo)Breath of the Wild came out of the gate with fans calling it not only the best Zelda game, but also the best game of all time. That's quite the reputation to build in so little time and the boys discuss how that conflicts with their nostalgic feelings for older games in the series.Plus, Corey Sotelo joins the show again for this penultimate episode, talking his in-depth experiences with the 2017 installment. He's gotten all the Korok seeds!2023-05-032h 05The Complete CatalogS1 E18: Tri Force Heroes (w/ Eric R. Miller)Tri Force Heroes will always and forever be defined by how hard its structure and multiplayer is to access years removed from its 2015 release, however basically solid its gameplay is. The boys discuss that "disappointment..."...but as Eric R. Miller (three-time guest and apparent resident multiplayer Zelda expert) points out, disappointment might be too strong a word.2023-04-2650 minThe Complete CatalogS1 E17: A Link Between Worlds (w/ Madeleine Clermont)A Link Between Worlds' reputation as an underrated Zelda game is certainly earned, as the boys discuss one of the best 2D games in the series...and indeed, period!Also, Madeleine Clermont returns and joins the three-time guest club to talk about how much she loves the game and how the 2013 installment was such a breath of fresh air.2023-04-1956 minThe Complete CatalogS1 E16: Skyward Sword (w/ Debe Ili)Skyward Sword faced a lot of revisionist history shortly after its release in 2011 and to this day is still beloved and harshly criticized. Both of the boys see the problems with it, but they mostly discuss how it's a magical time that carried a lot of the core emotions of the Zelda series.They are also joined by guest Debe Ili (Isaac's own wife!) to discuss how this installment was her first Zelda game and her belated introduction to a whole world of gaming.2023-04-121h 32The Complete CatalogS1 E15: Spirit Tracks (w/ Madeleine Clermont)The boys' conversation about Spirit Tracks has a lot in common with the one about Phantom Hourglass, but then this 2009 follow up is in fact quite similar to its predecessor. And that's not necessarily a good thing.Guest Madeleine Clermont also returns to the show to be a bit of a moderating influence on some negativity!2023-04-051h 05The Complete CatalogS1 E14: Phantom Hourglass (w/ Bella Stoutenburg)Phantom Hourglass was novel in some ways, but both of the boys have issues with the 2007 Legend of Zelda game's "streamlining" of the series' formula and its inaccessible controls.Additionally, guest Bella Stoutenburg (and Tristan's S.O.) comes on the show to go back into her childhood experiences with the game.2023-03-291h 06The Complete CatalogS1 E13: Twilight Princess (w/ Trista Thurston)Twilight Princess has emerged as both a dark horse favorite and controversial installment in the Legend of Zelda series. The boys wrestle with both opinions as they range far and wide in their mega-discussion about the 2006 game.Guest Trista Thurston also joins the show to highlight standout story elements and how Twilight Princess fit into an angsty teen's life.Plus: coverage of spin-off Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland!2023-03-221h 50The Complete CatalogS1 E12: The Minish Cap (w/ Dan Vandervort)In this episode on The Minish Cap, the Butt Heads boys sound much more negative about the game then they may ultimately feel.Dan Vandervort also guests once again to talk about how the 3DS Ambassador Program gave him access to a run of great Game Boy Advance games, one of which was of course this 2004 entry into the Legend of Zelda series.2023-03-151h 01The Complete CatalogS1 E11: Four Swords Adventures (w/ Eric R. Miller)Butt Heads is back! The boys return from a major hiatus to talk an overlooked installment in The Legend of Zelda series: Four Swords Adventures. The butting heads gets a little more intense for this 2004 gem!Also, guest Eric R. Miller, the show's resident multiplayer Zelda expert, returns to dissect the game's place in Nintendo's history.2023-03-081h 11
Minor NotesOne By OneKate and Gaby are joined by teacher, writer, and podcaster Tristan Ettleman to discuss Foo Fighter's One By One.
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This podcast is powered by Pinecast.2022-09-2857 minThe Complete CatalogS1 E10: The Wind Waker (w/ Seth S. Scott)The boys get back to another big 3D entry in The Legend of Zelda series: The Wind Waker. The first GameCube Zelda game turns out to be one of both Tristan and Isaac's favorites, although there's another hair-splitting Butt Heads segment to come out of the phenomenal 2002 entry.Seth S. Scott also returns to the show to give his take on what is also one of his favorite Zelda games!2022-03-091h 49The Complete CatalogS1 E9: Four Swords (w/ Eric R. Miller)Four Swords just might be it: the ultimate last game in both Tristan and Isaac's Zelda rankings. There are still many games to come, but as the boys discuss, it'll be hard to find something worse than this mostly forgettable entry in the series.But it's not all bad. Guest Eric R. Miller hops on the show to discuss the neat ideas to come out of the 2002 Game Boy Advance game!2022-03-021h 07The Complete CatalogS1 E8: Oracle of Ages (w/ Austin Clark)The boys talk about the flipside of the Game Boy Color Zelda coin, Oracle of Ages, and how its puzzle focus causes another dividing line in Tristan and Isaac's respective rankings.Austin Clark also guests again to follow up his thoughts on both 2001 Zelda games and how he prefers Ages to Seasons!2022-02-231h 08The Complete CatalogS1 E7: Oracle of Seasons (w/ Austin Clark)Oracle of Seasons was Tristan's first Zelda game, so maybe nostalgia is at the core of his positive feelings for it. Still, he and Isaac talk about the feeling that the 2001 game isn't quite in step with the rest of the series, even though it has all of the components you can expect from The Legend of Zelda.Guest Austin Clark returns to the show to echo this sentiment, and provide some other insight into the unique circumstances surrounding one half of the Game Boy Color Zelda partnership.2022-02-161h 26The Complete CatalogS1 E6: Majora's Mask (w/ Madeleine Clermont)Majora's Mask is Tristan's favorite game of all time. Ocarina of Time is Isaac's. The guys finally do what the show is about (butt heads) on the best Zelda game so far, although both agree that the 2000 entry is so, so good.Friend of the show Madeleine Clermont also joins the episode to give her insight into Majora's Mask, including how its strange vibes are so unique.2022-02-091h 35The Complete CatalogS1 E5: Ocarina of Time (w/ Corey Sotelo)The boys start their episode on one of the most important and greatest Zeldas (and games in general) talking about the most insignificant and worst: the Philips CD-i installments. But then they get onto the 1998 classic Ocarina of Time, ranging far and wide in their conversation about Isaac's favorite game in the series.And stick through this mega-sized episode to hear the talk with Corey Sotelo, a friend of the show who shares his nostalgia for Ocarina of Time and gives insight into a now-key aspect of Zelda fandom: speedruns.2022-02-021h 50The Complete CatalogS1 E4: Link's Awakening (w/ Dan Vandervort)Link's Awakening sparks some philosophical conversation between Tristan and Isaac, as the 1993 game's weirdness permeates all kinds of tangents. It's like this is the Twin Peaks of Zelda!Some old memories are also brought up by friend of the show Dan Vandervort as he and Tristan reminisce about playing Link's Awakening in his garage, using download play for Phantom Hourglass, and why the 3DS was his portal back into Koholint Island.2022-01-261h 06The Complete CatalogS1 E3: A Link to the Past (w/ Seth S. Scott)The Zelda journey comes to a formative installment with a legacy that looms large (that's going to happen a few times). Tristan and Isaac gush about A Link to the Past, which is about as fresh today as it was in 1991.Perfect Hat Games' Seth S. Scott also stops by to share his game designer, artist, and musician perspective on the greatness of the game, one of his personal favorites in the Zelda series.2022-01-191h 16The Complete CatalogS1 E2 - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (w/ Seth Macy)The boys continue their journey of ranking the Legend of Zelda series with Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Tristan tries to defend it and Isaac...well, they both have problems with it.IGN's Seth Macy guests on this episode to talk about how this 1987 NES game was his first Zelda, what he sees as admirable changes for the sequel, and his defense whenever Zelda II slander arises!2022-01-1259 minThe Complete CatalogS1 E1: The Legend of Zelda (w/ Austin Clark)The first episode of the first season of Butt Heads kicks off Tristan Ettleman and Isaac Ili's ranking of all 19 mainline Zelda games! The boys talk 1986's The Legend of Zelda, the game that started it all, and how it's still incredible more than 35 years later.This episode's guest, Austin Clark, also stops by to give his insight gleaned from the game's original NES instruction manual and share his thoughts on the philosophy behind the first Zelda and the series in general.2022-01-051h 09The Complete CatalogSeason 1: The Legend of Zelda TrailerButt Heads is the only podcast on the internet where these two dudes talk about media.Season 1 airing January 5! Hosts Tristan Ettleman and Isaac Ili explore the Legend of Zelda series and rank each of the 19 games, butting heads as they go.2021-12-3101 min