Shows
How Would Lubitsch Do It?S5E10 - Cluny Brown [1946] and our Grand Finale with Tim Brayton
[Due to our last-minute addition of two episodes, the podcast feed mistakenly had S5E09a queued here for a few hours this morning - it should now be fixed!]
How Would Lubitsch Do It comes to a close with a grand finale. Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and look back on both Ernst Lubitsch’s career and the past five seasons of this show.
First, we discuss everything Cluny Brown: the film’s generosity and humanism, its commentary on British class society, its relationship with the second world war, its full-throated embrace of a...
2024-10-221h 59How Would Lubitsch Do It?S5E10 - Cluny Brown [1946] and our Grand Finale with Tim Brayton
[Due to our last-minute addition of two episodes, the podcast feed mistakenly had S5E09a queued here for a few hours this morning - it should now be fixed!]
How Would Lubitsch Do It comes to a close with a grand finale. Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and look back on both Ernst Lubitsch’s career and the past five seasons of this show.
First, we discuss everything Cluny Brown: the film’s generosity and humanism, its commentary on British class society, its relationship with the second world war, its full-throated embrace of a...
2024-10-221h 59How Would Lubitsch Do It?S5E10 - Cluny Brown [1946] - and our Grand Finale - with Tim BraytonHow Would Lubitsch Do It comes to a close with our grand finale. Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and look back on both Ernst Lubitsch’s career and the past five seasons of this show.
First, we discuss everything Cluny Brown: the film’s generosity and humanism, its commentary on British class society, its relationship with the second world war, its full-throated embrace of absurdism, the title character’s magnetism, Adam Belinski’s status as a revision on a stock villain, and the film’s somewhat autobiographical and wonderfully optimistic ending.
Second, we close out...
2024-10-221h 36How Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E09b - The Merry Widow [1934] with Tim Brayton
It’s our season finale, and the end of the pre-code era! To celebrate, Tim Brayton returns to discuss THE MERRY WIDOW. We effuse about the film’s infectious energy, the many incredible ‘Lubitsch Touch’ moments and gestures, discuss Lubitsch’s extremely loose adaptation of the Lehar operetta, the French-language version, Edward Everett Horton’s greatest role, the film’s relationship with love and death, the more “conservative” nature of the film’s resolution, and much more!
With that, Season 4 of HOW WOULD LUBITSCH DO IT comes to a close, and with it the pre-code era. Oh how we’ll miss you...
2024-02-201h 06How Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E09b - The Merry Widow [1934] with Tim Brayton
It’s our season finale, and the end of the pre-code era! To celebrate, Tim Brayton returns to discuss THE MERRY WIDOW. We effuse about the film’s infectious energy, the many incredible ‘Lubitsch Touch’ moments and gestures, discuss Lubitsch’s extremely loose adaptation of the Lehar operetta, the French-language version, Edward Everett Horton’s greatest role, the film’s relationship with love and death, the more “conservative” nature of the film’s resolution, and much more!
With that, Season 4 of HOW WOULD LUBITSCH DO IT comes to a close, and with it the pre-code era. Oh how we’ll miss you...
2024-02-201h 06How Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E06a - Larceny in 1932: Trouble in Paradise and Jewel Robbery with Tanya Goldman
In the first of three episodes in on TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Tanya Goldman joins us to discuss two key works in the Gentleman Thief subgenre - the aforementioned TROUBLE IN PARADISE as well as William Dieterle’s JEWEL ROBBERY! We cover the work of William Powell, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins, the differing ways in which each film deals with morality and ethics in the midst of all the pre-code transgressions, the love language of thievery, and plenty else!
Edited by Griffin Sheel
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Sp...
2024-01-0252 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E06a - Larceny in 1932: Trouble in Paradise and Jewel Robbery with Tanya Goldman
In the first of three episodes in on TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Tanya Goldman joins us to discuss two key works in the Gentleman Thief subgenre - the aforementioned TROUBLE IN PARADISE as well as William Dieterle’s JEWEL ROBBERY! We cover the work of William Powell, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins, the differing ways in which each film deals with morality and ethics in the midst of all the pre-code transgressions, the love language of thievery, and plenty else!
Edited by Griffin Sheel
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Sp...
2024-01-0252 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E02 - Monte Carlo [1930] and Trash Cinema with Katharine Coldiron
Katharine Coldiron, author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter, joins us to discuss Ernst Lubitsch’s 1930 musical MONTE CARLO. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the evolution of Lubitsch’s formal technique in the early sound era, the film’s extremely naughty lyrical content, and its gentle satire of class and gender roles. In the second half of the episode, we move on to a discussion of “junk movies”: films which, despite a distinct lack of competence on the part of their creators, achieve something of value.
Edited by Sophia Yoon
We have a Discord!
NEXT WEEK...
2023-11-2856 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S4E02 - Monte Carlo [1930] and Trash Cinema with Katharine Coldiron
Katharine Coldiron, author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter, joins us to discuss Ernst Lubitsch’s 1930 musical MONTE CARLO. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the evolution of Lubitsch’s formal technique in the early sound era, the film’s extremely naughty lyrical content, and its gentle satire of class and gender roles. In the second half of the episode, we move on to a discussion of “junk movies”: films which, despite a distinct lack of competence on the part of their creators, achieve something of value.
Edited by Sophia Yoon
We have a Discord!
NEXT WEEK...
2023-11-2856 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E09 - Eternal Love (1929) with Bram Ruiter
In our Season 3 finale, returning guest Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss the final film Ernst Lubitsch ever directed that didn’t involved on-set sound recording: ETERNAL LOVE! We discuss the film’s unusual status as a hybrid silent/sound picture, the strange story of how this film was lost and then discovered, John Barrymore’s dipsomaniacal tendencies, and the film’s terrific ending amidst long tangents in which break down how, exactly, one might deign to fix this rickety screenplay.
Edited by Will Ross.
Thanks to the guests who lent their time and support to this...
2023-09-1248 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E09 - Eternal Love (1929) with Bram Ruiter
In our Season 3 finale, returning guest Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss the final film Ernst Lubitsch ever directed that didn’t involved on-set sound recording: ETERNAL LOVE! We discuss the film’s unusual status as a hybrid silent/sound picture, the strange story of how this film was lost and then discovered, John Barrymore’s dipsomaniacal tendencies, and the film’s terrific ending amidst long tangents in which break down how, exactly, one might deign to fix this rickety screenplay.
Edited by Will Ross.
Thanks to the guests who lent their time and support to this...
2023-09-1248 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E04 - Forbidden Paradise (1924) with Will Ross
Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. We cover Lubitsch’s use of blocking, cutting, and production design for thematic purposes, anachronistic automobiles, slanderous Catharine the Great biopics, the film’s abstract politics, frivolous revolutionaries, the psychological effects of intercutting tints, MOMA’s intensive restoration of the film, and ethics in film preservation.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Dave K...
2023-08-0858 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E04 - Forbidden Paradise (1924) with Will Ross
Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. We cover Lubitsch’s use of blocking, cutting, and production design for thematic purposes, anachronistic automobiles, slanderous Catharine the Great biopics, the film’s abstract politics, frivolous revolutionaries, the psychological effects of intercutting tints, MOMA’s intensive restoration of the film, and ethics in film preservation.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Dave K...
2023-08-0858 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E03 - Three Women [1924] with James Penco
James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN, Lubitsch’s 1924 melodramedy*. We discuss Lubitsch’s use of objects as a proxy for characters, the film’s sometimes-baffling tonal decisions, the preservation state of Lubitsch’s American silents, the wisdom of “Three Women” as a title, and the undeniable talents of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall.
*To coin a phrase.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
2023-08-0137 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S3E03 - Three Women [1924] with James Penco
James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN, Lubitsch’s 1924 melodramedy*. We discuss Lubitsch’s use of objects as a proxy for characters, the film’s sometimes-baffling tonal decisions, the preservation state of Lubitsch’s American silents, the wisdom of “Three Women” as a title, and the undeniable talents of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall.
*To coin a phrase.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
2023-08-0137 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S2E07 - The Wildcat [1921] with Bram Ruiter and Will RossWill Ross and Bram Ruiter rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 Bavarian expressionist comedy epic THE WILDCAT. We wrestle with this exhilarating-yet-difficult work as we consider unmotivated aspect ratio changes, body double swaps, questionable rug-pull endings, Lubitsch’s artistic toolkit, and the film’s ridiculous production design.
Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.
NEXT WEEK:
Legendary film scholar and egyptologist Kristin Thompson joins us to discuss THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH.
2023-05-0948 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S2E07 - The Wildcat [1921] with Bram Ruiter and Will RossWill Ross and Bram Ruiter rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 Bavarian expressionist comedy epic THE WILDCAT. We wrestle with this exhilarating-yet-difficult work as we consider unmotivated aspect ratio changes, body double swaps, questionable rug-pull endings, Lubitsch’s artistic toolkit, and the film’s ridiculous production design.
Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.
NEXT WEEK:
Legendary film scholar and egyptologist Kristin Thompson joins us to discuss THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH.
2023-05-0948 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S2E06.5 - Napoléon vu par Abel Gance [1927] with Paul CuffSurprise! Paul Cuff returns to discuss something completely different: Abel Gance’s 1927 epic NAPOLEON! We discuss our shared love of the film, our first experiences watching it, Abel Gance’s subsequent career, and the history of the film’s restoration.
Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.
NEXT WEEK:
Bram Ruiter and Will Ross rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 expressionist comic extravaganza, THE WILDCAT.
WORKS CITED:
A REVOLUTION FOR THE SCREEN: ABEL GANCE’S NAPOLEON by Paul Buff
Paul Cuff’s Commentary on the BFI Napoleon Blu-Ray
NAPOLEON b...
2023-05-0248 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S2E06.5 - Napoléon vu par Abel Gance [1927] with Paul CuffSurprise! Paul Cuff returns to discuss something completely different: Abel Gance’s 1927 epic NAPOLEON! We discuss our shared love of the film, our first experiences watching it, Abel Gance’s subsequent career, and the history of the film’s restoration.
Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.
NEXT WEEK:
Bram Ruiter and Will Ross rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 expressionist comic extravaganza, THE WILDCAT.
WORKS CITED:
A REVOLUTION FOR THE SCREEN: ABEL GANCE’S NAPOLEON by Paul Buff
Paul Cuff’s Commentary on the BFI Napoleon Blu-Ray
NAPOLEON b...
2023-05-0248 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E08 - The Oyster Princess [1919] with Bram RuiterSeason One draws to a close in maximalist style as experimental filmmaker Bram Ruiter us for a particularly exuberant episode in which we discuss Lubitsch’s grand Ruritanian comic epic THE OYSTER PRINCESS. Our discussion is wide-ranging and a little giddy due to our excitement at discussing such a thrilling and hilarious mini-epic, so prepare for a slightly looser episode than usual! Lubitsch’s growth as an artist, Ossi Oswalda’s indomitability, and a long digression about Berlin’s film museum are all on the table.
Immense to everyone that made this season possible:
All of our g...
2023-01-3151 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E08 - The Oyster Princess [1919] with Bram RuiterSeason One draws to a close in maximalist style as experimental filmmaker Bram Ruiter us for a particularly exuberant episode in which we discuss Lubitsch’s grand Ruritanian comic epic THE OYSTER PRINCESS. Our discussion is wide-ranging and a little giddy due to our excitement at discussing such a thrilling and hilarious mini-epic, so prepare for a slightly looser episode than usual! Lubitsch’s growth as an artist, Ossi Oswalda’s indomitability, and a long digression about Berlin’s film museum are all on the table.
Immense to everyone that made this season possible:
All of our g...
2023-01-3151 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E01 - When I Was Dead (aka Where Is My Treasure) [1916] with Will RossWe begin at a film that doesn’t actually represent much of a beginning: Lubitsch’s first shorts remain lost, which leaves us with WHEN I WAS DEAD, also known as WHERE IS MY TREASURE. Film Formally co-host Will Ross joins us as we discuss Lubitsch’s early life, the state of film comedy circa 1916, “door stuff”, tinting in silent films, 3-D, and more.
NEXT WEEK:
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Assistant Curator Dara Jaffe joins us to discuss SHOE PALACE PINKUS. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
...
2022-12-1350 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E01 - When I Was Dead (aka Where Is My Treasure) [1916] with Will RossWe begin at a film that doesn’t actually represent much of a beginning: Lubitsch’s first shorts remain lost, which leaves us with WHEN I WAS DEAD, also known as WHERE IS MY TREASURE. Film Formally co-host Will Ross joins us as we discuss Lubitsch’s early life, the state of film comedy circa 1916, “door stuff”, tinting in silent films, 3-D, and more.
NEXT WEEK:
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Assistant Curator Dara Jaffe joins us to discuss SHOE PALACE PINKUS. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
...
2022-12-1350 minHow Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E00: A Brief History of Modern Germany with Lauren Faulkner RossiWe begin our journey into the filmography of Ernst Lubitsch with a bit of scene-setting, as Simon Fraser University assistant professor Lauren Rossi joins us to discuss the history of Weimar Germany. Our discussion is wide-ranging, beginning with the Napoleonic era and ending with the downfall of the Weimar republic; in focusing on this period, we aim to provide context as to the political and social forces that shaped Ernst Lubitsch’s worldview and artistic practice.
Next Week:
FILM FORMALLY co-host Will Ross joins us on December 13th to discuss WHEN I WAS DEAD aka WHERE IS MY...
2022-12-061h 32How Would Lubitsch Do It?S1E00: A Brief History of Modern Germany with Lauren Faulkner RossiWe begin our journey into the filmography of Ernst Lubitsch with a bit of scene-setting, as Simon Fraser University assistant professor Lauren Rossi joins us to discuss the history of Weimar Germany. Our discussion is wide-ranging, beginning with the Napoleonic era and ending with the downfall of the Weimar republic; in focusing on this period, we aim to provide context as to the political and social forces that shaped Ernst Lubitsch’s worldview and artistic practice.
Next Week:
FILM FORMALLY co-host Will Ross joins us on December 13th to discuss WHEN I WAS DEAD aka WHERE IS MY...
2022-12-061h 32
Film FormallyCommentary 6 - STILL PROCESSING with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
Please note that, due to sync necessities, there are a few gaps in the episode’s discussion: we’ve filled with with snippets of Will’s origina...
2022-04-1926 min
Film FormallyCommentary 5 - IN DOG YEARS with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
IN DOG YEARS (2019)
Old dogs are celebrated in ten short stories about love, loss...
2022-04-1215 min
Film FormallyCommentary 4 - NORMAN NORMAN with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
NORMAN NORMAN (2018)
A young woman grapples with the declining health of her beloved dog...
2022-04-0513 min
Film FormallyCommentary 3 - PUMPKIN MOVIE with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
PUMPKIN MOVIE (2017)
Two women trade stories of misogyny while carving pumpkins over Skype as par...
2022-03-2915 min
Film FormallyCommentary 2 - IT’S HIM with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
IT’S HIM (2016)
An unexpected encounter during an afternoon at the cinema catapults a yo...
2022-03-2216 min
Film FormallyCommentary 1 - NINE BEHIND with Sophy RomvariFILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks.
To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions.
NINE BEHIND (2016)
Calling her grandfather in Budapest to learn about the Hungarian film industr...
2022-03-1528 min
Film Formally1-Year Anniversary Q&A [Featuring Wong Kar-wai and Snyder Cut Hot Takes]It’s our one-year, 43rd-episode spectacular, and we’re once again answering your questions! We go deep on the new WONG KAR-WAI restorations, our thoughts on Zach Snyder’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, the merits of handheld camera operation, film scores, not one but TWO aspect ratio rants from Devan, and more!
But first, some NEWS.
We’re going to be taking a bit of a hiatus, and we’re adjusting our Patreon to reflect this. In the interests of keeping the quality of this podcast high and sustainable, we’re going to take our time with the next sea...
2021-04-2959 min
Film FormallyS3E10 - Rescuing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Benji Heran & Jordan KrugHow an acclaimed director’s versions of a famous film be unavailable for decades — when there’s nothing stopping their release? How can a small group of fans gather the evidence and means to reconstruct those versions? How can they finally have a hand in its official release? Endless passion — and a lot of luck. It’s a subject and film as near and dear to our hearts as any, and we’ve brought on superfans Benji Heran and Jordan Krug to talk about the film prints, continuity scripts, and years of tireless, unpaid passion that they’ve put into preservin...
2021-03-301h 08
Film FormallyS3E09 - Adapting Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Tim BraytonAdapting literary works to the screen involves a certain amount of translation. There are certain things that are easily conveyed in writing that cannot be conveyed in a straightforward way onscreen; likewise, there are elements of cinematic language that open up new routes to expression. John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a useful case study in this regard: it has been the subject of two acclaimed adaptations that could not be more distinct in the toolkit each uses to translate book to screen. We’ve invited Tim Brayton, film critic at Alternate Ending, to discuss both the...
2021-03-231h 24
Film FormallyS3E08 - Colour Grading with Andrea ChlebakColour grading, the art of manipulating the colour of a film digitally in post-production, is as omnipresent as it is misunderstood. To help demystify the process, we’ve invited supervising colourist Andrea Chlebak (Mandy, An American Pickle, HBO’s The Watchmen) to discuss the art of colour grading with us.
In this episode, we discuss:
Where does the colour grading process begin? Pre-production? Production?
Development of multiple palettes within individual films.
Digital and celluloid image capture and the implications on the colour grading process of each.
The future of colour grading and...
2021-03-161h 15
Film FormallyS3E07 - The Bourne Series and Chaos CinemaExtreme ways are back! In pog form! This week we’ve got a wonderful little discussion about the evolution of the Jason Bourne film series. In particular, we’re here to dissect how Paul Greengrass transformed it into the 21st century’s foremost example of Chaos Cinema. Handheld camerawork, fast editing, questionable focus? It’s all here, and we’re here to sift through the wreckage.
2021-03-101h 24
Film FormallyS3E06 - Wes Craven's Meta Horror with Mike ThornGeez, it’s been a while since we got spooky on the show, hasn’t it? High time we brought back Mike Thorn to talk about how Wes Craven fused meta storytelling and horror in two franchises: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. We’ll permeate the membranes of reality, disassemble Craven’s views on horror’s social and political value, and laugh about how Matthew Lillard yells “BOO-GAH” when he imitates a gunshot.
Mike has a terrific new horror novel, Shelter for the Damned, that you can check out in print or e-book format directly through Journa...
2021-02-231h 25
Film FormallyS3E05 - After Last Season and Outsider Art with Bram RuiterAn Anti-Masterpiece is, as defined by our own Will Ross, is “an astonishing, essential work of art in spite of a distinct lack of conventional competence on the part of its makers”. After Last Season by Mark Region is one such film, and we’ve invited filmmaker Bram Ruiter to discuss it with us. In what is very much not a “bad movie” episode, we attempt to grapple with the nature of outsider art.
In this episode, we discuss:
The value of different competent cinema.
The many, many mysteries behind the production of After Last Season...
2021-02-161h 11
Film FormallyS3E04 - Eighth Grade and the Internet with Bronwyn Henderson and Brietta StewartFor this episode our Associate Producer Paige Smith has relieved Devan and Will of hosting duties so that she can talk about Eighth Grade’s depiction and use of the Internet — and she’s brought on two friends who survived eighth grade with her, Bronwyn Henderson and Brietta Stewart. It's both a dive into how the film interweaves screens and scrolling with its characters and dramatic presentation, and a personal reflection on how strange and hard it is to grow up — and how much "growing up" has changed.
2021-02-0950 min
Film FormallyS3e03 - Documentary Verite with Sophy RomvariIn part two of our Verite series we discuss truth in documentary filmmaking with returning guest Sophy Romvari. Sophy’s films have increasingly blurred the line between fact and fiction and are often classified as ‘hybrid’ documentaries. What can we learn from this type of fusion cinema? We go deep on the existential questions that inevitably ensue when one claims to be telling a ‘truth’ and explore the various ways different filmmakers have sought to build ideological frameworks for reaching their truths.
In this episode, we discuss:
Documentary, the genre: a contract?
‘Hybrid’ documentary and the mix of fac...
2021-02-021h 14
Film FormallyS3E02 - Narrative Verite with Whit StillmanWe're doing two episodes on truth in cinema, starting with one on standards of reality in narrative films. Whit Stillman (The Last Days of Disco, Love & Friendship) joined us, largely to register his animosity towards the idea of making stylistic decisions based on realism, and shared his thoughts on aesthetic decline, pretension, and the meowling cat sound in Damsels in Distress.
2021-01-2654 min
Film FormallyS3E01 - Film Preservation and Home Video with Blake BlasingameWelcome to season 3! To kick things off, we’ve brought Duplitech Film Services Manager Blake Blasingame in to discuss film preservation and mastering for home video. Are you ready for 88 minutes of unadulterated shop talk about grain structure, bit depth, oversampling, color grading, and vinegar syndrome? Of course you are! This is Film Formally, after all.
In this episode, we discuss:
The process of preserving and restoring films for Blu-Ray and DVD releases.
Scan resolutions - 4k, and the value of oversampling.
Vinegar syndrome: the silent killer.
How film elements are so...
2021-01-191h 28
Film FormallyInter-season Special 2 - Listener Q&AIt’s our second SEASON BREAK SPECTACULAR! You sent us some great questions, and we answered them.
Per our answer early in the pod, you can check out https://native-land.ca/ to see which indigenous territory you might live on (bear in mind it’s not comprehensive or “official”). There’s a good explanation of land acknowledgments there, too. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.
2020-12-221h 03
Film FormallyAMA Announcement - Plus HOT TAKES with DevanFilm Formally is on hiatus, but that won't stop us from taking your questions! Take our quick survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y7HV6CM to submit questions that we'll answer on our podcast in an upcoming episode.
Plus, Devan comes in with some HOT TAKES.
2020-12-1402 min
Film FormallyS2E10 - Colour in the Films of Wong Kar-WaiFor our season 2 finale, we keep it simple and discuss none other than the use of colour across the works of Wong Kar-Wai. In particular, we discuss the use of colour to evoke emotions, mood, and symbolism in his 21st century masterpieces In The Mood For Love and 2046.
We’ll be taking a break for the holidays, but our regularly scheduled programming will continue in January 2021. And who knows, there might be some bonus episodes coming…
In this episode, we discuss:
The different ways in which colour is utilized and created in cinema: lighting, production desi...
2020-12-0151 min
Film FormallyS2E09 - EMERGENCY PODCAST: Justice League & The Snyder CutIt’s an emergency, time for a podcast! This week, we’re discussing the sordid tale of the DC comics behemoth blockbuster Justice League. Initially released in 2017 to much disappointment after extensive Joss Whedon-helmed reshoots, it’s taken on a new life after a movement around releasing original director Zack Snyder’s preferred cut formed. What has ensued is a confusing stream of contradictory information, and we’re here to sort it out!
In this episode, we discuss:
The mysteries surrounding the mythical “Snyder Cut”: did it ever really exist? Why does the story keep changing?
Aspect ratio...
2020-11-241h 09
Film FormallyS2E08 - Lighting Motivation feat. Paige SmithHow do we light our movies? The answer for many starts with the idea of motivation. What, within the world of our film, justifies the light illuminating our stories? In this episode we once again sit down with Paige Smith to discuss the ins and outs of lighting ideology. Most films circa the 21st century are lit in a way that prizes ‘naturalism’; we delve into the reasoning behind this as well as other ideologies, including the theatrical lighting methods that dominated early and mid 20th century cinema.
In this episode, we discuss:
Lighting ideologies and how they...
2020-11-171h 00
Film FormallyS2E07 - Blocking in Before the Devil Knows You're DeadOkay, folks, it's time for blocking! The pre-planned arrangement, movement, and posturing of characters in a frame is one of a director's most artistically demanding on-set tasks, and nobody blocked a scene better than Sidney Lumet (whom we've already talked about once this season). Screenwriter and Lumet mega-fan Cameron Carpenter joined us to talk about the blocking in Lumet's swan song, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. We also found time to talk about the film as an early example of digital cinematography, and chatted about how critics responded to the presence...
2020-11-1041 min
Film FormallyS2E06 - Experimental AnimationToday we're taking a trip through a few of the wild worlds of experimental animation, to get a sense of what makes these proudly bizarre shorts — which take on or even invent processes unheard of in mainstream animated films — feel so persuasive and affecting. We're joined by animator Gil Goletski, who came with an excellent program of shorts to watch (all of which you can see for free online), and who was happy to indulge (or initiate) some digressions into comedy and experimentalism, the shame of an unseen canon, and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (and we cut far m...
2020-11-031h 12
Film FormallyS2E05 - American Utopia and Visual Structures in Concert CinemaThere’s a new concert film out! It’s called David Byrne’s American Utopia, directed by none other than Spike Lee and shot by none other than Ellen Kuras. It documents David Byrne’s most recent tour-turned Broadway show, and it’s drawn much discussion: in particular, to David Byrne’s previous high-profile concert film, Stop Making Sense. We took this release as an opportunity to delve into the entire genre of concert cinema, and the difficulties that arise when one must turn a stage-bound show intended for a live audience into a film object.
We also disc...
2020-10-201h 24
Film FormallyS2E04 - Sounds of an Inner LifeHow do you establish a sense of space through sound, not just as a means of describing a physical space, but the inner state of a person? Filmmakers Nisha Platzer and Nayuribe Montero Jimenez join us to discuss how they pulled that off when they sculpted the sonic shape of both the Cuban landscape and a silent, train-fixated boy within it in their short film Vaivén.
2020-10-1337 min
Film FormallyS2E03 - Indie Post ProductionThis time around we’re using our personal experiences to shed light on one version of how post production on an independent film can play out, discussing how we helped Daniel Jeffery and Mackenzie Warner finish the short film they co-wrote, A New Leash on Life. The four of us discuss our respective roles of editor, composer, colourist, and sound designer, sharing anecdotes and our personal theories of the craft along with our fair share of silly tangents.
2020-10-0650 min
Film FormallyS2E02 - Varda by Agnès: What is Videography?In which we discuss Agnes Varda’s final film, Varda by Agnes, and the questions it poses about the nature of cinema: is it simply a piece of lecture videography? The swan song from one of the greatest artists of our time? Both? The fundamentals of what constitute “Videography” and “Filmmaking” are put on trial as we interrogate Varda's late work.
2020-09-2946 min
Film FormallyS2E01 - Fail Safe and ContrastWe kick off our second season talking about one of our favourite films, Fail Safe, and its extraordinary use of contrast not just as an aesthetic, but as the guiding philosophy behind the whole film. Sidney Lumet’s nuclear thriller employs endless contrasts: between dark and light, fast and slow, loud and quiet, abstraction and realism, and the life and death contrasts of nuclear war and its ideologies. All this contrast adds up to a one-of-a-kind nail-biting experience, and we’re here to walk you through how so much of the film’s construction centers on that one unifying concep...
2020-09-221h 11
Film FormallyInter-season Special - State of the Podcast & Listener Q&AAs season 1 comes to a close, Devan and Will take stock, answer your questions, and look forward to the new season.
2020-09-0836 min
Film FormallyEp 20 - "Cinematic" feat. Nathan Douglas, James Penco & Paige SmithThere seem to be as many meanings for the word “cinematic” as there are people who use it, so we enlisted the help of our listeners to provide their own definitions, all of which we read and respond to in this episode. With help from some of our oldest filmmaking friends, we worked to see where everyone was coming from with their takes — from camera bros to arthouse advocates to jaded skeptics — and try to come to terms with what the word signifies for our personal relationships to cinema. We also discuss a few bits of important news about the podc...
2020-09-011h 05
Film FormallyEp 19 - Storyboarding with Studio GhibliJoin us for a laid back discussion about internationally acclaimed animation director Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and how he utilizes storyboards to plan and create his films. One of our regular hosts, Devan Scott, is away this week, so our associate producer and resident Ghibli enthusiast Paige Smith joins Will Ross to explore how Miyazaki works — and how that affects his films.
2020-08-2539 min
Film FormallyEp 18 - Vancouver Cinema and Late Capitalism feat. Josh CabritaHow do prolific local filmmaking communities come about… and how do they slip away? Curator and film critic Josh Cabrita joins us as we take our own home of Vancouver as a case study for how creative and institutional stagnation happens, and what we can do to counteract it.
2020-08-181h 22
Film FormallyEp 17 - Finding Star Wars feat. Drew StewartEver seen the original Star Wars trilogy? Which versions? Multiple new “official” editions of the films have emerged since 1997, with the original films as seen in the 70s and 80s left without any official release. The work of tracking all these changes and preserving the originals has largely fallen to fans, one of whom, Drew Stewart, runs Star Wars Visual Comparisons, a compendium of every visual alteration to the original trilogy. Drew dropped by to talk about how and why all this happened to Star Wars, and how communities rise up when studios fail to protect the legacy of thei...
2020-08-111h 11
Film FormallyEp 16 - Sounds of Commerce in Early Documentary feat. Tanya GoldmanJoin us as we open our ears to the stylized sounds of a bustling commercial existence circa the 1930s — that is, the way they sound in some of the more daring documentaries of the time. Tanya Goldman, a Cinema Studies PHD candidate at NYU, walks us through these films, how their radical soundtracks express their politics, and how the soundscapes of documentaries have shifted in the decades since. (All of the main films discussed are available to watch online for free, you can find links in our shownotes at filmformally.com.)
2020-08-0443 min
Film FormallyEp 15 - Visual Textures with Christopher BlauveltWhat does an image feel like? Is it smooth? Coarse? Soft? Sharp? Distorted? These are decisions that cinematographers, directors, and anyone else involved in the creation of a visual language for a specific film must grapple with. Christopher Blauvelt, the acclaimed cinematographer of such films as First Cow, Emma, Meek’s Cutoff, Certain Women, The Bling Ring, and Mid90s joins us to discuss the textures that define his work and how he collaborated with directors like Kelly Reichardt, Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, and Autumn De Wilde to develop these images.
2020-07-281h 43
Film FormallyEp 14 - Revisionist AudioIt’s grievance time! Will and Devan take on the world of revisionist audio in film restoration. A niche subject? Probably. Something you should care about? Most definitely!
When you pop in the latest lovingly-restored 4k Blu-Ray release by a boutique label, you might expect that the soundtrack would be given the same faithful treatment as the video. Think again! The world of film restoration is rife with overly filtered audio, anachronistic foley decisions, and questionable surround sound mixes, and Will and Devan are here to explain.
2020-07-2156 min
Film FormallyEp 13 - Documentary Writing and Mr. Jane and Finch feat. Alison DukeWhat does it mean to write for documentaries? Alison Duke of Oya Media Group takes us through her experience co-writing the television documentary Mr. Jane and Finch — a process that netted her the Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Writing.
We went in-depth into her commitment to honoring the truth of her subjects, the challenges of structuring a story as it unfolds in front of you, and some of the ethical quandaries that come with non-fiction filmmaking.
2020-07-141h 02
Film FormallyEp 12 - Fourteen and discontinuous production feat. Dan SallittThere are a million ways to make an independent movie, and today Dan Sallitt came on the podcast to tell us about the one he chose to make Fourteen. The film's story spans many years, and was shot in several separate periods in 2018 and 2019 — yet it was precisely planned and plotted from the start.
That topic winds up leading us to personal discussions about how our own personalities, anxieties, and circumstances dictate how we make movies and how we compare ourselves to other filmmakers. Dan winds up offering a pretty candid portrait of his feelings and personal phi...
2020-07-071h 11
Film FormallyEp 11 - Prince of Darkness feat. Mike ThornAuthor and critic Mike Thorn swings by to talk about Prince of Darkness, John Carpenter's 1987 horror film, and how it both expresses and interrogates the subject of epistemophobia — the fear of knowledge. It’s a great movie to go into knowing little, so be aware that we spoil the entire plot in this episode.
We get into how the film withholds or ambiguates information for the audience, the film's balance between pessimism and intellectual humility, and its place in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Cycle" of movies.
2020-06-3047 min
Film FormallyEp 10 - Pre-Code Montage feat. Peter LabuzaUSC Postdoctoral Fellow and Cinephiliacs host Peter Labuza joins us to dissect the history of montage. Specifically, we discuss the use of montages in Pre-Code Hollywood cinema.
In the brief period between the introduction of synchronized sound and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production [AKA Hays] Code, artists like Slavko Vorkapich pioneered the use of montages: sequences which condense time and space to convey story beats, emotional states, and break the rules of conventional realism.
2020-06-231h 17
Rugby PickEmSuper Rugby AotearoaThe 2020 rugby calendar has been chaotic, but lucky for us Super Rugby in New Zealand is back in business. We had Mickey Bateman in studio to talk everything kiwi rugby.
Mickey played his high school rugby at King’s College in south Auckland (a short drive from epic rival St. Kentigern College (St. Kent’s) He was lucky to share the field with some NZ rugby legends who are now thriving at the top level.
Shoutout to Mickey’s Meals who had been supplying the Colorado Raptors with meals each day. Due to the unfortunate pandemic and the cancelled MLR season...
2020-06-2154 min
Film FormallyEp 9 - Hallmark Movies feat. Gloria MercerIndependent filmmaker Gloria Mercer joins us on this one to talk about movies made for the Hallmark and Lifetime TV channels. The focus is on their best-known output, their romantic comedies, and we had a lot of fun chatting about how and why they’re made, their style and structure, their politics, and what we can learn from them.
If you're curious to check them out for yourself, the two movies we dive deepest into are The Flight Before Christmas (Lifetime) and Bottled with Love (Hallmark) — both can be rented or purchased online.
2020-06-1658 min
Film FormallyEpisode 8 - Long Takes feat. Kathleen Hepburn & Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers We’re excited to host filmmakers Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn, who join us for a discussion about long takes — shots that last for an extended period of time without cutting — and, in particular, their groundbreaking use of an 90-minute long take in their 2019 feature film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open. Shot entirely on 16mm film, Hepburn and Tailfeathers collaborated with cinematographer Norm Li to overcome the format’s limitations to achieve this aesthetic feat.
2020-06-0955 min
Film FormallyEpisode 7 - The Hunger Games and CinemascopeToday we jumped into one of our favourite topics — the overuse of super a super-wide frame, i.e. cinemascope, in contemporary movies. The Hunger Games is our unfortunate case study today, but the conversation touches on everything from the ratio’s rise to multiplex dominance to whatever the heck Michael Bay is doing with aspect ratios in his Transformers movies. Seriously, what is going on there.
2020-05-2644 min
Film FormallyEpisode 6 - King Hu's Kinetic Editing in Dragon Inn and Legend of the Mountain feat. Ryan SwenToday film critic Ryan Swen joins us for a double header discussion of King Hu's Dragon Inn and Legend of the Mountain and how they reflect the evolution of Hu's editing style, an aesthetic marked by an extraordinary evocation and emphasis of motion.
2020-05-121h 12
Film FormallyEpisode 5: Robert Altman, Zooms, and the Camera's Point of ViewThis time around we tackle the way Altman's process and worldview effected his famous use of lengthy zoom-ins and zoom-outs. We touch on a glut of films and side-topics, (hopefully) befitting the master of meandering ensemble narratives.
2020-05-0544 min
Film FormallyEpisode 4: Self-Reflexivity and Perfect Blue feat. Paige SmithFilmmaker Paige Smith joins us to talk about the animated psychological horror film Perfect Blue and its copious use of self-reflexivity — when a work openly acknowledges itself, forcing the viewer to recognize the trappings and mechanics of the movie they’re watching.
2020-04-2836 min
Film FormallyEpisode 3: Worldizing Sound and American GraffitiWalter Murch’s sound technique worldizing defines George Lucas’s American Graffiti, emulating how a sound would be heard in the particular location of each scene. In this episode, Devan and Will discuss the technique and how Murch uses it to serve the narrative needs of American Graffiti.
2020-04-2126 min
Film FormallyEpisode 2: Small Crews feat. Sophy RomvariIn this episode we chat with Toronto-based filmmaker (and one of our favourite collaborators) Sophy Romvari about why she scales down her films’ budgets, crew sizes, and production length.
2020-04-2138 min
Film FormallyEpisode 1: Contagion and Steven Soderbergh's Digital CinematographyIn this episode, Devan and Will discuss Steven Soderbergh’s pioneering use of digital image capture in his remarkable run of films that followed his transition away from celluloid-based filmmaking starting with Che in 2008. Focusing on his 2011 epidemic thriller Contagion, we cover his usage of the medium’s perceived ‘drawbacks’ for artistic purposes as well as wider myths and trends in modern digital cinematography, including film emulation.
2020-04-2137 min
Film FormallyEpisode 0: Welcome to Film FormallyIn this intro episode we offer a taste of our podcast, with a quick rundown of our format and a few samples from upcoming episodes. If you're tired of movie podcasts that reach a mile wide and an inch deep, we've got just the thing for you, with focused and lively conversations that stick to specifics — one episode, one technique.
2020-04-1602 minFilmed in Canada: First Year Anniversary
It's been one year since the launch of this podcast. Alexander and William take a moment to bask in their accomplishment and speculate on what's ahead. Contributors Devan Scott, Adam Abrams, Will Ross, Corbin Saleken, Chris Savory and Paul Tartaglio are surveyed for their positions on the leaf rating system. Thank you for listening.
Download this episode here. (37 MB)
2016-11-3000 minFilmed in Canada: Allan King Documentaries
Alexander Cairns sits down with filmmakers Devan Scott and Will Ross to talk about two films by Allan King. The master of direct cinema made two landmark documentaries in the 1960s. A Married Couple takes an unflinching look at a modern marriage and Warrendale observes the lives of emotionally disturbed children at a Toronto institution.
Then the trio considers the work of satirist Vic Berger, creator of hilarious Vine and YouTube videos.
Download this episode here. (47 MB)
For more information about the movies discussed in this episode, see...
2016-06-0100 minFilmed in Canada Interview: Devan Scott and Will Ross
In the first instalment of a two-part interview, Alexander Cairns chats with independent filmmakers Devan Scott and Will Ross. Their latest movie We Three Heathens chronicles the different perspectives of a trio walking the fabled Camino de Santiago. Devan and Will tell us why you probably haven’t seen their movie yet and they reflect on the obstacles and encouragements they’ve encountered in the Canadian film industry.
Download this episode here. (76 MB)
Films talked about in this episode include We Three Heathens, Lifeguard and The Big Country. Read more about We Thre...
2016-05-1200 min