

Deep Cut: A Film Podcast
Wilson, Ben, and Eli
Deep Cut: A Film Podcast is a director-focused film podcast featuring deep-dive discussions about international, art-house, and independent cinema. Each episode we discuss either a director's most popular film or a "Deep Cut Pick": a personal favorite chosen by one of us. We've covered movies from filmmakers like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Agnes Varda, Éric Rohmer, Kelly Reichardt, Wong Kar-wai, S.S. Rajamouli, Bong Joon-ho, and more.
Looking for film recommendations off the beaten path? This is the pod to follow!
Links to our Discord and other socials here: https://deepcutpod.com
Looking for film recommendations off the beaten path? This is the pod to follow!
Links to our Discord and other socials here: https://deepcutpod.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 12, 2022 • 30min
036. 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 free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Mar 5, 2022 • 41min
035. 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). Find our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Jan 1, 2022 • 51min
034. 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 free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Dec 18, 2021 • 53min
033. 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 free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Dec 5, 2021 • 1h 2min
032. Todd Haynes: Far From Heaven
Come one, come all to the Sirk Du Soleil as the Deep Cut trio discusses Todd Hayne’s Far From Heaven. Ben compares his Deep Cut Pick to Haynes’ critically acclaimed, subsequent melodrama Carol to show the breadth of the director’s approach to melodrama, but Eli and Wilson aren’t so convinced. Wilson feels that it’s a shallow imitation of the Women’s Picture auteur Douglas Sirk, while Eli questions the movie’s sociopolitical outlook from the early 2000’s. Can Ben open the discussion to the movie’s merits? What’s a color score? And will Eli ever shut up about Psycho (1998)?
Wistfully contemplate your loves of yore in our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com
Read Scott Higgins’ essay on the color score in Far From Heaven (Chapter 9, pages 101-113).

Nov 28, 2021 • 54min
031. 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 free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Nov 20, 2021 • 59min
030. 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 free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Nov 13, 2021 • 52min
029. Pablo Larraín: Jackie
Just in time for the release of Spencer, the Deep Cut trio revisits Jackie, the dreamy 2016 biopic that made Chilean director Pablo Larraín an (art)household name. Eli entrees the film by looking at construction of Jackie the character as purposefully distinct from the real Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, while Wilson remarks on Larraín’s use of physical space to reflect the character’s emotions. Ben goes into the felt pleasures of the score, production design, and compelling performances. Come for the Jackie Kennedy-Onassis voices, stay for the tangent about Doctor Who.
Take a live, televised tour of our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com –– it’s the people’s house, after all.

Nov 6, 2021 • 1h 6min
028. 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. Find our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com

Oct 31, 2021 • 1h 14min
027. 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 on our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ www.deepcutpod.com