Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

Based on a memoir by famous Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev, Dersu Uzala (1975) is a heartwarming adventure tale about the unlikely friendship between a man of civilization and a man of the wilderness. On a mission to map the Russian Far East, Arseniev encounters Dersu Uzala, a hunter and member of the Goldi people, from whom he learns much about the strange courtesies of life in the wild, based on a respect for all beings. But while this heartfelt friendship is not defeated by profound cultural differences, neither can it fully overcome them. Though Akira Kurosawa is better known for his samurai films, this late-career work of his was picked for the Vatican film list under the heading of Values. Dersu UZala is distinct from his other films not only in its subject matter but because it is his only non-Japanese-language film (as a collaboration with the Soviet production company Mosfilm), and his only film shot in 70mm. Dersu Uzala is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel and (in somewhat video quality, with out-of-sync subtitles) on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EWdAnJsfdc The next Vatican film list selection we are discussing is Andrei Rublev (1966), the deeply spiritual 15th-century historical epic about Russia's greatest icon painter. You can watch it with a 14-day free subscription to the Criterion Channel streaming service. (Contains some nudity.) LINKS Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/F5yDufeIgYo Akira Kurosawa: Composing Movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8 Films compared with Dersu Uzala: Werner Herzog, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga and Aguirre, The Wrath of God Terrence Malick, The New World Jean Renoir, La Grande Illusion This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PrsVkxtBgyo There is only one American film in the "Religion" section of the Vatican film list: William Wyler's 1959 epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Its epic scale and its astonishing set pieces such as the sea battle and the chariot race make the small, understated moments when Jesus enters the story all the more striking. Thomas and James are joined by Catholic art historian and Rome tour guide Elizabeth Lev to discuss the film. Next on Criteria: On the "Values" section of the Vatican film list, Akira Kurosawa's 1975 Dersu Uzala, based on the memoir of famed Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev. It's a heartwarming tale of friendship between a man of civilization and a man of the wilderness. Dersu Uzala can be streamed on the Criterion Channel. It is also on YouTube, though with lesser video quality and the subtitles somewhat out of sync. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EWdAnJsfdc Links Elizabeth Lev, How Catholic Art Saved the Faith https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/how-catholic-art-saved-the-faith Catholic Culture Podcast w/ Liz on the Temptation of St. Anthony in art history https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-temptation-st-anthony-elizabeth-lev/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back," used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-R68p8Lkxgw We enjoy The Mandalorian more than any other recent Star Wars productions. But its second season sometimes doesn’t trust us to suspend our disbelief in certain respects (a misguided literalism in its use of CGI for a major human character), while elsewhere expecting us to accept, on ideological grounds, things that are unbelievable even in its fantasy setting (a disproportionate number of tiny women somehow able to throw around men much bigger than they). This prompts a discussion of the difference between the suspension of disbelief and unreality in a fantasy setting. After discussing Star Wars (the recent films and the dangers of indiscriminate “fandom”) and things we appreciate about The Mandalorian’s production (its soundtrack, its use of virtual sets), our discussion of Season 2 begins about 17 minutes in. Links The Marvel Symphonic Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfqkvwW2fs https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/thor-ragnarok-composer-acknowledges-marvel-scores-sound-same-1054503 Rear Projection: How It Works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwe4Fan41Is The Virtual Production of The Mandalorian, Season One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUnxzVOs3rk Alexi Sargent, “The Undeath of Cinema” https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-undeath-of-cinema This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uYdtpAoLjo8 This film makes us confront on a visceral level the horror of taking a human life, even the life of someone we might find despicable. It is the fifth installment of Dekalog, the famous Polish TV series inspired by the Ten Commandments. Dekalog: Five, which was expanded into the feature-length A Short Film About Killing, coincided with an intense debate over capital punishment in Poland, and in the year of its release (1988) the nation finally suspended use of the death penalty. Catholic film scholar Maria Elena de las Carreras often uses Dekalog: Five to teach her students at Cal State Northridge about the value of life. She brings a lively energy to the discussion along with a deep knowledge of Polish cinema and, in general, the work of filmmakers living in totalitarian regimes. Thomas tracked Maria Elena down because of an article on Kieslowski she wrote for Crisis magazine twenty years ago—which, she tells us, she sent to Pope John Paul II, and received a letter from his secretary saying it had been read “with great interest”. Next in our discussion of the Vatican film list: William Wyler’s epic Ben-Hur (1959), starring Charlton Heston. Links Watch A Short Film About Killing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqmukHCGUQ Maria Elena de las Carreras article on Kieslowski https://www.crisismagazine.com/2000/filming-the-10-commandments-kieslowski-as-a-catholic-director Her writings on film at Crisis Magazine https://www.crisismagazine.com/author/kuntz More writings https://csun.academia.edu/MariaElenadelasCarreras This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join the Facebook group to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Mel Gibson playing Santa fending off an assassin sent by a spoiled brat who got coal for Christmas is a premise as absurd as it is entertaining. Fatman, the latest in a series of thematically similar roles for Gibson, delivers on both the entertainment and the absurdity while also taking itself more seriously than we might expect. We live in what has been described as a "therapeutic culture" in which all evil is psychologized away in terms of childhood trauma. In Gibson's countercultural Chris Cringle we have a father figure who understands and compassionates the childhood wounds of his adversaries, yet insists that wicked deeds require retribution both for justice's and for the evildoer's own sake. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CEBbIUBD-hs This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhLMHBBirC0 It’s time for Criteria’s Christmas episode—time to watch the classic tale of a man who, through divine intervention, overcomes regret, jealousy and despair to realize how precious and magical is the life he already has. James and Thomas discuss Catholic director Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life with popular podcaster and writer Patrick Coffin. Patrick is uniquely qualified to discuss this film (which he believes to be the best ever made), having even interviewed a member of the cast! It’s a Wonderful Life is included on the Vatican film list under the category “Values”. Next on Criteria: Another installment of Dekalog, the Polish miniseries inspired by the Ten Commandments. We will be discussing episode five and its full-length film adaptation, A Short Film About Killing. This film can be viewed on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ZkD_tyBAY LINKS Patrick Coffin’s interview with Mary Owen (Donna Reed’s daughter) and Karolyn Grimes (who played little Zuzu in the film) https://www.patrickcoffin.media/its-a-wonderful-movie-2/ Patrick’s National Review article on the film https://www.nationalreview.com/2012/12/its-wonderful-life-little-story-did-patrick-coffin/ Patrick’s article on Capra’s other Christmas classic, Meet John Doe https://www.patrickcoffin.media/frank-capras-forgotten-christmas-classic/ Coffin Nation https://www.coffinnation.com/ Wikipedia article on the fascinating Frank Capra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cCpqMLBg0Ro Almost one hundred years ago, the great German director Fritz Lang offered us a beautiful yet nightmarish vision of a world strangely similar to our present. Society is unimaginably prosperous yet produces mass misery. There is a sense of an end coming for Babel. Amidst growing class resentment, the Whore of Babylon appears in the form of a machine invented by society’s elites. This wonder of technology parodies and destroys womanhood, manipulating men’s lust and anger, tempting them away from compassion for their fellow man and the patient expectation of a redeemer. Scott Hambrick and Karl Schudt from OnlineGreatBooks.com join the show for an entertaining, thought-provoking discussion of the one work of sci-fi on the Vatican film list—not only of its Biblical, political and technological themes, but also its unforgettable imagery and evocative aesthetic, a combination of Art Deco with German expressionism. Next on Criteria is a Christmas episode on It’s a Wonderful Life, with special guest Patrick Coffin. Links Watch Metropolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtWDIZtrAE Online Great Books’s latest enrollment period has just begun. Use discount code “catholicculture” or use this referral link for 25% off your first three months! https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ Catholic Culture Podcast Episode 27 with Scott Hambrick https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-27-always-wanted-to-study-great-books-heres-how-youll-actually-follow-through-scott-hambrick/ https://onlinegreatbooks.com/ Online Great Books Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/online-great-books-podcast/id1375330490 Music and Ideas https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-and-ideas/id1500358614 Barbell Logic https://barbell-logic.com/ Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zUBvgrpvqa0   Krzysztof Kieślowski's DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. With this episode we discuss the fourth film in the series, which deals with the fourth commandment: "Honor thy father and mother."   In this fraught installment, a father is challenged to definitively embrace his paternal role as authority and protector, lest his already ambiguous relationship with daughter be perverted into something truly monstrous.   Dekalog can be difficult to find. It can be streamed online with a (relatively cheap and surprisingly legal) subscription to https://easterneuropeanmovies.com — the best viewing experience, however, will be the recent restored edition on Blu-Ray/DVD from Criterion https://www.criterion.com/films/28661-dekalog   Older editions on Blu-Ray and DVD are available for considerably cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere, and you may have luck borrowing Dekalog from your local library.   Next up on Criteria: Fritz Lang's science fiction classic Metropolis (1927), found easily on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtWDIZtrAE   Links Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vMy1YU1bczE   James and Thomas discuss an animated classic, Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940), with Oscar-nominated animator and director Timothy Reckart ("Head Over Heels", The Star). Included in the conversation are some remarks touching upon Fantasia 2000 (1999). Both films are available for streaming on Disney+. Speaking about the film, Walt Disney said, “Fantasia is timeless. It may run ten, twenty, thirty years. Fantasia is an idea in itself. I can never build another. I can improve. I can elaborate. That is all." In this episode we discuss Fantasia's timelessness, investigating its groundbreaking developments in animation and sound, and its thematic concerns of hierarchy and social organization, as well as its occasional imperfections and pandering. Tim Reckart also reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of animation: What does it offer that live action doesn't?   Next on Criteria: the fourth installment of Dekalog, the 10-part miniseries directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski.   Links Tim Reckart's "Head Over Heels" (Academy Award Nominee, Best Animated Short) http://www.headoverheels.tv/  Walt Disney explains the multiplane camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdHTlUGN1zw Oscar Fischinger – An Optical Poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc4g00FFLk Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio    Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cuwya3spE4   In a special Halloween episode, James and Thomas discuss the function of horror movies and the need for a conscientious and duly serious approach when dealing with the occult in a work of fiction. Then they discuss the only horror film on the Vatican film list, F.W. Murnau's silent Dracula adaptation Nosferatu (1922), along with Werner Herzog's amazing modern adaptation of Murnau, Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).   The best versions of these films are streaming on the Criterion Channel. There you will find Murnau's version with its original orchestral score, and Herzog's version in its German language version (it was shot simultaneously in both German and English, and Herzog considered the German to be definitive). But perfectly fine versions are on YouTube:   F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7p3ct5hcks   Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) in English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOTLurSgkYU   Next on Criteria: from the Vatican film list, the classic Disney symphonic feature Fantasia (1940). You can view it on Disney+.   Links Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Find all our shows in podcast form here: https://www.catholicculture.org/podcast/   SOCIAL https://twitter.com/CatholicPods http://www.instagram.com/FormTheCulture https://www.facebook.com/catholicculture   Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/