Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nKZ61DojBQY   Krzysztof Kieślowski's DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. With this episode we discuss the third film in the series, which deals with the third commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." When a former mistress arrives at his doorstep on Christmas Eve, seeking help to find her missing husband, Janusz must decide whether to remain at home with his wife and children or else to assist his erstwhile lover in her desperate search. What results is a mystery tale that unfolds almost as a Dickensian odyssey, unearthing layers of discovery that force the two to grapple with ghosts of their past. Filmmaker Nathan Douglas joins the show once more to discuss this thought-provoking film. 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: F.W. Murnau’s Dracula adaptation Nosferatu (1922), found easily on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7p3ct5hcks   We are also discussing Werner Herzog’s 1979 adaptation, Nosferatu the Vampyre, which was shot both in German and in English. The German version is on Criterion Channel and the English version is on YouTube with ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOTLurSgkYU   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/

The Lavender Hill Mob stars Alec Guinness as Henry Holland, an unambitious London bank clerk — and unlikely bank robber. When he meets the eccentric artist Alfred Pendlebury (played by famous comic/character actor Stanley Holloway), the two together hatch a plot to smuggle gold bullion out of the country in the form of miniature Eiffel towers. What unfolds is a heist-comedy that stands apart as perhaps the most purely entertaining film included on the Vatican Film List. Are heist films morally problematic? Are British criminals cooler than Italian criminals? What is cockney? Thomas and James are joined by author, actor, screenwriter, and mutual friend Paul Laudiero to discuss these and other questions surrounding the film. Next on Criteria, filmmaker Nathan Douglas returns to the show to discuss Dekalog 3. Links CatholicCulture.org Podcast Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Register at CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio Donate: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Vie et Passion du Christ (Life and Passion of the Christ) is one of the earliest feature-length narrative films, produced and released in 1903. The film portrays the events of the Gospels - from the Annunciation to the Ascension - employing only visual language (it is a silent film, with inter-titles used only to introduce the traditional title of individual scenes). Thomas and James are joined by painter and mutual friend Matt Kirby to discuss the film, a work that bridges contemporary cinematic depictions of the Gospels with those found throughout the classical painting tradition. Links Full film on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5VPWPgkT8A Matt Kirby artwork & essays: http://www.mkkirby.com/ Theme music: The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Krzysztof Kieślowski's DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. With this episode we discuss the second film in the series, which deals with the second commandment "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."   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: La Passion de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ, found easily on YouTube. Links   Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Our first responses to the new feature film based on the events surrounding Our Lady of Fatima's appearance to Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto and Servant of God Sister Maria Lúcia in 1917. Official Fatima film website: https://www.fatimathemovie.com/ Notes CatholicCulture.org Podcast Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Theme music: The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

When asked what two films he would take with him "on the ark", Orson Welles simply responded, "La Grande Illusion... and something else!" A classic of prison escape movies, The Grand Illusion (1937) was hugely influential on films that followed, including The Great Escape. Variously banned by both German and French authorities, the film — which deals with themes of class, prejudice, and war — was not without controversy. Film critic Roger Ebert called it "a meditation on the collapse of the old order of European civilization," and critics and film historians alike regard the film not only a masterpiece of French cinema, but also one of the greatest films of all time. The Grand Illusion, in fact, was restored and released as the inaugural DVD of The Criterion Collection. James and Thomas discuss this seminal work by director Jean Renoir, son of the famous French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Next up on Criteria, we'll be viewing and discussing the second installment of Dekalog, the 10-part series of films directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski. Notes Millet and Modern Art: From Van Gogh to Dalí https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/millet-and-modern-art/ The Flight Into Egypt, by Jean Millet https://www.artic.edu/artworks/145832/the-flight-into-egypt CatholicCulture.org Podcast Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Theme music: The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Considered to be one of Ingmar Bergman's greatest and most affecting films, Wild Strawberries (1957) is a moving depiction of a cantankerous-yet-charming old man (famed Swedish filmmaker & actor Victor Sjöström) as he nears the end of his life. Through reveries, dreams, and a series of unlikely encounters, Bergman crafts a visually arresting, tonally varied, and deeply human tale of failure, forgiveness, and hope. We discuss this richly poetic and philosophical work with poet and philosopher James Matthew Wilson. Next up on Criteria, we will be viewing the 1937 French film Le Grande Illusion directed by Jean Renoir (son of the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir)! Join the discussion at http://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicpods Notes James Matthew Wilson: https://www.jamesmatthewwilson.com/ Quarantine Notebook: https://dappledthings.org/16751/quarantine-notebook-part-15/ Catholic Culture Podcast Ep.  57 - River of the Immaculate Conception - James Matthew Wilson https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-57-river-immaculate-conception-james-matthew-wilson/ Catholic Culture Podcast Ep.  61 - Liberal Anti-Culture vs.  the Western Vision of the Soul https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-61-liberal-anti-culture-vs-western-vision-soul-pt-i-james-matthew-wilson/ Theme music: The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Krzysztof Kieślowski's DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. Describing the dictum that he set for himself and his co-writer, Kieślowski determined that the episodes “should be influenced by the individual Commandments to the same degree that the Commandments influence our daily lives.” We're discussing the films one at a time, beginning with No. 1 in today's episode—but we will continue watching and discussing other films besides, so we'll be taking our time to get through all ten!   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, we will be discussing the 1957 Swedish drama Wild Strawberries with special guest James Matthew Wilson! Notes   Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Described in a recent LA Times op-ed by '12 Years a Slave' screenwriter John Ridley as "a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color," Gone with the Wind is, nevertheless, one of the most enduringly popular and culturally significant films of all time. In this episode, James and Thomas take a momentary departure from the Vatican Film List to consider instead this classic and controversial film, in conversation with American historian Stephen M. Klugewicz, Director of Academic Affairs of the Free Enterprise Institute and Editor of The Imaginative Conservative. Next time, we return to the Vatican Film List to discuss the first installment of Dekalog, the 10-part series of films directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski. (See below for info on how to watch these films.) Join the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links The Imaginative Conservative: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/ TCM Host and film scholar Jacqueline Stewart's introduction to Gone with the Wind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DF2FKRToiQ&feature=emb_title Essay contrasting the film with the novel https://newcriterion.com/issues/2020/9/knights-their-ladies-fair North Against South: The American Iliad, 1848-1877 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136520.North_Against_South Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

In this bonus episode of Criteria, Thomas asks attorney and scholar Louis Karlin whether Robert Bolt’s play and film A Man for All Seasons accurately depict St. Thomas More’s views on the rights of conscience, and his motives for martyrdom. More’s involvement in the prosecution of heretics is also examined: even if More was a martyr of conscience, is it accurate to call him a champion of religious freedom? One thing is certain: the portrayal by Hilary Mantel and others of More as a torturer of heretics is false. Next on the Vatican film list is the first installment of Dekalog, a 10-part series of short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. See below for information on where to watch it. Links The Center for Thomas More Studies https://thomasmorestudies.org/ Lecture by Richard Rex critiquing the historical fiction of Hilary Mantel, “More the villain and Cromwell the hero?” https://ionainstitute.ie/thomas-more-thomas-cromwell-and-wolf-hall/ William Marshner, “Dignitatis Humanae and Traditional Teaching on Church and State” https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8778 Thomas Pink, “Conscience and Coercion” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion Louis W. Karlin and David R. Oakley, Inside the Mind of Thomas More: The Witness of His Writings https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mind-Thomas-More-Writings/dp/1594173133 Karlin, Wegemer and Kelly, Thomas More’s Trial by Jury: A Procedural Legal Review with a Collection of Documents https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Mores-Trial-Jury-Procedural/dp/1843838737/ Stephen Smith (ed.), For All Seasons: Selected Letters of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/All-Seasons-Selected-Letters-Thomas/dp/1594171637 Wegemer and Smith (ed.), The Essential Works of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Works-Thomas-More/dp/0300223374/ St. Thomas More, The Sadness of Christ https://www.amazon.com/Sadness-Christ-Thomas-More/dp/1849020558 The Yale Edition of the Complete Works of St. Thomas More, Vol. 14, De Tristitia Christi https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Thomas-Tristitia-Christi/dp/0300017936 Other podcasts on St. Thomas More Criteria film discussion https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/man-for-all-seasons-1966/ Audiobook of More's Dialogue on Conscience https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-thomas-more-dialogue-on-conscience/ Dekalog Of all the films on the Vatican list, Dekalog is one of the two most difficult to find. The only place it can be streamed online is with a subscription on https://easterneuropeanmovies.com/ (which is, surprisingly, legal). The best viewing experience will be the recent restored edition on Blu-Ray/DVD from Criterion (https://www.criterion.com/films/28661-dekalog), but it's pricey. Older editions on Blu-Ray and DVD are available for considerably cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere. But for many people, the most convenient way of seeing Dekalog may be to borrow it from your local library. Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission.