

The Last Thing I Saw
Nicolas Rapold
Critic Nicolas Rapold talks with guests about the movies they've been watching. From home viewing to the latest from festivals and retrospectives. Named one of the 10 Best Film Podcasts by Sight & Sound magazine. Guests include critics, curators, and filmmakers.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 6, 2023 • 38min
Ep. 207: Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert on Reverse Shot at 20
Ep. 207: Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert on Reverse Shot at 20
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The wonderful film publication Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary of existence this year. Since I first wrote for Reverse Shot early in my career, it’s always held a special place in my heart, and it’s still going strong -- a gladdening beacon in the landscape of film criticism (and of critics, with an enviable roster of sharp voices and alums). I sat down with the co-founders of Reverse Shot, Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert, at MOMI to discuss how it all began, go through highlights from the eventful past 20 years, and (in an unpredictable lightning round) a few personal favorites of theirs. Koresky and Reichert's biographies besides RS extend to filmmaking (such as American Factory, co-produced by Reichert, and Feast of the Epiphany, co-directed by Koresky, Reichert, and Farihah Zaman), books (including Koresky’s Films of Endearment), and more.
MOMI’s anniversary program of Reverse Shot events continues this weekend with screenings of Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea, and other rarely screened films in the coming weeks.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 29, 2023 • 49min
Ep. 206: Eric Hynes on Toronto 2023: The Pigeon Tunnel, The Holdovers, The Peasants, Gonzo Girl
Ep. 206: Eric Hynes on Toronto 2023: The Pigeon Tunnel, The Holdovers, The Peasants, American Fiction, Gonzo Girl
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the fall season kicks off, I have a few more titles—some slated for release in the coming months, others yet to be distributed—plucked from the ranks of the Toronto International Film Festival. I talked with Eric Hynes, curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image, about Errol Morris’s The Pigeon Tunnel, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, Patricia Arquette’s Gonzo Girl, and The Peasants, from Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 24, 2023 • 27min
Ep. 205: Toronto 2023 with Beatrice Loayza: The Teachers’ Lounge, Memory, Arthur & Diana, Wavelength
Ep. 205: Toronto 2023 with Beatrice Loayza: The Teachers’ Lounge, Arthur & Diana, Wavelengths shorts, Memory
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the fall season kicks off, I’m catching up with some intriguing titles seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2023 that you might not have heard much about yet. I chatted with critic Beatrice Loayza about a few titles: Ilker Çatak’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Michel Franco’s Memory starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, Sara Summa’s Arthur & Diana, and shorts from TIFF's Wavelengths section.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 21, 2023 • 37min
Ep. 204: Toronto 2023 with Mark Asch: The Boy and the Heron, His Three Daughters, Silver Dollar Road
Ep. 204: Toronto 2023 with Mark Asch: The Boy and the Heron, His Three Daughters, Lee, Silver Dollar Road
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This month I went to the Toronto International Film Festival 2023 and recorded a few dispatches for your edification. I sat down with Mark Asch, who was filing for the film journal Little White Lies, and discussed an eclectic selection of movies from the sprawling TIFF lineup. Titles include: Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, Azazel Jacobs’s His Three Daughters, Ellen Kuras’s Lee (about photographer Lee Miller), and Raoul Peck’s Silver Dollar Road.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 9, 2023 • 26min
Ep. 203: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: The Killer, Caine Mutiny, Orson, Making Of, Restorations
Ep. 203: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: The Killer, Caine Mutiny, Orson Welles TV, Making Of, Restorations
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. For the last day of the 80th Venice Film Festival. I’m back again with Glenn Kenny of The New York Times and RogerEbert.com to chat about a cavalcade of films. Titles include: David Fincher’s The Killer; William Friedkin’s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial; Orson Welles’s Portrait of Gina, a 1958 documentary about Gina Lollobrigida for an unrealized TV series; Cedric Kahn’s Making Of; the documentary Frank Capra: Mr. America; and restorations of Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev and Arturo Ripstein’s Deep Crimson. He also shares his thoughts on other films like Poor Things, and on the Biennale College film funding program.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 7, 2023 • 53min
Ep. 202: Venice 2023 with Jessica Kiang: Priscilla, Green Border, Hit Man, Coup de Chance
Ep. 202: Venice 2023 with Jessica Kiang: Priscilla, Green Border, Hit Man, Coup de Chance
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I’m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival. This time I’m talking with Jessica Kiang, who is writing about the festival for Variety, Sight & Sound, and The New York Times. We discuss premieres from the festival’s second week: Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, and Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance. Please note: the audio may sound different about halfway through because of recording conditions—but don’t miss out on Kiang’s essential commentary!
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 5, 2023 • 36min
Ep. 201: Venice '23 with Jordan Cronk: Aggro Dr1ft, The Beast, Evil Does Not Exist, Gasoline Rainbow
Ep. 201: Venice 2023 with Jordan Cronk: Aggro Dr1ft, The Beast, Evil Does Not Exist, Gasoline Rainbow
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I’m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival in, you guessed it, Venice. For the latest episode, regular guest Jordan Cronk talks about his inaugural trip to the festival. We talk about a number of films including Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft, Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast starring Lea Seydoux, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, and Gasoline Rainbow from Bill and Turner Ross.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 4, 2023 • 33min
Ep. 200: Venice 2023 with Jonathan Romney: Maestro, Henry Sugar, The Palace, El Conde, Promised Land
Ep. 200: Venice 2023 with Jonathan Romney: Maestro, Henry Sugar, The Palace, El Conde, Promised Land
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I’m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival in, you guessed it, Venice. This time I'm joined by Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily and the Observer. We talk about a number of films including Maestro, directed by Bradley Cooper; Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Tale of Henry Sugar; Roman Polanski’s The Palace; Pablo Larrain’s El Conde; and Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Sep 2, 2023 • 35min
Ep. 199: Venice 2023 with Guy Lodge: Poor Things, New Wiseman, City of Wind, Hungary
Ep. 199: Venice 2023 with Guy Lodge: Poor Things, New Wiseman, City of Wind, Explanation for Everything
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 80th Venice Film Festival has begun, and I’m reporting from Venice about the movies that are making their premieres here. For the second episode, I’m joined by Guy Lodge, who’s writing for Variety and Film of the Week. We discuss Yorgos Lanthimos’s unexpected hit Poor Things, Frederick Wiseman’s Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros, and two films from the Horizons section: City of Wind from director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, and Gabor Reisz’s Explanation for Everything.
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Aug 31, 2023 • 41min
Ep. 198: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: Ferrari, Dogman, Hollywoodgate
Ep. 198: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: Ferrari, Dogman, Hollywoodgate
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 80th Venice Film Festival has begun, and I’ll be reporting from Venice about the movies that are making their premieres. For the first episode, I’m joined by Glenn Kenny of The New York Times and RogerEbert.com. We discuss Michael Mann’s highly anticipated Ferrari, Luc Besson’s Dogman, and Ibrahim Nash'at’s extraordinary Taliban documentary Hollywoodgate, and Glenn shares what other movies he’s looking forward to seeing.
Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at:
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Photo by Steve Snodgrass