Giving credit where it’s due, cinephiles must thank Liz Coffey, an archivist at the Harvard Film Archive, for saving the only known-to-exist 35mm print of the “middle version” of The Wicker Man. Its discovery—following an inquiry by a representative of Studio Canal, who later confirmed the print’s edit with director Robin Hardy—was one of the great finds at the HFA in 2013.  On this episode of the Diabolique Webcast, Liz tells the untold story about how the print arrived at the HFA (one possibly being via Roger Corman), how it was nearly thrown away, and how it was saved.

On this episode of the Diabolique Webcast, film professor David Kleiler and film critic Brett Michel join Steve to discuss Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 rethinking of Shakespeare’s Macbeth; Throne of Blood, which has recently been released on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

Steve Head and David Kleiler welcome special guest, Bret Wood, Vice President and Executive Producer at Kino Lorber, to discuss Kino’s new blu-ray release of F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922), the film that Werner Herzog called the most important German film ever made.

With Criterion about to release Franju’s enigmatic masterpiece of macabre poetry on blu-ray for the first time, Steve Head, David Kleiler and Dan Kimmel get together to discuss the film’s unique place in the history of French cinema and the influences that shaped Franju’s artistic vision. Also on this episode, Dan presents us with his “Don’t Talk To Me Until You’ve Seen These” list of essential horror films.

Ever since the arrival of sound, people have been predicting the end of film as we know it. The latest to sound the alarm are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who, last month, predicted the meltdown of the movie industry in the not too distant future…a future in which only mega-budgeted blockbusters will make it into mainstream theaters, while smaller independent films will be distributed mostly via cable and streaming. Is it apocalypse now, or the natural evolution of cinema? Steve Head, David Kleiler and Dan Kimmel weigh in on the impending catastrophe and ask, have we been down this road before?

With Eureka Entertainment’s release of Kaneto Shindo’s Onibaba (1964) on blu-ray, Steve Head, David Kleiler, and Brett Michel discuss this genre-bending film, which is part horror film, part myth, part samurai epic, part erotic thriller, and part historical drama.

With the release of Rodney Ascher’s film, Room 237, which seeks deeper meaning in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic, Steve Head and David Kleiler have their own say on the symbolism and the possible hidden meanings of Kubrick’s film.

Steve Head and David Kleiler discuss Hitchcock’s 1963 film, The Birds, loosely based on the 1952 story “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier. This film is part of the new ‘Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection’ from Universal.

Steve Head and David Kleiler discuss Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Vertigo, which is part of the new ‘Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection’ from Universal.

Steve Head interviews the star of Paranormal Activity 4, Kathryn Newton.