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

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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

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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/

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

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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

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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/