In this episode, we rank the 16 films discussed on the podcast in 2024. We also discuss the best and worst films we watched in 2024, lessons learned, and our 2025 film resolutions.

Minor Spoiler Warnings:

• Anora ~ 01:15:00 - 01:20:31

• MaXXXine ~ 01:47:45 - 01:49:58

• Greedy People ~ 01:51:47 - 01:53:28

• Trap ~ 02:01:42 - 02:04:29

Additional Audio Sources:

• Cinelicious Pics' Giuseppe Makes a Movie Blu-ray

• The Criterion Collection's Three Colors Blu-ray

• The Criterion Collection's The Cloud-Capped Star Blu-ray

• The Criterion Collection's John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray

• High (Acoustic) by Giuseppe Andrews

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

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In this episode, we discuss David Lynch’s The Straight Story, including the purpose of Alvin’s journey, the film’s attention to small details, and the perfection of the film’s ending. 

See where The Straight Story is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Lynch on Lynch (Book)

• Room to Dream by David Lynch and Kristine McKenna (Book)

• David Lynch Interview with Bobbie Wygant

• Richard Farnsworth Interview with Bobbie Wygant

• David Lynch Interview with Charlie Rose

• David Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything (2006)

• David Lynch on Ideas and Abstractions

• David Lynch on The Straight Story

• David Lynch Talks About The Straight Story

• The Straight Story Press Kit

• The Straight Story Premiere (10/11/99)

• David Lynch's MasterClass

• Room to Dream: David Lynch and the Independent Filmmaker

Additional Audio Sources:

• The Straight Story Trailer

• The Straight Story (Disney+ Transfer)

• David Lynch Interview with Bobbie Wygant

• Richard Farnsworth Interview with Bobbie Wygant

• David Lynch Interview with Charlie Rose

• David Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything (2006)

• David Lynch on The Straight Story

• The Straight Story Press Kit

• David Lynch's MasterClass

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

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In this episode, we discuss Tsai Ming-liang’s The River, including how Tsai visualizes complex ideas, the reason for Hsiao-Kang's neck pain, and what water represents. 

See where The River is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• The River | City Cinematheque

• City Without Tears by Jonathan Rosenbaum

• Video Essay: "Days Passed" | Lee Kang-Sheng Through the Eyes of Tsai Ming-Liang

• Award-Winning Director Tsai Ming-Liang Reveals The Origins of His Cinematic Dream

• Filmmaker Tsai Ming-Liang on Screenwriting

• NYFF58 Talk: Tsai Ming-liang

• Alternative Narratives: Art as Articulated by Tsai Ming-liang I Berlinale Talents 2024

Additional Audio Sources:

• The River (Internet Archive Transfer)

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

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In this episode, we discuss Sidney J. Furie’s The Entity, including how Carla is disbelieved and dismissed, the disharmony between the film’s sexual assaults and the paranormal climax, and Furie’s use of Dutch angles and the split diopter. 

See where The Entity is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Scream Factory's The Entity Blu-ray

• Imprint's Directed by Sidney J. Furie Blu-ray Boxset

• Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films by Daniel Kremer (Book)

• Portraits: Sidney J. Furie | TIFF Originals

Additional Audio Sources:

• The Entity Trailer

• Scream Factory's The Entity Blu-ray

• "Inner Strength" on Scream Factory's Blu-ray

• "High Dread" on Scream Factory's Blu-ray

• "Seeing Is Believing" on Scream Factory's Blu-ray

• "Spirits & Sprocket Holes" on Scream Factory's Blu-ray

• Portraits: Sidney J. Furie | TIFF Originals

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure, including how the film differs from traditional mysteries, how Kurosawa depicts violence, and how the filmmaking hypnotizes.

See where Cure is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• The Criterion Collection's Cure Blu-ray

• Eureka! Masters of Cinema's Cure Blu-ray

• Cure on The Criterion Channel

• (There Is No) CURE

• Cure: Erasure by Chris Fujiwara

Additional Audio Sources:

• Cure Trailer

• Eureka! Masters of Cinema's Cure Blu-ray

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

Announcement: Scene by Scene is transitioning to one episode per month. This new release schedule is temporary. More information in the episode. 

In this episode, we discuss Ritwik Ghatak’s The Cloud-Capped Star, including the Indian Partition’s influence on Ghatak, Ghatak’s unbalanced compositions, and how Neeta “looking” communicates character information. 

See where The Cloud-Capped Star is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• The Criterion Collection's The Cloud-Capped Star Blu-ray

• The Cloud-Capped Star: A Cry for Life by Ira Bhaskar

• An Anguish at Arm’s Length: Supriya Choudhury in The Cloud-Capped Star by Devika Girish

• Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Ashahani on The Cloud-Capped Star (The Criterion Channel)

• Ritwik Ghatak and the Lost Art of Self-Destruction by Amborish Roychoudhury

• “I am burning, everyone is burning, the universe is burning”: Derek Malcolm on the films of Ritwik Ghatak by Derek Malcolm

• PORTRAIT OF THE DIRECTOR - Ritwik Ghatak | Doordarshan National

• Derek Malcolm on Ritwik Ghatak's The Cloud-Capped Star

• Subcontinental Divide: Ritwik Ghatak by Jacob Levich

• Ritwik Ghatak and his ‘Partition Trilogy’ by Biswadeep Sengupta

• Partition: Why was British India divided 75 years ago?

• The Great Divide by William Dalrymple

• The Story of the 1947 Partition as Told by the People Who Were There by Guneeta Singh Bhalla

Additional Audio Sources:

• The Criterion Collection's The Cloud-Capped Star Blu-ray

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Edward Yang’s That Day, on the Beach, including the theme of tradition vs modernity, the film’s structure, and the techniques used to transition into flashbacks.

Supplemental Material:

Nova Media's That Day, on the Beach Blu-ray

That Day, on the Beach (Internet Archive)

That Day, on the Beach (rarefilmm)

Edward Yang (Contemporary Film Directors Series) by John Anderson (Book)

That Day, with Edward Yang | PTS Foundation

A One and A Two: Edward Yang Retrospective | Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Edward Yang, a Visionary at a Crossroads (Jean Michel Frodon) | Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Werner Herzog on Edward Yang

Our Time, Our Story: 20 Years' New Taiwan Cinema (2002)

When Cinema Reflects the Times: Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang (1993)

INTERVIEW: Reality Check: Edward Yang’s Living Creatures Do “A One and a Two” by Augusta Palmer

The Engineer of Modern Perplexity: An Interview with Edward Yang

Great Directors: Edward Yang by Saul Austerlitz

Additional Audio Sources:

That Day, on the Beach Trailer

That Day, on the Beach (Internet Archive Transfer)

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss John Cassavetes' Shadows including how the film grew from Cassavetes’ personal experiences, Cassavetes’ use of improvisation, and techniques used to communicate information about characters and their relationship with one another. 

See where Shadows is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

The Criterion Collection's John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray

Cassavetes on Cassavetes (Book)

Shadows: Eternal Times Square by Gary Giddins

Additional Audio Sources:

Shadows Trailer

The Criterion Collection's John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray

Lelia Goldoni Interview on The Criterion Collection's John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray

Cinéastes de notre temps (Cinema of Our Time) : John Cassavetes on The Criterion Collection's Faces Blu-ray

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

Trash Cinema Month is Back!

In this episode, we discuss Stephen Chiodo's Killer Klowns from Outer Space, including the killing of dogs in movies, how it compares to 1950s creature features, and the lack of understandable klown motivation.

See where Killer Klowns from Outer Space is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game

Scream Factory's Killer Klowns from Outer Space 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Chiodo Brothers' Other Work

Land of Terror (1967) (Dir. Chiodo Brothers)

Africa Danny (1970) (Dir. Chiodo Brothers)

Sludge Grubs (1972) (Dir. Chiodo Brothers)

Free Inside (1974) (Dir. Chiodo Brothers)

Cousin Kevin (1986) (Dir. Chiodo Brothers)

The Untold Story of 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space,' the Creepiest Film in Central California History by Amanda Bartlett

The Chiodos Walk Among Us: Adventures in Super 8 Filmmaking (Killer Klowns Arrow Video documentary)

The Creators and Cast of Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Additional Audio Sources:

Killer Klowns from Outer Space Trailer

Scream Factory's Killer Klowns from Outer Space 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Audio Commentary on Scream Factory's 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

“The Making of Killer Klowns” on Scream Factory's 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

“Kreating Klowns” on Scream Factory's 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

“Komposing Klowns” on Scream Factory's 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

Trash Cinema Month is Back!

In this episode, we discuss David DeCoteau's Nightmare Sisters, including the lack of horror elements, how the film’s short schedule affected the film grammar, and how we found inspiration through the film.

See where Nightmare Sisters is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

Vinegar Syndrome's Nightmare Sisters Blu-ray

Cinema Conversations: David DeCoteau

Monster Party (Podcast) | That's Exploitation!!! With David DeCoteau & David Del Valle!

Dead for Filth with Michael Varrati (Podcast) | David DeCoteau

David DeCoteau: On Rapid Heart, Fake Names & B-Movies (Interview)

The Life & SLIMES of Dukey Flyswatter and Haunted Garage (Sneak Preview)

Foam Fabrication Tips with Kenneth J. Hall

Additional Audio Sources:

Nightmare Sisters Trailer

Vinegar Syndrome's Nightmare Sisters Blu-ray

David DeCoteau & Linnea Quigley Commentary on Vinegar Syndrome's Nightmare Sisters Blu-ray

Kenneth J. Hall Interview on Vinegar Syndrome's Nightmare Sisters Blu-ray

Cinema Conversations: David DeCoteau

Monster Party (Podcast) | That's Exploitation!!! With David DeCoteau & David Del Valle!

If you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at [email protected]

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin