Scene by Scene

In this episode, we discuss Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil's Backbone, including del Toro’s audience manipulation, the use of horror iconography, and the film’s depiction of an unseen war.

See where The Devil's Backbone is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• The Criterion Collection's The Devil's Backbone Blu-ray

• The Devil’s Backbone: The Past Is Never Dead . . . by Mark Kermode

• The Devil’s Backbone: The Creative Resurrection of Guillermo del Toro (MUBI Podcast)

Additional Audio Sources:

• The Criterion Collection's The Devil's Backbone 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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Takeshi Kitano's Sonatine, including the film's balance of comedy and violence, how the film subverts expectations, and how Kitano structures scenes like jokes.

See where Sonatine is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Takeshi Kitano on Sonatine

•Akira Kurosawa & Takeshi Kitano Discussion

• BFI's Takeshi Kitano Collection

• Film Movement Classics' Takeshi Kitano Double Play: Violent Cop & Boiling Point Blu-ray

Additional Audio Sources:

• Sonatine Original Trailer

• Sonatine II (In the Beginning) - Joe Hisaishi (Sonatine Soundtrack)

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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, including the film's personal elements, the theme of communication, and the genre-defining visuals.

See where Close Encounters of the Third Kind is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind Blu-ray

• The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Documentary)

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Ultimate Visual History by Michael Klastorin (Book)

• Behind the Camera - Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Rob Nixon

• Steven Spielberg Discusses His Iconic Sci-Fi Film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Turner Classic Movies)

• Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, and More (Turner Classic Movies)

• Spielberg on Spielberg (Documentary)

Additional Audio Sources:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind 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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Barbara Loden’s Wanda, including the connections to Loden's own life, the film’s compassionate portrayal of working-class Americans, and the narrative element we found least effective.

See where Wanda is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• The Criterion Collection's Wanda Blu-ray

• Barbara Loden at the AFI (The Criterion Channel)

• I Am Wanda (The Criterion Channel)

• The Frontier Experience (1975) | Dir. Barbara Loden (The Criterion Channel)

• The Boy Who Liked Deer (1975) | Dir. Barbara Loden

• Wanda: A Miracle by Amy Taubin

• Defogging Wanda by Ross Lipman

Additional Audio Sources:

• Wanda (Criterion Channel Transfer)

• Barbara Loden at the AFI (The Criterion Channel)

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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her, including the themes of loneliness and connection, how the film conceals and reveals information, and how Almodóvar avoids villainizing his characters.

See where Talk to Her is available to watch.

Additional Audio Sources:

• Talk to Her (Digital 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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

In this episode, we discuss Eagle Pennell's Last Night at the Alamo, including character introductions, the parallels between Cowboy and Pennell, and the film's anti-Hollywood aesthetic.

See where Last Night at the Alamo is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Last Night at the Alamo (Remaster)

• The King of Texas: The Life and Death of Independent Filmmaker Eagle Pennell

• Inside/Outside

• Last Night at the Alamo Q&A

• How Austin Movies Shaped the City's Culture and Identity by Michael Barnes

• How A Little-Known Film From The 1970s Kickstarted The Austin Film Scene by Terri Langford & Laura Rice

• In Memoriam by Chronicle Staff

• Eagle Pennell, the Last Cowboy by Nadine Smith

• Remembering a Different 'Alamo,' 40 years Later by Nathan Cone

• The Most Authentically Texan Movie You’ve Never Heard Of by Sean O'Neal

• King for a Day by Steve McVicker

• Indie Legend Who Inspired Sundance, ‘Reservoir Dogs’ And More Will Have Classic Films Restored by Louis Black

• The Defiant Defeatist: Eagle Pennell by Daniel Stuyck

• Fade to Black by Steve McVicker

Additional Audio Sources:

• Last Night at the Alamo Remaster Teaser

• Last Night at the Alamo (Remaster)

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 the Scene by Scene Instagram account for announcements and updates.

Follow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

This brief episode is to announce that our discussion of Eagle Pennell's Last Night at the Alamo is delayed. Thank you for your understanding.

Follow the Scene by Scene Instagram account for future updates.

Additional Audio Sources:

• Last Night at the Alamo

• Last Night at the Alamo Restoration Teaser

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 Béla Tarr's Damnation, including Tarr's use of camera movement, the depiction of sex, and how the opening shot establishes pace, tone, and character.

See where Damnation is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• Arbelos' Damnation Blu-ray

• Tarr Béla, I Used to Be a Filmmaker (2013)

• Béla Tarr: “The Camera Was a Tool To Change the World”

• Béla Tarr Interview with Gary Pollard

• Béla Tarr Regis Dialogue with Howard Feinstein

Additional Audio Sources:

• Arbelos' Damnation 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 Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Beware of a Holy Whore, including the autobiographical elements, Fassbinder's painterly compositions, and how the film makes the viewer an active participant.

See where Beware of a Holy Whore is available to watch.

Supplemental Material:

• "Eclipse Series 39: Early Fassbinder" by Michael Koresky

• "Hanna Schygulla: How Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Favourite Actor “Survived” His Abuse" by Thomas Coll

• End of the Commune? (1970)

• Fassbinder in 5: Michael Koresky on an Aesthetic Revolution (The Criterion Channel)

• Life Stories: A Conversation with R.W. Fassbinder (The Criterion Channel)

Additional Audio Sources:

• Santa Lucia by Elvis Presley

• Let's Go Get Stoned by Ray Charles

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 each reveal our top three films discussed on the podcast in 2025, reflect on the best and worst movies we watched throughout the year, and share our closing thoughts on 2025. We also included a few small segments rescued from 2025’s cutting room floor.

Additional Audio Sources:

• Avatar Trailer

• Sneak Previews -"Best of 1980" (12-30-80)

• Entertainment Tonight – “Leonard Maltin on the 10 Worst Movies of 1985”

• CNBC Television - “How Netflix is Disrupting the Film Industry”

• Return to Silent Hill Teaser Trailer

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