The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

Whit Stillman on 'Metropolitan,' a Christmas Movie

12.16.2023 - By The Bulwark Goes to HollywoodPlay

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This week I’m thrilled to be joined by Whit Stillman, the director of, among other features, The Last Days of Disco, Barcelona, and Love and Friendship. He’s on the show today to discuss Metropolitan and the way it has been embraced as a classic Christmas movie, as well as the evolution of the indie film business over the last 40 years or so. 

If you’re in Rochester or the surrounding environs, make sure to pop over to the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum tonight for a special showing of Metropolitan with Mr. Stillman in attendance for a Q&A;. If you enjoyed this chat, I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Fireflies Press’s book, Whit Stillman: Not So Long Ago, as they are nearly sold out and will not be reprinted. (Yes, you can order it directly from the European publisher; I did and it arrived unharmed.) And if you’ve never seen Metropolitan, you really should! It’s available via streaming on the Criterion Channel and Max (aka HBO Max), and it’s also on sale for 30% off now (either individually or as part of the collection of his first three films).

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