Criterion Close-Up

Mark and Aaron take a look at Whit Stillman’s Barcelona (1994), and how it compares with his other work. We focus most on his other two films from the 1990s, Metropolitan (1990) and Last Days of Di…

Mark and Aaron explore the popular genre that is science fiction. At the core of our discussion is a science fiction project that Aaron has been working on, but we also explore the genre on Criteri…

Aaron is joined by Keith Enright for a discussion of politics, new and old, through the lens of The War Room (1993), the behind-the scenes 1992 Clinton campaign documentary. We go into depth about …

Mark, Aaron and Paul Cobb look at John Frankenheimer’s political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate. We explore the originality and how it influenced other paranoia films, how it spoke to the spiri…

Mark and Aaron fly back to 1939 to discuss Howard Hawks’ classic Only Angels Have Wings. We evaluate the special effects, how the film built suspense, the context of aviation in the late 1930s, and…

Mark and Aaron discuss Plain Archive, the South Korean Blu-Ray label, with input from Hyunhu Jang. He is a Producer and the Communications Manager for the label. In addition to talking about the la…

Mark and Aaron change things up by talking about a variety of topics. We delve into Don Hertzfeldt, Lady Snowblood, our recent purchases, films we’ve seen lately, Criterion news, and a strange stor…

Mark and Aaron are joined by Michele Rosenthal, professional illustrator and Criterion fan artist. She’s also a Criterion fan, but approaches the label from a different angle compared to most colle…

Mark, Aaron, and Tim are seduced by plastics. We explore what turned out to be a pivotal film in Hollywood history. The Graduate paved the way for many films to come, from casting lead actors, film…

Mark, Aaron, Cole, and Dustin are back to continue the conversation about “Gross Out” films. We explore a number of other releases. This time we strike a balance between artistry and filth, and try…

Mark, Aaron, Cole, and Dustin go further than most people want to go. This is our exploration of the gross film, and whether the subgenre has any artistic merit. Our main episode is a deeper look a…

Mark and Aaron are joined by JD and Brendan from InSession Film Podcast to discuss the world of film podcasting. We talk about what led us to this new medium, how the community embraces and enhance…

Mark, Aaron and Kristen Sales give Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl a look. We look at Breillat’s methods, and the points about women in society she is trying to make. We delve into feminism, fat sham…

Mark and Aaron are joined by Cole & Ericca from the Magic Lantern Podcast. They are Austin, TX residents and shed a lot of insight into this landmark independent film, Richard Linklater and his inv…

Mark and Aaron take a trip north to the wonderful world of Canada. This is a special, unscheduled episode to celebrate the O’ Canada Blogathon. We talk about all things Canadian, including our Cana…

Mark and Aaron are joined by Matt Sheardown of … Criterion Close-Up. You heard right. Long story. Matt is also a video games expert, so we borrowed his expertise as we broke down and evaluated the …

Mark, Aaron and Keith Enright give a look at D.A. Pennabaker’s documentary portrait of Bob Dylan in Dont Look Back (the no apostrophe is intentional). This was a pivotal period in the artist’s care…

Illustrator extraordinaire Caitlin Kuhwald joins us to talk about her artwork and the Criterion Collection. She is a professional artist and has worked extensively with The Criterion Collection, il…

This is our first bonus episode and we look at the behemoth of the moment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This is a fun little detour from our usual serious, arthouse type of podcast. We tried to app…

This is the first Criterion Close-Up double feature. Mark and Aaron take a close look at two films from Bruce Beresford, released theatrically a decade apart and just recently as part of The Criter…