Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

It's remarkable that as recently as 1986, we had a hit movie, with A-list stars (Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro) and an A-list composer (Ennio Morricone), that takes a nuanced look at a controversial historical subject, European Christian missionary activity. The Mission could not be made today. The Mission was written by Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and directed by Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, There Be Dragons). Gerald Russello, editor of the University Bookman, joins James and Thomas to discuss the film's moral complexity in dealing with sin, repentance, and issues of obedience; as well as the relevant historical subjects, such as the South American Jesuit missions and how Catholic Europe worked out issues of human rights in theory and practice during the colonial era. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/S-MruaPfJV4 Links The University Bookman https://kirkcenter.org/bookman/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

The podcast returns to yet another episode from Dekalog, the series of Polish short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. Part seven, based on the commandment "Thou shalt not steal", is about a young woman who kidnaps her own daughter. It asks the question: can you steal something that belongs to you? But it also asks: what happens when motherhood is stolen from you? Part seven also returns to some of the parental themes raised in part four. There, we saw the disastrous consequences of a father abdicating his God-given authority. Here we focus on an overbearing grandmother and mother who force a small child to fill their psychological needs, but we can't help but notice the weak fathers lurking in the background, failing to step in and set proper boundaries. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CFqUmEi9yHU 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. This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

A Quiet Place Part II is a more straightforward horror film than its predecessor, with less emotional weight, but it delivers on well-executed suspense and action while faithfully carrying forward the first film's themes of themes of family and self-sacrifice. Thomas and James discuss the series' remarkable use of silence to enhance the dramatic weight of even the slightest sound. James points to the film's unashamed embrace of the traditional role of the man as protector of the family, which nonetheless leaves room for a non-competitive collaboration of the sexes in facing danger. A Quiet Place Part II is currently in theaters, streaming on Paramount+, and available for purchase on VOD. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R78xZ97932Y This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

James and Thomas interview Sixtine Leon-Dufour, writer of the new Lourdes documentary, one of the best religious films in recent years. She discusses: Her background caring for the sick at Lourdes How she convinced the Lourdes authorities to give secular filmmakers unprecedented shooting access to this holy place How a documentary about a Marian pilgrimage got the support of a large French secular film studio and became a big success Depicting the wide range of people at Lourdes How the filmmakers found sick people who would let them film intimate and painful parts of their life The role of the writer of a documentary Why people come to Lourdes even if they are not hoping for a miracle Watch this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bywww0alMqw Links Watch our review of Lourdes: https://youtu.be/hEsxNbajQ_s Check here to find out where Lourdes is playing (including upcoming virtual screenings): https://www.distribfilmsus.com/portfolio/lourdes/ Want to bring LOURDES to your town? Contact Distrib Films (in Brooklyn). The contact is François Scippa- Kohn, who can be reached by email at [email protected]. www.distribfilmsus.com Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tGC8lQOZuw This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

A new documentary on Lourdes, originally released in France in 2019, is now in theaters in the US. It is intensely moving and one of the best religious films in recent years. Written by a Catholic who used to care for the sick at Lourdes, it is an inside look at the spiritual but also deeply human needs and aspirations that lead people to this place of miracles. The film follows a a small selection of infirm individuals and their families making their way to Lourdes in hope of physical healing or spiritual consolation. These individuals are prompted to say their private prayers out loud, making visible their poverty and wounds, but also their hope in the power of the Lady who appeared to St. Bernadette in the grotto. Particularly moving is the father of two very sick children, one of whom he brings to Lourdes with him. We see father and mother guiding their little boy in the ways of suffering and, even more, of intercessory prayer. This film was James and Thomas's first return to a movie theater after the pandemic, so they take some time to discuss how the theatrical experience differs from watching a movie at home. They also remark on the difference between documentary as a cinematic art form and documentary as a way of delivering information. Lourdes is definitely the former. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hEsxNbajQ_s Links Watch our interview with Lourdes writer Sixtine Leon-Dufour: https://youtu.be/Bywww0alMqw Check here to find out where Lourdes is playing (including upcoming virtual screenings): https://www.distribfilmsus.com/portfolio/lourdes/ Want to bring LOURDES to your town? Contact Distrib Films (in Brooklyn). The contact is François Scippa- Kohn, who can be reached by email at [email protected]. www.distribfilmsus.com Check here to find out where Lourdes is playing (including upcoming virtual screenings): https://www.distribfilmsus.com/portfolio/lourdes/ Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tGC8lQOZuw This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

In this episode from the Catholic Culture Podcast, Thomas is joined by Catholic filmmaker Nathan Douglas to discuss Walker Percy's first novel, The Moviegoer. They examine the malaise-ridden protagonist Binx Bolling's "search" for meaning, which he ultimately finds through responsibility: not the responsibility urged by respectable "values", but that urged by love. They also look at how Binx searches for a deeper connection with reality through his moviegoing habits. Percy has some interesting descriptions of his characters finding moments of transcendent beauty in film, given that this novel was written just before the notion of "cinephilia" developed by French critics made its way to the United States. Watch episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yvW59H3tAHw Links Nathan Douglas's short films www.nwdouglas.com Nathan's film writing www.vocationofcinema.substack.com Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast www.catholicculture.org/criteria Follow this link to join the Online Great Books VIP waiting list and get 25% off your first 3 months: https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

There are a few films on the Vatican film list James and Thomas haven't been looking forward to watching. Among them is Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, and our dread was due to the suspicion that this film, certainly negligible in its historical importance as a work of cinema, was included mainly because Vatican bureaucrats of a certain age are apt to confuse Mohandas K. Gandhi with a Catholic saint. (Though to be fair, the film was included under the heading of Values, not Religion.) The reasons for its inclusion aside, our suspicion was confirmed at least in that this enjoyable and well-crafted biopic in no way deserves a place on the Vatican's list of 45 important films. Gandhi, driven by Ben Kingsley's outstanding performance as the title character, is in many ways an inspiring picture of nonviolent resistance. However, it has been pointed out that this film presents a Gandhi sanitized (and we mean that quite literally) for Western consumption, leaving out his essential Hinduism, as well as his many inconsistencies, eccentricities and flaws. It is a work of boomer hagiography, from a secularized Western Christian perspective. Watch discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R-FbOXEuJ0s Next on Criteria, we are watching the seventh installment of Dekalog, the classic Polish series of short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. 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. This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 is widely considered to be the best film ever made about filmmaking, but it's about much more than that. Ingenious cinematography and surreal images convey the experience of a man who is increasingly lost in his own memory and fantasy, and so finds himself unable to have real relationships with the people in his life or to bear fruit as an artist. Not all uses of imagination are equal to the artist. There is a contemplative, receptive use and a possessive, self-indulgent use, and this latter form is antithetical to true art. The protagonist of 8 1/2 may find that his artistic and personal problems, which find him ever more slave to fantasy, may have one and the same solution: fidelity to his wife. We might ask whether there is really such a thing as "writer's block" for a true artist, or whether such blocks are due to vice getting in the way of docility and receptivity. Katy Carl, novelist and editor-in-chief of Dappled Things, joins the show to discuss this film. 8 1/2 can be viewed with a subscription to Criterion Channel or HBO Max, and rented on many other platforms. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/I91TFlJe2e8 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

In honor of Pope St. John Paul the Great's birthday, James and Thomas discuss the 2005 film about his life starring Cary Elwes as the young Karol Wojtyla and Jon Voight as Pope John Paul II. One of the strengths of the film, made within a few months of the saint's death, is its portrayal of John Paul II's Polishness and how it influenced him as a world leader. Other aspects of the film are outdated in light of what we know today, such as its portrayal of the Vatican and the Curia as a group of men working together in harmony for the good of souls. Watch discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zpuwtPBcKqk Links Pope John Paul II can be viewed on FORMED. https://watch.formed.org/pope-john-paul-ii-1 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

The sixth episode of Kieslowski's Dekalog series inspired by the Ten Commandments, included in the Vatican's 1995 list of great films, deals with a characteristically modern form of adultery: voyeurism. The film begins from the perspective of a peeping tom, but gradually we start to see things through the eyes of the promiscuous woman he spies on, as the conscience of each begins to awaken. Circumspection is required in discussing such a film, and in viewing it - while there is no nudity in the film, it crosses some moral lines. It has been said that it's impossible to make an anti-war film because the medium can't help but make war exciting; likewise it could be said that making an anti-voyeurism film presents challenges because certain things simply must not be displayed regardless of whether the intent is to titillate or critique. Notably, intent is not mentioned in the Catechism's definition of pornography! Watch discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b3MWB6mPRsk This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

A good priest is threatened with death for the sins of an evil one. He has one week to prepare. That is the simple premise of John Michael McDonagh's 2014 film Calvary, starring Brendan Gleeson. This portrait of a heroic but very human priest illuminates the crucifixions, mundane or dramatic, faced by good parish priests everywhere, but especially in post-Catholic cultures such as Ireland, in which the film is set. Fr. James Searby (whose preaching and teaching can be heard on his podcast, Holiness for the Working Day) joins Criteria to discuss Calvary and how it resonates with his everyday experience as a priest. Watch discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v9A7oOfpxEQ Links Holiness for the Working Day http://www.holiness.work/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

In 1962, inspired by Pope St. John XXIII's outreach to non-Christian artists, a gay communist picked up the Gospels and ended up making a film about Jesus. Nervous yet? But one thing you can't fault Pier Paolo Pasolini for is taking liberties with his source material - the dialogue in The Gospel According to Matthew is drawn entirely from that book of the Bible. The Vatican's newspaper once called this the best film ever made about Jesus. It certainly is one of the most unique adaptations, in the austerity of its approach (almost willful in its refusal to elaborate on Scripture), in its counterintuitive casting, in its portrayal of Our Lord's fierce urgency in delivering His message. There are many interesting moments to discuss, but the core question for Thomas and James is: Does the minimalism of the Gospel account translate well to the screen without embellishment, or does what leaves room for imagination on the page become barren in a visual medium? Memoirist and columnist Heather King (you may have read her work in Magnificat or Angelus) joins the show to discuss this, one of her favorite films. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/F7tKdAjc2JI Next on Criteria: The 2014 film Calvary, starring Brendan Gleeson as a heroic priest. LINKS https://www.heather-king.com/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

In anticipation of Season 2 of The Chosen, the popular TV series based on the Gospels, Thomas and James take a look back at Season 1 and what made it so remarkable. They are joined by Brother Joshua Vargas, a filmmaker, artist, and novice at the Oratory in Philadelphia. The show's two greatest strengths are its writing, which James calls "an education in meditation on the Gospels", and Jonathan Roumie's outstanding, childlike yet masculine performance as Jesus, which Br. Joshua considers "equally as compelling" as Jim Caviezel's in The Passion of the Christ. (Thomas previously interviewed Jonathan on the Catholic Culture Podcast - link below.) The show's writers have done an excellent job fleshing out the terse Gospel stories without losing their essence. They seamlessly interweave direct quotes from the New Testament, original writing, and Old Testament references, and pick up on minor details and references from the Gospels, sometimes building them into larger subplots or just using them as minor character details (such as Peter being a slow runner). They cleverly use traditional TV episode structure to incorporate biblical foreshadowing and parallelism. And they make the world of Jews in first-century Palestine come alive. Any artistic rendering of a perfect human being, let alone a Divine Person, inevitably falls short in certain ways, or makes sacrifices in choosing to emphasize certain aspects of Christ. Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew portrays Jesus's stern side. Gibson's The Passion of the Christ focuses on His physical sufferings. The Chosen, with the luxury of multiple seasons ahead, opts for a more well-rounded portrayal, yet also makes a point of making Jesus more accessible to a modern American audience. This is a laudable goal, and yet a certain amount of the Son of God's majesty and mystery is lost in adaptation; however, this may be something which is developed in future seasons. Thankfully, the first season does not ring false on a theological level, with one significant exception. Season 2 of The Chosen premieres on Easter Sunday. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3RQ7SxPlUNY Links Thomas's interview with Jonathan Roumie on the Catholic Culture Podcast https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-76-playing-jesus-on-chosen-jonathan-roumie/ The Chosen on Apple App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-chosen/id1473663873 The Chosen on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vidangel.thechosen&hl=en_US&gl=US Follow Art by Joshua Vargas on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MiserereNobisDomine/ Buy Brother Joshua's work on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtbyJoshuaVargas?fbclid=IwAR3lzPMOPSfTfZphhB5Z02ctqGmVebQpKzXR4ubtWGXeiK0SLAncUu6l_L4 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

"The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good." Andrei Tarkovsky Could Andrei Rublev be the best film on the Vatican film list? Andrei Tarkovsky is widely regarded as one of the greatest spiritual filmmakers of all time, and his 1966 masterpiece Andrei Rublev lives up to that reputation. In this deeply moving and at times confounding work of art, we enter into the spiritual and artistic trials of Russia's greatest icon painter, the monk Andrei Rublev, who works in the midst of the immense suffering of the Russian people in the 15th century. It is both a deeply contemplative interior work and an historical epic. Catholic filmmaker Nathan Douglas joins the show to discuss his favorite film with us. After an introduction to the techniques and philosophy of Soviet montage theory, the discussion touches on many of the issues dealt with in the film: How does one avoid burying one's talents, whether from envy, vanity or more complicated motives? How can an artist, and a man, mature through suffering? Can the significance of great works of religious art be reduced to the perhaps impure motives of the powerful and wealthy people who commission them? Is there even a point to making beautiful things in a world filled with brutality and suffering? The film also provides an occasion to discuss the morality of nudity and the treatment of animals in a cinematic context. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fJXZ19-LhGA The best way to view Andrei Rublev is with a free trial subscription to the Criterion Channel streaming service. https://www.criterionchannel.com/andrei-rublev It can also be viewed on YouTube, but the subtitle translation is poor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsEnNDr6YfA Fair warning: this film contains some nudity and violence. Next up on Criteria: Contrary to what was said in this episode, due to a scheduling mishap, the next discussion will be about season 1 of The Chosen, in anticipation of the launch of season 2 on Easter Sunday. The originally planned discussion of Calvary will come out in April instead. Links Explanation of Soviet montage theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtnTs90knro Nathan Douglas https://nwdouglas.com/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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/

Based on a memoir by famous Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev, Dersu Uzala (1975) is a heartwarming adventure tale about the unlikely friendship between a man of civilization and a man of the wilderness. On a mission to map the Russian Far East, Arseniev encounters Dersu Uzala, a hunter and member of the Goldi people, from whom he learns much about the strange courtesies of life in the wild, based on a respect for all beings. But while this heartfelt friendship is not defeated by profound cultural differences, neither can it fully overcome them. Though Akira Kurosawa is better known for his samurai films, this late-career work of his was picked for the Vatican film list under the heading of Values. Dersu UZala is distinct from his other films not only in its subject matter but because it is his only non-Japanese-language film (as a collaboration with the Soviet production company Mosfilm), and his only film shot in 70mm. Dersu Uzala is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel and (in somewhat video quality, with out-of-sync subtitles) on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EWdAnJsfdc The next Vatican film list selection we are discussing is Andrei Rublev (1966), the deeply spiritual 15th-century historical epic about Russia's greatest icon painter. You can watch it with a 14-day free subscription to the Criterion Channel streaming service. (Contains some nudity.) LINKS Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/F5yDufeIgYo Akira Kurosawa: Composing Movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8 Films compared with Dersu Uzala: Werner Herzog, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga and Aguirre, The Wrath of God Terrence Malick, The New World Jean Renoir, La Grande Illusion This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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://youtu.be/PrsVkxtBgyo There is only one American film in the "Religion" section of the Vatican film list: William Wyler's 1959 epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Its epic scale and its astonishing set pieces such as the sea battle and the chariot race make the small, understated moments when Jesus enters the story all the more striking. Thomas and James are joined by Catholic art historian and Rome tour guide Elizabeth Lev to discuss the film. Next on Criteria: On the "Values" section of the Vatican film list, Akira Kurosawa's 1975 Dersu Uzala, based on the memoir of famed Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev. It's a heartwarming tale of friendship between a man of civilization and a man of the wilderness. Dersu Uzala can be streamed on the Criterion Channel. It is also on YouTube, though with lesser video quality and the subtitles somewhat out of sync. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EWdAnJsfdc Links Elizabeth Lev, How Catholic Art Saved the Faith https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/how-catholic-art-saved-the-faith Catholic Culture Podcast w/ Liz on the Temptation of St. Anthony in art history https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-temptation-st-anthony-elizabeth-lev/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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://youtu.be/-R68p8Lkxgw We enjoy The Mandalorian more than any other recent Star Wars productions. But its second season sometimes doesn't trust us to suspend our disbelief in certain respects (a misguided literalism in its use of CGI for a major human character), while elsewhere expecting us to accept, on ideological grounds, things that are unbelievable even in its fantasy setting (a disproportionate number of tiny women somehow able to throw around men much bigger than they). This prompts a discussion of the difference between the suspension of disbelief and unreality in a fantasy setting. After discussing Star Wars (the recent films and the dangers of indiscriminate "fandom") and things we appreciate about The Mandalorian's production (its soundtrack, its use of virtual sets), our discussion of Season 2 begins about 17 minutes in. Links The Marvel Symphonic Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfqkvwW2fs https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/thor-ragnarok-composer-acknowledges-marvel-scores-sound-same-1054503 Rear Projection: How It Works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwe4Fan41Is The Virtual Production of The Mandalorian, Season One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUnxzVOs3rk Alexi Sargent, "The Undeath of Cinema" https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-undeath-of-cinema This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. 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://youtu.be/uYdtpAoLjo8 This film makes us confront on a visceral level the horror of taking a human life, even the life of someone we might find despicable. It is the fifth installment of Dekalog, the famous Polish TV series inspired by the Ten Commandments. Dekalog: Five, which was expanded into the feature-length A Short Film About Killing, coincided with an intense debate over capital punishment in Poland, and in the year of its release (1988) the nation finally suspended use of the death penalty. Catholic film scholar Maria Elena de las Carreras often uses Dekalog: Five to teach her students at Cal State Northridge about the value of life. She brings a lively energy to the discussion along with a deep knowledge of Polish cinema and, in general, the work of filmmakers living in totalitarian regimes. Thomas tracked Maria Elena down because of an article on Kieslowski she wrote for Crisis magazine twenty years ago—which, she tells us, she sent to Pope John Paul II, and received a letter from his secretary saying it had been read "with great interest". Next in our discussion of the Vatican film list: William Wyler's epic Ben-Hur (1959), starring Charlton Heston. Links Watch A Short Film About Killing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqmukHCGUQ Maria Elena de las Carreras article on Kieslowski https://www.crisismagazine.com/2000/filming-the-10-commandments-kieslowski-as-a-catholic-director Her writings on film at Crisis Magazine https://www.crisismagazine.com/author/kuntz More writings https://csun.academia.edu/MariaElenadelasCarreras This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join the Facebook group to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Mel Gibson playing Santa fending off an assassin sent by a spoiled brat who got coal for Christmas is a premise as absurd as it is entertaining. Fatman, the latest in a series of thematically similar roles for Gibson, delivers on both the entertainment and the absurdity while also taking itself more seriously than we might expect. We live in what has been described as a "therapeutic culture" in which all evil is psychologized away in terms of childhood trauma. In Gibson's countercultural Chris Cringle we have a father figure who understands and compassionates the childhood wounds of his adversaries, yet insists that wicked deeds require retribution both for justice's and for the evildoer's own sake. Watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CEBbIUBD-hs This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhLMHBBirC0 It's time for Criteria's Christmas episode—time to watch the classic tale of a man who, through divine intervention, overcomes regret, jealousy and despair to realize how precious and magical is the life he already has. James and Thomas discuss Catholic director Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life with popular podcaster and writer Patrick Coffin. Patrick is uniquely qualified to discuss this film (which he believes to be the best ever made), having even interviewed a member of the cast! It's a Wonderful Life is included on the Vatican film list under the category "Values". Next on Criteria: Another installment of Dekalog, the Polish miniseries inspired by the Ten Commandments. We will be discussing episode five and its full-length film adaptation, A Short Film About Killing. This film can be viewed on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ZkD_tyBAY LINKS Patrick Coffin's interview with Mary Owen (Donna Reed's daughter) and Karolyn Grimes (who played little Zuzu in the film) https://www.patrickcoffin.media/its-a-wonderful-movie-2/ Patrick's National Review article on the film https://www.nationalreview.com/2012/12/its-wonderful-life-little-story-did-patrick-coffin/ Patrick's article on Capra's other Christmas classic, Meet John Doe https://www.patrickcoffin.media/frank-capras-forgotten-christmas-classic/ Coffin Nation https://www.coffinnation.com/ Wikipedia article on the fascinating Frank Capra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cCpqMLBg0Ro Almost one hundred years ago, the great German director Fritz Lang offered us a beautiful yet nightmarish vision of a world strangely similar to our present. Society is unimaginably prosperous yet produces mass misery. There is a sense of an end coming for Babel. Amidst growing class resentment, the Whore of Babylon appears in the form of a machine invented by society's elites. This wonder of technology parodies and destroys womanhood, manipulating men's lust and anger, tempting them away from compassion for their fellow man and the patient expectation of a redeemer. Scott Hambrick and Karl Schudt from OnlineGreatBooks.com join the show for an entertaining, thought-provoking discussion of the one work of sci-fi on the Vatican film list—not only of its Biblical, political and technological themes, but also its unforgettable imagery and evocative aesthetic, a combination of Art Deco with German expressionism. Next on Criteria is a Christmas episode on It's a Wonderful Life, with special guest Patrick Coffin. Links Watch Metropolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtWDIZtrAE Online Great Books's latest enrollment period has just begun. Use discount code "catholicculture" or use this referral link for 25% off your first three months! https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ Catholic Culture Podcast Episode 27 with Scott Hambrick https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-27-always-wanted-to-study-great-books-heres-how-youll-actually-follow-through-scott-hambrick/ https://onlinegreatbooks.com/ Online Great Books Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/online-great-books-podcast/id1375330490 Music and Ideas https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-and-ideas/id1500358614 Barbell Logic https://barbell-logic.com/ Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zUBvgrpvqa0 Krzysztof Kieślowski's DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. With this episode we discuss the fourth film in the series, which deals with the fourth commandment: "Honor thy father and mother." In this fraught installment, a father is challenged to definitively embrace his paternal role as authority and protector, lest his already ambiguous relationship with daughter be perverted into something truly monstrous. 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: Fritz Lang's science fiction classic Metropolis (1927), found easily on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtWDIZtrAE Links Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

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 Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods 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 Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods 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 Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Join our Facebook group if you wish to discuss these films with us! http://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods 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 CatholicCulture.org Podcast Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods Register at CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio Donate: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio 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/

Described in a recent LA Times op-ed by '12 Years a Slave' screenwriter John Ridley as "a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color," Gone with the Wind is, nevertheless, one of the most enduringly popular and culturally significant films of all time. In this episode, James and Thomas take a momentary departure from the Vatican Film List to consider instead this classic and controversial film, in conversation with American historian Stephen M. Klugewicz, Director of Academic Affairs of the Free Enterprise Institute and Editor of The Imaginative Conservative. Next time, we return to the Vatican Film List to discuss the first installment of Dekalog, the 10-part series of films directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski. (See below for info on how to watch these films.) Join the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links The Imaginative Conservative: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/ TCM Host and film scholar Jacqueline Stewart's introduction to Gone with the Wind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DF2FKRToiQ&feature=emb_title Essay contrasting the film with the novel https://newcriterion.com/issues/2020/9/knights-their-ladies-fair North Against South: The American Iliad, 1848-1877 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136520.North_Against_South Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

In this bonus episode of Criteria, Thomas asks attorney and scholar Louis Karlin whether Robert Bolt's play and film A Man for All Seasons accurately depict St. Thomas More's views on the rights of conscience, and his motives for martyrdom. More's involvement in the prosecution of heretics is also examined: even if More was a martyr of conscience, is it accurate to call him a champion of religious freedom? One thing is certain: the portrayal by Hilary Mantel and others of More as a torturer of heretics is false. Next on the Vatican film list is the first installment of Dekalog, a 10-part series of short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. See below for information on where to watch it. Links The Center for Thomas More Studies https://thomasmorestudies.org/ Lecture by Richard Rex critiquing the historical fiction of Hilary Mantel, "More the villain and Cromwell the hero?" https://ionainstitute.ie/thomas-more-thomas-cromwell-and-wolf-hall/ William Marshner, "Dignitatis Humanae and Traditional Teaching on Church and State" https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8778 Thomas Pink, "Conscience and Coercion" https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion Louis W. Karlin and David R. Oakley, Inside the Mind of Thomas More: The Witness of His Writings https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mind-Thomas-More-Writings/dp/1594173133 Karlin, Wegemer and Kelly, Thomas More's Trial by Jury: A Procedural Legal Review with a Collection of Documents https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Mores-Trial-Jury-Procedural/dp/1843838737/ Stephen Smith (ed.), For All Seasons: Selected Letters of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/All-Seasons-Selected-Letters-Thomas/dp/1594171637 Wegemer and Smith (ed.), The Essential Works of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Works-Thomas-More/dp/0300223374/ St. Thomas More, The Sadness of Christ https://www.amazon.com/Sadness-Christ-Thomas-More/dp/1849020558 The Yale Edition of the Complete Works of St. Thomas More, Vol. 14, De Tristitia Christi https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Thomas-Tristitia-Christi/dp/0300017936 Other podcasts on St. Thomas More Criteria film discussion https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/man-for-all-seasons-1966/ Audiobook of More's Dialogue on Conscience https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-thomas-more-dialogue-on-conscience/ Dekalog Of all the films on the Vatican list, Dekalog is one of the two most difficult to find. The only place it can be streamed online is with a subscription on https://easterneuropeanmovies.com/ (which is, surprisingly, legal). The best viewing experience will be the recent restored edition on Blu-Ray/DVD from Criterion (https://www.criterion.com/films/28661-dekalog), but it's pricey. Older editions on Blu-Ray and DVD are available for considerably cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere. But for many people, the most convenient way of seeing Dekalog may be to borrow it from your local library. Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission.

The film adaptation of Robert Bolt's award-winning play about St. Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons, swept the floor at the Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design the year it was considered. In honor of St. Thomas More's upcoming feast day, June 22nd, James and Thomas discuss the film and the problem of adaptation with friend and filmmaker, Nathan Douglas. Next time, we discuss the first installment of Dekalog, the 10-part series of films directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski. (See below for info on how to watch these films.) Join the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links Nathan Douglas, Motet Films https://nwdouglas.com/ Interview with More scholar Louis Karlin https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/robert-bolts-man-for-all-seasons-christian-saint-or-hero-selfhood/ Audiobook of More's Dialogue on Conscience https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-thomas-more-dialogue-on-conscience/ Other films discussed Lawrence of Arabia – so many horses! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lChJz2DSpsE Mad Max: Fury Road – practical effects https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD8jK7qyC9w Richard III (Olivier) – scene mentioned as example of conveying theatrical experience "subjectively" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDxnXgYPnKg Richard III (McKellen) – used as example of "cinematic" adaptation of a play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJEXkbeL-o A Hidden Life – prison scene with wife, as compared to More's prison scene with family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAubpnKP3CU 1964 Russian adaptation of Hamlet (full movie with subtitles) https://vimeo.com/337079580 Dekalog Of all the films on the Vatican list, Dekalog is one of the two most difficult to find. The only place it can be streamed online is with a subscription on https://easterneuropeanmovies.com/ (which is, surprisingly, legal). The best viewing experience will be the recent restored edition on Blu-Ray/DVD from Criterion (https://www.criterion.com/films/28661-dekalog), but it's pricey. Older editions on Blu-Ray and DVD are available for considerably cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere. But for many people, the most convenient way of seeing Dekalog may be to borrow it from your local library. Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

John Ford's Stagecoach is a classic of the American Western that both elevated the genre and catapulted the career of its breakout star, John Wayne. Well-known Catholic writer and cultural commentator, Anthony Esolen, joins James and Thomas this week to discuss the film against the backdrop of the civil unrest incited by the death of George Floyd. Of Ford, Tony observes: "He makes movies about the way people come together to form a real society with their common good in mind, and he shows how that can fall apart because of human stupidity or selfishness — their pride, their avarice, their hardheartedness." Next time, we discuss A Man for All Seasons, the film adaptation of Robert Bolt's play about St. Thomas More. Join the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links Tag Gallagher on Stagecoach: https://vimeo.com/40092986 Anthony Esolen interview on The Catholic Culture Podcast: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-55-hundredfold-anthony-esolen/ Jonathan Roumie interview on The Catholic Culture Podcast: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-76-playing-jesus-on-chosen-jonathan-roumie/ Sex and the Unreal City: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Unreal-City-Demolition-Western/dp/1621643069/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=the+Unreal+city&qid=1591137583&s=books&sr=1-4&fbclid=IwAR3uI9d9Mdu_o9lMVSsqy_9QJsFJIWLdCaqP3YgROTiDG8MeqkJ5llescx4&pldnSite=1 The Hundredfold: https://www.ignatius.com/The-Hundredfold-P3358.aspx Music: The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

James and Thomas discuss 2001: A Space Odyssey, the classic science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick. While Thomas thinks the film is a masterpiece and also very dumb, James embarrasses himself by suggesting that the monolith is sacramental. The film also brings out James' deep-seated rage at his car's seat belt indicator. Next time, we discuss the 1939 film Stagecoach, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. Watch it, then join the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links Scene we discuss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wJQ5UrAsIY Match Cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2hjlA1rEfM&feature=youtu.be Music: The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

James and Thomas discuss Babette's Feast, an Oscar-winning religious classic directed by Gabriel Axel. (This is apparently Pope Francis's favorite film.) Two elderly sisters in a small Danish village have spent their lives praying, caring for the poor, and tending to the small, quasi-Puritan sect founded by their late father. When their French cook, Babette, asks if she can make a feast in honor of their father's centenary, their faith is challenged and their souls are enlivened by the revelation that beauty too is a means by which God draws us closer to Him. Next time, we will be discussing Stanley Kubrick's 2001:A Space Odyssey. Go watch it, then join in the discussion in our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ Links Painting mentioned, Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog Music: The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/

Introducing Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast! This is a show dedicated to exploring films of significant artistic merit and Catholic interest, starting with the Vatican's 1995 list of "Some Important Films". Your hosts are Thomas V. Mirus (The Catholic Culture Podcast) and actor James T. Majewski (Catholic Culture Audiobooks). In this introductory episode we explain what we hope to accomplish with this show, discuss the Vatican film list, and explain how you can participate in the discussion. St. John Paul II, pray for us! Links Join our Facebook group to participate in the film discussions! https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatholicPods/ "Some Important Films" (i.e., the Vatican film list) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican%27s_list_of_films Address of His Holiness John Paul II to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1995/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19950317_plen-pccs.html "The Ideal Film": Apostolic Exhortations of His Holiness Pius XII to Representatives of the Cinema World http://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-xii_exh_25101955_ideal-film.html James's audiobook of Pope St. John Paul II's Letter to Artists https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-paul-ii-letter-to-artists/ Steven Greydanus, "The Vatican Film List" http://www.decentfilms.com/articles/vaticanfilmlist Criterion Channel https://www.criterionchannel.com/ Music: The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/