Deep Cut: A Film Podcast

Step into 17th-century Italy as we dive into Paul Verhoeven’s BENEDETTA. The wild, true story of a Catholic nun experiencing religious visions while swept up in a passionate lesbian love affair. Why did Eli compare this historical epic to Love Island: All Stars UK? Why was Wilson advocating to free the nipple? And what specific insert shot did Ben feel was missing from the film? Tune in to find out!

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:43 Film context

00:04:39 General reactions

00:12:17 Exploring the divine and human social structures

00:18:11 Is Benedetta telling the truth?

00:24:04 Sister Felicita

00:31:58 Sex

00:43:01 Cinematography

00:46:40 The torture scenes

00:48:08 Bartolomea

00:50:27 Performances

00:59:08 Capitalism and money

01:01:06 Singaporean film classification

01:07:45 Verhoeven legacy

Eli sits down with friend of the podcast Russell Goldman (013. Zack Snyder's Justice League; 058. Sundance 2023 Dispatch) to discuss the making of his upcoming feature debut, Sender, starring Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anna Baryshnikov, and David Dastmalchian. Russell tells Eli about overcoming obstacles during production, the movie’s journey at festivals, and the creative collaborators Russell worked with to bring Sender to life. Visit http://sendermovie.com to learn more about the film and find festival screenings near you before its Dark Sky Films release in Spring 2027!

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

06:31 The Journey to making Sender

12:30 Assembling the team

23:04 Overcoming obstacles on set

28:39 Sender’s relationship to evolving technology

40:53 How audiences may encounter Sender

44:06 Closing

Following his interview with Mary Stephen at the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival, Wilson has invited the storied director to return to Deep Cut to discuss her new hybrid documentary feature and her work editing the films of Éric Rohmer. As Palimpsest: Story of a Name garners praise around the international film festival circuit for its sensitive, witty exploration of her family’s history, Stephen dives into a different side of her personal history with the French auteur. Listen in as we ask Stephen’s thoughts on Rohmer’s process with actors on set, the authority Stephen had over the edit, and how parents tell–– or, don’t tell–– stories to their children.

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Timestamps

00:00 Intro

03:51 Melvil Poupad: Hot or Not

05:21 Rohmer’s personal and professional life

08:42 Working as a Rohmer collaborator

11:10 A Summer's Tale preproduction

13:02 The Rohmerian Type of Woman

14:40 Blocking and editing in A Summer's Tale

21:06 Creative input as an editor

25:10 Mary’s sense of time

27:52 An Autumn’s Tale

35:55 The themes of Palimpsest

38:19 The Ending of Palimpsest

45:29 Mary's Relationship with her father

51:11 Mary as a director

54:34 Advice for younger filmmakers and personal deep cut

Fall in love with three beautiful podcast hosts; fumble the bag with all three. To prepare for our upcoming interview with director Mary Stephen, we study her work editing Éric Rohmer’s A Summer’s Tale. Almost five years following our initial series on the French auteur, have our thoughts changed on his calm naturalism? We compare his work to more recent Deep Cut director Hong Sang-soo, discuss the structure of his scenes, and wonder about how Stephen helped sculpt time in this film. Most importantly: do we really find that pouty French twink hot?

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:06:00 A Summer Tale context

00:10:38 General reactions

00:20:02 Film structure and opening

00:24:47 Gaspard’s conundrum

00:30:48 Margot

00:36:08 What is the film trying to say?

00:38:15 Naturalism and conversations

00:44:05 The passage of time

00:46:15 The audience’s trust

00:50:17 Hong v Rohmer, closing tangents

Eli flies in from his foray into his favorite film fest, the 64th installation of the New York Film Festival. It’s a year full of delicate, considerate, humanistic films: Sandra Wollner’s Everytime, Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid, and Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care. Ben and Wilson share their thoughts on two more films in the lineup, Hong Sang-soo’s The Day She Returns, and William Greaves’ Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Also, just for the heck of it, hear what Wilson thinks about Kore-eda Hirokazu’s latest, Look Back.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

06:40 Everytime (2026) dir. Sandra Wollner

13:05 The Man I Love (2026) dir. Ira Sachs

23:17 Club Kid (2026) dir. Jordan Firstman

27:31 Tender Loving Care (2026) dir. Mike Leigh

32:37 For The Moon (2026) dir. Eric Baudelaire

38:44 The Day She Returns (2026) dir. Hong Sang-soo

44:07 Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026) dir. William Greaves, David Greaves

47:25 Look Back (2026) dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda

50:59: Upcoming festival coverage

Before Paul Verhoeven was Hollywood’s pervert-auteur of choice, he was making massive hits in Dutch cinema like this episode’s focus, Katie Tippel. Ben’s main question for this episode: what is Paul Verhoeven’s worldview? To answer, the Deep Cut trio explores the economic and sexual exploitation of Tippel’s world, the surprisingly modern-feeling period filmmaking, and lots of nudity.

Links:

Adam Nayman on Katie Tippel

Ben’s review of Mahjong

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:51 Summary, context, and general reactions

00:19:08 Verhoeven's worldview

00:33:43 Prostitution and sexuality

00:48:47 Historical films and the feeling of modernity

01:04:00 Exploitation?

Sex, violence, and metanarrative critiques of the audience! Our series on the films of Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven begins with several bangs in 1992's Basic Instinct. After getting to know the thrilling perv, Wilson gets grossed out by Michael Douglas, Ben gets enthralled by Sharon Stone, and Eli gets confused about the ending. What big ideas lie beneath this spectacular erotic thriller? Listen on…

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:50 Introducing Paul Verhoeven

00:10:00 Moral complexity

00:17:08 Context on Verhoeven

00:27:15 Introducing Basic Instinct

00:33:00 Nick as the protagonist; Michael Douglas as an actor

00:41:25 The interrogation scene

00:52:30 The end of the movie

01:02:29 Car chases and murder

01:06:15 Themes and big ideas

01:14:30 Closing thoughts

Following his conversation with Film at Lincoln Center programmer Maddie Whittle, Eli returns from watching the series she programmed, Scary Movies XIV, to tell Ben and Wilson about fright, fear, thrill, chill… you get it. Stay tuned for Eli’s thoughts on new films Buddy (dir. Casper Kelly) and Something Real (dir. Evar Anvelt) and revival screenings of Cam (dir. Daniel Goldhaber), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (dir. John McNaughton), and Wendigo (dir. Larry Fessenden), plus exclusive insights from directors during their Q&A sessions.

Links:

The full slate of films at Scary Movies XIV

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:42 Festival intro

09:30 General horror discussion

12:13 Buddy (2026) dir. Casper Kelly

17:00 Something Real (2026) dir. Evar Anvelt

21:09 Revivals

21:34 Cam (2018) dir. Daniel Goldhaber

34:31 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) dir. John McNaughton

42:56 Wendigo (2001) dir. Larry Fessenden

50:31 Wrap-up

Eli sits down with programmer Madeline Whittle to chat about this year’s edition of SCARY MOVIES, which showcases the latest offerings in horror from all around the world. Maddie talks about her relationship with horror films, the process of selecting films for SCARY MOVIES XIV, and previews some of the offerings at the festival! SCARY MOVIES XIV will run from August 12 - 20 at New York City’s Film at Lincoln Center.

Links:

Film at Lincoln Center: Scary Movies XIV

Maddie’s Twitter

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:45 Maddie’s relationship with horror films and the festival

05:54 Programming the Scary Movies festival

09:25 Festival highlights

15:27 Why do we watch scary movies?

19:12 Maddie’s Deep Cut Pick

The Deep Cut team reaches a major milestone as Ben and Eli interview Deep Cut canon director Kiyoshi Kurosawa! The Japanese auteur generously answers questions about his latest film, The Samurai and the Prisoner: how does Chiyoho in this film link to Akiko in Cloud? Are the comedic moments intentional? And Eli finally gets to ask his most burning Kurosawa question: WHY ALL THE PLASTIC SHEETS?

Special thank you to Ryanne Gordon, Benkei Golden, and Amaka Nwokocha from Divergent PR and translator, filmmaker, and artist Monika Uchiyama for making this episode possible.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:18 Interview begins

04:13 Social structures and Murashige

05:47 Chiyoho in a man’s world

07:33 Plastic sheet

09:41 Long takes and blocking

12:47 Cinematic influences

15:18 Comedic aspects

17:02 Closing thoughts

Deep Cut director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with a sharp left turn in The Samurai and the Prisoner: Silence of the Lambs by way of Seven Samurai! On this Deep Cut Upkeep episode, we return to the director of Cure and Pulse to look for the director’s unnerving tone, restrained direction, societal interrogation, and… matcha-making techniques?

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:06:48 General reactions

00:15:20 Kurosawaisms in The Samurai and the Prisoner

00:20:55 Comedy

00:31:05 Chiyoho’s version of Buddhist ideology

00:36:00 Murashige’s mysterious motivations

00:42:38 Kurosawa and tone

00:49:20 Brainstorming questions for Kurosawa

00:53:28 Our feelings on Kurosawa now

Fresh off the opening weekend of Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster, the Deep Cut trio welcome friend of the pod Koh Zhi Hao to talk about The Odyssey. Listen to us break down the differences in Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s poem, discuss who gave a bad performance in this, and finally answer the question; Does Chris Nolan make movies for stupid people?

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:40 Introducing film and Zhi Hao

00:09:59 Formats we saw and general reactions

00:40:35 Context and favorite moments

00:55:12 Favorite technical aspects

01:08:46 Phaeacia, Helen, and other details

01:19:54 The gods' influence on characters

01:30:37 Nolan's influence

01:34:48 Odyssey viewing formats

01:44:10 Closing

Deep Cut welcomes back dear friend and frequent guest Thanmye Lagudu to share his love for Indian filmmaker Christopher Nolan (iykyk) and his twisty Tenet. Listen as we all get a headache trying to make sense of Nolan’s (overly?) complicated plot: protagonists, time travel, character archetypes, race, temporal sphincters, and Nolan’s new collaborators in Jennifer Lame and Ludwig Göransson, and Robert Pattinson abound. And listen to the very end for an easter egg…

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:56 Introducing Thanmye

00:09:59 Introducing Tenet

00:11:21 General reactions

00:19:46 Guesteral pincer movement

00:22:34 The bromance

00:25:03 The Protagonist / Determinism

00:30:00 Bond / le Carre comparisons

00:33:45 Climactic / action scenes

00:38:52 Emotional truth, vs Interstellar

00:42:07 Ludwig Göransson score

00:43:04 Editing with Jennifer Lame

00:48:16 Thanmye's favorite things about Tenet

00:54:25 "Indie" solutions / Tactile filmmaking

00:59:45 Nolan as auteur

01:01:53 Nolan male archetype

01:08:21 Hopes for The Odyssey

01:11:43 Nolan as "Indian" filmmaker

01:14:06 More from Thanmye

“MURPH! MUUUURPH!” Join us on a journey through the wormhole along with filmmaker Isadora Neves Marques as we discuss Christopher Nolan’s intergalactic adventure, Interstellar. Is love calculable? How does this compare to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey? When does Nolan intercut TOO much? And is Matt Damon’s performance good? All will be revealed… if you listen, that is.

Links:

You can find selections of Dora’s writing on their website.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:08 Introducing Isadora

00:09:59 Our background with Nolan

00:17:50 Christopher Nolan director background

00:21:02 Interstellar intro

00:24:24 Nolan vs Hong Sang-soo, as indie filmmaker

00:27:57 Interstellar general reactions

00:36:01 Editing

00:39:58 Eli's theory

00:42:10 Scriptwriting and plotting

00:46:48 "Filmmaker for stupid people"

00:51:34 A limited worldview

00:56:38 Masculinity / Mann is bad

01:00:33 Screenwriting lessons from Nolan

01:03:44 Black hole / ocean planet

01:06:25 Ending and masculinity

01:10:19 Nolan film bros

01:15:05 Lack of awe

01:20:15 Craft

01:24:31 More from Isadora

The seventh and final director interview Wilson conducted at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the legendary Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang. Wilson asks one of his cinematic heroes about the state of filmmaking today, his methods for working with actors, and his decades-long collaboration with Lee Kang-sheng.

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Timestamps:

00:00 intro

03:42 What do you hope new audiences will take from your films?

04:43 Rebels of the Neon god

06:20 Tsai and realism

07:35 The Hole

09:30 Tsai’s childhood

11:13 Theaters, streamers, and art museums

13:24 Video art versus narrative cinema

16:15 Fruits and vegetables (props and crops)

17:40 Abandoned buildings

19:27 Pacing and directing actors

21:22 Working with Lee Kang-sheng

22:35 Tsai’s Deep Cut picks

The sixth of seven (6-7!!!) director interviews Wilson conducted at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the British, experimental director Ben Rivers, creator of the child-focused, post-apocalyptic exploration Mare’s Nest. Rivers speaks about giving child actors the freedom to be themselves onscreen, receiving Don Delillo’s blessing to stage his play The Word for Snow in the film, and the intention behind his depiction of an adultless world.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:03 Interview begins

03:32 Origins of Mare's Nest

06:07 Don Delillo

09:52 Children performing adult routines

13:14 Documentary versus fiction

19:09 Film-within-film

22:06 Moon walks into the past

25:02 Location filming

28:48 SEA filmmakers

31:25 Outro

The fifth of seven director interviews Wilson conducted at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the thoughtfully impassioned Vladlena Sandu, director of the autobiographical drama Memory. Sandu shares her influences from Tarkovsky to Pajaranov, praises her collaborators on this film, how hypnotherapy helped her make this film, and her strong anti-war convictions.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:15 Interview starts

04:03 Making Sandu happen

07:47 Childhood trauma through film

10:25 Personal truth

17:34 Motifs and repetition

23:48 Child actors

30:14 Production design

35:54 Influences: Tarkovsky, Parajanov, Pasolini

40:19 Ending of the film

The fourth of seven director interviews Wilson conducted at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival is with Edwin, director of the fantasy horror Sleep No More. Edwin shares his wide range of influences from Indonesian cinema history and beyond, speaks to his film’s commentary on labor rights, shares his own Deep Cut pick, and… shares a sing-along with Wilson?!

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

04:04 Indoneisan horror film history

07:30 Edwin's influences

09:00 Indonesian politics and labor

15:38 Scary scenes

17:57 Casting

20:34 Special effects

23:12 Edwin's future horror

24:39 Edwin's Deep Cut Pick

25:57 Sing-along

The third of seven director interviews Wilson conducted at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the outgoing, reflective Ang Geck Geck, director of the semi-autobiographical childhood drama Ah Girl. Wilson connects with the Singaporean director over the long road to producing Ah Girl, the research with social workers that informed the script, the parts of her own childhood and family that are in the film, and her own Deep Cut Pick.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:32 Interview begins

07:03 Research with social workers

10:56 Child actors

15:09 Language

19:55 Personal history

26:00 Ending of the film

27:44 Next film

28:53 Deep Cut Pick

30:05 Outro

The second of seven director interviews Wilson conducted at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the thoughtful, patient Ildikó Enyedi, director of the equally thoughtful and patient Silent Friend. Wilson connects with the Hungarian director over her pensive approach to the natural world, the special place that HKIFF holds in her experience as a filmmaker, and her admiration of star Tony Leung… whose interview with Wilson is also at the end of this episode!

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

03:03 - Enyedi interview

04:16 - Working with Tony Leung

06:15 - Enyedi's relationship with trees

07:32 - Academia and science

09:36 - Intercutting timelines

12:25 - Dreams, psychedelics, ecology

15:02 - Production process

17:08 - Casting a tree

19:41 - Other Enyedi films

21:34 - Further explorations

23:13 - Enyedi's Deep Cut

25:48 - Tony Leung Interview

28:13 - Outro