Citizen Dame

The Dames finally cover the film that gave us our name as we discuss some incredibly essential films from the Criterion Collection (and why they're so important): Citizen Kane (1941), Seven Samurai (1954), and The Graduate (1967). So...what do you think about the significance of Rosebud?

This week the Dames are celebrating 4/20 with a lively chat about three very different movies with one important thing in common. From 1998, we talk the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski and Terry Gilliam's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. And then we wrap things up with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's 2014 surprisingly successful sequel 22 Jump Street.

The Dames chat about the directorial work of the very underrated Penny Marshall, focusing on Jumpin' Jack Flash, Big, and A League of Their Own. Just remember: there's no crying in baseball (except there is).

This week, the Dames are going to work with three great comedies about women in the workplace. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy star in Desk Set (1957); Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton team up against their terrible boss in 9 to 5 (1980); and Melanie Griffith squares off against Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl (1988).

The Dames welcome guest Nannina Gilder to talk about the films of Kinuyo Tanaka, a director who carved out a space for herself in Japan's male-dominated film industry with feminist masterworks such as Love Letter, The Moon Has Risen, and Girls of the Night.

This week, the Dames talk about the career of six-time Academy Award nominee Thelma Ritter. And we dive into three of her great performances: All About Eve (1950), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Rear Window (1954).

This week, the raunchy ladies are talking raunchy ladies doing raunchy lady things, like failing to go to Vegas, starting female fight clubs, and learning about the importance of female friendships. Spoilers abound for Bridesmaids, Joy Ride, and Bottoms, but we're pretty cool about it.  

This week the Dames look at historical films and biopics directed by women. Strangely rare and often underpraised, we sit down to talk about three great examples: Julie Taymor's Frida (2002), Ana DuVernay's Selma (2014), and Regina King's One Night in Miami (2020).

We get a little excited this week talking about current (and past) Best Picture nominees directed by women. While we're focusing on three films this year (Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, and Past Lives), we also remind everyone that female directors have been around since the creation of cinema. Come for the trenchant critical commentary, stay for the statistics!  Some of our past Oscars episodes, with...

This week it's Karen's birthday and we're celebrating with a chat about some movies about messed up birthdays! Join us as we dive into Child's Play (1988), The Game (1997), and Happy Death Day (2017). 

In an episode that's been a long time in coming, the Dames are here to discuss the films of Taika Waititi, about whom we are very normal. In our chat about Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Next Dame Wins, we cover uplifting humor, childhood trauma, and why everyone needs to just stop being dicks.  

This week the Dames dive into Criterion's Interdimensional Romance collection with a look at A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Starman (1984), and we break some hearts with our thoughts about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

We're back, and we have a special guest! Karen returns from the Sundance Film Festival with Cortland Jacoby of Punch Drunk Critics in tow. Join us for a discussion of the best parts of the festival this year, why Netflix is snapping up all the films, and how Lauren shouldn't be left alone for so long... You can read all of Karen's Sundance reviews here: https://citizendamepod.com/ And Cortland's h...

Did you the Sundance Film Festival is celebrating it's 40th anniversary? The festival kicks off this week in Park City, Utah, the Criterion Channel has a selection of festival faves, and we are joining the fun with a chat about a few of our own. This week, the Dames discuss Donna Deitch's Desert Hearts (1985), Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala (1991), and Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy (2006).

We're back to discuss some of our favorite films (new and old) of 2023, including Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and, uh, Love Birds?  Happy New Year! We're looking forward to bringing you a lot more fun stuff in 2024!

For our last episode of 2023, we chat about some holiday rom-coms (or not-quite-rom-coms) that give us all the feels: The Shop Around the Corner, The Holiday, and the unfairly maligned Last Christmas. Happy holidays and we'll see you all in 2024!

This week, the Dames welcome our very special guest, Shannon McGrew of Creepy Kingdom to chat about holiday horror — or more specifically, movies about the darker side of Christmas magic. Join us as we discuss Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), Krampus (2015), and Violent Night (2022).

This week, the Dames welcome the holiday season with a look at three holiday noir films: The Thin Man (1934), Repeat Performance (1947), and They Live By Night (1948).

Just us for the last Noirvember episode of the year! The Dames are talking all things Billy Wilder this week, focusing on Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, and Witness for the Prosecution. Just promise not to tell anyone the ending. 

This week, the Dames take a look at three noirs directed by women: Ida Lupino's The Hitch-Hiker (1953), Muriel Box's Eyewitness (1956), and Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky (1976). 

The Dames kick off Noirvember by discussing fast-talking, fast-living dame Barbara Stanwyck in three iconic roles: Baby Face, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, and Sorry, Wrong Number. No man stands a chance. 

The Dames are wrapping up Spooky Movie Season with a chat about haunted houses. This week we dive into The Changeling (1980), Poltergeist (1982), and The Others (2001). We also get a wee bit emotional over the end of Our Flag Means Death season 2.

The Dames carry on with Spooky Season and discuss Gothic horror, where the ghosts are metaphors and the horror is for love. Deborah Kerr goes mad in The Innocents, Vincent Price has an unhealthy attachment to his dead wife in The Tomb of Ligeia, and nothing is OK at Crimson Peak. 

Join us this week as we dive into urban horror and urban legends with The Lost Boys (1987), Candyman (1992), and Urban Legend (1998).

This week, the Dames fill a podcast blindspot and talk all about witches, focusing on Haxan, The Witches of Eastwick, and The Witch. These films encompass feminism, patriarchal fears, justifiable homicide, cool curses, and Jack Nicholson's tiny tiny ponytail.