Cineversary

In Cineversary podcast episode #70, host  Erik Martin  lights 70 birthday candles for Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront , starring Marlon Brando. Two esteemed guests join him this time around: Stephen Rebello , author of the forthcoming book A City Full of Hawks: On the Waterfront Seventy Years Later ; and Michael Phillips , film critic for The Chicago Tribune. Together, they examine why this movie s...

In Cineversary podcast episode #69, host  Erik Martin  sends 70th birthday wishes to Akira Kurosawa’s epic masterwork Seven Samurai . This month, he’s joined by Asian cinema expert and University of Illinois film professor David Desser , as well as Stuart Galbraith IV , author of The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune . Together, they explore what makes...

In Cineversary podcast episode #68, host  Erik Martin  celebrates the diamond anniversary of Carol Reed’s The Third Man with two outstanding guests: David Thomson , renowned film critic, cinema historian, and author of The Fatal Alliance: A Century of War on Film; and Charles Drazin , film historian and author of In Search of The Third Man. Together, they scour the streets and sewers of Vienna on...

In Cineversary podcast episode #67, host  Erik Martin  and guest Joseph McBride , a film professor at San Francisco State University and author of Frankly: Unmasking Frank Capra , send a valentine to It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra, which celebrates a 90th birthday this month. Erik and Joseph hitchhike across Hollywood history to examine how this granddaddy of the romcom and screwba...

In Cineversary podcast episode #66, host  Erik Martin  heads to the War Room with former LA Times and NPR film critic Kenneth Turan and Hofstra University film professor Rodney Hill to decipher the top secret codes behind Dr. Strangelove , directed by Stanley Kubrick, in celebration of the movie’s 60th anniversary. Erik and his guests explore how this black comedy masterwork remains evergreen, Kub...

In Cineversary podcast episode #65, host  Erik Martin  talks Chinese turkey with leg lamp expert Andrew Scahill , a film studies professor at the University of Colorado Denver known for his holiday movies course, as they commemorate the 40th anniversary of A Christmas Story , directed by Bob Clark. Andrew and Erik cover this film from soap to fudge, exploring why this film remains timeless and des...

In Cineversary podcast episode #64, host  Erik Martin  is joined by David Desser , emeritus professor of cinema studies at the University of Illinois and one of the world’s foremost experts on Asian cinema, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Tokyo Story , directed by Yasujirō Ozu. They discuss why and how this film remains a masterwork, Tokyo Story’s prominent themes , Ozu’s unique style, and mu...

In Cineversary podcast episode #63, host  Erik Martin  honors big birthdays of 2 great horror films. First, he’s joined by Alexandre O. Philippe , director of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist , to honor the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist , directed by William Friedkin; and then he partners with classic horror historian and author Gregory Mank to commemorate the 75th anniversary of...

In Cineversary podcast episode #62, host  Erik Martin  sends golden birthday wishes to American Graffiti , directed by George Lucas. Riding shotgun with him for this 50th birthday party is Barna Donovan , film professor at Saint Peter’s University and author of several books on the cinema, including Conspiracy Films: A Tour of Dark Places in the American Conscious . Erik and Barna will go cruising...

In Cineversary podcast episode #61, host  Erik Martin  commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Marx Brothers’ comedy classic Duck Soup , directed by Leo McCarey. His copilot this month is Robert S. Bader , director of the documentary Groucho & Cavett and author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage . Erik and Robert will examine the lasting comedic power and influence of...

In Cineversary podcast episode #60, host  Erik Martin  honors the 30th anniversary of  Schindler’s List  and the 25th anniversary of  Saving Private Ryan , both directed by Steven Spielberg. Joining him this month is  Annette Insdorf , professor in the Graduate Film Program of Columbia’s School of the Arts and author of  Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust ; and  James Kendrick , professor o...

This is your friendly neighborhood Cineversary podcast host, Erik Martin, here to let you know that we will not be posting a Cineversary episode for June, in case you were patiently waiting for this month's installment. And the reason being is that I've been doing some vacationing with family and then recuperating from some minor surgery – nothing serious, rest assured – which means I'...

In Cineversary podcast episode #59, host  Erik Martin  celebrates the 60th birthday of one of the greatest foreign films ever made,  8½ , directed by Federico Fellini. His guest this month is  Antonio Monda , known for directing and producing several films and being an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Erik and Antonio will examine why 8½ is deserving of ku...

In Cineversary podcast episode #58, host  Erik Martin  honors the 100th birthday of the timeless silent comedy  Safety Last , starring Harold Lloyd, by speaking with  Richard Correll , chief archivist for the Lloyd Trust, and Suzanne Lloyd, Harold’s granddaughter and president of Harold Lloyd Entertainment . Erik and his guests assess this film from a top floor view and examine why Safety Last is...

In Cineversary podcast episode #57, host Erik Martin celebrates the 90th birthday of King Kong with three great guests: visual effects master Phil Tippett ; Ray Morton , author of King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson; and TV actor, director, screenwriter, and producer Richard Correll . Together, they take the scenic route from Skull Island to the Empire State Build...

In Cineversary podcast episode #56, host Erik Martin is joined by Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz and Farran Smith Nehme , whose writings have appeared in The Village Voice, Sight & Sound, and her Self-Styled Siren Substack. Together, they sift through the sands of time to uncover the golden truths behind The Treasure of the Sierra Madre as they commemorate the film’s 75th anniversar...

In Cineversary podcast episode #55, host Erik Martin and guest Carrie Rickey , former film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, explore the hidden rot beneath the white picket fences of a small town and the sinister secret that threaten to destroy an all-American family as they celebrate the 80th birthday of Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt . Learn more about the Cineversary podcast at anchor...

In Cineversary podcast episode #54, host Erik Martin learns afresh why it’s a sin To Kill a Mockingbird , as he honors the 60th anniversary of this remarkable work. Joining him this month is Chris Hite , a film professor at Allan Hancock College and an award-winning filmmaker, animator, and screenwriter of movies like FireStorm ’77: The True Story of the Honda Canyon Fire (2021). Erik and Chris pa...

For Cineversary podcast episode #53, host Erik Martin revisits one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed films ever made: Casablanca , which celebrates an 80th birthday this month. In this installment, he’s joined by David Thomson , a renowned film critic, cinema historian, and author of Sleeping with Strangers: How the Movies Shaped Desire ; as well as Kenneth Turan , film critic for Natio...

For Cineversary podcast episode #52, host Erik Martin takes a double dip into the Halloween candy bowl by spotlighting two seminal early horror films: First, Nosferatu , which marks a 100th anniversary this year, for which he’s joined by film scholar and Nosferatu expert David Kalat ; and Cat People , commemorating an 80th birthday in 2022, for which he’s joined by classic horror historian Gregory...

For Cineversary podcast episode #51, host Erik Martin takes a trip down film noir boulevard to revisit Out of the Past , directed by Jacques Tourneur, which turns 75 this autumn. Joining Erik this episode is Eddie Muller , the host of TCM’s Noir Alley and author of Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir . They navigate through this classic film’s cigarette haze and dark labyrinth of double-crosses...

For Cineversary podcast episode #50, host Erik Martin revisits the magnificence of The Magnificent Ambersons , Orson Welles’ follow-up to Citizen Kane that marks an 80th anniversary this summer. For this commemoration, Erik partners with two outstanding guests: film scholar James Naremore , author of The Magic World of Orson Welles ; and filmmaker Joshua Grossberg , director of the forthcoming doc...

In Cineversary podcast episode #49, host Erik Martin takes an audio trip to the Emerald Isle to pay tribute to one of John Ford’s finest works, The Quiet Man , which enjoys a 70th anniversary this summer. Erik is joined in the celebration by two terrific guests: Joseph McBride , a film professor at San Francisco State University, cinema historian, and author of several books including Searching Fo...

In Cineversary podcast episode #48, host Erik Martin revisits suburbia circa 1982 through the lens of Steven Spielberg and arguably his best film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial , which marks a 40th birthday this month. Joining Erik for this installment is James Kendrick , a film professor at Baylor University who teaches courses on Spielberg and serves as the QNetwork.com movie critic; and Caseen Gai...

In Cineversary podcast episode #47, host Erik Martin turns back the clock to commemorate the 70th birthday of one of the most beloved westerns of all time: High Noon , directed by Fred Zinnemann. In this installment, Erik serves as a trusty deputy of sorts to film scholar sheriff Glenn Frankel , the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making o...