Wind, Reel, & Print

EPISODE 061: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS   Wind Reel & Print uncovers the secrets to Soviet cinema via the guidance of filmmaker Lev Kuleshov and his humbly named theory the “Kuleshov effect”. In an introductory lesson to film editing, this founding principle of film theory draws attention to the cut as the primary building block of film-meaning creation. Despite the inherent self-explanatory natu...

EPISODE 060: DOUBLE FEATURES   Featuring: Annie Hall (1977); [500] Days of Summer (2009)   What does the Academy Award-winning Woody Allen and Hollywood hearthrob Joseph Gordon-Levitt have in common? We’re actually not too sure either. But their movies felt like an appropriate pair to cut against. Both “Annie Hall” and “[500] Days of Summer” take the romcom genre to meta extremes and WR&P coho...

EPISODE 059: BAY AREA FLICKS   Featuring: Angels in the Outfield (1994); The Fan (1996); Moneyball (2011)   In possibly the biggest reach in WR&P history, Kevin bundles three Bay Area-based baseball movies in an attempt to define the local region through America’s Favorite Pasttime. From Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane to Robert De Niro’s fanatic antics, baseball is universally cherished as a game of...

EPISODE 058: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS   Wind Reel & Print puts a name to a face by introducing auteur theory, one of the cornerstone concepts of film theory. With French New Wave origins, this theoretical claim pedastaled the director as the “author” of cinema. It has since become a badge of honor, changing the way we understand filmmaking and altering the film industry away from producer-centr...

EPISODE 057: LESSONS IN FILM MOVEMENTS   Featuring: Cyrus (2010); Drinking Buddies (2013); Frances Ha (2012); Computer Chess (2013)   Per our initial “Mumblecore” episode, WR&P examines the original Mumble-corps in the years following their break onto the scene. Andrew Bujalski, Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig, and the Duplass Brothers return for another round of complicated relationships and inven...

EPISODE 056: CINEMA MINI SERIES   Featuring: Nosferatu (1922); Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979); Nosferatu (2024)   As a quasi-sequel to the “Vampire Movies” episode, Wind Reel & Print folds in the cinematic traditions of Nosferatu. Beginning with F.W. Murnau’s 1922 version and ending with Robert Eggers’ recent rendition, Ryan and Kevin cover the aesthetic differences between these three films and...

EPISODE 055: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE   Featuring: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004); Winter Light (1963); The Ascent (1977); Mulholland Dr. (2001)   How do you connect a Japanese animation, a Swedish tragedy film, a Soviet WWII drama, and an American dream picture? Regardless of film form or narrative structure or country of origin, the Letterboxd Top 250 surely guarantees a “good movie” fortified wi...

EPISODE 054: CINEMA MINI SERIES   Featuring: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959); The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959); The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)   Despite all the double features, director retrospectives, and genre reviews, Wind Reel & Print has never fully embraced the comforts of a true trilogy. Directed by celebrated WR&P alum Masaki Kobaya...

EPISODE 053: LESSONS IN FILM MOVEMENTS   Featuring: Mad Max (1979); Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975); Dead Calm (1989); Walkabout (1971)   From the outback gothic Ozploitation of “Mad Max” to the proto-Lynchian affect of “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, the impact of Australian New Wave remains resoundingly influential albeit relatively unheard of. Boasting contemporary Hollywood headliners such as Nicole K...

EPISODE 052: WEIRD @ WR&P   In an attempt to repair an irreparable movie, Wind Reel & Print tackles the complicated reputation of Jim Carrey’s 1994 film “The Mask”. Despite having higher reviews than Weird @ WR&P favorite “The Cat in the Hat”, both Ryan and Kevin find “The Mask” to be rather lackluster and quite displeasing. Convoluted in its influence and intention, this comic book ad...

EPISODE 051: LESSONS IN FILM GENRE   Featuring: Early Abstractions (1965); Belladonna of Sadness (1973); Fantastic Planet (1973); Mad God (2021)   In the spirit of “getting weird”, WR&P cohosts enter their intergalactic space portal and travel to unique worlds of the experimental and the animated. With guided tours from alien extraordinaires such as Phil Tippett and René Laloux, this adventuro...

EPISODE 050: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY   Featuring: Gone with the Wind (1939); Wizard of Oz (1939); Citizen Kane (1941); Casablanca (1942)   The Wind Reel & Print locomotive continues into the capital city of Golden Age Hollywood as the pod takes on the Mt. Rushmore of Hollywood filmmaking. With nothing much else to add to the nearly century-long conversation, Ryan and Kevin get candid with thei...

EPISODE 049: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY   Featuring: It Happened One Night (1934); Trouble in Paradise (1932); Bringing Up Baby (1938); His Girl Friday (1940)   Taking a restful stop at Screwball Station, the Wind Reel & Print locomotive takes another trip into the land of Golden Age Hollywood. With special appearances from the likes of Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, and Cary Grant, this whirlwi...

EPISODE 048: THEATER ADVENTURES   WR&P cohosts catch the opening weekend premiere of Brady Corbet’s moving Oscar-nominated movie The Brutalist (2024). While digesting the film’s impact, Ryan and Kevin praise movie for its insistence on being a serious picture, complete with an overture and an intermission and a real appreciation for sound and image. Kevin also reads into the film’s political p...

EPISODE 047: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY   Featuring: Birth of a Nation (1915); The Jazz Singer (1927); Gummo (1997); Bamboozled (2000)   Wind Reel & Print explores the history of racism and exploitation in the entertainment industry as Kevin bundles four films that deal with minstrel shows and vaudeville. Starting with the invention of cinematic language at the top of the Twentieth century, this...

EPISODE 046: THEATER ADVENTURES   After catching last weekend’s number one box office movie, Ryan and Kevin offer their initial reactions to Ryan Coogler’s newest picture “Sinners”. While connecting this film to Coogler’s debut feature “Fruitvale Station”, WR&P cohosts discuss the progressions of the director’s filmmaking career, including his interest in American race politics, his collaborat...

EPISODE 045: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (GENRE)   Featuring: Notorious (1946); Maltese Falcon (1941); Double Indemnity (1944); Sunset Boulevard (1950); The Third Man (1949)   Taking direct influence from German Expressionism, American filmmakers rebranded the dark and paranoid into their own film noir. Popularized in the 1940s and subsequently revived into contemporary movements of neonoir and neon n...

EPISODE 044: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE   Featuring: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), An Autumn Afternoon (1962), The Silence of the Lambs (1991)   As Ryan and Kevin do the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, the podcast lands on a quartet of films that uncover the holes we climb out of. Whether that be systems of oppression, wartime prison labor camps, or lofty existent...

EPISODE 043: THEATER ADVENTURES   Featuring: The Fall (2006), Anora (2024)   Wind Reel & Print review their recent visit to San Francisco’s historic Roxie Theater to catch a chance double feature consisting of Tarsem’s “The Fall” and Sean Baker’s recent Oscar-darling “Anora”. (Special Shoutout to Willie!)

EPISODE 042: META MOVIES   After a short trip to the scenic American town of “Dogville”, WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin report back with glowing reviews. Delivering on the Lars von Trier promise, this 2003 Nicole Kidman-led experimental drama explores Brechtian approaches to narrative and nihilistic ruminations on the Land of the Free. Kevin points a finger at Ryan.

EPISODE 041: BAY AREA FLICKS   WR&P embarks on another stay-cation as Ryan quizzes Kevin on the local impact of Ryan Coogler’s directorial feature debut “Fruitvale Station”. Released in 2013 with the support of Sundance, this quaint little picture quietly attains the booming voice of the Bay Area. Through its social realist aesthetic and dedication to Oakland faces and places, Coogler’s “Fruit...

EPISODE 040: WEIRD @ WR&P   Despite landing one of the lowest marks in Wind Reel & Print history, Kevin Costner’s 1995 star vehicle “Waterworld” buoys as an intriguing Hollywood blockbuster with …so much… potential. This unabashed “Mad Max” ripoff is clearly missing the George Miller spark, perfectly executing fantastical dystopian possibilities while operating with a completely deflated s...

EPISODE 039: FOUNDATIONAL FILMS   Ryan sends the derrick back into the well as he recalls memories formed around Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 Oscar-darling “There Will Be Blood”. Armed with the Daniel Plainview ‘stache, the WR&P co-host still finds reverence in the film’s portrayal of toxic masculinity, its discussion of proto-American capitalism, and how this all ties into the work of Upton Si...

EPISODE 038: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE   Featuring: Sansho the Bailiff (1954), Andrei Rublev (1966), Central Station (1998), Eureka (2000)   On this week’s episode of Wind Reel & Print’s Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, cohosts Ryan and Kevin pull out the Bingo sheets as they prepare to define what it means to be a Top 250 film. Examines the human condition through personal trauma? Check! Includes...

EPISODE 037: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (DIRECTORS)   Featuring: The Loveless (1981), Point Break (1991), Detroit (2017)   As a quasi-response to “Nashville”, this week’s WR&P podcast episode centers director Kathryn Bigelow and a trio of titles spanning her entire filmmaking career so far. Bigelow’s knack for rugged masculinity and right-leaning political views challenges the ways we consider ge...