You're Missing Out: A National Film Registry Podcast

Mike, Tom, and Kyle close out Season 5 by reflecting on the 1993 class of National Film Registry inductees, handing out superlatives to the standout performances and craftspeople from the season, and formally submitting their Registry picks. Plus, a look ahead to Season 6.  Since 1989, the National Film Registry has selected 25 films each year that are deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetic...

In the Season 5 finale, Mike, Tom, and Kyle take on Point of Order (1964), Emile de Antonio's radical documentary assembled entirely from kinescope footage of the Army-McCarthy hearings. No narration. No talking heads. Just the hearings themselves and McCarthy slowly unraveling on camera. We dig into what makes this a film and not just a historical record, why de Antonio's editing choices still fe...

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is one of the most visually ruthless films Hollywood ever made — and one that doesn't show up in the conversation as often as it should. We dig into James Wong Howe's New York City cinematography, the Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis dynamic, and what the Library of Congress saw in it when they added it to the National Film Registry.   Since 1989, the National Film Regi...

In the second part of our Oscar’s special, we shift our focus from the Best Picture race to the rest of the ballot for the 98th Academy Awards. We dive deep into the remaining 23 categories, including the highly competitive acting races, technical achievements, and the debut of the Best Casting award. Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

In the first half of our special, we dive deep into the ten films vying for the night’s biggest honor. We analyze the frontrunners and the dark horses in a year defined by record-breaking genre hits and intimate international dramas. Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

Our annual tradition kicks off once more, despite delays from both us and the Library of Congress (thanks government shutdowns). Once again, Mike & Tom went in blind, avoiding finding out what got in this year until Kyle revealed it to them live on air. Hear the boys react to a slate of six underseen silent films and then...well, the shelf at a Blockbuster Video in 2003. Enjoy! Follow the Show: Tw...

This week, we’re talking about Chulas Fronteras (1976), Les Blank’s vibrant, soulful documentary celebrating the music, culture, and communities of the Texas Mexico borderlands, and we’re joined by Maureen Gosling, whose work as a filmmaker and editor was instrumental in shaping the film itself. More than a music documentary, Chulas Fronteras captures a living cultural tradition in motion. Through...

"My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you."   Dr. Vaughn Joy joins us on the show to talk about the musical biopic that won James Cagney his Academy Award, the patriotic propaganda piece Yankee Doodle Dandy. We talk George M. Cohan's cultural significance, the film's seemingly waning place in the consensus cinematic canon, and how the film laid the groundwo...

“All I want is a place to live and a job.” – Nothing But a Man (1964)  This week, we’re taking time to honor the life and legacy of filmmaker Michael Roemer, who passed away in May 2025. Roemer’s work has always stood apart as quiet, honest, deeply human, and we start with the film that introduced so many people to his voice: Nothing But a Man. It’s a landmark in independent cinema, a National Fil...

A quick update on an upcoming absence Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

"The Year's Wildest, Wittiest Whirlwind of a Love Battle... Outrageously Racy... Sparkling... Gay!"   Bella Zaydenberg returns to the show to talk about the beloved Howard Hawks screwball comedy, His Girl Friday (1940). We'll talk about journalism, rom-coms, and weddngs.   Wait, weddings? Why weddings? Listen to find the worst kept secret in the history of our show! Follow the Show: Twitter Instag...

In this episode, Dr. Will Dodson joins us to take a look at Eaux d'Artifice, an early inductee in the registry from avant-garde legend Kenneth Anger. We discuss why the seemingly tranquil film has a lot going on beneath the surface (including the salacious) and tackle an overview of the controversial provocateur's whole film-making career to determine whether Eaux d'Artifice's subversive subtext w...

"Dead men tell no tales!"   For this episode, we've recorded a feature length commentary track for the big-budget blockbuster that solidified Douglas Fairbanks' Hollywood immortality, 1926's The Black Pirate. Watch our upload on YouTube (in its original colorized version, done at Fairbanks' insistence), sync it up with your own copy, or just listen along as producer Kyle Lampar takes the lead to d...

"Time...marches on..."   Josh Shepperd, author of Shadow of the New Deal, joins the show to talk about the powerful propaganda piece Inside Nazi Germany, an installment of the influential newsreel series The March of Time. The first major Hollywood film to take an explicitly anti-Nazi stance, the short stands as a testament to the power of the visual medium during wartime, and its ability to both...

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" "A rock? These little bears are nuts"   That's right, folks. It's a Patrick Cotnoir episode. This time, for his fifth appearance, we're talking The Godfather Part II, and...some Ewok movie. Nobody is really sure which one, honestly. It's been five years of this, guys. You know what you're getting here.   Keep up with what Patrick is doing here Fol...

"I know something about this dog. She's going somewhere - she's on her way."   Hunter Robinson, the host of the Tumbleweeds and TV Cowboys podcast, joins the show to talk about one of the biggest movie stars in cinema history. No, not John Wayne, it's Lassie.   We'll talk about the massive Lassie franchise, the dog star at the heart of the film, and even share a personal family connection to the f...

This week, our hosts bridge the gap between Cat People and Lassie Come Home with an informal conversation about animal folklore and animal companions in film.  Plus, Mike sits down with Roye Okupe, the creator of Iyanu, the graphic novel and hit animated series on Cartoon Network and HBO Max.  We'll be back to our regular format next week! Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by...

“I like the dark. It's friendly.” – Cat People (1942)   This week, we turn the lights low with special guest Rebecca Rozenberg, Publicity Manager at Simon & Schuster, who brings insight honed from working with bestselling authors and deep industry experience. Together, we dive into Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton’s Cat People, a landmark psychological horror film that uses suggestion, shadow, and...

“He was the most trigger-happy man I had ever met.” – Badlands (1973) This week, we hit the open road with guest Tom Augustine to explore Terrence Malick’s stunning debut, Badlands. Based loosely on the real-life killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, the film casts Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as drifting outsiders caught between detachment and violence, beauty and brutality...

“If only the wind would stop!” – The Wind (1928) This week, we return to the silent era with a full-length commentary track for Victor Sjöström’s haunting 1928 drama The Wind. Starring Lillian Gish in one of her most intense and vulnerable performances, the film tells the story of a woman slowly unraveling on the harsh, wind-swept plains of the American frontier.   As we watch along, we unpack the...

This week, we saddle up for a conversation about Shane (1953) with screenwriter, producer, and podcast host Kenny Neibart. A formative Western and a film that helped define American masculinity on screen, Shane gives us plenty to dig into, from its mythic final shot to the complex tension between pacifism and violence. Kenny joins us to unpack the genre tropes, cultural context, and emotional reso...

“I just had the unpleasant sensation of hearing you referred to as my husband.” – It Happened One Night (1934) This week, returning guest Andrew Daniels joins us to break down the original screwball sensation: Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night. As the first film to ever sweep the “Big Five” Oscars, this charming romantic comedy set the template for the genre, with pitch-perfect performances from...

“The film you have just seen was an improvisation.” – Shadows (1959) This week, returning guest Robert Bellissimo joins us for a conversation on John Cassavetes’ Shadows,, a landmark of American independent cinema. Shot on the streets of New York with a semi-improvised style and a raw, jazz-infused energy, Shadows broke all the rules and opened new possibilities for personal filmmaking in the U.S....

In this special bonus episode, we sit down with Congressman Robert Mrazek, the man whose legislation led to the creation of the National Film Preservation Board. Without his efforts, the National Film Registry as we know it wouldn’t exist. Mrazek shares the inside story of how film preservation became a congressional priority, the cultural battles that shaped the legislation, and why preserving Am...

“He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?” – Touch of Evil (1958) This week, we’re crossing into the shadowy borderlands of noir with special guest Ryan Luis Rodriguez to unpack Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. From its legendary opening tracking shot to Welles’ haunting turn as the corrupt Hank Quinlan, the film stands as a dark, complex swan song to the classic noir...