You're Missing Out: A National Film Registry Podcast

“’S Wonderful! ’S Marvelous!” – An American in Paris (1951) This week, we step into the dreamlike Technicolor world of An American in Paris with special guest Arlene Hellerman. A Publications Associate for Broadway Licensing Global, Arlene brings a multifaceted perspective shaped by a career spanning theatre, film, television, broadcast news, and print journalism. Together, we explore how Vincente...

Boop-Oop-a-Doop! In this special bonus episode, we present A Brief History of Betty Boop: From the Inkwell to the Musical. We begin with the story of Fleischer Studios—the groundbreaking animation house behind Betty Boop, Popeye, and Koko the Clown—and trace how their surreal, adult-oriented cartoons challenged the norms of early animation and stood in stark contrast to Disney’s wholesome image. I...

“You are mine—body and soul!” – The Cheat (1915) This week, we’re traveling back to 1915 with returning guests Amanda Rush and Jae Kim for a deep dive into Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat. A landmark of early American cinema, The Cheat helped shape visual storytelling through its pioneering use of lighting, editing, and narrative tension. But alongside its technical innovation lies a deeply troubling...

“Which one of you nuts has got any guts?” – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) This week, we check into the ward with special guest Ben Hosley, producer of Blank Check with Griffin and David, to take on Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. One of only three films to sweep the “Big Five” Oscars, this anti-establishment classic remains a cultural touchstone. We dive into Jack Nicholso...

“We must be brave enough to look truth in the face.” – Where Are My Children? (1916) This week, we return to the public domain vault for a full-length commentary track on Where Are My Children? , the provocative 1916 silent drama from Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. As one of the earliest American films to tackle topics like birth control, abortion, and eugenics, it remains a landmark of progress...

“And now, I shall entertain you!” – Magical Maestro (1952) Animation aficionado and producer Jordan Beck returns to the show to tackle Tex Avery’s Magical Maestro, one of the most frenetic and technically dazzling cartoons of the Golden Age. With its relentless visual gags and groundbreaking use of the “wipe” technique, this controversial short is both a masterclass in animation and a challenging...

"You can't fool me! There ain't no Sanity Claus!"   David Bluvband (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) returns to the show to discuss the Marx Brothers' first film for MGM, A Night at the Opera. We talk Otis B. Driftwood, Riccardo Barone, and the eternal Paramount vs. MGM debate. Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

"The star of "RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK" and the director of "ALIEN" take you on a spectacular journey to the savage world of the year 2019!!"   Phil Iscove (Sleepy Hollow, Podcast Like It's...) returns to the show for the fifth time to kick off Season 5 with a seismic sci-fi story whose history is as complex as the future it depicts: 1982's Blade Runner. We'll talk Ridley, Harrison, replicants, and...

In this fifth edition of You're Missing Out's annual Oscar special, we're doing a two-parter, just like Wicked and Dune.   Last episode, we talked through each of the 10 Best Picture nominees (Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Done Part 2, Emilia Perez, I'm Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, Wicked).   Now, in Part 2, we'll rank not just the Best Picture nominees, but every...

In this fifth edition of You're Missing Out's annual Oscar special, we're doing a two-parter, just like Wicked and Dune!   On this episode, we'll talk through each of the 10 Best Picture nominees (Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune Part 2, Emilia Perez, I'm Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, Wicked). In Part 2, we rank not just the Best Picture nominees, but every film i...

Another year, another batch of 25 (give or take) titles added to the National Film Registry, and another live reaction episode from You're Missing Out. As is tradition, hosts Mike Natale and Tom Lorenzo jumped on mic mere hours after the list was made public. Neither host knew what titles were inducted until producer Kyle kicked off a YouTube livestream at noon on 12/17 and read the list off one b...

Mike, Tom, Kyle, and Amanda commemorate hitting 100 movies covered on the show, reflect on the fourth class of 25 films inducted into the registry, give out superlatives to the standout performances and craftspeople, reflect on their registry submissions, and look ahead to new adventures in Season 5. Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

"It Will Make You a Better Southerner"- tagline from the Birmingham Age-Herald in 1916   We've now hit 100 National Film Registry titles covered on this podcast, and for this milestone episode, we decided to tackle the National Film Registry inductee that has most ominously loomed above this show since we began: D.W. Griffith's vile, hateful, and unfortunately influential 1915 blockbuster The Birt...

"A story of the race with an ALL-COLORED CAST"   For our penultimate episode of the season, we provide a feature-length commentary for Oscar Micheaux's landmark proto-race film Within Our Gates (1920). To watch the film along with us, head to our YouTube page. Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

"WHO WEARS THE PANTS?"   Tired of episodes where Mike and Tom bicker like a couple? Great news, for Adam's Rib, Mike's real-life significant other, editor Bella Zaydenberg, returns to the show to discuss Adam's Rib. Which of course means, she'll try and inject some well-researched facts into the mix, while Mike and Tom continue to bicker like a couple. This time, they'll talk Tracy, Hepburn, who w...

"Bruce Baillie makes avant-garde films with the gifts of a painter and the objectives of a sign painter."   This week, we sat down as just Tom and Mike to talk about Bruce Baillie's Castro Street. But more than that, we sat down to, in a sense, "How To Watch Experimental Films (If You Don't Like Experimental Films)". After Tom notably had no patience for Dog Star Man earlier this season, Mike was...

"Let the old buzzard flap his wings right over me. Till he comes down and gets me, I got a lotta livin' to do."   Our newest team member Amanda Rush joins us to talk about Otto Preminger's barrier-breaking Cinemascope musical Carmen Jones. We talk opera, Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and a form of short film called "Soundies." Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike N...

"The only film to ever be blacklisted!"   Kyle Lampar steps out of the producer role to join us for a conversation about HUAC, the Hollywood Ten, and the only film to ever be blacklisted, Salt of the Earth (1954). Since this unique film was made by creatives caught up in the Red Scare, we begin our episode with a quick history of the Hollywood Blacklist, before getting into the merits, and the fla...

"Never has the screen thrust so deeply into the guts of war!"   Screenwriter Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer, The Disaster Artist) returns to the show to talk about one of Stanley Kubrick's under-discussed masterworks, the stirring Kirk Douglas-led war film Paths of Glory (1957)! We'll talk pacifism, systemic failure, and how this anti-war film compares to Kubrick's own later film, Full Metal...

"The strangest damned gang you ever heard of. They're young. They're in love. They rob banks."   This week, Mike Natale and Tom Lorenzo work as a duo to unpack one of the most controversial and game-changing American films of the 1960s, Bonnie and Clyde (1967). They'll take a look at a tumultuous pre-production process, a titanic Oscar year, and tons of bullets taking down two of the most beautifu...

"Showdown in the High Sierra!"   Our two weary cowboy hosts form a posse with film critic Tom Augustine to journey into the world of Sam Peckinpah with what is perhaps a surprising pick for Bloody Sam's first entry into the National Film Registry, the Randolph Scott/Joel McCrea two-hander Ride the High Country (1962) Follow the Show: Twitter Instagram Website   Music by Mike Natale

"The story of a man who turned the other cheek- And got punched in the nose!"   Mike and Tom are all set to be joined by a surprise guest for their episode about the hijink filled buddy comedy Big Business (1929) from the iconic comedy duo of Laurel & Hardy. But just who booked the surprise guest, and when will they get there?   Hosts: Michael Natale Twitter Letterboxd   Tom Lorenzo Twitter Letter...

"Who is this woman who scorns a hundred men...to give her love to a Devil-May-Care Soldier?"   Alonso Duralde, author of the new book Hollywood Pride, joins us to talk the lady in the tux who takes center stage on the cover of his book, as we dive into 1930's war-torn romance, Morocco. We examine the film's queer undertones (or, really, overtones), the iconography of Marlene Dietrich, and what the...

"Nothing like it since movies were created! 300 Girls, 1000 Surprises, 5 New Song Hits!"   The musical team of Hass & Swanton (Kyle Reid Hass & Jeremy Swanton) return to the show once again, this time for what is inarguably the greatest movie musical about putting on live prologues before movie screenings ever to hit the silver screen, Footlight Parade (1933)! We'll talk Cagney, Berkeley, and folk...

"He will make you laugh, roar, scream- he'll make you choke back your tears. Ten reels of Chaplin as you like him. It's the Picture You've waited for!"   Editor Glenn Garthwaite returns to the show to discuss the Chaplin comedy so nice, he released it twice. Regarded as one of the Little Tramp's finest outings, the Klondike comedy The Gold Rush was a smash success when released as a silent in 1925...