PODCAST · tv
The Magic Lantern
by Ericca Long and Cole Roulain
The Magic Lantern is a film podcast hosted by Ericca Long and Cole Roulain devoted to sharing our enduring cinematic memories. Join us for an ongoing, informal discussion of the classic and contemporary films we love and the things we love about them. If you've been looking for a podcast to explore old and new favorites with fellow film lovers, you've come to the right place. New episodes every other Monday.
Episodes
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Episode 157 – The Square
It’s May again! And you know what that means around these parts – film noir. We are in our second year of the Noir City festival postponement in Austin due to COVID, but we are soldiering on with some of our favorite titles that fall under the broad heading of… The post Episode 157 – The Square...
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Episode 156 – Monsoon Wedding
By special invitation from Mira Nair, we are guests at the raucous, glorious, marigold-covered Monsoon Wedding (2001). Delhi, its sights and sounds, its people, its rains, and its power outages are the setting for the traditional wedding ceremony set to consecrate the arranged marriage of Aditi...
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Episode 155 – My Twentieth Century
Much like the electric light, telegraph, and motion pictures it chronicles, My Twentieth Century (Enyedi, 1989) is a marvel of its age. Luminous to the point of transcendence, it is quite simply one of the most beautiful things ever committed to film. The divergent paths of our twin protagonists...
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Episode 154 – A Room with a View
Rapturous. This word perfectly describes my feelings about A Room with a View (Ivory, 1985). You could also use this word to describe my feelings about the scenery, the performances, the score, the costuming, and Italy itself. I have been saving this gem since we started the podcast, and it… The...
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Episode 153 – L’Argent
I carry a particular impression with me about Robert Bresson’s L’Argent (1983). It strikes me as a stately and austere museum whose only exhibit is devoted to the artifacts of a tragic and deadly crime. As I wander its minimalist halls, I am met with object lessons and vivid displays… The post...
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Episode 152 – Daughters of the Dust
Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991) is a groundbreaking and timeless film. It was the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States. It was a visual and artistic triumph, earning a Best Cinematography award at Sundance for Director of...
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Episode 151 – Killer of Sheep
I have been waiting to talk about Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep (1978) for a long time. I first recommended it all the way back in episode 005. In my estimation, it’s one of the most important American films ever made, independent or otherwise. It’s a moving document of a… The post Episode…
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Episode 150 – Toni Erdmann
Have you had anyone in your life like the title character from Toni Erdmann (Ade, 2016)? A family member, a friend’s dad, a work colleague? And are you still traumatized? All kidding aside, writer/director Maren Ade, along with her actors Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek, delves deeply into…
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Episode 149 – Céline and Julie Go Boating
It’s our first show of 2021 and we want to wish everyone a happy new year! To get things off on the right foot, I wanted to choose something special for this first episode of the year. I hope you’ll agree that I’ve found it. In the spirit of magic,… The post Episode 149 – Céline and Julie Go...
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Episode 148 – Ants In Your Pants of 2020
Welcome to Ants In Your Pants of 2020! It’s our sixth annual episode in which we reflect on our favorite film discoveries of the past year. We are so glad you joined us for this episode, as it was certainly a very different year for cinema-watching adventures. As always, our… The post Episode 148…
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Episode 147 – Spirited Away
Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001) truly represents a vision of one person – its director, writer, producer, and animator Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki, the most prolific creator at Japan’s Studio Ghibli, was inspired by the 10-year-old daughter of a friend to bring to life a young heroine whom other…
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Episode 146 – The Great Muppet Caper
It’s been a long year. I know. So, with that in mind, we are spending the last couple of entries this year on beloved family favorites. We need to laugh and breathe a little easier. So, who better to help us with that than Jim Henson and company? The Great… The post Episode 146 – The Great Muppet...
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Episode 145 – Black Narcissus
How much do your surroundings affect you? Do they bring out your latent desires, amplify them, or inspire them? In Black Narcissus (Powell, Pressburger, 1947), each character seems to be escaping from a difficult past that they are ultimately unable to outrun. Their own hearts and souls are...
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Episode 139 – The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On
Kazuo Hara’s The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987) is a documentary like few others. Watching Kenzo Okuzaki cut a swath through his old squad mates in search of the truth is unsettling, especially as the process intensifies. Is that because he will resort to violence and deception to get……
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Episode 138 – Trouble in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch, 1932) is a frothy, bubbly, and sumptuous perennial delight. With his famed “Lubitsch touch”, director Ernst Lubitsch brought a winking and earthy European sensibility to all his films. He reminded us to not be too serious about anything. Miriam Hopkins and Herbert...
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Episode 137 – Welcome to the Dollhouse
It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty-five years since Todd Solondz blessed us with the hero we didn’t know we needed in Dawn Wiener as we meet her in Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995). Simply put, this changed what I thought was possible with movies about being a kid. I… The post Episode 137 –...
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Episode 136 – Boyhood
Watching Boyhood (Linklater, 2014) in the theater was an ineffably special experience. The film itself is an astounding accomplishment, following the life of not just a boy, but also that of his mother, father, and sister. Time unfolds before us. It meanders like a river that we and the…
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Episode 135 – Tetsuo: The Iron Man
There have been very few films that blindsided me the way that Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tsukamoto, 1989) did. I was just beginning to grasp how much there was out there to explore that fell outside the realm of multiplexes and the mainstream. Then this desperate missive from the fringes… The post...
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Episode 134 – Valley Girl
When Martha Coolidge was brought in to direct Valley Girl (1983), she knew there were some key elements she needed to bring to the film. Andrew Lane and Wayne Crawford had written a teen comedy romp in about ten days to capitalize on the valley girl fad, and the producers… The post Episode 134 –...
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Episode 133 – Rolling Thunder
There’s a strange alchemy at work in Rolling Thunder (Flynn, 1977). We start with two subgenres that really flourished in the seventies – the Vietnam homecoming and the revenge mission. William Devane turns up that tension by giving as tightly controlled a performance as we’ve seen from him.…
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Episode 132 – Raising Arizona
What a treat it is to come back again and again to Raising Arizona (Coen, 1987). I have seen the film at least 20 times, and I laugh just as hard at each viewing. The Coen Brothers (Joel as director, along with Ethan as co-writer) have crafted a surreal, insane,… The post Episode 132 – Raising...
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Episode 131 – The Narrow Margin
We are keeping the film noir train rolling this month, literally, with The Narrow Margin (Fleischer, 1952). This is one of my all time favorites, without a doubt. If they ever made a noir Mount Rushmore, this should be on it. It stars two fixtures of the genre, Charles McGraw… The post Episode…
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Episode 130 – Laura
We decided to continue our annual tradition of highlighting our favorite films noir during the month of May, even though this year’s Noir City Austin film festival is sadly postponed. I chose my very first film noir, Laura (Preminger, 1944), which weaves a magic, dreamy spell in its stylish,...
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Episode 129 – Losing Ground
Losing Ground (Collins, 1982) should have been a lot of things. It should have been the foundation of a long career and important filmography. Instead, what it was was almost lost and mostly forgotten for three decades. It also turned out to be Kathleen Collins’ valediction, as we lost her… The...
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Episode 128 – Cléo from 5 to 7
There is a question I pose during the episode: if anyone who disparaged the French New Wave started with Cléo from 5 to 7 (Varda, 1962), might they feel differently about the movement? I think so. If you are looking for a place to begin pretty much any film journey,… The post Episode 128 – Cléo...
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Episode 127 – World on a Wire
I had the pleasure of seeing Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s World on a Wire (1973) for the first time on the big screen. Being able to experience it in the theater as one whole, instead of on television in two parts, made for a much more immersive experience. It enveloped me… The post Episode 127 –...
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Episode 126 – The Matrix
The day after I saw The Matrix (Lana and Lilly Wachowski, 1999), I proclaimed to anyone within shouting distance that the film changed my life. I was 23, and I meant it. I felt energized, bowled over, and ready to deliver some flying kicks to the establishment. Certainly, the visual… The post...
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Episode 125 – A Woman Under the Influence
It’s taken 125 episodes and almost five years of doing the show, but I’m finally ready to talk about John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence (1974). This film puts me through the ringer in a way that no other film comes close to. Gena Rowlands’ high wire act as… The post Episode 125 – A…
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Episode 124 – Dearest Sister
Whom do you trust? Mattie Do’s Dearest Sister (2016) plays on our expectations of trust and seeks to upend them at every turn. Just as Ana may not be able to trust her failing vision that seems to bring with it visitations from ghosts, we may not be able to… The post Episode 124 – Dearest Sister...
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Episode 123 – Daisies
Věra Chytilová’s Daisies (1966) has been called a lot of things – confrontational, subversive, empty-headed, wanton. The elusive nature of the film means you can call its protagonists, the Maries, a lot of things. Just don’t call them late for dinner. For what it’s worth, I call it magnificent....
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Episode 122 – A New Leaf
In A New Leaf (1971), Elaine May’s screenwriting and directorial debut, I think you will see the legacy of her indelible comedy partnership with Mike Nichols even though they had disbanded the act ten years before. It is in the daft sensibility, the timing, and what seems to be overall… The post...
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Episode 121 – Ants In Your Pants of 2019
Welcome to Ants In Your Pants of 2019! It’s our fifth annual episode in which we reflect on our favorite film discoveries of the past year. We are so glad you joined us for this episode, and hope that you also had great cinema-watching adventures. As always, our lists were… The post Episode 121 –...
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Episode 120 – Tarkan Versus the Vikings
A few years back I was introduced to Mehmet Aslan’s Tarkan Versus the Vikings (1971) in the best way possible – at Fantastic Fest in an auditorium full of like minded genre film fans that were ready to have their minds blown. That is exactly what this movie did. The… The post Episode 120 – Tarkan...
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Episode 119 – Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander (Bergman, 1982) is a holiday film that fits every season. It captures so much about the highs and lows, and the beginnings and endings that we will all experience in our lives. Like the flowing water that is pictured at the start of each of the five… The post Episode 119 –…
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Episode 118 – Hyenas
This year has been a journey of discovery for me with African cinema. Our Patreon listeners may remember that one of my resolutions this year was to become better acquainted with African films. To that end, I set myself a goal of fifty films from the continent in 2019 and… The post Episode 118 –...
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Episode 117 – The Heiress
Sometimes a film leaves an indelible impression on you because its ending is so buoyant that you feel uplifted, lighter than air. The Heiress (Wyler, 1949) leaves a bruise on your heart, and it is because the ending is so irrevocably painful and bitter. With a father like Dr. Austin… The post...
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Episode 116 – The Magic Jack O’Lantern 2019
It’s that most wonderful time of the year again! In this episode, The Magic Jack O’Lantern 2019, we once again bring you our list of viewing tricks and treats to celebrate the season. We watched one Halloween inspired title every day in October and now pass the list and our… The post Episode 116…
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Episode 115 – Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
When I selected Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (Hancock, 1971) as my Cole-o-ween choice for this year, I didn’t intend it as a response to Ericca’s choice. Nor was I trying to establish any sort of “women on the verge” theme. It’s interesting how these things work out, though. Together… The post...
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Episode 114 – The Babadook
Jennifer Kent, the writer and director of The Babadook (2014), crafted the story of an exhausted widowed mother and her demanding 6 year-old into a psychological horror film about facing up to the darkness within ourselves. Those of you who are parents, and even those of us who are not,… The post...
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Episode 113 – Los Tallos Amargos
Film noir simply doesn’t get darker than Fernando Ayala’s Los Tallos Amargos (1956). And when I say dark, I mean classical tragedy dark. Dostoevsky levels of wretched darkness. I have never seen a noir quite like this. It has all the normal chiaroscuro and double cross, but it goes much… The post...
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Episode 112 – Jaws
Are you still afraid to go into the water? Does the specter of a killer shark still haunt you, 44 years after that monster first broke the water’s surface in Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)? It absolutely haunts me, though I love the water and still take every opportunity to get in… The post Episode 112 –...
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Episode 111 – Evolution
Upon my first viewing of it, Lucile Hadžihalilović’s Evolution (2015) leapt to the top of the list of my favorite movies of this decade, perhaps of any decade. It’s a deft intermingling of modern body horror and much more ancient fears. Sometimes you’re not sure if you just saw an… The post…
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Episode 110 – The Fits
Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits (2015) doesn’t reveal all its secrets. We as viewers don’t know the origin of the mysterious fits that one-by-one overtake the girls of the dance team any more than they do. That these fits seem to come with some greater understanding after they are over,… The post...
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Episode 109 – Drug War
Johnnie To’s Drug War (2012) is one of those great cinematic cases of having your cake and eating it too. On one hand, you have To bringing his decades of experience making Hong Kong action films to bear on this project. On the other hand, we find ourselves on the… The post Episode 109 – Drug War...
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Episode 108 – The Battle of Algiers
Would it surprise you to learn that The Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo, 1966) is on the top ten lists of countless film critics and filmmakers, and was also the favorite film of Andreas Baader, leader of the left-wing militant organization the Baader-Meinhof Group? That the film was banned in...
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Episode 107 – The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster (Dieterle, 1941) is truly one of my desert island films. You couldn’t have assembled a more perfect film for me in a laboratory. The cinematic and literary traditions it belongs to are among my favorites and it’s topped off with that unmistakably sulphurous scent of…...
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Episode 106 – The Second Mother
Caring for children is sacred work, according to writer-director Anna Muylaert and her film The Second Mother (2015). It’s also very undervalued, under-discussed work. Decades ago, Muylaert envisioned a story about this work and the women who do it. At that time, she felt she wasn’t ready to…
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Episode 105 – Invention for Destruction
There is simply nothing like Karel Zeman’s Invention for Destruction (1958). Taken from the pages of some of Jules Verne’s greatest adventures, these images combine to form one of the greatest cinematic pop-up books ever committed to film. The amount of painstaking detail that must have been...
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Episode 104 – Noir City Austin 2019 by Lantern Light
In this special episode, we discuss the films of Noir City Austin 2019 and its theme of “It’s a Bitter Little World”, featuring a program of ten stellar examples of the progression of film noir from the end of the 1940s through the start of the 1960s. Noir City Austin… The post Episode 104 – Noir...
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Episode 103 – The Hitch-Hiker
The Hitch-Hiker (Lupino, 1953) is not officially the first noir directed by a woman, but there is no doubt that director, producer, and screenwriter Ida Lupino was a pioneer. In adapting the true crime story of murderer Billy Cook, Lupino took the opportunity to get inside the mind of a… The post...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Magic Lantern is a film podcast hosted by Ericca Long and Cole Roulain devoted to sharing our enduring cinematic memories. Join us for an ongoing, informal discussion of the classic and contemporary films we love and the things we love about them. If you've been looking for a podcast to explore old and new favorites with fellow film lovers, you've come to the right place. New episodes every other Monday.
HOSTED BY
Ericca Long and Cole Roulain
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Magic Lantern have?
The Magic Lantern currently has 173 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Magic Lantern about?
The Magic Lantern is a film podcast hosted by Ericca Long and Cole Roulain devoted to sharing our enduring cinematic memories. Join us for an ongoing, informal discussion of the classic and contemporary films we love and the things we love about them. If you've been looking for a podcast to explore...
How often does The Magic Lantern release new episodes?
The Magic Lantern publishes regularly with 173 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Magic Lantern?
You can listen to The Magic Lantern on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Magic Lantern?
The Magic Lantern is created and hosted by Ericca Long and Cole Roulain.
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