Wind, Reel, & Print

"Descent into Emptiness"

EPISODE 064: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE
 
Featuring: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964); Raging Bull (1980); The Father (2020); I’m Still Here (2024)
 
In a new episode of WR&P’s Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, Ryan & Kevin pin two cinema classics against two recent Oscar darlings. Despite the drastic jump in time, this particular collection is rare in its thematic cohesion. As our own reality tears at the seams, these four films build a portrait of this slow descent into destruction. Although these stories originate in history and/or fiction, the threat of nuclear warfare, the impacts of toxic masculinity, the complete loss of identity and memory, and fascist governments ripping apart families are all current events which continue to affect our society today.

WR&P Awards (2024-2025)

EPISODE 063: SPECIAL EVENT
 
Wind Reel & Print “wraps” their first season with a celebratory WR&P Awards Ceremony. Cohosts Ryan and Kevin summarize the last year of podcasting by pinpointing landmark episodes that transformed, defined, and elevated our understanding of cinematic language. The First Annual WR&P Awards closes with an exciting announcement of this year’s winners for Best Screenplay, Best Actor(s), Best Director, and Best Picture.

Babylon (2022)

EPISODE 062: CINEMA SINGLES
 
Having mentioned the film in a number of previous episodes, Kevin’s fascination with Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” finally comes to fruition. In a heartfelt suicide note to Hollywood, Chazelle returns to his supposed entertainment industry comfort zone, relishing in the chaos and thrilling drama that defined his early successes in “Whiplash” and “La La Land”. After bombing at the box office, “Babylon” aims to achieve a cult following status with its grotesque humor and fantastical Hollywood episodes offering more than what initial viewers gave it credit for.

Kuleshov Effect

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 nature of this concept, this episode serves as an important reminder of the impacts Soviet film theorists had on the development of cinematic language, with the “Kuleshov effect” and the montage helping usher in film as the defining art form of a modern industrial society.

“500 Days of Annie Hall”

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 cohosts Ryan and Kevin examine the formal and narrative aspects that loosely define a meta romcom, namely the use of atemporal editing and the narrative focus on memory.

Bay Area Baseball

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 passion. It stands as one of the iconic symbols of American and masculine identity, with both Ryan and Kevin sharing connections with baseball and their respective fathers. While the Bay Area ties aren’t incredibly strong across all three films, Ryan proposes how “Moneyball” echoes the sentiment of how Oakland has been poached of sports vivacity.

Auteur Theory

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-centrism and towards director-centrism. Kevin offers their own theories behind the qualifications of the term “autuer”.

Mumblecore pt. II

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 inventive independent film modes. Kevin coins terminology around this movement to explain the ways these filmmakers embrace bigger budgets and different cinematic styles.

Nosferatu

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 how this pertains to director style, regionality, and time period of production.

“Death as Transition”

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 with captivating stories and profound aesthetics that ultimately question what it means to be human. This week’s collection concentrates on concepts of death as a symbol of life cycles and transition, featuring films from Hayao Miyazaki, Ingmar Bergman, Larisa Shepitko, and the late David Lynch.