Movie podcasts recommendations for every mood

Written by Matthew Long

Edited by Anthony Nijssen of APT Editing

Podcasts have become a major part of modern culture, a vital platform for people to explore their passions and share them with others, whether through interactions with co-hosts or guests, or relationships with their audience.

As a big movie fan, I relax and learn by listening to a variety of movie-themed podcasts. I’ve highlighted some of my favourites below, including a brief explanation of what makes them unique and what keeps me listening week after week.

The Cine-Files

The first movie podcast I listened to was The Cine-Files. Their mission is “to enter the world of great film and explore its themes, history, filmmakers and the influences it has on movies today.” They caught my attention with strikingly long episodes discussing well-known classics like Blade Runner and Citizen Kane in minute detail, going through the movies beat-by-beat.

But the thing that always brings me back is the dynamic between co-hosts Steve Morris, a filmmaker and film professor, and John Rocha, the well-known producer, host, and Schmoedown champion. Morris brings strong technical knowledge about all aspects of filmmaking and a logical look to the stories, while Rocha brings his own unique, often emotionally-charged perspectives to the films. They’re often joined by awesome guests including Scott Mantz for Star Trek episodes and Michael Vogel. The weekly episodes of the Cine-Files are a fantastic way to learn about your favourite movies.

Popular films like the *Star Trek* series are analyzed on *The Cine-Files* in intense detail, often taking much longer than the runtime of the movie to finish their discussions.

You Must Remember This

You Must Remember This is a movie podcast hosted by Karina Longworth, a film journalist, critic, and author of multiple books. This podcast is “dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century.” The podcast started with independent episodes exploring singular episodes in the history of Hollywood, but around episode 30 the show shifted toward a model of “seasons” of episodes with a specific focus.

I first listened to the “Erotic 90s” season, before going back to the “Erotic 80s” episodes. These seasons had 21 and 12 episodes, respectively, covering the history of how sex and eroticism was featured in films throughout both decades after the commercialization of adult films in the 1970s. Longworth explores movies from as early as Deep Throat and American Gigolo, through the explosion of erotic thrillers like Basic Instinct, and concludes with Eyes Wide Shut, noting that there has been significantly less eroticism featured in movies since the turn of the century.

Other seasons focus on topics like the communist blacklist, an exploration of Polly Platt, the late careers of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, and, on the latest season called “The Old Man is Still Alive,” Longworth explored the late careers of classic Hollywood directors who “got weird” after late career successes.

No matter the topic, you can count on Longworth to deliver well-researched and compelling stories, aided by voice acting from throughout the Hollywood community to bring these no-longer-forgotten stories back to life.

They Live By Film

They Live By Film is a podcast hosted by three movie and physical media collectors from around the world. Adam Lundy resides in Ireland, while Chris Haskell and Zach Bryant are each based out of the United States. Their podcast originally started as a Criterion-focused podcast, born out of an ongoing film club that discusses movies on Reddit, where they chose a few different movies and debated the merits of the films and how each one aligned with their very different tastes.

The show has now evolved into two main types of episodes. The core episodes usually feature the three hosts, occasionally with a guest, discussing movies that are chosen by one of the hosts on a rotating basis. This provides an opportunity for all three hosts to present favourites to their co-hosts while also getting the chance to finally watch some of the movies from their endless need-to-watch piles. It’s a fun show because of the hosts’ dynamic and unpredictable takes on the movies, along with the diversity of movies that they discuss throughout the episodes.

The show also introduced an interview component where primarily Haskell speaks to key people in the boutique Blu-ray industry, including owners of major labels like Arrow and Vinegar Syndrome alongside smaller companies like Error 4444, Art Label, and Canadian International Pictures. Haskell also speaks to film historians like Samm Deighan and fellow podcasters like Celeste de la Cabra, providing a well-rounded view of the people behind the movie releases so many of us love.

The Projection Booth

The Projection Booth is a weekly podcast hosted by Mike White (not the creator of The White Lotus, as I’ve just learned). White brings together a rotating group of hosts to discuss an incredibly wide variety of movies. Every episode features serious, insightful discussions about the chosen movie, and they aren’t afraid to choose from both obscurities and huge classics. With nearly 800 episodes recorded, there is plenty of variety for whatever you want to learn about. White also interviews people involved with each movie and other people that can provide relevant insights. The dynamic format of the episodes and the podcast’s professional nature makes this a consistently rewarding listen.

How Did This Get Made?

Sometimes you just need a laugh. When I do, How Did This Get Made? is a reliable way for me to get some humour. Hosted by Paul Scheer along with June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas, this long-running podcast asks the timeless question in the show's title. Along with occasional guest hosts, which is common especially when they are touring around the world to record episodes in theatres, the co-hosts break down the many elements that make so many movies truly incomprehensible.

The show provides a fun variety of popular failures like Van Helsing, The Happening, and the Sharknado series, beloved classics like Space Jam, as well as many of the kind of obscurities that are released by Vinegar Syndrome, like Surf 2 and one of the group’s favourite movies, Miami Connection.

It’s definitely more fun when I’ve seen the movies, but even if I haven’t, the group’s hilarious dynamic makes this podcast a must listen.

The Official Deaf Crocodile Podcast, The Terror-Vision Home Video Podcast, Punk Vacation, and more

Podcasts have also become a way for companies to promote their products directly to the fans, as well as allowing fans to celebrate those same products. Many of the major boutique Blu-ray companies all have their own podcasts, with plenty of options for Criterion fans. But the podcasts that stand out to me are usually the ones hosted by the owners of the labels.

The Official Deaf Crocodile Podcast promotes the amazing work being done by Deaf Crocodile’s Craig Rogers and Dennis Bartok to release unbelievable classics from around the world. They are always able to share their passion for these movies, and the many movies they have lined up continue blowing our minds. They have announcement-based episodes as well as episodes that line up with pre-orders for previously announced movies, providing multiple opportunities to learn more about the obscurities they are releasing and why they chose to release them. They also release the audio commentaries featured on their discs, which is an interesting expansion of the possibilities of what to do with bonus features lingering on discs. Given the obscurity of the films they release, it’s a helpful way to gain context into why they are preserving these films.

Companies like Deaf Crocodile and Terror Vision preserve eclectic varieties of movies that might otherwise be lost to time and obscurity.

Similarly, The Terror Vision Home Video Podcast provides the crew at Terror Vision with opportunities to promote their newest releases and share information about announcements. This podcast is released less regularly, but the passion of Brad Henderson and the rest of the team that join him is clearly evident. Again, this is a valuable opportunity to gain insight into the movies they are choosing to highlight and release while also getting teases of future releases.

Both of these shows are hosted by Ryan Verrill, the host of the Disc-Connected channel and publisher of The Physical Media Advocate.

Punk Vacation is an unofficial Vinegar Syndrome podcast hosted by Chris Haskell, the co-host of They Live By Film. Haskell continues to try different ways of providing context into the movies that Vinegar Syndrome is releasing on a monthly basis along with their huge slate of partner labels. Haskell has brought in many people who work at the company to provide an insider look at how they accomplish all that they do, as well as bringing other critics and fans of Vinegar Syndrome to share their feelings about these movies. Haskell’s passion for these movies is obvious and infectious, and it’s obvious that he is inspired by the spirit of Vinegar Syndrome.

All of these shows are available wherever you listen to podcasts. Consider supporting your favourite shows with donations on Patreon, and tell anyone you know who may be interested about the amazing work being done by these fans, critics, and creators.

Read our Introduction to major boutique Blu-ray distributors article to learn more about how some of the movies discussed in this article are being brought to the people.