CriterionCast

Episode 63 – Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale

This is the podcast dedicated to The Criterion Collection. Rudie Obias, Ryan Gallagher, & James McCormick discuss Criterion News & Rumors and Criterion New Releases, they also analyze, discuss & highlight CC #492 Arnaud Desplechin’s 2008 film, A Christmas Tale.

SPECIAL GUEST: David Blakeslee – A writer for the CriterionCast and the author of the Criterion Reflections blog

A Christmas Tale

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Our next episode they will highlight and discuss film CC #093 Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburg’s 1947 film, Black Narcissus.

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Black Narcissus

Show Notes:

(00:00 – 00:15; “A United Theory” by God Help The Girl)

(00:16 – 02:33; The CriterionCast – Episode 063 – A Christmas Tale – CC #492)

[NEWS & RUMORS]

(02:34 – 10:06; The Trailer for Wim Wender’s Pina in 3D)

(10:07 – 16:52; The Trailer for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life)

(16:53 – 23:20; Criterion’s Newsletter teases Pale Flower Release with a Wacky Illustration)

[NEW RELEASES]

(23:21 – 40:28; Criterion New Releases)

[FEATURE FILM]

(40:29 – 1:35:03; Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale – CC #492)

(1:35:04 – 1:35:54; Break Music by Carlos Segovia)

[Variations On a Theme]

(1:35:55 – 1:38:07; Variations On a Theme – Christmas in Movies)

(1:38:08 – 1:45:01; The Bishop’s Wife – David Blakeslee)

(1:45:02 – 1:50:56; Joyeux Noel – Rudie Obias)

(1:50:57 – 1:54:12; The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, A Rankin & Bass Productions – Ryan Gallagher)

(1:54:13 – 1:58:36; The Thin Man – James McCormick)

[CREDITS]

(1:58:37 – 2:00:05; Wrap Up, Contact Info & Credits)

(2:00:06 – 2:00:32; Next – Powell & Pressburg’s 1947 film – CC #093 – Variations On a Theme – Sexual Repression in Movies)

(2:00:33 – 2:00:53; Goodbyes)

(2:00:54 – 2:01:37; “Working Poor” by Horse Feathers)

(2:01:38 – 2:02:51; Outtakes!!)

Music Credits:

Intro Music by God Help The Girl. Learn more on iTunes and their website, GodHelpTheGirl.com.

Break Music by Carlos Segovia. Learn more @ GhostRamps.com.

Outro Music by Horse Feathers. Learn more on iTunes and learn more @, HorseFeathersTheBand.com.

Ryan Gallagher

Ryan is the Editor-In-Chief / Founder of CriterionCast.com, and the host / co-founder / producer of the various podcasts here on the site. You can find his website at RyanGallagher.org, follow him on Twitter (@RyanGallagher), or send him an email: [email protected].

4 comments

  • Great episode, gents. So glad to hear that you all enjoyed this strange, marvelous film. I jumped on the Criterion disc when it first came out, and now it’s one of my favorite movies to watch during the holiday season.

    If you want to check out more of Desplechin’s work, I highly recommend Kings and Queen. Many of the same actors from A Christmas Tale also pop up (including Mathieu Amalric, Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Devos, and it has a lot of the same idiosyncratic qualities. Alain Resnais’ Wild Grass is also pretty intriguing – it has a similarly odd, quirky feel to it in terms of cinematic techniques as well as three of A Christmas Tale’s actors – Amalric, Devos and Anne Consigny.

  • Thanks for the recommendations, Marc! I enjoyed the film quite a bit and really appreciate the opportunity to talk about it on the podcast. I looked up Kings and Queens and was pleasantly surprised to see how inexpensive the DVD is on Amazon, so I went ahead and ordered it! Also My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument. Merry Christmas! :)

  • Nice! I’d be interested to hear what you think of Kings and Queen. Now I really need to track down my own copy – and I’m also curious about My Sex Life.