This February at the UW Cinematheque, in our ongoing series of new international movies making their first local theatrical showings, we present the Madison Premiere of DEAD MAIL, written and directed by the talented duo of Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy. Evocatively set in the Midwest at the dawn of the digital age, this dark comedy and thriller is one of the most exciting American movies of the decade! DEAD MAIL begins with the story of Jasper, a diligent post-office clerk played by Tomas Boykin, who discovers a blood-stained cry for help delivered to his “dead letter” office. With assistance from Jasper’s quirky colleagues and a Scandinavian hacker, an investigation uncovers a whole new story, a psychodrama played-out between a synthesizer engineer and his possessive patron. Frequently reminiscent of movies by Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma and the Coen Brothers, Dead Mail’s narrative is consistently compelling and surprising. Set in the mid 1980s, the blandly evocative period details and the numerous stylistic directorial flourishes make it clear that we are in the hands of a confident and talented pair of filmmakers. On this episode of Cinematalk, Jim Healy and Ben Reiser talk to Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy about their friendship, professional history, and the making of DEAD MAIL, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in early 2024 and went on to play a number of other major international Festivals, including Toronto and Leeds. This podcast does contain DEAD MAIL spoilers, and we recommend seeing the movie before listening.

Winner of the top prize at the 1985 Venice Film Festival, Vagabond begins with the discovery of the lifeless, frozen body of the young hitch-hiker Mona (Bonnaire). Through flashbacks recounted by individuals who crossed paths with her (portrayed predominantly by amateur actors), Varda constructs a fragmented depiction of this mysterious woman, crafting a mosaic-like portrayal that the director playfully referred to as “Rashomona.” Bonnaire’s multi-faceted turn won her several awards, including France’s Cesar, and the Los Film Critics Association prize for Best Actress. On this episode of Cinematalk, Ben Reiser sits down with Varda expert Professor Kelley Conway to discuss the making-of and legacy of Vagabond.

On a new episode of the official UW Cinematheque podcast, Director of Programming Jim Healy talks with Robert M. Rubin, author of Vanishing Point Forever, a gorgeous new volume from Film Desk Books. Rubin discusses the enduring legacy of Vanishing Point (1971), director Richard Sarafian’s existential car chase classic. Rubin also talks about the essential contributions of author Guillermo Cabrera Infante, who was credited with Vanishing Point’s screenplay using the pseudonym Guillermo Cain, and the star qualities of the Dodge Challenger R/T! Vanishing Point screens for free in a new 4K DCP on Friday, July 12 and copies of Vanishing Point Forever will be available for sale before and after the screening!

Director of programming for UW Cinematheque and Ben Reiser, programmer for Cinematheque walk through the Cinematheque's Summer 2024 calendar which kicks off on June 19th and runs through July 26th. Full details at https://cinema.wisc.edu/

On a special double feature/dual podcast episode of 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s/Cinematalk commemorating the screenings of both films at UW Cinematheque, Ben Reiser and Jim Healy take a deep dive into a “Fistful of Feiffers”, discussing both LITTLE MURDERS (1971) and CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971). ‘71 was a big year for screenwriter/playwright/cartoonist Jules Feiffer, with Alan Arkin’s LITTLE MURDERS and Mike Nichols’ CARNAL KNOWLEDGE both hitting screens within six months of each other. Listen along as Jim and Ben try to suss out Feiffer’s inspirations, figure out what genres these films do and don’t fall into, Elliott Gould on top of the world, Candice Bergen’s best work, waiting for Godard, Gordon Willis goes wild, Nicholson as man-baby, magnificent Ann Margret, and much more, including not one, but TWO rounds of “What else was playing that week?”.

Ben Reiser talks with Nick Libbey and Zach Tomasovic, the filmmakers behind Sawyer County, 2020, which screened at the 2022 Wisconsin Film Festival. This survey of a cross-section of Sawyer County, Wisconsin residents in the immediate runup to the 2020 presidential election reveals a lot about the state of the state and the ever-increasing divide between neighbors.

On Saturday, November 13th, the Cinematheque will present a 35mm print of Sean Baker’s THE FLORIDA PROJECT. Our free screening coincides with the publication of J.J. Murphy’s revelatory new monograph on the film’s production from University of Texas press. Our guest on this episode is, J.J. Murphy, professor emeritus at here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught film production and studies courses for many years. His films include the avant-garde classics Print Generation and Sky Blue Water Light Sign, which have been restored by the Academy Film Archive. His previous books include Rewriting Indie Cinema: Improvisation, Psychodrama and the Screenplay, and The Black Hole of the Camera: The Films of Andy Warhol.

On October 30th 2021, UW Cinematheque presents a screening of a 4K restoration of the 1974 film THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, directed by Tobe Hooper. Five hippies on a road trip through rural Texas wind up in the clutches of a murderous, cannibalistic family in this profoundly unsettling modern horror classic. Nerve-rattling from start to finish, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre can be as hard to look away from as it is hard to look at. Pry your fingers from in front of your eyes long enough, and you will discover an exceedingly stylish, intelligently crafted creepshow that reveals the mark of true cinephiles behind the lens. Loaded with committed performances, graceful, fluid camera movement, and an immersive, hallucinatory sound design, Hooper’s directorial debut is the perfect Halloween treat especially in the 4K restoration that will be screened. On the latest episode of 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s, a podcast co-hosted by UW Cinematheque's own Ben Reiser with Scott Lucas, singer-songwriter for the band Local H and serious cinephile, Scott and Ben discuss their love for the film, and try to figure out what makes it one of the scariest and most relentless horror movies ever made.

On this episode of Cinematalk, Mike King welcomes filmmaker and film teacher Brandon Colvin, whose first two features screened at UW - Madison's annual Wisconsin Film Festival. A Dim Valley is the writer/director's first foray into comedy. Mystical, sexy, and funny, this dreamlike indie casts you under its spell. Deep in the Appalachian wilderness, a pair of ecology grad students are collecting flora and fauna samples and getting high—anything to avoid spending more time in the cramped cabin with their grouchy, hard-drinking advisor. Out in the forest, they encounter a trio of nymph-like backpackers looking to “fulfill their purpose” who lure the men into a trance-like state of magical awakening and desire, with a pansexual charge between seemingly every character. The sextet’s enigmatic bond is deepened over a late night that encompasses teary tarot readings and half-assed Scrabble games. Drawing inspiration from Twin Peaks and Hayao Miyazaki, UW PhD Brandon Colvin’s third feature cultivates a surreal, sylvan atmosphere that still makes room for perfectly timed gags.

On a new episode of the Cinematheque's Cinematalk podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler, Roman J. Israel, Esq.) to talk about his father's movie From Noon Till Three. Spoilers abound in this discussion, so you might want to see the movie first before listening.

After a 16 month pause, we are back with in-person screenings at our home venue of 4070 Vilas Hall. Things kicked off this week with a trilogy of films: MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, TOKYO STORY, and WHERE’S POPPA, that each explore the relationships between elderly parents and their adult children. In conjunction with our screening of WHERE’S POPPA we thought we’d share an episode of a podcast hosted by Cinematheque’s Ben Reiser called 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s. This episode was originally recorded and published in July 2020, shortly after the death of Carl Reiner. The co-host for this podcast was film historian, Mike McPadden, whom you may remember from an episode of Cinematalk that he guested on with Jim Healy where they discussed Demons 2. Mike died this past December, and we are happy for the opportunity to share some more of his wit and wisdom with you now. Also on this episode is film historian, Kat Ellinger.