The Last Thing I Saw

Ep. 366: Sundance 2026 - Amy Taubin on the festival, plus a preview of John Wilson's The History of Concrete

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival begins its 2026 edition, and to kick off its final, I took a look back with Amy Taubin, a Sundance veteran who has written about the festival’s films and evolution over decades. She shares her thoughts on Sundance, past and present, and we trade notes on titles in this edition whose premieres we have been anticipating, including the historic Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Finally, I talk about one festival highlight premiering on opening night, The History of Concrete, directed by John Wilson (of HBO’s “How to With John Wilson” fame), and Taubin reflects on the history of Sundance’s vaunted Main Street.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 365: Chicago Film Society’s Rebecca Lyon and Cameron Worden on The Unholy Three, Heather McAdams, Bob Balaban’s Parents, Proto-Beavis and Butthead, By the Bluest Sea

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Chicago Film Society screens wonderful seasons of features and shorts at Chicago theaters, carefully curated with printed program notes, all of which I’ve enjoyed from afar. I was delighted to kick off another new year of the podcast with two CFS members (and projectionists): Rebecca Lyon and Cameron Worden. Since the Chicago Film Society is between its Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 seasons, we talked about some past programming, including: The Unholy Three (the 1930 sound version), Parents (directed by Bob Balaban), ephemera collected by filmmaker Heather McAdams, home movies from the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago, and Wes Archer’s extraordinary animated short that prefigured Beavis and Butt-head. Bonus: a sneak peek at a couple of events coming up at Chicago Film Society in the spring.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 364: Live at Metrograph! Mark Asch on Eight Hours of Terror, Marty Supreme, Ella McCay, The Housemaid, and more

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. On a recent wintry night, I was delighted to record a very special episode of the podcast at Metrograph in front of a living, breathing audience. Joining me for this adventure was critic Mark Asch, a friend of the pod and my editor many years ago. We first talked about the movie that the audience had just watched, Seijun Suzuki’s Eight Hours of Terror, a 1957 treat plucked from a previous conversation on The Last Thing I Saw. Our discussion first followed our Lower East Side setting by starting with Marty Supreme (directed by Josh Safdie) and then onto other December films, including The Housemaid (Paul Feig) and Ella McCay (James L. Brooks).

Thank you to Metrograph and their devoted team for all their assistance and hospitality in hosting this special recording of The Last Thing I Saw.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 363: Beatrice Loayza and Adam Nayman on 2025 in movies: The Testament of Ann Lee, Sinners, Dracula, Bugonia, Eddington, Hamnet, and much more

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For a look at the films of 2025, I’m happy to welcome back two critics who have joined the podcast together before: Adam Nayman (The Ringer) and Beatrice Loayza (The New York Times, The Nation, Criterion Collection). Among the films discussed are The Testament of Ann Lee, Eddington, Afternoons of Solitude, Hamnet, Sinners, Dracula, The Housemaid, Sirat, the latest Avatar installment, One Battle After Another, Train Dreams, and... The Electric State. Plus: Adam and Beatrice’s picks for overlooked movies deserving of a second (or first) look.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 362: Bruce Bennett on Charley Varrick, The American Revolution, Technicolor Weekend at Chicago Film Society, The Shootist

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I’m happy to welcome back series regular Bruce Bennett for our latest debrief. Among the films he brings to the show are longtime favorite Charley Varrick (directed by Don Siegel, subject of a retrospective most recently at Metrograph); The American Revolution (directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt); and The Shootist (Siegel again, starring John Wayne in swan song mode). Bennett also talks about the wondrous annual Technicolor Weekend at Chicago Film Society.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass