Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Back in the spring, I watched The Scary of 61st through the Berlin film festival, where it had its world premiere. I had to watch it on my laptop, holed up at home, with pandemic anxiety in the air. Somehow the mood was appropriate for experiencing the film, which tells a wild story that’s lurid, funny, unnerving, and often over the top. All of which is a good match for the frenzied state of its main characters: two roommates who unwittingly move into a New York apartment once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. They end up being haunted by the Epstein saga of human trafficking and unfathomable corruption. One roommate undergoes a kind of possession, and her friend becomes obsessed with the Epstein case, after a stranger comes knocking talking of conspiracy theories. 

The director of The Scary of 61st is Dasha Nekrasova. She also plays the strange visitor, opposite her co-writer, Madeline Quinn, and Betsey Brown. You probably know Dasha already from her co-hosting Red Scare, the enormously popular podcast. Our talk focused on what she’s been watching during the pandemic, which tied in a little bit into The Scary of 61st. In that sense it’s a fairly traditional episode of The Last Thing I Saw, leading off with a perhaps surprising choice of director of comfort movies.

The Scary of 61st opens in New York on December 17, after a run on December 2 at Los Feliz 3 in L.A.

You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at:
rapold.substack.com

Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Episode 86: Dasha Nekrasova Talks About Movies, Including The Scary of 61st

Episode 90: Amy Taubin on the Best of 2021
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. It’s that time of year again, when we look back at the year in movies. Joining me to share her highlights is the critic Amy Taubin, a regular guest on the podcast. We start with one movie you might not have heard as much about this year, and go on to trade our top picks, with reflections on another strange year for moviegoing and moviemaking. Here’s to the best of 2021, and beyond!

You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at:
rapold.substack.com

Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Episode 90: Amy Taubin on the Best of 2021

Cannes #9 with Mark Asch: Triangle of Sadness, Enys Men, Aftersun, Hunt

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The highlights from the Cannes Film Festival continue with critic Mark Asch joining the show again. We discuss Ruben Östlund’s second Palme d’Or winner, Triangle of Sadness; Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men; Charlotte Wells’s Aftersun; and Hunt, from Squid Game star-turned-director Lee Jung-jae.

Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at:
rapold.substack.com

Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 123: Cannes #9 with Mark Asch: Triangle of Sadness, Enys Men, Aftersun, Hunt

Ep. 157: Sundance 2023 Two with Amy Taubin

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival is back in action, returning to in-person screenings and events after two virtual years. I sat down with Last Thing I Saw regular and veteran of Sundance, critic Amy Taubin, about some of the highlights (and otherwise) at the festival, including Past Lives, Polite Society, and a Nam June Paik documentary.

Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at:
rapold.substack.com

Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 157: Sundance 2023 Two with Amy Taubin

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, a podcast where we reach out to friends to talk about what we’ve been watching. It’s as simple as that. Joining Nicolas Rapold this time is Amy Taubin, a mainstay of film criticism and a longtime inspiration. It’s always a rich and varied journey when Amy shares her viewing notes, and this time was no different. Among the movies discussed were John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, Charles Burnett’s police drama The Glass Shield, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love and Basketball, the pioneering work of Monika Treut and Elfi Mikesch, Spike Lee’s Da Five Bloods, Werner Herzog’s Family Romance, plus a couple of short films and a Kanye West music video.

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Episode 8: Amy Taubin

Critic Nicolas Rapold talks with guests about the movies they've been watching. From home viewing to the latest from festivals and retrospectives. Named one of the 10 Best Film Podcasts by Sight & Sound magazine. Guests include critics, curators, and filmmakers.

Episode 86: Dasha Nekrasova Talks About Movies, Including The Scary of 61st

The Last Thing I Saw

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