Treasure Talks
Treasure Talks is a series of online conversations with Yale alumni from the film world about some of their favorite films, selected from prints in the collection of the Yale Film Archive. Archivist Brian Meacham talks with directors, actors, critics, and academics about their chosen film, as well as reflections on their time at Yale, its influences on their career, and their latest film recommendations.
Episode 1: Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti '89 B.A., '94 M.F.A. and fellow New Haven native and award-winning writer Nicholas Dawidoff discuss Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN (1949), from its origins in a screenplay by Graham Greene to its memorable cast of character actors and its postwar Viennese setting. They also recall their history of moviegoing in New Haven and reflect on film during quarantine.
Episode 2: Director Ira Sachs '87 discusses Frank Ripploh's groundbreaking queer classic TAXI ZUM KLO (1981), the semi-autobipgraphical story of a Berlin schoolteacher balancing his work and private lives. Sachs also talks about his early days of filmmaking, and recommends films for all ages to enjoy.
Episode 3: Filmmaker Warrington Hudlin '74 discusses the explosive impact of Gillo Pontecorvo's THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) the dramatic story of the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial rule. Hudlin also tells the stories behind his own locally-shot films and gives film recommendations.
Episode 4: Artist and filmmaker Tamar Simon Hoffs, a 1957 graduate of the Yale School of Art, discusses Stanley Kubrick's A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971), inspired by her ongoing collaboration with actor Malcolm McDowell. She also tells stories from her four-decade filmmaking career, which includes work with John Cassavetes.
Episode 5: Pioneering video game designer, graphic novelist, and filmmaker Jordan Mechner '85 discusses Alfred Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW (1954), and tells stories behind his best-selling computer game Karateka (which he made in his Yale dorm room) and the creation of his Prince of Persia series.
Episode 6: Journalist and author Mark Harris '85 disusses Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING (1980), from the novel that inspired it, to opening night in the theater, to contemporary thoughts on the film 40 years later.
Episode 7: Professor John MacKay, who earned his Ph.D. from Yale in 1988, discusses Louis Malle's VANYA ON 42ND STREET (1994). He also recalls his early filmgoing experiences in rural Canada and during his days as a Comparative Literature student in New Haven, and offers his latest DVD recommendations.
Episode 8: Bronson Pinchot '81 talks about his favorite film of all time, Victor Fleming's THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), as well as his undergraduate performance of Waiting for Godot with Yale classmate David Hyde Pierce, and working with directors including Martin Scorsese and Garry Marshall.
Episode 9: Filmmaker Alexis Krasilovsky '71 talks about Coline Serreau's 2001 film CHAOS, women filmmakers around the world, her own experiences as a filmmaker and projectionist at Yale, and working with artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.
Episode 10: Professor Jeremi Szaniawski ’12 Ph.D. discusses VERTIGO, Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece of mystery and obsession. Szaniawski also recalls his time as part of Cinema at the Whitney, and gives his thoughts on the future of film projection and programming.
Episode 11: Arnold Gorlick, owner of Madison Arts Cinemas and former manager at the legendary York Square Cinema in New Haven, discusses Guillermo del Toro's PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006), his career in film exhibition, and New Haven's rich moviegoing history.
Episode 12: Gerry Wenner '77 ART discusses studying with filmmaker Murray Lerner at Yale, and the impact Lerner's 1967 documentary FESTIVAL had on Wenner's work, which has spanned experimental, industrial, documentary, and narrative film. Wenner has also had a prolific career as director of music videos for artists including Prince, Frank Sinatra, Faith Hill, and Ray Charles.