The Drunk Projectionist

Series produced by Todd Melby

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The Drunk Projectionist is a podcast that's buzzed about movies. We feature interviews with directors, actors and cinematographers to reveal what makes brilliant movies timeless. From 70s classics to silents to today, The Drunk Projectionist podcast goes deep to understand what's on the screen, how it got there and why it works or doesn't. Hosted by Todd Melby, independent radio producer, reporter and co-creator of "We Don't Talk Like That: Fargo and the Midwest Psyche," a radio documentary about the 1996 Coen Brothers movie.

At The Drunk Projectionist we believe in film—not digital reproductions of film—and watching movies in public places with other people. At the dawn of the digital age, we settled in to watch a Russian film at a regional film festival. When the movie began, pixelated words appeared on the screen and we lost it, yelling "What the f---?" and left in a huff. During short trips, we often tuck into movie houses screening great, or just odd, films.


7 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Georges Mourier describes Napoléon as “not just a masterpiece." The Cinémathèque Française restoration expert says the 1927 silent film "is also a ...

  • Added: May 14, 2018
  • Length: 43:30
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Albert Serra, the highly opinionated director of "The Death of Louis XIV" explains why actors are stupid and (shockingly) why he never looks throug...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jan 23, 2018
  • Length: 44:16
  • Purchases: 1
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Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman discusses "Titicut Follies," his controversial 1967 film about a hospital for the criminally insane. In thi...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 20, 2017
  • Length: 27:12
  • Purchases: 2
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When the Coen Brothers released "Fargo" in 1996, pretty much all of North Dakota and Minnesota got upset. "We don't talk like that," they said. Wel...

  • Added: Sep 20, 2017
  • Length: 19:42
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Kelly Reichardt’s films are full of pregnant pauses and extended silences. In fact, her movies often lack a background score. They’re shot in the A...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 20, 2017
  • Length: 25:17
  • Purchases: 1
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Barbara Kopple, winner of two Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary, discusses "Harlan County USA," her 1976 film about a Kentucky coal miner...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 20, 2017
  • Length: 18:58
  • Purchases: 1
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Critic Terrence Rafferty of GQ called "Killer of Sheep," a film by Charles Burnett, "one of the most striking debuts in movie history." In this epi...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 20, 2017
  • Length: 26:17
  • Purchases: 2