Some Like It Unauthorized

30-some feature films. 24 plays. 3 tv miniseries. Many drugs, many relationships. Dead at 37. Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a chaser (in more ways than one), and remains among that rare class of film artists that turned cinema into a verb, into an ongoing process and processing of the world around him. What’s astounding is that his films, while so specific to postwar german society, have a universal resonance that makes them just as worthwhile today.In talking about his most well-regarded film about the unlikely romance between a moroccan immigrant and an older german woman, Angst essen Seele auf, we untangle the association with Douglas Sirk’s hollywood films, how Fassbinder broke new ground with subjects under-seen in movies, and how immigration and xenophobia remain so fraught in the age of nation-states.Afterwards (56:00), Zach shares 5 albums from 1974 worth listening to.Next week: A Woman Under the Influence (1974) by John Cassavetes UnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Intro music by hetchy

If Godard and Truffaut busted down the door for a new generation of french filmmakers, Jean Eustache followed them in and stood in the corner and received little attention. After making a few docs and shorts, he finally made a bid for cinematic immortality with this first-person-epic (longer than Jeanne Dielman!), La Maman et la Putain. It stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, the avatar-du-jour for many autobiographical directors, and in this episode we compare Eustache’s film with another experimental french film featuring Léaud’s antics, Jacques Rivette’s Out 1. Why do these films now reside on the Sight and Sound Top 250? We sort out our very different reactions to the Eustache film, talk about his life and philosophy, and grapple with how alien this caustic ‘70s behavior feels today.Next week: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) by Rainer Werner FassbinderUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

George Lucas’s breakout Best Picture nominated film reanimated a time barely a decade past, 1962, before a generation of boys went to Vietnam, before rock and roll went psychedelic, and before baby boomer nostalgia was an entire industrial complex. Less melodramatic and more laid back than the teen films of his youth, American Graffiti was exactly realistic enough, misogynist warts and all, to catch fire at the box office and set the template for the teen hangout genre.On this episode, we discuss the film’s strengths and weaknesses with the hindsight of today, the consequences of american car culture post-WWII, and the new hollywood savviness of guys like Lucas and Coppola, and what it means to consciously chase mainstream success.Next week: The Mother and the Whore (1973) by Jean EustacheUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

It’s time to talk Víctor Erice. It’s time to talk bees. On this episode, we examine this legendary spanish film’s reputation and the filmmakers that influenced ‘70s dream cinema, and we consider what the Frankenstein and beehive metaphors have to say about social rigidity and childhood fluidity. In addition, we dive into some albums coming out in 1973, from funk to krautrock to reggae, and everywhere in between.2:20 - Spirit of the Beehive discussion57:10 - Zach’s 5 albums to check out from ‘73Next week: American Graffiti (1973) by George LucasUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Intro music by hetchy

Early 1971, young upstart director Francis Ford Coppola, who had already founded his own independent production company to sidestep studio meddling and had recently produced George Lucas’s debut feature THX 1138, was weighing the offer to direct the adaptation of Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel, a project that was ostensibly Paramount’s, and particularly the vainglorious Robert Evans’s, baby. It was exactly the for-hire scenario Coppola didn’t want to be in, but good friend Lucas, after his film financially flopped, encouraged Coppola to cash them checks and ensure their future projects. Coppola took the job, and the rest is history.In this discussion, we share perspectives on toxic masculinity and the fandom of the franchise, the origins of the modern mob/crime drama and why this film took the world by storm in ‘72, and what the story says about capitalism and american assimilation.Next week: Spirit of the Beehive (1973) by Víctor EriceUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

We react LIVE to the 2026 Oscar Nominations, giving you our honest, unauthorized opinions on all the nominated films and the shameful snubs.Next episode: The Godfather (1972) by Francis Ford CoppolaUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. 

EndadaYear! Hosts Zach Domes and J Brooks Young reveal each of their Top Ten Films of 2025, and the 1st ever cumulative Some Like It Unauthorized Top Ten Official Official Best Films of the Year. In a year of aliens and monsters, political radicals and ping pong players, which film will be crowned the totally not arbitrary best of the best? Listen to find out! Or watch on youtube!Additionally, we revise our chronological watchlist of 485 films from cinema’s history by selecting the final 15 films to round off the list at 500. Our project, which has been ongoing for over two years, is for both of us to watch every single film on this list, and upon completion, become Experts in Film History. Listen in to hear what we decide must be watched to better understand the medium of film, whether it’s an unsung cult masterpiece or Wolfgang Peterson’s Das Boot, and hear what each of us, movie draft style, is gonna force the other sibling to watch.1:37 — Top Ten Countdown44:00 — Honorable Mentions55:55 — Movie Draft of the final additions to our History of Film listNext episode: The Godfather (1972) by Francis Ford CoppolaUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

The year ended not with a bang, but with the ping and the pong of that little ball of energy Timmy Chalamet bouncing across the silver screen in Josh Safdie’s new film. Topics include: the rise of the Safdie/Bronstein anxiety wave of films, the adoption of these films by the awards voters, and a segue into the 60s avant-garde and what radical filmmaking looks like today.Next episode: Top Ten Lists of 2025, and a Movie Draft to round out the History of Film list… and then …THE GODFATHER (1972) by Francis Ford CoppolaUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

Filmmaking was a mid-life discovery for Sarah Maldoror: she made her first short film at the age of 39, after making waves in Paris as part of a black theater troupe, advocating abroad for african independence and supporting the fight in places like Algeria and Angola, and crucially, studying film in the USSR before assisting on The Battle of Algiers. As she witnessed Gilles Pontecorvo’s film become an international rallying cry for anti-imperialists everywhere, she knew without question that she had to bring the tools of cinema to the fight against portuguese occupiers in Angola, the birthplace of her husband.Her first feature-length film, Sambizanga, began to be shown (outside Angola, where it was banned) before independence was won. 50 years later, it made its first appearance on the Sight and Sound Top 250. And on this episode, we’re excited to discuss how this boldly modern film took us by surprise on first watch, and unpack the ways it stands apart in film history.Next time: Marty Supreme (2025) by Josh SafdieWatch the trailer for our short filmSuggest a film to be added to our Film History watchlistUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

We’re joined by Werner Herzog to discuss his early career film imagining the search for El Dorado by the spanish conquistadors, starring Klaus Kinski, and we explore post-colonial art, unexpected comedy, and the legacy of white dudes making their own epic jungle movies.Next week: Sambizanga (1972) by Sarah MaldororWatch the trailer for our short filmSuggest a film to be added to our Film History watchlistUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

Garbage man John Waters witnessed the explosion of specialty theaters in the 60s that offered all manner of forbidden fruit, from nudie european films to gross-out gore films, and with natural business savvy, he catered to that growing audience with his own ultra out-there amateur films. He made out with a nice profit, but his films really persisted in public consciousness because of their smart satire, and because they felt like a coming out party for a whole community of interesting, self-sustaining freaks. On this episode, we share our two differing reactions to seeing the film for the first time, go deep on the film’s place in history, and celebrate that incredible cast headed by the one and only, Divine.3:33 - Pink Flamingos discussion59:45 - Zach’s 5 albums to check out from 1972Next week: Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972) by Werner HerzogWatch the trailer for our short filmSuggest a film to be added to our Film History watchlistUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

Larry McMurtry, the author of the novel that he and Peter Bogdanovich adapted into this smash success film, made it his life project to reconcile the popular image of the american west with the reality he grew up in post WWII. His novel “Horseman, Pass By” became the Paul Newman starring Hud, as defeatist as a film western can get, and The Last Picture Show is no sunnier. We explore how the film depicts sex and growing up in small town USA, and talk about the Gen Z aversion to sex in films today. We also detail how Bogdanovich became a respected name in hollywood while blowing up his marriage to creative partner Polly Platt, and discuss the strong ensemble cast, including new school actors Jeff Bridges and Cybill Sheperd.Next week: Pink Flamingos (1972) by John WatersUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

As fate would have it, young divorcée Elaine May would move across the country, leaving her baby daughter with her parents, to pursue higher education at one of the only colleges that admitted people without a high school diploma: the University of Chicago. Only there would she befriend Mike Nichols, with whom she would become a nationally known comedic performer, before they quit while they were ahead and forged separate careers. By ‘71, Nichols has already won the Best Director Oscar for The Graduate, and finally, May is here to prove her mettle as a filmmaker. We talk about our favorite moments in the film, and the state of comedy, then and now.We open with some semi-spoilery reactions to the new film Sentimental Value before talking A New Leaf (5:30), and like we did on the first episodes covering ‘69 and ‘70, we close with Zach sharing his top 5 albums to check out from ‘71 (50:22).Next week: The Last Picture Show (1971) by Peter BogdanovichUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

Bernardo Bertolucci has us thinking about World War 2 and the effects wrought by loser fascists like our protagonist Clerici, and the generation that came after, Bertolucci’s own baby boomers. We talk about his influences in hollywood and the french new wave, the legacy of this era of italian cinema, and queer readings of the film.9:25 - The Conformist discussion beginsNext week: A New Leaf (1971) by Elaine MayUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

We interrupt your regularly scheduled podcast to hash out our Bugonia feelings - does Yorgos Lanthimos strike a chord with his sci-fi class war extremity, or do these provocations ring hollow? Topics include: Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, Stanley Kubrick and Rian Johnson, and the nature of meaning in the universe.Next week: The Conformist (1970) by Bernardo BertolucciUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

This week we tackle another “reclaimed” classic, actress Barbara Loden’s sole feature-length directing effort, the spare character study Wanda. Should we be wary, like Paul Schrader suggested after the 2022 BFI Sight and Sound List was published, of the new canonizing of just this sort of previously unsung film? To find the answer, we go deep on Loden’s aesthetic choices, and the themes to be teased out of both the images and the narrative of this american ghost story.Next week: Bugonia (2025) by Yorgos LanthimosUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

King Hu stood at a crossroads early in his career, just before the release of 1967’s Dragon Inn. He had left Hong Kong and the film industry he had just begun to break into, following his mentor Li Han-Hsiang to Taiwan at a time when there was no taiwanese film industry. To make matters worse, Li’s epic gamble Beauty of Beauties had just flopped, casting the entire future of their independent enterprise into doubt. Against all odds, Dragon Inn was a smash success, and set the template for King’s fantastical high-flying martial arts films to follow. On this episode we discuss his direct follow-up, a film that threatens to bend the genre beyond its breaking point, and we interrogate what works and what doesn’t about one of the most ambitious chinese films to date. 0:00 - J Brooks recaps the 60’s in film3:30 - A Touch of Zen discussion59:12 - Zach shares his top 5 albums to check out from 1970Next week: Wanda (1970) by Barbara LodenUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

What does it mean to be an artist in a fascist country? Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio appears to be less about revolutionary politics and more about the universal experience of two generations of a family struggling to relate. The politics are timely, but is there something untoward about an overtly political film, especially in the Trump era, that wants to frontline its emotional family drama and sideline, or altogether avoid, a tangible call to action? We put our heads together to examine the role of film in politics, and what One Battle After Another has to say about idealism, political unrest, and America’s #1 weirdo, Sean Penn.Next week: A Touch of Zen (1970) by King HuUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

Do yourself a favor, and watch this Toshio Matsumoto film. It’s made by a playful and original filmmaker, whom was almost certainly versed in the work of Godard, Resnais, and every other new wave voice in that moment, but whom brought his own eye and his own inventions to film and made something totally new. It stars strikingly beautiful trans and queer actors that you’d otherwise never see on film, whom perform in daring roles with aplomb, and get to speak for themselves in documentary interludes. And it captures a world in flux, when a booming postwar Japan is seeing young people stand up and rebel against all of society’s traditions. In this episode, we discuss the film’s legacy, the Oedipus myth, and our own experiences navigating gender.Next up: One Battle After Another (2025) by Paul Thomas AndersonUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy

A new generation of cinephilic filmmakers have arrived on the scene in the US; raised on Hitchcock and Godard, these youngsters know what makes a film feel exciting, and they know how to get their kicks in real life too: with drugs and women. But, as we examine on this episode, Easy Rider is not just a hangout film. Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson are out to explore why they’ve hit the road and why this generation is so rebellious, and that means examining both the country and themselves. Throw in some gorgeous photography and an innovative rock and roll soundtrack, and you’ve got the formula for one of the biggest box office hits of 1969.Next up: Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) by Toshio Matsumoto, and then, One Battle After Another (2025) by Paul Thomas AndersonUnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy