Flashback

Revisiting films from the past with a modern critical eye.

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About the Show

Every two weeks, film critics Dana Stevens (Slate) and K. Austin Collins (Rolling Stone) revisit notable films from the past—movies outside of the current releases and that have influenced modern culture and canon—and analyze them with a contemporary, critical eye.

Hosts

  • Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.

  • K. Austin Collins is a film critic for Rolling Stone and a crossword constructor for the New Yorker and the New York Times.

The Apartment (1960)

A tight script and superb acting from Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon bring together this Billy Wilder classic.

Lola Montès (1955)

Max Ophuls’ last film is unlike any other he’d made before.

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Brian De Palma’s rollicking rock opera is an anarchic movie about control.

Nosferatu (1922)

This F.W. Murnau silent film is one of the first cinematic adaptations of the Dracula legend.

Between the Lines (1977)

Joan Micklin Silver’s second feature foresaw many of the problems that alt-weeklies and journalism still face today.

The Bigamist (1953)

Filmmaker Ida Lupino adds noir suspense to the archetypal story of a cheating man.

The Holiday (2006)

A classic Nancy Meyers rom-com that shows her love for the genre while also subverting its common tropes and expectations.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The Hollywood epic that grappled the complicated questions of colonialism and morality.

Deathdream (1974)

A “monkey’s paw” horror film about the emotional trauma of the Vietnam War felt back in suburban America.

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

A clever Ernst Lubitsch comedy satirizing Nazism right in the middle of World War II.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a tour de force performance in this underappreciated Coen brothers comedy.

Cat People (1942)

Despite its corny premise, this Jacques Tourneur–Val Lewton collaboration remains creepy and horrifying because of what it chose to leave off-screen.

Grey Gardens (1976)

The Maysles’ documentary about the reclusive aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy living in their decrepit mansion has become a favorite among camp and fashion enthusiasts.

Husbands (1970)

John Cassavetes’ unwieldy and uncomfortable dramedy following three men on a midlife crisis bender.

Alexandria…Why? (1979)

A coming of age drama set in Egypt during WWII occupation, directed by Youssef Chahine.

Roman Holiday (1953)

The role that catapulted Audrey Hepburn to Hollywood stardom.

Late Spring (1949)

A moving tale about the unspoken bond between a father and daughter in postwar Japan by one of the masters of subtlety, Yasujirô Ozu.

Diabolique (1955)

A French psychological horror film that was admired by Alfred Hitchcock.

Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington capture the power of Malcolm X’s rhetoric in this sweeping biopic.

Within Our Gates (1920)

The oldest known surviving film made by an African American director.