CINEMA CENTRIC

Jeff Rauseo (Author of Lost in the Stream) FORMAT WARS: Betamax vs VHS vs LaserDisc vs DVD vs Blu-ray vs 4K vs...

The CINEMA CENTRIC meet up for an episode with physical media advocate, collector, and author Jeff Rauseo, a voice in cinephile circles whose obsession with formats, physical media, and how we watch movies runs deep. Jeff has built a reputation exploring the intersections of technology, culture, and film-lover habits, and now he’s dropped a book, Lost in the Stream: How Algorithms Redefined the Way Movies Are Made and Watched, that unpacks how streaming platforms, algorithms and physical formats are reshaping cinema’s future. In this episode titled “FORMAT WARS”, we dive headlong into the battlefield of home video formats: from the early days of Betamax vs. VHS, to LaserDisc’s creation of audio commentaries, to DVD, Blu-Ray, UHD/4K, and the recent twists in television and audio formats that keep even the savviest collectors scratching their heads. Jeff guides us through the timeline and technology, where each format excelled, where they failed, and how some “obsolete” formats still hold advantages today when it comes to quality, archival value, and collector appeal. Using his deep knowledge (and thousands-strong collection) Jeff explains why certain older formats might actually outperform streaming or newer media in specific cases. We also touch on how Criterion has embraced formats, how special editions, LaserDiscs of the past, Blu-Rays and UHD releases reflect not just technology but curatorial practice and preservation. This episode isn’t just a tech talk, it’s about what format says about film culture, ownership, and the act of watching itself. It’s also about why labels, brands, and proprietary formats (HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray, Dolby Vision vs. HDR10+, etc.) created confusion for consumers and shaped the war of formats in more ways than just “which disc looks better.” Whether you’re a collector hunting rare tapes, a viewer exhausted by streaming thumbnails, or a lover of Criterion, this episode with Jeff Rauseo will give you a clearer map of the home-video terrain and a renewed appreciation for how we watch movies. Jeff Rauseo Important Links: https://linktr.ee/JeffRauseo [https://linktr.ee/JeffRauseo]

Arielle Friedman (Filmmaker, & Good Boy 2025 Co-Star) From Ballet to Ser Nocturna and Criterion’s Teeth & The Lure

The CINEMA CENTRIC meet up for an episode with actor, producer, and director Arielle Friedman, co-founder of Ser Nocturna, the production company behind award-winning festival hits at Sundance, Tribeca, Frameline, and SXSW. Arielle shares her journey from professional ballet dancer at BalletMet to Columbia University film student, and how movement, identity, and myth shape her storytelling. We discuss her latest projects, including her co-starring role in the critically acclaimed horror film Good Boy (2025), now in theaters, as well as the short film Breadwinner (available to watch October 27, 2025) and its upcoming feature adaptation starring Arielle. She also talks about her in-production documentary Curtain Call. Arielle shares two personal Criterion picks: Teeth (2007) and The Lure (2015). Both films she’s examined deeply, even writing an academic paper on Teeth. We talk about how these stories intertwine femininity, transformation, and dark humor with the constant undercurrent of women navigating an unsafe world. Arielle Friedman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arielle_friedman_ [https://www.instagram.com/arielle_friedman_] Website: https://www.sernocturna.com [https://www.sernocturna.com] Ser Nocturna Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sernocturna [https://www.instagram.com/sernocturna]

Blag Dahlia (Musician, Author, The Dwarves Frontman) From Punk Rock Mayhem to Criterion’s Music Films

The CINEMA CENTRIC meet up for an episode with musician, author, and notorious punk rock icon Blag Dahlia, frontman of The Dwarves a band that’s spent decades gleefully torching the boundaries of taste, decorum, and decency in the name of rock and roll. But behind the chaos and provocation lies one of punk’s sharpest minds, a writer and storyteller whose work stretches from raucous stage anthems to novels like Armed to the Teeth with Lipstick, Nina, and Highland Falls, and even the bluegrass sway of his alter ego Earl Lee Grace or the smoothness of his Ralph Champagne. In this episode, we take a wild and thoughtful ride through Blag’s creative universe—talking about his books, his long history with the punk scene, and the many personas he’s inhabited along the way. Blag brings five Criterion titles that pulse with rebellion and rhythm: Monterey Pop, Gimme Shelter, The Harder They Come, Sid and Nancy, and The Beastie Boys Anthology. Each one opens a doorway into the history of music on film and how cinema captures the raw, ecstatic power of sound, self-destruction, and transcendence. This conversation roams from the gutter to the gallery, punk mythmaking, the art of provocation, and the strange, spiritual link between noise and narrative. Blag Dahlia doesn’t just perform punk; he’s spent his life dissecting it, reframing it, and rewriting what it means to live as both menace and artist in the same body. Blag Dahlia Website: https://TheDwarves.com [https://TheDwarves.com] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blag_dahlia [https://www.instagram.com/blag_dahlia]

Shannon Plumb (Director of Towheads 2013) From MoMA Premiere to Criterion Channel

The CINEMA CENTRIC meet up for an episode with director, writer, actor, and artist Shannon Plumb, where laughter and heartbreak meet in the middle of the living room and the everyday gets turned into something quietly extraordinary. Shannon’s feature Towheads (2013) is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel, and we begin by celebrating that rare and well-earned platform for a film that transforms motherhood into a sly, Keatonesque dance of chaos and tender truth. The film premiered at MoMA and is now held in the museum’s moving-image collection. This episode is above all a praise song for Shannon’s singular creative voice. She has made hundreds of short films and performance pieces for galleries, festivals, and the web, work that is equal parts slapstick and strange, witty and heartbreakingly tender. Shannon also discusses two Criterion titles, Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know and Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture, and we reflect on how those films speak to her own approach to art and storytelling. Shannon Plumb On the Criterion Channel: https://www.criterionchannel.com/towheads [https://www.criterionchannel.com/towheads] Website: https://www.shannonplumb.com/ [https://www.shannonplumb.com/] Instagram: https://instagram.com/shannonplumb [https://instagram.com/shannonplumb] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shannonplumb [https://www.youtube.com/@shannonplumb]

Horrible Reviews/Jeroen Bijl (Netherlands Horror YouTuber) Criterion’s David Lynch Releases

The CINEMA CENTRIC meet up for an episode where shadows flicker, reality splits, and David Lynch’s surreal visions echo across the screen. With Jeroen Bijl of Horrible Reviews we explore every David Lynch film Criterion has graced with their signature glow. From Eraserhead’s industrial dreamscape to Mulholland Drive’s fractured Hollywood mystery, tracing how Criterion has lovingly preserved Lynch’s uncanny artistry. We also pause to honor the filmmaker’s legacy. David Lynch, that master of the uncanny and dream logic, passed away on January 16, 2025, at the age of 78. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As we reflect, the conversation deepens, touching on Lynch’s sound design, his use of atmosphere as character, and the way Criterion’s editions let us peer into the uncanny layers he so artfully built. Expect conversation that’s equal parts analysis and homage, as we honor the dreamer who made us question what was real, and what was just better felt. Horrible ReviewsYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@HorribleReviewsLetterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/horriblereviewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/Horrible.Reviews