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The 305 is a podcast series exploring every title in the Criterion Collection released on LaserDisc, from 1984 to 1999, in order of release. Criterion was the first company to introduce special features to home video, including trailers, critical essays, behind the scenes photos, and directors' commentary, and their releases have been referred to as "film school in a box."

Each episode will feature a guest, an intro to the movie followed by a break to watch the disc together, and ending with a discussion of the film, its place in history, and a determination of its worthiness in the Criterion Collection of "important classic and contemporary films from around the world."

Podcast Feed

Episode 11 - The Hidden Fortress (Spine #11, CC1111L)
Published 5/27/2022
1958, Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Featured Guest: Nick Oberlander

"It is a period of civil war"... Despite being a box office hit in Japan, Akira Kurosawa's first widescreen film is perhaps best known now as a direct inspirati...

Episode 10 - The Seventh Seal (Spine #10, CC1110L)
Published 4/28/2021
1957, Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Featured Guest: Hrannar Baldursson

Spawning countless parodies and homages, The Seventh Seal is often seen as the founding piece of arthouse cinema. While generally hailed as one of the greatest...

Episode 9 - The Magnificent Ambersons (Spine #9, CC1109L)
Published 12/05/2020
1942, Dir. Orson Welles
Featured Guest: Theron Seckington

(Some profanity in this episode)

Hear about the film that practically broke Orson Welles's career, The Magnificent Ambersons! Famously chopped in the e...

Episode 8 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Spine #8, CC1108L)
Published 10/31/2020
1956, Dir. Don Siegel
Featured Guest: Sean McGill

Everyone's turning into pod people! And you're next! Join us for a spooky Halloween exploration of this sci-fi cult classic, subject of no less than three rem...

Episode 7 - High Noon (Spine #7, CC1107L)
Published 10/21/2020
1952, Dir. Fred Zinneman
Featured Guest: Theron Seckington

The time was certainly right to watch High Noon, a thrilling film about a US marshal about to face an old nemesis, and desperately seeking help from friends, loved ones...

Episode 6 - Swing Time (Spine #6, CC1106L)
Published 08/26/2020
1936, Dir. George Stevens
Featured Guest: Chelle Janczewski

We're back after a summer vacation with the first musical in the series, Swing Time, with legendary duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. But despite all the praise for...

Mild profanity in this episode

Episode 5 - The Third Man (Spine #5, CC1105L)
Published 04/17/2020
1949, Dir. Carol Reed
Featured Guest: Theron Seckington

"An excellent film, competently made." Theron and I both agreed that The Third Man is still a wonderful piece of filmmaking, but an in...

Episode 4 - The Lady Vanishes (Spine #4, CC1108L)
Published 03/27/2020
1938, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Featured Guest: Catherine Dvorak

With this episode we encounter the first movie that both viewers agree doesn't really to seem to fit in The Criterion Collection, despite rave reviews and box o...

Episode 3 - The 39 Steps (Spine #3, CC1103L)
Published 03/12/2020
1935, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Featured Guest: Catherine Dvorak

Watch the full movie here.

With the third title in the Collection we have our first international movie, British master Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 chase thriller The...

Episode 2 - King Kong (Spine #2, CC102L)
Published 03/02/2020
1933, Dir. Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Featured Guest: Tim Smyth - Stop-Motion Animator

In the second episode, we witness the 1933 special effects classic King Kong. Premiering on March 2nd, 1933, King Kong practically...

Episode 1 - Citizen Kane (Spine #1/#142, CC101L/CC1259L)
1941, Dir. Orson Welles
Featured Guest: Theron Seckington

In this first episode, host Jonathon Irons and guest Theron Seckington-Philgreen watch and discuss the very first Criterion release on LaserDisc, Orson Welles's Citizen Kane....