Introduction to the Saturday Film Discussion Group - Please Join!

This is a blog designed to promote the Saturday Film Discussion Group. We were formed in March of 2018.  We are about to start our fourth year or "season."  We were originally based in Southwestern Ohio with a lot of our members being from the Milford / Miami Township area.  However, we now meet via Zoom. Therefore, the group is really open to a much wider swath of participants.  We usually have between five and seven participants in our meetings and would certainly welcome a few more.  Let us know if you are interested!

We meet on the third Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. Meetings usually last around 2 hours.  You don't have to feel like you have to come to every meeting to be involved in the group.  Some people only come occasionally. Some, no doubt, base their attendance on which film we are discussing in a particular month.

The film group works very much like a book club.  We meet once a month to discuss one specific pre-determined film.  The group members will be responsible for watching the film on their own time sometime in the days or weeks before the meeting.

Group members can see each month's selection in many different ways.  They can buy a new or used DVD of the film.  They can watch the film on a streaming service.  They can check a DVD of the film out of the library.

In addition to the main film on the schedule, we also often spend some time talking about other films from the same year as the main film or some other special discussion topic related to the main film.  I usually a send an e-mail out a few days before the meeting reminding everyone about this and any other special discussion topics.  Sometimes instead of just one main film, the principal selection is a double feature of two related films or a book and film combo (we've only done that once so far when we combined Tarkovsky's Stalker with a book analyzing the film just this past April)



Each year we have an exciting voting process to determine our next 12 films or film combos.


We still have 2 of the 13 selections from our 2020-2021 season left.  We had 13 selections this past year, because we had a tie for our last slot that we could not break after multiple votes.

Here is the remaining discussion schedule for the third season - (These are both Saturdays at 1 p.m):


June 19th - Parasite  (2019)


July 17th - Three Colors: Blue  (1993)



This is a good time to get involved in the group because we are in the middle of the voting process for our 12 selections for our fourth year.  The deadline for nominations has passed and a series of informational e-mails on all of the nominated films have been sent out.  We are doing an initial vote via e-mail around June 12th that will effectively start to winnow the large field of 79 nominees.


At the June 19th, 2021 meeting, we will hold the final vote on our next 12 selections!  A form of absentee voting will be available for those who want to take part in this final vote, but can't make the June 19th meeting.


Anyone who has attended a meeting in the past or feels that they are likely to attend one in the future can be part of the voting process.



Let me know if you are interested in taking part in any of these meetings and I will make sure you are put on the list to get the e-mails with Zoom meeting information and codes. Feel free to e-mail me at toddfilmgroup@yahoo.com



Also, let me know if you want to take part in the voting process for our fourth season.  I will make sure that I e-mail you the informational e-mail about the nominated films and their relative availability.  Again you can e-mail me at toddfilmgroup@yahoo.com to get in on the voting process.



Below is a list of the 79 selections that were nominated for out upcoming fourth season. Each voter can vote for 12 of these selections.



The 79 selections on the 2021-2022 ballot include 98 different films and 3 books altogether. Remember a double feature or a “book and film combo” counts as one selection. If you want to vote for a double feature, it would use up just one of your twelve votes.



The 79 nominated selections break down as follows:


61 Single Film selections

14 Normal Double Features

1 Double Feature combining a feature length film with a short film

1 Group of Short Films

1 Double Feature combined with a Book

1 Combination of a Film, Some Essays, and a Book




One short film (Meshes of the Afternoon) appears as part of two different selections. It is part of the Maya Deren short film group and it is also intriguingly paired with the film noir classic Detour.  If by some remote chance both of those selections win, you can experience the 15 minutes of brilliance that is Meshes of the Afternoon twice!


Also, members who have been with us from the very beginning or those who are familiar with our past line-ups may have noticed that we have a nominee that we already “did.”  Our first year schedule included Last Year at Marienbad.  However, only two people actually showed up for the discussion.  Given that and that its nature as a “puzzle film” makes it perfect for discussion groups, I put it on the nomination list again



Without further ado, here is a chronological list of the nominated selections:



Intolerance (1916)


La Roue (1923)


Sherlock, Jr. (1924) / The General (1926)


Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)


Laila (1929)


Pandora's Box (1929)



People on Sunday (1930)

Trouble in Paradise (1932)


42nd Street (1933)


Gone With the Wind (1939)


Only Angels Have Wings (1939)




The Shop Around the Corner (1940)


Five Short Films by Maya Deren (1943-1958)


Detour (1945) / Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Out of the Past (1947)




Sunset Blvd. (1950)


Ace in the Hole (1951)


Singin' In the Rain (1952)


The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)


The Cranes are Flying (1957)


Sweet Smell of Success (1957)


North by Northwest (1959)




L'Avventura (1960)


Breathless (1960) / Vivre Sa Vie (1962)


Last Year at Marienbad (1961)


Contempt (1963) / By the Sea (2015)


The Loved One (1965)


Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966) / All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)



Dragon Inn (1967) / Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) / Nick Pinkerton Book about Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2021)



Duet for Cannibals (1969) / Susan Sontag: Essays of the 1960s & 70s (Book - 2013, but only selected essays will be used) / Sontag and Kael: Opposites Attract Me (Book - 2004)




The Conformist (1970)


The French Connection (1971)


The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather: Part II (1974)


Solaris (1972) / Solaris (2002)


Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)


Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai Du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles (1975)


Apocalypse Now (1979)


The Kids are Alright (1979) / George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)


Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)




Atlantic City (1980) / White Palace (1990)


Raging Bull (1980)


Blade Runner (1982)


Fitzcarraldo (1982) / Burden of Dreams (1982)


Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind (1984)


Tampopo (1985)


Ruthless People (1986)


Akira (1988)


The Lair of the White Worm (1988)




Metropolitan (1990) / Barcelona (1994)


Goodfellas (1990)


A Brighter Summer Day (1991)


Leon: The Professional (1994)


Three Colors: White (1994) / Three Colors: Red (1994)


A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)


Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (1995)


Twelve Monkeys (1995) / The Fifth Element (1997)


Fargo (1996)


Eyes Wide Shut (1999)




Adaptation (2002) / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)


Talk to Her (2002)


Into Great Silence (2005)


The Lives of  Others (2006)

The Secret of Kells (2009)




Carnage (2011)


The Turin Horse (2011)


Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) / Her Smell (2019)


From What is Before (2014)


The Missing Picture (2014)


Song of the Sea (2014)

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)


Wild Tales (2014)



Zootopia (2016)


Phantom Thread  (2017)


An Elephant Sitting Still  (2018)


First Reformed (2018)


Isle of Dogs (2018)


Mies on Scene. Barcelona in Two Acts  (2018)


A Hidden Life  (2019)


Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project  (2019)