The Gates Of Cimino

Send us a message! Join actor/filmmaker Chris Staviski and me as we dive into my all‑time favorite action film, Lone Wolf McQuade. We look back on the recent passing of a legend and explore why Steve Carver’s dusty, sun‑baked masterpiece still stands alone. 🎙️ 🎬 Warning: Spoilers as always! Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join writer‑producer Vince Cusimano and me as we dig into Barry Levinson’s 1996 film Sleepers, a bruised, morally tangled story that moves from the backstreets of Hell’s Kitchen to the cold geometry of a courtroom. We get into the film’s blend of memory and myth, the way it turns childhood trauma into a lifelong reckoning, and why its mix of Catholic guilt, street‑corner loyalty, and institutional rot still hits with the force of a confession whispered too late. 🎬 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join me and actor/writer Vince Cusimano as we celebrate the one‑of‑a‑kind force that is Robert Duvall — a master of character, craft, and cinematic truth. We dig into the performances that shaped generations of actors, the stories behind the roles, and the unmistakable Duvall DNA that runs through everything from prestige dramas to dusty Americana epics. If you love actors who disappear into the frame, this one’s for you. 🎬 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join writer‑producer Armando Chapman and me as we count down our Top 10 films of the 21st century — the choices, the arguments, the surprises, all of it. Tune in and dive in. 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! 🎬 A Cimino Confidential Today we descend into one of Hollywood’s strangest family legends — the supposed curse of the Keiths and the spectral shadow cast by David’s “stepmom,” Peg Entwistle. A tale stitched together from rumor, tragedy, and the myth Tinseltown refuses to bury. 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join actor/writer Vince Cusimano and me as we journey back into Hollywood’s shadowed past. Together we revisit some of the most infamous—and some forgotten—homicides that shaped its history. 🎬 🎙️ Note: This episode was recorded shortly after the Reiner murders, so certain details have since changed. We dedicate this conversation to the memory of Rob and Michele Reiner. Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Step into the shadows of 1950s Los Angeles with me and writer/producer Armando Chapman as we unravel L.A. Confidential — a tale of corruption, ambition, and betrayal in the City of Angels. 🎙️ Spoilers ahead, as always. 🌆🎬🕵️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! 🎬 A Cimino Confidential In the roaring twenties, Hollywood’s brightest star was suddenly cast into its darkest shadow. Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, once beloved for his slapstick genius, became the center of a scandal that shook the film industry to its core. Accusations, sensational headlines, and a trial by public opinion silenced a career that had helped define early cinema. In this episode, we unravel the tragedy of Arbuckle’s fall, the media frenzy that consumed him, and the lasting impact on Hollywood’s culture of fame and scandal. 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Quite possibly one of the most important podcast episodes ever recorded. This week, Ron, Joe, and I step into the director’s chair to create our own blockbuster motion picture — but with a twist. Every role must be filled by former NFL players turned actors. The catch? We draft our cast, one pick at a time. Three unforgettable movies have been made… and the draft is officially on. 🏈 Join us! 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Buford Pusser was the larger-than-life Tennessee sheriff whose real-life crackdown on organized crime and moonshining became a 1973 cult classic film, Walking Tall, and later a 2004 remake. His image — a one-man lawman wielding a big stick and an unshakeable moral code — turned him into a folk hero and a convenient template for American vigilante myth-making. The legend has always been messy: celebrated for taking on the Dixie Mafia and corrupt vice networks, yet shadowed by violence, unanswered questions, and recent investigations that now implicate him in his wife’s 1967 death, a development that recasts the story in darker, more complicated light. Join Joe and me as we unpack that collision of myth and evidence. We’ll trace Pusser’s rise, the making and influence of Walking Tall, the new revelations that challenge the old narrative, and what the whole saga says about American appetite for heroic violence and redemption. Warning: Spoilers ahead! ⚖🎙️ Click here for more on the Behind the Bastards podcast. Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Pier Paolo Pasolini was a poet, filmmaker, and political lightning rod—and his murder in 1975 remains one of Italy’s most unsettling mysteries. In this episode, we revisit the night of his death and the official story that never quite added up. We also explore the legacy of Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pasolini’s final and most controversial film, and how its brutal imagery and political allegory continue to provoke debate. Was Pasolini targeted for his art, his activism, or both? The answers lie in the shadows he left behind. 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! He won an Oscar for playing a man who presided over desperation. Offscreen, he lived it. Gig Young was Hollywood’s charming second fiddle, the witty drunk, the romantic rival, the man who never quite got the girl. But in 1969, he stunned the industry with a searing performance in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, earning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Less than a decade later, he would make headlines again—this time for a murder-suicide that left the world asking: what went wrong? In this episode, we trace the arc of a man whose life was as layered and tragic as any role he played. From studio contracts and failed marriages to the haunting final scene in a New York apartment, this is The Final Act of Gig Young. 🎙️ Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! To mark our 100th episode, actor/writer Vince Cusimano joins me for a deep dive into the electrifying, Oscar-winning documentary Marjoe (1972). We unpack the unbelievable true story of Marjoe Gortner—a child preacher turned charismatic showman—whose final revival tour became a jaw-dropping exposé of faith, performance, and manipulation. From tent revivals to Hollywood, Marjoe’s journey is as surreal as it is sobering. Spoilers abound (as always), so buckle up for a conversation that’s part film analysis, part cultural autopsy. 🎧 Join us for this milestone episode Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! 🎙️ Welcome to a special episode celebrating the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking 2005 documentary Commune! Join me and its director Jonathan Berman as we revisit the film that captured the spirit, struggles, and radical dreams of the Black Bear Ranch commune. We’ll explore its enduring legacy, the stories behind the camera, and why this slice of counter-cultural history still resonates today. Please visit https://www.opensignalstudios.com/films/commune for more info! And @communethemovie on social media. Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Step into postwar Rome, where fading stardom meets dangerous charm in Tennessee Williams’ The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. Join me and writer/producer Armando Chapman as we follow Vivien Leigh’s haunting descent into vulnerability and Warren Beatty’s seductive rise as a kept man with secrets. From piazzas to private torment, this is a tale of beauty, power, and unraveling. And don’t worry—we won’t spoil the ending. 🎙️🎧 Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join writer/actor Vince Cusimano and me as we ride into the wilds of 1976’s neo-western BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW! We’re peeling back the layers of this cult classic — from the rebellious spirit of Marjoe Gortner to Lynda Carter’s electric screen presence, just before her Wonder Woman breakthrough. Buckle up… spoilers ahead (as always). 🎙️🎧 Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join filmmaker Mark Bessenger and me as we discuss one of the most audacious cult films of the 1970s—INSERTS (1975). From taboo topics to underground Hollywood grit, we’re peeling back the layers of this bold, bizarre time capsule. Whether you’re a seasoned cinephile or just curious about the strange corners of film history, you won’t want to miss this! Join us for the ride. Warning: Spoilers as always! 🎙️🎧 Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Step into the shadowy, surreal world of 1930s Hollywood! Join writer/producer Armando Chapman and me as we unpack John Schlesinger's haunting 1975 masterpiece, The Day of the Locust. Warning: Spoilers abound! Let's dive in. Lights, camera, chaos! 🎙️🎧 Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Today, we're diving into a topic that satisfies both the stomach and the soul: food in film! From the sizzling tension of a well-prepared meal to the quiet intimacy of a shared dinner, food isn't just a prop—it’s a storytelling powerhouse! So grab a snack, settle in, and join Joe, Ron and me as we explore how director's use flavor to craft unforgettable moments on screen. Join us! 🎙️🎧🥩🍤🍜 Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.

Send us a message! Join me and my returning guest Mark Bessenger as we discuss his 1992 8mm classic NINJA ZOMBIE! One of the most fun times you'll have watching a movie. We also discuss other 8mm films of the era. Join us! 🎙️🎧 Rent Ninja Zombie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zFK4-dyc4 Mark's Alamo Drafthouse Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFVW546JriI Support the show Find me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @vitophone or thegatesofcimino.com https://www.buzzsprout.com/2047429/support This episode brought to you by Vitophone.