Episode 20: “MS. 45” with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
A podcast about the great movies.
We’re back with our latest episode of Guide for the Film Fanatic! In each episode, Jason Bailey and Mike Hull invite a guest from the world of film (including filmmakers, authors, critics, actors, and more) to select one of the 1600+ “must-see movies” collected in Danny Peary’s seminal 1986 book, Guide for the Film Fanatic. Bailey, Hull, and their guests deep dive on each film, discussing its history, themes, style, performances, initial reception, and legacy, taking a fresh look at some of the most beloved titles in cinema history.
Few people know their genre cinema like Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, whose many, MANY books, essays, chapters and commentaries have been contextualizing and magnifying horror and exploitation for years now. Today she joins us to discuss Abel Ferrara’s seminal rape-revenge film MS. 45 — out in a new 4K from Arrow Video, with heavy involvement from Alexandra.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Downcast, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’ve partnered up with One Heat Minute Productions on this show, so we’ve migrating it over to their feed; subscribe now if you haven’t already.
We’re also putting our new episodes up on YouTube! Watch the show on our YouTube channel, @guideforthefilmfanatic, for visual accompaniment and bonus stuff and who knows what else:
MS. 45 is streaming on the Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy, and Hoopla, and available for digital rental or purchase — but of course we encourage picking up the new 4K UHD or Blu-ray from Arrow Video, and spending some time with Alexandra’s excellent audio commentary. You can watch the trailer here. You can read the New York Times review here, and a very good retrospective piece in the Times, by J. Hoberman, here.
You can buy Alex’s book on MS. 45 here, and her book Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study here. And while you’re at it, you should get ready for the documentary adaptation of her book 1000 Women In Horror, 1895-2018 by picking up that one here.
If you’d like to check out the YouTube page for Mike’s other podcast, “Black Diplomats,” it’s here. And Jason’s new book Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend is OUT NOW, and you can order it from MZS Press, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your hardbacks, ebooks, and/or audiobooks. OR you can pre-order the paperback (out April 14, 2026) here.
Last but not least, if you’d like to make a little donation to support us and the show, you can do that at Ko-fi!