Voiceover: Movies that Move Us

Episodes

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  TRAILER: Voiceover — Movies that Move Us 12.05.2025 2m

  What movies taught you about life? Showed you truths you didn’t know you needed to hear? Join Heather Bigley, a former academic and film teacher, and the host of Voiceover: Movies that Move Us—the podcast where films have an impact. Each episode, our guests share the cinematic moments that changed their lives. We want to learn from those silver screen experiences, and so we share those moments with you, looking at the films from a whole new perspective. With a Doctorate in Film Studies and a passion for storytelling, Heather brings a little history, a little philosophy, some behind-the-scenes know-how, and her whole life to the movies she watches. From Wild Strawberries to The Wiz, Terminator 2 to Tree of Life, we’re finding the films that moved us when we least expected it—golden age classics, recent blockbusters, and even the tiny indie film that barely anyone noticed. While Cosmo Brown might just want to Make ‘em Laugh, we’re interested in the films that make you cry, too. Movies that revealed something about ourselves. Mentored us when we needed mentorship. Maybe even illuminated the Divine. Join us for Voiceover: Movies that Move Us for cinematic epiphanies, reel recommends, and maybe some self-revelations. Don’t miss a moment. Subscribe to us now on BYUradio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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  Bonus — Check Out These May/June Movies on BYUtv! 14.05.2026 4m

  Heather chats about three films playing on BYUtv: It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, The King's Speech, and Young Victoria. Hear a few things to look for in each of them and a little behind the scenes info about how they were made. Every month BYUtv adds new movies to their movie collection, available on the BYUtv app. Simply sign in and watch any number of films for free.
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  Barry Lyndon: Rise & Fall 09.11.2026 27m

  What if Kubrick’s coldest film is also his most human? And what if Ryan O’Neal’s supposedly limited performance is exactly what makes Barry Lyndon work? Host Heather Bigley and guest Hubbel Palmer revisit Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, a film once dismissed as beautiful but tedious and now widely reconsidered as a masterpiece. They explore Barry’s rise and fall, the film’s view of money and class, its slow pacing, and why Kubrick’s detached style can make the ending feel so sorrowful. They also ask whether O’Neal’s restraint and limited charisma were a deliberate strength in the role. If you enjoy conversations about classic movies, subscribe to Voiceover for more films that move us.
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  Beauty and the Beast: Tale as Old as Time 02.11.2026 27m

  Why do we keep falling in love with monsters? And what changes when the Beast is less a prince in disguise than the wild, outsider part of ourselves? Heather and Chloe Donaldson compare three very different Beauty and the Beast adaptations: Disney’s 1991 animated classic, Jean Cocteau’s dreamlike La Belle et la Bête (1946), and Juraj Herz’s gothic Czech film Panna a netvor (1978), also known as The Virgin and the Monster. They explore Belle’s independence, the Beast as an outsider, monster romance, fairy tale symbolism, and the strange appeal of the maiden-and-monster story. The conversation also asks whether Belle’s marriage is a retreat from the life she wanted—or a way for two outsiders to find a world of their own. Subscribe to Voiceover: Movies that Move Us for thoughtful conversations about the films that change how we see ourselves and the world.
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  Awe & the Sublime 26.10.2026 12m

  Why can a movie make you feel closer to God one minute and terrified of existence the next? From 2001: A Space Odyssey and Baraka to Nosferatu and Omaha, this episode explores how cinema turns awe into wonder, transcendence, and dread. Along the way, we connect space movies such as Interstellar, Sunshine, Contact, and Project Hail Mary to questions about faith, scale, mystery, mortality, and what it means to feel small. You’ll learn why film can create awe rather than simply depict it, how silence and long takes open a crack in ordinary reality, and why horror can feel as spiritually overwhelming as science fiction. Spoilers for the films discussed. Subscribe to Voiceover for more film analysis about the movies that move us and leave a mark.
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  Jaws: Shared Terror 19.10.2026 24m

  Why does Jaws still make people afraid to go in the water? And how did a broken mechanical shark help Steven Spielberg create one of cinema’s most enduring suspense films? Heather talks with Columbus film commissioner John Daugherty about Jaws, the 1975 thriller that helped define the summer blockbuster. They explore Spielberg’s suspenseful direction, the shark’s limited screen time, John Williams’s unforgettable score, the film’s human performances, and the childhood fear that can linger long after the credits. They also discuss why horror movies can be so thrilling in a theater, how audience reactions turn a screening into a shared experience, and why low-budget genre films continue to attract filmmakers and investors. Subscribe for thoughtful conversations about movies, the moments that stay with us, and what films can teach us about how we see the world.
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  Signs: Fate or Coincidence? 12.10.2026 31m

  Signs was advertised as an alien invasion movie, but what if it's about something so much more? A pastor revisits M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 thriller and finds a story about grief, faith, family, and the possibility that nothing is accidental. Pastor Jeff McCullough and Heather explore Signs through the eyes of someone who spent 15 years in ministry. This movie analysis examines Mel Gibson’s Graham Hess, his crisis of faith, and the lonely burden of being the person everyone expects to have answers. Jeff McCullough is known to many as Pastor Jeff from Hello Saints! A YouTube channel where he works for interfaith connection as an evangelical pastor exploring the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you enjoy film analysis tied to thoughtful conversations, subscribe to Voiceover for more films that leave a mark.
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  Voiceover X Proofread 05.10.2026 27m

  Why do we feel betrayed when a movie changes the book we love? And can a new adaptation reveal something the original story could not? Heather talks with Kacy Faulconer and Tyler Gardner of BYUradio’s Proofread about book-to-screen adaptations, faithful film adaptations, fan expectations, and why Hollywood keeps returning to familiar literary IP. They discuss Cloud Atlas, A Wrinkle in Time, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Project Hail Mary, Life of Pi, Anna Karenina, and Pride and Prejudice. The conversation also previews upcoming adaptations including the next Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Hear why some books need a limited series, how adaptations can add meaning, and whether a movie should work independently or as a companion to the novel.
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  Hidalgo 28.09.2026 26m

  What if Hidalgo was never really about winning the Ocean of Fire? In this film commentary, Heather and Cindy Quinney revisit the 2004 Viggo Mortensen movie to unpack Frank Hopkins’s Native identity, the Wounded Knee Massacre, the Ghost Dance, and the ending that still brings them to tears. This Hidalgo 2004 analysis explores the film’s horse symbolism, mixed-race identity, historical framing, and transformation from shame and isolation to community and purpose. We discuss why the desert journey matters, how the movie uses purity and belonging as metaphors, why the injured horse scene is so powerful, and what filmmakers should consider when portraying Indigenous history and culture. Cindy Quinney is the Executive Director of Gathering of Tribes, which works to meet the needs of Indigenous Latter-day Saints through producing media, organizing events, and serving communities. Cindy is an enrolled member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation. She lives in Calgary, Canada.
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  Catch Me if You Can: Searching for Fathers 21.09.2026 26m

  Catch Me If You Can looks like a slick con-artist movie, but its real emotional engine is a kid trying to rebuild the family he lost. This conversation unpacks why Carl Hanratty becomes the father Frank actually needs and why “Nobody’s chasing you” lands like the movie’s emotional gut punch. In this Catch Me If You Can analysis, Heather and Chris Lamb break down Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale Jr, Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty, Christopher Walken as Frank Sr, and Steven Spielberg’s ability to hide a family drama inside a heist movie. The conversation also traces Leonardo DiCaprio’s career from Romeo + Juliet and Titanic through The Great Gatsby, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and One Battle After Another. Was Catch Me If You Can DiCaprio’s last “little boy” movie—and why does he so often play men who look like they belong while never quite fitting in? Chris Lamb is a high school math teacher in the Seattle area and an avid movie lover. When he's not in the classroom or out on a run, you'll usually find him at the local theater with a bucket of popcorn and a box of Hot Tamales, ready for the next film.
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  10 Commandments: Moving Stained Glass 14.09.2026 33m

  What if The Ten Commandments isn't really the movie we remember it being? Seventy years later, Cecil B DeMille's biblical epic reveals something fascinating about old Hollywood, Technicolor, religious imagery, and the power of movies to feel genuinely sacred. In this conversation, Chloe Donaldson joins Heather to revisit The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter and explore why its theatrical performances, massive spectacle, rich Technicolor photography and Hollywood melodrama still have such unusual power. We also explore the idea of cinema as “moving stained glass” and why a movie theater can sometimes function almost like a sacred space. Along the way, we discuss why modern movies can look so washed out compared with old Hollywood, how animation changes the film's depiction of God, and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and Catholic imagery. Whether you love classic movies, biblical epics, film analysis, Technicolor, Cecil B DeMille or the history of Hollywood, this is a different way of looking at one of the most famous religious films ever made.
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  Heroism & Resilience of 9/11: An Interview with Michael Gier 07.09.2026 13m

  What if the most important 9/11 stories are not the ones you already know? Michael Gier explains why his new 9/11 documentary looks beyond the attacks to the untold stories of heroism, resilience, service, and second chances that followed. In this Voiceover interview, Gier discusses The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11, his nearly five-year filmmaking process, 35 hours of interviews, and the decision to use reenactments to tell stories connected to Flight 93, the World Trade Center, the 9/11 boatlift, and New York Says Thank You. Michael Gier focuses on stories of service, sacrifice, and resilience, whether in narrative or documentary filmmaking. He produced the award-winning documentaries Wounded Heroes and Healing the Heroes of 9/11.
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  Hit the Road: Exile & Goodbye 31.08.2026 22m

  A chaotic family sings, jokes, and bickers across Iran—but the trip is hiding a goodbye none of them can face. Hit the Road turns a familiar family road movie into a devastating story of exile, censorship, love, and the lies people tell to survive. In this film commentary conversation, photographer and artist Maya June Mansour joins Heather Bigley to unpack Panah Panahi’s Hit the Road, its connection to Jafar Panahi and Iranian cinema, and the way humor becomes a survival mechanism under oppression. You’ll learn how Hit the Road uses long shots, color, music, unanswered questions, and emotional contrast to transform a simple road trip movie into a universal story about separation and freedom. Subscribe to Voiceover for more conversations about the movies that stay with us long after the credits.
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  Dr. Strangelove 24.08.2026 25m

  Dr Strangelove was supposed to make nuclear war look absurd. Decades later, one of its darkest inventions no longer looks like fiction. Nuclear disarmament activist Jim Thomas revisits Stanley Kubrick’s legendary Cold War satire and explains what the film got frighteningly right. From nuclear deterrence, mutual assured destruction, Golden Dome, the Doomsday Clock and the renewed nuclear arms race, this conversation explores why Dr Strangelove may be more relevant now than many viewers realize. Jim also reflects on Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Daniel Ellsberg, Hanford plutonium production and the silent theatrical performance that changed his life. Ultimately, Kubrick’s warning still matters to a generation that did not grow up under the shadow of the Cold War.
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  Hotel Rwanda: Constrained Choices 17.08.2026 31m

  Chelsea Allen, a producer at Ninth Mode Media, revisits Hotel Rwanda with Heather, discussing how she's changed since she first saw the film as an idealistic high schooler. Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004) asks a question most viewers think they can answer—until fear, family, and survival enter the room. Rewatching the film as an adult reveals why “Never Again” is not merely a promise but a test of how much we are truly willing to risk for another person. Heather and Chelsea revisit the film, while bystander apathy, dehumanizing propaganda, colonialism, and the international community’s failure to act inform their discussion. Chelsea Allen has worked with non-profit organizations such as Impact Experience, the Guild of Future Architects, and the San Diego Symphony to create community through arts-based social impact initiatives. Chelsea holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University. Subscribe for more thoughtful film analysis, classic and contemporary movie commentary, and conversations about the films that change how we understand the world.
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  Spartacus: Vicious v Virtuous 10.08.2026 30m

  Philosopher Barry Lam joins Heather for a chat about Spartacus (Kubrick, 1960). Spartacus is remembered as a massive Hollywood epic, but its most dangerous idea has little to do with gladiator battles. This conversation reveals why Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 film is really about human dignity, political power, freedom, and something Roman elites can never understand. Starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, and Woody Strode, Dalton Trumbo’s screenplay emerged from the Hollywood blacklist. This might be why the slave rebellion represents more than political resistance, and the film contrasts Roman power with family, tenderness, art, education, and community. The discussion also considers Stanley Kubrick’s relationship to the film, the legacy of classic Hollywood epics, the politics of the Roman Empire, and why Spartacus still speaks to modern culture wars. Barry Lam is a professor of philosophy at UC Riverside and the Host/Producer of Slate's Hi-Phi Nation podcast.
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  Red Turtle: Trapped by Beauty 03.08.2026 29m

  Kelly Loosli, co-founder of the BYU Animation Program, discusses The Red Turtle (Dudok de Wit, 2017) and how it's a film with "spirit." The Red Turtle looks like a survival story, but its real escape may have nothing to do with leaving the island. This Studio Ghibli co-production uses almost no dialogue to turn loneliness, nature, love, and loss into a mystery that keeps changing the longer you sit with it. Heather and Kelly also discuss The Red Turtle meaning, its ambiguous ending, Michael Dudok de Wit’s minimalist visual storytelling, and why wordless animation can create such intense emotion. The conversation also challenges the assumption that animation is only for children, connecting The Red Turtle to Studio Ghibli, adult animation, and other films that tell profound stories through images, movement, sound, family, and nature. Kelly has worked extensively in live action and animation for commercials, television, and feature film for leading companies including DreamWorks Feature Animation and Buena Vista Motion Pictures. Subscribe to Voice Over for more film analysis, animation commentary, and conversations about the movies that change how we see cinema.
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  Apollo 13: Career Day 27.07.2026 29m

  Sarah Ruiz, aerospace engineer, describes how Apollo 13 (Ron Howard, 1995) propelled her toward a career with NASA. Apollo 13 was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won for Best editing and Sound. Based on the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, the film details how the three astronauts on Apollo 13 were forced to abandon their mission to land on the Moon and instead return to Earth because of an equipment failure that lead to reduced oxygen and electrical power. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Gary Sinise as astronauts and was a huge career boost for Ed Harris who played the Houston Control Center Flight Director. Sarah Ruiz currently works in private industry on a new rocket program. In December 2025, she retired from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where she worked for more than 28 years, including as a flight controller for the space shuttle from 2005-2011.
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  Empire of the Sun: Fantasy & Erasure 20.07.2026 23m

  Jenny Chan of Pacific Front Untold podcast joins Heather to discuss Asian representation--they focus their remarks on Empire of the Sun (Spielberg, 1987). Empire of the Sun stars a young Christian Bale in a historical war drama about the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1941 and a boy caught in a concentration camp with other British colonials. But the film is emblematic of challenges in other American films that should include characters from a variety of Asian nations but instead uses Asians as background set dressing. Jenny Chan is Director at Pacific Atrocities Education. Based in the Bay area, she is an alum of University of Illinois.
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  The Hunger Games: Gen Z Canon 13.07.2026 28m

  Two Gen Z all-stars join Heather to discuss whether the Hunger Games influenced them or not as young people. Claire and Cyrus were once members of the high school chess team and they bring with them a long-term friendship that informs today's chat. Watch them react to each each other as much as they react to the films under discussion. Claire Cirelli is a software engineer in Phoenix, with a Bachelors from Arizona State University. Cyrus Kirby is a philosopher turned data engineer in Boston who just finished a MS in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.