Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 28:
MACHINES
Director:
Rahul Jain
Premiere:
IDFA 2016
Select Festivals:
Sundance, Thessaloniki Doc, Hot Docs, DocsBarcelona, Docaviv, Beldocs, Documenta Madrid, Docs Against Gravity
About:
On the lives of Indian textile factory workers.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to Starz tonight, Monday, November 27:
WOMAN ON FIRE
Director:
Julie Sokolow
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2016
Select Festivals:
Thessaloniki Doc, Atlanta, Bentonville, Kansas City, Oxford, Florida, Workers Unite, Frameline, LGBT fests in Boston, Toronto, Austin, Seattle, Memphis, Fresno, Chicago
About:
A profile of a pioneering transgender firefighter.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, November 27:
METH STORM
Directors:
Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud
Premiere:
SXSW 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nashville, Geneva
About:
A candid, on-the-ground exploration of Arkansas’s meth epidemic.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In the Renaud brothers’ compelling look at the dark realities of America’s war on drugs, DEA agents face the Sisyphean task of curbing the influx of Mexican ice, a more potent form of meth, into poor, rural communities in Arkansas. On the other side of the law, the film profiles Veronica, a longtime user, as well as her addict sons, providing unforgettable, candid insight on the devastating personal impact of addiction.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
© Apple Corps
Director:
Francis Hanly
Premiere:
BBC/PBS (June 2017)
About:
An in-depth analysis of The Beatles’ influential 1967 album.
Originally debuting this Summer, timed to the 50th anniversary of the release of SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEART’S CLUB BAND, this made-for-TV project returns to PBS as a companion to the public television debut of Ron Howard’s THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK – THE TOURING YEARS. Structured like a musicology lesson overseen by on-air host Howard Goodall, a composer and music historian, the film serves as a deep dive into seven key songs from the revolutionary album, developed right after the end of those touring years. Freed from the need to create music they could perform live, the band let loose with experimentation, pushing the limits of studio recording technology at the time to create an album unlike any other. While some of the visual effects used during Goodall’s on-screen commentary tend toward the cheaper side, the historian presents a treasure trove of audio material and background information that ably demonstrates the innovation and inspiration at the heart of songs “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite,” “Penny Lane,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Lovely Rita,” “A Day in the Life,” and “She’s Leaving Home,” even if the insidery detail provided might be best appreciated by musicians more than the casual viewer.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
© Apple Corps
Director:
Ron Howard
Premiere:
London (September 2015)
About:
A look back at the heyday of Beatlemania.
Taking on an iconic band about which virtually everything already has been uncovered and dissected in countless books, articles, films, and television programs, Ron Howard inevitably will not please all viewers. As clearly signaled by its title, his film is limited in scope to a few short years, 1962-1966, which saw the Fab Four move beyond the UK and take America, and the rest of the world, by storm, until the chaotic nature of their live performances proved to be too much for the band. As an official Apple Corps project, Howard benefits by being able to use notoriously difficult to license music and footage, but also understandably avoids any real controversy with which die-hard Beatles fans – the primary, nostalgic audience here – are already very familiar anyway. What the film does, and does well, is serve as an engaging and enjoyable reminder of the scale of Beatlemania and its unprecedented impact on popular culture.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 24:
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS
Director:
Ramsey Denison
Premiere:
Cinequest 2017
About:
An exposé of corruption within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
When filmmaker Ramsey Denison witnessed members of the LVMPD abusing a handcuffed suspect, he reported the incident. In return, he was beaten and arrested himself, and later discovered that evidence that could corroborate his version of events was suspiciously unavailable. Spurred by a sense of injustice, Denison wisely broadened his scope beyond his own story to launch an investigation into other abuses of police power, focusing on several cases where suspects lost their lives to law enforcement under questionable circumstances. Looking into these deaths, and the subsequent police response, the film posits the existence of a disturbing pattern of corruption and cover-up that should give viewers pause when they think about the supposed carefree reputation of Sin City.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD this week:
SAVING JAMAICA BAY
Director:
David Sigal
Premiere:
Queens World 2016
Select Festivals:
Berkshire, Environmental fests in Washington DC and Princeton
About:
A profile of an underacknowledged section of NYC that was hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.
Jamaica Beach is located on the edge of NYC near JFK and, until Hurricane Sandy, was a working class community that took pride in itself and its environment. Accessible by subway, it includes a National Wildlife Refuge and is a huge open green space, larger than any other area in NYC. Sandy devastated the community, ruining homes and leading many residents to move away. Others have stayed, pledging to rebuild, and take on the mission to fight for the replenishment of the marshes that could have helped to mitigate the power of the storm. Various residents, riverkeepers, scientists, and others are profiled in this earnest environmental project, which remains of primarily local interest.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 24, for a qualifying run before opening early next year:
THE FINAL YEAR
Director:
Greg Barker
Premiere:
Toronto 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, London, IDFA
About:
An inside look at US foreign policy in the last year of the Obama administration.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
During 2016, filmmaker Greg Barker gained access to key members of outgoing US President Barack Obama’s administration – Secretary of State John Kerry, Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, confidant and speechwriter Ben Rhodes and others – for an unprecedented look at the shaping of US foreign policy. While TV shows from THE WEST WING to MADAM SECRETARY have invented dramas from this milieu, never has a documentary captured the real players so much in the moment. The globe-trotting journey makes stops on multiple continents. Rhodes, who’s described as sharing a “mind meld” with Obama, joins the President on historic visits to Saigon, Hiroshima, and Havana. Power seeks to put ordinary people at the heart of foreign policy in Nigeria and Cameroon. Kerry negotiates at the UN for a Syrian ceasefire and bears witness to global warming in Greenland. Every move they make stirs reactions from the media, Congress, and the public. While history books will be better equipped to explore political complexities, Barker’s film excels at showing us the humanity of these policy makers in times of breakthroughs, setbacks, and tragedies. This perspective would be remarkable in any year. But 2016 stands out since US foreign policy changed dramatically under a new administration. The contrast is clear in every minute of the film. As we gain distance from the Obama era, the film will serve as a vital document of that time.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Netflix tomorrow, Friday, November 24:
CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN
Director:
Jon Alpert
Premiere:
Venice 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC
About:
Cuba since the Revolution, captured by an American filmmaker over four decades.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
With a career spanning several decades, Jon Alpert now delivers a film that draws upon footage he shot in Cuba for over 40 years. Starting in the 1970s, Alpert’s pioneering work as an independent video journalist won the attention of Fidel Castro, who granted him unique access. Alpert makes repeated visits to the country chronicling its changes, from Havana to the countryside, in this illuminating profile.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Photo: Ron Pownall
Director:
Lili Fini Zanuck
Premiere:
Toronto 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Camden, IDFA
About:
An intimate, revealing musical odyssey on the life and career of the guitar legend, told by those who have known him best.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Over a five-decade career, Eric Clapton has proven himself to be a guitar virtuoso, creating rock music deeply influenced by the blues. In Zanuck’s documentary, he reflects candidly on how his life experiences were channeled into music. The film traces his career through The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos, and his solo years, telling the stories behind hits like “For Your Love,” “Layla,” and “Tears in Heaven.” Filmmaker Lili Fini Zanuck draws from an extensive archive of performances and home movies to construct the film. Accompanying the footage are illuminating audio interviews with Clapton and people who played central roles in his life, including his grandmother Rose Clapp, George Harrison, Ahmet Ertegun, Steve Winwood, and his former wife Pattie Boyd.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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