Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2: SMILING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE – ESQUIRE IN THE ’60S

Tom Hayes’ profile of his editor father had its world premiere at Palm Springs in 2013. Other fest play included Riverrun, Newport Beach, and Palm Beach.

Between 1963 and 1973, Harold Hayes put an indelible mark on Esquire magazine, most notably by championing the style that became known as New Journalism, wooing notable writers – as well as promising new talents – and giving them the creative freedom to incorporate fictional techniques into their non-fiction writing. His son’s film attempts to function both as a portrait of the editor that finally gives him his due and as a personal reflection of a father. Unfortunately, while he offers a steady stream of anecdotes from an impressive assemblage of interview subjects – from Tom Wolfe and Gay Talese to Nora Ephron and Gore Vidal – that speak to the elder Hayes’ savvy and innovative risk taking, the director fails to make any headway with the personal or familial, making the viewer wonder why he even bothered to include what little is here. This ill-fitting aspect, in addition to weak narration, weaker still enacted voice-over, and an irksome score, detracts from what’s otherwise a loose, diverting, but at times intriguing survey of the best the magazine had to offer under Hayes’ tenure.

Coming to select theatres and simultaneously being released on DVD and VOD today, Friday, May 29: THE TRUE COST

Andrew Morgan’s investigation into the not-so-hidden costs of cheap, disposable fashion makes its debut via limited theatrical engagements in New York City and Los Angeles, with direct-to-consumer access via its website and VOD platforms.

Taking as his subject “fast fashion,” the corollary to “fast food” – quick, cheap, and readily available for consumption, and just as easily tossed out after a few months – Morgan looks at the dangerous impact of the ridiculously profitable business model used by chains like H&M, Top Shop, Zara, and Forever 21. Droning on in an intermittent, weakly delivered narration, the director offers a broad survey of factors that help keep clothing cheap, but in the process exploit workers and farmers, damage the environment, and delude the masses into thinking they’re well-off while instead contributing to their own financial indebtedness. More of an emphatic, well-meaning advocacy piece than a well-constructed project, Morgan’s film doesn’t offer any revelations, nor any practical large-scale solutions – while one of his interview subjects faults capitalism itself for privileging profits over people, in the absence of overthrowing the world’s dominant economic system, the best that the documentary really seems to offer is the desire for a vague “revolution of values” to take place so that we collectively stop treating people like things.

Coming to the WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, May 24: OIL & WATER

Laurel Spellman Smith and Francine Strickwerda’s look at two young men’s encounter with ecological disaster had its world premiere at Seattle last year. Other screenings included Rhode Island, Rio, Bahamas, Wild & Scenic, Maryland, Sebastopol Doc, and Princeton and DC’s Environmental fests.

Despite vastly different backgrounds, David and Hugo are linked by a common interest. David is an American who became passionate about the negative impact of oil exploitation in South America when he was a pre-teen, and eventually made his way to Ecuador working for fair trade practices in oil. Hugo is of the Cofan people, and was sent by his tribe to get an education in the US in order to return with the knowledge of the Western world and become a leader to help his people against the further destruction of their lands and traditions. Spellman Smith and Strickwerda follow both men’s stories over six years, as David finds success in his efforts, while Hugo initially struggles to figure out a way to attend university without American residency so he may fulfill the mandate of his people. Unfortunately, in addition to Hugo largely playing second fiddle to David’s more dynamic trajectory, their two stories are always very separate and only tangentially related, ultimately making the project feel somewhat arbitrarily structured.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, May 22: WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN

Adam Carolla and Nate Adams’ tribute to the late actor’s passion for car racing made its debut at a special charity event in Los Angeles last month. It now becomes publicly available across VOD platforms via FilmBuff, including iTunes, Vudu, XBOX, Google Play, PlayStation, Amazon, and cable VOD, alongside special one-night only screening events, including one in conjunction with the Indy 500.

It’s revealed at the end of this affectionate celebration that comedian Adam Carolla, who serves as one of the film’s directors, is the present-day owner of several of Newman’s racing cars. This kind of personal affinity informs the project, which is heavy on anecdotes and love for the Oscar-winning Hollywood icon, but otherwise struggles to find a driving force to compel casual viewers forward. The film is most interesting as it details how Newman caught the racing bug while making the 1969 film WINNING, and otherwise does an only serviceable job recounting his growing dedication to the sport over time, eventually winning national championships and co-owning his own team. Interviewees include contemporaries in the racing world, including Willy T Ribbs, a trailblazing African-American driver, and Mario Andretti, as well as admirers from without, like famously car-crazy Jay Leno and Pixar’s John Lasseter, who developed a CARS character specifically for Newman to voice, in what was to be the actor’s final role.