Posts filed under 'Documentary/History'
UNDEFEATED- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Cinéma vérité tackles football in this inspirational profile of an inner-city Memphis high school football team, whose downtrodden players combine with a dedicated volunteer coach in a valiant effort to reach the school’s first-ever playoff game.” Good audience reaction but no professional reviews as yet. TRDB.
2/17/12- Excellent reviews in today’s NY Times and elsewhere for this nominated film for Best Documentary for this year’s Academy Awards. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
February 3rd, 2012
PUTIN’S KISS- 2012. Synopsis by RottenTomatoes. “Putin’s Kiss portrays contemporary life in Russia through the story of Masha, a 19 year-old girl who is a member of Nashi, a political youth organization connected with the Kremlin. Extremely ambitious, the young Masha quickly rises to the top of Nashi, but begins to question her involvement when a dissident journalist whom she has befriended is savagely attacked.” Very good reviews. TRDB.
2/17/12- Poor review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: documentary, Foreign
February 3rd, 2012
THE LOVING STORY- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This riveting documentary profiles Mildred and Richard Loving, who were arrested hours after their 1958 wedding for breaking Virginia’s laws against interracial marriage. In 1967, their case was heard before the Supreme Court and changed the nation.”
1/31/12- I saw this at a special showing with the director Nancy Biurski at the Jacob Burns Film Center. A great documentary with an impressive trove of archival footage. The movie was thought provoking and has analogies to life today in various parts of society both here and abroad. TRDB.
Tags: Documentary/History
February 1st, 2012
WINDFALL- 2010. Synopsis by Netflix. “Exposing the downside of wind turbines, director Laura Israel’s illuminating documentary underlines the harmful facets of harnessing wind power, including the constant noise and potential for financial opportunism. The film focuses on an impoverished rural community in upstate New York, where residents — enticed by economic incentives — leased their land for the erection of turbines but now wonder whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.” Good professional reviews but weak audience reaction. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
January 30th, 2012
CRAZY HORSE- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Renowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman sets up his cameras inside Paris’s famed Crazy Horse cabaret, “the best nude dancing show in the world.” The result is a titillating take on “nude chic” — and the surprising amount of work that goes into it.”
1/15/12- An article about this film in today’s NY Times. Sounds interesting. TRDB.
Tags: documentary, Foreign
January 15th, 2012
IT’S ABOUT YOU- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Photographer Kurt Markus makes his first foray into film by chronicling the recording of John Mellencamp’s T-Bone Burnett-produced album “No Better than This,” which took place during the rocker’s 2009 tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.”
1/4/12- Good review in today’s NY Times and a few other good ones as well along with a load of poor ones. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
January 5th, 2012
RICHARD GARRIOTT: MAN ON A MISSION- 2009. Synopsis by Netflix. “Fulfilling a lifelong dream, computer game creator Richard Garriott becomes the first second-generation American astronaut as his $30 million ticket and secret Moscow training puts him aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket for a 12-day journey into space. Go along on his amazing ride as he orbits Earth on the International Space Station, performs experiments designed by his scientist-astronaut father, and returns with a harrowing and fiery re-entry.” Weak early reviews. TRDB.
1/13/12- OK review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
December 29th, 2011
SING YOUR SONG- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix.”Hoping to inspire a new generation of activists, entertainer Harry Belafonte allows director Susanne Rostock intimate access to his life to document his many decades as a performer and as a tireless advocate for human rights around the world. As a supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. and the victim of racism during his tours of the South, Belafonte was deeply committed to social change in the U.S. and later worked to end apartheid in South Africa.” Great audience reaction. TRDB.
1/13/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
6/3012- A very well done film about a very interesting man and I highly recommend it. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: documentary
December 29th, 2011
INSIDE HANA’S SUITCASE- 2009. Synopsis by Netflix. “This fascinating documentary traces the quest of a group of Japanese schoolchildren and their teacher, Fumiko Ishioka, as they try to uncover the history of a suitcase donated to the Tokyo Holocaust Museum and inscribed with the name “Hanna Brady.” Discovering that 13-year-old Hanna was a Czechoslovakian Jew interred in a concentration camp, the group finds her brother, George, in Toronto, who shares his memories of Hanna.” Great reviews. TRDB.
1/30/12- I know that this film got rave reviews but I found it just OK. A moving story but I felt that there were way too many re-enacted scenes by actors. The movie is really about school children learning about the Holocaust and about hate in general. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
December 27th, 2011
KNUCKLE- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Members of two Irish families continue an ages-old grudge and settle their differences with violence in this documentary directed by Ian Palmer. James, a member of the Quinn McDonaghs, doesn’t hesitate when challenged to bare-knuckle boxing matches with his cousins from the Joyce clan. The director spent a dozen years traveling with members of both families to get remarkable footage of their ongoing rivalry.”
12/9/11- Good review in today’s NY Times and in general. TRDB.
2/17/12- A very interesting documentary about a group of people with revenge and fighting on their minds. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: documentary, Foreign
December 9th, 2011
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