Posts filed under 'Documentary/History'
THE RULE- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “See how the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey, in the heart of one of America’s most dangerous cities, are able to achieve amazing success with the most vulnerable population: inner city African American and Latino teenage males. While Newark, NJ, with a high poverty rate of 32%, has an abysmal high school graduation rate, St. Benedict’s Prep has a near 100% COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE rate.”
9/5/14- Just 4 reviews so far—3 up and 1 down (the NY Times.) TRDB.
Tags: documentary
September 7th, 2014
NAKED OPERA- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Born with a disease that condemns him to an early death, Marc is a wealthy businessman determined to enjoy his remaining days to the fullest. This documentary follows Marc around the world in search of the perfect staging of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”
9/7/14- Poor early reviews. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
September 7th, 2014
THROUGH A LENS DARKLY- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “This documentary examines how black photographers have used the medium since its inception as an implement for social change. The film presents examples from Anthony Barboza, Deborah Willis, Glenn Ligon, Carrie Mae Weems and other notable figures.”
8/30/14- Weak reviews. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 30th, 2014
SHADOWS FROM MY PAST- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In 1940 Gita Weinrauch Kaufman escaped from Austria with her immediate family the day they were to be transported to Dachau Concentration Camp. More than 50 years later, she returned to Vienna with her husband and co-director, Curt Kaufman, to ask the question: Is present-day Austria truly different from the country from which she fled?”
8/29/14- Just 3 reviews– 2 up, including today’s NY Times and 1 down. It sounds interesting and I will try to see it. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 29th, 2014
SECOND OPINION: LAETRILE AT SLOAN-KETTERING-2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “The War On Cancer, launched in the early 1970s, set the stage for a massive influx of new ideas in fighting the disease of cancer. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, America’s leading cancer research center at the time, was assigned the task of testing an unconventional therapy called “Laetrile” in an effort to curb the public’s “false hope” in the alleged “quack” therapy. Ralph W. Moss PhD, a young and eager science writer, was hired by Sloan-Kettering’s public relations department in 1974 to help brief the American public on the center’s contribution to the War On Cancer. One of his first assignments was to write a biography about Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura, one of the Center’s oldest and leading research scientists as well as the original co-inventor of chemotherapy.”
8/29/14- OK reviews by critics and audiences have liked it very much. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 29th, 2014
THE NAKED ROOM- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “The location: a pediatric therapist’s office. The characters: severely depressive child patients and their anguished parents. In Nuria Ibáñez’s fascinating and acclaimed documentary, the austere interior of a Mexico City hospital is the setting for a profoundly moving and educational film.”
8/29/14- I’ve seen 3 reviews- 2 down including the NY Times and 1 up. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 29th, 2014
AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: TANAQUIL LE CLERCQ- 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Of the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent. She mesmerized viewers and choreographers alike – her elongated, race-horse physique became the new prototype for the great George Balanchine. The muse to both Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, they loved her as a dancer and a woman. Balanchine married her and Robbins created his famous Afternoon of a Faun for Tanny. She was the foremost dancer of her day until it suddenly all stopped. At age 27, Tanny was struck down by polio and paralyzed. She never danced again.”
8/26/14- A wonderful, thoughtful documentary with plenty of archival footage. TRDB. PBS.
Tags: documentary
August 27th, 2014
I AM ELEVEN- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Australian filmmaker Genevieve Bailey travelled the world for six years talking with 11-year-olds to compose this insightful, funny and moving documentary portrait of childhood. From an orphanage in India, to a single-parent household in inner-city Melbourne, to bathing with elephants in Thailand, I AM ELEVEN explores the lives and thoughts of children from 15 countries.”
8/25/14- Very good reviews. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 26th, 2014
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER- 2014. “Narrated by actor Terrence Howard, this engaging documentary centers on the legacy of the Memphis music scene as intergenerational artists — from bluesmen to rappers — are brought together to collaborate on a historic new album.”
9/12/14- Good reviews. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 26th, 2014
THE GREEN PRINCE- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a top leader in Palestine’s militant Hamas movement, spends a decade working as a mole for Israeli intelligence. In this gripping true-life drama, Yousef lives each day in immediate danger of torture and execution.”
8/25/14- Very good reviews. TRDB.
10/22/14- I liked this documentary very much. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
August 26th, 2014
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