Category
DVD Reviews
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09.13.11Rebirth DVD ReviewThe tenth anniversary of 9/11 is now behind us, and along with it the litany of commemorative broadcasts, special presentations, and memorial tributes. While I'm not particularly bothered by the abundance of event coverage, I know there are lots of people who are burnt out on anything concerning the terrorist attacks on America. Still, there are some great documentary films that manage to overcome the typically sensational, overly maudlin trappings. Rebirth is certainly one of those projects that memorializes the events of that day by focusing on the people who were directly affected and the way in which they were ...
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04.11.11The World at War Blu Ray ReviewOkay, so this is THE ultimate World War II documentary. Plain and simple. The World at War was produced in the early seventies by British television production company Thames Television (remember their awesome logo?) and features narration by Sir Laurence Olivier. It covers the entire second World War across 26 hour long episodes and it's now available on Blu-ray for your viewing pleasure. So how does this 37 year old series hold up on high definition? First, let me talk a little bit about the actual content of the series. The episodes are broken down in a loose chronological order, starting ...
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04.01.11The Times of Harvey Milk Blu Ray ReviewThe Times of Harvey Milk Directed by Robert Epstein United States, 1984 88 minutes Criterion's relationship with non-fiction filmmaking is an interesting one. They've certainly given some classic documentaries the releases they deserve (Salesman, Gimme Shelter, Harlan County USA, For All Mankind, etc.) but I really wish they'd open their minds a bit and stray from their more conservative line up. Having said that, it was definitely a surprise to see Rob Epstein's Academy Award winner The Times of Harvey Milk on their list of upcoming releases--certainly a refreshing choice but also a reminder that they've barely tapped the surface of a reservoir of ...
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09.29.10Middletown DVD ReviewIcarus Films' release of Middletown is hands-down one of the best non-fiction DVD sets you will ever come across. No word of a lie. I hadn't even heard of the Middletown TV series but after having just watched some of Louis Malles' films on midwestern American life, I was totally in the mood for some more documentaries of the same nature. There's something wonderfully fascinating about these portraits of Anytown, USA. The idea of Middletown was inspired by the work of cultural anthropologists Robert and Helen Lynd and their landmark 1929 and study 'Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture'. They ...
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08.20.10Louie Bluie DVD ReviewI've always found it amazing that Terry Zwigoff's esoteric brand of filmmaking managed to crack the mainstream. While films like Bad Santa and Ghost World might not be blockbusters, they're definitely a bit more palatable to general audiences than his quirky documentary roots. In my opinion, Crumb remains his best work but Louie Bluie is surely a close second, marking a strong feature film debut. The film is an hour-long portrait of country blues and string band musician Howard "Louis Bluie" Armstrong. Not unlike Zwigoff's follow-up feature Crumb, this film divides its screen time by giving the viewer a bit ...
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08.16.10Crumb Blu-ray ReviewTerry Zwigoff’s Crumb is a magnificent example of a film that successfully manages the delicate balance between traditional retrospective talking-head biopic and a more immediate and intimate character piece. The level of access to Crumb and his family is rooted in an off-camera friendship that exists beyond the boundaries of this film, resulting in a unique look inside the otherwise reclusive life of one of the 20th century's most gifted artists. Robert Crumb found fame in the 1960s as a co-founder of Zap Comics, a movement of LSD-inspired adult-oriented underground comic books originally written and illustrated by Crumb. Curiously, he never ...
