Friday, November 27, 2009

Photo

I love the art of photography, so was excited to visit the new Annenberg Space for Photography last weekend for the "Sport: Iooss & Leifer" exhibit. Spanning the careers of two legendary sports photographers, Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer, this cool exhibit features many famous photos and a digital feature documentary presentation about how they have captured high-action moments and athlete portraits in such brilliant detail and clarity. I particularly enjoyed the black and white photographs from the 1960s era in baseball and football, and the iconic ringside shots of Muhammed Ali. The Annenberg space itself is very modern and spacious, but is tucked inside a large professional complex without adequate signage, so plan your trip ahead of time.

The visit also reminded me of a terrific documentary on photography that I saw earlier this year at the DWELL on Design conference, Eric Bricker's Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. The film celebrates the career and life of this singular architectural photographer who hit his apex in the mid-20th century working for the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra. It also showcases many of the modern homes that Shulman captured in his luminous style. Julius Shulman recently passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 98, but I'm glad he lived to see this anthology of his life's work. His stunning photographs, including the iconic 1960 shot of Koenig's Case Study House #22 (The Stahl House), will surely live on. The Stahl House is now open for tours, by the way, which I recommend for its amazing views of Los Angeles.

A picture is definitely worth a thousand words.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanks

On a day of giving thanks and remembering our country's heritage, I am finally getting around to reading Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower, the capitvating history of the Pilgrim's settlement of Plymouth. It dispels many of our cherished myths about this time to bring a more realistic and unsanitized account of what these settlers endured - and provoked.

I also have my DVR set to record the television documentary, Home for the Holidays: The History of Thanksgiving, on the History Channel. This should be a cool reminder of how we have celebrated this day over the centuries - including the First Thanksgiving as a reverent occasion, cherising survival and looking to the future.

In the meantime, I am giving thanks - for friends, family, good health and tidings, and documentaries that tell it like it is.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

il Cinema

Here's what I did not do last Saturday - attend the Cinema Italian Style festival at my local theatre, which I had been eagerly anticipating all month. Instead, I spent the evening at the vet ER with my dog after another one of her recent spate of Marley and Me type adventures. Luckily, my puppy is OK and there is always il cinema via DVD.

I had been scheduled to see the new documentary, Hollywood on the Tiber (Hollywood Sul Tevere), about the glamorous mid-century era when Rome rivaled Hollywood as a film capital. When names like Fellini, Loren, and Mastroianni were on par with Bogart, Bergman, and Brando, and films such as Roman Holiday and Ben Hur were brought to life in all their Italian grandeur. The black and white publicity stills look fabulous. Alas, another day.

Ciao for now.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Python

I love British humor. It's often an acquired taste for Americans, but I can thank my brother for introducing me to the joys of the iconic Monty Python troupe in the mid-70s before I was old enough to even understand the depths of their satirically subversive comedy.

I spent a lazy Sunday catching up on some more of my DVR queue, with IFC's recent 6-hour documentary, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut). It offers quite an extended (maybe more time than truly needed) look at the history of these comic pioneers. John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, the late Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam are still influencing comedians with their biting social commentary disguised as sketch comedy, and enveloped with Gilliam's wonderfully weird and surreal animation. Their game-changing BBC television series led to popular feature films, albums (some of which I had the pleasure of working on during their re-release), and one of my favorite Broadway shows in recent memory, Spamalot. It was great fun to revisit some of their most memorable moments and the creative process of this brilliant group.

Catch it on IFC and remember, "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life"!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Queue

I am finally catching up on my DVR queue. After my Tivo died this spring, I realized my that new DVR doesn't have the incredible feature of allowing me to fast forward on slow speed while the captions are on to skim through a show. Thus, I have been backlogged on the copious amounts of documentaries in line to be viewed. Here are the recent highlights that I think are worth catching when they are re-aired:

HBO has been airing a number of great docs lately: Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, details the rich history and unfortunate decline of the Garment District in NYC. Its rise helped build America's middle class and labor movement in the early 20th century; its decline has mirrored and helped to drive our current state of economic despair. In 1965, 95% of American clothing was manufactured here in the U.S.; today only 5% is. That's staggering.

Outrage examines the hypocracy of closeted gay politicians who vote against and speak out against gay rights issues. It's really wild. The film is directed by Kirby Dick, who also made This Film Is Not Yet Rated, about the strange and shielded methods behind the MPAA ratings system.

By the People: the Election of Barack Obama follows the candid, dramatic and moving moments behind this historic and inspirational campaign. The campaign success was driven not only by the charismatic Obama, but by a strategic, idealistic and largely youthful staff of devoted advisors and followers. My favorite is the little 9-year old volunteer who helped work the phones. Classic.

PBS has also had a number of strong docs on its programming lineup, including Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times - a fascinating saga about the rise of Los Angeles - driven by the determination, power and hubris of the family that built the Los Angeles Times, now on a downward spiral. It's a really cool film for LA history buffs, particularly the Chandlers' sordid activities as the model for one of my favorite films, Chinatown, and the background of Dorothy Chandler's continued influence on arts and culture in the city. It's juicy stuff.

I also watched all four hours of the energetic Latin Music USA, which traces the history of Latin jazz, mambo, cha cha cha, salsa, Chicano rock, Tejano, Latin pop and reggaeton. Wow. All the way from the NYC clubs of the early 20th century to Santana's LSD-laced debut at Woodstock to Ricky Martin Livin' La Vida Loca at the Grammys. It had me dancing in the aisles (ok, my living room).

Finally, I am enjoying ESPN Films' 30 for 30 sports documentary series of 30 films celebrating the network's 30th anniversary. I watched The Band That Wouldn't Die, a heartwarming film directed by Barry Levinson about the Baltimore Colt's marching band, which kept the spirit alive for a football franchise return after the team's defection to Indianapolis in the '80s.

Whew.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Hoops

Basketball season is once again upon us - which reminds me of the wonderful new documentary, More Than a Game.

I had read a Vanity Fair excerpt from LeBron James' autobiographical account of his rise as a high school basketball star, Shooting Stars, (co-written by Buzz Bissinger, who wrote Friday Night Lights), so was really excited to see the documentary account of it as well. The story of LeBron and his teammates in Akron, Ohio - the Fab Five - is brought to life by first-time director Kristopher Belman, who personally followed the team around for several years as part of a documentary class at one of my alma maters, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

The film shows the Fab Five overcoming many individual and team adversities and challenges to rise to the top of their sport. It has a definite Hoop Dreams quality to it, in that both are less about the game of basketball and more about the love, friendship and dedication that surround it. With rare interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, More Than a Game is as personal and inspirational a film as you will find all year.

Time to settle in for some hoops action.