Current TV has a great 5-part primer on documentaries starting tonight and running Tuesday nights throughout August, so fire up your popcorn popper and check it out (repeats air throughout the week)!
Morgan Spurlock hosts 50 Documentaries To See Before You Die, a countdown of the most influential docs of the past 25 years.
The network is also running some of the most iconic documentary films ever this month - including Hoop Dreams, so it's a veritable summer docapalooza!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Summertime
I'm getting ready for the BBQ and summer film season (Harry Potter!), and that means it is time to assemble my list of top docs I want to check out in-between trips to the beach. Some great films coming out of the festival circuit are hitting screens soon:
Project Nim: The story of the chimpanzee who was raised by a human family in the 1970s as the focus of a landmark study on teaching animals to communicate via sign language. From director James Marsh (Man on Wire).
Bobby Fischer Against the World: The bizarre life of legendary chess genius Bobby Fischer, from director Liz Garbus (Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech).
Life in a Day: You Tube asked its users around the world to
film a day in their lives on July 24, 2010. 80,000 hours of footage and 1 year later, here is the edited film from director Kevin McDonald (Touching the Void, Last King of Scotland).
Page One: Inside the New York Times: Director Andrew Rossi (Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven) gets an all-access pass to the Gray Lady's newsroom during a transformational time in the media industry.
Buck: A profile of the real Horse Whisperer, Buck Brannaman, from director Cindy Meehl.
So much sunshine and so many docs!
Project Nim: The story of the chimpanzee who was raised by a human family in the 1970s as the focus of a landmark study on teaching animals to communicate via sign language. From director James Marsh (Man on Wire).
Bobby Fischer Against the World: The bizarre life of legendary chess genius Bobby Fischer, from director Liz Garbus (Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech).
Life in a Day: You Tube asked its users around the world to
film a day in their lives on July 24, 2010. 80,000 hours of footage and 1 year later, here is the edited film from director Kevin McDonald (Touching the Void, Last King of Scotland).
Page One: Inside the New York Times: Director Andrew Rossi (Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven) gets an all-access pass to the Gray Lady's newsroom during a transformational time in the media industry.
Buck: A profile of the real Horse Whisperer, Buck Brannaman, from director Cindy Meehl.
So much sunshine and so many docs!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Triangle
During the crazy rainstorm here in LA yesterday, I caught up on CBS Sunday Morning, one of my favorite weekend morning treats. The show featured a profile commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Company fire, one of New York City's grimmest days. In a month where we've seen terrible tragedy in Japan and challenges to labor unions here in the U.S., this was a compelling reminder of a time when tragedy spurred labor reform.
In 2009, HBO aired a great documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, detailing the rise and decline of New York's garment industry. The film covered the Triangle fire, so it was no surprise that its filmmakers, Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, expanded on the subject with a full documentary premiering tonight on HBO. Triangle: Remembering the Fire, details that horrific day when 146 mostly female garment workers perished, many of whom lept to their deaths from the top floors in front of horrified pedestrians. The event revealed terribly unsafe working conditions - including locked doors which could have saved many lives - and led to some of the first government legislation to protect workers, including safety and fire regulations, child labor laws and worker's compensation. The film pays tribute to all of the deceased workers in the hopes that we don't forget the price they paid.
It's another reminder of the protections people now have because of the suffering and heroics of those who came before us. Another reminder of how documentaries continue to tell their stories, so we don't forget them.
In 2009, HBO aired a great documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, detailing the rise and decline of New York's garment industry. The film covered the Triangle fire, so it was no surprise that its filmmakers, Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, expanded on the subject with a full documentary premiering tonight on HBO. Triangle: Remembering the Fire, details that horrific day when 146 mostly female garment workers perished, many of whom lept to their deaths from the top floors in front of horrified pedestrians. The event revealed terribly unsafe working conditions - including locked doors which could have saved many lives - and led to some of the first government legislation to protect workers, including safety and fire regulations, child labor laws and worker's compensation. The film pays tribute to all of the deceased workers in the hopes that we don't forget the price they paid.
It's another reminder of the protections people now have because of the suffering and heroics of those who came before us. Another reminder of how documentaries continue to tell their stories, so we don't forget them.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday
Back at the blog in the (not so) new year!
This month happens to be bookended with my two favorite annual Sunday events - the pro football championship game and the Oscars®.
Although I'm not a Green Bay fan per se, I did enjoy their championship win mainly due to a recent viewing of the engrossing Lombardi documentary on HBO.
Vince Lombardi is a mythic and transcendent figure in sports history, a seminary school dropout who became the pope of Green Bay and the patron saint of football. Once an assistant coach of my beloved New York Giants, he gained iconic status and defined athletic excellence as the coach of the Packers in the late 1950s through late 1960s - leading them to multiple consecutive championships. He was a complex and driven man who was ultimately uncomfortable with the famous quote attributed to him, "Winning isn't everything but it's the only thing". It is quite touching and fitting that the championship trophy named for Lombardi is once again at home in Green Bay.
I confess to being slightly behind on my Oscar® documentary nominee viewings this year - I am catching a screening of Inside Job later this week, but have enjoyed Restrepo, Waste Land, Gasland and Exit Through the Gift Shop. What a great lineup and tough choice for voters.
Can't wait to settle in for another fab Sunday!
This month happens to be bookended with my two favorite annual Sunday events - the pro football championship game and the Oscars®.
Although I'm not a Green Bay fan per se, I did enjoy their championship win mainly due to a recent viewing of the engrossing Lombardi documentary on HBO.
Vince Lombardi is a mythic and transcendent figure in sports history, a seminary school dropout who became the pope of Green Bay and the patron saint of football. Once an assistant coach of my beloved New York Giants, he gained iconic status and defined athletic excellence as the coach of the Packers in the late 1950s through late 1960s - leading them to multiple consecutive championships. He was a complex and driven man who was ultimately uncomfortable with the famous quote attributed to him, "Winning isn't everything but it's the only thing". It is quite touching and fitting that the championship trophy named for Lombardi is once again at home in Green Bay.
I confess to being slightly behind on my Oscar® documentary nominee viewings this year - I am catching a screening of Inside Job later this week, but have enjoyed Restrepo, Waste Land, Gasland and Exit Through the Gift Shop. What a great lineup and tough choice for voters.
Can't wait to settle in for another fab Sunday!
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