Documentaries

[Mr. Met]

A friend of mine made an excellent documentary, "The Woman Who Wasn't There." It's on Netflix.

It's about this crazy, psychopathic woman who pretended that her boyfriend was killed during 9/11. She even becomes head of a support group of survivors! As she gets found out, she totally unravels.

My friend said that what happened was, he was originally going to make a documentary about the firefighters and he interviewed a lot of people. And somehow, he wound up with something like hours of tape of this woman. And it took a different turn. I highly recommend it.

And of course, there's "A Year to Remember," about THE 1986 METS!

[steve(thelil)]

I've seen it and it is fascinating.

[LennyH]

I've seen it and it is fascinating.

Please say you're not talking about the Mets thing .

[bluenoter]

Paging ValerieB (re a documentary discussed earlier in this thread) . . .




http://jazztimes.com/articles/138538-clark-terry-documentary-to-be-released

Keep On Keepin’ On, a new documentary film about trumpeter Clark Terry . . . will premiere in Los Angeles on Sept. 19 and New York on Oct. 3.

But at which theaters?



http://keeponkeepinon.com/screenings/

[ValerieB]

keep forgetting to thank you for the L.A. dates for the CT docu. really looking forward to it and i'll bring my box of Kleenex. he tried to ruin me in the '60s by introducing me to sake martinis. they almost did me in and it was the last evening I ever tried them! LOL

[Ron Thorne]

Has anyone seen the first episode(s) of "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History"?

It sounds intriguing and ambitious, but we're on vacation so probably won't see it this time around.

[bluenoter]

Has anyone seen the first episode(s) of "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History"?

It sounds intriguing and ambitious, but we're on vacation so probably won't see it this time around.

I saw about the first half of the first episode. It was both thorough and, yes, intriguing enough to have held my interest in spite of myself, but I was jet-lagged and went to bed ridiculously early that night.

[steve(thelil)]

Is Wynton the hero of the Roosevelt doc?

[bluenoter]

Is Wynton the hero of the Roosevelt doc?

I didn't know and wouldn't have guessed that it was a Ken Burns project. But that does explain the frequent references to "gumbo."

[uli]

Intangible asset No 82

A fascinating doc about Australian jazz drummer Simon Barker's trip into Korean spiritual ceremonial shaman music and meeting master drummer an shaman musician Kim Seok-Chul, South Korea's Intangible asset No 82. It's on netflix

trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_y_vpIMY3k

[LennyH]

The Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself is debuting on CNN on Sunday. I've heard good things about it.

[jwaggs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaB5Egej0TQ

[Jimmy Cantiello]

The Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself is debuting on CNN on Sunday. I've heard good things about it.

Shit! I forgot about that. I wanted to at least record it. Hopefully CNN will rerun it to death.

[jwaggs]

Life Itself will be available on Netflix, and presumably DVD, later this month.

[LennyH]

The Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself is debuting on CNN on Sunday. I've heard good things about it.

Shit! I forgot about that. I wanted to at least record it. Hopefully CNN will rerun it to death.

For anyone that watched Siskel and Ebert, it's worth watching Life Itself just to see the outtakes from their old show where they are arguing and cursing at each other. Hilarious stuff.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

They really disliked each other intensely.

[jwaggs]

They really disliked each other intensely.

I wonder which one I will like most while watching the documentary. I always preferred Siskel when the show was on. Ebert struck me as fatuous. Well, both, actually, only Siskel less so.

[LennyH]

Ebert could definitely be a dick. In their relationship, I feel like he was the bigger asshole.

I always appreciated Ebert's writing, even though I disagreed with him often.

[LennyH]

Ron, thanks a lot for recommending A Chef's Life. I wasn't sure at first because Vivian got on my nerves a bit, but that wore off and can't wait for Season 3 now (September 1st on PBS, IIRC).

Have been watching the documentary Human Planet on Netflix. It's several gorgeous episodes and really has some mind-blowing stuff. A must-see for fans of nature documentaries. It's more about how humans interact with nature (get food, for the most part).

[Mr. Met]

Has anyone seen "Twenty Feet From Stardom?" I'm looking forward to checking that one out.

[bluenoter]

Has anyone seen "Twenty Feet From Stardom?" I'm looking forward to checking that one out.

Here's what I found by entering  feet Stardom / Search in Forums → The Alley  in JT's Advanced Search (the posts are in both this thread and the What Movies? thread, and they're from 2013 and 2014):

I don't know how widely it's playing, but the documentary "Twenty Feet from Stardom" about background singers is inspirational.

Here's the trailer.


http://twentyfeetfromstardom.com

I'm looking forward to this too. I heard about it on Fresh Air. It's worth digging up that episode from a few weeks ago just to hear the story about the backup singer that did Gimme Shelter with The Stones.

A doc I've seen recently in a theater, that I hope will come to Netflix is "Twenty Feet from Stardom" about backup singers (mostly black female backup singers). Fascinating and inspirational.

Yeah, I can't wait for that one too. i said this before on another thread but I heard the Fresh Air where they interviewed the creator of the film, IIRC, and the woman who sang on Gimme Shelter. Good stuff.

We saw 20 Feet From Stardom

Essentially a very good / fun / melancholy documentary about backup singers in pop and rock. A lot of very good music.

Most telling line, for me, was from Mick Jagger: “Singing ‘oohs and aahs’, it’s kind of fun for a minute, but I’m not sure I’d like to do it for a living.”

20 feet from stardom. A fantastic documentary about background singers. A little too long, but good to the last drop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWyUJcA8Zfo

I have the hots for one of the singers in 20 Feet from Stardom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTNdFCKBlMk

You didn't mention that '20 Feet From Stardom' IS on Netflix now! I just caught it this past weekend and really enjoyed it. So much 'insider' gossip. I especially enjoyed Merry Clayton's backstory on her recording 'Gimme Shelter'. The movie shows her listening to the playback in the studio (now) where they isolate her voice from the track so you only hear her voice. Man, I used to get goosebumps listening to that tune and I got 'em again during this segment. I saw her back in the day in a small club performing as a solo artist, what a voice!

Not sure whether Ron saw the movie, but I also ran across this post:

I had forgotten Merry Clayton's name until your post, Chazro, but I agree. What a voice!

So many only knew of her talent via the Rolling Stones, but I played the hell out of this record on KJZZ back in the day. It's a self-titled album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czTIjYwGlc

[Ron Thorne]

Ron, thanks a lot for recommending A Chef's Life. I wasn't sure at first because Vivian got on my nerves a bit, but that wore off and can't wait for Season 3 now (September 1st on PBS, IIRC).

Have been watching the documentary Human Planet on Netflix. It's several gorgeous episodes and really has some mind-blowing stuff. A must-see for fans of nature documentaries. It's more about how humans interact with nature (get food, for the most part).

My pleasure, Lenny. Yeah, Vivian is somewhat quirky, but she's so damned cute, smart and talented. The back stories are also very interesting. The show is beautifully shot, too. Like you, I'm also eagerly awaiting Season 3.

Man, I've wanted to reach into our television on several occasions and taste what she's preparing.

I'll check into Human Planet, based upon your recommendation.

[bluenoter]

 
Always for Pleasure (1978)       

Produced and Directed
Photographed and Edited
     by
Les Blank

New Orleans, pre-Katrina



 

[Ron Thorne]

What a cool, creative idea!



A short documentary following artist Gary Sweeney as he creates his site-specific installation, A Manhattan Beach Memoir: 1945-2015. In 1945, while Sweeney’s father Mike was returning from Guam after World War II, his mother Anita bought a small house at 320 35th St in Manhattan Beach, California. It was their family home for 70 years. Sweeney sold the house in July, 2015, with the understanding that the new owner planned to demolish the house and put a new development it its place. As a tribute to his family, hometown, and father's photography, Sweeney covered the exterior of the house with over one hundred large scale family photographs, and occupied the house during its final month - February, 2016. Learn more at GarySweeneyArt.com. Learn more about the filmmakers at WalleyFilms.com.