Björk and Broadcaster David Attenborough to Make Music Documentary
Björk and U.K. broadcaster David Attenborough are teaming up again for a new documentary in which they will co-narrate a story about the evolution of music and how people and technology have altered its form. The Hollywood Reporter reported Attenborough and Björk: The Nature of Music will be the second project the two have worked on together after he narrated her multimedia creation Biophilia—a collection that will have a prominent place in the new documentary.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsThe Queen of Versailles
Director Lauren Greenfield only meant to take a few pictures of a very wealthy family in the midst of all their opulence. Her subjects were the Siegels—the self-made billionaire, the trophy wife, the eight not-as-maladjusted-as-you-might-think children, the monochromatic menagerie of animals. But once the family began opening up about their lives, the woman behind the camera decided to stick around a little while longer, positing that there might be more to this story than just infinity symbols for account balances. Her perseverance resulted in The Queen of Versailles, an alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching cautionary tale about the excesses of the... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsSearching for Sugar Man
Detroit, 1968. One foggy night, two music producers slip into a smoky downtown bar to check out an unknown singer-songwriter named Rodriguez. When they first lay eyes on him, he’s hunched over his guitar with his back to the audience, but they are so bewitched by his soulful melodies and philosophical lyrics that they produce his first album, Cold Fact, convinced that they’ve discovered the Chicano Bob Dylan. The record flops. Big time.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsAi Weiwei: Never Sorry
Filmmaker Alison Klayman gained an astonishing level of access to the celebrated Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei in the years following the opening of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium in 2008. No sooner was the stadium completed, however, than Ai—a design consultant on the stadium—became both the Games’ and the building’s most vociferous critic, calling them symbols of state propaganda. The criticism immediately made Ai a persona non grata in the eyes of the Chinese state but, to the free world, he was an exciting and shockingly frank artist from a place in sore need of one.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe Imposter
On June 13, 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disappeared from his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Being from a turbulent, working-class family, he received little attention from the media and it seemed that his family were the only ones who missed him (and they did so desperately). Imagine everyone’s surprise when Barclay was reported found three years later in Linares, Spain. Imagine their horror at the story he told of abduction, abuse and torture. Most importantly, imagine their relief that he was alive and returned to them. The relief of a sister. The relief of a mother.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsNeil Young Journeys
Neil Young Journeys is director Jonathan Demme’s documentary of the last two nights of Young’s solo world tour performing at Toronto’s Massey Hall. The uncut performances, almost entirely from his 2010 album Le Noise, are interspersed with footage of Young driving around his hometown of Omemee, Ontario, in a 1956 Crown Victoria. In the car, he tells stories about his childhood, showing Demme the places where he grew up, almost all of which have been completely destroyed. This is the third documentary Demme has made with Young, the first being Neil Young: Heart of Gold, where Young performed in Nashville... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe Invisible War
The Oscar- and Emmy-winning documentarian behind This Film Is Not Yet Rated turns his lens on one of the United States military’s most shameful and best-kept secrets: rape. According to data reported in the film and sourced from the Department of Defense, more than 20 percent of all servicewomen have been assaulted while serving, and a half a million people—women and men—have been sexually assaulted in the U.S. military. That’s a rampant problem that flares in the public consciousness every so often—remember the Tailhook scandal?—but otherwise goes largely unreported.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsPaul Williams: Still Alive
A title can say a lot, but in the case of Stephen Kessler’s 2012 documentary on Paul Williams, it says it all. The film opens with Kessler believing Paul Williams to be dead. If that’s not a great way to start a film about Paul Williams, I don’t know what is.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsWatch Clip From the New John Mellencamp Documentary
Back in 2009, John Mellencamp toured with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, and during that time he wrote and recorded his album No Better Than This. Kurt and Ian Markus traveled with Mellencamp to document the tour and creation of the album. The now completed documentary, John Mellencamp: It’s About You, is set to be released on June 20.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsWatch the Trailer for The Imposter
As a fictitious thriller, The Imposter might leave audiences barely batting an eye. But as a documentary, it’s bizarre, frightening and above all, true. The film combines stylish re-enactments with real footage and interviews to unfold an award-winning feature.... read more
Found in: Movies, News
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