In this personal documentary, Jane Giese, a working class woman in Newark, comes to realize that she has to take control of her own life after years of physical and mental abuse.
One of the most moving documentaries of the era, Newsreel’s Janie’s Janie breaks with their usual format for a more personal approach, following one woman’s journey to self-determination, or as Janie says, “First I was my father’s Janie, then I was my Charlie’s Janie, now I’m Janie’s Janie.”Read More »
Taped on July 25, 1977. In Mrs. Thatcher’s second appearance on Firing Line, two years before she would take up the reins of government, the conversation turns to the state of democracy in present-day Britain. We get even more of a feel than in her first appearance (S0199) of why she would become so admired, and so reviled: “For years now in British politics you have needed to use the word ‘consensus.’… It’s a word you didn’t use when I first came into politics. We had convictions, and we tried to persuade people that our convictions were the right ones, and it’s no earthly good having convictions unless you have the will to translate those convictions into action. Read More »
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Shown in a new restored print at the 2011 Telluride Film Festival, screening before Aki Kaurismaki’s new film Le Havre, Carroll Ballard’s 1969 documentary short Rodeo became the talk of the festival. For those who don’t know Ballard, he did 2nd Unit work on the original Star Wars film, and had a relatively successful career as a studio director before disappearing to a ranch in New Mexico, finding the studio system soul-crushing. When Francis Ford Coppola received his Lifetime Achievement Award from the DGA, he passed the award onto his old friend and classmate Ballard. Caroll Ballard is one of the great unsung heroes of the American film galaxy, and nowhere does his prowess shine more than in this early short, Rodeo.Read More »
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When the gang has lost their patience with Snoopy’s pranks, they pressure Charlie Brown to act. He decides to send Snoopy back to his puppy farm for obedience training, but Snoopy is less than enthusiastic. He retaliates by going only as far as Peppermint Patty’s place who agrees to let him stay for the night. He overstays his welcome as a freeloader which forces Charlie Brown to drag him back home with a firm hand and lease. Snoopy responds by running away for real back to Peppermint Patty’s, but he learns that his return visit will be far less pleasant this time…Read More »
From a small cabin in the mountains of New York, Nina Breeder and Massimilian Breeder begin a journey across the United States. California is just the initial destination, but just as the edge of the surrounding landscape expands, so does their ultimate d“Bonnie & Clyde meet Bruno Dumont in a sensually explosive road trip through the USA.” – CPH DOX Festival, Copenhagen, 2008Read More »
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A colonial scene in the U.S. An old lady sits astride a bell while a man in blackface, wig, and livery pulls the bell rope. From an upper door emerges an old man, dressed as a dandy, who tips his hat to the woman as he walks down stairs grinning. Others leave the same door and walk down the same stairs: a shabby man, a cop, and, several times, the same dandy. The man in blackface hangs himself; the dandy continues to smile. A bell tolls, a grave beckons. In the dark, the dandy plays the piano. Is he Death?Read More »
The greedy nephew of eccentric Matilda Reed seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth; but she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons appear for a Christmas Eve reunion. Separate stories reveal Michael as a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann; Mario as a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in South America; Jonathan as a hard-drinking rodeo rider intent on a flirtatious social worker. Is there hope for Matilda?Read More »
Mythical homecoming transfigures itself into a reevaluation of traditional roles in a family setting, confronted both by truths long left under the rug and, above all, a radical alterity that forces itself even in the closest relationships. Narrated from a first-person documentary perspective, much in vogue these days, the film stands out due to its scope, which seems to expand scene by scene, alternating from a person to a family, to a place, and time. As the themes multiply, the film eludes any self-pity and holds a harsh mirror that equally reflects the viewer.Read More »
