A revealing documentary of James Dean : From small-screen that paved the way to the big-screen!
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Michael J. Sheridan's 'James Dean - 'Forever Young' [2005]
James Dean has had more biographical films made about him than almost any other actor in Hollywood. This is a Iworthwhile documentary for the wealth of unseen early television shows in which Dean learned his trade. Well researched and edited, it took Sheridan almost 10 years to make. Narated by acclaimed actor Martin Sheen who has always been a huge Dean fan, once quoting: "There were only two people in the fifties: Elvis Presley who changed the music, and James Dean who changed our lives". The rare archival early television performances showcase Dean's acting prowess before his meteoric success arriving on the big screen in his iconic roles, first in 'East of Eden' then 'Rebel Without a Cause' and culminating in his final role in 'Giant'. Filming had just finished before his tragic automobile accident. Also featuring well sourced photographs from his early years raised on a farm in Fairmount Indiana and as a struggling actor in New York. A  50th Anniversary Tribute, the documentary showcased at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
 From small-screen to big-screen, a revealing documetary!
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I had no idea what to expect when I put this DVD into my player - the packaging doesn't tell you much. All I knew was it was a two-hour "documentary" produced, written and directed by Julian Temple  - best known for working on video projects with David Bowie and the Sex Pistols - produced by the BBC and the British Film Institute. But as I watched the TV screen for those two hours I was fascinated by what I saw and heard.  In advance of the excitement of the London Olympics, Temple delved deep into the film archives of the BFI and selected footage going back to 1900 and meshed it with some more modern images to tell the story of how London evolved over 113 years from a fully British city to a melding of cultures, with Jews, Asians and Indians arriving by the scores. He shows that this immigration influx had it's issues but eventually the city became truly "international" in nature. It seemed at every decade had its riots and these are shown too. There is no narrator, but none is needed. And, for the soundtrack, Temple used "period" recordings - 78s musical hall songs for the 19-teens and 20s, crooners for the 1930s and classic rock recordings (the Rolling Stones and, of course, the Clash's "London Calling)" for the later years. The list of song credits at the end goes on for a few minutes. (And don't miss the great footage of a monkey during the end credits - you'll understand when you see it!).

The film was nominated for a bunch of European film awards and I can see why.

The DVD includes a 6 minute "conversation" with Temple and the film's Trailer.

This DVD is well worth seeking out.

I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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This is one of TWO DVD documentaries released this month by Music Video Distributors about modern day "comic books". (The other is "Comic Book Independents").  While the CBI covers a slew of writers, artists, illustrators, and publishers, R&RC DVD focuses on one publisher - Todd Loren, who ran a music memorabilia mail order business and then a comic book store in San Diego. In 1989 he founded Revolutionary Comics which published unauthorized adventures of rock stars like Bon Jovi, Skid Row, and Guns N' Roses. While his ego was huge (he loved being sued by the musicians and this made him push buttons harder) his story goes beyond the publishing business because he was found stabbed to death in 1992 (he was only 32). The murder was never solved.

Ilko Davidov's 84-minute film is interesting and should appeal to both comic collectors as well as heavy metal and rock fans. I don't count myself among either of these groups but I learned a lot and was entertained for the length of the film. The DVD is loaded with bonuses (as was the Independents DVD). There are over 2 hours of Interviews, Commercials, and a cover art gallery. PLUS there's an eight page booklet of liner notes and illustrations.

A few of the interviewees are the same as in CBI, including Gary Groth (founder of Fantagraphics) and Robert Williams. The big celebrity name here is probably Alice Cooper, and there's lots of archival footage of Loren himself talking to the camera.

By releasing the two DVDs simultaneously Music Video Distributors is giving modern comic book collectors a double shot of entertaining history. And with this one you get an unsolved crime to boot!

I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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"The Unknown Peter Sellers" is a fascinating documentary about the great comedic actor.  This film is produced, written, and directed by John Scheinfeld and David Leaf.  The filmmakers incorporate clips from Sellers' film and television work, as well as interviews with a number of individuals: biographer and film critic Alexander Walker, Sellers' "Being There" co-star Shirley MacLaine, Monty Python's Michael Palin, director Richard Lester, and more.  MacLaine's memories of Sellers are particularly mesmerizing.

The documentary provides a general overview on the brilliant Seller's personal life and career.  The film covers his family background, his extensive career in radio comedy, his television work, and the ups and downs of his career in theatrical films.  We get insight into how Sellers developed the character of Inspector Clouseau, and learn what happened behind-the-scenes of his triple role in the classic "Dr. Strangelove."  Also covered are Sellers' TV commercials and his artistic triumph in "Being There."

As the title indicates, this documentary emphasizes Sellers' lesser-known artistic achievements.  The filmmakers cover television programs and films that I had never heard of, and include a sampling of clips from this remarkable body of "unknown" work.  This material includes such oddities as a 1964 TV film, written by Rod Serling, entitled "Carol for Another Christmas."  The narrator notes that this film aired once and "vanished"; included is a fascinating clip showing Sellers in character as a frighteningly intense cult leader.

The DVD includes some intriguing special features.  I especially enjoyed Sellers' TV commercials for Barclay's Bank and TWA Airlines; in these ads the versatile Sellers gets to play some colorful characters, such as a hilarious Italian swinger.  There is also a fun behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the TWA ads.  Another extra is an engrossing 1971 TV interview with Sellers.  He talks about working on TV, the characters he portrayed in his radio career, and more.  This interview offers a funny and touching view of Sellers; it's especially fun to watch him clowning and causing the interviewer to laugh.  The DVD also includes a filmography of Sellers' work.

I have admired Sellers' work since I was a child, and this superb documentary left me admiring this great talent even more.  He truly was a one-of-a-kind performing artist whose best work remains as entertaining and as relevant as ever.  This documentary is the perfect companion to the award-winning biographical drama "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," in which Geoffrey Rush brilliantly plays Sellers.
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People who appreciate the visuals in movies should love this documentary as it deals with how they are photographed and how the cameramen and we, the viewer, see them. That may sound a bit dry, but this documentary is anything but that. They never stay more than a few minutes on any topic, personality or movie.

I appreciated this DVD more and more as I became more familiar with films. The more of a fan you are of both movies and cinematography, the higher you will rate this documentary. From silent movies to modern-day, the producers on this did a fine job showing examples of films from every decade up to 1990. (It would be fun to see an updated edition of this to include films since 1993)

This video gave me a new appreciation for black-and-white films. Some of the photography was magnificent and many cinematographers think that is the medium in which they could really show off their talents.

Regarding color, this documentary is where I first heard about the fabulously- filmed movie, "Days Of Heaven" (1978), which has become one of my all-time favorites. In all, there are about 125 films mentioned, so you may discover some gems you weren't aware of, as I did.

Whether you know most of these films or just a few, you should find a number of things in here interesting.
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This book is an excellent document of who Hitchcock's mind worked, picked apart piece by piece - film by film - by Truffaut, another bonafida master of the medium. Hitchcock is so assure of himself and his place, because his self-critique isn't so whitewashed and he admits to mistakes, admits to acts of brilliance and admits most of all that he was truly the genius filmmaker that every who has seen at least 3 of his films can attest to.
Detailed discussion on how shots were done in say, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds. Script changes in Rebecca, Suspicion and Spellbound.
Hitch's method is unique and can't (nor shouldn't) be copied, but to understand it enriches a readers subsequent understanding of cinema who's career spanned from the Silents to the 1970s!!! And he left and indeliable mark on directing, and film-storytelling as whole.
The only other interview book that is as exhaustive in the craft of filmmaking are Peter Bogdanovich's WHO THE DEVIL MADE I.T. His THIS IS ORSON WELLES isn't a bad supplement either!!
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If you've ever been curious about who Vampira is and how her presence has affected the genre of goth/horror film, this DVD has the answers. Glamor-goul Vampira as she is today walks you through how it all began; and how films changed her life. She was WAY ahead of her time, and this shockumentary is a fantastic chronicle of her journey with insights and commentary from a host of goulish actors, musicians, filmmakers, etc. There's lots of reflection on her appearance in Ed Wood's film "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

This is clearly a DVD made by a knowledgeable fan of old horror films who brings many of the names of horror-hosts old and new to one fascinating discussion on the Queen of Horror!

At the end of the shockumentary, we get the chance to listen to the filmmakers and how they brought it all together. If you like horror films and are fascinated on how it all began, you'll enjoy this immensely.
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This documentary is interesting, but I believe I am somewhat biased as I saw it only because I knew A Little Princess was on it.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mary's co-star was Francis Marion's husband. Also, the detailed description of the struggle to release Poor Little Rich Girl to the public is familiar to any who have read Mary Pickford's autobiography. There are many scenes of Francis and Mary together and constant reminders of how close they were.

This is almost like an addition documentary for Mary Pickford because most of the footage in it was not shown in Mary Pickford: A Life on Film.

It is also interesting to hear Mary speak candidly with Doug.

There were also several bonuses for myself in this film, including seeing Kevin Brownlow, a film historian I greatly admire, for the first time. Also, as a Little Rascals fan, seeing Jackie Cooper somewhat recently was also worth my time.

Finally, A Little Princess is very interesting as it is not released on any other tape. I agree with the dozens of critics who say the Ali Baba sequences are far too long, but it is somewhat interesting. I especially like the way they filmed Mary in the barrel.

Overall, I recommend this to any Mary Pickford fan, but I'm not sure if fans of Francis Marion will think it is up to par.
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Protagonist is by far one of the most interesting and well made documentaries that I have seen in a long time. Director Jessica Yu truly shows audiences her exquisite skills as a director and filmmaker alike. This documentary takes the viewer on an exciting journey into the psyches of four men who search to rectify themselves from their pasts by following extreme ambitions and paying little regard to themselves and others around them until it is almost too late.  Protagonist's subjects are both darkly seducing as well as spiritually enlightening.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone.  Its characters are not only intellectually stimulating, and sincere but also very funny and humored. This is truly a great documentary.
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The print of the film is beautiful.  I have been watching it off videotape for years - I wouldn't have guessed that the film image is that crisp and detailed.  Stunning.
The PBS documentary on the battle over the film, between Welles and William Randolph Hearst, is fascinating entertainment in its own right.  A wonderful and truly interesting documentary.  Pairing it with the definitive copy of the film, at minimal cost to consumers, is a great idea.
The audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich is reasonably interesting, and the audio commentary by Roger Ebert is especially deep and enjoyable.
For those who don't know, the movie itself is brilliant.  It exemplifies every element of what can make a film great : psychological depth, skillfully constructed screenplay, real human emotion and depth, great characters, great acting, great cinematography, real level of quality and ambition.  This DVD presents it in all its glory as well as supplemental materials that will please any fan and will give anyone new to the film much background as to why this film is frequently listed as the greatest of all time.
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Just in time for Black History Month comes the DVD of this landmark documentary on African American photographers. Not just modern ones, but going back to 1840! As a white American I never really gave thought to why I knew the names of many great photographers but the only black photographer I could name was  Gordon Parks, known mostly for his photography for Life Magazine - and later as director of the film "The Learning Tree".  Though Parks is - surprisingly - not mentioned in this film, a wealth of portraits by black photographers is covered in the 2013 film's 92 minutes.  You know how important this project is when you get to the final credits. Between the lengthy list of "Interns", "Donors" and "Archives", the credits run almost six minutes!

The film is Executive produced by Deborah Willis, upon whose book the film is based. Well-known black film director John Singleton ("Boys in the Hood", etc.) is another Executive Producer. The wonderful score was composed by Vernon Reid from the band Living Colour.

Director/Writer Thomas Allen Harris self-narrates the film and explains how he and his brother - also a photographer - got their first cameras from their father who told them to "go out and capture the world". He explains that it's a tradition in black families to have family portraits taken and compile "family albums". Using images from these albums, and contrasting them with racist images of blacks used in advertising until the mid 1950s, Harris shows us all what the typical black family looked like and how they lived.

There are useful bonuses on the DVD In addition to bios of not only the film's producing team, but the interviews and the photographers mentioned in the fil, there are 14 very short (most less than a minute) videos about the Digital Diaspora Video Reunion  (DDVR) project which goes to cities around the US and asks black families to bring their family albums and record their stories for future generations.

If you have an interest in photography or Black Studies or just want to see a fine documentary, I can highly recommend this DVD.

I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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Big Orson Welles fan; this documentary did not disappoint!
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the dvd that you get is standard flare. The extra interviews on the dvds are fairly short but there is no play all function to them. That is the only backdraw to the dvd for those who like this feature such as myself.
The documentary is a great primer for those interested in ayn rand and the history of her two most famous books- the fountainhead and of course- atlas shrugged. The documentary follows ayn rands path from childhood to her becoming an author and how the ideas of both the fountainhead and atlas shrugged were formed. Once the documentary gets to the publication of atlas shrugged it deals with how critics viciously panned the book yet now its reguarded by many who read it one of the best novels of the 20th century- of course don't try to argue that point with any college proffesors. The other aspect to the documentary begins to make comparisons of todays financial chaos and employnent problems to atlas shrugged which was 1st published back in the 50s. It makes for great conversation and some heated discussion to be sure when one of the aspects to raynd's belief was that religion was something one could do without. (A fact I myself have a hard time believing)- however the comparisons to the book and todays world are pretty hard to ignore and that is what makes this documentary so fascinating to watch.
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This movie is and always be one of the greatest films ever.  First of all the film quality.  It's like they made this movie last month. I also loved the bonus features that come with it.  Interviews with the stars of the movie.  The moving testimonies about James Dean literally brought me to tears.
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This review is an excerpt from my book "Killer B's: The 237 Best Movies On Video You've (Probably) Never Seen," which is available as an ebook on Amazon. If you enjoy this review, there are 236 more like it in the book (plus a whole lot more). Check it out!

THE THIN BLUE LINE: The title refers to the police force, a "thin blue line" between polite society and savage anarchy, but in this documentary, the phrase is used more ironically than literal. At 12:30 AM on the night of November 29, 1976, Dallas police officer Robert Wood was shot to death--apparently without provocation--by the driver of a car he had pulled over. The driver, however, swore that his hitchhiker, one Randall Dale Adams, did the deed. Adams was subsequently arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the death penalty for the crime. But was he actually guilty?

Director Errol Morris didn't believe so when he set out to make this dispassionate and objective review of the case and the facts. In doing so, he created a new movie form--investigative cinema--as well as a new role for himself: the director as detective. Using little more than interviews he filmed with everyone involved and dramatic recreations of different people's versions of the crime, Morris presents a spellbinding story of justice gone horribly--and obviously--awry.

Although the tone of the film is slow, sober and somber, as befits the subject matter, this mesmerizing movie plays more like a murder mystery than a dry documentary. Furthermore, this little film prompted a reopening of the case, which established the innocence of Randall Adams and resulted in his release from prison: a factual finale rivaling the best of Hollywood's fictional happy endings. Long before reality TV programs like "America's Most Wanted," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Forensic Files," "Cold Case Files" and "Cops" became popular, Morris was single-handedly creating the genre--as well as its best entry yet.

A final ironic note: Although Adams was eventually exonerated, thanks in part to this film, apparently freedom wasn't enough for him: he later sued Morris to regain the rights to his own life story.
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"Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story" is one of the most interesting
political documentaries around. The film focuses on Lee Atwater, a man who
served as a consultant to three presidents and was also the campaign
manager for George Bush.

While Atwater is most well known for an ad that he denied having any part
of, this documentary delves deeper into his personal life. In this film,
we see Atwater as a musician and entertainer.  Interviews from individuals
such as Tom DeLay, Sam Donaldson and Michael Dukakis help to paint a more
colorful picture of who Atwater is outside of politics. The film is
extremely interesting in that it manages both to highlight his extreme
love for music and expose his controversial political career at the same
time.

Was Lee Atwater a loved or hated man?  Boogie Man offers a deeper look into the compelling lives
of Atwater and other politicians as they live their lives outside of politics. This is a definite must-see!
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This dvd is excellent look at Dean Reed, American rock & roll singer turned international peace activist.  In the 1980s, Smart Alec me, I decided to end the cold war. I soon found out that Dean Reed had been working on that for many years. Soviet people told me all about him and I had the honor and pleasure of meeting him. This excellent dvd and the German website, deanreed.de will reveal the amazing story. I didn't have time to pay attention to Dean Reed's music until recent years. There are some great cuts online, and on this disc. I loved and respected him. Life is delicate and short for everyone. I think his story would be good for anyone. He understood the lying propaganda that keeps people from achieving peace. His story is important history from which much can be learned. I viewed the movie with Dean Reed, bought the disc several years after his death. Tech. quality is good. (Bob North, aka R. Perschmann).