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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=963
- Wanderlust
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=962
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=962#commentsSat, 26 May 2007 21:07:56 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=962
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- Wanderlust, an IFC/Netflix documentary chronicling the “road picture” genre in movies, works in fits and starts, particularly when it sticks to letting actual clips from celebrated road films speak for themselves. But gradually, the documentary becomes less and less interesting as the generalities and cliches pile up, bogging down in its own one-sided aesthetic and political viewpoints.
Wanderlust works best when it lets the films discussed, speak for themselves. Generous clips from movies as diverse as The Grapes of Wrath, Detour and Vanishing Point more than get across their own points about America’s restless love affair with the road, with freedom, and with speed. Unfortunately, the directors of Wanderlust, Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, don’t trust enough in the power that these images have to hold an audience, so they graft on an utterly superfluous fictional framing device of having “The Editor” (Paul Rudd) and “The Director” (Tom McCarthy) go out on the road to finish their/this documentary. Poorly written and indifferently (at best) acted, these scenes pop up throughout the documentary proper, aping scenes from other road pictures, while totally destroying the rhythm and context that the directors keep trying to build.
Quite a few familiar faces show up in Wanderlust to talk about the road picture, including Dennis Hopper, Wim Wenders, Gus Van Sant, Sam Shepard, Barry Levinson, Robert Benton, Karen Black, Monte Hellman, Arthur Hiller, Hal Needham, Lazlo Kovacs, Richard C. Sarafian, and many others. And while their comments are for the most part considered and helpful in widening the audience’s appreciation of the genre (photographer Jeff Brouws comes off as the most thoughtful and fair in his assessment of the genre), generalities do tend to crop up (mostly at the hands of the two film historians that appear on camera). If you have any background in film or movie history, or for that matter, just a lot of experience watching films, you probably won’t hear anything here that you didn’t know already.
As well, Wanderlust’s take on the various road pictures, both from an artistic and political standpoint, tends to be fixed along all-too-familiar lines. While no one is discounting the fact that a great many road pictures reflect or embody existential, introspective, nihilistic or ironic elements of society, that doesn’t mean other examples of the road film that don’t, are somehow less valid as artistic works. The film makes a point of singling out Hollywood “entertainment” road pictures, like Midnight Run, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Smokey and the Bandit as examples of frivolous trifles that emphasis only pyrotechnics, spectacle and slapstick humor. It’s an age-old, elitist snobbery that goes back to Chaplin versus Laurel and Hardy: that somehow, depressing drama is intrinsically more “valuable” artistically, than comedy.
As well, the modern obsession in film studies with angst, and the subsequent imperious dismissal of comedy or anything that may be considered “light” or ultimately hopeful or positive, comes from a certain quarter of the film industry and film historians, and frankly, it’s a boring cliche. I, for one, would take Midnight Run any day over some of the pretentious claptrap that’s championed in Wanderlust. I’m not sure if Hal Needham realized it at the time, but his inclusion in this film, and the choices that were made as to which of his sound bites to use, would indicate to me that he was included as proof that Smokey and the Bandit was a soulless, money-making machine, and not a ragged, rough, woolly cartoon brought to road picture life (with one of the all-time great comedic performances by Jackie Gleason). Other road pictures that involve comedy or romance that ends hopefully (as opposed to something like Gun Crazy or Bonnie and Clyde), aren’t even included, such as the beautiful, mesmerizing Two for the Road, or the biggest road picture of all: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World — a comedy. Politics play a part in these distinctions, as well; the film makes a point of criticizing the “inherent immorality of Reaganomics,” in relation to the yuppie-based road pictures (such as Something Wild), but nowhere did I hear the names “John Kennedy” or “Lyndon Johnson” in connection with Vietnam, and its impact on the turbulence of the 1960s, and by extension, the road picture genre (indeed, Wanderlust only shows Nixon and Reagan’s faces in its newsreel clips – never LBJ or Carter or Clinton). A discussion of politics is necessary when trying to understand this genre, but staying to one side of the political fence only marginalizes the film’s conclusions.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=962
- Fay Grim
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=952
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=952#commentsWed, 23 May 2007 16:40:11 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherNewsGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink Dumphttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=952
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- A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley’s “Henry Fool“, where Fay Grim (Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromises the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=952
- Hal Hartley - 7 shorts + Interview
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=953
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=953#commentsTue, 22 May 2007 18:10:26 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherArticlesGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink Dumphttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=953
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- Shorts and Hal Hartely Interview
1. Other Also - Hal Hartley
2. Opera No. 1 (1994) Hal Hartley
3. Sisters of Mercy (2004) Hal Hartley
4. NYC 3/94 (1994) Hal Hartley
5. New Math(s) (2000) Hal Hartley
6. Soon (1998) Hal Hartley (excerpts from SOON)
7. Kimono (2000) Hal Hartley
8. Interview with Hal Hartley , June 2004
Eleven films created between 1983 and 2000, Vox 13 offers a grand circumnavigation of the subject of language. These films consider what it means to read, what it means to listen, when it is that we speak, how words acquire meaning, what it means to write, who we listen to, how we listen, what speaks, other ways we can speak, what the voice is, where language can be found, what words do to time, what holds stories together, and how light shapes language.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=956
- /ubu Editions, Third Series (Spring 2007): Edited by Danny Snelson
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=955
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=955#commentsTue, 22 May 2007 13:22:58 +0000Dr GreySatelliteEventsGPCE-BooksLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=955
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- /ubu Editions, Third Series (Spring 2007): Edited by Danny Snelson
UbuWeb is pleased to present the latest installment of our ongoing series of full-length e-books. Titles for this series include works by Steve Benson, Maurice Blanchot, Mairéad Byrne, Terence Gower & Mónica de la Torre, Dick Higgins, Bernard Nöel, Severo Sarduy, Claude Simon, Rosemarie Waldrop, Robert Wilson, and Monique Wittig. This new series of /ubu editions presents eleven out-of-print works from 1957 to 1994 - and also includes three newer titles (1999-2007). Of the historical republications, there are three works of poetry, three works of prose, one opera libretto, one work of critical theory, and one manifesto - though each piece blurs these genres. Seven were written in English, four appear in translation, and one is bilingual. Two authors could be considered language poets, two are associated with Tel Quel, one arguably initiated Fluxus, another arguably initiated the new novel. Four are women, nine are men. One title was changed for its /ubu publication.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=955
- Her Noise: Women in Experimental Music
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=954
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=954#commentsTue, 22 May 2007 13:17:40 +0000Dr GreySatelliteVideoEventsGPCLink DumpUbuWebWTBTNhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=954
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- Her Noise: Women in Experimental Music (2007)
A video documenting the development of the Her Noise project between 2001 and 2005 and features interviews with artists including Diamanda Galas, Lydia Lunch, Kim Gordon, Jutta Koether, Peaches, Marina Rosenfeld, Kembra Pfhaler, Chicks On Speed, Else Marie Pade, Kaffe Matthews, Emma Hedditch, Christina Kubisch and the show’s curators, Lina Dzuverovic and Anne Hilde Neset. The documentary also features excerpts from live performances held during the Her Noise exhibition at South London Gallery by Kim Gordon, Jutta Koether and Jenny Hoyston (Erase Errata), Christina Carter, Heather Leigh Murray, Ana Da Silva (The Raincoats), Spider And The Webs, Partyline and Marina Rosenfeld’s ‘Emotional Orchestra’ at Tate Modern. Her Noise celebrates the occasion of Electra, the London-based arts agency, new partnership with UbuWeb.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=954
- 50th San Francisco International Film Festival
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=951
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=951#commentsSun, 20 May 2007 23:37:21 +0000Pale RiderSatelliteVideoOtherArticlesNewsMobileGPCPSPcatchingPale RiderPodcastiPodLink DumpMailbaghttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=951
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Executive Director Graham Leggat discusses Emanuele Crialese’s Golden Door, a sweeping tale of early 20th century Sicilian emigration to the United States.
Spike Lee - Directing Award recipient
Since world premiering his debut film She’s Gotta Have It, at the San Francisco International in 1986, Spike Lee has come a long way. Listen to Rod Armstrong’s profile of the Film Society Directing Award recipient.
Peter Morgan - Kanbar screenwriting award
Kanbar screenwriting award recipient Peter Morgan, the writer of The Queen and The Last King of Scotland, is profiled by Graham Leggat.
Fog City Mavericks
Listen to Graham Leggat speak about this documentary on Bay Area filmmaking history, which chronicles the rise of pioneering filmmakers like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=951
- Bearing Witness
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=940
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=940#commentsTue, 15 May 2007 23:54:03 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherNewsMobileGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=940
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- Celebrated filmmaker Barbara Kopple teamed with Marijana Wotton to direct and produce this documentary about five female war correspondents in Iraq where, in the past four years, 152 journalists have been killed. Her subjects are seasoned, multi-award winning photographers, videographers, and writers (Molly Bingham, Marie Colvin, Janine Di Giovanni, Mary Rogers, and May Ying Welsh) whose previous assignments have taken them to war zones in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Following them from the early days of the U.S. invasion through the increasingly chaotic and violent occupation and insurgency of 2003-4, we get to see how they go about getting their stories and witness a behind the scenes view of Iraq that’s more raw than anything on TV. Often physically and emotionally drained, pursued by nightmares and anxieties, these five extraordinarily courageous and committed women generously allow the filmmakers into their work and private lives. (Amy Taubin)Directors: Barbara Kopple, Marijana Wotton, Bob Eisenhardt
Producers: Marijana Wotton, Barbara Kopple
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=940
- The G-Spot Episode #5
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=942
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=942#commentsMon, 14 May 2007 21:29:43 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherMobileGPCPale RiderPodcastBitTorrentiPodLink DumpUbuWebThe G-SPothttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=942
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- This special episode is offered up in both video and audio iPod formats. This piece, titled Pan and Me serves as a rambling preamble to the soon to follow drunken constitution known as THE EGG. Not much can be said about THE EGG other than it has begun pre-production and that nothing else can be said about it. Follow Joseph Matheny into realms hitherto unknown as he explores the strange world of synchronicity, Santa Cruz and Pan.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=94200:01:01This special episode is offered up in both video and audio iPod formats. This piece, titled Pan and Me serves as a rambling preamble ...This special episode is offered up in both video and audio iPod formats. This piece, titled Pan and Me serves as a rambling preamble to the soon to follow drunken constitution known as THE EGG. Not much can be said about THE EGG other than it has begun pre-production and that nothing else can be said about it. Follow Joseph Matheny into realms hitherto unknown as he explores the strange world of synchronicity, Santa Cruz and Pan. Torrent version #124; mv4 Altertube versions: Part 1 #124; Part 2 Podcast versionsDownload Pan and Me VideoDownload Pan and Me AudioShare ThisVideo, Other, Mobile, GPC, Pale Rider, Podcast, BitTorrent, iPod, Link Dump, UbuWeb, The G-SPotGreylodge Podcasting CompanyyesNo
- UbuWeb Featured Resources May 2007 Selected by Adalaide Morris
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=934
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=934#commentsSun, 06 May 2007 12:01:07 +0000Dr GreyAudioSatelliteVideoArticlesGPCPSPcatchingiPodLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=934
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- UbuWeb
Featured Resources May 2007
Selected by Adalaide Morris
Adalaide Morris is John C. Gerber Professor of English at the University of Iowa, where she teaches courses in modern and contemporary poetry and poetics. Her publications include How to Live/What to Do: H.D.’s Cultural Poetics (Illinois, 2003) and two edited collections, Sound States: Innovative Poetics and Acoustical Technologies (North Carolina, 1997) and, with Thom Swiss, New Media Poetics: Contexts, Technotexts, and Theories (MIT, 2006). Her current project is a book with the tentative title What Else Can Poetry Do? With Alan Golding and Lynn Keller, she co-edits the Contemporary North American Poetry Series at the University of Iowa Press.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=934
- Amusing Ourselves to Death
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=930
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=930#commentsWed, 02 May 2007 17:31:13 +0000Dr GreyAudioSatelliteGPCFeatureGPod Audio BooksiPodLink Dumphttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=930
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- Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
By Neil Postman (audiobook)
We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions”. In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
—Foreword from Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=930
- Postcards from the Future: The Chuck Palahniuk Documentary
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=923
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=923#commentsSat, 28 Apr 2007 23:27:31 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherMobileGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=923
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- Postcards From The Future: The Chuck Palahniuk Documentary takes a look at author Chuck Palahniuk’s landmark year of 2003. With back to back books and subsequent tours hitting the public, Chuck’s year was filled with success, controversy, and even phenomena. But what many fans don’t know is that this entire year kicked off with a mysterious conference held on his work in a small town in Pennsylvania. As guests of the conference, my fellow documentarians and I attended the three day event and captured some of the most exclusive material a fan could hope for. Chuck read from his novels, hosted multiple Q&As, gave an hour long exclusive presentation, participated in a screening of Fight Club, signed books and, best of all, sat down for a very candid one hour interview. But it wasn’t until the days of editing this piece together that followed that we realized the true gift of the conference – for Chuck had attended with a very important motive and message for his fans: To evolve a generation of young readers… into writers.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=923
- Ennio Morricone: Arena Concerto
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=922
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=922#commentsFri, 27 Apr 2007 18:25:13 +0000Pale RiderAudioSatelliteVideoOtherArticlesMobileGPCPSPcatchingPale RiderPodcastBitTorrentiPodLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=922
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- The man behind some of the most instantly-recognizable film scores of the 20th Century is joined by the Roma Sinfonietta orchestra in performing such classic compositions as The Untouchables, The Mission, and Once Upon a Time in America in this release of a concert performance originally captured in Verona on September 28, 2002. The composer’s son Giovanni directs the performance.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=92283:48The man behind some of the most instantly-recognizable film scores of the 20th Century is joined by the Roma Sinfonietta orchestra in performing such classic ...The man behind some of the most instantly-recognizable film scores of the 20th Century is joined by the Roma Sinfonietta orchestra in performing such classic compositions as The Untouchables, The Mission, and Once Upon a Time in America in this release of a concert performance originally captured in Verona on September 28, 2002. The composer's son Giovanni directs the performance. Download Torrent of Video- DivX AVI- 589 mb. AUDIO ONLYDownload Ennio Morricone: Arena ConcertoShare ThisAudio, Satellite, Video, Other, Articles, Mobile, GPC, PSPcatching, Pale Rider, Podcast, BitTorrent, iPod, Link Dump, UbuWebGreylodge Podcasting CompanyyesNo
- FUCK
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=921
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=921#commentsSun, 22 Apr 2007 21:23:13 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=921
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- This challenging and provocative documentary takes a look on all sides of the infamous F-word. Its taboo,obscene and controversial, yet somehow seems to permeate every single aspect of our culture-from Hollywood, to the schoolyard to the Senate floor in Washington D.C. It’s the word at the very center of the debate on Free Speech - and everyone seems to have an opinion. FUCK will exam how the word is impacting our world today thru interviews, film and television clips, music, and original animation by Oscar nominee Bill Plympton. Scholars and linguists will examine the long history of fuck. Comedians, actors, and writers who have charted and popularized the upward course of fuck will be heard from, often while defending the Constitutional Right of Free Speech, all the way to the Supreme Court. FUCK will visit with those who actually fuck for a living. We’ll hear from advocates who oppose fuck and it’s infringement into our everyday lives. We’ll watch some of the most famous and infamous film and television clips that feature fuck, we’ll hear some of the most famous fucks ever uttered and we’ll feel the impact of fuck on our everyday lives. (imdb)
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=921
- Pirates of the Multiplex
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=919
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=919#commentsWed, 18 Apr 2007 23:59:13 +0000Pale RiderVideoOtherArticlesNewsGPCPale RiderBitTorrentLink Dumphttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=919
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- Under U.S. pressure, Swedish authorities are going after the popular Pirate Bay Web site for illegal distribution of video files. But if Hollywood wants to stop online pirates—who cost the industry some $7 billion in 2005—it needs to join them, not beat them.
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=919
- The G-Spot Episode #3
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=918
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=918#commentsMon, 16 Apr 2007 23:20:09 +0000Pale RiderAudioOtherNewsGPCPale RiderPodcastiPodLink DumpThe G-SPothttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=918
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- In this episode:
Wes Unruh talks with Ninah Pixie about Women Take Back The Noise, circuit-bending, No Other Radio on KPFA, and the growth of noise globally. Wes then follows up with Goth Rap artist Roman O about the transition from working with a heavy metal/hard rock club band to working as a solo gothic industrial hip hop artist. Both of these interviews are follow-ups to the previous print interviews. (Ninah Pixie, Roman O)
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http://greylodge.org/gpc/?feed=rss2&p=91841:01In this episode: Wes Unruh talks with Ninah Pixie about Women Take Back The Noise, circuit-bending, No Other Radio on KPFA, and the growth of noise ...In this episode: Wes Unruh talks with Ninah Pixie about Women Take Back The Noise, circuit-bending, No Other Radio on KPFA, and the growth of noise globally. Wes then follows up with Goth Rap artist Roman O about the transition from working with a heavy metal/hard rock club band to working as a solo gothic industrial hip hop artist. Both of these interviews are follow-ups to the previous print interviews. (Ninah Pixie, Roman O) Music by Choronzon, Ava Mendoza, Khate, BCO Women’s Auxiliary, Lexen, and Roman ODownload The G-Spot Episode #3Share ThisAudio, Other, News, GPC, Pale Rider, Podcast, iPod, Link Dump, The G-SPotGreylodge Podcasting CompanyyesNo
- The US vs John Lennon
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=916
http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=916#commentsSat, 14 Apr 2007 21:33:05 +0000Pale RiderSatelliteVideoOtherArticlesNewsMobileGPCPSPcatchingPale RiderBitTorrentLink DumpUbuWebhttp://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=916
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- There’s a confrontation in the fascinating new documentary “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” that sums up why the most sardonic, most earnest and most intelligent of the Beatles can still drive people nuts, 26 years after his death. It’s the early ’70s, probably 1972, a year that marked a turning point in Lennon’s life and, if you ask me, in American history. Sitting alongside his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon is locked in heated conversation with Gloria Emerson, then a famous (some would say infamous) foreign correspondent for the New York Times.
The scene is brief but electric. (The same clip reportedly appears in the 1988 film “Imagine: John Lennon,” which I haven’t seen since its release.) There’s none of the star-fucking or ego-fellation that today characterizes celebrity interviews. Emerson and Lennon are both angry, and getting angrier. She finds the Lennon-Ono publicity stunts and peacenik ballads naive and simplistic, and she’s letting him know that. Eyes boring into her, Lennon says he doesn’t care about that, that his only goal is to end the Vietnam War and save lives. “You can’t possibly believe that you’ve saved a single life!” Emerson says in her exaggerated upper-crust drawl. “Dear boy, you’re living in a dream world.” Lennon flicks her away like an insect, pointing out that “Give Peace a Chance” had become both a pop hit and the unofficial anthem of the antiwar movement. More >>
Bookmark follows JG Ballard from Shepperton to Shanghai and back
Wanderlust, an IFC/Netflix documentary chronicling the “road picture” genre in movies, works in fits and starts, particularly when it sticks to letting actual clips from celebrated road films speak for themselves. But gradually, the documentary becomes less and less interesting as the generalities and cliches pile up, bogging down in its own one-sided aesthetic and political viewpoints.
A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley’s “
Celebrated filmmaker Barbara Kopple teamed with Marijana Wotton to direct and produce this documentary about five female war correspondents in Iraq where, in the past four years, 152 journalists have been killed. Her subjects are seasoned, multi-award winning photographers, videographers, and writers (Molly Bingham, Marie Colvin, Janine Di Giovanni, Mary Rogers, and May Ying Welsh) whose previous assignments have taken them to war zones in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Following them from the early days of the U.S. invasion through the increasingly chaotic and violent occupation and insurgency of 2003-4, we get to see how they go about getting their stories and witness a behind the scenes view of Iraq that’s more raw than anything on TV. Often physically and emotionally drained, pursued by nightmares and anxieties, these five extraordinarily courageous and committed women generously allow the filmmakers into their work and private lives. (Amy Taubin)Directors: Barbara Kopple, Marijana Wotton, Bob Eisenhardt
This special episode is offered up in both video and audio iPod formats. This piece, titled Pan and Me serves as a rambling preamble to the soon to follow drunken constitution known as 
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Postcards From The Future: The Chuck Palahniuk Documentary takes a look at author Chuck Palahniuk’s landmark year of 2003. With back to back books and subsequent tours hitting the public, Chuck’s year was filled with success, controversy, and even phenomena. But what many fans don’t know is that this entire year kicked off with a mysterious conference held on his work in a small town in Pennsylvania. As guests of the conference, my fellow documentarians and I attended the three day event and captured some of the most exclusive material a fan could hope for. Chuck read from his novels, hosted multiple Q&As, gave an hour long exclusive presentation, participated in a screening of Fight Club, signed books and, best of all, sat down for a very candid one hour interview. But it wasn’t until the days of editing this piece together that followed that we realized the true gift of the conference – for Chuck had attended with a very important motive and message for his fans: To evolve a generation of young readers… into writers.
The man behind some of the most instantly-recognizable film scores of the 20th Century is joined by the Roma Sinfonietta orchestra in performing such classic compositions as The Untouchables, The Mission, and Once Upon a Time in America in this release of a concert performance originally captured in Verona on September 28, 2002. The composer’s son Giovanni directs the performance.
This challenging and provocative documentary takes a look on all sides of the infamous F-word. Its taboo,obscene and controversial, yet somehow seems to permeate every single aspect of our culture-from Hollywood, to the schoolyard to the Senate floor in Washington D.C. It’s the word at the very center of the debate on Free Speech - and everyone seems to have an opinion. FUCK will exam how the word is impacting our world today thru interviews, film and television clips, music, and original animation by Oscar nominee Bill Plympton. Scholars and linguists will examine the long history of fuck. Comedians, actors, and writers who have charted and popularized the upward course of fuck will be heard from, often while defending the Constitutional Right of Free Speech, all the way to the Supreme Court. FUCK will visit with those who actually fuck for a living. We’ll hear from advocates who oppose fuck and it’s infringement into our everyday lives. We’ll watch some of the most famous and infamous film and television clips that feature fuck, we’ll hear some of the most famous fucks ever uttered and we’ll feel the impact of fuck on our everyday lives. (
Under U.S. pressure, Swedish authorities are going after the popular Pirate Bay Web site for illegal distribution of video files. But if Hollywood wants to stop online pirates—who cost the industry some $7 billion in 2005—it needs to join them, not beat them.
There’s a confrontation in the fascinating new documentary “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” that sums up why the most sardonic, most earnest and most intelligent of the Beatles can still drive people nuts, 26 years after his death. It’s the early ’70s, probably 1972, a year that marked a turning point in Lennon’s life and, if you ask me, in American history. Sitting alongside his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon is locked in heated conversation with Gloria Emerson, then a famous (some would say infamous) foreign correspondent for the New York Times.