Documentary

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

  • Title: Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
  • IMDb: link

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound reviewDirector Midge Costin‘s documentary on the importance and evolution of sound in movies offers a peak back at the progression of sound in film over the decades and the artists and movies which propelled the artistry forward. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound features interviews from a number of directors (who include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, Robert Redford, Ang Lee, and Sofia Coppola) and sound editors (Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, Lora Hirschberg, Cece Hall, and others) who speak about both specific films and the use of sound in general.

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Mike Wallace is Here

  • Title: Mike Wallace is Here
  • IMDb: link

Mike Wallace Is Here DVD reviewIncluding interviews and clips, Mike Wallace is Here examines the career of media personality turned newsman and one of the driving forces behind 60 Minutes. Offering details about Mike Wallace‘s personal life and his stature in the news community given his previous job as an actor and a pitch man Parliament cigarettes, director Avi Belkin offers several interesting tidbits to keep the viewer’s interest. Honestly, I had no idea so much of the old school “real” journalists looked down on Wallace and niche he helped create.

Much of the documentary focuses on Wallace’s interview style that began with Night Beat and continued as a staple of 60 Minutes giving him a legendary status for never letting a subject off the hook. Using the large amount of archive footage available including interviews with Wallace and several of his peers, Belkin arguably blends together as complete a picture of the man and his legacy as any documentary who had access to a living subject which both entertains and informs. The film is available on DVD and several streaming platforms.

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Never Surrender

  • Title: Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary
  • IMDb: link

Never Surrender movie reviewFor one night only the documentary looking back at Galaxy Quest played as part of Fathom Events. Just in time for the film’s 20th anniversary, Screen Junkies puts together a solid documentary with interviews from director Dean Parisot, screenwriter Robert Gordon, editor Don Zimmerman, producer Mark Johnson, fans (including a pair of notable Star Trek: The Next Generation stars), and the cast (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Justin Long, and others) of the 1999 film that examines the troubled history of bringing the film to screen and its enduring legacy as the best Star Trek movie ever made.

Both spoofing and honoring the original Star Trek, with a mix of humor, drama, and sci-fi, it’s not surprising to learn that the studio didn’t know quite what to make of Galaxy Quest. Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary is a loving look at the under-performing box office release that has found a rabid fan base over the years. There are some nice tidbits here, including Harold Ramis signing as the original director for the film, stories from the set, and the studio’s original choice for Jason Nesmith.

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Scandalous

  • Title: Scandalous: The True Story of the National Enquirer
  • IMDb: link

Scandalous movie reviewScandalous: The True Story of the National Enquirer examines the creation of and the highs and lows of the National Enquirer over the years starting with the paper’s purchase and relaunch under owner Generoso Pope Jr. in 1952. It’s a fascinating look at the paper’s turn from gore to celebrity-based stories to its more recent entry to politics and how it played a role in public perception of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s run for Governor of California to Donald Trump’s presidential bid in 2016 (the later being something many are still quite conflicted about).

The documentary contains interviews with several former editors and reporters for the paper who all seem to have a mix of pride and shame for their association with the magazine. Neither they nor the documentary shies away from the stories of the paper pushing limits of good taste and legality in exploring news stories. The film also includes anecdotes of the magazine extorting subjects of their exposées and making deals shelf stories for a profitable ongoing relationship (such as ignoring several reports of Bill Cosby and Bob Hope’s behavior towards women in favor of puff pieces with the celebrities).

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They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead

  • Title: They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead
  • IMDb: link

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead movie reviewFor more than a decade before his death, Orson Welles worked on a film that was never finished. The new documentary by Morgan Neville, featuring plenty of clips from The Other Side of the Wind and interviews with cast and crew, takes audiences back into Welles’ struggle with the experimental film about an aging director and his tumultuous relationship with Hollywood. Although Welles repeatedly denied any autobiographical nature to the film, as the documentary points out, it’s hard to not see the parallels to his own life.

With The Other Side of the Wind finally finished and released almost five decades after Welles began the project, They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead is timely both in explaining the project’s history and enticing viewers to seek out the movie itself. The documentary doesn’t shy away from the rougher edges of Welles’ nature whose bullying hardheadedness led to strained relationships. Like many documentaries in the same vein, the main takeaway from They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead is how hard it is to get a film made. Whether a fan of Welles or just movies in general, the documentary is definitely worth your time.

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