#film documentaries

[artfilmfan]

Israelism (Erin Axelman & Sam Eilertsen, 2023)

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Friedkin Uncut

I am, perhaps, not the most receptive audience for a documentary about William Friedkin. I find his films technically accomplished and often quite stirring but ultimately empty. So, watching him speak with no filters as the filmmakers cut to adoring, sometimes perceptive comments by people who’ve worked with him and young directors influenced by him can be a bit of a chore.

Francesco Zippel’s FRIEDKIN UNCUT (2018, TCM, Hulu) jumps all over the place. It starts with THE EXORCIST (1973) and then uses one statement about his being raised as a Jew to move to Friedkin’s childhood. After mentioning his first film — the documentary THE PEOPLE VS. PAUL CRUMP (1962), which helped get its subject off death row — it bypasses his early fiction films to focus on just six features. That’s a pity, as his GOOD TIMES (1967) and THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1968) are hard to find. The rest of the organization is rather haphazard. It’s not completely chronological. Zippel cuts to whatever the conversation brings up. But he doesn’t explore a lot of the topics very fully. And there are an awful lot of shots that seem there just to break things up. Do we really need to see a cigarette being lit as former detective Randy Jurgensen mentions the stunt driver’s smoking before filming the chase in THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) or shots of a book’s pages being rifled when they talk about THE EXORCIST? There are also lots of sequences of Friedkin’s attending festival tributes without much in the way of context. And for all the adulation, the only interview subjects to bring any real joy to the table are Quentin Tarantino, Willem Dafoe and Ellen Burstyn (if you could bottle the spirit she radiates, you’d make a fortune).

So, what do we learn about Friedkin? He thinks “rehearsals are for sissies.” He prefers to get a scene on the first take, even if there are technical issues. The only one of his films of which he thinks highly is SORCEROR (1977). And he never thinks of politics when he’s making a film. That latter, I think, says a lot about his work. I’m not suggesting he should find himself hobbled by political concerns, but maybe thinking of the ramifications of his plots might, I don’t know, deepen them a bit. It says a lot about the documentary that only one commentator, critic Samuel Blumenfeld, calls him on that statement. But then Blumenfeld also calls THE FRENCH CONNECTION and CRUISING (1980), two of Friedkin’s most tone-deaf films, the defining movies of their decade. YMMV, as we say on the net, and in my case it Vs with a vengeance.

[the-blueprint]

"Brazilian hand games and American hand games!!!! Realizing that the art of hand games comes from Africa! I never thought about it before. It was just embedded in our childhood."

"The collective consciousness is real"

"My goodness. We played this in Nigeria too."

There's a documentary with @jamilawoods called "Black Girls Play" about the history of handclap games in the US and their importance in the Black community. And a book before it called The Games Black Girls Play, by Kyra D. Gaunt.

[zegalba]

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) Dir. Jonas Mekas

[weirdlookindog]

Devil marking the witch in Häxan (1922)

[venusinmyrrh]

You said you love a good fashion doc- do you have any more to recommend?

Designers and tastemakers

Very Ralph (2019). The preeminent American designer of our time, one of the very few who can stand toe to toe with the titans of Paris and Milan. To call Ralph Lauren's work "sportswear" is to call the Sistine Chapel "kind of a big painting".

Halston (2019). Speaking of going head to head with Paris, Halston did it first. Skip Ultrasuede-- this is a much better doc about the king of American 70s disco glam.

McQueen (2018). When people talk about fashion as an art form, chances are they're thinking of Alexander McQueen. Worth watching for the pulse-pounding runway shows alone.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018). Obviously you already know about this one, but it's gotta go on any comprehensive list. Without Vivienne Westwood, punk would have been nothing but a handful of noisy assholes.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). My icon, my north star, my personal hero. The empress of taste and high priestess of personal style. Watch this doc whenever you need encouragement to do and wear whatever the hell you want.

The Gospel According to André (2017). Diana Vreeland's protegé and a godfather of style in his own right. If it happened in fashion in the last fifty years, André Leon Talley was there for it.

Lagerfeld Confidential (2007). I have a high tolerance for difficult and unpleasant people as long as I like their work. Your mileage may vary, but Karl Lagerfeld's immaculate, relentless taste cannot be denied.

Institutions and events

The First Monday in May (2016). Witness all the hustle, bustle, savvy, and stress that goes into planning the Met gala!

The September Issue (2009). Same as the above, but for the famous September issue of Vogue. Watch this to learn who Grace Coddington is.

Dior and I (2014). How do haute couture collections get made? In 8 weeks from start to finish, I guess, if you're Raf Simons during his first season at the House of Dior. A documentary and a thriller.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013). No matter what other retailers might want you to think, Bergdorf Goodman is the last great department store. A portrait, already halfway to a time capsule, of what luxury shopping used to be.

Peripheral, but may be of interest

Nose (2021). The passionate, delicate art of perfume creation for the House of Dior. The French landscapes where they source their materials will make you swoon.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (2017). As the makeup artist to pretty much every single icon of the 80s and 90s, Kevyn Aucoin invented the image of that era as much as any designer.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014). Come for the dazzling jewels and sumptuous objets d'art; stay to find out how this illustrious name ended up on hair care products in the 70s.

Crazy About Tiffany's (2016). Another luxury jeweler whose name alone is the stuff dreams are made on.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010). The original street style photographer, since before "street style" was even a thing. A love letter to curiosity, and a testament to the power of taking an interest in the world around us.

Still on my watchlist

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020). Directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is enough to put this Ferragamo doc at the top of my list.

Advanced Style (2014). Portraits of seven women aged 62-95 with truly fab personal style. Top Letterboxd review is seething about how out of touch they are with the real world, which means I am probably gonna love it.

Suited (2016). A study of gender through clothing in modern culture.

Dries (2017). A year-- and four collections-- in the life of Dries Van Noten, who, interestingly, doesn't see the point of clothes that people can't buy to wear, and so does not do couture.

Yellow is Forbidden (2018). This doc about Guo Pei appears to use her career as a framework to understand the gatekeeping of global culture by the West. Dope as hell, if it can pull it off.

American Style (2019). The political, social, and economic history of America through its fashion. Another one that could be really awesome if done with insight and panache.

Quant (2021). She may share the credit for inventing the miniskirt with two other people, but it cannot be argued that Mary Quant invented 1960s Swinging London. And for that we say thank you Dame Mary.

[sacredwhores]

Todd Haynes - The Velvet Underground (2021)

[stil-lindigo]

image i made for a powerpoint night with friends

[artfilmfan]

Lakota Nation vs. United States (Jesse Short Bull & Laura Tomaselli, 2022)

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Xan Cassavetes’ Z CHANNEL: A MAGNIFICENT OBESSION (2004, TCM) ends with Z Channel programming director Jerry Harvey’s favorite love song, “What’ll I Do,” played over a montage of scenes from films he programmed and, in many cases, saved from obscurity. It’s the perfect ending to a two-hour love letter to one of the first pay cable stations. From 1974 to 1989, the network won a devoted following in Los Angeles with an eclectic mix of classic, contemporary and obscure films. It achieved a golden era under Harvey, from 1980 until his death in 1988. A film fanatic, he created imaginative festivals, bringing back forgotten works, including those by famous directors, and pioneering in showing directors’ cuts of such films as HEAVEN’S GATE (1980), THE WILD BUNCH (1969) and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984) that had originally been butchered by production companies. When Harvey championed current films like SALVADOR (1986), he even influenced the Oscars, helping the until-then-forgotten picture pick up nominations for Best Actor and Best Screenplay. There are wonderful film clips sprinkled through the picture, which otherwise is mostly a talking heads documentary as co-workers, friends and filmmakers remember Harvey and the channel. Cassavetes is a sensitive interviewer and gets some great memories out of people. Occasionally, she overindulges them, and they go into lengthy production stories that really have nothing to do with the Z Channel. But when it hits, which is most of the time, the film is a testament to the power of movies as an art form and the impact of the people who love them.

[that-butch-archivist]

the documentary "the aggressives" about poc butches is on streaming and can be bought idk if that's useful or anything but i just watched it and thought it fit in here

It's totally useful, thanks for reaching out!! I've not had time to watch this one myself yet but it's high on the list for ... whenever I get a moment. I've heard really good things and all, and--oh shit it's free on Tubi ... HMMM. Okay. Well. I know what I have to see later lol. xD

But yes, anon is right--for those interested in seeing more butches of color, or just butches in general, please take a look at "The Aggressives"!

"The Aggressives" on Wikipedia. "The Aggressives" (free to watch!) on Tubi.

[guyfa1lure]

live scott tibbs reaction to the news about his best friend(boyfriend)'s death:

[weirdlookindog]

Häxan (1922)

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Witches (Elizabeth Sankey, 2024)

[atomic-chronoscaph]

The Animal World - View-Master (1956)