#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.

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth (Naomi Kawase, 2001)

[stil-lindigo]

image i made for a powerpoint night with friends

[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.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

The Animal World - View-Master (1956)

[sacredwhores]

Todd Haynes - The Velvet Underground (2021)

[weirdlookindog]

Häxan (1922)

[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.

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Agnès Varda - Pier Paolo Pasolini - New York - 1967 (Agnès Varda, 2022)

[folklorespring]

What the actual fuck

[stevienicksgifs]

FLEETWOOD MAC — Rumours Photoshoot (Rosebud Film 1977) ☽ [stevie gifs] ☽

[cinematicmasterpiece]

paris is burning (1990)

[anyahita]

Global Metal (2008)