Claude Lanzmann’s nine-and-a-half-hour documentary on the Holocaust. Survivors, perpetrators and bystanders talk. The sites are shown as they are now. There is no archive footage of the camps in operation. This is the other side of Night and Fog. Resnais used the images so the atrocity could never be downplayed. Lanzmann refuses them. He makes …
A doctor, Andrew Bagby is found murdered in a park in Pennsylvania. His lifelong friend plans a documentary about his life featuring interviews with his family and friends along with clips from the short films Andrew starred in when they were growing up. There’s much more I could post about this feature, but I don’t …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 34- Dear Zachary (2008)
Stan Brakhage’s 32-minute film is soundless footage captured during autopsies in a Pittsburgh morgue. The film’s title is a literal meaning of the word ‘autopsy’. Obviously, don’t watch this whilst eating a meal (the first time I watched The Exorcist was whilst eating an evening meal with my dad. But that, as they say, is …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 22- The Act of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes (1971)
An 80’s pop group are going to make history by being the first Western ensemble to play in Communist China. Who would this group be? A critically respected group like The Smiths or The Cure who would surely take the opportunity to highlight the differences between the two worlds and use the expedition as fuel …
I love rock bios, especially the ones about the artists who never received their dues and devoted their lives to their art. I had been intrigued by the pop star and musician Lawrence since the release of the recent book Street-Level Superstar- My Year With Lawrence by Will Hodgkinson. I had sneered at Lawrence’s previous …
This is a great documentary about Ozploitation films (exploitation films made in Australia). All the great films and sub-genres are here- the bawdy Ocker comedies, the slasher movies, the films for petrolheads. The main players are interviewed demonstrating that making these insane films was just as insane in real life. I’m so glad that so much …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 12- Not Quite Hollywood (2008)
Out of all of the cinematic genres, I'd say apart from horror, that of the documentary is my favourite. A fantastic true story told brilliantly is worth it's weight in gold. Which leads us onto my Top 10 favourite documentaries of all time. Hold onto your hats- these aren't your average examples of the genre... …
My early teenage years were when I discovered my three favourite living film directors- John Waters, William Friedkin and Martin Scorsese. It was whilst I was frantically hunting down all of the movies made by Scorsese after first watching Taxi Driver when I was 14 that I read of a documentary made in 1977 called …
A new addition to Netflix, this documentary chronicles the life and activism of Peter Tatchell who has campaigned for gay rights and indeed, human rights since his late teens. Born in Australia, he campaigned for issues such as Aboriginal land rights whilst at college. He moved to Britain where days after his arrival he learnt …
Note- Nico Icon can be found here on YouTube. Please make sure you switch on the English subtitles before watching as some sequences are in French and German. I first became aware of the singer Nico in 1988, ironically the year the singer passed away. I was becoming a huge fan of Siouxsie and the …
