list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Encounters at the End of the World on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Encounters_at_the_End_of_the_World/352800/default.aspx Title: Encounters at the End of the World
Year: 2008
Director: Werner Herzog
Plot: Werner Herzog, director of such acclaimed documentaries as Grizzly Man and Little Dieter Needs to Fly, offers his unique perspective on the South Pole in this film profiling the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station. Located on Ross Island, McMurto Station is the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. Whether offering a detailed study of the unique survival training regiment that newcomers to McMurdo are obligated to endure or pondering the majestic beauty of a landscape where the discovery of three new species in a single day is nothing to get excited about, Herzog boldly offers viewers the opportunity to visit one of the most inaccessible and awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 45
Number of Lists: 14
Number of blog posts: 16
Number of discussion threads: 5
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:01:04 GMTEncounters at the End of the World2008Werner Herzog<a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____94214/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Werner Herzog</a>, director of such acclaimed documentaries as <a href="http://www.spout.com/films/253272/detail.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Grizzly Man</a> and <a href="http://www.spout.com/films/114539/detail.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Little Dieter Needs to Fly</a>, offers his unique perspective on the South Pole in this film profiling the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station. Located on Ross Island, McMurto Station is the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. Whether offering a detailed study of the unique survival training regiment that newcomers to McMurdo are obligated to endure or pondering the majestic beauty of a landscape where the discovery of three new species in a single day is nothing to get excited about, Herzog boldly offers viewers the opportunity to visit one of the most inaccessible and awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide45Tag Target (>10)141654http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s352800.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Encounters_at_the_End_of_the_World/352800/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_documentaries_directed_by_Werner/657/42585/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: tadiv
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 6/9/2009 12:01:04 PM
Body: Encounters at the End of the World gets my vote... Tom
]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:01:04 GMTtadivMovie Polls6/9/2009 12:01:04 PMEncounters at the End of the World gets my vote... Tom http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Which_of_these_documentaries_directed_by_Werner_He/657/42584/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 6/9/2009 11:38:35 AM
Body: Please reference this thread for the rules of this group. Whether documentary or narrative, Herzog states that he tries to find a kind of deeper truth in a constructed reality. Please vote only once in each poll. Movies referenced in this poll:Encounters at the End of the WorldDie große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner)Grizzly ManLand des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence and Darkness)Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons of Darkness)Little Dieter Needs to FlyMein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (My Best Fiend)Wheel of TimeThe White DiamondJulianes Sturz in den Dschungel (Wings of Hope)
]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:38:35 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls6/9/2009 11:38:35 AMPlease reference this thread for the rules of this group. Whether documentary or narrative, Herzog states that he tries to find a kind of deeper truth in a constructed reality. Please vote only once in each poll. Movies referenced in this poll:Encounters at the End of the WorldDie gro&szlig;e Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner)Grizzly ManLand des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence and Darkness)Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons of Darkness)Little Dieter Needs to FlyMein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (My Best Fiend)Wheel of TimeThe White DiamondJulianes Sturz in den Dschungel (Wings of Hope) http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2009/2/27/40731.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 2/27/2009 6:02:34 PM
Body: “It often seems that when there isn’t an obvious, populist pick in the Academy’s documentary feature category (such as Bowling for Columbine, March of the Penguins or An Inconvenient Truth), the field is rife for an upset,” points out Kris Tapley. This may, he suggests, be evidence enough that James Marsh’s Man on Wire, the presumed frontrunner in the Oscar Best Documentary category, is vulnerable to an upset. That makes sense. Slightly more aggravating: the substance behind Tapley’s suggestion that Wire doesn’t deserve to win. “Having finally viewed all of the nominees, I can’t deny how impactful each of the other contenders is,” Tapley writes. “Furthermore, James Marsh’s film is largely composed of talking head interviews and pre-existing footage, not to mention dubious reenactments. Each of the other contenders, meanwhile, are the result of original filmmaking.” I agree that Encounters at the End of the World and The Betrayal are qualitatively more interesting films (I haven’t seen The Garden). My questions: what is it about Trouble the Water’s handicam verite that qualifies as the more “original filmmaking”, and what qualifies the reenactments in Wire –– which I thought were subtle, artful, and necessary –– as “dubious”? “Dubious” is a word that Tapley uses a lot. Remembering that he used it to describe my review of Dear Zachary, I did a search for “dubious” on his site, and saw that the phrase “dubious reenactments” also popped up in his review of the Oscar shortlisted film Blessed is the Match. So now I’m wondering if that word means what I think it means. In any case, I’ve lost my share of Oscar pools thanks to surprises in the Best Documentary category, so I’m on board with the concept that Man on Wire may not be a safe bet. And as much respect as that film deserves, I’d rather see Werner Herzog win, not just for the brilliance of Encounters, but for his entire nonfiction filmmaking career. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:02:34 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog2/27/2009 6:02:34 PM“It often seems that when there isn’t an obvious, populist pick in the Academy’s documentary feature category (such as Bowling for Columbine, March of the Penguins or An Inconvenient Truth), the field is rife for an upset,” points out Kris Tapley. This may, he suggests, be evidence enough that James Marsh’s Man on Wire, the presumed frontrunner in the Oscar Best Documentary category, is vulnerable to an upset. That makes sense. Slightly more aggravating: the substance behind Tapley’s suggestion that Wire doesn’t deserve to win. “Having finally viewed all of the nominees, I can’t deny how impactful each of the other contenders is,” Tapley writes. “Furthermore, James Marsh’s film is largely composed of talking head interviews and pre-existing footage, not to mention dubious reenactments. Each of the other contenders, meanwhile, are the result of original filmmaking.” I agree that Encounters at the End of the World and The Betrayal are qualitatively more interesting films (I haven’t seen The Garden). My questions: what is it about Trouble the Water’s handicam verite that qualifies as the more “original filmmaking”, and what qualifies the reenactments in Wire –– which I thought were subtle, artful, and necessary –– as “dubious”? “Dubious” is a word that Tapley uses a lot. Remembering that he used it to describe my review of Dear Zachary, I did a search for “dubious” on his site, and saw that the phrase “dubious reenactments” also popped up in his review of the Oscar shortlisted film Blessed is the Match. So now I’m wondering if that word means what I think it means. In any case, I’ve lost my share of Oscar pools thanks to surprises in the Best Documentary category, so I’m on board with the concept that Man on Wire may not be a safe bet. And as much respect as that film deserves, I’d rather see Werner Herzog win, not just for the brilliance of Encounters, but for his entire nonfiction filmmaking career. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/2/39035.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/2/2009 9:00:46 AM
Body: 2008 was not the banner year that ‘07 turned out to be, but there were still plenty of movies worth watching. Sometimes end-of-year lists look like straight Oscar predictions, with little deviance from critic to critic, not so this year. Some of our favorite stuff was not playing in a theatre near you, some of it was. For the record, our complete lists are after the jump. But first! Wholphin 7 is out now! The geniuses over at McSweeny’s have once again curated a delightful collection of rare and unseen short films. We share our thoughts about a few favorites. One film we both loved, Glory at Sea, is available for free here.   (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) 0:00 - Intro, listener e-mail 2:59 - Wholphin 7 16:18 - Kevin’s list, Paul’s “soup” filmcouch-102 Paul’s unranked list: Tulpan Be Kind Rewind I Love Sarah Jane (entire film viewable) August Evening Shotgun Stories Revanche The Dark Knight Glory at Sea Kevin’s ranked list: 1. The Dark Knight 2. Let the Right One In 3. The Good, The Bad, and The Weird 4. Wall-E 5. Wellness 6. Happy-Go-Lucky 7. Glory at Sea 8. Waltz With Bashir 9. Medicine for Melancholy 10. Encounters at the End of the World Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:00:46 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/2/2009 9:00:46 AM 2008 was not the banner year that ‘07 turned out to be, but there were still plenty of movies worth watching. Sometimes end-of-year lists look like straight Oscar predictions, with little deviance from critic to critic, not so this year. Some of our favorite stuff was not playing in a theatre near you, some of it was. For the record, our complete lists are after the jump. But first! Wholphin 7 is out now! The geniuses over at McSweeny’s have once again curated a delightful collection of rare and unseen short films. We share our thoughts about a few favorites. One film we both loved, Glory at Sea, is available for free here.   (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) 0:00 - Intro, listener e-mail 2:59 - Wholphin 7 16:18 - Kevin’s list, Paul’s “soup” filmcouch-102 Paul’s unranked list: Tulpan Be Kind Rewind I Love Sarah Jane (entire film viewable) August Evening Shotgun Stories Revanche The Dark Knight Glory at Sea Kevin’s ranked list: 1. The Dark Knight 2. Let the Right One In 3. The Good, The Bad, and The Weird 4. Wall-E 5. Wellness 6. Happy-Go-Lucky 7. Glory at Sea 8. Waltz With Bashir 9. Medicine for Melancholy 10. Encounters at the End of the World Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/12/17/38486.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 12/17/2008 12:01:43 PM
Body: As I hinted at a bit yesterday when I posted about some of the best undistributed films of the year, I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of movie ranking. The idea that any of us––critic, blogger, professional, amateur…to the extent that any of those words mean anything anymore––could be indisputably “correct” in our individual execution of such an activity is insane; and of course, any attempt to draw each of our subjective takes on The Year in Movies into a consensus waters down everything that makes an individual list idiosyncratic and thus interesting. But in the end, I do believe that what’s valuable about these activities is valuable enough to outweigh what’s annoying: if you read this blog regularly and have come to draw a bead on my tastes in relation to your own, maybe seeing a list of my favorite New York theatrical releases of 2008 will help jog your memory about films you meant to see (or avoid), and now that many of these are available on DVD, maybe you’ll make it happen (or not). My full ballot is posted at indieWIRE now. I chose not to rank the titles from 1-10, but they did reel out of my brain in a particular order, and that has to mean something. Below the jump, my theatrical favorites, with links back to previous coverage, and notes on where/how each film can currently be seen. A Christmas Tale Reviewed on November 11, 2008: “A Christmas Tale reunites [Emanuelle] Devos and [Mathieu] Amalric as an oil and water romantic unit, as if giving their doomed lovers from Kings the last chance that narrative logic wouldn’t previously let them have.  Devos is a sideline character in Christmas, but an important one: her unfathomably calm tolerance of Henri’s uncontrollable impulse for destruction is an emblem of Desplechin’s unique humanism.” Where can you see it? It’s currently in limited release, and on IFC On Demand. Synecdoche, NY Reviewed on October 23, 2008: “[It's] about the fear of death, the impossibility of romance in the absence of longing, the instinct to project our desires on to others and to seek answers about ourselves in mirror images. In other words, as theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) says of his own life’s work, ‘It’s about everything.’” Where can you see it? Currently on about 100 screens nationwide, it should be out on DVD in the spring. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness Reviewed briefly on February 7, 2008: “Laurin Federlein’s highly-improvised, Hi8-sourced, sorta-doc/sorta-musical…is the kind of balls-out, so independent it’s essentially handmade work of art that’s notably missing from festivals like Sundance.” I also discussed it on this episode of FIlmCouch. Where can you see it? Good question. It screened for one week in New York almost a year ago. Now, Netflix has a page for it…which says its DVD release date is unknown. My Winnipeg Reviewed on June 13, 2008: “One could be generous, and praise [Guy] Maddin for effectively tapping into the muddied logic of the small town in endless winter, where physical numbness from the inhuman external elements often leads to a kind of booze-aided intellectual numbness. There, so many frigid anti-socials rock a kind of mutual indifference that, when it gets really bad, borders on inhumane (I’ve never been to Winnipeg, but I did spend three winters in Chicago). One could also recalibrate that as a pejorative: you could just say that Maddin directs like a drunk.” Where can you see it? A UK DVD is already out; Amazon suggests that a US version is on its way. Woman on the Beach I never reviewed Hong Sang Soo’s release, which opened at the very beginning of 2008 after the indieWIRE Critics’ Poll declared it the best undistributed film of 2007. But Manohla Dargis did: “As usual in Mr. Hong’s films, everyone will consume too much alcohol, insults will be exchanged, and confessions will be made. A man and a woman will have fumbling, embarrassed and terribly sad sex, the memory of which will haunt them and the story and probably you. Only the rooms will be shabby, never the sentiment.” Where can you see it? New Yorker will release a new DVD on December 30. Rachel Getting Married Reviewed on October 3, 2008: “[Anne] Hathaway’s vulnerability in this tricky role is stunning, but slyly so: as a viewer you can loathe her presence, as some of the personalities in the film speace seem to, and then with a single cut realize that she’s gone from a scene and not only miss her, but actually, actively worry about where she is and what she’s up to.” See also notes on The Liberal Guilt Thing. Where can you see it? On 150 screens after nearly three months in release, if Hathaway gets her expected Best Actress nomination the release will likely expand. La France Reviewed on July 9, 2008: “It’s a musical with just one song, performed by non-performers in a handful of mutations throughout the film. And it’s a love story, soaked in romantic delusion but ultimately fatalist in regards to the actual odds that love can overcome existential crisis….Is this France––or was it? An empty space on which the lonely and lost draw their own impossibly romantic fantasies, only to wander towards inevitable disappointments with heads and hearts infected by the deceptively simple beauty of pop?” Where can you see it: There is a French DVD. Again, Netflix has a page, but it’s unclear when there will be a US release for them to do something with it. Mister Lonely Reviewed on March 16, 2008: “Making movies just seems to be an extension of [Harmony Korine's] primary goal of slipping in and out of identities, of nailing us before we can nail him. I know this, and yet I throw up my hands and give in to it, because with Mister Lonely, the process and the product seem to fuse. Consider me suckered. Where can I see it? It’s available on DVD. Flight of the Red Balloon I saw Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s dreamy take-off on the children’s short The Red Balloon once in 2007 and once in 2008, but somehow I’ve never written about it. That’s okay, because Andrew O’Hehir has: Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Encounters at the End of the World I caught Werner Herzog’s travelogue some time after Paul reviewed it at its Telluride premiere, so I didn’t publish my own review, but over the months I’ve become convinced that, in producing a not-very-thinly-veiled work of autobiography about insanity and the human instinct to conquer unknown worlds and make them their own, Herzog has wittingly or not made a companion film to his friend Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely. More on that theory in 2009, perhaps. Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:01:43 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog12/17/2008 12:01:43 PMAs I hinted at a bit yesterday when I posted about some of the best undistributed films of the year, I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of movie ranking. The idea that any of us––critic, blogger, professional, amateur…to the extent that any of those words mean anything anymore––could be indisputably “correct” in our individual execution of such an activity is insane; and of course, any attempt to draw each of our subjective takes on The Year in Movies into a consensus waters down everything that makes an individual list idiosyncratic and thus interesting. But in the end, I do believe that what’s valuable about these activities is valuable enough to outweigh what’s annoying: if you read this blog regularly and have come to draw a bead on my tastes in relation to your own, maybe seeing a list of my favorite New York theatrical releases of 2008 will help jog your memory about films you meant to see (or avoid), and now that many of these are available on DVD, maybe you’ll make it happen (or not). My full ballot is posted at indieWIRE now. I chose not to rank the titles from 1-10, but they did reel out of my brain in a particular order, and that has to mean something. Below the jump, my theatrical favorites, with links back to previous coverage, and notes on where/how each film can currently be seen. A Christmas Tale Reviewed on November 11, 2008: “A Christmas Tale reunites [Emanuelle] Devos and [Mathieu] Amalric as an oil and water romantic unit, as if giving their doomed lovers from Kings the last chance that narrative logic wouldn’t previously let them have.  Devos is a sideline character in Christmas, but an important one: her unfathomably calm tolerance of Henri’s uncontrollable impulse for destruction is an emblem of Desplechin’s unique humanism.” Where can you see it? It’s currently in limited release, and on IFC On Demand. Synecdoche, NY Reviewed on October 23, 2008: “[It's] about the fear of death, the impossibility of romance in the absence of longing, the instinct to project our desires on to others and to seek answers about ourselves in mirror images. In other words, as theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) says of his own life’s work, ‘It’s about everything.’” Where can you see it? Currently on about 100 screens nationwide, it should be out on DVD in the spring. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness Reviewed briefly on February 7, 2008: “Laurin Federlein’s highly-improvised, Hi8-sourced, sorta-doc/sorta-musical…is the kind of balls-out, so independent it’s essentially handmade work of art that’s notably missing from festivals like Sundance.” I also discussed it on this episode of FIlmCouch. Where can you see it? Good question. It screened for one week in New York almost a year ago. Now, Netflix has a page for it…which says its DVD release date is unknown. My Winnipeg Reviewed on June 13, 2008: “One could be generous, and praise [Guy] Maddin for effectively tapping into the muddied logic of the small town in endless winter, where physical numbness from the inhuman external elements often leads to a kind of booze-aided intellectual numbness. There, so many frigid anti-socials rock a kind of mutual indifference that, when it gets really bad, borders on inhumane (I’ve never been to Winnipeg, but I did spend three winters in Chicago). One could also recalibrate that as a pejorative: you could just say that Maddin directs like a drunk.” Where can you see it? A UK DVD is already out; Amazon suggests that a US version is on its way. Woman on the Beach I never reviewed Hong Sang Soo’s release, which opened at the very beginning of 2008 after the indieWIRE Critics’ Poll declared it the best undistributed film of 2007. But Manohla Dargis did: “As usual in Mr. Hong’s films, everyone will consume too much alcohol, insults will be exchanged, and confessions will be made. A man and a woman will have fumbling, embarrassed and terribly sad sex, the memory of which will haunt them and the story and probably you. Only the rooms will be shabby, never the sentiment.” Where can you see it? New Yorker will release a new DVD on December 30. Rachel Getting Married Reviewed on October 3, 2008: “[Anne] Hathaway’s vulnerability in this tricky role is stunning, but slyly so: as a viewer you can loathe her presence, as some of the personalities in the film speace seem to, and then with a single cut realize that she’s gone from a scene and not only miss her, but actually, actively worry about where she is and what she’s up to.” See also notes on The Liberal Guilt Thing. Where can you see it? On 150 screens after nearly three months in release, if Hathaway gets her expected Best Actress nomination the release will likely expand. La France Reviewed on July 9, 2008: “It’s a musical with just one song, performed by non-performers in a handful of mutations throughout the film. And it’s a love story, soaked in romantic delusion but ultimately fatalist in regards to the actual odds that love can overcome existential crisis….Is this France––or was it? An empty space on which the lonely and lost draw their own impossibly romantic fantasies, only to wander towards inevitable disappointments with heads and hearts infected by the deceptively simple beauty of pop?” Where can you see it: There is a French DVD. Again, Netflix has a page, but it’s unclear when there will be a US release for them to do something with it. Mister Lonely Reviewed on March 16, 2008: “Making movies just seems to be an extension of [Harmony Korine's] primary goal of slipping in and out of identities, of nailing us before we can nail him. I know this, and yet I throw up my hands and give in to it, because with Mister Lonely, the process and the product seem to fuse. Consider me suckered. Where can I see it? It’s available on DVD. Flight of the Red Balloon I saw Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s dreamy take-off on the children’s short The Red Balloon once in 2007 and once in 2008, but somehow I’ve never written about it. That’s okay, because Andrew O’Hehir has: Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Encounters at the End of the World I caught Werner Herzog’s travelogue some time after Paul reviewed it at its Telluride premiere, so I didn’t publish my own review, but over the months I’ve become convinced that, in producing a not-very-thinly-veiled work of autobiography about insanity and the human instinct to conquer unknown worlds and make them their own, Herzog has wittingly or not made a companion film to his friend Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely. More on that theory in 2009, perhaps. Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/17/38485.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/17/2008 12:01:26 PM
Body: As I hinted at a bit yesterday when I posted about some of the best undistributed films of the year, I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of movie ranking. The idea that any of us––critic, blogger, professional, amateur…to the extent that any of those words mean anything anymore––could be indisputably “correct” in our individual execution of such an activity is insane; and of course, any attempt to draw each of our subjective takes on The Year in Movies into a consensus waters down everything that makes an individual list idiosyncratic and thus interesting. But in the end, I do believe that what’s valuable about these activities is valuable enough to outweigh what’s annoying: if you read this blog regularly and have come to draw a bead on my tastes in relation to your own, maybe seeing a list of my favorite New York theatrical releases of 2008 will help jog your memory about films you meant to see (or avoid), and now that many of these are available on DVD, maybe you’ll make it happen (or not). My full ballot is posted at indieWIRE now. I chose not to rank the titles from 1-10, but they did reel out of my brain in a particular order, and that has to mean something. Below the jump, my theatrical favorites, with links back to previous coverage, and notes on where/how each film can currently be seen. A Christmas Tale Reviewed on November 11, 2008: “A Christmas Tale reunites [Emanuelle] Devos and [Mathieu] Amalric as an oil and water romantic unit, as if giving their doomed lovers from Kings the last chance that narrative logic wouldn’t previously let them have.  Devos is a sideline character in Christmas, but an important one: her unfathomably calm tolerance of Henri’s uncontrollable impulse for destruction is an emblem of Desplechin’s unique humanism.” Where can you see it? It’s currently in limited release, and on IFC On Demand. Synecdoche, NY Reviewed on October 23, 2008: “[It's] about the fear of death, the impossibility of romance in the absence of longing, the instinct to project our desires on to others and to seek answers about ourselves in mirror images. In other words, as theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) says of his own life’s work, ‘It’s about everything.’” Where can you see it? Currently on about 100 screens nationwide, it should be out on DVD in the spring. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness Reviewed briefly on February 7, 2008: “Laurin Federlein’s highly-improvised, Hi8-sourced, sorta-doc/sorta-musical…is the kind of balls-out, so independent it’s essentially handmade work of art that’s notably missing from festivals like Sundance.” I also discussed it on this episode of FIlmCouch. Where can you see it? Good question. It screened for one week in New York almost a year ago. Now, Netflix has a page for it…which says its DVD release date is unknown. My Winnipeg Reviewed on June 13, 2008: “One could be generous, and praise [Guy] Maddin for effectively tapping into the muddied logic of the small town in endless winter, where physical numbness from the inhuman external elements often leads to a kind of booze-aided intellectual numbness. There, so many frigid anti-socials rock a kind of mutual indifference that, when it gets really bad, borders on inhumane (I’ve never been to Winnipeg, but I did spend three winters in Chicago). One could also recalibrate that as a pejorative: you could just say that Maddin directs like a drunk.” Where can you see it? A UK DVD is already out; Amazon suggests that a US version is on its way. Woman on the Beach I never reviewed Hong Sang Soo’s release, which opened at the very beginning of 2008 after the indieWIRE Critics’ Poll declared it the best undistributed film of 2007. But Manohla Dargis did: “As usual in Mr. Hong’s films, everyone will consume too much alcohol, insults will be exchanged, and confessions will be made. A man and a woman will have fumbling, embarrassed and terribly sad sex, the memory of which will haunt them and the story and probably you. Only the rooms will be shabby, never the sentiment.” Where can you see it? New Yorker will release a new DVD on December 30. Rachel Getting Married Reviewed on October 3, 2008: “[Anne] Hathaway’s vulnerability in this tricky role is stunning, but slyly so: as a viewer you can loathe her presence, as some of the personalities in the film speace seem to, and then with a single cut realize that she’s gone from a scene and not only miss her, but actually, actively worry about where she is and what she’s up to.” See also notes on The Liberal Guilt Thing. Where can you see it? On 150 screens after nearly three months in release, if Hathaway gets her expected Best Actress nomination the release will likely expand. La France Reviewed on July 9, 2008: “It’s a musical with just one song, performed by non-performers in a handful of mutations throughout the film. And it’s a love story, soaked in romantic delusion but ultimately fatalist in regards to the actual odds that love can overcome existential crisis….Is this France––or was it? An empty space on which the lonely and lost draw their own impossibly romantic fantasies, only to wander towards inevitable disappointments with heads and hearts infected by the deceptively simple beauty of pop?” Where can you see it: There is a French DVD. Again, Netflix has a page, but it’s unclear when there will be a US release for them to do something with it. Mister Lonely Reviewed on March 16, 2008: “Making movies just seems to be an extension of [Harmony Korine's] primary goal of slipping in and out of identities, of nailing us before we can nail him. I know this, and yet I throw up my hands and give in to it, because with Mister Lonely, the process and the product seem to fuse. Consider me suckered. Where can I see it? It’s available on DVD. Flight of the Red Balloon I saw Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s dreamy take-off on the children’s short The Red Balloon once in 2007 and once in 2008, but somehow I’ve never written about it. That’s okay, because Andrew O’Hehir has: Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Encounters at the End of the World I caught Werner Herzog’s travelogue some time after Paul reviewed it at its Telluride premiere, so I didn’t publish my own review, but over the months I’ve become convinced that, in producing a not-very-thinly-veiled work of autobiography about insanity and the human instinct to conquer unknown worlds and make them their own, Herzog has wittingly or not made a companion film to his friend Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely. More on that theory in 2009, perhaps. Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:01:26 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/17/2008 12:01:26 PMAs I hinted at a bit yesterday when I posted about some of the best undistributed films of the year, I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of movie ranking. The idea that any of us––critic, blogger, professional, amateur…to the extent that any of those words mean anything anymore––could be indisputably “correct” in our individual execution of such an activity is insane; and of course, any attempt to draw each of our subjective takes on The Year in Movies into a consensus waters down everything that makes an individual list idiosyncratic and thus interesting. But in the end, I do believe that what’s valuable about these activities is valuable enough to outweigh what’s annoying: if you read this blog regularly and have come to draw a bead on my tastes in relation to your own, maybe seeing a list of my favorite New York theatrical releases of 2008 will help jog your memory about films you meant to see (or avoid), and now that many of these are available on DVD, maybe you’ll make it happen (or not). My full ballot is posted at indieWIRE now. I chose not to rank the titles from 1-10, but they did reel out of my brain in a particular order, and that has to mean something. Below the jump, my theatrical favorites, with links back to previous coverage, and notes on where/how each film can currently be seen. A Christmas Tale Reviewed on November 11, 2008: “A Christmas Tale reunites [Emanuelle] Devos and [Mathieu] Amalric as an oil and water romantic unit, as if giving their doomed lovers from Kings the last chance that narrative logic wouldn’t previously let them have.  Devos is a sideline character in Christmas, but an important one: her unfathomably calm tolerance of Henri’s uncontrollable impulse for destruction is an emblem of Desplechin’s unique humanism.” Where can you see it? It’s currently in limited release, and on IFC On Demand. Synecdoche, NY Reviewed on October 23, 2008: “[It's] about the fear of death, the impossibility of romance in the absence of longing, the instinct to project our desires on to others and to seek answers about ourselves in mirror images. In other words, as theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) says of his own life’s work, ‘It’s about everything.’” Where can you see it? Currently on about 100 screens nationwide, it should be out on DVD in the spring. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness Reviewed briefly on February 7, 2008: “Laurin Federlein’s highly-improvised, Hi8-sourced, sorta-doc/sorta-musical…is the kind of balls-out, so independent it’s essentially handmade work of art that’s notably missing from festivals like Sundance.” I also discussed it on this episode of FIlmCouch. Where can you see it? Good question. It screened for one week in New York almost a year ago. Now, Netflix has a page for it…which says its DVD release date is unknown. My Winnipeg Reviewed on June 13, 2008: “One could be generous, and praise [Guy] Maddin for effectively tapping into the muddied logic of the small town in endless winter, where physical numbness from the inhuman external elements often leads to a kind of booze-aided intellectual numbness. There, so many frigid anti-socials rock a kind of mutual indifference that, when it gets really bad, borders on inhumane (I’ve never been to Winnipeg, but I did spend three winters in Chicago). One could also recalibrate that as a pejorative: you could just say that Maddin directs like a drunk.” Where can you see it? A UK DVD is already out; Amazon suggests that a US version is on its way. Woman on the Beach I never reviewed Hong Sang Soo’s release, which opened at the very beginning of 2008 after the indieWIRE Critics’ Poll declared it the best undistributed film of 2007. But Manohla Dargis did: “As usual in Mr. Hong’s films, everyone will consume too much alcohol, insults will be exchanged, and confessions will be made. A man and a woman will have fumbling, embarrassed and terribly sad sex, the memory of which will haunt them and the story and probably you. Only the rooms will be shabby, never the sentiment.” Where can you see it? New Yorker will release a new DVD on December 30. Rachel Getting Married Reviewed on October 3, 2008: “[Anne] Hathaway’s vulnerability in this tricky role is stunning, but slyly so: as a viewer you can loathe her presence, as some of the personalities in the film speace seem to, and then with a single cut realize that she’s gone from a scene and not only miss her, but actually, actively worry about where she is and what she’s up to.” See also notes on The Liberal Guilt Thing. Where can you see it? On 150 screens after nearly three months in release, if Hathaway gets her expected Best Actress nomination the release will likely expand. La France Reviewed on July 9, 2008: “It’s a musical with just one song, performed by non-performers in a handful of mutations throughout the film. And it’s a love story, soaked in romantic delusion but ultimately fatalist in regards to the actual odds that love can overcome existential crisis….Is this France––or was it? An empty space on which the lonely and lost draw their own impossibly romantic fantasies, only to wander towards inevitable disappointments with heads and hearts infected by the deceptively simple beauty of pop?” Where can you see it: There is a French DVD. Again, Netflix has a page, but it’s unclear when there will be a US release for them to do something with it. Mister Lonely Reviewed on March 16, 2008: “Making movies just seems to be an extension of [Harmony Korine's] primary goal of slipping in and out of identities, of nailing us before we can nail him. I know this, and yet I throw up my hands and give in to it, because with Mister Lonely, the process and the product seem to fuse. Consider me suckered. Where can I see it? It’s available on DVD. Flight of the Red Balloon I saw Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s dreamy take-off on the children’s short The Red Balloon once in 2007 and once in 2008, but somehow I’ve never written about it. That’s okay, because Andrew O’Hehir has: Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Encounters at the End of the World I caught Werner Herzog’s travelogue some time after Paul reviewed it at its Telluride premiere, so I didn’t publish my own review, but over the months I’ve become convinced that, in producing a not-very-thinly-veiled work of autobiography about insanity and the human instinct to conquer unknown worlds and make them their own, Herzog has wittingly or not made a companion film to his friend Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely. More on that theory in 2009, perhaps. Where can I see it? It’s on DVD. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2008/12/6/38026.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 12/6/2008 7:00:09 PM
Body: Encounters at the End of the World (2008) is a good documentary, but if you have not seen it, be warned that it does not have a lot of “wow” factor. The low key affair is like a home movie of someone’s holidays in Antarctica, except it’s made by an eminent documentary film maker and his talented crew. The music, with the exception of one shrieking piece, is superb. Some of the under-ice shots are spectacular. The comments about homo sapiens destroying the planet are matter-of-fact and off-the-cuff rather than dramatic and strident. We meet some interesting people but cannot stop to talk in any depth. We see some National Science Foundation research projects, which is understandable since funding for Herzog’s documentary came from the National Science Foundation as well as the Discovery Channel. Herzog’s narration of his travels is carefully scripted and not obtrusive. I find this documentary easy to recommend to a lot of people, partly because it is good and partly because it will not challenge people the way a lot of award-winning documentaries have been doing lately. As I write this, Encounters has been long-listed as one of the 15 documentaries to be considered for an Academy Award, and Roger Ebert, to whom the film is dedicated, has listed it in his 5 best documentaries of 2008.
]]>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:00:09 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog12/6/2008 7:00:09 PMEncounters at the End of the World (2008) is a good documentary, but if you have not seen it, be warned that it does not have a lot of &ldquo;wow&rdquo; factor. The low key affair is like a home movie of someone&rsquo;s holidays in Antarctica, except it&rsquo;s made by an eminent documentary film maker and his talented crew. The music, with the exception of one shrieking piece, is superb. Some of the under-ice shots are spectacular. The comments about homo sapiens destroying the planet are matter-of-fact and off-the-cuff rather than dramatic and strident. We meet some interesting people but cannot stop to talk in any depth. We see some National Science Foundation research projects, which is understandable since funding for Herzog&rsquo;s documentary came from the National Science Foundation as well as the Discovery Channel. Herzog&rsquo;s narration of his travels is carefully scripted and not obtrusive. I find this documentary easy to recommend to a lot of people, partly because it is good and partly because it will not challenge people the way a lot of award-winning documentaries have been doing lately. As I write this, Encounters has been long-listed as one of the 15 documentaries to be considered for an Academy Award, and Roger Ebert, to whom the film is dedicated, has listed it in his 5 best documentaries of 2008. http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/12/4/37931.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 12/4/2008 12:01:54 PM
Body: I’ve spent the morning combing the various Sundance line-up overviews, wherein reporters for a variety of publications digest the four competition line-ups announced yesterday in an attempt to find an overarching theme/predictive slant which they can then hand-deliver to their mainly mainstream audiences. One thing I’ve learned: such stories should never be read back-to-back. “Sundance’s writers and directors are turning toward more uplifting narratives,” writes John Horn in the LA Times. Oh good! Oh, but wait — according to USA Today, “The comedies are dark, and the dramas are even darker at the annual showcase of low-budget moviemaking.” What am I supposed to believe? But seriously, folks. One observation from Horn’s story is worth a ponder: [Sundance programming director] Cooper says the festival’s 16 competition documentaries, selected from 879 submissions, continue the nonfiction filmmaking trend toward advocacy and away from impartial journalistic observation. “They are basically telling you what to do, versus ‘This is something that is going on,’ ” Cooper says. I guess the word that rankles there is “trend.” I’ve never been to a documentary-heavy film festival that didn’t have its share of edutainment, but looking at the most successful nonfiction films of this past year (whether at the box office or with critics or with awards bodies, or all of the above), what’s notable is that surprising lack of prescriptive, “Here’s a problem … and a solution!”-style filmmaking. I mean, Man on Wire? The best reviewed documentary of the year and the apparent Oscar frontrunner? What is that advocating, exactly — art crime? Is the lesson of Trouble the Water that aspiring rappers who live in the path of hurricanes should try to have video cameras handy at all times? As far as high grossing films, there’s U2 3D, which tells us to … be U2, and get shot in 3D. You could definitely say that Religulous steers “away from impartial journalistic observation,” and there’s no question that it’s been a success, but there is some question as to whether or not an insult comic’s staged road trip really counts as “documentary”, let alone “advocacy.” And of course, there’s my favorite work of advocacy, Encounters at the End of the World, in which Werner Herzog tells us to steer clear of “abominations” like yoga studios and ATMs, and attempts no impartiality in regards to suicidal penguins. Bottom line: it wouldn’t be crazy super weird if there were a lot of documentaries “telling you what to do” at Sundance, but the most successful nonfiction films of 2008 didn’t. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:01:54 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog12/4/2008 12:01:54 PMI’ve spent the morning combing the various Sundance line-up overviews, wherein reporters for a variety of publications digest the four competition line-ups announced yesterday in an attempt to find an overarching theme/predictive slant which they can then hand-deliver to their mainly mainstream audiences. One thing I’ve learned: such stories should never be read back-to-back. “Sundance’s writers and directors are turning toward more uplifting narratives,” writes John Horn in the LA Times. Oh good! Oh, but wait — according to USA Today, “The comedies are dark, and the dramas are even darker at the annual showcase of low-budget moviemaking.” What am I supposed to believe? But seriously, folks. One observation from Horn’s story is worth a ponder: [Sundance programming director] Cooper says the festival’s 16 competition documentaries, selected from 879 submissions, continue the nonfiction filmmaking trend toward advocacy and away from impartial journalistic observation. “They are basically telling you what to do, versus ‘This is something that is going on,’ ” Cooper says. I guess the word that rankles there is “trend.” I’ve never been to a documentary-heavy film festival that didn’t have its share of edutainment, but looking at the most successful nonfiction films of this past year (whether at the box office or with critics or with awards bodies, or all of the above), what’s notable is that surprising lack of prescriptive, “Here’s a problem … and a solution!”-style filmmaking. I mean, Man on Wire? The best reviewed documentary of the year and the apparent Oscar frontrunner? What is that advocating, exactly — art crime? Is the lesson of Trouble the Water that aspiring rappers who live in the path of hurricanes should try to have video cameras handy at all times? As far as high grossing films, there’s U2 3D, which tells us to … be U2, and get shot in 3D. You could definitely say that Religulous steers “away from impartial journalistic observation,” and there’s no question that it’s been a success, but there is some question as to whether or not an insult comic’s staged road trip really counts as “documentary”, let alone “advocacy.” And of course, there’s my favorite work of advocacy, Encounters at the End of the World, in which Werner Herzog tells us to steer clear of “abominations” like yoga studios and ATMs, and attempts no impartiality in regards to suicidal penguins. Bottom line: it wouldn’t be crazy super weird if there were a lot of documentaries “telling you what to do” at Sundance, but the most successful nonfiction films of 2008 didn’t. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/4/37930.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/4/2008 12:01:37 PM
Body: I’ve spent the morning combing the various Sundance line-up overviews, wherein reporters for a variety of publications digest the four competition line-ups announced yesterday in an attempt to find an overarching theme/predictive slant which they can then hand-deliver to their mainly mainstream audiences. One thing I’ve learned: such stories should never be read back-to-back. “Sundance’s writers and directors are turning toward more uplifting narratives,” writes John Horn in the LA Times. Oh good! Oh, but wait — according to USA Today, “The comedies are dark, and the dramas are even darker at the annual showcase of low-budget moviemaking.” What am I supposed to believe? But seriously, folks. One observation from Horn’s story is worth a ponder: [Sundance programming director] Cooper says the festival’s 16 competition documentaries, selected from 879 submissions, continue the nonfiction filmmaking trend toward advocacy and away from impartial journalistic observation. “They are basically telling you what to do, versus ‘This is something that is going on,’ ” Cooper says. I guess the word that rankles there is “trend.” I’ve never been to a documentary-heavy film festival that didn’t have its share of edutainment, but looking at the most successful nonfiction films of this past year (whether at the box office or with critics or with awards bodies, or all of the above), what’s notable is that surprising lack of prescriptive, “Here’s a problem … and a solution!”-style filmmaking. I mean, Man on Wire? The best reviewed documentary of the year and the apparent Oscar frontrunner? What is that advocating, exactly — art crime? Is the lesson of Trouble the Water that aspiring rappers who live in the path of hurricanes should try to have video cameras handy at all times? As far as high grossing films, there’s U2 3D, which tells us to … be U2, and get shot in 3D. You could definitely say that Religulous steers “away from impartial journalistic observation,” and there’s no question that it’s been a success, but there is some question as to whether or not an insult comic’s staged road trip really counts as “documentary”, let alone “advocacy.” And of course, there’s my favorite work of advocacy, Encounters at the End of the World, in which Werner Herzog tells us to steer clear of “abominations” like yoga studios and ATMs, and attempts no impartiality in regards to suicidal penguins. Bottom line: it wouldn’t be crazy super weird if there were a lot of documentaries “telling you what to do” at Sundance, but the most successful nonfiction films of 2008 didn’t. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:01:37 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/4/2008 12:01:37 PMI’ve spent the morning combing the various Sundance line-up overviews, wherein reporters for a variety of publications digest the four competition line-ups announced yesterday in an attempt to find an overarching theme/predictive slant which they can then hand-deliver to their mainly mainstream audiences. One thing I’ve learned: such stories should never be read back-to-back. “Sundance’s writers and directors are turning toward more uplifting narratives,” writes John Horn in the LA Times. Oh good! Oh, but wait — according to USA Today, “The comedies are dark, and the dramas are even darker at the annual showcase of low-budget moviemaking.” What am I supposed to believe? But seriously, folks. One observation from Horn’s story is worth a ponder: [Sundance programming director] Cooper says the festival’s 16 competition documentaries, selected from 879 submissions, continue the nonfiction filmmaking trend toward advocacy and away from impartial journalistic observation. “They are basically telling you what to do, versus ‘This is something that is going on,’ ” Cooper says. I guess the word that rankles there is “trend.” I’ve never been to a documentary-heavy film festival that didn’t have its share of edutainment, but looking at the most successful nonfiction films of this past year (whether at the box office or with critics or with awards bodies, or all of the above), what’s notable is that surprising lack of prescriptive, “Here’s a problem … and a solution!”-style filmmaking. I mean, Man on Wire? The best reviewed documentary of the year and the apparent Oscar frontrunner? What is that advocating, exactly — art crime? Is the lesson of Trouble the Water that aspiring rappers who live in the path of hurricanes should try to have video cameras handy at all times? As far as high grossing films, there’s U2 3D, which tells us to … be U2, and get shot in 3D. You could definitely say that Religulous steers “away from impartial journalistic observation,” and there’s no question that it’s been a success, but there is some question as to whether or not an insult comic’s staged road trip really counts as “documentary”, let alone “advocacy.” And of course, there’s my favorite work of advocacy, Encounters at the End of the World, in which Werner Herzog tells us to steer clear of “abominations” like yoga studios and ATMs, and attempts no impartiality in regards to suicidal penguins. Bottom line: it wouldn’t be crazy super weird if there were a lot of documentaries “telling you what to do” at Sundance, but the most successful nonfiction films of 2008 didn’t. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/24/37595.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/24/2008 7:01:27 PM
Body: When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces a shortlist for one of its Oscar categories, many critics immediately focus on what titles are missing. Religulous was snubbed! Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was punished for having a “secret” qualifying run! The Academy’s rules for eligibility must be amended! Such reactions were seen all over the web last week as awards season pundits looked at the narrowed-down list of 15 Feature Documentary hopefuls and criticized the Academy for its omissions. But the better response (which is the one SpoutBlog had) is to primarily address and celebrate the included films, not just for being contenders for the Feature Documentary Oscar but also for being showcased in general. The wonderful thing about shortlists is that they expand further the idea that it’s great just to be nominated. For feature documentaries, particularly those without a lot of media and major distributor attention, it is also great just to be shortlisted. Non-fiction film fans may now see this as an opportunity to take note of some documentaries that weren’t previously on their radar (unfortunately none of these films are actually allowed to advertise their recent achievement of being shortlisted). But the Academy Awards are, of course, still a competition. So, while we take notice of the 15 semi-finalists for the Feature Documentary Oscar, we shall also weigh their chances of being selected for the final five and predict which titles are likely to be announced as nominees on January 22. 1. Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh It’s a constant joke that any film related to the Holocaust is guaranteed an Oscar nomination. Obviously this is a generalization based on common trend, and not every Holocaust doc has in fact been recognized by the Academy, but if such a film is good enough to reach the shortlist, there is a very good chance that it will also be nominated. And since there hasn’t been a feature doc on the subject nominated since 2002, it’s probably time for a new one to get the spotlight. Blessed is narrated by Oscar-nominee Joan Allen and details the courageous life of Hannah Senesh, who took part in a mission to rescue Hungary’s Jews. If Hollywood doesn’t nominate this doc, it will probably at least use it as a springboard from which to produce an Oscar-bait dramatization about Senesh in the near future. 2. Trouble the Water Never mind the fact that it’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, this is the Academy’s first chance to get behind the Katrina issue. Though some mistakenly see the Feature Documentary Oscar as primarily a category with which to showcase its favored causes rather than recognizing the actual best documentary filmmaking of the year, there is a miniscule amount of truth in the matter. It’s part of the reason that the Holocaust-doc joke is so often made, and it’s also why the films Born Into Brothels and An Inconvenient Truth were named winners, despite their being subject-over-style kinds of documentaries. Trouble the Water is a tad bit sloppy, but it has the subject matter and enough inspirational substance to receive a nomination. 3. Encounters at the End of the World This may be the Academy’s chance to make up for their exclusion of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man a few years back or simply honor a filmmaker who has been important to the non-fiction genre for decades. Also, with their snub of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the Academy Documentary Branch could use this as more opportunity to distinguish and make an example out of the difference between a theatrical documentary and a television documentary (as David Poland recently pointed out, “if you are a TV doc, be a TV doc…if you are a theatrical doc, that is what the Oscars reward”). People who went to see Encounters recommended it on the basis that it needs to be seen on a big screen, which is not often said about documentaries. Other things it has going for it are a shared location with Oscar-winner March of the Penguins (even if Herzog starts the film addressing that this is not like that film) and a slight relevance to the global warming issue, which is one of the Academy’s currently favored issues. 4. Standard Operating Procedure The Academy Documentary Branch does seem to favor former nominees in their category, perhaps due to the number of documentarians who turn to fiction filmmaking after breaking out in non-fiction (maybe that explains their snub of Barbara Kopple recently after her attempt into fiction). So Morris, who was infamously rejected by the Academy with his monumental film The Thin Blue Line, and who later won the Oscar for The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons Learned from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, should be given another go. It also helps that Standard Operating Procedure is the sole Iraq War-relevant documentary in the bunch, an interesting fact given how many films dealing with this topic have been shortlisted in the past few years. Even though last year the Oscar was given to a similarly themed doc about torture and prisoner abuse, the issue is likely still one that the Academy feels strongly about. Of course, speaking of that film, Taxi to the Dark Side, its director’s latest film was not shortlisted. 5. Man on Wire This is the highest grossing (and best-reviewed) of the 15 shortlisted films, and that could mean a lot, even if it is only the fifth top grossing doc of the year. The Academy is hardly a sucker for popular documentaries, but most years since Michael Moore was honored in 2002 have seen at least one popular doc, such as Super Size Me, March of the Penguins and Moore’s Sicko. In fact, only four of the ten top grossing (non-IMAX, non-concert, non-compilation, non-reality TV-based) documentaries have not been nominated for an Oscar. The only drawback for Man on Wire could be that it features a very large percentage of re-enactment or dramatization, and even if the Academy’s rules have a greater permission for these kinds of documentaries than in the days of The Thin Blue Line’s snub, it’s very possible that members of the Academy Documentary Branch are more appreciable towards one of the films that aren’t so heavily dependent on re-enactments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:01:27 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/24/2008 7:01:27 PMWhen the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces a shortlist for one of its Oscar categories, many critics immediately focus on what titles are missing. Religulous was snubbed! Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was punished for having a “secret” qualifying run! The Academy’s rules for eligibility must be amended! Such reactions were seen all over the web last week as awards season pundits looked at the narrowed-down list of 15 Feature Documentary hopefuls and criticized the Academy for its omissions. But the better response (which is the one SpoutBlog had) is to primarily address and celebrate the included films, not just for being contenders for the Feature Documentary Oscar but also for being showcased in general. The wonderful thing about shortlists is that they expand further the idea that it’s great just to be nominated. For feature documentaries, particularly those without a lot of media and major distributor attention, it is also great just to be shortlisted. Non-fiction film fans may now see this as an opportunity to take note of some documentaries that weren’t previously on their radar (unfortunately none of these films are actually allowed to advertise their recent achievement of being shortlisted). But the Academy Awards are, of course, still a competition. So, while we take notice of the 15 semi-finalists for the Feature Documentary Oscar, we shall also weigh their chances of being selected for the final five and predict which titles are likely to be announced as nominees on January 22. 1. Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh It’s a constant joke that any film related to the Holocaust is guaranteed an Oscar nomination. Obviously this is a generalization based on common trend, and not every Holocaust doc has in fact been recognized by the Academy, but if such a film is good enough to reach the shortlist, there is a very good chance that it will also be nominated. And since there hasn’t been a feature doc on the subject nominated since 2002, it’s probably time for a new one to get the spotlight. Blessed is narrated by Oscar-nominee Joan Allen and details the courageous life of Hannah Senesh, who took part in a mission to rescue Hungary’s Jews. If Hollywood doesn’t nominate this doc, it will probably at least use it as a springboard from which to produce an Oscar-bait dramatization about Senesh in the near future. 2. Trouble the Water Never mind the fact that it’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, this is the Academy’s first chance to get behind the Katrina issue. Though some mistakenly see the Feature Documentary Oscar as primarily a category with which to showcase its favored causes rather than recognizing the actual best documentary filmmaking of the year, there is a miniscule amount of truth in the matter. It’s part of the reason that the Holocaust-doc joke is so often made, and it’s also why the films Born Into Brothels and An Inconvenient Truth were named winners, despite their being subject-over-style kinds of documentaries. Trouble the Water is a tad bit sloppy, but it has the subject matter and enough inspirational substance to receive a nomination. 3. Encounters at the End of the World This may be the Academy’s chance to make up for their exclusion of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man a few years back or simply honor a filmmaker who has been important to the non-fiction genre for decades. Also, with their snub of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the Academy Documentary Branch could use this as more opportunity to distinguish and make an example out of the difference between a theatrical documentary and a television documentary (as David Poland recently pointed out, “if you are a TV doc, be a TV doc…if you are a theatrical doc, that is what the Oscars reward”). People who went to see Encounters recommended it on the basis that it needs to be seen on a big screen, which is not often said about documentaries. Other things it has going for it are a shared location with Oscar-winner March of the Penguins (even if Herzog starts the film addressing that this is not like that film) and a slight relevance to the global warming issue, which is one of the Academy’s currently favored issues. 4. Standard Operating Procedure The Academy Documentary Branch does seem to favor former nominees in their category, perhaps due to the number of documentarians who turn to fiction filmmaking after breaking out in non-fiction (maybe that explains their snub of Barbara Kopple recently after her attempt into fiction). So Morris, who was infamously rejected by the Academy with his monumental film The Thin Blue Line, and who later won the Oscar for The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons Learned from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, should be given another go. It also helps that Standard Operating Procedure is the sole Iraq War-relevant documentary in the bunch, an interesting fact given how many films dealing with this topic have been shortlisted in the past few years. Even though last year the Oscar was given to a similarly themed doc about torture and prisoner abuse, the issue is likely still one that the Academy feels strongly about. Of course, speaking of that film, Taxi to the Dark Side, its director’s latest film was not shortlisted. 5. Man on Wire This is the highest grossing (and best-reviewed) of the 15 shortlisted films, and that could mean a lot, even if it is only the fifth top grossing doc of the year. The Academy is hardly a sucker for popular documentaries, but most years since Michael Moore was honored in 2002 have seen at least one popular doc, such as Super Size Me, March of the Penguins and Moore’s Sicko. In fact, only four of the ten top grossing (non-IMAX, non-concert, non-compilation, non-reality TV-based) documentaries have not been nominated for an Oscar. The only drawback for Man on Wire could be that it features a very large percentage of re-enactment or dramatization, and even if the Academy’s rules have a greater permission for these kinds of documentaries than in the days of The Thin Blue Line’s snub, it’s very possible that members of the Academy Documentary Branch are more appreciable towards one of the films that aren’t so heavily dependent on re-enactments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/documentary/MemberTagFilms.aspxdocumentary
Number of films tagged: 402

Number of people who tagged: 127

Number of times used: 496

]]>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:11:06 GMT402127496Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/escape/MemberTagFilms.aspxescape
Number of films tagged: 2868

Number of people who tagged: 76

Number of times used: 279

]]>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:51:44 GMT286876279Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/life/MemberTagFilms.aspxlife
Number of films tagged: 1082

Number of people who tagged: 52

Number of times used: 224

]]>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:13:43 GMT108252224Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/insanity/MemberTagFilms.aspxinsanity
Number of films tagged: 258

Number of people who tagged: 35

Number of times used: 47

]]>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:02:27 GMT2583547Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/island/MemberTagFilms.aspxisland
Number of films tagged: 1021

Number of people who tagged: 34

Number of times used: 74

]]>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:54:50 GMT10213474Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/snow/MemberTagFilms.aspxsnow
Number of films tagged: 149

Number of people who tagged: 34

Number of times used: 62

]]>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:56:39 GMT1493462Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/unique/MemberTagFilms.aspxunique
Number of films tagged: 30

Number of people who tagged: 31

Number of times used: 39

]]>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:18:04 GMT303139Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/ocean/MemberTagFilms.aspxocean
Number of films tagged: 167

Number of people who tagged: 28

Number of times used: 58

]]>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:07:01 GMT1672858Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Poetic/MemberTagFilms.aspxPoetic
Number of films tagged: 27

Number of people who tagged: 25

Number of times used: 35

]]>Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:34:55 GMT272535Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/community/MemberTagFilms.aspxcommunity
Number of films tagged: 743

Number of people who tagged: 21

Number of times used: 37

]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT7432137Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/science/MemberTagFilms.aspxscience
Number of films tagged: 259

Number of people who tagged: 21

Number of times used: 63

]]>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:08:49 GMT2592163Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Penguins/MemberTagFilms.aspxPenguins
Number of films tagged: 11

Number of people who tagged: 15

Number of times used: 16

]]>Mon, 04 May 2009 16:28:17 GMT111516Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/research/MemberTagFilms.aspxresearch
Number of films tagged: 339

Number of people who tagged: 11

Number of times used: 16

]]>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:09:23 GMT3391116Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/students/MemberTagFilms.aspxstudents
Number of films tagged: 21

Number of people who tagged: 10

Number of times used: 21

]]>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:21:43 GMT211021Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/volcano/MemberTagFilms.aspxvolcano
Number of films tagged: 218

Number of people who tagged: 10

Number of times used: 14

]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:13:22 GMT2181014Tag