Constantly watching "how-to" pieces from Chris Titus Tech on Th'Tube, big fan of Linsey Ellis' pop-culture snarkfests (her takedowns of Disney films are so well-produced and delightful, and the three-part "trilogy" on the Lord Of The Rings films are not to be missed); Rick Beato pieces are probably well-known here. Also watching Jacob Colliers' "master classes" at just about every music college in the Ivy League... My wife and I are just now getting around to McCartney 3 2 1 on Hulu. It's perhaps a major imposition, making her stop bingeing Transparent for a half an hour...
Coco Chanel, Nazi Collaborator. Also another one about Austrian Jewish actress Hedy Lamarr. Both fascinating. BBC Select.
I saw that. I'd take it with a grain of salt given the prominence given to Bruce Pegg's biography of Berry, in which he went to extraordinary lengths to minimise the contribution of Johnnie Johnson: an exceedingly modest man who crafted the music for Berry's biggest hits but was written out of the story very early on. I'd like to see a documentary on him that restores his place in the pantheon.
Just spent all night binge watching episodes 2 through 6 in a row of ICON:. For some reason my stupid cable co won't allow me to watch episode 1. Go figure.
I owe my knowledge of Johnnie Johnson to the late Ian Stewart on his death-bed telling Keith, "Johnnie Johnson was sill alive", and go find him. Which Keith did.
From Frontline, on PBS. In the Shadow of 9/11, about seven poor men in Liberty City, Miami, who were basically set up by the FBI in a convoluted terror plot. It makes you not want to come under scrutiny by the feds. In the Shadow of 9/11
I'm about halfway through this on the DVR. Pretty interesting, a lot of footage I've never seen, that wasn't in the movie. One interesting thing I learned; Richie Havens, who was the first act to play, had to play for a long time, because none of the other scheduled performers had arrived yet. This was before they rented the helicopters. Havens had exhausted his repertoire, and to close his set, basically made up the song "Freedom" on the spot, which is one of the highlights of the movie.
Christy Martin the female former boxer and just because it came on right after I started watching one about the fight at the Palace in 2004 between the fans, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons.
Yup. I just watched last week on DVD. Probably the best documentary on any of the Beatles, by a fair distance. People were allowed to offer contrary views of George (Terry Gilliam most notably.) Very satisfying. Is there anything even like it on Lennon, apart from Imagine John Lennon (not quite the same level, IMO)? ...
Not recently made, but the documenary that I watched most recently was The Howlin' Wolf Story (2003) on Amazon Video Pretty low budget 16mm film, but good introduction for those unfamiliar with his life.
A film about an Icelandic School for "perfect housewives", a doc on BBC reel, charming and something of a time-warp.
I watched that when it came out. I have absolutely no respect for that FBI agent who was involved in this "sting." He said a couple of times that they were looking for reasons to "shut it down", but that they couldn't because of the direction the investigation was taking. Well damnit, the FBI kept it going, on and on, by feeding and baiting those poor black men, who basically just needed money for their construction business. And I can't believe that they tried them three times, finally getting a "favorable ruling" the third time. What ever happened to double jeopardy? The sad thing is that the only thing the FBI learned is to use the same approach to ensnare others -- usually individuals who were poor, minority, sometimes just loners who just need a helping hand. It's absolutely disgusting and it has not made our nation safer.
Just watched J.J. Abrams documentary on UFOs on Showtime, and it was haaaaaarible. Way disorganized, no real point, no beginning/middle/end, lots of loose ends and holes never explained and never adequately covered. Lots of interesting characters "shown" in stock footage who were never interviewed, without explanation.
