Video Librarian 2009 Best Documentaries

22. Dezember 2009

Die US-amerikanische Rezensionszeitschrift „Video Librarian“ hat wieder ihre alljährliche Bestenliste für Dokumentarfilme auf DVD veröffentlicht. Ausgewählt wurden die Filme von den Rezensenten der Zeitschrift

Der „Video Librarian“ ist ein unverzichtbares Instrument, wenn man sich einen schnellen und kompetenten Überblick über den DVD-Markt der USA, besonders für Dokumentationen, verschaffen will. Sehr zu empfehlen ist die  „Review Database“ mit 22.000 Rezensionen von 1.000 Anbietern. Damit lässt sich schnell  ein  Programm zu  aktuellen Themen wie z. B. zum Darwin-Jahr zusammenstellen.

Die Auswahl zeigt, dass man Tabus nicht scheut und immer die Hand am Puls des gesellschaftlichen Lebens hat.

Another Day in Paradise (PBS, 90 min., Blu-ray: $29.99 [$54.95 w/PPR, www.pbs.org]). Made with the full cooperation of the U.S. military, filmmaker Deborah Dickson’s beautifully filmed documentary offers a compelling portrait of three sailors on the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. (VL-7/09)

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (VH1 Films, 80 min., DVD: $24.98). Director Sacha Gervasi’s surprisingly amusing and moving documentary explores the rise, fall, and resurgence of 1980s-era heavy metal rock band Anvil, featuring appreciative commentary by Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich.


Coal Country (Evening Star Productions, 84 min., DVD: $24.95). Filmmaker Phylis Geller’s thought-provoking documentary focuses on mountain top removal mining in Appalachia, while also examining various issues involving the economy of the region, national energy policy, and the environmental implications of coal on both the local and global levels. (VL-11/09)


Crips and Bloods: Made in America (Docurama, 99 min., DVD: $26.95 [DVD or VHS: $295 w/PPR from Bullfrog Films, www.bullfrogfilms.com]). Director Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants) turns his attention to another Southern California subculture, chronicling the origins of and feud between the titular gangs in this powerful documentary narrated by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker. (VL Online-7/09)


Dear Zachary (Oscilloscope, 95 min., DVD: $29.99). Subtitled “A Letter to a Son About His Father,” Kurt Kuenne’s extraordinarily poignant child custody documentary tells a personal story full of surprising twists, beginning with the murder of a young Pennsylvania doctor by his mentally unstable pregnant ex-girlfriend, who then fled to her native Canada and bore their son. (VL-3/09)


Fatherhood Dreams (Passion River, 55 min., DVD: $24.99 [DVD w/PPR: $75: public libraries; $150 w/PPR: colleges & universities from Interfilm Productions at http://www.fatherhooddreams.com]). Canadian filmmaker Julia Ivanova’s documentary looks at the unique parenting experiences of four gay men, deftly intertwining their uplifting stories while also exploring a myriad of related social and legal issues. (VL Online-6/09)


Food, Inc. (Magnolia, 91 min., DVD: $26.98, Blu-ray: $34.98). Emmy Award-winning director Robert Kenner’s disturbing documentary focuses on the industrialization of North American food production/delivery, offering a compelling and alarming portrait of how this growing agricultural monolith affects our health, environment, and economy. (VL-11/09)


Frontrunners (Oscilloscope, 82 min., DVD: $29.99). Caroline Suh’s wonderful documentary offers an endearing and at times howlingly funny study of the nature of democratic elections, covering a campaign for student union president at New York’s prestigious Stuyvesant High School. (VL-3/09)

The Garden (Oscilloscope, 80 min., DVD: $29.99). Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s 2008 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary follows the battle for control of the largest community garden in the United States—14 acres in the middle of South Central Los Angeles that were transformed by a largely Latino population from a blighted lot into a flowering urban oasis of family-farmed plots. After 12 years, the city decided to sell the property for business development, issuing an eviction notice that set off an escalating chain of events. (VL-9/09)

The Gates (Alive Mind, 98 min. DVD: $129: public libraries; $249: colleges & universities). Legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens) has chronicled the creation of many massive, eye-catching works of public art erected by Christo and his late partner Jeanne-Claude. Here, Maysles charts the controversial 25-year-history of the pair’s titular project, in which 7,500 “gates” of flowing saffron-colored fabric were installed along 23 miles of paths in Central Park for a two-week period. (VL-9/09)

The Greening of Southie (Bullfrog, 72 min., DVD or VHS: $295). Offering an exciting glimpse into the future of Earth-friendly major building construction, filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis’ (King Corn) globetrotting documentary follows the design and construction of the Macallen Building in South Boston, from the gathering of green materials to the winning over of a skeptical blue-collar work crew. (VL-1/09)


In a Dream (IndiePix, 80 min., DVD: $26.95 [DVD: $295 w/PPR from The Cinema Guild, http://www.cinemaguild.com]). Shot over the course of a decade, Jeremiah Zagar’s compelling documentary turns the camera inward on his own dysfunctional family: supportive mother Julia, troubled older brother Zeke, and—most of all—his father Isaiah, an eccentric but amazingly productive Philadelphia muralist struggling with mental illness. (VL-11/09)


A Lion in the House (Docurama, 282 min., DVD: 2 discs, $26.95). Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and later broadcast on PBS’ acclaimed Independent Lens series, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s emotionally devastating but also occasionally uplifting marathon documentary follows the lives of five patients—ranging in age from seven to 19—from the pediatric cancer ward at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital over several years. (VL-1/09)


Not Quite Hollywood (Magnolia, 103 min., DVD: $26.98). Combining colorful anecdotes, witty observations, and a treasure trove of film clips (with copious nudity, violence, and outrageous bad taste), Mark Hartley’s unabashedly affectionate tribute celebrates the disreputable genre films that emerged Down Under in the ‘70s—a body of work that helped make the Australian New Wave possible. (VL-11/09)


Nursery University (Docurama, 90 min., DVD: $26.95). Co-directors Matthew Makar and Marc H. Simon profile four couples and one single mother in this exploration of the fierce competition between upper-class Manhattan parents who believe they must enroll their children in the most highly regarded preschools to help ensure a chance for Ivy League acceptance further down the line. (VL Online-9/09)


Passion & Power (First Run, 74 min., DVD: $24.95). Based on the 1999 book by Dr. Rachel Maines (The Technology of Orgasm: “Hysteria,” the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction), directors Wendy Slick and Emiko Omori’s documentary offers an informative and playful profile of the vibrator that also includes insights into the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the post-feminist present. (VL-3/09)


Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (Genius, 93 min., DVD: $24.95). Director Jim Brown combines archival stills and film (some shot by Seeger and his family), interviews (with Seeger, Bob Dylan, and dozens more), and extensive concert footage to create this inspiring portrait of folk music pioneer Pete Seeger that originally aired on PBS’ American Masters series. (VL-1/09)


The Rape of Europa (Menemsha Films, 117 min., DVD: $29.95 [Collector’s edition DVD: $59.95, from http://www.rapeofeuropa.com]). Exploring the interrelated stories of the Nazi plunder of priceless objets d’art from conquered territories during World War II and post-war attempts to restore stolen masterpieces to their rightful owners, filmmakers Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge, and Nicole Newnham’s fascinating documentary is based on the bestselling book by Lynn H. Nicholas. (VL-1/09)

Resolved (Image, 90 min., DVD: $27.98). Greg Whiteley’s HBO-aired documentary focusing on two disparate high school debate teams combines archival footage with clever animation to examine the transformation of debate over the last few decades—from a carefully reasoned rhetorical contest into an intense verbal battle known as “the Flow.” (VL-7/09)


Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story (Stax, 114 min., DVD: $19.98). Aired on PBS’ Great Performances series, this Samuel L. Jackson-narrated musical documentary recounts the story of the creation of Memphis’ Stax Records and the evolution of its artists, including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave, and Booker T. & the MG’s. (VL-3/09)


Second Skin (Liberation, 94 min., DVD: $19.95). Filmmaker Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza’s engaging documentary looks at the enormously popular world of online gaming, featuring a quartet of adult roommates whose lives revolve around World of Warcraft, as well as a couple who met in the game world and wound up marrying in real life. (VL-9/09)


Secrecy (Docurama, 81 min., DVD: $26.95 [DVD or VHS: $295 w/PPR from Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com]). Harvard professors and filmmakers Robb Moss and Peter Galison’s intriguing documentary offers a balanced look at the increasing trend towards classifying government information in the name of national security in the post-9/11 era. (VL-7/09)


Stranded (Zeitgeist, 126 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, DVD: $29.99). Known to many from Piers Paul Read’s 1974 bestseller Alive, the story of the famous 1972 plane crash in the Andes in which the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism is told in filmmaker Gonzalo Arijón’s powerful and moving documentary, which interweaves dramatic reenactments with interviews of survivors who recall their incredible ordeal. (VL-7/09)


The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (Phase 4, 104 min., DVD: $29.99). Canadian director Brett Harvey’s documentary takes a compelling look at British Columbia’s illegal marijuana trade industry, incorporating contemporary research, humorous clips from vintage educational films, and interviews of colorful characters such as Tommy Chong and cannabis culture personality Watermelon Girl. (VL-9/09)


Waltz with Bashir (Sony, 90 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $39.95). Israeli director Ari Folman embarks on a gripping psychological journey into his own repressed memories of the horrors of the First Lebanon War in 1982—part of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict—in this surreal animated documentary that was nominated for Best Foreign Film. (VL Online-6/09)


Filmzeitschrift POSITIF: ein Dossier zur DVD

18. Dezember 2009

Bisher konnte man zu Weihnachten von den „Cahiers du Cinéma“ immer ein Dossier zur DVD erwarten. In den letzten Jahren sind hier interessante Artikel zum Medium erschienen. Doch diesmal hat es neben einer Buchauswahl nur zur Vorstellung von 11 Editionen gereicht.

Dafür hat jetzt aber zum ersten Mal das Konkurrenzblatt „Positif“ in seiner Dezemberausgabe ein 25-seitiges Dossier „Le DVD: État des lieux“ veröffentlicht – hier eine Übersicht:

  • Editorial: Des DVD sous le sapin (Adrien Gombeaud)
  • Entretien avec Peter Becker: Les critères de Criterion (Michel Ciment)
  • Table ronde avec Manuel Chiche (Wild Side) , Adrienne Fréjacques (Arte ), Vincent Paul-Boncour (Carlotta) et Stéphane Roux (Gaumont): Bilans et perspectives (Philippe Rouyer)
  • Quelques DVD de cinémathèques (Hubert Niogret)
  • Les coffrets:
  1. Jeux de Lang (engl.)
  2. Allan Dwan (engl.)
  3. Max Ophuls
  4. Nikita Mikhalkov Part 1 / Part 2 (engl. Untertitel)
  5. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
  6. Nicolas Philibert
  7. Koji Wakamatsu 1, United Red Army (franz. Untertitel)
  • Dans la jungle du DVD : la prolifération des versions (François Thomas)
  • Le cinéma en Blu-ray (Pierre Eisenreich)

Bei den Interviews mit Peter Becker und dem runden Tisch mit Verantwortlichen einiger Qualitätslabels aus Frankreich geht es vor allem um die Chancen und Methoden, in der Krise mit einem Repertoire filmhistorisch bedeutender Werke am Markt zu bestehen. In Frankreich sind die Subventionen für DVDs des „Patrimoine“, also des nationalen Filmerbes, unverzichtbar.

Hubert Niogret stellt einige DVD-Editionen von Filmarchiven vor. Er widmet sich dabei besonders dem Korean Film Archive (KOFA), das für seine kontinuierliche Publikationspraxis bekannt ist.

Der umfassendste und interessanteste Artikel des Dossiers stellt die Möglichkeiten des Mediums DVD dar, verschiedene Fassungen eines Films zum Vergleich anzubieten.

Zum Schluss stellt Pierre Eisenreich kurz die Blu ray aus cineastischer Sicht vor.

„Wer die Blu ray The New World the extended cut von Terrence Malick nicht gesehen hat, hat sozusagen nichts gesehen“.

Wie muss das erst bei „Days of Heaven“ sein? – ab 23.3.2010 auf Blu ray.


Library Journal: Best DVDs of 2009

18. Dezember 2009

Wie jedes Jahr hat das Library Journal in den USA auch diesmal wieder die 10 besten Dokumentarfilme auf DVD ausgewählt.  Jeff T. Dick hat seine Wahl nach folgenden Kriterien getroffen:

„For his list of the best docs (and one foreign film) to release on DVD in 2009, Jeff Dick, LJ’s indie film guru, took into account the following criteria: films that garnered Oscar, film festival, or critical recognition, including in LJ, and those offering remarkable insights and/or emotional engagement that lingers beyond their final frames. His top picks tackle a wide variety of subject material, from the death penalty to a tale of survival against all odds.“ (Library Journal Best DVDs of 2009: Food, Inc., Every Little Step & More)

At the Death House Door. color. 94 min. Peter Gilbert & Steve James, Kartemquin, dist. by Cinema Guild. ISBN 978-1-56580-849-2.
A Texas prison chaplain and death penalty advocate has a wrenching change of heart after ministering to an apparently innocent man.

Every Little Step. color. 93 min. Adam Del Deo & James D. Stern, dist. by Sony Pictures. UPC 0-43396-30962-3.
Dancers auditioning for the revival of Broadway’s A Chorus Line work with the show’s original creators to rekindle a classic tale of showbiz dreams.

Food, Inc. color. 91 min. Robert Kenner, dist. by Magnolia Pictures. UPC 8-76964-00216-5; Blu-ray UPC 8-76964-00260-8.
A food-industry exposé that serves up an eye-opening (and sometimes stomach-churning) look at profit-fattening but unhealthy agribusiness practices.

I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt. color. 85 min. Patrick Creadon, dist. by PBS Home Video. ISBN 978-0-7936-7047-5.
This informative and accessible chronicle of America’s exploding national debt sounds a wake-up call about looming economic disaster. (LJ online 6/18/09)

The Order of Myths. color. 80 min. Margaret Brown, dist. by Cinema Guild. ISBN 978-0-7815-1268-8.
Segregation still reigns at the Mardi Gras in Mobile, AL, until the 2007 celebration tentatively breaks from the „separate but equal“ tradition. (LJ 4/1/09)

Pray the Devil Back to Hell. color. 72 min. Gini Reticker & Abigail E. Disney, dist. by Passion River. UPC 8-44667-01992-6.
Inspiring Liberian women—Christian and Muslim—unite to halt a deadly civil war and help elect Africa’s first female head of state.

Sin Nombre. color. 96 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. Cary Fukunaga, dist. by Universal. UPC 0-25192-01807-7.
In search of a better life, South Americans Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) and Willy (Edgar Flores) cross paths stealing a train ride in this moving drama.

Stranded. color & b/w. 126 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. Gonzalo Arijón, dist. by Zeitgeist. UPC 7-95975-11133-1.
Survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes reflect on their harrowing 72-day ordeal that forced them to resort to cannibalism.

Trouble the Water. color. 96 min. Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, dist. by Zeitgeist. UPC 7-95975-11183-6.
The onslaught and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is captured by intrepid New Orleans resident Kimberly Rivers in effective home-movie style. (LJ online 2/9/09)

Trumbo. color & b/w. 95 min. Peter Askin, dist. by Magnolia Pictures. UPC 8-76964-00239-4.
Blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Johnny Got His Gun) is profiled primarily via compelling readings of his letters from prison.

Alle Titel sind in den USA bei den üblichen Mailorder-Vertrieben erhältlich. „Sin Nombre“ erscheint im Januar 2010 auch in Großbritannien auf DVD.


Gesamtwerk von Attila Janisch auf DVD

14. Dezember 2009

In Ungarn ist das Gesamtwerk von Attila Janisch auf DVD (Info) erschienen. Die Box lohnt sich, denn die drei Langfilme „Másnap“ (Kritik), „Hosszú alkony“ (Info), und „Árnyék a havon“(Info) sind englisch untertitelt (alle anderen Teile leider nicht). Dieselben Filme waren auch schon in Schweden in einer Ausgabe mit 3 Discs erhältlich. In Ungarn kann die Box mit 4 Discs nun wesentlich preiswerter bestellt werden – eine seltene Gelegenheit, diesen bei uns wenig bekannten Filmemacher kennenzulernen.

Im Criterionforum hat skuhn8 die Box näher beschrieben:

Those familiar with Attila Janisch will be happy to hear that his complete works are now available in a box set…however, only the three main features contain English subtitles. Four DVDs; three cases; one box.

DVD 1 (also available separately)
Árnyék a havon (Magyarország – 1991): Shadow in the Snow (71′) w/English/French/Swedish subtitles. Anamorphic 2.35:1 black/white
Starring Miroslav Baka known for his work in Kieslowski’s „Short Film about Killing“
Extra features below do not include English subtitles
* Janisch Attila Portrait (documentary about his career)
* Separate Interviews – Janisch Attilával, Forgách Andrással, Miroslaw Baká (this last one is in English, made very recently but is less than 5 minutes long)
* Screen tests – Miroslaw Baká and Bacsa Ildikó (a little over 10 minutes with Miroslav doing most of his tests in Polish)
* Kisfilm – Kameravázlatok
* Filmographies
* Photo Galleries — including very insightful behind the scenes shots of the director in action
* Trailers for the three films
* His first short film – Róbert és Róbert – (1981) (24′)–with an early appearance of Udvaras Dorrotya
* Early short film – Lélegzetvisszafojtva – (1985) (53′)

DVD 2:
Hosszú alkony (Magyarország – 1997): Long Dusk–70′, w/English, French, Swedish subtitles, anamorphic, color
Based on Shirley Jackson story, ‚The Bus‘, and starring Törőcsik Mari (Love, Weekend in Pest and Buda, Merry-go-round)
Extra features do not include subtitles:
* Portrait of the director documentary (I believe a repeat)
* Interviews with: Janisch Attilá, Forgách András, Törőcsik Mari, Csuja Imré
* Kisfilm – Kameravázlatok
* Filmographies
* Galleries
* Trailers
* Early short film – Zizi – (1983) (34′)

DVD 3 & 4 (available as a DVDx2 set):
Másnap (Magyarország – 2004): After the Day Before –112′, anamorphic, color, w/English, French, Swedish subtitles
Extra features do not include subtitles:
* ‚Making of…‘ film
* Interviews with participants
* Short film — location shots
* Deleted Scenes
* Portrait of the director documentary
* Interviews with: Forgách András, Ujlaki Dénes
* Filmographies
* Trailers for all three features

* Early short film – A másik part – (1984) (36′) (Criterionforum.org)