Friday, April 25, 2014

Life Itself Review

by A.J.

Last year on April 4th, just before my birthday, I received the news that Roger Ebert had passed away. I was saddened more than I thought I could be by the death of someone I never knew. I did meet him once at a book signing in New York; I wrote about that experience and my thoughts and feelings about Roger Ebert in my tribute last year. I only met him once, never knew him, but I will always miss him.
This year, just before my birthday I received in the mail a messenger bag, t-shirt, and gift card to Steak ‘n Shake from the Life Itself production team for a small donation to the Indiegogo.com campaign to cover post production costs of Life Itself, the documentary about Ebert by filmmaker Steve James.
I was able to watch Life Itself streaming online in concurrence with its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this past January, an additional perk of contributing to the production. I’m not sure at what point during the documentary I realized that I would not be able to give this film an “objective” review. Fortunately, as Ebert was apt to remind everyone, there is no such thing as an objective review.
It seems obvious that Steve James would be the one to make this film. James’s 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams was championed heavily by Siskel and Ebert. The Criterion DVD edition of Hoop Dreams contains their initial enthusiastic review, a special segment in which they accuse the documentary wing of the Academy Awards of corruption after Hoop Dreams was not nominated for Best Documentary (it turns out they were right), and the special show in which Ebert names Hoop Dreams the best film of the 1990’s.

Life Itself takes the structure of Ebert’s memoir of the same name beginning with the straightforward linear of childhood, youth, early career, before beginning anecdotes, jumping to the present, then back to the past. There are interviews with friends and colleagues and filmmakers. Roger Ebert was able to become friendly, if not friends, with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog and others. He helped a few personally when he could and they tell their stories too. There is, of course, a portion about Gene Siskel and the creation of the show that made them famous, even to people that didn’t follow critics. I do wish there was more about the show and its different versions, especially its final incarnation on PBS, and also how he dealt with being famous for being a film critic, a relatively normal job.
If you are a fan of Roger Ebert, or movies, or journalism, you will enjoy this documentary. It is a fitting tribute and portrait of a life that touched and influenced the lives of people he never meant and influenced movies and filmmakers even though he never directed one. As you can imagine the tone of the documentary shifts as it covers Ebert’s illness, the loss of his voice, and his death. After he lost the ability to speak, Roger Ebert reinvented himself in the most wonderful way with his website, his blog, and then twitter. Even though he could not speak, you could read his words and there was his voice. Now that he is gone I can still hear his voice.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Classic Movie Picks: April 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or
TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

Happy 20th Anniversary TCM! 
On April 14, 1994, the channel was launched with a ceremony in Times Square and it has been the saving grace of many a cable line-up ever since. It’s certainly the default channel in my house (no surprise there), in fact it’s on right now as I type!


4/7-11: Fan Takeover!
The daytime schedule this week features films requested by viewers. It’s a bit of a mixed bag; however, by virtue of their making it on the schedule, these films are considered worth a view by somebody out there in TV land. During primetime and late night we’ll get films handpicked by Fan Programmers. The Fans’ picks include some of my favorites like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Philadelphia Story (1940), as well as some I’ve never seen, such as Went the Day Well? (1942) and A Man Called Adam (1966) — it’s no coincidence that both of those are TCM premieres. Check out the full schedule here, and be sure to tune in on the dot to hear each fan introduce their film.

BONUS PICK: 4/14, 7 PM - TCM: Twenty Classic Moments (2014)
Take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from the past twenty years.


4/10, 4:15 AM - Lola (1961)
This first feature by French director Jacques Demy stars Anouk Aimee as the title character, a cabaret entertainer in Nantes caught in a love triangle. Demy dedicated this film to director Max Ophuls, whose influence is apparent not only in the swirling camera work, but also in the title character who was surely named for Ophuls’ masterpiece Lola Montes (airing on 4/20, 2:00 AM). I really enjoy Demy’s bittersweet valentines to the Technicolor musical — The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort — so I’m interested to see what came before those films.

4/16: A Proper Butling
8 PM - The Remains of the Day (1993)
3:30 AM - English Without Tears (1944)
If you are experiencing Downtown Abbey withdrawal, here are two films featuring Brits with stiff upper lips to help you cope. Tonight’s schedule is devoted to butlers on screen, but I think these two in particular make a nice double feature because they are both about people adapting to societal changes in England following WWII, as well as love that crosses lines of duty and class.

4/20, 12 AM - Spione/Spies (1928)
This silent film from German director Fritz Lang is a pulpy thriller about super-spy Haghi, who oversees an international spy network from his headquarters beneath a bank. Like many imports of the era, including Lang’s Metropolis, Spione was edited severely for the U.S. market. The original cut was unavailable until 2004; I believe TCM is showing the restored version.

¿Quien es mas macho? Heston vs. Wayne
This month TCM spotlights two of Hollywood’s all-time macho men: Charlton Heston and John Wayne. It’s the Duke’s low drawl versus Heston’s clenched growl. Six guns versus frequent shirtlessness. April will be cloaked in a manly musk; breathe in at your own risk!

Charlton Heston
4/4, 9:30 PM - The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
4/4, 4:45 PM - Skyjacked (1972)
Heston is being honored this month with his own U.S. stamp and in celebration TCM will show 5 of his films on April 4. His wide range as an actor is represented by my two picks from the primetime lineup; however, one constant through all his films is that he’s very entertaining when squaring off against an adversary. In the epic drama Agony, Heston is Michelangelo, locked in a tug of war with Rex Harrison’s Pope Julius II over the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In disaster-thriller Skyjacked, he’s the captain of an airliner terrorized by a hijacker bound for Moscow.

John Wayne
4/22, 8 PM - Stagecoach (1939)
4/23, 12:30 PM - The Quiet Man (1952)
Wayne is the official Star of the Month and his films will take over the schedule April 21-25. The mini-festival was programmed by Robert Osborne -- 58 movies in total. There is a lot to choose from here, but I’ve selected two films directed by Wayne’s great collaborator John Ford. Stagecoach is Wayne in classic cowboy mode aboard the eponymous coach on a perilous ride through Apache country. In The Quiet Man, Wayne tries to be more of a lover than a fighter as a former boxer with a hidden past, but when playing opposite the fiery Maureen O’Hara he finds it difficult to keep his cool.