Category: Documentary

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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997)

This film provides a tour of what director Mark Rappaport feels is gay subtext showered throughout classic Hollywood films. I’ve long wanted to watch the much lauded Celluloid Closet which highlights the history of LGBT representation in movies, but not having a copy of that film available to me, I thought this might suffice as a backup of sorts. Unfortunately that’s not quite the case as this doesn’t elevate much beyond the type of opinion essay that’s easily found on YouTube. It’s repetitive and very narrow in scope. At times it offers a bit of campy fun, but it just as easily turned into long pieces where all I could do is roll my eyes at the stretches being suggested.

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Adam Clayton Powell (1989)

The rise and fall of the charismatic minister, Congressman, and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell is outlined in this short documentary. For such a complex and intriguing figure in politics, less than an hour is obviously not enough to do his history justice. The result is a blink and you miss it, CliffsNotes version of his life. There’s a more than twenty year old television movie based on his life that I’d like to find a copy of, but even better would be for someone to put out a modern theatrical take on his story.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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Coney Island (1991)

Aired as an episode of PBS’s American Experience, this documentary covers the early history of the Coney Island amusement parks. I admit to having a somewhat irrational, minor obsession with these parks. My enjoyment of older films set in New York City is always enhanced if there are any scenes set at Coney Island. The film doesn’t cover a lot of new information for me, but the footage it has to offer and the shared experiences of lucky individuals who saw everything first hand, particularly Al Lewis who worked in the parks, makes for a fascinating watch. I love seeing all the early lighting and decorations and am thoroughly fascinated by some of the rides which would certainly not pass safety muster these days.

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Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)

In 1981, 21 year old college student Maya Lin’s design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was chosen over almost 1500 other submissions. Though Maya continues to design and create to this day, this structure remains the one for which she is most well known. The structure of this documentary is somewhat unique in that it spends a good part of its time concentrating on the Wall: the history of its creation, Maya’s design philosophy and the controversies over her visionary ideas. Since the film was made fairly early in her career, it then only briefly touches on her later work and an equally small part on her background and personal life. Regardless, Maya proves to be an appealing subject, candid and more than willing to discuss and show her artistic process.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

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Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000)

In 1931 on a train from Chattanooga, a fight broke out between young Black and white passengers. When the train later stopped in Alabama, two white women accused the Black teenagers of raping them on the train. Despite a lack of evidence, it would take three separate trials, a recanting by one of the women, and many years spent on death row before all nine of the men were no longer in prison. It’s an incredible tale of injustice carried out by the American justice system and the documentary does a good job detailing the process these young men were forced to go through. The details are a little sparse regarding the actual event that led to the arrests, but it’s a minor nitpick on what is likely a common story that is only different in the fact that the accused lived to tell their tale.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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Let It Be (1970)

It is not surprising that after watching Get Back I finally get around to watching this concert film which was the original result from all that footage. A commercial release of this unfortunately hasn’t existed since the 1980s so it’s unfair to compare the two on technical merits as the copy I was able to procure was so much darker and less clear than the recent miniseries. Regardless, it’s sad to think that for the longest time with all that footage available all that was available to the public was this hour and a half shoddily edited movie. There is little context given to anything that comes before the concert on the roof. The concert on the roof is the strongest piece of this film, but I’m still not sure which of the two renditions I prefer. This is more focused on showing the performance while the miniseries again gives context with the setup, more views and reactions of the audience, and even more footage of the police action. Regardless, they both end on such a melancholic note to know that’s more or less the end.   Music

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song Score

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Swing High (1932)/ Sacheen: Breaking the Silence (2019)

One of the many short films narrated by Pete Smith, Swing High features stunts performed by a family of trapeze artists, The Flying Codonas. Many of the acrobatics are shot either from above or in slow motion which gives a close view to the action and maneuvers that the troupe goes through. The result is a lot more thrilling than the typical short I’ve seen from this era.

At the 1973 Oscars, which were being aired while the Wounded Knee Occupation was occurring, Marlon Brando appointed Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to decline his Best Actor award in protest of Native American portrayal in films and treatment throughout the country. I had only been vaguely aware of the event before, but this documentary offers Sacheen a chance to give her take on the experience in her own words. It’s particularly interesting that not long after I watched the film, it became public that the Academy had issued an apology to Sacheen for what she endured because of her speech.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Novelty (Swing High)

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Running from Crazy (2013)

Mariel Hemingway examines her family’s mental health history, which includes substance abuse, mental illness, and multiple suicides. While an honest and somewhat engaging look at illness as it is passed through generations, the film is mostly about the Hemingway family of which I have less than a passing interest. The parts that attracted most of my attention were the footage shot by Mariel’s older sister Margaux, a victim of suicide at the age of 42, who was also exploring their family’s history but with closer, more intimate access to the subjects being talked about.

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The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

In January 1969, The Beatles were filmed for 21 days while rehearsing for their next potential album, concert, and film project. Obviously edited through a modern eye, much of this feels like a Beatles reality show, only airing more than fifty years after the fact. After so many years together, there’s a lot of camaraderie and comfortable knowledge around each other, but also the acrimony build up from being around each other for too long. Most importantly, the miniseries offers a comprehensive view into the creative process of four rare individuals who were fantastic at what they did at the furthest point they would reach with each other.   Music

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Winged Migration (2001)

This documentary follows birds from across the world as they make their annual migration from north to south and back again. Managing to get impressively close to the birds, there are numerous occasions where the viewer gets to feel like they are part of the flock. For fans of nature documentaries, I can’t imagine it gets any better than this. I’m not really into birds, but oddly found the occasional appearance of humans to be jarring. For this non-birder, the footage became repetitive after awhile, but I still found the scope incredibly impressive.  Animals

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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