“We torched Superior Lumber in Glendale, OR on January 1, 2001. Superior Lumber is a typical earth raper contributing to the ecological destruction of the Northwest.  What happened to them should shock no one. This year, 2001, we hope to see an escalation in tactics against capitalism and industry. While Superior Lumber says, ‘Make a few items, and do it better than anyone else,’ we say, ‘choose an earth raper, and destroy them.”  — Communication Sent By The Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

IF A TREE FALLS  is a well-edited and structured documentary that manages to balance advocacy with objective reality in a thought provoking way. It brings you into the story from many different perspectives moving back and forth through time and events. IF A TREE FALLS keeps you interested throughout the entire eighty-five minutes.

IF A TREE FALLS is a documentary that explores many important issues by focusing on the rise and fall of The Earth Liberation Front (ELF). It does this mainly through the eyes of David McGowan, as he becomes radicalized into the ecological movement and ultimately into its most radical component, ELF. The film opens with archival footage of a ski resort burning. ELF burned it because the resort had plans to expand in to a forest area. The burning of the ski resort contrasted with other more blatant environmental issues shown in the documentary feels like ELF goes to far at times.

IF A TREE FALLS, directed by Marshall Curry, combines interviews with McGowan, who is living under house arrest waiting for a trial, as the film begins. He along with a number of other suspects were arrested simultaneously on December 7^th, 2005 and charged with domestic terrorism. ELF destroyed property but never endangered a human life. No person was ever hurt or killed because  ELF made sure no one was in the buildings they burned.  There is a question as to whether they are arsonists or terrorists?

IF A TREE FALLS is great documentary storytelling, moving between parallel themes highlighting events, McGowan’s experience, and current situation, and the FBI’s hunt for the members of the ELF.  There is archival footage of police using pepper spray on peaceful protesters that reminds you of recent violence by police on the Occupy Movement protesters. These attacks on protesters help to radicalize McGowan and others into taking violent actions themselves.

Most of the fires were set in the Northwest in protest of the logging industry and their harvesting trees in forests under the control of the National Forest. Environmental activists had been active there for some time by 2001.

Many interesting and controversial questions arise watching this documentary. One issue is the treatment of protesters by police. Why is all the violence necessary?  Environmental concerns based on the deforestation of huge areas of the country where large thousand-year-old trees are cut down and the land left bare. Another topic that comes to mind is the fate of the members of the ELF, many of whom could be facing life sentences for the acts of arson.

By focusing on McGowan’s life story up to the point he goes to court IF A TREE FALLS creates some empathy for McGowan and his fate. The ELF disbanded a few years before the arrests were made. McGowan left the group because things were, in his mind, getting to crazy. The investigators were treating it as a “cold case,” when they got an unexpected break. This aspect is skillfully incorporated into the story.

REVIEW BY – J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

 IF A TREE FALLS – A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT – 2011 – 85 minutes – Directed by Marshall Curry, An Oscilloscope Pictures Release – NOMINATED FOR OSCAR BEST DOCUMENTARY 2012 – Best Documentary Editing Sundance Film Festival.

TRAILER IF A TREE FALLS

MAD HOT BALLROOM has many unique aspects as a documentary. First it’s a view from the inside looking out. There is no third party voice over narrator; the teachers and students tell their own stories.  Another thing you will notice immediately is the documentary camera is at the same height as the participants. This establishes a non-condescending point-of-view, the viewer is at the same eye level as the dancers. This style of shooting is intimate and allows you to experience how the children are feeling about what they are doing in every way. The coverage of actual dancing and competitions is excellent putting you right there with the children.

MAD HOT BALLROOM is a documentary that pulls you into the story including the process of learning, competing and emotional reactions. This is not an easy process for the children who need to suspend a lot of inhibitions to participate. Just holding hands with a child of the opposite gender seems kind of “icky” for a nine or ten year old. The notion of keeping eye contact with your dance partner adds another level of discomfort.  The children overcome other obstacles and in the process gain a great deal of self-confidence. It’s amazing to see the expressions on the children’s faces as they learn to dance and compete in the various competitions leading up to the finals. The story focuses on certain public school students in Brooklyn and their journey to the citywide competition. There is joy and heartbreak along the way. The pace of the documentary holds up throughout the length of the film but seems a little slow at the end perhaps because you want to know who wins the final competition to take home the trophy.

This is not a documentary that goes out of it’s way to determine if the notion of young students learning ballroom dancing is some new socially relevant idea. It is what it is. You can decide how you feel about it after enjoying the actuality of the documentary.

MAD HOT BALLROOM is more than just a feel good documentary, it entertains and informs as it allows you to be there with the children to experience and explore the process they are working through. Whether you are a ballroom dancing fan or not this documentary is well worth watching. In addition you might just feel enabled to try some dancing yourself, perhaps while you’re watching the film!

REVIEW BY – J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

MAD HOT BALL ROOM . – 2005 – 105 Minutes – Directed by Marilyn Agrelo – Produced Amy Sewell and Marilyn Agrelo – Director of Photography Claudia Rachke-Robinson – Original Music Steven Lutivak and Joseph Baker – Paramount Classics and Just One Productions

TRAILER

Before his television show Jerry Seinfeld did stand-up comedy. He was on the road most months of the year performing around the country. For twenty years he built up his routine, his jokes, timing and rapport with audiences. Seinfeld wanted to go back in 2002 with new material, new jokes that needed to be tested. This meant spending nights at comedy clubs like the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.

In the film new comics like Orny Adams live a very insecure life as they try to get notoriety and maybe a spot on David Letterman or Jay Leno to get some national coverage. The documentary spends some time contrasting Orny Adams and his struggles for recognition with Jerry who while well known is also struggling to get his act together. They end up with the same agent, George Shapiro who has worked with Jerry Seinfeld previously.

In addition to being a must see documentary for anyone thinking about becoming a comedian, JERRY SEINFELD COMEDIAN is an entertaining, well paced documentary that goes behind the scenes including conversations Jerry has with other comedians including Greg Geraldo, Sherrod Small, Jim Norton, Robert Kline, Jay Leno, Gary Shandling, Bill Cosby and at least dozen others. There are no lower third graphics to identify everyone so it is difficult to be sure who is who unless you have seen them perform.

While it’s not difficult to identify with Jerry and his struggles to get back out there with new material, stage presence and good connection to audiences; his life style in between is more poor little rich boy as he commutes between gigs in his corporate jet. This is not the life of a typical standup comedian working and getting an act together. But Jerry’s success previously does present obstacles for him because audiences expect him to be as funny as he was before as a comedian and on television.  Not every joke works first time out so it takes time to refine material. Like most comedians Jerry is extremely sensitive about audience reactions and if his material is working.

One of the interesting things about this documentary is the that it gives you a glimpse into the personality of the clown, the person who makes jokes on stage but has real human needs off stage. Jerry Seinfeld and maybe a couple dozen comics at any given time live a comfortable, successful life. There are scores of others living hand-to-mouth, trying to be funny.

JERRY SEINFELD COMEDIAN is and excellent documentary, well edited with a fine musical score, entertaining and informative. It is shot in an intimate fashion often in low light situations in clubs and other venue still keeping the lighting feeling natural. There are some good jokes and funny scenes too, which a documentary about a comedian must include by default.

REVIEW BY – J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

JERRY SEINFELD COMEDIAN -  2002 – 82 MINUTES – DIRECTED BY CHRISTIAN CHARLES – PRODUCED BY GARY STREINER MIRIMAX FILMS

TRAILER – The trailer for JERRY SEINFELD COMEDIAN was done as a spoof, an anti trailer trailer. Now a classic itself.

BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY

In addition to being a “A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY” this documentary takes you behind the scenes with a short history of Sesame Street and the creation of puppet characters for the TV program, Muppet movies and other older television shows that featured puppets. Kevin makes his way from a local show in Baltimore to other shows and ultimately New York where he meets Jim Henson and other puppeteer/designers like Kermit Love who appear to mentor Kevin in his early years.  Archival footage is incorporated into the film bringing uniquely candid views behind the scenes at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop. BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY also includes interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others involved in the world of puppetry. The documentary is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, who also appears in the film.

“Clash’s first television work was for the CBS affiliate in Baltimore. He came to Sesame Street after attracting the attention of Muppet™ designer Kermit Love. Clash’s film credits include Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I and II, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space and Elmo in Grouchland.  His television work includes The Great Space Coaster, Captain Kangaroo, Dinosaurs and Muppets Tonight.” – BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY

BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY offers a rare look at how the puppets are made and how they are operated when Kevin is seen training French puppeteers for the French version of Sesame Street. It is amazing to see the small things that make the puppets appear human like. The documentary is a must for anyone interested in puppeteering or who has ever wondered what makes them go. This leads to how Kevin brought Elmo’s character into being and how he found a “hook” for the character of Elmo.

BEING ELMO  A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY is a well paced documentary that both entertains and informs giving you insight into the people who create the puppets that they then bring to life.  There does seem to be some gaps in the story as the film moves from Baltimore to New York and other places.  It would have also been interesting to see a bit more of Kevin and others at work or performing. To the extent that the documentary is about Kevin’s journey there seems to be some blank spots in showing his life and career. However, there is enough there to tell the story and at one point his relationship with his daughter is highlighted.

There is a special moment at the end of the documentary when Kevin meets a young boy starting out, as he once did. This seems to tie together the soul of Elmo, created and brought to life by Kevin Clash, Elmo the teacher and the love of learning.

DIRECTED BY CONSTANCE MARKS  an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker and writer director Phillip Shane.  BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY 2011 – 80 Minutes

BEING ELMO A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY is playing in theaters as of December 2011. It is well worth taking the time to see on the big screen.

J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

TRAILER

What emerges from NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN is that Bob Dylan’s work reflects back the time period when it was written.  Dylan at times claimed he was not a protest singer and at other times that all his songs were protest songs. Both things are true. Dylan was active in the Civil Rights movement, but also claimed he was not political. He wrote and sung, “The times they are a-changing” metaphorically in all his work. In many respects he was a minstrel.  His writing did not just apply to civil rights; it applied to life styles and relationships, being American, and the culture in general. Dylan is as much a poet and writer as he is a singer and musician. He found his voice after being exposed to the poets and coffee houses in Greenwich Village, NYC and went on from there. In many respects Bob Dylan chronicled or documented injustice and other issues broadcasting them to the public much like a journalist or advocacy documentary filmmaker.

Scorsese skillfully weaves a number of parallel themes including a 2005 interview with Bob Dylan, a large amount of archival material, performances and additional interviews with people who knew Dylan.  The film begins with Dylan growing up in Hibbing, Minnesota. Film footage and audio of artists from Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, to Johnny Ray and others who Dylan was exposed to in those early days are used to establish the world in which Dylan lived.  It’s a fascinating journey from Hibbing through time and places like Greenwich Village in the sixties where Dylan matured as a artist. Everyone is there including Allen Ginsberg, Dave Van Ronk, Liam Clancy, Maria Maudaul and countless others.

There are several parallel themes running in NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN. The documentary is not entirely edited in a chronological format. There is a non-linear approach to time. The film moves more by ideas than time.  All themes are skillfully edited in an ongoing montage that moves between the past and present. One theme that appears early in the film is the ongoing angst, seen in performance scenes between Dylan and his followers.  Footage from Dylan’s tours of England typify this as some fans react negatively to his evolution from folk music and acoustic guitar to electric with a backup band. One tour was originally documented in a direct cinema style documentary titled “Don’t Look Back” by D.A. Pennebaker in 1965.  As NO DIRECTION HOME continues Dylan is seen dealing with the fan reaction in different ways, from what may be feigned indifference to an angry performance?

NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN – 2005 – 207 MIN. Apple presents A MARTIN SCORSESE Picture – Directed by Martin Scorsese – A Production of SPITFIRE PICTURES

Another theme is Dylan and Joan Baez who for a time performed together and were friends.  In an interview for the documentary Joan narrates meeting Dylan and talks about their relationship. Scorsese comes back to her a number of times throughout the film. In addition to Joan Baez there are many other interviews with people who knew Dylan in various ways. Parts of these interviews are also used throughout the film. These interviews are broken up and used through out the film as time passes.  What emerges is not only insight into Bob Dylan’s career but also a history of one aspect of the music industry over the years.  NO DIRECTION HOME includes a string of performances by Bob Dylan and other artists using archival footage that includes Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, The Clancy Brothers and many others.

NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN ends around 1966 after Dylan recovers from a motorcycle accident. He doesn’t do another tour for eight years. The documentary never lags.  It would have been great to look at Bob Dylan’s career since 1966, he is alive has a career and is still recording music.  Maybe Martin Scorsese will do a sequel.  NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN is a well-made, entertaining and insightful documentary film. It explores issues and events that shaped a man’s life and how he helped in many ways to shape a country’s awareness.

Other documentaries by Martin Scorsese are THE LAST WALTZ – THE LAST PERFORMANCE OF THE BAND AND SHINE A LIGHT – THE ROLLING STONES.

REVIEW BY – J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

TRAILER NO DIRECTION HOME – BOB DYLAN

ZEITGEIST

The second part of ZEITGEIST explores what can only be called a conspiracy theory regarding how the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers was accomplished beyond being hit by two large jets carrying a full load of aircraft fuel. The premise is that the aircraft striking the towers and exploding were not enough to cause the buildings implode in the fashion they did. The film claims that there must have been explosives planted within the building to cause the buildings to collapse the way they did. No evidence to support this theory is presented except for a couple accounts of individuals hearing secondary explosions.  The film also disputes the number of hijackers involved. It claims that there is no evidence of a plane hitting the Pentagon on the same day. It also disputes facts about the crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  The reason for all this according to the film was to start wars in the Middle East among other things.

The final scene, or part three, of  ZEITGEIST attack the institution of the Federal Reserve Bank which the film relates to other world banks and the idea of a group of individuals who through wealth and power have controlled the world since Christianity became a world religion. The World Wars, Viet Nam and the current crop of wars were all arranged to the benefit of the Military Industrial Complex of various corporations and countries.

ZEITGEIST presents a great deal of information that is often based on speculation rather than hard facts.  It does bring to light a striking number of facts and ideas that tie the dogma and history of Jesus Christ and Christianity to obvious similarities with earlier religions and creation stories.  The film makes the case that Judaic/Christian bibles do include stories that appear to be plagiarized from Egyptian and other religions. The 911 section is difficult to accept without more concrete facts and evidence. The conclusion segment does make a strong case regarding the manipulation of world events for profit.

ZEITGEIST – 2007 – 118 MIN. WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY PETER JOSEPH

ZEITGEIST uses graphics, stock footage, and archival materials along with voice over third party narration through out most of the film. There are a few interviews. The overall production value is minimal but well edited. The film is interesting to watch and it provides a lot to think about. In many ways this film might be classified as an “Attackumentary.”  It doesn’t present any alternative views to what it claims to be true. Perhaps because it assumes everyone has heard the “establishment” version of history and events. It seems that many groups and individuals would dispute some of the information presented.

In many respects ZEITGEIST borders on a propaganda format in that it takes many ideas or coincidences out of context to construct scenarios that present new or fabricated realities.  ZEITGEIST treads a fine line between reality and extreme subjectivity. But it is worth watching and thinking about carefully.

J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews

TRAILER ZEITGEIST

GUNNER PALACE, is narrated by Michael Tucker, a filmmaker embedded with the 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. “The Gunners,” for two months in Iraq late 2004. The shooting style is basic, largely handheld, but first person in that it feels that you are seeing the action through the eyes of the soldiers.  GUNNER PALACE is directed, produced, written and edited by Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein.

There are some casual interviews but most of the coverage has a “direct cinema” observer feel. After a quote from Donald Rumsfield, that he is …”pleased to be able to celebrate your liberation [Iraq People's]” and that … “Baghdad is bustling with commerce;” GUNNER PALACE opens as if running with the narrator down a street under fire.  This, after another quote from Rumsfield is seen on the screen basically saying that “…everything is under control.” But the documentary is not pro or against the war it’s really about being a soldier in the army in a war zone.

TRAILER GUNNER PALACE

The Gunners are housed in the partially bombed out palace once lived in by Saddam Husein’s son Udday.  The troops take advantage of what’s left of the luxurious palace including the pool for R & R.

In many ways GUNNER PALACE is reminiscent of The Anderson Platoon  (1967) a Vietnam era documentary where the filmmakers take fire with the soldiers. The director, Pierre Schoendoerffer, a French veteran of the Indochina war, returns to Vietnam where he observes American soldiers in the 1st Air Calvary Division for six weeks at the height of fighting in 1966. It’s a big jump from Vietnam to Iraq in 2004, but the soldier’s life is much the same.

 TRAILER THE ANDERSON PLATOON

Comparing these two documentaries made about war thirty-eight years apart reveals both similarities and many differences. Both show American soldiers in combat and the bonds that are formed. The differences may be symbolized by the music played by the men in the face of the constant threat of danger. The Anderson Platoon uses R&B and blues where as GUNNER PALACE is firmly accompanied by Hip Hop and Rap.  There is also the reality that earlier film includes draftees and the more recent film an all volunteer unit.

Both films fall into the “Direct Cinema” or “Cinema Verite” style of documentary, but there is quite a bit of difference in the camera work and feel of the films. For starters The Anderson Platoon is filmed in Black and White using film. GUNNER PALACE is color video camcorder. There’s a much different texture and feel with the black and white film than with the color video. Black and White, to some extent, removes the viewer from the actuality of the environment because it is an abstraction, since most humans perceive reality in color. The electronic color video while closer to reality has a colder look. A small video camcorder allows much more mobility in the style of shooting than a sixteen millimeter film camera which is larger and heavier.

The editing of each film also has a much different feel both because of when they were made and the type of coverage each film had available.  The pace of editing is generally much faster today than thirty-eight years ago.

GUNNER PALACE is a candid look at one aspect of the American military experience in Iraq 2004.

J R MARTIN – AUTHOR – CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA – REAL DEAL PRESS

GUNNER PALACE 2004 87 MINUTES Directed by Michael Tucker A Nomados Film – PALM DISTRIBUTION

IT MIGHT GET LOUD,

There’s a lot to like in this well paced journey that explores the passion these musicians feel for their music and where that passion got started. It’s not only the archival footage of Jack White playing with bloody fingers, Jimmy Page reliving the first time he heard Rumble performed by Link Wray, or Edge playing Sunday, Bloody Sunday, after you know what inspired it, that tells the story.  In this film it’s the blend of past, present  and sincere emotion that creates the narrative.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD is centered on the jam session that brings the three guitarists together, however, most of the story is about how they got there and where they are now. The back-story for each musician is parallel developed and edited with interviews and archival footage.  The archival footage of performances by each of the musicians provides an insightful dimension to where each person has been and their playing style.

If you are interested playing electric guitar you will learn something from IT MIGHT GET LOUD about technique and other aspects, including  the craft of building and modifying your own guitar as The Edge has done, or how certain notes can be played. The film opens with Jack White making a rudimentary electric  guitar with a coke bottle on a piece of wood, the guitar string and an input for the amp. There’s an abundance of archival footage of performances by each musician and the groups they are associated with. Even as you see clips of the current session the story quickly jumps back into the individual lives and performances of each person. What emerges is the soul and philosophy of each person toward their music and playing.

When Jimmy Page plays an old LP of Link Wray, performing Rumble,  a guitar classic, you can begin to understand how he feels the music.  This feeling is strong enough to bring you into the room with Jimmy so that you feel it too.  Jack White tells how he is the youngest of ten children growing up in a predominately Latin area of SW Detroit, at a time when playing an instrument was not cool. Edge talks about growing up in Ireland and his first attraction to the guitar and music.

All of the back-story for each of these musicians is blended with the music they create, and short clips of their jam session right up until the end of the documentary when enough is now known about each of them to understand where they are coming from as they spectacularly play a few final songs together.

From a technical perspective IT MIGHT GET LOUD uses  parallel story development in a way that contrasts each of the three musicians, the music they play, their experience and unique passion for their craft. The extensive use of archival footage edited into segments along with interviews is integrated with short clips of the current jam session until the end of the film where a longer session ensues. Excellent directing, editing and cinematography along with audio mixing.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD is a wonderful documentary that entertains and informs you about the world of making music and the passion these musicians have for the guitar and the music they create.

J R MARTIN – AUTHOR – CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA – REAL DEAL PRESS

IT MIGHT GET LOUD 2009 – 98 MINUTES – DIRECTED BY DAVIS GUGGENHEIM – A THOMAS TULL PRODUCTION -  The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs) SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

TRAILER

FOR ALL MANKIND

The documentary film FOR ALL MANKIND begins as the moon comes out from behind some dark clouds, and the edited footage of President John F Kennedy at Rice University in 1962 where he said:  “We choose to go to the moon, We Choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

“We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people…”

“…we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun–almost as hot as it is here today–and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out–then we must be bold.”

“And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”  — JFK

Six years later in 1968 the first manned flights to the moon began and continued through 1972.  During that time there were nine manned flights resulting men walking on the moon. A nation accomplished a goal and in the process learned much, produced much and found a renewed identity. There’s a lesson to be learned in this historic journey in to outer space at a time, when NASA did not have the computing power found in the basic MacBookPro today! Much can be accomplished when a culture has the will to do something. It’s hard to imagine anything as grand and challenging as the trips to the moon happening today. FOR ALL MANKIND shows what can be accomplished when there is a collective shared agenda.

FOR ALL MANKIND is historical in nature, using actual footage shot at the time, to construct a story that brings you on the trip to the moon; from the dramatic lift off, the leaving of Earth orbit at six thousand feet per second and ultimately orbiting the moon. Once in moon orbit you go with the astronauts in the moon lander as it settles gently on the surface of the moon. On the moon you take that famous “small step for a man, giant step for mankind” with Neil Armstrong and walk on the moon.

FOR ALL MANKIND does a great job recreating the experience of traveling to the moon. This includes the feeling the astronauts  experienced leaving our planet, seeing it grow smaller as they moved farther away from its blue oceans. There are no longer countries and continents just one mother Earth. It also shows you life in the command module as the astronauts deal with weightlessness in this tiny space ship. FOR ALL MANKIND is an amazing documentary than humanizes the notion of space travel and the uniqueness of humankind and the planet Earth.

“FOR ALL MANKIND is the firsthand story of a great mythic adventure. Touching the Moon was b definition a work of inspired imagination and high art, and scarcely requires further embellishment… The movie is a testament to the power of primitive vision and the strength of human will.” — Al Reinert

J R MARTIN – AUTHOR – CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA – REAL DEAL PRESS

For All Mankind – 1989 – The Criterion Collection – 79 Min. Directed by Al Reinhart

TRAILER

WINGED MIGRATION

WINGED MIGRATION must be classified as a hybrid documentary because many of its scenes are staged in some way. Even so, in the same way that Nanook of the North, despite its staged scenes gives insight into the world of the Eskimo; WINGED MIGRATION explores the often mysterious world of migrating birds and offers insight into migration, a phenomenon that has gone on for tens of thousands of years.

What is controversial about WINGED MIGRATION is that certain types of migrating birds were “imprinted” for use in the film. For example a flock of geese was hatched and raised by trainers who used imprinting, to train the birds to follow them and respond to them. “The filial imprinting of birds was a primary technique used to create WINGED MIGRATION, which contains a great deal of footage of migratory birds in flight. The birds imprinted on handlers, who wore yellow jackets and honked horns constantly. The birds were then trained to fly along with a variety of aircraft, primarily ultra lights” (Wikipedia ). Some experts state that imprinting cannot be reversed and the birds will be imprinted on humans for life. The filmmakers believed that there was no other way they could get close to migrating birds as they traveled.

Making this film required four years and an amazing amount of energy and resources. Five film crews followed several varieties of birds that appear to be migrating over forty countries and each of the seven continents. Teams used fourteen cinematographers with seventeen pilots, using planes, gliders, helicopters and balloons to fly alongside, above, below and front of their subjects.

Scenes using imprinted birds are intercut with wild flocks of migrating birds. No film has ever captured birds in natural flight with such accuracy and beauty in so many actual situations. There are no simulated flying scenes, the birds are all real and they must face environmental hazards like storms, snow, avalanches, rivers, swamps, predator birds, human environments including cities, industrial pollution and illness from parasites.  Some birds do not make the flight both ways. Some interaction between humans and the birds is shown.  In one scene and old woman in a coat feeds some cranes. The fact that these may not be totally wild cranes doesn’t seem to matter.

The film uses a minimum of narration, lower third facts identifying the various flocks of migratory birds and where they are flying, music and natural ambient sounds. Most birds don’t fly 12,000 miles non-stop, they must land eat and rest where possible. Aside from natural obstacles like weather the birds face hunter’s guns. In some countries the pollution and industrial smog must be flown through. They land in industrial wastelands that nature never envisioned where they can get trapped in waste ponds.

WINGED MIGRATION is a wonderful documentary style film. It covers a nonfiction subject with a little fiction here and there that does not violate the reality the migratory birds must live through on their trips across the planet. The film is one of the most beautifully shot nature films made. It includes many scenes that are the real thing.  Some of those things are the many scenes of the birds dancing, doing mating rituals, diving, running across the water, and in the case of penguins leaping out of the water and marching on to land.   This is a film you will remember and want to see more than once. It tells the story of migrating birds in way everyone can enjoy and understand.

The DVD release of the documentary includes a behind the scenes documentary that explains the techniques used to “imprint” the birds and shows the crew shooting in many environments. In one scene shot in New York the imprinted geese join a flock of wild geese flying over, leaving the filmmakers to think that they had lost the birds.

J R Martin

WINGED MIGRATION – 2002 – 89 MINUTES –CBC – GALATEE FILMS – Directed by Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud and Michel Debats. OSCAR NOMINEE

TRAILER