Michael Bacon Movies

During the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944, thousands of American GIs were captured by German forces. Berga: Soldiers of Another War, the final work in the distinguished career of four-time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Charles Guggenheim, is the untold story of 350 American POWs caught in the tragedy of the Holocaust. In blatant violation of the Geneva Convention, the Jewish American soldiers in the 106th Infantry Division, together with those who had "Jewish-sounding" names or who "looked" Jewish, were shipped off to the slave-labor camp at Berga am Elster, a satellite camp of the infamous Buchenwald. There they were starved, mistreated, and forced to work alongside slave laborers from Nazi concentration camps. During the four months between their capture and their liberation, 20 percent of the POWS died of disease, malnutrition, and other causes. Charles Guggenheim had been a member of the 106th, but was stateside due to illness when his comrades were captured and mistreated. Nearly six decades later, Guggenheim interviewed survivors of the ordeal while filming on location in Berga, Germany. The result is this 90-minute documentary, completed a scant six weeks before Guggenheim's death of pancreatic cancer. The film made its American TV debut courtesy of PBS. Extra features available on DVD include David McCullough interviewing Charles Guggenheim, outtakes from the film, and selected works by the director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hart Perry and Dana Perry are a couple with a background in documentary filmmaking (Hart is a cinematographer, Dana a producer and editor), and when they had a son, like many parents they spent a great deal of time recording their child's growth on film and videotape, albeit with higher-end equipment. But their son, Evan Perry, was different from most of his peers; Evan struggled with severe mood swings and emotional instability, and the couple struggled to help their child come to grips with an illness they did not fully understand (he was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder). Their efforts to help Evan came to a tragic conclusion when the boy committed suicide, jumping from the window of a skyscraper after leaving a note. Evan was only fifteen years old when he died. As Hart and Dana tried to come to terms with Evan's suicide, they decided to make a film in an effort to gain closure, and Dana began interviewing Evan's doctors, teachers, friends and family members as well as sorting through the hours of footage she had collected of her son. Boy Interrupted is the result, a powerful portrait of a family wrestling with loss and their unsuccessful battle to save their son. Boy Interrupted received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A mother once neglected as child but possessed of a heart overflowing with love grows increasingly despondent as her beloved child begins to claim his independence in director Kevin Bacon's adaptation of Victoria Redel's best-selling novel. If loving too much were a crime, well-meaning but overbearing mother Emily (Kyra Sedgwick) would be spending life behind bars with no hope of parole. When Emily was a child, her parents were deeply in love with one another but tragically indifferent to their affection-starved daughter. Now a grown adult with a deep-rooted desire to bear a child, Emily goes to desperate lengths to conceive before eventually giving birth to an exceptionally gifted boy whom she names Paul. Emily's devotion to Paul burns brighter than a thousand suns as she creates a wondrous world of books, music, art, and games to share with her growing child, but her ever more desperate attempts to preserve the purity of their relationship reach a frantic fever pitch as a kindhearted local man opens his life to the pair and Paul prepares for his first year of school. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This documentary follows meteorologists as they face the danger of "going into the field" -- chasing down massive F5 tornadoes in order to study them. Scientists who are experts in this specific field illustrate the forces that create such destructive forces of nature and explore the elements that remain unknown. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Years of hard work have put Stanley where he is today, with a wife, a mortgage, and a stable (or boring) career in middle-management. He's looking for some way to liven up the tedium of his life and begins perusing the personal ads. One of them, by a lady billing herself as "Olivia," wins his interest. However, once he begins communicating with her, two things happen. The first is that he grows ever more sure that she embodies whatever he is looking for. The second is that she refuses any contact except by letter. As his fantasies grow more all-consuming, he eventually hires a private detective to track her down. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Teddy: In His Own Words is the latest penetrating profile in Emmy-winning documentarian Peter Kunhardt's series centering on the Kennedy family. Combining public and private records of Edward Moore "Teddy" Kennedy's words with the context of archival footage, newsreel clips, and home movies, this installment delivers an intimate portrait of the last surviving male member of the Camelot administration. ~ All Movie Guide

Michael Bacon and his actor brother Kevin comprise The Bacon Brothers, a country act that has established a fan base independent of Kevin's fame. The No Food Jokes Tour is a concert film that showcases their guitar playing and songwriting. ON the set list are "Woman's Got a Mind to Change," "OldGuitars," "Sooner or Later," and in a nod to Kevin's other career, a cover of "Footloose." ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Something about the millennium makes documentarians wax nostalgic. ABC is no exception. With the rollover of the year, decade, and century, summations are in order. The Century: America's Time is one such wrap-up, albeit a mighty ambitious one. Peter Jennings narrates this look back at the last 100 years. From a strictly American point of view, the video starts at the turn of the century, with the birth of the common man, and moves all the way to present-day technology, with the computer leading the way. The presentation is divided onto six tapes. Each program tramples through a dense history with Jennings providing the transitions. Beginning with the great melting pot, a timeline of occurrences highlights each video: the invention of the automobile, the suffrage movement, both world wars, and Vietnam. The video covers the "hippie" movement, the Red Scare, and the undeniable AIDS epidemic. At times, the stories are told by American icons, including Oliver Stone and Eudora Welty. Other moments are described by photographs alone. This collection is an exercise in textbook description with little analysis assigned to the events. However, for the history buff, The Century: America's Time is a gold mine. Century: America's Time, Vol. 2 focuses on the Great Depression. Prosperity is almost unattainable for a quarter of the population. Next, the build-up to World War II captivates America's attention; as the nation struggles to remain uninvolved, Europe falls into greater strife. Episodes included are: Century: America's Time - 1929-1936 Stormy Weather and Century: AMerica's Time -1936-1941 Over the Edge. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

Something about the millennium makes documentarians wax nostalgic. ABC is no exception. With the rollover of the year, decade, and century, summations are in order. The Century: America's Time is one such wrap-up, albeit a mighty ambitious one. Peter Jennings narrates this look back at the last 100 years. From a strictly American point of view, the video starts at the turn of the century, with the birth of the common man, and moves all the way to present-day technology, with the computer leading the way. The presentation is divided onto six tapes. Each program tramples through a dense history with Jennings providing the transitions. Beginning with the great melting pot, a timeline of occurrences highlights each video: the invention of the automobile, the suffrage movement, both world wars, and Vietnam. The video covers the "hippie" movement, the Red Scare, and the undeniable AIDS epidemic. At times, the stories are told by American icons, including Oliver Stone and Eudora Welty. Other moments are described by photographs alone. This collection is an exercise in textbook description with little analysis assigned to the events. However, for the history buff, The Century: America's Time is a gold mine. In Century: America's Time, Vol. 4, the focus is on the "Happy Daze." On the surface, most Americans seemed content. But the nation teemed with anger. McCarthy riled up the public, while civil rights leaders were jailed. This period stands as one of the most tension-filled in history. Later, with John F. Kennedy at the helm, America's potential was never so great. This program traces the fall of Camelot and the rise of communist resentments. At home, a race war heats up as America enters a perilous time with the unending Vietnam War and the end of segregation. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are killed and the future seems bleak. Episodes included are: Century: America's Time - 1953-1960: Happy Daze, Century: America's Time - 1960-1964: Poisoned Dreams, and Century: America's Time -1965-1970: Unpinned .



~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

Something about the millennium makes documentarians wax nostalgic. ABC is no exception. With the rollover of the year, decade, and century, summations are in order. The Century: America's Time is one such wrap-up, albeit a mighty ambitious one. Peter Jennings narrates this look back at the last 100 years. From a strictly American point of view, the video starts at the turn of the century, with the birth of the common man, and moves all the way to present-day technology, with the computer leading the way. The presentation is divided onto six tapes. Each program tramples through a dense history with Jennings providing the transitions. Beginning with the great melting pot, a timeline of occurrences highlights each video: the invention of the automobile, the suffrage movement, both world wars, and Vietnam. The video covers the "hippie" movement, the Red Scare, and the undeniable AIDS epidemic. At times, the stories are told by American icons, including Oliver Stone and Eudora Welty. Other moments are described by photographs alone. This collection is an exercise in textbook description with little analysis assigned to the events. However, for the history buff, The Century: America's Time is a gold mine. In Century: America's Time, Vol. 6, unexpected changes dot the landscape of the Reagan era. The end of the Cold War and the emergence of the nouveau riche dominate the '80s. This wrap-up focuses on the pivotal moments of the '90s -- from the Oklahoma Bombing to the Persian Gulf War. The creation of a media-hungry culture is apparent. The program ends with a look to the future. Episodes included are: Century: America's Time - 1981-1989: A New World and Century: America's Time - The '90s and Beyond: Then and Now.


~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide