Michael Bacon Movies
- 2002
Given a limited theatrical release in May of 2002 under the title The Hamptons Project, this two-part TV documentary is the handiwork of Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA). Shot between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 2001, the program chronicles the residents and visitors of the Hamptons, New York's ritziest (and most celebrity-studded) resort community. Highlights include the annual Steeplechase; a "going the rounds" session with an aspiring singer; a young woman's efforts to land an eligible (and, one assumes, wealthy) bachelor; an elaborate wedding and equally elaborate funeral; and a school-auditorium piano recital by local resident Billy Joel. Other famous faces making cameo appearances are Alec Baldwin, Christie Brinkley, and Sean "P-Diddy" Combs. The TV version of The Hamptons was shown in two two-hour installments by ABC on June 2 and 3, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- Add The Music Instinct: Science and Song to QueueAdd The Music Instinct: Science and Song to top of Queue
Music is the great unifier -- its power to move and engage human beings spans across centuries, continents, and languages. Why are are we so universally drawn to melodic sounds? This in-depth documentary investigates the issue, offering commentary from leading researchers and musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma. ~ Carly Wray, All Movie Guide
- 2001
With its billions of cells linked by trillions of connections, the human brain is the most complex thing in the universe. Within weeks of conception, fetal brain cells develop at the rate of 500,000 per minute. From birth to age one an infant's brain is most easily molded by external influences and experiences. The first hour of "The Baby's Brain," volume one in a series on The Secret Life of the Brain, focuses on the formation of the infant brain, examining such factors as brain organization and the roles of genetics and environment on brain development. ~ Kathryn Tamms, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Part two in The Secret Life of the Brain series explores the development of the brain in young children, most specifically the phenomenon of language, whose explosion in children after age one most dramatically illustrates the brain at work. But how do we learn to talk and read? Whereas linguistic activity is limited to the left side of the brain in adults, the same activity activates the entire brain in very young children. What happens when the physical development of the brain is compromised? And where do language disorders like dyslexia have their roots? ~ Kathryn Tamms, All Movie Guide
