Nathaniel Dorsky Movies

Veteran experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky directed this visual meditation dominated by images of light and reflective surfaces. Created in collaboration with a close friend, Susan Vigil, who was in the final stages of a terminal illness, Song and Solitude subtly explores the beauty of everyday images and pastoral scenes, focusing on rich natural greens and golds as it envelopes the world in a shroud of enigmatic grace. Song and Solitude was screened in competition at the 206 Toronto International Film Festival, where critic Michael Sicinski described it as "probably the best film in the festival overall." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

David Brower was one of the most ambitious and effective environmental activists of the 20th century. Brower first visited Yosemite National Park when he was six years old, and it sparked a life-long love for the outdoors; as he grew to adulthood, Brower developed a passionate interest in the preservation of America's wilderness. At age 21, Brower joined the Sierra Club, and in 1952, he became one of the club's executive directors, fighting in both the public and private sectors to protect unspoiled lands, maintain wilderness area, and prevent exploitation of national parks. Later in life, Brower also helped to found Friends of the Earth and the Earth Island Institute, and was instrumental in the creation of a number of national parks, keeping dams out of historic river sites, and establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America is a documentary which offers a detailed look at Brower's life and work, and includes some of his own 16 mm footage of his favorite parks (Brower was a talented amateur cinematographer). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

More commonly known as the expatriate author of The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles actually first made his mark on the world as a composer. This documentary sets out to rediscover this forgotten master of 1930s American music. Shot in New York, Paris, and Tangiers, the film details his studies with Aaron Copland, and the time he missed a meeting with Sergei Prokofiev. Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles also features interviews with William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg (both posthumously), and Bowles himself. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In 1993, documentary filmmakers Dan Geller and Danya Goldfine followed 10 freshmen at Stanford University through their first year at college -- and, in many ways, their first year of life as independent adults -- in the film Frosh. Now & Then: From Frosh to Seniors examines the same students four years later as they prepare to graduate from college. Many of the students have changed a great deal since Geller and Goldfine last caught up with them; Chris and Gerardo, roommates so inseparable that many of their classmates were convinced that they were lovers, are no longer in touch with each other. Sam, once terribly shy, is now manager of Stanford's basketball team and president of his fraternity house. Debbie, an enthusiastic member of a sorority in the first film, announces that Greek life made her a "monster" and is now focused on women's studies. Monique, an African-American student from a broken home, nearly dropped out as a freshmen but is now a college graduate and the winner of a community service award. And her good friend Brandi, a solid student at first, has decided to take some time off from her studies. Now & Then will probably be enjoyed most by viewers who have already seen Frosh and can better appreciate the growth of its subjects. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In 1955, poet Allen Ginsberg summed up the greatest fears of his generation in a landmark poem appropriately titled "Howl." As a result of that defining piece of prose, Ginsberg would become an icon of the Beat Generation. Inspired by Ginsberg's powerful personality and captivating charisma as a performer, filmmaker Jerry Aronson procured every film clip of the poet that he could find and compiled it into a comprehensive documentary tracing the life and times of the man who never backed down from his beliefs. From Ginsberg's early experiences alongside such American icons as Jack Kerouac, Timothy Leary, and William Burroughs to his historical clash with William F. Buckley, and his tense confrontation with police during the 1968 Democratic Convention, Aronson's film doesn't miss a beat. Back to back readings of "Howl" from 1955 and 1992 show precisely how the poem continued to resonate decades after it was originally written, and by exploring Ginsberg's political and spiritual beliefs Aronson offers compelling insight into the mind of a counter culture legend. Originally released in 1993, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg was updated to cover the events surrounding the subject's untimely death in 1997 and to provide a final, fitting epitaph for the controversial author.

The deluxe two-disc DVD release includes over six hours of bonus materials, including a "making-of" documentary, footage of Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's grave, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg in a 1994 appearance at Naropa University, selected readings by Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and Ginsberg at a 1965 City Lights Bookstore appearance, the making of the music video for "A Ballad of Skeletons", a guided tour of a Ginsberg photographic exhibition hosted by the writer himself, excerpts from Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit, footage from Ginsberg's New York City memorial, photo galleries, and trailers. Additional interviews with subjects ranging from Joan Baez to Johnny Depp, Yoko Ono, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ken Kesey show just what an expansive influence Ginsberg truly had as an artist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The title refers to a rare etching of Dutch artist Rembrandt. Jon A. English plays a young musician who expresses his love for former girl friend Barbara Hammes by presenting her with a Xeroxed copy of the Rembrandt etching. Though Hammes is touched, she doesn't want to get back together with English. And that's what passes for a plot in this collection of loosely related visual anecdotes, recording the separate day-to-day existences of English and Hammes. Devotees of director Jon Jost will uncover profundities in every scene; those who aren't so taken by Jost will scratch their heads and wonder what all the shouting is about. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide