Gordon Quinn Movies
The one question virtually unanswerable by proponents of the death penalty scarcely needs to be repeated: But what of the situations where an innocent man is accidentally shuttled off to execution? Taking this as a cue, opponents of capital punishment believe that any margin of error, no matter how small, makes the entire enterprise suspect. One person who shares such a conviction is Carroll Pickett, minister to death row inmates at a penitentiary in Texas; for 15 years, Pickett had no reservations about presiding over executions, until that fateful day when his path crossed with that of a Hispanic man named Carlos de Luna, unjustly accused of homicide. Shortly before this - his 96th official execution - was to occur, Pickett tape recorded much of his last day with de Luna. Listening to it, he became unshakably convinced of the man's innocence, and used his inner conviction as an impetus to team up with crime reporters from the Chicago Tribune and delve into the facts surrounding De Luna's highly questionable arraignment. With their documentary At the Death House Door, James and Gilbert both tell Pickett's heart-rending story and use it as a springboard into broader penetrative issues about capital punishment. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
This controversial documentary looks at the traditional lives of the Masai and the Himba, African societies that have historically relied on cattle culture for survival. These peoples now find themselves in peril due to both the endangerment of their native animals, and the conservation efforts that seek to protect them, leaving many desperate and lost, with new avenues of eco-tourism only just cresting on their culture's horizon. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Munyikombo Bukusi
Director Joanna Rudnick serves as filmmaker, journalist, and active participant in this documentary highlighting how the mapping of the human genome can be simultaneously a remarkable gift and a horrible curse. Rudnick was just in her twenties when she tested positive for a genetic mutation that virtually ensures she will develop breast and ovarian cancer. Though, at age twenty-seven, Rudnick can circumvent the consequences by opting for surgery that will leave her devoid of both breasts and ovaries, chances are good that she will pass the mutation on to her children should she choose to become a mother. Now, Rudnick will embark on a cross country quest to speak with other women who have taken the test and received troubling results, speak with the researcher who discovered the existence of the mutation, and speak her peace to the president of the company that holds the patent to the prohibitively expensive test. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
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Dr. Jack Kessler's life took a most unexpected twist in January 2001, when a tragic accident befell his family. At around the same time that Dr. Kessler received an appointment to chair Northwestern University's Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences in Evanston, Illinois, Kessler's daughter Allison - then 15 years old - embarked on a ski trip, suffered a debilitating fall from a ski jump, and emerged paralyzed from the waist down. On an ironic note, just when the horizon appeared darkest for the family, Allison's paralysis inspired Kessler to shift the focus of his job research from the use of embryonic stem cells to cure diabetes, to the use of embryonic stem cells to cure spinal cord injuries. Unfortunately, this occurred at almost exactly the same time that President George W. Bush vetoed a bill enabling special funding for stem cell research. As helmed by Maria Finitzo of Kartemquin Films (the company that produced the 1994 Hoop Dreams), the documentary Terra Incognita explores the complex ethos and heated debate surrounding stem cell research - issues that render it one of the most sensitive hot-button political issues of the early 21st century - by filtering the subject through the specific case of Allison Kessler, and thus examining the subject on an intensely personal, deeply human level. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Director David E. Simpson teams with producers J.J. Hanley and Gordon Quinn for this documentary examining the "Refrigerator Mother" phenomenon in which mothers from the 1950s and 60s were forced to shoulder the blame for their children's autism. Though completely discredited today, the "Refrigerator Mother" theory stated that autism resulted when a mother failed to bond with her child. As a result, an entire generation of mothers was forced to contend with crushing feelings of self-doubt while their autistic children were subjected to a variety of questionable therapies. A frightening neurological disorder in which seemingly normal children slide into a state of mental isolation, autism affects more than one in 500 Americans. One of the first child specialists to focus on the disorder was Bruno Bettleheim, whose early-life experiences in a Nazi concentration camp led him to surmise that, much like the relationships between desperate prisoners and their coldly authoritative guards, autism was a psychological disturbance that resulted when "frigid" mothers remained emotionally distanced from their children. But while a few lone voices were brave enough to speak out against Bettleheim's theory, it remained largely unchallenged until well into the 1960s. Today the "Refrigerator Mother" theory has been completely dismissed, yet the damage has already been done. In Refrigerator Mothers, the filmmakers challenge us to gain a better understanding of the role that the medical establishment plays in our lives and the dangers of misdiagnosis by speaking with the very mothers who were rejected by society despite the fact that they never stopped loving their children. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In the early '80s, Steve James was a student at Southern Illinois University who volunteered for the local Big Brother program and served as a mentor for Stephen Dale Fielding (Stevie for short), a troubled 11-year-old boy with unhappy family relationships. Given up by his mother when her husband decided he didn't want him in the house, Stevie was primarily raised by his step-grandmother and had already begun to reveal a stubborn and easily distracted personality when he met James. After he graduated from college, James lost contact with Fielding, but in 1995, after James had gone on to a career as a documentary filmmaker (and won acclaim for his film Hoop Dreams), he was reintroduced to Stevie, only to learn that his life had taken a number of wrong turns. After a number of scrapes with the law and on-going battles with his family, Fielding had been charged with molesting his eight-year-old cousin, and he'd opted for a trial (which could lead to a twenty year prison sentence) rather than receive counseling, due in part to his experiences in a mental hospital. James and his wife (who counsels sex offenders) wanted to offer Stevie whatever help they could, and James opted to make a film about him, hoping to discover where Stevie's life and gone wrong and how his tragic turn of fate could have been prevented. At the same time, James (like many others in Stevie's life) began to wonder what they could have done, and to what degree they let him down, with James torn between his feelings for his friend and his need to portray all sides honestly. Featuring interviews with Fielding, his family, and his friends, the documentary Stevie examines how society's safety net failed to catch one young man before it was too late. Stevie was shown in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dale Fielding, Verna Hagler, (more)
Recalling both the 1994 masterpiece Hoop Dreams (it sports the same producers) and Michael Apted's legendary Up series of documentaries, Maria Finitzo's sociological portrait 5 Girls (2001) observes the challenges, travails, hopes, dreams, and triumphs of five Chicago-area teenage girls over the course of a four-year high school tenure. With intimacy and candor, cross-cutting between stories (with roughly an equal amount of time spent on each subject), Finitzo covers such areas as individual sexual awakenings and inner-city impoverishment. On a broader level still, she watches as each girl blossoms into a young woman, with everything entailed and necessitated by that transformation. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
As a determined collective of American and Vietnamese veterans collaborate for a sixteen day, 1,200 mile bicycle expedition across the very same landscape where they once vowed to kill each other or die trying, emotional scars cut deeper than any physical wounds. Nearly a quarter century after the last American officials were airlifted to safety from their Saigon embassy rooftop, the preparations are being finalized for The Vietnam Challenge: A grueling bicycle journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. An event organized by World T.E.A.M. (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) Sports, The Vietnam Challenge teamed able-bodied veterans with those who were wounded in battle to highlight the remarkable accomplishments that can be made by those suffering with disabilities. For some participants it was the physical aspect of the race that proved the most challenging, and for others the hardest part was moving out of the past and learning to embrace the future. Joining these exceptional veterans on their remarkable journey are Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg LaMonde, John Kerry, (more)
This documentary about the aspirations of high-school basketball players from inner city Chicago won awards from the Sundance film festival, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Academy Award (Oscar) for best editing. Two young men are followed during their entire high-school career, beginning with their participation in playground games and ending with their being recruited by colleges. The obstacles these young men face include parental drug addiction, family poverty, and inner-city violence, as well as the usual obstacles that arise in competition, including physical injuries. While each aspires to leave the ghetto, there are many reasons to suppose they may not be able to, despite each beating the odds against them by winning college scholarships. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gates, Arthur Agee, (more)
- 1988
Follow the creation of "White Squad X", one of artist Leon Golub's monumental canvases, in the award-winning documentary Golub. A unique blend of three themes--art, politics, and the media--the 56-minute film examines the role of violence in the modern world as depicted in the artist's paintings. Known for his sense of history and political activism, Golub powerfully portrays the human condition in situations of oppression and conflict through unconventional artistic techniques. You'll see images of torture, war, and brutality come to life in close-ups of the artist at work. Other highlights include interviews with museum-goers about the relationship between art and society, and archival footage.
~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide
- 1983
The Pullman name was once synonymous with American industrial might and luxurious travel on trains. The Pullman railroad cars, which featured sleeping berths and private cabins, represented romance on rails in numerous Hollywood movies and in the public imagination. In telling the story of the final days of the Pullman factory, during 1981 union negotiations with management, this documentary also bears witness to the end of an era, and recounts the hundred-year relationship between corporation, government, and labor union. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In Chicago in the 1970s, home childbirth among the poor resulted in fewer infant deaths than hospital births. However, due to the medical doctrines prevailing at the time, home childbirth was considered to be very nearly a criminal act, and vigorous efforts were being made to eliminate it. In this documentary, WATCH (Women Act to Control Healthcare) takes steps to save the Chicago Maternity Center, which provided medical care for those wishing to give birth outside of hospital maternity wards. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This documentary film about natural childbirth, co-directed by one of the parents of the child whose birth is being prepared for, has become an important element in the natural childbirth movement. In the film, Gerald and Barbara Temaner discuss their reasons for wanting this kind of childbirth, and tell how they made arrangements for the delivery to take place in a hospital in another state, as state law in Illinois did not permit "natural childbirth" at the time. The film records their preparation for the birth, Barbara Temaner's labor, and the actual birth. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1967
This compelling documentary concerns some of the residents of Chicago's Drexel Home. The retirement home caters to wealthy Jews who are in need of assisted living and medical care. The feature is a big slice of cinéma vérité, illustrating the fears and concerns of the elderly regardless of religious faith or income. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
