J. Hoberman Movies
- 2005
- Add Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream to QueueAdd Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream to top of Queue
Stuart Samuels's popular documentary Midnight Movies: From Margin to Mainstream grounds itself in the thesis that six revolutionary American motion pictures - Night of the Living Dead (1968), El Topo (1970), Pink Flamingoes (1972), The Harder they Come (1972), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Eraserhead (1976) - invented the concept of "midnight movies" and thus permanently reshaped the American film industry per se and the composition of the average U.S. film audience, creating a new "brand" of viewer. Samuels and his team tell the story of this odd subgenre as it evolved, peaked in popularity, and then faded gradually from view. The bulk of the picture consists of a myriad of interviews with the directors of these films per se (John Waters, Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, Perry Henzel, George Romero - Jim Sharman appears in archive footage only), cast members, theater owners who found their business reinvigorated by this trend, critics such as Roger Ebert who reflect on the era, and of course the films' fans. The documentary also features extended clips from the movies and period news footage about the rise in popularity of the said titles. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1998
- Add Hollywood: An Empire of Their Own to QueueAdd Hollywood: An Empire of Their Own to top of Queue
Winner of the Best Jewish Experience Documentary award at the 1998 Jerusalem Film Festival, this A&E program directed by Simcha Jacobovici was also hailed as "provocative and engaging" by John Leonard in New York Magazine and "shrewdly on target" by Caryn James in The New York Times. Essentially an adaptation of Neal Gabler's award-winning, somewhat controversial book Hollywood: An Empire of Their Own: How The Jews Invented Hollywood, this documentary chronicles the amazing success story of the half-dozen Jewish immigrants or sons of immigrants who created the movie industry studio system and became the moguls of Hollywood during its Golden Age. Highlights include archival footage, interviews, and commentary on these leaders, including Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount; Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal; Jack and Samuel Warner, founders of Warner Bros.; Louis B. Mayer, founder of MGM; William Fox, head of 20th Century-Fox; and Harry Cohn, who ran Columbia Pictures. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Avishai, Judith Balaban, (more)
- 1998
This documentary captures rhythms in the life and career of famed cinema choreographer Busby Berkeley (1895-1976). In the late '20s, Berkeley's work on Broadway led Eddie Cantor to recommend him to producer Sam Goldwyn for the film version of the 1930 Whoopee! (remade in 1944 as Up in Arms). After 42nd Street (1933), Berkeley's reputation in Hollywood was established. Reading from interviews by Dave Martin and critic Tony Thomas, Larry Robinson provides the voice of Berkeley. The hour-long profile intercuts interviews with Thomas, Esther Williams, director Kenneth Anger, film historian Richard Barrios, critic J. Hoberman, and others. After the December 1997 premiere of this documentary on the BBC, a re-edited version (eliminating rare footage of Florenz Zeigfeld) premiered in the U.S. on January 26, 1998 on Turner Classic Movies. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Robinson, Kenneth Anger, (more)
