Neal Gabler Movies
- 2004
- Add Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story to QueueAdd Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story to top of Queue
Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story documents one of the most shocking and brutal events in the history of boxing. During a bout against Benny Paret in 1962, Griffith beat the man so badly that Paret died from the injuries sustained in the ring. This tragic incident becomes more complex when one learns that before the fight Paret made a derogatory comment about Griffith's possible homosexual orientation. The bout was televised nationally. The film includes footage from the fight as well as interviews with Griffith himself, journalists, historians, and others. This film played at the Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, 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)
- 1993
Film history buffs will be particularly attracted to this documentary, made by studio boss Jack L. Warner's grandson Gregory Orr. In addition to being the last remaining studio boss to remain active producing films after the studio system fell apart, he was a seminal figure during that period (in his case, from the 1920s to the 1950s). He and his brothers formed the Warner Brothers studio just before the advent of the "talkies" in 1929, and made a big hit with the first commercial talking picture The Jazz Singer. Warner was viewed in deeply contradictory ways by the film community. On the one hand he was an extremly ruthless businessman and competitor, who was known for his tight-fistedness. On the other hand, he was completely forthright about who he was and what he wanted in life, a form of honesty rare in any time. He particularly relished his role as a famous figure whose wishes had to be reckoned with. Special highlights of this documentary include home movies of the mogul with his family and associates, and still photographs. In 1969, after he had ceased being a studio head, he sadly observed "without a studio, I'm just another nobody." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Shirley Jones, (more)
