Nick Broomfield Movies
British born Nick Broomfield has filmed in brothels, military training camps, and detention homes to create his sometimes controversial documentaries. "I'm not making a film where there are going to be a lot of experts in white coats telling the audience what the situation is," Broomfield told Prairie Miller of Mini Reviews, "I don't like those kinds of films." He studied law at the University of Cardiff and political science at Essex University before entering, and eventually graduating from, the National Film School. By 1971 he had completed his first 18-minute film titled Who Cares, which documented Liverpool residents who had been transplanted to a suburban high rise.Broomfield's career can be divided into two parts, represented by two distinct styles. Between the late '70s and mid-'80s, he filmed in a cinema vérité style, working with cinematographers Joan Churchill and Sandi Sissel. Many of these early films like Behind the Rent Strike and Marriage Guidance centered on social problems. Tattooed Tears (1978) went inside a youth detention camp in California while Soldier Girls (1981) followed a platoon of female recruits during basic training at Fort Gordon, GA. The latter film received Britain's Robert Flaherty Award for Best Feature Documentary. Chicken Ranch (1983) mirrored later Broomfield documentaries by investigating life inside the famous Nevada brothel, while both Lily Tomlin (1986) and Driving Me Crazy (1988) observed the planning and rehearsal of stage shows.
It was during the filming of Driving Me Crazy that Broomfield happened upon a technique that would become central to his films during the '90s. The story line had begun to spin out of control. Out of desperation, he decided to appear before the camera and add narration. After several transitional years that included a feature film, Dark Obsession (1990), he would make a series of films that would redefine his career. In Tracking Down Maggie (1994), the filmmaker began a relentless quest to interview ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The primary difference, compared to his earlier films, is that Broomfield's presence becomes part of the story in a manner similar to Michael Moore's in Roger & Me.
For his next films Broomfield turned to gritty American subjects. Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam (1995), Fetishes (1996), and Kurt and Courtney (1998) have been described by some as "tabloid journalism." "Maybe they aren't the most historical figures in a necessarily respectable way," Broomfield explained to Miller, "but they are nonetheless very indicative of aspects of our culture and the way it operates." Kurt and Courtney investigated the death of Kurt Cobain and became controversial due to the opposition and threatened lawsuits of Courtney Love (eventually causing the film to be withdrawn from Sundance). Broomfield, however, persevered and the film received a theatrical release. His overt technique of courting controversy and choice of offbeat material has made him an important voice in reshaping the style and content of the contemporary documentary. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi
- 2011
Celebrated documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (Kurt & Courtney, Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer) focuses his lens on conservative American politician Sarah Palin, speaking with her family, friends, and former colleagues in a probing attempt to understand her motivations and aspirations. Broomfield travels to Alaska in order to interview her parents, former rivals, and extended family members of Levi Johnston, all the while attempting to score an interview with the original Mama Grizzly. Sarah Palin: You Betcha played at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The fate of two cultures becomes locked on a tragic collision course in director Nick Broomfield's dramatization of the events that led to the massacre of 24 Iraqi men, women, and children by American Marines. A squadron of American soldiers goes speeding across the Iraqi desert in a convoy of armored Humvees, eventually stopping at a local store where the soldiers jump out to stretch and browse the DVD selection. Meanwhile, as the Marines strike up a conversation with the young male clerk behind the counter, two Iraqi men climb into the back of a pick-up truck to get a crash course in IED mechanics. Both the Marines and the Iraqis are simply going about their daily business as usual, just doing their best to survive in a land where war is just another fact of life. For the Marines it's all about patrolling the desert and waiting for the next bomb to go off. When a roadside IED kills one Marine and wounds two others, the vengeance with which the American soldiers strike back at the locals may cause even the most hard-line warhawks to take pause and consider the true cost of a war which has no end in sight. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elliot Ruiz, Falah Abraheem Flayeh, (more)
- 2006
From 1991 though 2001, Eugène Terre'Blanche (aka "The Leader") and the AWB (African Nazi Party) reigned terror down on the population of South Africa by igniting over 120 bombs in airports, bus stations, and schools, as well as attempting to assassinate Nelson Mandela and brutally slaying Mandela's second in command -- all in the name of upholding the apartheid system. In 1991, documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield profiled Terre'Blanche in the film The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. Terre'Blanche vehemently protested that film, and in the aftermath of its release, director Broomfield endured death threats and years of intimidation by the AWB. Despite all of this, however, Broomfield felt compelled to return to South Africa and interview Terre'Blanche for one final interview as "The Leader" was released from prison. In order to prevent himself from being recognized and find out if Terre'Blanche's prison sentence has had any affect on his tyrannical views, Broomfield will be forced to wear an elaborate disguise over the course of his investigation. Additional interviews with Terre'Blanche's wife and onetime driver serve to bridge the gap between Broomfield's previous film and this belated follow-up. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2006
Longtime documentary director Nick Broomfield (Kurt & Courtney, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer) eschews the format with which filmgoers generally associate him to tell this affecting tale of Chinese émigrés looking to earn a healthy, albeit illegal, living in the U.K. Ai Qin is a desperate mother from Fujian who is willing to pay the Snakehead gang 25,000 dollars to smuggle her into the U.K. Once there, Ai Qin plans to send the majority of the money back to China order to support her son and family. But life in the U.K. isn't easy, even for the hardest-working Chinese immigrant. Not only does Ai Qin live with 15 other immigrants in a suburban, two-bedroom house, but with three million other migrant workers forming the foundation of the United Kingdom's hospitality, food supply, and construction industries, the search for better-paying jobs that will help them pay back their sizeable debts are never-ending. In keeping with Broomfield's decidedly real-world approach to filmmaking and in order to maintain authenticity, the director cast an actual former migrant worker, Ai Qin Lin, who had once been illegally smuggled into the U.K. (and has since gained legal citizenship) in the lead role. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ai Qin Lin, Zhan Yu, (more)
- 2003
- R
- Add Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer to Queue Add Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer to top of Queue
Nonfiction filmmaker Nick Broomfield and his frequent collaborator Joan Churchill return to the subject of an earlier film, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, for Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Twelve years after the first film was made, Wuornos was still in contact with Broomfield from her cell on death row, and he was called as a witness in her final death penalty appeal before the state. Clips of the earlier film were used by defense lawyers to help make the case that Wuornos' lawyer during sentencing, Steven Glaser, was incompetent. Footage used in court shows Glaser smoking pot on his way to the prison to confer with his client. Broomfield uses the opportunity to interview Wuornos several more times and to examine the horrific details of her childhood, interviewing her acquaintances and surviving members of her family. While making the new film, Broomfield learns that Wuornos, increasingly unstable and paranoid, is unwilling to continue to fight for her life. Desperate to escape death row, she has abandoned her convincing claim that she committed murder in self-defense, and she now wants to be executed as soon as possible. In Jeb Bush's Florida, it's clear, this isn't difficult to accomplish. Broomfield talks to the mentally deteriorated Wuornos one last time before her execution. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer had its New York premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, (more)
Nick Broomfield, director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Kurt and Courtney, unleashes another provocation with Biggie and Tupac. Considering Broomfield's track record, that the film is dangerous, sensational, and occasionally very funny is no surprise. What is somewhat shocking, in a very rewarding and commendable way, is how moving Biggie and Tupac is. Using archival footage of the two rap stars and interviews with many of those involved, Broomfield uncovers significant evidence that corrupt LAPD cops were involved in the two deaths, and that the FBI was doing surveillance on Biggie (Christopher Wallace) on the night he was murdered. Broomfield's film also strongly suggests that Death Row Records head Suge Knight orchestrated both murders. Few satisfactory conclusions are drawn, but the film should at least encourage further investigation of these claims. By running the camera constantly, even before the interviews begin, Broomfield frequently catches his subjects off guard. But even if Broomfield had uncovered nothing, Biggie and Tupac would still be an entertaining and valuable telling of the tragic deaths of two talented young men. The filmmaker's interviews with Biggie's friends, and particularly his charming mother, Voletta Wallace, paint a picture of a surprisingly sensitive and goodhearted young man. Broomfield was granted less access to Tupac Shakur's family (Tupac's mother is still involved in business dealings with Knight; she doesn't appear in the film and she refused Broomfield permission to use Tupac's music), but he still manages to expose the controversial rapper's essential humanity. Some will find Broomfield's sarcastic and edgy attitude grating. He doesn't have the puppy-dog charm of a Michael Moore. But with Biggie and Tupac, he's shown a bit more of his sensitive side, and he's taken a step forward as a filmmaker. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (Fetishes, Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood Madam) made this portrait of the late rock-star Kurt Cobain and his widow, musician and actress Courtney Love. Beginning with the 27-year-old Cobain's April 1994 suicide, Broomfield traces Cobain's Aberdeen, Washington, childhood and rise to fame, and the 1992 marriage of Cobain and Love, outlining the drug habits the two shared and exploring various "conspiracy" theories surrounding Cobain's death. Legal complications yanked this film both from a scheduled December 1997 BBC airing and a showing at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- 1996
- R
A wide-open mind would be a real boon towards enjoying this adult-oriented, way off-beat documentary look into the shadowy world of professional dominatrices and the masochistic slaves who pay dearly to be abused, ridiculed and tortured. British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield directed and narrates; he spent two months in a Manhattan house of domination interviewing both the mistress' and their diverse clientele. Though relatively few in the US actually participate in S&M, it is an extremely lucrative business. Highlights include scenes where a retired bank manager allows himself to be photographed being led around naked on all fours with a dog collar on his neck, a Wall Street Stock Broker with a thing for rubber and an interview with Pandora, the meanest mistress in the company. Pandora sleeps with Spike, an ill-tempered giant iguana. While Pandora complains that her scaly companion has recently frightened away any prospective lovers, Spike punctuates that by biting the cameraman Christopher Lanzenberg. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
In her heyday Heidi Fleiss was at the center of a highly successful prostitute ring. The most interesting part of her business was the fact that her clientele reportedly comprised various Hollywood stars. Who can forget her legendary black book? Labeled "Madam to the Stars," this fascinating documentary exposes her world. Includes interviews with Heidi and retired L.A. police detective Daryl Gates.
~ Laura Mahnken, Rovi
~ Laura Mahnken, Rovi
- Starring:
- Madam Alex, Cookie, (more)
- 1994
This provocative British documentary provides revealing and often hilarious results as it chronicles the attempts of filmmaker Nick Broomfield to get an interview with the elusive Margaret Thatcher. The film begins soon after Thatcher left her 15 year post as England's prime minister. Thatcher allowed her financial affairs to be helmed by her beloved son Mark, a reputed international arms dealer with shady origins. When Thatcher heads to the U.S. to promote her autobiography, Broomfield follows her, trying in vain to get past her diligent bodyguards. In addition to chronicling his pursuit, Broomfield also examines her personal history. He also delves into her relationship with Mark and his largely ignored twin sister, Carol. He also examines into her close relationship to her father. The implications that Thatcher is herself a sexist in the patriarchal tradition, is clear. Mark's suspicious, shady operation is also examined with implications that Thatcher is fully cognizant and perhaps actively participates in it. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1992
- R
- Add Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer to Queue Add Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer to top of Queue
Nick Broomfield directed this controversial documentary about Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who confessed to killing seven men between 1989 and 1990. Though Wuornos claimed to have acted in self-defense, she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. While Wuornos was befriended by Arlene Pralle, an eccentric, born-again Christian determined to save Aileen's soul, her lawyer, Steve Glazer, was primarily concerned with whatever money could be gleaned from Wuornos' grisly notoriety. (At one point, he offered to give Broomfield an exclusive interview with Wuornos, and all her personal effects following her death, for 25,000 dollars.) Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer examines Wuornos' short, strange career as a media figure, and takes a closer look at her crimes as well as at irregularities in the police investigation of the murders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aileen Wuornos
Gray's third performance film is a document of his experiences as a procrastinating novelist; the title refers to Gray's 1900-page manuscript, which is two years past deadline. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Spalding Gray
- 1990
- R
Dark Obsession is a slow, English-made, psychological thriller dealing with erotic obsession, guilt and betrayal. Sir Hugo Buckton (Gabriel Byrne), an aristocrat strapped for money, is married to beautiful, sensual and successful Virginia (Amanda Donohoe). His alcoholism and his envy of her lead to his obsessive jealousy and belief in her lack of fidelity. During one drunken evening while out driving with friends, Hugo hits and kills a pedestrian who resembles Virginia. When Hugo begins to receive vague blackmail letters, he suspects one of his friends, and the group begins to plot a murder. Dark Obsession has all the ingredients of a first-rate thriller but fails despite its excellent cast to generate any excitement. The pace of the film is languid, the motivations of the characters are unclear, and after the accidental death, nothing much really happens. Dark Obsession, originally released as Diamond Skulls, despite the best efforts of its cast, is a thriller that fails to thrill. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gabriel Byrne, Amanda Donohoe, (more)
- 1988
This humorous documentary is as much about itself and how it got made as it is about its ostensible subject, the mounting of Andre Heller's stage musical Body and Soul in Berlin. The musical is to feature black performers and U.S. black culture. The documentary is to be another Fame, and is just part of the creation of "the biggest theatrical event in the history of the world," with a budget of over a million dollars. That's a lot of money for a documentary. Soon enough, the budget is slashed, the director is quarrelling with his screenwriter, and the filming of the musical's rehearsals is interfering with the rehearsal process. Even the stage production is having money problems, and chaos rules supreme. In one case, a camera hits one of the stars on the head; in another, the film's light demands blows the fuses in the rehearsal hall. Heated discussions follow, especially after one of the German coordinators confesses that he hates black people, with two exceptions: blues singers and rap artists. Onstage, conflicts and quarrels abound as well. However, along with the humor of people behaving very badly, the luminous and breathtaking performances of the assorted breakdancers, gospel singers, blues artists and jazz musicians keeps the film lively. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andre Heller
- 1986
Lily Tomlin is more than a filmed record of the comedienne's stage show The Search for Signs of Life in the Intelligent Universe. The film follows Tomlin and her collaborator Jane Wagner as they put together their production, wandering up hill and down alley in search of comic inspiration. Seldom has there been a more thorough or perceptive cinematic document of the creative process in action. It isn't always funny, but the birth pangs of comedy seldom are. The end result of Tomlin and Wagner's efforts can be seen in the 1991 feature-film adaptation of The Search for Signs of Life in the Intelligent Universe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, (more)
- 1983
- R
Directors Nick Broomfield and Sandi Sissel filmed the routine in a Nevada brothel to make this undistinguished documentary on the business and personal life of the prostitutes and their madam. The subjects are well-aware that they are being photographed and as a consequence, many of the scenes of prostitute-selection by various customers, an argument between one prostitute and the owner of the brothel, and some pejorative takes of Japanese men strike an unnatural and biased note. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- 1981
Though Soldier Girls was the winner of the 1981 British Film Award's "best documentary" prize, the film's subject matter is distinctly American in nature. Filmmakers Nicholas Broomfield and Joan Churchill aimed their sights at the military basic-training camp in Fort Gordon, Georgia. Per the title, the film concentrates on a group of female trainees. No quarter is given, no none requested: the women are put through as grueling a training program as the men. Soldier Girls would be an apt companion piece to the similarly themed but highly romanticized Goldie Hawn feature Private Benjamin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
This informative program takes you inside a California youth detention center and training school. Learn some institutional facts of life in this program. ~ Rovi
- 1975
This informative presentation features a program in England where potential offenders are lectured to by policemen to help keep them away from crime. ~ Rovi
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