Ron Carter Movies

In 1968, avant-garde filmmaker William Greaves completed his famous Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One. This experimental feature - a hybrid of fiction and documentary - broke new ground with its dual narrative; on one level, it told of a couple enduring and suffering through a nasty breakup, while on another, it depicted Greaves, as a "version" of himself ("the director") eking out a manipulative and underhanded agenda during a screen test in New York's Central Park. Greaves's sequel to that cinema vérite masterpiece, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2, both reprises and expounds upon some of the events and themes of the first film, as the same two lovers (an interracial couple, in fact) return to the screen for a 2003 shoot, along with one of the crew members from the 1968 film. The paramours continue to bicker, but again, this only represents one level; on another, the film comments on the filmmaking process by revealing the selective way in which the crew determines what the audience sees and focuses on, thus providing a "running commentary" on the action. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords is a documentary about the largely-forgotten history of African-American newspapers. In 1827, a group of black writers and journalists in New York who were tired of the way racial issues were depicted in the press created America's first black-owned and operated newspaper, "Freedom's Journal." Over the next 150 years, dozens of similar newspapers appeared across America, giving African-Americans a voice they never had in the mainstream news media. On of the largest black newspapers, "The Chicago Defender," helped promote the "Great Migration" by advising Southern blacks to move North, where they would be treated with greater tolerance. As a result, the paper was banned in many Southern states, but it still trickled into the South thanks to black train porters, who brought copies with them on journeys from the North. Another black paper, "The Pittsburgh Courier," attracted the attention of the FBI when during World War II they launched what they called the "Double V Campaign," which argued the battle against fascism in Europe should be extended to fighting segregation in the United States, in the process incurring the wrath of J. Edgar Hoover. However, when the Civil Rights movement the black press helped to organize took hold, the mainstream press began presenting more and better coverage of issues in the black community, which led to a declining interest in the African-American papers. Featuring interviews with members of the black press and newsreel footage, The Black Press is narrated by actor Joe Morton and was shown both on PBS and at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Blue Note Records was founded in the 1930s and has played a vital role in the development of jazz for more than 60 years. Important works by some of the greatest jazz musicians in history -- John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and many others -- were recorded on the Blue Note label. The company's founders, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, both loved jazz (especially jazz with a bluesy element) and had true respect for the musicians with whom they worked. Featuring appearances by many artists -- and memorable music recorded in the Blue Note studios throughout the years -- this documentary explores the evolution of the genre, while telling the story of a company that marked an important period in music history. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide

Two of the most respected artists in jazz, bassist Ron Carter and trumpet and flugelhorn player Art Farmer, appeared on stage together for the first time in 1990 during a show at New York's prestigious jazz venue Sweet Basil, and a camera and sound crew was on hand to capture this historic event for the ages. With drummer Billy Higgins and pianist Cedar Walton rounding out the ensemble, Ron Carter and Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil features this stellar quartet performing "It's About Time," "When Love Is New," "Shortcomings," "My Funny Valentine," and more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this 1987 film, director Bertrand Tavernier depicts French life in the Middle Ages as dreary, unromantic, and brutal. The story begins when a warrior leaves home to fight in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between France and England. Before his departure, he gives his young son, François, a sword to safeguard his mother and her virtue. One day, after the boy opens a bedroom door to find his mother willingly submitting to a man, he uses the sword to kill the man and becomes traumatized with guilt and enmity toward his mother. Years later, François (Bernard Pierre Donnadieu) must go off to war as a chevalier, or knight. While he is away, his daughter, the gentle and loving Béatrice (Julie Delpy), sees to the needs of her little brother and her feckless mother. Although the castle in which they live is a sepulcher of shadows and stone, Béatrice maintains her spirits as she looks forward to the day when her father's voice will once again echo in the corridors. After four years of war in which he was held captive for a time by the English, he returns to the castle, a hardened warrior who has renounced God. Inside his twisted mind, he still carries the memory of that terrible day long ago, the day he discovered his mother was an adulteress. Giving the demons within him free rein, he begins to abuse everyone around him: He insults, bullies, and pillages the local village. He even forces his son Nils Tavernier to wear women's clothes and become the prey in a hunt. As he descends deeper into depravity, it is innocent Béatrice who suffers the most. Whether he has completely destroyed her, or whether she will rise up and destroy him, becomes the central focus of the film as it moves toward its conclusion. The dialogue is in French with English subtitles. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

In this concert performance captured live in Lugano, Switzerland in 1984, pianist and composer Herbie Hancock teams with bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Billy Cobham to offer an evening of innovative jazz before an appreciative audience. As the talented trio performs, each member's skills are spotlighted with camera angles that emphasize function over flash to provide an up-close look at musical mastery in the making. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This Miles Davis-headlined performance film combines footage from two separate concerts with Davis on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Tony Williams on drums and Ron Carter on bass. One was mounted and filmed at Stathalle, Karlsruhe, Germany, in November of '67, and the other at the Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden in October of '67. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide