Albert Maysles Movies

Filmmakers Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan explore the efforts of legendary musician Paul McCartney, as he assembles a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in the weeks following 9/11. What would soon be known as the Concert for New York would come to include Elton John, The Who, David Bowie, and Billy Joel. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Fascinated by the group of aging Holocaust survivors who spend their summers together at the Four Seasons Lodge in the Catskill Mountains, filmmaker Andrew Jacobs documents their collective memories, close friendships, and rich traditions at a time when their favorite retreat hovers in an uncertain state of flux. Every year since 1979, this small group of German and Polish Jews has gathered at the Four Seasons to reminisce about their childhoods and find comfort in one another's company. Like old friends, they often bicker and argue, but it generally isn't anything that lodge president Carl can't resolve with some friendly advice. This year, the regular vacationers at the Four Seasons hopelessly split between those who want to see the resort sold, and those who hope to see it stay intact. But this particular group has been through so much together that whatever may come of the Four Seasons, their familial bonds will remain as strong as they ever were. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Presented in conjunction with the landmark "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between famed pugilists Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, Zaire '74 was a three-day music festival in Kinshasa that was organized by South African musician Hugh Masekela and American record producer Stewart Levine, and featured performances by such famed musicians as James Brown, Bill Withers, and B.B. King, among others. Many of the American musicians performing at Zaire '74 had been emboldened by the American Civil Rights movement, and saw their journey to Africa as a unique opportunity not just to perform for a new set of enthusiastic fans, but to explore their roots as well. However, while the forward-thinking promoters of Zaire '74 hired a talented team of documentary filmmakers to capture everything from the setup to the performances to everyday life in Kinshasa, the project ran into trouble when the Liberian investment group that financed the festival and film ran into some rather serious legal disputes. For the next three decades, the remarkable footage would sit untouched and unedited -- a valuable sociohistorical artifact seemingly forgotten, and left to succumb to the ravages of time. Later, in 1996, the rights were settled in order to help facilitate the completion of When We Were Kings, an Academy Award-winning documentary focusing on the very same Ali/Foreman match that took place alongside the Zaire '74 music festival. Recognizing the need to assemble the neglected Zaire '74 footage while it was still possible, When We Were Kings editor Jeffrey Levy-Hinte made it his own personal mission to see the long gestating project through to completion. The result is not simply a concert film featuring some of the most popular African and American musicians of the era, but also a pure cinéma vérité glimpse into a time when the musical crossover between the two nations was just beginning to emerge. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

From "wrapping" the Berlin Reichstag to transforming South Seas islands into massive pink water lilies to hanging drapes between the Colorado mountains, Christo qualifies as one of the most dynamic, innovative, and ambitious conceptual artists in modern history. Documentarians Albert and David Maysles have a long-running professional association with Christo (having co-directed such pictures as Christo's Valley Curtain and Christo's Islands); now, with their film The Gates, Albert Maysles and co-director Antonio Ferrera cover Christo and wife Jeanne-Claude's 26-year project to create a "golden river" of 7,500 fabric-paneled "gates" running through Central Park in February 2005. The endeavor began in 1979, but didn't overcome the necessary bureaucratic hurtles for 26 years, and only received a final go-ahead with a green light from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. The film reveals how Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 21-million-dollar project transforms the environment from one of winter bleakness to one of brisk, vibrant, and springlike colors. Though David Maysles (brother of Albert) did die in 1987, he received posthumous credit on this film for a sequence that the siblings co-directed in 1979. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In an era where fact, fiction, and legend have become increasingly difficult to distinguish, Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine set out to explore the politically charged climate in America and find out just how documentary director Michael Moore has evolved from a simple filmmaker into an icon of left-leaning politics. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

For their classic, 1976 documentary Grey Gardens, Albert and David Maysles shot hours-upon-hours of footage exploring the lives of their subjects Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie (who were affectionately referred to by their brothers as Big Edie and Little Edie), whose quiet lives on the grounds of a dilapidated estate stood in remarkable contrast to their quick with and extravagant upbringing. Though the brothers were unable to use a vast majority of the fascinating footage in the ninety-four minute film, this companion piece comprised of never-before-seen outtakes culled from the original shooting sessions allows Grey Gardens fans to take a trip back to that familiar, dilapidated mansion to hear both Big Edie and Little Edie discuss everything from love and war to the existence of God. A nostalgic montage of Little Edie offers a warm testament to the eccentric daughter's inimitable fashion sense. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Musicians from different lands but sharing a common heritage come together for a concert tour that proves as revelatory for the participants as their audiences in this documentary. In 2001, American promoters persuaded five noted bands of gypsy musicians to join forces for what was billed as "the Gypsy Caravan Tour," but while these musicians appealed to many of the same fans, for the most part they had never met before going on the road together. The performers were Taraf de Haidouks, an 18-piece group from Romania whose lineup spans several generations; another Romanian group, the 11-piece horn ensemble Fanfare Ciocarlia; Antonio de Pipa's Flamenco Ensemble, which combines both music and dance in their performances; Maharaja, a Northern Indian group featuring musicians from all sides of Indian society; and Esma Redzepova, one of Macedonia's best and most acclaimed vocalists. As the tour wore on, the artists began to interact both musically and socially, and their different takes on gypsy music began to inform one another in new and interesting ways. Filmmaker Jasmine Dellal followed the tour with a camera crew, and When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan offers a look at the music these artists performed on stage as well as their interaction after the shows and on the road; the film also features individual interviews with the musicians back home after the tour was completed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

From Michael Moore's hometown of Flint, MI, to the movie-making capital of the United States, director Mike Wilson's inflammatory documentary travels across the country to hold the controversial Sicko director's allegedly questionable tactics up to the light for closer examination. Wilson is a filmmaker who wants viewers to question what they see and hear in the media, and he's willing to travel thousands of miles in order to highlight why you too should remain skeptical about Moore's motivations as a filmmaker. The result is a meditation on the American dream, and the manner in which diligence and determination can eventually pay off for the folks who aren't willing to let their dreams fade. Additionally, by speaking with such well-known media figures as Penn Jilette and John Stossel as well as a host of highly respected scholars, Wilson highlights how Moore manipulates interviews and statistics to serve his own personal agenda. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Few artists courted as much controversy during their lifetimes as Jeff Koons. Born in January 1955, Koons worked on Wall Street as a commodity broker before jumping ship, converting his SoHo loft into an art studio, and turning out some of the most audacious works of art in the late 20th century. Examples included balloon animals made of stainless steel with mirror surfaces, explicit photographs of himself and his porn star wife, and porcelain statues of Michael Jackson holding his chimp Bubbles. Unsurprisingly, some declared Koons a genius; others perceived him as a colossal fraud. But he reeled in such considerable wealth for his creations that he began to set records on the auction block. Koons, however, saw himself as the greatest living artist of the period. Documentarian Alison Chernick helmed this in-depth and occasionally comical biographical profile of Koons, which charts his unusual and remarkable career. The program includes interviews with such art world fixtures as Dan Cameron, Julian Schnabel and Jerry Saltz, each of whom turn up to comment on Koons. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi