Just another ordinary rock music documentary in “Queen: Days of our Lives (Part 1)”
Matt O’Casey, “Queen: Days of our Lives (Part 1)” (2011) To mark the 40th anniversary of a beloved British rock music institution, the BBC made this…
British Films
Amalgam: no-budget home movie is surprisingly complex in plot and visual effects
Craig Murray, “Amalgam” (2007) Using just a handycam and his own home as set to make a black-and-white film on next-to-no budget starring himself and a few…
How to Start a Revolution: documentary gives too much credit to DIY revolution manual
Ruaridh Arrow, “How to Start a Revolution” (2011) Here’s an interesting one-hour documentary about Gene Sharp, a modest political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of…
All Watched Over … (Episode 3: The Monkey in the Machine and the Machine in the Monkey): falling apart under its own shaky premise
Adam Curtis, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 3: The Monkey in the Machine and the Machine in the Monkey)” (2011) Final installation…
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 2: The Uses and Abuses of Vegetational Concepts): plausible premise founders on definitions and little historical perspective
Adam Curtis, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 2: The Uses and Abuses of Vegetational Concepts)” (2011) Second episode in his documentary trilogy…
Young and Innocent: a girl finds truth and wisdom through deception in light-hearted crime thriller comedy
Alfred Hitchcock, “Young and Innocent” (1938) A plucky teenage girl aids a young man on the run from bumbling police who suspect him of murder by…
The Way of All Flesh: a broad introduction to an unlikely heroine in the history of medical research
Adam Curtis, “The Way of All Flesh” (1997) As told in this fascinating documentary, the story of Henrietta Lacks – or rather, that of her cancer…
The Living Dead (Episode 2: You have used Me as a Fish long enough): informative enough for a general audience
Adam Curtis “The Living Dead (Episode 2: You have used Me as a Fish long enough)” (1995) Curtis sure doesn’t do things by halves and his “The…
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 1: Love and Power): film cherry-picks facts to fit its premise
Adam Curtis, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 1: Love and Power)” (2011) A curious and challenging visual essay, the first in a…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Cave of Forgotten Dreams: too much whimsy and overbearing music, not enough facts and editing mar a fine documentary
Werner Herzog, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (2010) In 1994, three speleologists discovered and explored a cave in southern France and found prehistoric paintings apparently dating back…