Man on Wire DVD Review

The Film:

James Marsh has run under most of our noses, directing films in drama and documentaries, but I think Man on Wire will finally bring him the proper attention he deserves. In fact, this film won the Audience Award and Best Doc at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. I discovered James Marsh a few years ago with his debut film, 1999’s Wisconsin Death Trip. That film was brilliantly staged, through re-enactments and still photographs, creating an eerie, haunting mood, with occasional humor about a suicides and murder that plagued one small Wisconsin town. Then, Marsh disappeared. Well, not really. He’s directed two more, one highly regarded drama The King and an uneven documentary The Team.

Man on Wire is a fantastic documentary made up of interviews, photos, archival footage, and re-enactments. Philippe Petit is the subject; a crazed, but artistic man, full of life and displays no sense of fear. He says he has mind of a criminal, something that he’s been arrested for. His charge was disturbing the peace, something he did on August 7th, 1974 when he wire-walked between the two towers of the World Trade Center. Not once, but eight times, laying on the wire, waving to spectators, talking to birds, and other stuff that would make most people’s hands sweat as he did this 1,400 feet in the air-no net.

Something about the WTC towers captured his imagination. He’s wire-walked The Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eifel Tower, and other big buildings and bridges, but the WTC was something else-something artistic, something fantastical and something definitive. At this time in 1970s, the WTC towers weren’t a popular creation. His walk made them notorious.

Marsh felt that his tale would work perfectly as a heist film. The film gathers constant momentum; we start out with archival footage of the WTC towers being built with Petit’s story of his fascination with wire-walking and his early successful attempts. As the towers near completion, we start to see how the ‘coupe’ was planned. Marsh spares nothing. We see home videos of Petit’s ragtag group of misfits planning the act and even some suspenseful re-enactments. At one point, Petit and his friend had to find cover under a tarp and remain motionless for hours as a guard remained in the empty room. This little story works better seeing it re-enacted with flawlessness instead of a talking head describing it.

But there’s an elephant in the room nobody’s talking about and its 9/11. For the sake of Petit’s amazing story and the success of the documentary, I’m glad Marsh doesn’t include any insights about the destruction of the WTC towers. It would have cheapened the film. In fact by not saying anything about 9/11, the film casts an awesome power on us. A cop was interviewed shortly after arresting Petit. He began stating on how he was ‘watching something that was once-in-a-lifetime thing, something nobody else would ever see in the world.’ Those feelings are terribly haunting to us viewers in a post-9/11 world and gives the film incredible emotion.

I’ve seen people cry and laugh, but it’s all in joy at this film. Man on Wire is a hauntingly beautiful film, filled with a breath-taking score and joyful presence about itself. It was called the ‘Artistic Crime of the Century’, a foolish near-death attempt that in hindsight gave the WTC towers the symbolism that is has. Terrorism might have destroyed the towers physically, but Petit’s act stands tall in New York City folklore. A New Yorker commemorating the 5 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks feature Petit floating in air walk on the wire with the two towers missing. That pretty sums it all up. Go see this film now.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: It’s a decent DD 5.1 mix as dialogue and music are properly handled and never fight for attention and the video is good too but the film uses a mix of news footage from the ‘70s so it’ll look only as good as can be.

Sydney Harbor Bridge Crossing: This is the actual footage from his famous walk in briefly seen in the film. Pretty cool but a little long.

Philippe Petit Interview: More footage of him talking as it plays like extended scenes deleted from the film but worth the watch. Runs about 12 minutes.

The Man Who Walked between Two Towers: This is a ten minute story book-styled slideshow thingy narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal. Kind of neat as it re-enacts his famous feat.

Conclusion: A fantastic film, with decent extras, is a must own for documentary fans and a must see for everyone else. I do wish James Marsh was on the extras somewhere though.

Rating:

Bigger Stronger Faster DVD review

The Film:

I have never used HGH, steroids, or any other performance enhancing drug when writing a review, nor do I plan too. I felt compelled to open this review with something as absurd as that, due to Chris Bell’s documentary on steroids, in Bigger, Stronger, Faster.

The wonderful thing about this timely film is that while it takes on a serious subject matter rooted in deep moral choices, there’s a lot of fun happening here. Currently, there’s this big hoopla about MLB and the players using steroids. What could’ve been a standard documentary following Barry Bonds around or something, is elevated beyond its ESPN journalistic point of view, by flipping this finger wagging back on us.

The interesting way he presents his subject helps put the film into something we can talk about as we leave the theater, instead of saying, ‘okay, that’s that. They are cheaters.’ It’s not as easy as it might appear, Bell slowly unravels what we might be thinking about people using steroids and constructs a well-researched gray area. Using experts, senators, news footage, and interviews from everyone from the fore mentioned senators to ‘gym rats’, the real people affected by steroids. And to what effect are they hampered by their decision? Chris Bell spares no one; Hulk Hogan, Mark McGuire, Arnold, Sly Stallone, and even his family members. In fact, when he studies his family, I found it far more interesting than the pro athletes. His mother is unknowing to the fact that her three sons are using body enhancing steroids, two of which still are regularly. Call her naive, but Bell establishes this very hard gray area of what’s right and wrong about steroids.

More importantly, why must we cast out our sports and film heroes because they have used steroids? The facts indicate that only 3 people a year might die from steroid side effects, compared to the 400,000 people that die from tobacco or the 70,000 from alcohol. Vitamin C offers more side effects than steroids, but it’s the Congress hearings and the Chris Benoit case that makes this seem far more tragic.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster simply gives you the facts, a thorough look at our culture, and offers to you, no answer to the question of is using steroids bad for sports? When Stan Lee presents that Captain America went from a string bean guy to a muscle bound hero, then you know the area is quite gray. America’s need to be the winner, no second best, might have given way to this current steroid craze world we live in. But that’s the interesting thing about this film, it offers plenty of tangible facts and research, and you’ll be walking out thinking and talking about it. I came in being disgusted knowing that people like Roger Clemens and Rambo have been caught using steroids, but leaving this film, I might not want to look that down on them, it’s our culture you know?

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Clean and good sounding audio, I mean, it’s a documentary, so what did you expect? It’s hard to judge the video presentation since Bell used footage from a variety of sources, but it’s good, especially scenes with him or interviews with him on camera.

Additional Footage: Over 40 minutes of scenes that didn’t make it into the film  and for the most part they’re good. They are broken up into individual chapters making them easier to soak in. Give them a look as they add some more info to the film’s discussion.

Behind-the-Scenes: A very, very short promo piece if you will, about the team who gave us this documentary. Eh.

Trailers

Conclusion: With steroids in our papers and on ESPN a lot as of late, this documentary is very timely. Chris Bell presents it all in a fun, easy to follow manner, with humor and passion making this an easy recommendation.

Rating:

Lynch DVD Review

 

I love documentaries, and I’m also a major David Lynch fan as well.  So when I heard that a feature length documentary was going to be shot about the man that directed films like Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive I was pretty excited.  Any chance at a peak into the life of an artist like Lynch and I’m there.  

The film starts out with various landscape shots that are beautifully framed, and intentionally blurry, but it doesn’t take long for for director S∅ren Larsen (who calls himself BlackandWhite in the credits) to focus in on Lynch.  One of the first scenes shows Lynch giving a weather forecast on his website, offering a glimpse into his studio.  Lynch tells stories about what it was like when he first moved to Philadelphia, he talks about art, and offers his take on transcendental meditation.  My favorite parts of the film though came from watching him paint.  I thought it would have been the footage of him directing Inland Empire, but to my surprise I didn’t find that as interesting as the scenes that have nothing to do with filmmaking.  

The film’s synopsis says that Larsen followed Lynch around for two years, but you wouldn’t draw that conclusion from the film itself.  I got the impression that Lynch is extremely set into a routine of working in his studio, smoking lots of cigarettes, and telling captivating stories to whomever will listen.  I really enjoyed this intimate look into Lynch’s life, but was at times distracted by the quality of the video used by Larsen.  At times the video is blown out and it doesn’t seem like any attempt at color correction was made.  Also the juvenile way that some of the shots were framed irritated me as well.  I understand that Lynch is an artist and any attempt at capturing his true essence has to be made by an artist, but at times it felt like the filmmakers were trying to hard to be like Lynch instead of just being themselves.  Fans of Lynch’s work are going to enjoy this film, but the casual moviegoer wouldn’t last five minutes, still Lynch was a killer film.

Rating:

Encounters at the End of the World DVD review

The Film:

Werner Herzog is a strange beast, a director of passion and conflict, one who always makes something interesting. To me, he is a director, not just a title placed over his name. Whether it’s a short subject, a documentary, or a feature film, he directs because there’s something within the subject that brings something out in him. I’m no Herzog scholar, but in his newest documentary, his trademarks are here. He uses his soft voice as our guide into it’s an examination of the subject, his love for man and nature are obviously present, and the film has a long lasting effect on you after you’ve seen it. Although, this doesn’t have a potent effect on me like Grizzly Man did.

I was constantly wondering in this film what was so interesting for Herzog to capture. He claimed this was an assignment for the National Geographic Society and he didn’t want to film penguins. He heads to Antarctica to visit McMurdo Research Station, the largest human population on the continent. He films the place, the people and the lifestyle there, but he is dispassionate about them. He quickly loses interest in the people. After a few interviews he starts to edit out their lives, their stories, even their research; he scoffs at them almost mockingly. Sure the penguin researcher is odd and antisocial but his work is intriguing. Herzog doesn’t like him, it’s readily apparent. Fine, but it makes us the audience feel uneasy. If you don’t like these people then why film them?

Herzog’s passion is the wildlife and it shows. He lovingly films under the ice, showcasing incredible beauty. It’s the film’s highlight; exquisite filming of an undiscovered world. Vast ice landscapes, underwater palaces, and deep eye-opening volcanoes are so lavishly filmed; this might have been a segment of BBC/Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth series. The most haunting scene is a lost penguin that is unknowingly headed to death as he walks away from where it is suppose to go. They were unable to interfere and save it, it’s a rule, but as an image it’s a cold reminder that nature works in mysterious ways as they do not know why it did that.

There’s a moment in which some researchers discover a new species. Herzog asks how important this is and they respond very. We don’t get anymore insight into it. Sadly, the film plays out much like a travelogue of a place no one will probably ever visit and as such, it’s beautiful and surreal. As a documentary there’s nothing to interesting going on. Perhaps this more of a job than a personal one for Herzog? He shows this wide angle shot of the McMurdo Research Society and bulldozers are sweeping across the snow. It looks horrible, as the bulldozer’s exhaust creates a lot of black in the snow and Herzog exclaims he hated it there and heads into the wild in the next shot. With Encounters at the End of the World Herzog recognizes mankind’s fate: we are destined to destroy whatever we touch.

 

The DVD:

Audio/Video: For a documentary, the audio is really good. We get Herzog’s soft voice coming from the center channel but the beautiful score comes in from all speakers even making some warm bass passages. Video wise, perhaps a great candidate for Blu Ray, is spectacular. There’s some scenes shot in some different quality but overall a good looking and sounding disc.

Disc 1:

Commentary: Herzog pretty much does the commentary in the film anyway, but this is a decent track with more technical mumbo jumbo for film geeks and production history. Again, it’s a decent listen, especially for Herzog fans.

Under the Ice: 35 more minutes of the under water photography. This is pretty good.

Dive Locker Interview: Key things about diving under ice, mostly for scuba people.

Above the Ice: more deleted footage.

Disc 2:

Jonathan Demme interviews Werner Herzog:  I liked this better than the film itself, as Demme interviews Herzog for close to 70 minutes about film, documentaries, and other great film geek stuff.

Conclusion: It’s decent doc, but nothing great. The extras, especially the disc two interviews are worth renting alone for. Herzog fans only.

Rating:

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride DVD Review

 

The Film

Hunter S. Thompson is a literary icon, and the father of Gonzo Journalism.  He lived his life to the fullest and never seemed to stop asking the important questions.  Thats something that this doc never does.  It doesn’t ask the hard questions, it doesn’t take any chances, and only really gives fans a tiny glimpse into Hunter’s life.  

The film opens with an aggravating interview segment that shows Gary Busey being an unknowing ass, which is so distracting that I found it hard to focus on anything that was being said about Hunter during this opening.  Thankfully it doesn’t take long for the filmmakers to take the camera off of Busey and point it at people that are ready to talk about the legend that is Hunter S. Thompson.  And that’s exactly what they do, they talk about him, but they don’t really say anything that I haven’t read or seen previously in some form or another.  Everyone knows he drinks, smokes, writes, and likes to shoot large guns.  So while I understand that these elements are impossible to leave out, I think they should be an afterthought compared to the life the man really lived. 

The film spends a lot of time focusing on his famous friends, and a few members of his family as well.  People like; John Cusack, Benicio Del Toro, Johnny Depp, Gary Hart, Leonard Maltin, Bill Murray, Sean Penn, Tom wolfe, Anita Thompson, and Nick Nolte who served as the films narrator are interviewed, and of course Gary Busey is also in this mix, but I’m doing my best to forget about him.  While the film never really finds its rhythm, what it does do is talk a lot about two films made about Hunter’s life; Where the Buffalo Roam, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  In fact if focuses so much on these two films and the actors that populated them that it comes off as nothing more than a well done DVD extra that should be included as a second disc with both of the above mentioned films.  Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride was not a killer film.  

 

The Disc

Audio: Came in loud and clear.

Video: Looked clean, but had that processed made for television look that has become popular on stations like The History Channel, A&E, and of course Starz.

Special Features

Besides a few TV spots for other Starz shows this disc is bare bones.

Surfwise DVD Review

 

The Flick

I’ve always been a fan of surf films.  I think it’s because learning to surf is one of my life goals, but living in Louisiana isn’t exactly conductive to the realization of that goal.  Although someday I plan to put a substantial amount of time into fulfilling my dream of learning to surf, right now I’m content with watching as many surf films as I can.  The most recent film that landed on my desk is definitely a film about surfing, but it’s also a film about a family, a very unique family.  The Paskowitz family headed by Stanford educated Dr. Dorian Paskowitz or the “First Family of Surfing” as they came to be known gave up the trappings of the material world for life on the road.  

After a series of panic attacks and much frustration with the corporate grind, Doc Paskowitz decided to leave his life as a doctor behind him to head to Israel in search of a simpler life.  While there Doc taught locals how to surf, and they taught him how to live off the land.  They also taught him how to “eat pussy,” a skill Doc says changed his life.  Once he returned to the states he found himself a hot babe, got married, packed up the Winnebago, and headed out in search of some gnarly waves.  After a number of years, Doc, who evidently really enjoys sleeping with his wife, was the happy father of nine.  eight boys and a girl.  He made sure they ate healthy, surfed every day, exercised regularly, and spent all their time together as a family.  But he also never sent them to school.  While some of the Paskowitz children admire their father’s choices, a few of them felt cheated, but all of them felt the repercussions once they left the confines of the Winnebago and headed out into the real world.  

 

Doug Pray made a truly compelling documentary that shows the Paskowitz family from many different angles.  He shows their happy times, their sad times, their family troubles, but most of all he shows a family that loves one another above all.  I really enjoyed Pray’s editing style, and the mix of interview footage and home movie footage.  This is a beautiful and engaging film that provides anyone watching with a very intimate look at an amazing family.  

The DVD

Audio:  Was loud and clear with a killer soundtrack.

Video: Looked great, with a variety of formats and colors.  

Extras

There are a few short special features on here like the commentary track with director Doug Pray and various other members of the family, a short piece that is sort of like a promo on Israel Paskowitz’s Surfers Healing program that teaches kids with Autism how to surf, a short run of surf footage, and a Doc explaining his views on health.  

Surfwise is definitely a killer film!

Rating:

Up the Yangtze DVD review

The Film:

China is in a pivotal transition for the country and its people. Once the Three Gorges Dam is complete, they will have the world’s largest hydroelectric power station, a clear sign of a new modernistic China. But this new advancement for China has caused displacement for near four million people since the dam is causing the great Yangtze River to flood, destroying historical sites and homes. Director Yung Chang has taken a broad approach to examining this subject and as he claims, films about the Yangtze River could be their own genre, but his self-assured eye has captured incredible human drama within China.

Yung Chang uses constant juxtaposition in the film, going from the poor along the river to the rich tourists, from farmers to city folks, establishing a unique look at the perversity of it all. Cindy Shui Yu comes from the poor side of Chinese life. She wants to go to high school but her parents can’t afford to send her, so she is basically thrown into working on this cruise that travels up the Yangtze River. We see her in the cruise’s kitchen learning her new job and hating it, while back at home her parents are worrying about the inevitable flooding that will force them to leave. Yung Chang said the Yu family is extreme examples of the poor in China, but this shifting or juxtaposition shows a monumental culture shock amongst them and the tourists. Cindy’s father is clueless to exactly what the dam is or will do for his country and the tourists are so naive and ignorant about the people of China. The cruise ship gives its workers American sounding names, teaches them what to say and not to say, they allow silly songs to be played, all the while we get the idea that maybe China is an undiscovered world. Even their own people don’t know much about its growth into consumerism and open-trade, but this is just one of many fascinating aspects you can take from the film.

The cinematography is a key element to the film as it gives us an almost travelogue photography of the great river. Shi Qing Wang used a 720p high-def DV camera and captured some breath-taking footage. Yung Chang crafts the scenes in a way directors would do for a narrative feature. It’s a keen eye for composition that helps give the film the epic feel and the atmosphere the film oozes creates a haunting lasting memory.

While Werner Herzog’s influence is all over the film, Yung Chang has clearly made the film his own. The film has many metaphors, a powerful Confucius quote the haunts over the film until its moody closing shot of the Three Gorges Dam opening up. Another gripping scene is a brilliant time-lapsed scene of the river’s flood levels rising and eventually putting Yu’s home under water. Without narration, we get the impact and devastation as much as people like the Yu family are clearly experiencing.

While the film might appear to be a sadden affair, Chang describes the film as ‘Love Boat meets Apocalypse Now’. There’s plenty of humor from the various subjects he captures but we are always reminded of the situation and perhaps the ‘elephant in the room’: the Chinese government. While the film never addresses them, we do see scenes of government officials controlling the protestors and ones who don’t want to leave through some brutal means.

Up the Yangtze never editorializes. We are left with our own thoughts about the dam and its soon-to-be lasting effects. The brilliant thing about the film is that everyone will have something they latch onto; silly Jerry Bo Yu Chen, the culture shock, Cindy Shui Yu’s plight, the praying old lady, the film’s magnificent cinematography, but we will all be affected by the tragedy. Up the Yangtze is a powerful, beautiful, haunting documentary and one of 2008’s best.

 

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Since it’s a documentary, most of the sound comes from the center channel, but scenes at the dam and some music curs give a warm presence to the mix as well as some bass. Chang stated in the interview I did with him, that the film went through a new transfer as it looks great. Everything is solid, capturing the theatrical experience. There’s no damage or artifacts.

Deleted Scenes: The disc’s best bonus as we get more with Jerry and Cindy, capturing some good moments, so this is a must watch. You can see why these were cut out, for pacing issues, but nonetheless a good section to view.

Time-lapse Flooding: This shows the damage the dam is causing in an easy manner due to time-lapsed photography. It hammers home the theme and natural of the documentary.

Trailers

I’ve seen a lot of documentaries this year and this can not be recommended higher. A great watch and a keen social documentary that could go over looked if it wasn’t for Yung Chang.

Rating: