Category: Documentaries

Movie sound explained in Making Waves

~ Lincoln Spector

B+ Documentary Directed by Midge Costin George Lucas argues that "Sound is 50 percent of the movie experience." In Midge Costin's entertaining documentary, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, audio geniuses like Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, and Gary Rydstrom show us how that 50 percent is created. Directors like Steven Spielberg and David Lynch … Continue reading Movie sound explained in Making Waves

Doc Stories closes with Martin Scorsese & Bob Dylan

~ Lincoln Spector

Note: I've altered this article to correct an error. Doc Stories (a festival I didn't have time to cover) closed Monday night with a bang - a celebration of Martin Scorsese's non-fiction work. Not surprisingly, it was a packed house. SFFILM Director of Programming Rachel Rosen started the event with a wonderfully short introduction, followed … Continue reading Doc Stories closes with Martin Scorsese & Bob Dylan

The Cave will shake you to the core

~ Lincoln Spector

A documentaryDirected by Feras Fayyad This fly-on-the-wall documentary about the Syrian war left me shaken and disturbed. That's appropriate. You shouldn't be able to watch screaming, terrified children and exhausted and hopeless adults, while death and destruction rains down overhead, and not be moved. The fact that it's real makes it all more terrifying. If … Continue reading The Cave will shake you to the core

A space-age orphanage, cinematic sound, & trying to get pregnant: Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival

~ Lincoln Spector

Here's what I saw on my first day at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival. Filmmaker Q&As followed all three films. Journeys Beyond the Cosmodrome The festival is presenting this program as a feature preceded by a short. But these are really two very short documentary features. So, I'll give each one a quick review. … Continue reading A space-age orphanage, cinematic sound, & trying to get pregnant: Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival

The Miracle of the Fiddler on Broadway & Elsewhere

~ Lincoln Spector ~ 1 Comment

A- Showbiz documentary Directed by Max Lewcowicz The documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles argues that 1964's Broadway sensation, Fiddler on the Roof, is more than just a musical. It suggests that, by following three sisters who chose their own husbands rather than accepting their father's choices, it's a feminist play well ahead of its time. … Continue reading The Miracle of the Fiddler on Broadway & Elsewhere

Religious fanatics and a strange honeymoon: Tuesday at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

~ Lincoln Spector

I saw three films at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Tuesday. Two were documentaries about ultra-Orthodox Jews connecting with outsiders. The third was a dramatic comedy about a Holocaust vacation. I don't have to tell you why these are Jewish films. They're obvious. City of Joel A short fiction film, Black Hat, preceded the … Continue reading Religious fanatics and a strange honeymoon: Tuesday at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

A lovable Hollywood mogul, the Holocaust & the Occupation, and the man who made Casablanca: Saturday at the SF Jewish Film Fest

~ Lincoln Spector ~ 1 Comment

I saw three movies at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Saturday. Two of them were documentaries, the other was a fiction film based on history. One of them was the best I've seen at this year's festival. Another was the worst. Carl Laemmle This interesting, entertaining, but conventional documentary tells us that the creator … Continue reading A lovable Hollywood mogul, the Holocaust & the Occupation, and the man who made Casablanca: Saturday at the SF Jewish Film Fest