Few cinematic forms benefited from the advent of digital technology like the documentary. And not just in cost and access to equipment but in the proliferation of digital archives directors can draw upon. Add social media’s connective power to track … Continue reading THE BEACH BOYS and LET IT BE
CHAPTER IIn WhichWe Discuss The Beatles, The Breeders, Heroin, Meet Winnie-The-Pooh, and Make a Proposal “Form must illuminate content.” — Phil Solomon True for any work of art. Be it a rock ‘n’ roll ballad, an impressionist painting or movie … Continue reading A Matter of Style: Yasujirô Ozu Covers CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
I heard a story—possibly apocryphal, but too good to dismiss—that when The Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, something happened that never happened before or since in the history of New York City: not a single crime was reported. … Continue reading THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK – THE TOURING YEARS
Are you a mod or a rocker? Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles!” On Feb. 9, 1964, Ed Sullivan introduced America to four lads from Liverpool, and teenagers erupted into one giant senseless scream that lasted until 1969. For 10 minutes, … Continue reading A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
Behind the Hollywood Hills, tucked away in the San Fernando Valley, hidden on a side street in Van Nuys, was the recording studio, Sound City. It was open for business in 1969 and would go on to be a recording … Continue reading SOUND CITY
If we can make films that are useful as well as entertaining, marvelous. But cinema must reflect the temper of the times. We must choose material not only on the basis of whether we feel deeply, but on whether or … Continue reading In Their Words — Saturday, January 19, 2013
Michael J. Cinema 