I like a good documentary about gay whales’ rights off the coast of Nigeria as much as the next guy.
The thing is, those are the ones that get all of the press. They get nominated for Oscars and people seek them out on DVD as soon as they hit.
These movies are important and informative and even amazing, but they’re not always particularly entertaining. I’ll watch them when I want to feel bad about my First World problems.
These are not those kinds of docs. These are docs about my favorite subject: entertainment!
I care about the gay whales…but I would rather watch a movie about album covers…’cause I’m a shallow human being. Hence, the following are MY TOP 5 entertainment docs I saw last year.
CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL
Many of us know about Roger Corman and his school of filmmaking. We all know that without him Scorsese, Coppola, Nicholson, Howard and hundreds of others never would have gotten into the business.
What we don’t all know is the man’s philosophy on film and how it was that he got all of these talented people to shoot past him. That’s what Corman’s World strives to tell us about through interviews with the man himself and all of his acolytes and minions.
By the end of the film, we want to check out all of Corman’s films, even if we think they’re complete crap. (Some are, some are absolutely not.) Corman’s passion shines through every in every film he’s made, even if they star a Sharktopus.
And, most amazing of all, we’ve seen Jack Nicholson genuinely cry.
In case you don’t remember, Poland used to be a war zone. I’m not sure how much it’s changed lately, but in the late 70s and early 80s, people were dying to get out, quite literally.
At the same time as every other 1st world country was going through a punk phase, Poland picked up on it, too. These oppressed kids started making some of the most exciting, interesting, darkest and, unfortunately, least heard punk music in the world. Beats Of Freedom does its best to show us how the worst of times breeds the best art.
There still isn’t a very good compilation of some of these artists and that’s a crime. When is Shout! Factory or Anchor Bay gonna get on this? There’s gotta be enough for a 3-4 disc set. I would absolutely be in line for it.
UPSIDE DOWN: THE CREATION RECORDS STORY
Meanwhile, a couple of hundred miles away, England was going through its own revolution of sorts.
Joy Division had just become New Order and Brit Pop had just started. Primal Scream, The Jesus And Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine…all of them not quite household names, but they never would have even been names if it hadn’t been for Alan McGee and Bobby Gillespie at Creation Records, THE Brit-Pop label of the mid-80s to early 90s.
While the doc moves a bit fast at times and glosses over a few things, it gives us some insight into one of the most influential sounds of its time and show us how Oasis, while being one of the best bands of the genre, basically killed the genre, too.
TAKEN BY STORM: THE ART OF STORM THORGERSON AND HIPGNOSIS
Storm Thorgerson SHOULD be a household name by now, because his artwork is in just about every household. With album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and Audioslave, everyone owns at least one of Storm’s pieces of art. We all just wish that they knew it.
Extensive interviews with Storm and his friends (including David Gilmour) give us a pretty good portrait of a man who doesn’t care what you think about him or his views. All he cares about is his art and how it fits with the music between the covers.
(Just for the record, he was never a fan of his most famous piece of art. He says that the Dark Side Of The Moon cover is boring.)
SOUND IT OUT
Record stores aren’t dying in some towns, I live in a town where vinyl positively thrives.
Sound It Out Records, though, is the last record store in Northern England. The closest one to it is about 50 miles away.
The owner of Sound It Out is a holdover from a distant time. He’s not an old man, by any means, but he holds the old idea of “records hold memories” dear to his heart. He also holds his position as a musical guide for the young punks in Teeside, England dear to his heart. He’s introduced great music to more kids than he can count. And, really, that’s what record stores are for. If it weren’t for these stores, most people wouldn’t have found some of their favorite music.
Sound It Out, the movie, shows us how much we need Sound It Out, the store. It’s great to live in a town with so many record stores, but movies like this make me realize how lucky I really am.
