Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Pete Seeger, who died earlier this week, was known as a walking repertoire of the American Songbook who added a few entries of his own and used this knowledge and his trusty banjo to become a conduit to prove the title suggestion. Seeger lived too full a life to be done justice by my modest aspirations here, but during his storied 94 years he became a tireless champion of leftist causes, from civil rights to antiwar to ecological, while being a primary influence to a generation of earth shaking folk performers, and never deviating from his humble nature. Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a fantastic documentary from PBS's American Masters series which wonderfully blends archived footage with many of his endearing songs, while he, in between taking an occasional break to chop wood at his rural Hudson River home, and his family guide you through his life. I also appreciated how the documentary occasionally detoured to gain the perspective of common folks who were displeased with some of Seeger's choices, including an protester at a pro-communist rally he headlined or a Vietnam vet from his hometown who was thoroughly disgusted with the artist's visit to North Vietnam in 1972. I must say I was a little irked by the obvious and expected pompous postulations of Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Natalie Maines, and other musicians and the film unfortunately devolves into a change the world advertisement and a too sanctifying portrait of the man but at least for four fifths of its running time, The Power of Song is an excellent look at an impressive life.

Martin Scorsese Directs

Martin Scorsese Directs was one of the early entries in PBS' American Masters series and was released in conjunction with the premiere of Goodfellas (the documentary features some great footage from the set). Even during this middle period of the celebrated, distinctive, and neurotic director's career, who had thus far helmed such masterworks as Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ, he was already being mentioned among the likes of Frank Capra, John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Alfred Hitchcock. The documentary is an engaging and often very funny celebration of his life and career by many friends and collaborators, including Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Steven Spielberg, Roger Corman, Thelma Schoonmaker, John Cassavetes, and of course, his parents.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll

Born to Arkansan cotton farmers in 1915, Sister Rosetta Tharpe would find her considerable voice in a traveling gospel choir, relocate to Chicago, and eventually find herself being the forerunner of Rock 'n' Roll with her powerful sound creating a now forgotten fame and inspiring the likes of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Godmother of Rock & Roll features great performance footage, bearing witness to the thunderous performer, but is surprisingly short on background detail, running under an hour, and it would have been nice to learn a little more about this unfortunately relatively unknown artist.

Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

In 1960, Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird, her debut book and a contender for what could be the definitive American novel, detailing a young girl growing up in the Depression era South as her stoic attorney father defends a wrongfully accused black sharecropper. The book earned Lee a Pulitzer and instant fame and led to one of the greatest screen adaptations of all-time, and despite this glowing success, she began to refuse to speak to the press and has never published another novel since. Hey Boo features some great biographical detail, including stories of her Alabama childhood spent with playmate Truman Capote or a touching story involving a New York City couple who recognized her talent and put her up for a year to write the novel. However, as is the case with so many of these individual profiles, the film features too many "experts" making trite observations or telling you things you already know, in this case about the book and its times.

The Day Carl Sandburg Died

Carl Sandburg was born on a farm to Swedish parents in a small town in Illinois and worked a series of jobs as a laborer throughout the midwest, honing his craft as a writer while engaging with the many common folks he met, before becoming a journalist for the Chicago Daily News. Soon he would become a voice for the Second City and the working man, and he would become internationally known for his poetry, an expansive anthology on Abraham Lincoln, and his folk singing. The Day Carl Sandburg Died is an excellent biography and nonfiction presentation which both informatively tells his life story, with affectionate commentary from Pete Seeger and Studs Terkel among others, and weaves much of his expressive and often haunting poetry.

Inventing David Geffen

Inventing David Geffen tells the story of a poor kid from Brooklyn who moved to L.A., got a job in the mail room at a prominent talent agency, and feigned his way as an agent.  Soon he was on his way to being a multimedia tycoon and political filmmaker, fostering the likes of Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell, producing films and Broadway shows, cofounding Dreamworks entertainment, and being a major backer for Barack Obama's presidential election. This American Masters entry is a fascinating success story and profile of an incredibly ambitious man, whom most of his friends describe as either assured, difficult, generous, or completely focused. It is very well made and features excellent footage, and in addition to the many celebrities who appear, Geffen himself is interviewed throughout and provides an above board commentary on his life. 

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise

From the day his cabbie uncle took him to see Anything Goes on Broadway, nine-year-old Melvin Kaminsky knew he was going to make it in show business, and that was that. Changing his name to Brooks, he set out with an almost obnoxious ferocity and unremitting humor on a career that has now spanned over seven decades. From writing on television for Sid Caesar, making immensely popular comedy albums with Carl Reiner, creating the TV series Get Smart, marrying and often collaborating with Anne Bancroft, his life's love, writing and directing classic, groundbreaking comedies (and some that weren't so hot), becoming a Hollywood player funding major projects for young directors such as David Lynch and David Cronenberg,  and reinventing himself in the theater with The Producers, he has more than followed through on his boyhood certainty. Although any documentary that features an interview with the comedy legend and many clips from his films is guaranteed to contain more than a handful of laughs, Robert Trachtenberg's Mel Brooks: Make a Noise barely scratches the surface, divulging surprisingly few details of his work and personal life.

Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home

Born into poverty in Oklahoma, where things would turn even more dire in the latter years of the Dust Bowl, and named after the President, Woody Guthrie would go on to become an American in the truest sense. By championing the poor and forgotten and writing scores of inimitable ballads, including the iconic anthem "This Land Is Your Land", the often irascible rabble rouse would go on to become one of the country's greatest folk heroes. "Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home" is a fair biography, featuring interviews from friends, family, contemporaries, and musicians he inspired. However it is made in such a lurid way, similar to that of an A&E biography, that is frankly not up to the standards of the other entries in the American Masters series.

Philip Roth: Unmasked

Born in working class Newark, New Jersey to a home he claimed had virtually no books present in it, Philip Roth would still discover a love of reading and go on to be one of the most acclaimed novelists of our time. Known as an uninhibited Jewish-American author, a label which he disdains, Roth first made a splash on the literary scene with Goodbye, Columbus and completely set it on fire with his lascivious novel Portnoy's Complaint. All part of a career consisting of over thirty novels, which also include works featuring his alter-egos David Kepesh and Nathan Zuckerman. "Philip Roth: Unmasked" is a compelling profile which, besides some commentary from friends and admirers who include Mia Farrow and Jonathan Franzen, consists exclusively of Roth talking at length about his life and career.

Judy Garland: By Myself

Born into a vaudevillian family as Frances Gumm, Judy Garland became a beloved, tragic, and highly polarizing entertainment icon. "By Myself" chronicles her life, beginning with her time as an MGM child star, her unsurpassed success with "The Wizard of Oz" and "Meet Me in St. Louis", and some of the behind-the-scenes horrors imposed by the studio. It goes on to cover time spent with her husband and often director Vincente Minnelli, their daughter Liza, and latter successes like "A Star is Born" and her offstage singing tours, while documenting the depression and insecurity which plagued her personal life and contributed to her ultimate demise. Like most of the films in the American Masters series, this installment features a wealth of engaging interviews and footage, here telling the story of a talented and often misunderstood persona.

Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel

In writing Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell crafted one of the defining works of American literature. Her own spirit, that of an outspoken, indomitable southern belle, mirrored that of her own iconic heroine, and throughout her life, which was cut short by an auto accident at the age of 48, she made strides for women and black rights. "Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel" tells the fascinating story of a resolute, influential personage in an incredibly irritating fashion that gets its point across, but does so in a highly grating fashion.

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts

Philip Glass is the reserved, minimalist composer who is famous for his resounding, hypnotic, and intentionally redundant pieces. Over the course of a year, director Scott Hicks, whose Oscar winning Shine  depicted a socially misfitted musician not entirely unlike Glass, follows the melodist around as he tends to family, works on his latest symphony or film score, and composes his next opera entitled Waiting for the Barbarians. I have always found Glass' work spellbinding, and watching him work with Woody Allen here and also hearing Errol Morris discuss their collaborations is fantastic stuff. However, due to the composer's closed off nature, he doesn't make the most compelling subject, and much of his personal life, discussed at length here, just doesn't seem particularly cinematic. This is also a really long film, especially for a biographical profile of this sort. Also having recently watched "James Levine: America's Maestro", another American Masters entry on a great musical master, the difference was evident on how to make a captivating film on the subject.

Marilyn Monroe: Still Life

50 years after her death, Marilyn Monroe continues to tease and taunt men the world over. Yet she has grown to something greater than a sex icon, for both men and women, garnering both our sympathies for her understandable vulnerabilities and our emulations for her inexplicable, inimitable way. "Marilyn Monroe: Still Life" is a gathering mostly consisting of photographers, who discuss and offer their insight towards one of the most captured and photogenic people of the medium. The film is alluring for anyone looking for insights into Marilyn's life or just those curious at regarding some luminous photography of her. Also, for someone with virtually no knowledge of photography, I found this to be a fascinating introduction and suppose that one with more than a passing interest would find it equally intriguing. My only complaint here is Norman Mailer, who reads passages aloud from his biography, many of which are unflattering and out of place. Time passes causing even the finest of beauties to fade (how many people still lust after Greta Garbo?) but Marilyn still radiates, transcending her transcendent beauty with her incomparable style and grace.

The Education of Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal, who died this past week, as an American author, historian, critic, screenwriter, attempted politician, and irascible iconoclast who swum against the current at times when it was not popular to do so. Born into high society, the son of a business magnate and grandson of Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore, Vidal was able to see the "inner workings of the Republic" which he used as ammunition for much of his own work and which helped contribute to the own denouncement of his own society. He wrote successful plays ("The Best Man"), novels (Myra Breckenridge), films ("Ben-Hur", "Suddenly Last Summmer"), and many historical novels (Burr, Lincoln,  Julian). In this American Masters installment, Gore Vidal takes us through his own life as he publishes The Golden Age, the final installment in his Narratives of Empire Series, and sees over a Broadway Revival of "The Best Man". The Education of Gore Vidal is an intriguing documentary of one of the great dissenting minds of the 20th Century, which gives a fair version of events the controversial stalwart's life. The film's commentator's also help bring insight into his life and work and several of his celebrity friends including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon. Gore Vidal lived a versatile and complete life, refused to accept things as they were, and in the process helped to spearhead the change in public perception and left behind an immensely impressive body of work.

Johnny Carson: King of Late Night

In a salt mine under Hutchinson, Kansas lie the copies of over 4,500 episodes of The Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson, placed there at the behest of the iconic television emcee. Over a career spanning 30 years, Carson, alongside his sidekick Ed McMahon, became an endeared staple to Americans, netting audiences of over 15 million viewers a night at his peak, almost double what today's late night guys rake in today. "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" is a thorough and immensely engrossing dissection of the entertainer's life and career, who was known as a relae tively shy person until he got in front of camera and transformed into probably the most charismatically enduring  performer television has ever known. His friends and family members speak on his life, which was not untouched by controversy, while modern comics whom he gave their big break to, as well as those who have tried to take up his mantle, speak on his influence. The only marring detail here is Kevin Spacey's narration, which would be irrelevant, except for the fact that his elocution draws so much attention off the material and to himself. Carson's career on television was one that provided joy and relief to millions every night and whose personal life may not have been so  simple, charming and easy going. "King of Late Night" does an excellent job depicting an unsimplified view of an icon.

I.M. Pei: Building China Modern

I.M. Pei is one of the foremost and respected of the modern architects, with his unique buildings gracing many of the world's finest cities, from the Louvre Pyramid in Paris to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Now well into his 90s, in 2009 he was commissioned for what was to be a final, challenging and deeply personal project: In the antiquated village of Suzhou, where he also spent his childhood, Pei is to build a museum that introduces his modern vision while still retaining the ancient aesthetics of the area. "Builing China Modern" is an informative and in depth profile that tells Pei's life story and follows the renowned master over the course of a year as he plots and builds his grand acheivement.

James Levine: America's Maestro

James Levine has been the conductor for the Metropolitan Opera for over 40 years where he has transformed the establishment to its current status, while keeping to a rigorous regiment overseeing some of the top works in opera today. "America's Maestro" is a rare and exclusive look into the brilliant master's life as he, in spite of chronic back pain, prepares for his latest performance and takes part in his mentoring program for young, struggling singers. This recent entry into the "American Masters" canon is a fascinating profile look at an endlessly talented man, from his early tutelage under George Szell, director of the Cleveland Orchestra, to his transformation of the Met at the ripe young age of 28, where he has remained until this day. Levine's spirit and talent is demonstrated clearly on the screen, and this wonderful documentary is a testament to them.

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'

Although she grew up in an educated household in 19th Century New England, studying transcendentalism under Ralph Waldo Emerson and making acquaintanceships with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott grew up poor, and also independent, intelligent, and tough-minded. Through the course of her lifetime, she became a highly celebrated and successful author, writing nonstop and cementing her legacy in Little Women, one of the most popular of all American books, and one that reflected her own cherished family."Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'" takes a different approach than the other profiles in the American Masters series and features actors portraying Alcott and the other figures in her life, while directing the camera directly, an approach I was at first opposed to, but which then grew on me. The rest of Alcott's surprising and highly accomplished is nicely presented in this loving portrait of a highly admired author.

Sam Cooke: Crossing Over

With his angelic voice and charismatic style, Sam Cooke was the first rhythm and blues singer to cross Gospel and Pop music. His epic career was marked by an independence unheard of in black performers of the time and a determination to fight racism, shown in his boycott of segregated Southern venues. His life was tragically cut short in a bizarre shooting in an LA hotel room, but his influential legacy has carried on by an indeterminate amount of artists to this day. "Sam Cooke: Crossing Over" is a loving portrait of an icon, made all the more immediate through interviews with friends and family and some great archival footage and songs. The profile is not particularly well written, but Sam's music is so beautiful as to make this more than worth a look.

Cab Calloway: Sketches

Cab Calloway was a charismatic jazz musician in the big band era who, compared to his contemporaries such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, you could call a self-invented man with his wild and fluid body movements and his unique singing voice. With his hit song "Minnie the Moocher" and its largely infectious hi-de-hi-de-hi chorus, Calloway was the hit of Harlem nightclubs and helped bring black music to a larger audience. "Cab Calloway: Sketches" is a fascinating and highly entertaining entry in the American Masters Series. Calloway, who is now familiar to most through "The Blues Brothers", was a truly engaging personality and is wonderfully captured here in rare and exciting footage (I really dug a clip that showed him dancing side by side a cartoon walrus he was the model for). "Cab Calloway: Sketches" is a wonderful profile of a great talent and a great way to be introduced to the sadly forgotten artist.