The rough, sometimes druggy genesis of the American independent movie business of the ‘60s and ‘70s was recalled by Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith of the Monkees during a sold-out 50th anniversary American Cinematheque screening of the band’s ill-fated feature film “Head.”
Looking out into the Egyptian Theatre before the film unspooled, Dolenz drolly asked one audience member, “You’ve seen it? Can you tell me what it’s about?”
The evening was hosted by the Monkees’ Boswell, producer Andrew Sandoval, who asked for a show of hands of how many in the crowd were returning “Head” cultists and how many were seeing it for the first time. The 60 percent or so making return trips were hugely enthusiastic, but Sandoval wasn’t making any promises to the 40 percent newbies, warning dryly, “We’ll see how many of you are here when we’re done.”
Relentlessly post-modern and lacking anything...
Looking out into the Egyptian Theatre before the film unspooled, Dolenz drolly asked one audience member, “You’ve seen it? Can you tell me what it’s about?”
The evening was hosted by the Monkees’ Boswell, producer Andrew Sandoval, who asked for a show of hands of how many in the crowd were returning “Head” cultists and how many were seeing it for the first time. The 60 percent or so making return trips were hugely enthusiastic, but Sandoval wasn’t making any promises to the 40 percent newbies, warning dryly, “We’ll see how many of you are here when we’re done.”
Relentlessly post-modern and lacking anything...
- 11/2/2018
- by Chris Morris
- Variety Film + TV
Unfortunately, it's a film I've never seen, so I can't offer any useful commentary here; and thus this announcement of its home video release is good news, as I'll be able to finally check it out. The details follow... -- Icarus Films is proud to announce the release of Seventeen on home video on August 18, 2015! Before Hoop Dreams, there was Seventeen. Too controversial for PBS, which refused to broadcast it, this final film in the famous Middletown series went on to win the first Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Joel DeMott and Jeff Kreines and produced by Academy Award winner Peter Davis (Hearts & Minds), Seventeen...
- 6/24/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
All week long our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Click here for a complete list of our essays. I was one of the first to select years for this particular exercise, which probably allowed me to select the correct year. The answer is, of course, 1974 and all other answers are wrong. No matter what your criteria happens to be, 1974 is going to come out on top. Again, this is not ambiguous or open to debate. We have to start, of course, with the best of the best. "Chinatown" is one of the greatest movies ever made. You can't structure a thriller better than Robert Towne and Roman Polanski do, nor shoot a Los Angeles movie better than John Alonzo has done. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway give the best performances of their careers, which is no small achievement. If you ask...
- 4/29/2015
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
As a historical cinematic document that depicts the horrors of the Vietnam War with unflinching nerve and political consternation, Peter Davis’s Academy Award winning film Hearts and Minds stands unparalleled, forty years out still reverberating with the inherent subsequent amnesia of the war, its underlying capitalist ends and the shame of both of these truths, yet it’s very existence has been baptized in controversy since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1974. Taking a brazenly anti-Vietnam War stance, the film juxtaposes vacuous Us politicians with the ugly aftermath of the misguided conflict in regretful Us soldiers and heart-wrenching footage of Vietnamese civilians mourning the senseless loss of their beloved. Part retrospective assessment of the back-door politics that led to the American funding of the Indochina War and the subsequent militarization of South Vietnam, and part straight-laced propaganda, Davis’s equally lauded and hated documentary is a...
- 7/1/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week
"The Lego Movie"
What's It About? A boring, regular dude Lego named Emmet (Chris Pratt) is suddenly called upon to save the world. Will Ferrell voices bad guy President Business, Elizabeth Banks as the super cool Wyldstyle, Alison Brie as Princess Unikitty, and Nick Offerman as a pirate named Metal Beard.
Why We're In: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller accomplished the unthinkable -- they made what seemed like a craven toy tie-in into a movie that everyone loves. It's kind of crazy.
Post by Moviefone.
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Picnic at Hanging Rock" (Criterion)
What's It About? A group of schoolgirls and their teacher go on a lovely picnic at Hanging Rock, a scenic rock formation in Australia. Their Valentine's Day outing takes a turn for the weird when several of them go missing, leaving a devastated community in their wake.
Why We're In: It's a gorgeous,...
"The Lego Movie"
What's It About? A boring, regular dude Lego named Emmet (Chris Pratt) is suddenly called upon to save the world. Will Ferrell voices bad guy President Business, Elizabeth Banks as the super cool Wyldstyle, Alison Brie as Princess Unikitty, and Nick Offerman as a pirate named Metal Beard.
Why We're In: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller accomplished the unthinkable -- they made what seemed like a craven toy tie-in into a movie that everyone loves. It's kind of crazy.
Post by Moviefone.
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week
"Picnic at Hanging Rock" (Criterion)
What's It About? A group of schoolgirls and their teacher go on a lovely picnic at Hanging Rock, a scenic rock formation in Australia. Their Valentine's Day outing takes a turn for the weird when several of them go missing, leaving a devastated community in their wake.
Why We're In: It's a gorgeous,...
- 6/17/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 17, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The Vietnam War is examined in Hearts and Minds.
A startling and courageous film, Peter Davis’s landmark 1974 documentary Hearts and Minds unflinchingly confronted the United States’ involvement in Vietnam at the height of the foment that surrounded it. The film’s title is based on a quote from President Lyndon Johnson: the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.”
Using a wealth of sources—from interviews to newsreels to footage of the conflict and the upheaval it occasioned on the home front—Davis constructs a powerfully affecting picture of the disastrous effects of war.
The winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1975, the explosive and persuasive Hearts and Minds is an overwhelming emotional experience and one of the most important nonfiction film ever made...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The Vietnam War is examined in Hearts and Minds.
A startling and courageous film, Peter Davis’s landmark 1974 documentary Hearts and Minds unflinchingly confronted the United States’ involvement in Vietnam at the height of the foment that surrounded it. The film’s title is based on a quote from President Lyndon Johnson: the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.”
Using a wealth of sources—from interviews to newsreels to footage of the conflict and the upheaval it occasioned on the home front—Davis constructs a powerfully affecting picture of the disastrous effects of war.
The winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1975, the explosive and persuasive Hearts and Minds is an overwhelming emotional experience and one of the most important nonfiction film ever made...
- 3/24/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Well folks, it’s time to start picking up some extra shifts or sign up for some primo medical experiments because everybody’s favorite home video boutique label has released their sizzling slate for the month of June. First up, on the second Tuesday of the month two older titles will receive Blu-Ray upgrades: the Douglas Sirk iconic melodrama “All The Heaven Allows” and the final chapter of Michelangelo Antonioni’s informal trilogy on contemporary malaise, “L’Eclisse.” The latter film’s upgrade leaves the first film of the so-called trilogy, “L’avventura,” as the sole film without a high definition release. The following week sees a trio of releases from roughly the same era, with refreshed releases of Peter Davis’s blistering 1974 Vietnam documentary “Hearts and Minds” and Peter Weir’s 1975 breakthrough “Picnic at Hanging Rock." Meanwhile Georges Franju delightful “Judex” makes its Criterion debut bringing with it interviews,...
- 3/18/2014
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
I just received my review copy of Ingmar Bergman's Pesona (3/25) today so I'm a little high on Criterion love at the moment and only minutes after receiving that in the mail I received today's announcement listing the films coming to the Collection in June. I'm sure many will be excited to see Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock getting the Blu-ray upgrade. The remastered release includes a new piece on the making of the film, a new introduction by film scholar David Thomson as well as Weir's 1971 black comedy Homesdale among other additional features. The disc will hit shelves on June 17. The title I'm most looking forward to is Michelangelo Antonioni's L'eclisse the third film in his informal trilogy that includes L'avventura and La notte. This is the only one of those three I haven't yet seen and what a cast as it tells the story of...
- 3/18/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Criterion Collection has announced two new titles and four Blu-ray upgrades set for release in June. Check out the new cover art along with a full list of extra features for each in the gallery viewer below! Debuting in the collection are both Richard Lester's iconic Beatles film A Hard Day's Night and Georges Franju's 1963 adaptation of the pulp hero Judex . Upgrading to Blu-ray are Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows , Michelangelo Antonioni's L'eclisse , Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock and Peter Davis's documentary Hearts and Minds , returning to the collection after years of being out of print. Special features for the new releases are listed as follows: A Hard Day's Night - New 4K digital film restoration, approved by director Richard Lester,...
- 3/17/2014
- Comingsoon.net
They've tried everything. One host. Two hosts. Four hosts. 32 hosts. Comic hosts. Serious-thespian hosts. Hollywood-legend hosts. Young hosts. Old hosts. Hip hosts. Square hosts. Singing-and-dancing hosts. Every year, it seems, the Academy Awards goes back to the drawing board to figure out what sort of emcee will keep the show lively, attract viewers (especially younger viewers) and keep them from flipping channels during the slow parts. It's a thankless gig; no wonder Billy Crystal, who's done it eight times, decided to sit out for eight years before agreeing to return to host this year's Academy Awards on Sunday night. The job requires a difficult and rare set of skills: a host must entertain both the Hollywood big-shots in the auditorium and regular folks at home. They can poke fun at the huge egos in the room, but can't deflate them with too much snark, and they can't be too inside-baseball.
- 2/22/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Even though he began his career by developing the Monkees, Schneider went on to carve out a 10-year career as one of America's most interesting and original producers
He was the son of a studio president, and a movie brat par excellence: for Bert Schneider, this guaranteed something of a charmed life. Even though he began his career by developing The Monkees, a TV sitcom about a faux pop group, Schneider (who died last month) went on to carve out a 10-year career as one of America's most interesting producers – and did as much as anyone to kick off the glory years of the Hollywood New Wave in the late 60s and early 70s.
In the mid-60s, the Vietnam war was at its height, and in America (and England) there was a real cultural fracture between the "establishment" media – hopelessly unhip entertainments like The Monkees' TV show – and the...
He was the son of a studio president, and a movie brat par excellence: for Bert Schneider, this guaranteed something of a charmed life. Even though he began his career by developing The Monkees, a TV sitcom about a faux pop group, Schneider (who died last month) went on to carve out a 10-year career as one of America's most interesting producers – and did as much as anyone to kick off the glory years of the Hollywood New Wave in the late 60s and early 70s.
In the mid-60s, the Vietnam war was at its height, and in America (and England) there was a real cultural fracture between the "establishment" media – hopelessly unhip entertainments like The Monkees' TV show – and the...
- 1/6/2012
- by Alex Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Producer of films that expressed the late 60s and early 70s zeitgeist, including Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and Hearts and Minds
In the late 60s and early 70s, youth movies identified with the draft-dodging campus rebels disillusioned by their elders and the war in Vietnam. Among the leading lights that embodied the counterculture were the producer Bert Schneider, who has died aged 78, and the director Bob Rafelson. They came together to form Raybert Productions, and then Bbs Productions (with Steve Blauner), which produced several pictures that expressed the zeitgeist, such as Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Drive, He Said (1971) and the Oscar-winning anti-Vietnam war documentary Hearts and Minds (1974).
Schneider was no bandwagon jumper, but a committed leftist, who vigorously opposed the American presence in Vietnam. He was also close to the 1960s political activists Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther party, the African-American radical organisation, and Abbie Hoffman...
In the late 60s and early 70s, youth movies identified with the draft-dodging campus rebels disillusioned by their elders and the war in Vietnam. Among the leading lights that embodied the counterculture were the producer Bert Schneider, who has died aged 78, and the director Bob Rafelson. They came together to form Raybert Productions, and then Bbs Productions (with Steve Blauner), which produced several pictures that expressed the zeitgeist, such as Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Drive, He Said (1971) and the Oscar-winning anti-Vietnam war documentary Hearts and Minds (1974).
Schneider was no bandwagon jumper, but a committed leftist, who vigorously opposed the American presence in Vietnam. He was also close to the 1960s political activists Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther party, the African-American radical organisation, and Abbie Hoffman...
- 12/14/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Sell Out! is one of those movies that could have been so much better had it overcome so many "if's." If its ideas had been less scattershot and more focused, it might have been an incisive satire about the (sometimes) poisonous nature of the need for money. If its performers were allowed to primarily speak in their native Malay and Mandarin instead of butchering the timing of the back and forth jokes between the characters in graceless, often flat English. If only the lead actor Peter Davis wasn't so incredibly bland and out to sea in his role, then a little charisma could have patched over some of the many problems with this clunky Malaysian comic musical with its heart in the right place. Sell...
- 7/2/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Well we all knew this would happen. Back in February, when Criterion announced their epic digital streaming partnership with Hulu, they also quietly revealed that their streaming options on Netflix would be coming to an end over the course of the next year. While I haven’t been paying close attention to the Criterion Collection films that have been expiring since that announcement was made, I thought it would be helpful to all of you loyal Netflix subscribers to know that in about twelve days, 26 titles will be expiring on the 26th of May, 2011.
I’ve gone and linked to all of the titles below, so you can click on the cover art or the text, and be taken to their corresponding Netflix pages. While this isn’t everything that Criterion has to offer on Netflix, it is a nice chunk of really important films. If you don’t currently have a Netflix subscription,...
I’ve gone and linked to all of the titles below, so you can click on the cover art or the text, and be taken to their corresponding Netflix pages. While this isn’t everything that Criterion has to offer on Netflix, it is a nice chunk of really important films. If you don’t currently have a Netflix subscription,...
- 5/15/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
A number of stars will be out-and-about for a special doggy charity fashion show later this month.
Maria Sansone, Wendy Diamond, Lisa Oz, Nanette Lepore, Catherine Melandrino, Olivia Corwin, Narcisso Rodriguez, Sonja Tremont Morgan, Sara Gore, Tinsley Mortimer, Peter Davis, Wendy Lerman, Ramona Singer, Marc Bouwer, Maggie Norris, Chris March, Adam Lippes, Wes Wang, Jennifer Jablow, Jordan Lippner, Rob Shuter, Jimmy Floyd, David Meisel, Natalie Morales, LuAnn de Lesseps and their stylish dogs will take part in Animal Fair Media’s 11th Annual Benefiting The Humane Society. At this Paws for Style fashion show, doggy parents can celebrate with their pet, raise money for animal rescue, and go home with their tails wagging. Of course there will also be dogs up for adoption!
At this year’s must-attend benefit, doggies and their parents are taking over the catwalk yet again for the 11th Annual Paws for Style fashion show on...
Maria Sansone, Wendy Diamond, Lisa Oz, Nanette Lepore, Catherine Melandrino, Olivia Corwin, Narcisso Rodriguez, Sonja Tremont Morgan, Sara Gore, Tinsley Mortimer, Peter Davis, Wendy Lerman, Ramona Singer, Marc Bouwer, Maggie Norris, Chris March, Adam Lippes, Wes Wang, Jennifer Jablow, Jordan Lippner, Rob Shuter, Jimmy Floyd, David Meisel, Natalie Morales, LuAnn de Lesseps and their stylish dogs will take part in Animal Fair Media’s 11th Annual Benefiting The Humane Society. At this Paws for Style fashion show, doggy parents can celebrate with their pet, raise money for animal rescue, and go home with their tails wagging. Of course there will also be dogs up for adoption!
At this year’s must-attend benefit, doggies and their parents are taking over the catwalk yet again for the 11th Annual Paws for Style fashion show on...
- 5/5/2011
- Look to the Stars
[There are several wonderful reviews for this 2008 comedy-musical already in the Twitch archives, but I thought I would weigh in on it a) because it is excellent and b) it is being given a single screen run in Toronto, Sell Out! is playing at The Royal From December 3-9th.]
Eric Tan has just been fired from his job for building a 10-in-One Soy Product machine that will not break down, even after the warranty expires, thereby pissing off his clueless corporate masters who are baffled that anyone in their large conglomerate is making an original product (to the point where they have cribbed the company Mission Statement of being about quality and originality from another, presumably 'lesser' company). He tries to buy poison for a suicide attempt, but the cashier will not accept the torn bit of currency (which she, only moments ago, gave him from a previous transaction at the same store) and will not take a credit card because the purchase is less than the store policy minimum. So goes punchline after punchline in this densely written Monty Python-esque musical from Malaysia. Sell Out! (or $311.0u7 if you prefer the cash register type title card that does...
Eric Tan has just been fired from his job for building a 10-in-One Soy Product machine that will not break down, even after the warranty expires, thereby pissing off his clueless corporate masters who are baffled that anyone in their large conglomerate is making an original product (to the point where they have cribbed the company Mission Statement of being about quality and originality from another, presumably 'lesser' company). He tries to buy poison for a suicide attempt, but the cashier will not accept the torn bit of currency (which she, only moments ago, gave him from a previous transaction at the same store) and will not take a credit card because the purchase is less than the store policy minimum. So goes punchline after punchline in this densely written Monty Python-esque musical from Malaysia. Sell Out! (or $311.0u7 if you prefer the cash register type title card that does...
- 12/3/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Maggie McNamara, William Holden in Otto Preminger's scandalous The Moon Is Blue Turner Classic Movies has a lot to offer tonight and tomorrow morning. There's a lot to say about the scheduled movies, but since time is short — the first one listed below has already started, I'll be brief. First of all, don't miss Sidney Franklin's The Hoodlum, a 1919 comedy-drama that feels more modern than most of the stuff that gets released today. Mary Pickford is simply sensational in the title role. Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, considered by many one of the greatest movies ever made, features one of the greatest performances ever: Machiko Kyo's conniving wife. Peter Davis' Oscar winning Hearts and Minds probably caused strokes and heart attacks in American militaristic right-wingers. One sequence that haunts me to this day shows a U.S. military officer describing the Vietnamese as cold, detached people unlike "us.
- 11/15/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In 1929 and 1937, sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd published the books Middletown: A Study In Modern American Culture and Middletown In Transition: A Study In Cultural Conflicts, detailing the core organizing principles and concerns of one mid-sized American town, later revealed to be Muncie, Indiana. A few decades later, Academy Award-winning documentarian Peter Davis (director of the searing Vietnam/homefront doc Hearts And Minds) headed to Muncie with a team of filmmakers for the Middletown project, a series of six documentaries about the state of work, politics, education, religion, recreation, and family life in the American heartland in the ...
- 9/29/2010
- avclub.com
Harnessing The Power Of Stories Workshop Offered To Artists And Small Local Non-profit Arts Groups
When: Tuesday, November 24th, 9am-noon
Where: At the Strand Theater (1823 N. Charles Street)
To Register: Email peterraydavis@yahoo.com
Since moving to Baltimore from Chicago a year ago, Peter Davis of Better Brand Story is helping leaders of small to medium-sized non-profits and businesses tell a better story about what they do and why it matters.
"Many non-profit organizations' brands are vague and therefore underperform. At the core of brand is story. This workshop aims to help non-profit leaders become better storytellers and learn how to attract natural audiences who are not currently participants," explains Davis.
More
Davis adds, "The idea for a three-hour crash course in branding came during Artscape. I was chatting with Philip Laubner, a local photographer, about a series of workshops I had just conducted for six members of the Greater...
When: Tuesday, November 24th, 9am-noon
Where: At the Strand Theater (1823 N. Charles Street)
To Register: Email peterraydavis@yahoo.com
Since moving to Baltimore from Chicago a year ago, Peter Davis of Better Brand Story is helping leaders of small to medium-sized non-profits and businesses tell a better story about what they do and why it matters.
"Many non-profit organizations' brands are vague and therefore underperform. At the core of brand is story. This workshop aims to help non-profit leaders become better storytellers and learn how to attract natural audiences who are not currently participants," explains Davis.
More
Davis adds, "The idea for a three-hour crash course in branding came during Artscape. I was chatting with Philip Laubner, a local photographer, about a series of workshops I had just conducted for six members of the Greater...
- 11/3/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
1. Amanda Hearst. 2. Peter Davis, Alexander Mortimer, and Minnie Mortimer. 3. Andres and Lauren Santo Domingo. From PatrickMcMullan.com. "I lived in Sag Harbor for five years and it was never this cool, even in June," said designer Miguelina Gambaccini with a slight shiver as a Manhattan crowd descended upon the Surf Lodge, in Montauk, New York, for a dinner to honor Minnie Mortimer’s new womenswear collection. "I love the Felice Brothers," said Amanda Hearst of the folk and country rock band that was over at the Spin and Arizona beverages party on the adjoining deck. Also sipping mojitos and other summery cocktails were Minnie's husband, writer and director Stephen Gaghan, Samantha Mathis, Bettina Prentice, Nina Garcia, and members of the Mortimer clan (Topper and Alexander). As dinner was served, Andrew Saffir, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, and Andres and Lauren Santo Domingo slipped in and huddled under blankets to escape the breeze.
- 7/15/2009
- Vanity Fair
The New York fans of the 1974 documentary “Hearts & Minds” are in for a treat. On March 20th, you can see the Academy Award-winning film on the big screen at the Cinema Village.
“Hearts & Minds” took a look at the Us’s involvement in the Vietnam War through interviews, music popular at the time and footage shot by the film’s director, Peter Davis. The film was surrounded by an extensive amount of controversy when it was originally released. The trouble began when President Johnson’s advisor, Walter Rostow, claimed the documentary damaged his reputation and insisted his appearance on camera be removed from the film. Even when “Hearts & Minds” won Best Documentary at the 1974 Academy Awards, a statement had to be announced concerning the political references made in co-producer Bert Schneider’s acceptance speech.
In light of the events taking place today, “Hearts & Minds” has been re-released in an effort...
“Hearts & Minds” took a look at the Us’s involvement in the Vietnam War through interviews, music popular at the time and footage shot by the film’s director, Peter Davis. The film was surrounded by an extensive amount of controversy when it was originally released. The trouble began when President Johnson’s advisor, Walter Rostow, claimed the documentary damaged his reputation and insisted his appearance on camera be removed from the film. Even when “Hearts & Minds” won Best Documentary at the 1974 Academy Awards, a statement had to be announced concerning the political references made in co-producer Bert Schneider’s acceptance speech.
In light of the events taking place today, “Hearts & Minds” has been re-released in an effort...
- 3/20/2009
- ReelTalkTV.com
To read the Paper Magazine cover story featuring "That 70's Show" star Danny Masterson and his girlfriend, actress and fellow Scientologist Bijou Philips, is quite educational. For one thing, who knew there was a magazine called "Paper?" Also, who knew Bijou Philips, best known as the wild-child daughter of "Mamas and Papas" singer John Philips, was even a Scientologist? Not us.Set to co-star in two films together this year - the romantic comedy "Made for Each Other" and the crime-drama "Bridge to Nowhere" - the pair sat down with Paper reporter Peter Davis to talk about their four-year romance, Scientology, and to aptly d ...
- 1/25/2009
- by By Actress Archives
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