documentary

Fuse Movie Review: An Immensely Rewarding Cave of Forgotten Dreams

May 29, 2011
Posted in ,

The beauty and power of Chauvet’s art, at once primal and sophisticated, tempers director Verner Herzog’s passion for Homo Sapiens bashing. We do, after all, belong to the very same species as those cave painters. Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Directed by Werner Herzog. At various New England cinemas. By Harvey Blume. It was with some…

Read More

Short Fuse Movie Review: “Bill Cunningham’s New York”

May 8, 2011
Posted in

I, personally, don’t care much about clothes, and was only prevented from turning off to the film by photographer Bill Cunningham’s elemental enthusiasm. It can be tempting to write him off as simple in some way, what with his bright, ready laugh. If so, he’s simple in the best way.

Read More

Movie Review: Bobby Fischer Against the World

May 4, 2011
Posted in ,

The Bobby Fischer that the documentary portrays is both a creature of the Cold War era, shouldering that burden, and a peculiarly American hero. It airs this Monday, June 6, on HBO Bobby Fischer Against the World. Directed by Liz Garbus. By Harvey Blume ( Also in The Arts Fuse: Harvey Blume’s thoughts on Fischer’s…

Read More

Book Review: Timothy Leary and Daniel Ellsberg — Dangerous Men?

March 31, 2010
Posted in , ,

By Harvey Blume The major problem with these treatments of Timothy Leary and Daniel Ellsberg is that they portray their main characters as if there was no possible resonance between them, as if they came from different eras. The Harvard Psychedelic Club, by Don Lattin, HarperOne, 256 pages, $24.99. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel…

Read More

Culture Vulture: In Search of Beethoven

January 10, 2010
Posted in , , ,

Filled with great insights, musical and other, Phil Grabsky’s wonderful documentary on Beethoven depicts “a man of huge intellect and huge heart.” In Search of Beethoven, a documentary by Phil Grabsky (UK, 2009, 139 min). At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Wednesday Jan. 13 at 3:05 pm, Thursday January 14 at 5:10 pm.,…

Read More

Culture Vulture and Mrs. Goldberg

August 10, 2009
Posted in ,

by Helen Epstein Go here for information about a live-chat, scheduled for August 23rd, with Helen Epstein on “The Art of Narrative Writing.” If you’re at all interested in popular culture, don’t miss Aviva Kempner’s new documentary “Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg.” Kempner is the D.C.-based director of the award-winning documentary “Life and Times of Hank Greenberg”…

Read More

Film Review: The Marsden Hartley You Never Knew

November 8, 2006
Posted in , ,

Those looking to expand their horizons on art and narrative should make the time for Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy, a very (nearly three hours) long but equally rewarding debut from director Michael Maglaras, who also stars in the film. By Adrienne LaFrance Cleophas and His Own is the recitation of a…

Read More

Film Review: Horror Documenary“Pieces” is DOA

October 23, 2006
Posted in ,

By Jard Craig Going to Pieces, a new made-for-cable documentary (which airs this Halloween on Starz at 11 p.m.), charts the history of slasher films. The film starts off strong, but falls apart once the initial shock value of cinematic cut-and-slash overkill wears off. The film strings together the best scenes from new and classic…

Read More

Getting Warmer…

July 6, 2006
Posted in

By Adrienne LaFrance, Regardless of your political affiliation, you have to admit that it’s good to see Al Gore beardless and moving on with his life, six years after the 2000 presidential election. Gore is pursuing what he’s called his life’s calling; spreading the word about global warming and its threats to civilization. Last night,…

Read More

Film Review: Confederate America: What If the South had Won?

April 20, 2006
Posted in , ,

By Adrienne LaFrance Picture an alternate 2006 in which the internet slave trade in America is an integral part of the economy, only white men have the right to vote, and culture is devoid of jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and countless other things. Head to Fenway and you’ll hear the national anthem, “Dixie,” played before…

Read More

Recent Posts