Tag Archives: classic

Vinyl Nation

Vinyl Nation is the comprehensive documentary about vinyl – past and present – taking in the fandom, the production, its sound, and its history including its road-bumps, and a new generation of fans that smash the stereotype of it being the preserve of older white males.

The vinyl record renaissance over the past decade has brought new fans to a classic format and transformed our idea of a record collector: younger, both male and female, multicultural. This same revival has made buying music more expensive, benefited established bands over independent artists and muddled the question of whether vinyl actually sounds better than other formats.

Vinyl Nation digs into the crates of the record resurgence in search of truths set in deep wax: Has the return of vinyl made music fandom more inclusive or divided? What does vinyl say about our past here in the present? How has the second life of vinyl changed how we hear music and how we listen to each other?

¨ An engaging journey.. Visually stunning¨
The Chicago Reader

¨ Entertaining and informative.. Vinyl Nation transcends its niche subject matter¨
Decider

 

Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin

When legendary writer and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was dying of AIDS, he summoned his friend and collaborator Werner Herzog, asking to see his recent film about tribesman of the Sahara. In exchange, as a parting gift, Chatwin gave Herzog the rucksack he’d carried on his travels around the world.

Thirty years later, carrying the rucksack, Herzog sets out on his own journey, inspired by their shared passion for the nomadic life. Along the way, Herzog uncovers stories of lost tribes, wanderers and dreamers.

He travels to South America, where Chatwin wrote In Patagonia, the book that turned him into a literary sensation, with its enigmatic tales of dinosaurs, myths and journeys to the ends of the world.

In Australia, where Herzog and Chatwin first met, Herzog explores the sacred power of the Aboriginal traditions which inspired Chatwin’s most famous book, The Songlines. And in the UK, in the beautiful landscape of the Welsh borders, he discovers the one place Chatwin called home.

Told in Herzog’s inimitable style, full of memorable characters and encounters, the film explores the creative and personal vision he shared with Chatwin: a passion for the power of storytelling and desire to find insights into human experience among communities at the extremes.

A portrait of one of the 20th century’s most charismatic writers, the film also offers a revealing personal insight into the imagination and obsessions of one of the world’s most visionary directors.

Selected at Tribeca Film Festival and Sheffield Doc Fest 

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“Duplicating many of Chatwin’s most notable journeys, Herzog evokes the late English wanderer’s restless soul and curious fascination with profound issues that have long captivated the director… this sincere homage should entice adventurous viewers … conveys a sense of profound beauty and primordial mystery.”

Variety

 

“An encomium to a lost friend…  Herzog imbues the film with rich narration, unforgettable characters and National Geographic-worthy landscape shots all his own.”

Rolling Stone

 

“A poignant testament to two friends’ shared curiosity about the world… admirers of either artist will find it very worthwhile, as will viewers who need the occasional reminder that the world still contains wild places to explore.”

Hollywood Reporter

 

“A lovely, elegiac documentary about two men who shared a real brotherhood.”

Film International

 

“Fans of Herzog’s and Chatwin’s and either/or would love this documentary… in some ways, it’s larger than life, just as both the director and its subject.”

Film Threat

 

“Does not just want to craft a film worthy of the late writer’s legacy, but also seeks to let viewers inside Herzog. Appearing on screen often and narrating the picture, as much of what is learned has to do with Herzog as it does with Chatwin.

In that manner, it’s a fascinating project for devotees of the filmmaker to pour themselves into. Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin is undoubtedly Herzog’s most personal non-fiction work to date. He imbues the entire project with a sense of profound duty.”

AwardsCircuit.com

 

“The relationship between the prolific filmmaker Werner Herzog and writer / adventurer, Bruce Chatwin was a meeting of the minds. These two multi-talented, uniquely creative geniuses shared an insatiable curiosity and sense of adventure. Visionary in the practice of their art and nomadic in their lives, they shared much in common.

It is a poetic elegiac journey for Herzog, who shares his own reflections and enriches a glorious tribute. One feels privileged to be along on this trip.”

Musée Magazine

Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy

Four years in the making and hailed as a “masterpiece” on its theatrical release in 1979, Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy takes you to the heart of an ancient Buddhist culture. Filmed in the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamasala, and captured on film with startling beauty, the trilogy begins by observing Tibetan monks engaged in furious metaphysical debate giving lie to the stereotype of the placid Buddhist. The film goes on to create an intimate portrait of the Dalai Lama’s everyday life, before he was known to the western world, in his dual role of political leader and spiritual teacher, from naming children to orating on the value of preserving Tibetan culture. In elegant cinematic style, the first part explores the ways in which inner knowledge of Tibetan Buddhist culture is developed in monasteries through vigorous debate and solitary meditation, and communicated to the masses.

With extraordinary authenticity Part II of the Trilogy journeys deep into the mystical inner world of monastic life. The film follows the lamas of the Phulwary Sakya Monastery through their contemplative retreats, the building of an intricate cosmogram, and the performance of an ancient protective ritual known as ‘A Beautiful Ornament’. Gracefully shot and with a subtitled commentary based on the teachings of the great 20th century master Dudjom Rinpoche, the essence of tantric Buddhism is powerfully revealed.

Set in the majestic mountain landscape of Ladakh, Part III is a meditation on impermanence and the relationship between the mind, body and environment. It follows the monks and farmers through a day, ending with an unflinching depiction of the monastery’s moving ritual response to a death in the community. As described in the “Tibetan Book of the Dead”, the departed is guided through the dream-like intermediate state between death and birth.

From a portrait of the Dalai Lama, as a spiritual and temporal leader, to the unprecedented revelation of the mystical inner world of monastic life and its rituals, Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy brings you face to face with the unbroken continuity of Tibet’s ancient culture.