Filtered Excellence: April 7, 2016

American Dreamer, The (1972) (1971) | Pers: Dennis Hopper | Dir: Carson,L.M.Kit/Schiller,L | Ref: AME043AB | Photo Credit: [ The Kobal Collection / Corda Prods ] | Editorial use only related to cinema, television and personalities. Not for cover use, advertising or fictional works without specific prior agreement

Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Once a week we take a break from comedy to bring you this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more.


WATCH THIS:

The American Dreamer.  This behind the scenes ‘documentary’ about the making of Dennis Hopper’s second film, The Last Movie finally gets a Blu-Ra, DVD, and digital release. While it does show the work that went into the follow-up to Easy Rider, Hopper, working with directors Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson, decided to make re-work the project into a film within a film mockumentary. In it, Hopper is playing an amped version of himself, musing about politics and drugs in the desert, how his next film will be on par with Citizen Kane and, features, of course, lots of women, some in various stages of undress. Unfortunately for Hopper, The Last Movie bombed at the box office burned so many bridges within Hollywood that he wouldn’t direct another feature for almost a decade. But The American Dreamer became an underground hit and is widely credited for being the forerunner to other great set up of documentaries. It captures Hopper walking the thin line between artistic peak and being completely off the rails and you can’t stop watching. A welcomed return of a piece that was well ahead of its time. The American Dreamer is available now through Amazon, ITunes and all major retailers.

Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures. The work of Robert Mapplethorpe is now the subject of two retrospectives at the L.A. Getty and LACMA museums. But in 1989, his work was pulled after Senator Jesse Helms led a campaign to defund federal money to arts institutions that promoted such button pushing pieces. Mapplethorpe wasn’t there to make his case: He passed away a few months earlier from AIDS-related complications. This new HBO doc looks back at the brilliant, but brief career of one of the 20th Century’s most controversial artists. Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato were given full access to The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and they present his work as it was meant to be seen: Unfiltered and without apology. They also conducted new interviews with his family, friends, co-workers, colleagues to make this the most comprehensive look at Mapplethorpe to date. An explosive look at an artist who dared to take photography to new heights. Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures is currently on HBO, HBO Now and HBO Go. You can go to http://www.hbo.com/ for more information.

Dice. The resurgance of Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay continues with the premiere of this new original series for Showtime. The show takes place at a low point in Dice’s career when he’s no longer packing arenas and has fallen off the cultural radar. He re-locates to a Vegas with his two sons, his girlfriend (Natasha Leggaro), and his best friend Milkshake (Kevin Corrigan) where he hopes to regroup and get his career back on track. Of course, Dice is his own worst enemy – especially when dealing with life in Sin City. Its  sometimes crass, and in some spots un PC and, at times laugh out loud funny. In other words, it’s all Dice and comedy’s other favorite four letter word is in rare form. Dice premieres this Sunday at 9:30 Eastern on Showtime. Watch the first episode for free and look for our full review coming soon.

DO THIS

New York City. Sidney Poitier. The film career of Sidney Poitier speaks for itself. But a new nine film retrospective happening at the Museum of The Moving Image puts into a new context of just how much of a trailblazer Poitier was and continues to be. Curated by Mia Mask, co-editor of the new book, Poitier Revisited: Reconsidering A Black Icon In The Obama Age, the series actually leaves out Poitier’s seminal work in Lilies In The Field (in which he became the first Black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor), To Sir, With Love and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. Instead, it centers on overlooked, but equally important works such as No Way Out (his debut film role opposite Richard Widmark) and Edge Of The City (his first starring role and featuring John Cassavetes). The series also looks at Poitier’s work as a director, including his directorial debut Buck And The Preacher (co-starring Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee) and Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do It Again, two comedies that paired him up with Bill Cosby. For those looking for Poitier classics, A Raisin In The Sun, Paris Blues, The Defiant Ones and In The Heat Of The Night are also included. Mask will be in appearance to do some post screening discussions on just how vital Poitier was in terms of bringing another side of the Black experience to the screen, his mark on the American Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, and it applies to what’s happening now. A can’t miss look at one of the titans of cinema. The Sidney Poitier Retrospective will be at the Museum Of The Moving Image April 9th through the 17th. You can also go to http://www.movingimage.us/ for run times and more information.

New York City: The Maysles & Co.  Albert and David Maysles turned the documentary into an art form. Applying what they called ‘direct cinema’, The Maysles removed narration, pointed the cameras at their subjects and allowed their subjects to be themselves in all of their unfiltered glory. It resulted in films that were at times controversial, brutally honest, but always captivating. Film Forum will be presenting a 2 week retrospective of their work, tracing how the Maysles brothers – with their equally exceptional crew of collaborators left their mark on cinema by simply let life happen. The film featured included Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter, The Burks Of Georgia and Meet Marlon Brando. It will also include a score of outtakes, commercials and rarities from the Maysles archive. Its a fitting salute to a crew that changed the way we viewed the world around us. Maysles & Co will be at Film Forum April 8th through the 21st. You can also go to http://www.filmforum.org/ for a complete list of films, show times and more information.

 


Want more excellence? Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends

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Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.