The Bridge

The Bridge Review

The Bridge Feature

• The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic structure. An engineering masterpiece. A triumph of human ingenuity and muscle over the elements. A symbol of San Francisco, the West, freedom and something more, something almost spiritual but impossible to describe. More people choose to end their lives at the Golden Gate Bridge than anywhere else in the world. The sheer number of deaths there is shocking b

Director Eric Steel has succeeded in making one of the most morbid documentaries ever, The Bridge. Starring several deceased Golden Gate Bridge jumpers, The Bridge is a eulogy comprised of interviews with their loved ones and friends who reminisce about those who succeeded in committing suicide in the San Francisco Bay. Spliced between interview footage are shots of the bridge in all its majesty, surrounded by fog, and being enjoyed by tourists. Meant to represent The Bridge as a rounded character, one of beauty punctuated by tragedy, this film is assuredly touching for the affected families. It's an important step in the grieving process, but feels random viewed by one who didn't know these mentally disturbed citizens. As a conceptual investigation into suicidal motivations, the documentary succeeds, though midway through viewing one begins to feel like an interloper at various funerals. We hear of one woman's battle with schizophrenia, another man's death obsession, and several retellings of those who witnessed the horrendous events. Like Grey Gardens, The Bridge captivates by triggering one's love of sensationalism, but fortunately the film's sincerity undercuts any inkling of gossip column crime reporting. This tribute to suicide victims serves as an oblique tribute to The Bridge, as an honest portrayal of its history, gritty though important to remember. --Trinie Dalton The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic structure; a symbol of San Francisco, the West, freedom – and something more, something spiritual, something words cannot describe.
The director and crew spent an entire year focusing on the Bridge. Running cameras for almost every daylight minute, they documented nearly two dozen suicides and a great many unrealized attempts. In addition, the director captured nearly 100 hours of incredibly frank, deeply personal, often heart-wrenching interviews with the families and friends of the departed, as well as with several of the attempters themselves.
THE BRIDGE is a visual and visceral journey into one of life’s gravest taboos, offering glimpses into the darkest, and possibly most impenetrable corners of the human mind.

Tapped

Tapped Review

TAPPED - DVD Movie

Waiting for "Superman"

Waiting for "Superman" Review

From the Academy Award-winning Director of An Inconvenient Truth comes the groundbreaking feature film that provides an engaging and inspiring look at public education in the United States. Waiting For “Superman” has helped launch a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a Silicon Valley eighth-grader who is afraid of being labeled as unfit for college and Francisco, a Bronx first-grader whose mom will do anything to give him a shot at a better life. Waiting For “Superman” will leave a lasting and powerful impression that you will want to share with your friends and family.

Gasland

Gasland Review

Gasland Feature

• GASLAND (DVD MOVIE)

Little did director Josh Fox know that he'd find himself trailing the history and future of natural gas mining for this documentary, Gasland, or so he claims in this moving and evocative political exposé. Thankfully unpretentious and lacking in the didacticism that plagues many political documentaries, Gasland is edifying in the most entertaining and palatable way. Fox's open-ended questions presented during his narration are answered by interviewees found as he travels cross-country to source out water pollution happening as a result of hydraulic fracturing. The tension begins when Fox researches a letter he receives in the mail at his rural Pennsylvania farmhouse, inviting him to sell his land for 0,000 and permission to mine natural gas. He comes to discover how the Delaware River watershed's imminently endangered status will threaten New York City's main water source, and towards the end of the film focuses on New York City, as respected politicians like John Gennaro and Congressman Maurice Hinchey speak on behalf of this issue. But before filming congressional hearings, Fox charts his personal dilemma and how it quickly spirals outward, as first his neighbors tell him horror stories about water contamination due to this process. And as he tours Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas, where hydraulic fracturing has already contaminated myriad underground wells, Fox actually films many families' water faucets catching fire as people hold a match to their running tap water. Fox's continuing investigation ties this unchecked chemical process to Dick Cheney's Halliburton activity and bills covertly passed during the Bush administration. Gasland does not have a conspiratorial feel; it takes an honest, even-keeled investigative approach and relies on information relayed to Fox from renowned activists like Dr. Theo Colborn and Environmental Protection Agency staffer Weston Wilson. This documentary sheds light on what has been a practice that many American citizens have assumed mysterious and possibly benign. It is easy to understand why Gasland has garnered so many film festival awards, since it presents vital information that will necessitate action once it reaches enough of the population. This is grassroots documentary filmmaking at its finest. --Trinie Dalton In 2009, filmmaker Josh Fox learned his home in the Delaware River Basin was on top of the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation containing natural gas that stretches across New York, Pennsylvania and huge stretches of the Northeast. He was offered 0,000 to lease his land for a new method of drilling developed by Halliburton and soon discovered this was only a part of a 34-state drilling campaign, the largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history. Part mystery, part travelogue, and part banjo showdown, Gasland documents Josh's cross-country odyssey to find out if the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - is actually safe. As he interviews people who live on or around current fracking sites, Josh learns of things gone horribly wrong, from illness to hair loss to flammable water, and his inquiries lead him ever deeper into a web of secrets, lies, conspiracy, and contamination - a web that potentially stretches to threaten the New York Watershed. Unearthing a shocking story about a practice that is understudied and inadequately regulated, Gasland races to find answer about fracking before it's far too late.

Dear Pyongyang

Dear Pyongyang Review

The daughter of a leader of the pro-North Korean movement in Japan, Yonghi Yang was separated from her brothers at a young age when they were sent to North Korea under a repatriation campaign. However, as the economic situation in the North deteriorated, the brothers became increasingly dependent for survival on the care packages sent by their parents. The film shows Yang's visits to her brothers in Pyongyang, as well as conversations with her father about his ideological faith and his regrets over breaking up his family. Providing a rare glimpse into North Korea, Dear Pyongyang provides the viewer with a haunting and profound vision of one of the most isolated countries on earth.

A Great Day in Harlem

A Great Day in Harlem Review

In August of 1958, in front of a Harlem brownstone, first-time photographer Art Kane assembled 57 of the greatest jazz stars of all time and snapped a picture that would live forever. Narrated by Quincy Jones, this "irresistible" (Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times), Academy Award-nominated documentary examines the fascinating lives of the musicians who showed up that day to make history. Through remarkable interviews with nearly 30 jazz greats (including Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey), home movies shot by Milt and Mona Hinton, and rare, archival performance footage, A Great Day in Harlem tells the story behind a legendary photograph that is still alive and kicking - and jammin'!

Hours of New Special Features! "Art Kane" Featurette "Bill Charlap and Kenny Washington" Featurette "Copycat Photos" Featurette "Stories from the Making of A Great Day in Harlem" Featurette PLUS: Bonus 2nd Disc Includes Over Two Hours of New Video Profiles of the 59 Musicians involved in the photograph!

BATTLEFIELD - WWII Invasion!

BATTLEFIELD - WWII Invasion! Review

BATTLEFIELD - WWII Invasion! Feature

• BATTLEFIELD WWII INVASION (DVD MOVIE)

Battlefield - WWII Invasion! 3 DVD Set! After the staggering speed with which Nazi Germany occupied Europe, it took the Allies some time to regroup and mount an offensive to take back the continent. These three key battlefields turned the tide for the Allies, and hastened the end of the Third Reich's reign of terror; The Battle for North Africa, The Battle for Italy and the Battle of Normandy. Now for the first time, TMG and NBC Universal bring you these detailed accounts of the pivotal battles of World War II. Each episode covers one great battle, featuring portraits of the leaders and commanders, explanations of weapons and tactics, a review of the political and military situation leading up to the battle, troop deployment, and the story of the battle itself. Narrated by Tim Pigot-Smith (V for Vendetta, Quantum of Solace). Watch rare archival footage from vaults around the world!