Madrid -- Woody Allen’s tribute to Barcelona “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” the Coen brothers’ star-studded “Burn After Reading” and Laurent Cantet’s Palme d’Or winner “The Class” figure in the list of Zabaltegi-Pearls section for the 56th San Sebastian International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday.
The section, which weaves together prize-winners from other festivals with gems that buzzed across the international circuit, but have not opened in Spain, has become one of the festival’s most popular staples.
This year’s list of 12 films screening in the Pearls section vie for the TCM Audience Award, worth 70,000 euros ($102,000) for the Spanish importer.
Zabaltegi-Pearls will also feature Sundance’s closing film “Csny Deja vu,” as well as latest releases from three directors who competed with their first works at San Sebastian before going on to obtain international recognition: Olivier Assayas, Majid Majidi and Simon Staho.
The Zabaltegi-Specials sidebar, showcasing films that...
The section, which weaves together prize-winners from other festivals with gems that buzzed across the international circuit, but have not opened in Spain, has become one of the festival’s most popular staples.
This year’s list of 12 films screening in the Pearls section vie for the TCM Audience Award, worth 70,000 euros ($102,000) for the Spanish importer.
Zabaltegi-Pearls will also feature Sundance’s closing film “Csny Deja vu,” as well as latest releases from three directors who competed with their first works at San Sebastian before going on to obtain international recognition: Olivier Assayas, Majid Majidi and Simon Staho.
The Zabaltegi-Specials sidebar, showcasing films that...
- 8/26/2008
- by By Pamela Rolfe
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Shine a Light
BERLIN -- Martin Scorsese, a film director who has made his share of superb musical documentaries, shines a light on the world's most legendary and long-lasting rock band, The Rolling Stones, in Shine a Light.
Shooting for two nights at concerts in New York's intimate Beacon Theatre, Scorsese and an all-star cinematography crew capture the very essence of the Stones in performance -- the raw energy, slick musicianship, easy rapport with audiences and the way their individual personas have grown into appealing caricatures of their former bad-boy selves.
But at the end of a very long night, Light is simply another in a long line of Rolling Stones concert films. Scorsese, who painted a portrait of an era and its musicians in his great concert film The Last Waltz (1978) and explored the blues so movingly in his television series The Blues (2003), is content here to sit back and watch. Hard to blame him -- after all, it is the Stones --but you do expect more from Scorsese. No one, except perhaps Clint Eastwood, knows music and movies better, so you want him to take a deep, long and, OK, celebratory look at the iconic rock band.
No dice. You've got a ticket to watch the Stones in concert so enjoy.
The film does not stand up to the current crop of music/concert films like U2 3D, which brilliantly uses 3-D to show the Irish band in concert so as to encapsulate its relationship to its fans, each other and their own music, and CSNY: Deja Vu, which hones in on the political connection Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have to their music.
Scorsese makes peripheral and sporadic attempts to introduce a documentary flavor to the filmed concert. The movie opens with color and black-and-white footage of the preparation to shoot the concerts in the autumn of 2006 during the band's A Bigger Bang tour. The curious emphasis here seems to be on the missteps, frustrations and lack of communication as the film and rock cultures meet.
At one point, Scorsese is told about a potential fire danger of an effect involving Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. Scorsese actually says with a straight face, We cannot burn Mick Jagger. No, you can't.
Then, pre-concert one night, the Clintons descend on to the stage - Hillary, Bill, family and guests. For jet-lagging Americans at the Berlinale, where the film opened the festival Thursday night, this is an almost surreal moment, as if post-Super Tuesday, the Clintons have somehow arrived cinematically in Berlin to scrounge up absentee ballots from local expats.
Once the concert gets under way, Scorsese cuts in ancient interviews with the Stones when they were all callow youths, interviews marked by the utter inanity of the questions and the near torpor of their answers.
Only two answers are interesting: On how he can still be standing, let alone playing great music, after a hard life of hard living, Keith Richards shrugs, "My luck hasn't run out yet." And to Dick Cavett's question many years ago about could he imagine doing rock concerts when he is 60, Jagger immediately replies, Yeah, easily.
And that's it for the documentary section of the film.
Scorsese has cameras everywhere, with seemingly half of the American Society of Cinematographers membership - Stuart Dryburgh, Robert Elswit, Ellen Kuras, Declan Quinn and Emmanuel Lubezki among others - plus legendary Stones documentarian Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter) manning those cameras. He and editor David Tedeschi cut rhythmically from angle to angle as each song unfolds, catching the antics, attitudes and exuberance of the four band members and their musical compatriots onstage. Drop-by guests include Christina Aguilera, bluesman Buddy Guy and Jack White.
Predictably, Jagger and Richards dominate the stagecraft as drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood all but disappear into the set. Aging though they clearly are, these two still have that movie-star aura. And they still have great musical instincts onstage.
When you recall how articulate Richards was about music in Taylor Hackford's docu "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" (1987), you do wish Scorsese had put him on camera between shows to talk about the Stones. And Jagger has certainly done enough movies as an actor to have delivered some insights, so long as the questions are not inane.
But Scorsese just wants to hear the music and watch as the men transform back into boys.SHINE A LIGHT
Paramount Vantage
Shangri-La Entertainment/Concert Promotions International
Credits:
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producers: Victoria Pearman, Michael Cohl, Zane Weiner, Steve Bing
Executive producers: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood
Director of photography: Robert Richardson
Art director: Star Theodos
Editor: David Tedeschi
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Shooting for two nights at concerts in New York's intimate Beacon Theatre, Scorsese and an all-star cinematography crew capture the very essence of the Stones in performance -- the raw energy, slick musicianship, easy rapport with audiences and the way their individual personas have grown into appealing caricatures of their former bad-boy selves.
But at the end of a very long night, Light is simply another in a long line of Rolling Stones concert films. Scorsese, who painted a portrait of an era and its musicians in his great concert film The Last Waltz (1978) and explored the blues so movingly in his television series The Blues (2003), is content here to sit back and watch. Hard to blame him -- after all, it is the Stones --but you do expect more from Scorsese. No one, except perhaps Clint Eastwood, knows music and movies better, so you want him to take a deep, long and, OK, celebratory look at the iconic rock band.
No dice. You've got a ticket to watch the Stones in concert so enjoy.
The film does not stand up to the current crop of music/concert films like U2 3D, which brilliantly uses 3-D to show the Irish band in concert so as to encapsulate its relationship to its fans, each other and their own music, and CSNY: Deja Vu, which hones in on the political connection Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have to their music.
Scorsese makes peripheral and sporadic attempts to introduce a documentary flavor to the filmed concert. The movie opens with color and black-and-white footage of the preparation to shoot the concerts in the autumn of 2006 during the band's A Bigger Bang tour. The curious emphasis here seems to be on the missteps, frustrations and lack of communication as the film and rock cultures meet.
At one point, Scorsese is told about a potential fire danger of an effect involving Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. Scorsese actually says with a straight face, We cannot burn Mick Jagger. No, you can't.
Then, pre-concert one night, the Clintons descend on to the stage - Hillary, Bill, family and guests. For jet-lagging Americans at the Berlinale, where the film opened the festival Thursday night, this is an almost surreal moment, as if post-Super Tuesday, the Clintons have somehow arrived cinematically in Berlin to scrounge up absentee ballots from local expats.
Once the concert gets under way, Scorsese cuts in ancient interviews with the Stones when they were all callow youths, interviews marked by the utter inanity of the questions and the near torpor of their answers.
Only two answers are interesting: On how he can still be standing, let alone playing great music, after a hard life of hard living, Keith Richards shrugs, "My luck hasn't run out yet." And to Dick Cavett's question many years ago about could he imagine doing rock concerts when he is 60, Jagger immediately replies, Yeah, easily.
And that's it for the documentary section of the film.
Scorsese has cameras everywhere, with seemingly half of the American Society of Cinematographers membership - Stuart Dryburgh, Robert Elswit, Ellen Kuras, Declan Quinn and Emmanuel Lubezki among others - plus legendary Stones documentarian Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter) manning those cameras. He and editor David Tedeschi cut rhythmically from angle to angle as each song unfolds, catching the antics, attitudes and exuberance of the four band members and their musical compatriots onstage. Drop-by guests include Christina Aguilera, bluesman Buddy Guy and Jack White.
Predictably, Jagger and Richards dominate the stagecraft as drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood all but disappear into the set. Aging though they clearly are, these two still have that movie-star aura. And they still have great musical instincts onstage.
When you recall how articulate Richards was about music in Taylor Hackford's docu "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" (1987), you do wish Scorsese had put him on camera between shows to talk about the Stones. And Jagger has certainly done enough movies as an actor to have delivered some insights, so long as the questions are not inane.
But Scorsese just wants to hear the music and watch as the men transform back into boys.SHINE A LIGHT
Paramount Vantage
Shangri-La Entertainment/Concert Promotions International
Credits:
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producers: Victoria Pearman, Michael Cohl, Zane Weiner, Steve Bing
Executive producers: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood
Director of photography: Robert Richardson
Art director: Star Theodos
Editor: David Tedeschi
Running time -- 120 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 2/8/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CSNY: Deja Vu
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- Ageless rock bands and musicians play a teasing game of nostalgia with concert audiences, performing their golden oldies while slipping in new songs and trying to recast themselves for younger listeners. CSNY: Deja Vu, a film record by Bernard Shakey (aka Neil Young) of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2006 Freedom of Speech tour, catches a band headed in the opposite direction. Always one of music's most impassioned political activists, Young first put out his Living With War album in reaction to the disastrous conflict in Iraq. He then reformed the band -- again -- to perform those songs, plus a few dating back to its anti-Vietnam period such as Ohio and Find the Cost of Freedom.
Young took along an "embedded" journalist, Mike Cerre, who has served as a correspondent in Afghanistan and Iraq, to smoke out the reaction of audience members and others to the music and its message in towns across America. So this is anything but a concert film like U2 3D, which screened at the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival.
There should be a considerable audience for this film on both the nostalgia and political fronts. Such is the band's popularity that the film will play to folks who do not agree with its political content, as evidenced by the young man who challenged Young at its premiere here, telling him that as far as Iraq is concerned, "You don't know what you're talking about."
That is a mild comment compared to what audience members, radio talk show hosts and music critics have to say in the movie. Young gives Cerre -- the two share writing credit -- the freedom to report on the tour, seeking out those who praise and condemn CSNY for its activism. The film generously quotes music critics who take dead aim at the sloppiness of early performances -- band members agree some shows were bad -- and others who take umbrage to an anti-war rally masquerading as a rock concert.
The most interesting reaction in the film comes in Atlanta, a progressive city in a conservative region. Everyone seems to enjoy the concert until the band strikes up Young's anthem "Let's Impeach the President." Boos cascade over the stage, followed by cheers that drown out the boos. The booers rush from the auditorium, where cameras catch their vehement anger.
By contrast, Iraq vets embrace band members at smaller concerts.
The film catches a country in conflict with itself. The right to disagree has been brought into dispute by this administration, which has broadly hinted that any disagreement with its war is synonymous with treason. That notion is strongly questioned in Cerre's talks with people in the street.
If you breathe deeply enough, you might catch a whiff of self-promotion. Young and his mates probably see this film as a means to establish their legacy of commitment to political ideals and anti-war movements. But the band has earned that right: No one intended to earn a dime on this tour or with this movie. And the tour happened just as the country turned against the war and the administration, as evidenced by the 2006 election during which Stills campaigned on behalf of several congressional candidates, the majority of whom won. Young clearly hopes to keep up the pressure with this movie.
The average age of the band's members is 62. They don't even bother to disguise that fact. These men look like your grandfather, right up until the downbeat. Then the magnificence of their playing sweeps away all concepts of age.
Rock on.
CSNY: DEJA VU
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Shakey Picture production
Credits:
Director: Bernard Shakey
Writers: Neil Young, Mike Cerre
Producer: L.A. Johnson
Director of photography: Mike Elwell
Music: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Editor: Mark Faulkner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- Ageless rock bands and musicians play a teasing game of nostalgia with concert audiences, performing their golden oldies while slipping in new songs and trying to recast themselves for younger listeners. CSNY: Deja Vu, a film record by Bernard Shakey (aka Neil Young) of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2006 Freedom of Speech tour, catches a band headed in the opposite direction. Always one of music's most impassioned political activists, Young first put out his Living With War album in reaction to the disastrous conflict in Iraq. He then reformed the band -- again -- to perform those songs, plus a few dating back to its anti-Vietnam period such as Ohio and Find the Cost of Freedom.
Young took along an "embedded" journalist, Mike Cerre, who has served as a correspondent in Afghanistan and Iraq, to smoke out the reaction of audience members and others to the music and its message in towns across America. So this is anything but a concert film like U2 3D, which screened at the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival.
There should be a considerable audience for this film on both the nostalgia and political fronts. Such is the band's popularity that the film will play to folks who do not agree with its political content, as evidenced by the young man who challenged Young at its premiere here, telling him that as far as Iraq is concerned, "You don't know what you're talking about."
That is a mild comment compared to what audience members, radio talk show hosts and music critics have to say in the movie. Young gives Cerre -- the two share writing credit -- the freedom to report on the tour, seeking out those who praise and condemn CSNY for its activism. The film generously quotes music critics who take dead aim at the sloppiness of early performances -- band members agree some shows were bad -- and others who take umbrage to an anti-war rally masquerading as a rock concert.
The most interesting reaction in the film comes in Atlanta, a progressive city in a conservative region. Everyone seems to enjoy the concert until the band strikes up Young's anthem "Let's Impeach the President." Boos cascade over the stage, followed by cheers that drown out the boos. The booers rush from the auditorium, where cameras catch their vehement anger.
By contrast, Iraq vets embrace band members at smaller concerts.
The film catches a country in conflict with itself. The right to disagree has been brought into dispute by this administration, which has broadly hinted that any disagreement with its war is synonymous with treason. That notion is strongly questioned in Cerre's talks with people in the street.
If you breathe deeply enough, you might catch a whiff of self-promotion. Young and his mates probably see this film as a means to establish their legacy of commitment to political ideals and anti-war movements. But the band has earned that right: No one intended to earn a dime on this tour or with this movie. And the tour happened just as the country turned against the war and the administration, as evidenced by the 2006 election during which Stills campaigned on behalf of several congressional candidates, the majority of whom won. Young clearly hopes to keep up the pressure with this movie.
The average age of the band's members is 62. They don't even bother to disguise that fact. These men look like your grandfather, right up until the downbeat. Then the magnificence of their playing sweeps away all concepts of age.
Rock on.
CSNY: DEJA VU
Shangri-La Entertainment presents a Shakey Picture production
Credits:
Director: Bernard Shakey
Writers: Neil Young, Mike Cerre
Producer: L.A. Johnson
Director of photography: Mike Elwell
Music: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Editor: Mark Faulkner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- I expect my last day at the 08' edition of the Sundance film festival to end in the wee hours of the morning as the fest organizers have announced the make up of the Premieres section and have chosen documentary (Csny DÉJÀ Vu) on gray-haired legends of folk music (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) as the fest's closing feature.As predicted by yours truly, Michel Gondry will show up once again in Park City this time with the geek comedy preem Be Kind Rewind, while a number of high profile pics such as The Great Buck Howard, What Just Happened? and Diminished Capacity will have buyers lining up the block - the upcoming actors' strike is a reality and this has many mid level indie distributors looking to add to their slate. Up for grabs we also find films littered with talent: Irish import The Escapist, The Deal (a
- 11/29/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.