A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 176

Moguls And Movie Stars - 2010 - 7/10

Hardly Hollywood: A Celebration Of Silent Film, yet this is a fine overview of the pioneering years.
Detailing the slow invention of film from kinetiscope to nickelodeons to theaters to studios.
Stars and name directors are highlit, but the focus is on the bosses: Goldwyn, Warner, Mayer, Laemmle, etc …
Seven episodes = seven hours. Concludes with a crash in the 1970’s.
By that time the “star system” was shattered, theater chain control long over, and maverick directors were loose.
Excellent for buffs and historians, but this only goes to the 70’s, so know your appetite for older fare.

All This I Will Give To You - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Tout cela je te le donnerai

Aymeric is brother number two to die under mysterious circumstances.
Which means the final survivor, Joffrey, inherits the estate and vineyard.
Not so fast! Aymeric’s will leaves everything to his husband, Manuel.
Manuel doesn’t necessarily want the estate, let alone deal with the nest of vipers that inhabit the manor.
Nonetheless, he does suspect the death was suspicious.
A retired gendarme, who hates the entitled family, launches a stealth investigation.
From here, the mystery twists and coils, with seedy revelations.

The Concert For Bangla Desh - 1972 - 7/10

Monumental benefit concert with an impressive array of talent.
George, Ringo, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Bobby Dylan, Billy Preston, Badfinger …
The sound mix and camera work are excellent for a live concert.
Mind you, the TV series In Concert had been airing for a year.
Who was missing? Stephen Stills, who was royally irritated, as well as Lennon.
The DVD has both afternoon and evening shows, and there are differences.
High watermark for many involved.

Night Shift - 2017 - 6/10

Security guard patrols the sprawling building. Offices, corridors, conference rooms, parking lots.
Same ole routine, until one locked door will not open. Pained noises within.
Complex is vast, vigilance is tiring, and, being alone, the guard has no backup.
Tightly wound thriller, quite well done with bare bones crew.
Excellent quasi-Rachmaninoff music heightens mood.

World At War - 1973 - 8/10

Good companion to The Great War which covered WWI.
Massive amounts of newsreel and combat footage. Talking heads include veterans and historians.
Chronological, with numerous detours into specific campaigns or nations.
Burma, for example, is not always included in docs. Nor is Holland. Both are here.
Focus more on common soldiers or airmen or seamen, rather than brass, save for generals who were actually field generals, out there.
Deaths from the war = 55,000,000.
One quote stayed with me, “There are a great many soldiers who take great pleasure in destroying people, wasting things. This aspect of human nature is not discussed enough, but it is surely one of the causes of warfare.”
I don’t see us evolving much.