Category Archives: Film

Why We Celebrate Earth Day

Like me, you probably carry plastic water bottles around wherever you go.  They’re cheap, easy to use and too easy to discard.  They’re also dangerous.  Aside from the toxins that have been targeted in their manufacture, their disposal is choking our planet. According … Continue reading

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Finding Vivian Maier and 20 Feet from Stardom

Coincidentally, two of the best documentaries I’ve seen lately focus on women who spent a good part, if not all, of their creative lives hiding in plain sight. Director Morgan Neville’s 20 Feet from Stardom capped a year of accolades with a … Continue reading

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Women on the Verge of an Oscar

“All I ever wanted was to find my son Anthony. I was never able to tell him that I loved him.” –Philomena Lee 2013 was a fascinating year for women in the movies.  I’m especially encouraged by the unusually rich slate … Continue reading

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Pete Seeger: The Power of Song To Be Rebroadcast on PBS

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s oft-quoted, “there are no second acts in American lives,” has clearly become a cliché in this age of uber-reinvention; and there is no better example of the latter than Pete Seeger, who defied that cliché well into his ninth “act.” Pete Seeger (1919 … Continue reading

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Salinger Director’s Cut to Premiere Exclusively on PBS

“This is my definitive version of the film.”–Shane Salerno, Director/Producer, SALINGER The Catcher in the Rye was published by Little, Brown in 1951 to great fanfare.  Its author, J. D. Salinger, and his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, became overnight cult figures.  Apparently, this was a mixed blessing for … Continue reading

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Nebraska

If you have aging parents, you’ll probably find yourself in familiar territory in Paramount Vantage’s Nebraska. An Oscar contender for Best Actor (Bruce Dern), Supporting Actress (June Squibb), Director (Alexander Payne), Original Screenplay (Bob Nelson),  Cinematography (Phedon Papamichael) and Best Picture, Nebraska is by … Continue reading

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Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did for Love to Debut on PBS

I confess with no embarrassment that I once had a crush on Marvin Hamlisch.  The prolific Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, Tony and Pulitzer Award-winning composer/conductor/performer may not have had the boyish good looks of Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but his … Continue reading

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American Experience Profiles JFK Tonight and Tomorrow Night on PBS

It’s hard to believe that 50 years have passed since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963.  As a kid, in 1960, I vividly remember standing anxiously with my family and friends in front of our neighborhood White Castle hamburger joint … Continue reading

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Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of War of the Worlds Tonight on PBS

It’s almost “Mischief Night” and, back in the day, if you ever enjoyed plotting a few sly schemes with a bar of soap, a roll of toilet paper and random doorbell ringing as a kid, you know what that means.  Good clean fun! … Continue reading

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56 UP Debuts on PBS

“When I film 84 UP, I’ll be 99!”—director Michael Apted. For half-a-century, ex-pat British director Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist, The World Is Not Enough, The Chronicles of Narnia) has been passionately involved with the ground-breaking Granada TV project … Continue reading

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