In Country
In Country interviews and follows the “soldiers” of Delta Company as they reenact the Vietnam War in the Oregon woods. Two of that conflict’s veterans (one of them Vietnamese) mentor the band of 30-somethings. Some are Iraq vets; some are army brats; one claims it’s “a way for me to live out that childhood love of playing war in the woods.” Underlying the maneuvers is the attitude that America could have won, if only…
A Tribute to Les Paul: Live from Universal Studios Hollywood
Les Paul’s signature guitar helped electrify rock music, his innovative multi-tracking made modern recording technology possible and he invented many of the effects prized by rock guitarists. In his later years he was idolized by those players, as seen in this 2006 tribute concert featuring performances by Slash, Joe Perry, Joe Satriani and more. The DVD also includes interviews with many of those famous fans and memories from Paul himself, recorded at New York’s Iridium Club.
The Suspicious Death of a Minor
Psychotic knife-wielding violence, full-frontal nudity and Keystone cops slapstick, especially during the car chases—it’s all wrapped together in this 1975 Italian crime movie. Writer-director Sergio Martino injects enough comic relief to lighten his dark reflection of Italy careening out of control into terrorism and crime, a place where corruption permeated every level of society. The story’s hero is a cop, a bespectacled Dirty Harry who breaks every rule in a country lunging toward chaos.
Sign Painters
Midwest indie craft advocate Faythe Levine co-directs this documentary about yet another pushback against the dull algorithmic culture of nowadays. Hand-lettered signs were once ubiquitous and are making a cautious comeback as young artists, drawn to the possibility of self-expression within commercial design, are taking up paints and brushes and brightening signboards and the sides of buildings with letters and images. Sign Painters visits many workshops and interviews painters male and female, old and young.
