Nutcracker: The Motion Picture
Conceived by Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) and choreographer Kent Stowell, this 1986 Nutcracker adaptation is presented as the memory of a long-ago Christmas Eve. The cinematic-dance hybrid aspect doesn’t especially work—except for providing close-ups and angles impossible from even the best seats in a live performance. But what’s important is all here: great dancing by the Pacific Northwest Ballet (amidst splendid sets) and the sweeping grandeur of Tchaikovsky’s enduring score.
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Frank Zappa - Summer ’82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Frank Zappa’s 1982 concert in Palermo was especially meaningful for him. Sicily was his ancestral homeland and he brought most of his family along. It was also special for Palermo-born filmmaker Salvo Cuccia, who directed this interview-concert documentary. Prominently featured are children Moon and Dweezil Zappa along with Frank’s Italian buddy-biographer, Massimo Bassoli. Summer ’82 includes much Super8 footage from various times of Zappa recording in his basement studio and at home with his family.
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Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
Italian director Pappi Corsicato envelopes the life of Julian Schnabel with intimations of poetry. Collecting the painter’s own recollections as well as memories of relatives and friends, A Private Portrait depicts Schnabel as drawn to drawing in childhood, with his oversized gestures resulting from pushing beyond the cramped circumstances of his middle-class upbringing. Schnabel emerged from New York’s ’80s scene—punk rock and Andy Warhol in the background—and conquered the global art market.
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Richard Thompson - Live at Rockpalast
In 1983 Richard Thompson reached another peak in his long journey, seemingly inspired by the acrimonious divorce with his wife-musical collaborator Susan Thompson. That year concerts in Hamburg and Cannes were taped for broadcast; they are included in this DVD-CD set. Thompson was in good form on new and old material, maintaining a driving rock or blues rhythm before suddenly rising into searing solos—his fingers all over the fretboard while adhering to the melodies.
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