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juniormike
Reviews
Where's the Beer and When Do We Get Paid? (2013)
From Texas to Bavaria - The last years of Zappa's Drummer
Those are the Indie movies / documentaries we really want to see. A friend of the film makers recognized Jimmy Carl Black at a diner in my hometown Stuttgart / Germany and was amazed to learn that Jimmy in fact was living in a village in Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Köhler & Baier then followed Black with their camera around for years and the result is a very authentic, touching but not sentimental (due to Black's Texan heritage I suppose) portrait of a Rock Legend living not so much a Rock Legend Life. Having no money, Black had to tour (little clubs) with his MUFFINMEN until he was to ill to do it any longer, being almost 70. To see the El Paso / Texas born IINDIAN OF THE GROUP living in deep-down Bavaria is somewhat obscure is fascinating at the same time. Köhler & Baier intercut Black's scenes with impressions from the locals, Bavarian 'Volksmusik' musicians, worlds apart from Zappa & his Mothers of Invention. Enough said, a fascinating film not to be missed by anybody who is interested in good documentaries, Rock Music and the question: What becomes of these guys if they don't get the big royalties??
On the Trail of Easy Rider: 40 Years On... Still Searching for America (2011)
Very well-made doc about EASY RIDER & the 60's
Just saw the first part of the 4x 50 min. long documentary and was very pleased with it! I'm into EASY RIDER for 35 years now (I was just a baby when the film was made) and therefore had some high expectations. Shaking' THE CAGE was quite good but I might prefer ON THE TRAIL.. because it gives the right feeling to the subject. Well written & directed, very good photography & music (!) it also benefits a great deal from the presence of Jim Leonard (& Mike Kitrell). Jim has this huge archive on EASY RIDER and together they travel the route & locations with their 1:1 EASY bikes. Fantastic! Regarding 'making of' facts, there's not much new (most of it was covered in interviews, Peter's excellent DON'T TELL DAD and other coverage over the years) but it's well presented and finally Ben Hardy & Cliff Vaughns are acknowledged (Black Power built the EASY bikes). I'll be back with more when the next part will be screened in a week or so :)) Those who are really EASY RIDER fans might enjoy my special on it in Cinema Retro magazine (although that issue is hard to find now). There I tried to 'restore' the longer EASY RIDER version that never made it (due to length) to the big screen.
The Last Movie (1971)
The American Dreamer is an American Artist
'Watched the film tonight again. After 20 years. EASY RIDER being among my three all-time favorites, I knew there would come the time, when I appreciate THE LAST MOVIE for what it really is - AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE, one of the most interesting films of the 70's and an important work of film art. Seems that time was tonight... :)
I loved it, at the same time it hurt. The film finally should be widely available, a dedicated SE DVD as for Fonda's HIRED HAND (that too is much much better than people thought years or decades ago... great film).
Hopper first went out to become the greatest actor in the world. He maybe could have been, but his character made it impossible for him to act after great early successes. He became a photographer. Could have been one of the greatest photo artists ever. He basically stopped because he became a film maker. He could have been right next to the most famous & successful directors in America. The faith of THE LAST MOVIE stopped him from that. YET, in all of these (and more) professions he became a top-player, an Icon, a forerunner and a master. An inspired creative human being, an enrichment to my life.