Eugene Jarecki didn’t set out to make Elvis Presley documentary “The King” a road-trip film, but as soon as production ramped up, he and his team realized it would be almost impossible not to. “In my mind there was always [such a] trip in the abstract,” says the director, known for poignant docs on the American condition like “Freakanomics,” “The House I Live In” and “Why We Fight.” “The King,” which premiered at Sundance and made its international debut in Cannes, will be released commercially courtesy of Oscilloscope on June 22, almost 41 years after the singer’s death.
What wound up on-screen was a movie that was not only about the rise and fall of Elvis but also a metaphor for the rise and fall of the American dream — a story that retraced the trajectory of Presley’s life, traveling through inner cities and the heartland, from Tupelo, Miss., to Memphis to Las Vegas to Beverly Hills.
What wound up on-screen was a movie that was not only about the rise and fall of Elvis but also a metaphor for the rise and fall of the American dream — a story that retraced the trajectory of Presley’s life, traveling through inner cities and the heartland, from Tupelo, Miss., to Memphis to Las Vegas to Beverly Hills.
- 6/7/2018
- by Valentina I. Valentini
- Variety Film + TV
The King, Eugene Jarecki’s newest documentary feature, first premiered one year ago, finding critical success at the Cannes Film Festival under the title Promised Land. Eight months later, a new cut screened as an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. Finally, later this summer, The King will get a theatrical release, courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.
The documentary recounts the famed life and career of “the king of rock” Elvis Presley as director Eugene Jarecki takes Presley’s 1963 Rolls Royce on a cross-country musical road trip across the United States. Throughout the film – which is just as much about Elvis than it is about America – fascinating and dismaying comparisons are drawn between Presley’s career and the deteriorating attitudes of American culture; exploring how we got to where we are as a country today.
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “A title like Promised Land can be appreciated...
The documentary recounts the famed life and career of “the king of rock” Elvis Presley as director Eugene Jarecki takes Presley’s 1963 Rolls Royce on a cross-country musical road trip across the United States. Throughout the film – which is just as much about Elvis than it is about America – fascinating and dismaying comparisons are drawn between Presley’s career and the deteriorating attitudes of American culture; exploring how we got to where we are as a country today.
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “A title like Promised Land can be appreciated...
- 5/22/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The Atlanta Underground Film Festival wrapped up its 7th successful year back on Aug. 29 and has given out awards to 13 feature films and 14 shorts.
Several of the winners are films that have been featured here on Bad Lit, either with a review or having been embedded on the site for your viewing pleasure. First, repeat Auff winner Chris Hansen won the Best Director award for his second feature film Endings, a film that finds three disparate strangers spending their last day on Earth together.
Loretta Hintz‘s outrageous lesbian farm fantasy The Sheep and the Ranch Hand took home the 2010 Auff The Wall award. Also, the recently embedded The Shave by Sean Christensen, a haunting memoir, won the Best Experimental Short award. And, lastly, I was very happy to see that animator Victoria Cook, whom I’ve written about in the past, took home the Best Short Short award for her Devil Town.
Several of the winners are films that have been featured here on Bad Lit, either with a review or having been embedded on the site for your viewing pleasure. First, repeat Auff winner Chris Hansen won the Best Director award for his second feature film Endings, a film that finds three disparate strangers spending their last day on Earth together.
Loretta Hintz‘s outrageous lesbian farm fantasy The Sheep and the Ranch Hand took home the 2010 Auff The Wall award. Also, the recently embedded The Shave by Sean Christensen, a haunting memoir, won the Best Experimental Short award. And, lastly, I was very happy to see that animator Victoria Cook, whom I’ve written about in the past, took home the Best Short Short award for her Devil Town.
- 9/18/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 7th annual Atlanta Underground Film Festival is like having four different fests crammed into an exhaustive three days on Aug. 27-29. It’s an outrageous underground fest, an animation festival, a documentary fest and a horror movie festival: The culmination of a month of fests run by Atlanta’s Festival League. There’s tons of short films, documentaries, features and more.
There’s lots of great stuff to recommend, too. On the last night of the fest, there will be a screening of Chris Hansen‘s second feature film, Endings, which tells the touching story of three people spending their last day on Earth together. The film was reviewed on Bad Lit a few months ago. On the short film front, there’s Loretta Hintz‘s wild lesbian bestiality (sort of) tale, The Sheep and the Ranch Hand and two films by the perpetually awesome Neil Ira Needleman, Meeskit...
There’s lots of great stuff to recommend, too. On the last night of the fest, there will be a screening of Chris Hansen‘s second feature film, Endings, which tells the touching story of three people spending their last day on Earth together. The film was reviewed on Bad Lit a few months ago. On the short film front, there’s Loretta Hintz‘s wild lesbian bestiality (sort of) tale, The Sheep and the Ranch Hand and two films by the perpetually awesome Neil Ira Needleman, Meeskit...
- 8/18/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Rating: 7/10
Director: Étienne Sauret
We all know the sayings: “Just say no.” “Drugs are bad, mmkay?” and everything else that D.A.R.E/our parents/infomercials have tried to instill on us since we were little kids. Whether or not you abide by these sayings is another thing, but it’s a truth universally acknowledged that drugs and drug use are pretty much frowned upon. Dirty Pictures, a documentary from Étienne Sauret (Collateral Damages) relates the story Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, the man credited for discovering the effects of a little drug we all know as Ecstasy.
Read more on SXSW 2010 Review: Dirty Pictures…...
Director: Étienne Sauret
We all know the sayings: “Just say no.” “Drugs are bad, mmkay?” and everything else that D.A.R.E/our parents/infomercials have tried to instill on us since we were little kids. Whether or not you abide by these sayings is another thing, but it’s a truth universally acknowledged that drugs and drug use are pretty much frowned upon. Dirty Pictures, a documentary from Étienne Sauret (Collateral Damages) relates the story Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, the man credited for discovering the effects of a little drug we all know as Ecstasy.
Read more on SXSW 2010 Review: Dirty Pictures…...
- 3/22/2010
- by Lauren Lester
- GordonandtheWhale
The film is never preachy, and whatever your stance on America’s “War on Drugs,” this film is an astounding and essential peak at some of its main players. Dirty Pictures Etienne Sauret Etienne Sauret’s new documentary, largely focused on the life of underground hero Sasha Shulgin and his wife, Ann, is an engrossing film and is the best documentary [...]...
- 3/17/2010
- by Emmet Duff
- SoundOnSight
Festival darling and documentary filmmaker Etienne Sauret came to discover the subject of his latest documentary through complete happenstance. While filming one of the rogue chemists who discovered the effects of ecstasy, Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, at a press conference, Sauret became fascinated with Shulgin, the man. "Dirty Pictures" is a documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics,' and a reputation ...
- 3/5/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Festival darling and documentary filmmaker Etienne Sauret came to discover the subject of his latest documentary through complete happenstance. While filming one of the rogue chemists who discovered the effects of ecstasy, Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, at a press conference, Sauret became fascinated with Shulgin, the man. "Dirty Pictures" is a documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics,' and a reputation ...
- 3/5/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Festival darling and documentary filmmaker Etienne Sauret came to discover the subject of his latest documentary through complete happenstance. While filming one of the rogue chemists who discovered the effects of ecstasy, Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, at a press conference, Sauret became fascinated with Shulgin, the man. "Dirty Pictures" is a documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics,' and a reputation ...
- 3/5/2010
- Indiewire
This is the first year I'll be attending SXSW and I'm already dreading it. Not because I think it's going to be a bad time by any means. I'm dreading it because every time I think I have wrangled some kind of coherent, reasonable and feasible movie watching schedule out of their behemoth-sized lineup, another film pops up on my radar that throws the whole process off axis once more. The most recent culprit? Dirty Pictures, a documentary about the life of Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, the experimental chemist who discovered the drug we all now know as Ecstasy.
Even if you're not going to be attending SXSW, I'd recommend watching the trailer for Etienne Sauret's film below, as it looks to be a bittersweet examination of one man's life and work; a man who is an underground hero to an entire culture of people (some call him "The...
Even if you're not going to be attending SXSW, I'd recommend watching the trailer for Etienne Sauret's film below, as it looks to be a bittersweet examination of one man's life and work; a man who is an underground hero to an entire culture of people (some call him "The...
- 3/5/2010
- by Peter Hall
- Cinematical
Festival darling and documentary filmmaker Etienne Sauret came to discover the subject of his latest documentary through complete happenstance. While filming one of the rogue chemists who discovered the effects of ecstasy, Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, at a press conference, Sauret became fascinated with Shulgin, the man. "Dirty Pictures" is a documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics,' and a reputation ...
- 3/2/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Festival darling and documentary filmmaker Etienne Sauret came to discover the subject of his latest documentary through complete happenstance. While filming Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin - one of the rogue chemists who discovered the effects of Ecstasy at a routine press conference, Sauret became fascinated with Shulgin, the man. "Dirty Pictures" is a documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics,' and ...
- 3/2/2010
- indieWIRE - People
The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its 2010 feature line-up Wednesday night, and I couldn’t be more excited. The nine day event starts March 12, 2010 here in Austin, Texas, and I’ll be covering as much as I can from start to finish. Though, if it’s anything like last year, I’ll be asleep on my feet by the end of it.
The 2010 list includes 119 films (55 world premieres), but here are a few notables: The previously announced Kick-Ass will start the festivities. Elektra Luxx, the sequel to the underseen comedy Women in Trouble, starring Carla Gugino, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and too many more to name. Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass in which Edward Norton plays identical twins. A documentary titled People vs. George Lucas that I will be seeing. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs. Plus the “SNL” spin-off movie MacGruber in its world premiere, possibly before the MacGyver creator shuts it down.
The 2010 list includes 119 films (55 world premieres), but here are a few notables: The previously announced Kick-Ass will start the festivities. Elektra Luxx, the sequel to the underseen comedy Women in Trouble, starring Carla Gugino, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and too many more to name. Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass in which Edward Norton plays identical twins. A documentary titled People vs. George Lucas that I will be seeing. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs. Plus the “SNL” spin-off movie MacGruber in its world premiere, possibly before the MacGyver creator shuts it down.
- 2/4/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Less than a week worth of recovering from the Sundance Film Festival, and we are already looking forward to our next, big film fest coverage. That would be the South by Southwest Film Festival held annually in Austin, Texas. Last year, Scott and I brought you all kinds of coverage from the Lone Star State, and this year doesn’t look to be much different.
With that, the announcement came last night of the feature films that will be playing at the SXSW Film Festival. Previous announcement were already made about films like Cold Weather, Electra Luxx, Hubble 3D, Lemmy, Saturday Night, and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights making their debut. Kick-ass was recently announced as the opening night film, as well.
Among the other films being presented this year are some Sundance darlings, a few, highly anticipated premieres, and MacGruber.
Check out the full list...
With that, the announcement came last night of the feature films that will be playing at the SXSW Film Festival. Previous announcement were already made about films like Cold Weather, Electra Luxx, Hubble 3D, Lemmy, Saturday Night, and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights making their debut. Kick-ass was recently announced as the opening night film, as well.
Among the other films being presented this year are some Sundance darlings, a few, highly anticipated premieres, and MacGruber.
Check out the full list...
- 2/4/2010
- by Kirk
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Late yesterday the SXSW Fim Festival, which runs from March 12-20 in Austin, TX, announced the full lineup of films that will be screening at this year’s event. And baby, it’s quite a list. Mixing big name films with intimate indie gems, the sheer number of films and the vast array of talented filmmakers is sure to be a hit with attendees and critics alike.
This lineup includes premieres of studio films such as Universal’s MacGruber, Lionsgate’s teen superhero actioneer Kick-Ass and smaller films like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart and Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine. With so many films to watch, it will be very difficult to find time to seem them all during the events nine days. But hell, we’re going to try.
For more on...
This lineup includes premieres of studio films such as Universal’s MacGruber, Lionsgate’s teen superhero actioneer Kick-Ass and smaller films like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart and Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine. With so many films to watch, it will be very difficult to find time to seem them all during the events nine days. But hell, we’re going to try.
For more on...
- 2/4/2010
- by Chris Ullrich
- The Flickcast
The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival unveiled its feature film program Wednesday night, highlighted by the world premieres of action spoof "MacGruber" and "Mr. Nice," a real-life tale of an infamous British drug smuggler starring Rhys Ifans.
Features from the Duplass brothers ("Cyrus"), Steven Soderbergh ("And Everything Is Going Fine"), Michel Gondry ("The Thorn in the Heart") and Tim Blake Nelson ("Leaves of Grass") also have spots on the program.
The March 12-20 festival will showcase 119 features and 55 world premieres, including pervasively announced opening-night film "Kick-Ass." Selections were chosen from 1,572 submissions (1,206 U.S., 366 international).
"We want discovery," said conference and fest producer Janet Pierson, now in her second year. "We want a real range of films across the board."
Eight narrative and eight documentary features comprise the main competition categories.
The narrative selections are "Brotherhood," directed by Will Canon; "Dance With the One" (Mike Dolan); "Earthling" (Clay Liford...
Features from the Duplass brothers ("Cyrus"), Steven Soderbergh ("And Everything Is Going Fine"), Michel Gondry ("The Thorn in the Heart") and Tim Blake Nelson ("Leaves of Grass") also have spots on the program.
The March 12-20 festival will showcase 119 features and 55 world premieres, including pervasively announced opening-night film "Kick-Ass." Selections were chosen from 1,572 submissions (1,206 U.S., 366 international).
"We want discovery," said conference and fest producer Janet Pierson, now in her second year. "We want a real range of films across the board."
Eight narrative and eight documentary features comprise the main competition categories.
The narrative selections are "Brotherhood," directed by Will Canon; "Dance With the One" (Mike Dolan); "Earthling" (Clay Liford...
- 2/4/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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