documentary
Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution, BBC Two review - words stronger than pictures 100 years onWednesday, 11 October 2017
It’s getting to that time of the century. A hundred years ago to the month, if not quite the day, the Winter Palace was stormed, and the Russian Revolution came to pass. To commemorate the communists’ accession, Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution... Read more... |
Nile Rodgers: How to Make It in the Music Business, BBC Four review - good times had by allSunday, 08 October 2017
One New Year’s Eve in the 1970s, hot young session musicians Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were assured by Grace Jones that they could penetrate the inner sanctum of Studio 54 by dropping her name at the door. A doorman thought otherwise and... Read more... |
On the Road review - engrossing music documentary with a sly B-sideFriday, 06 October 2017
Michael Winterbottom has always been a mercurial director, moving swiftly between genres, fiction and documentary, keeping us on our toes. But with On the Road it’s time to mark the tiniest of trends.24 Hour Party People is one of the best films... Read more... |
The Reagan Show review - engaging but frustratingMonday, 02 October 2017
The Reagan administration produced as much video content as the previous five administrations combined. That’s the claim early on in The Reagan Show, an engaging but ultimately frustrating documentary compiled entirely from archive footage by co-... Read more... |
Billion Dollar Deals That Changed Your World, BBC Two review - Big Pharma gets a diagnosis: it’s sickThursday, 28 September 2017
“What if the way people understand the world is wrong? What if it isn’t politicians that shape the way people live their day-to-day lives, but secret business deals?” This is the question at the heart – and at the start – of Jacques Peretti’s... Read more... |
h.Club 100 Awards: Broadcast - calling out around the worldWednesday, 27 September 2017
As Sky’s Head of Drama Anne Mensah puts it, her ambition is to “stay local but look global”. This might serve as a motto for television in its entirety, as technology swallows the planet and TV is increasingly shaped by coalitions of international... Read more... |
Oslo, National Theatre review - informative, gripping and movingTuesday, 19 September 2017
Documentary theatre has a poor reputation. It’s boring in form, boring to look at (all those middle-aged men in suits), and usually only tells you what you already know. It’s journalism without the immediacy of the news. But there are other ways of... Read more... |
Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum, BBC Four review - moving picturesMonday, 18 September 2017
Magnum was founded just after the war in 1947 as a co-operative that ensured both the quality of its members, and their clout in dealing with the media world. Its longevity is testimony to its success. The original founders were war-hardened photo... Read more... |
DVD: Every Picture Tells a StoryFriday, 08 September 2017
James Scott’s filmography is wide-ranging, including the 1982 short film A Shocking Accident, based on the Graham Greene story, which won an Academy Award the following year, and other works on social questions. But these documentaries, several... Read more... |
Educating Greater Manchester, Channel 4 review - a study of hope, humanity and heartFriday, 01 September 2017
Cast your minds back, if you will, to 2011. Remember Jamie Oliver’s Celebrity Fight School? I think that was the title… in any case, it was an astonishing vanity project which seemed to suggest that the reason so many kids were being failed by... Read more... |
Wasting Away, Channel 4 review - we can't fix people while the NHS is brokenFriday, 25 August 2017
Journalist Mark Austin is no stranger to conflict, having reported from war-torn landscapes including Rwanda, Iraq and even the ITN newsdesk. However, when the battle lines were drawn closer to home and involved an enemy he couldn’t see, the veteran... Read more... |
Omar Robert Hamilton: The City Always Wins review - Egypt's revolution, up close and personalSunday, 20 August 2017
A few days ago we learned that British taxpayers have unwittingly donated around £1m. in aid to the police and court systems of Egypt’s military dictatorship, via an opaque “Conflict, Stability and Security Fund”. That news only sharpens the topical... Read more... |
