When We Went MAD! offers a fun look back at the creation and rise of MAD Magazine, its struggles over the years, the contentious relationship between MAD‘s first editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, the creation of Alfred E. Neuman, the band of idiots who came and went over the years helping the magazine find and develop its satiric voice, and its eventually decline and end of the magazine publishing new content.
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A Savage Art: The Life & Cartoons of Pat Oliphant examines the life and career of political cartoonist Pat Oliphant, an Australian artist by birth known primarily for his critiques of American presidents and world events which were published by a wide variety of newspapers over the years including The Denver Post, The Washington Star, and The New York Times.
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For the subject of his documentary, director Andres Veiel turns his camera on the complicated figure of German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl who rose to prominence during the rise of Germany’s Third Reich. Regarded as an innovator in the art of filmmaking, Riefenstahl’s friendships with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, along with her work in help create and style Nazi propaganda films, creates a controversial legacy to parse.
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Making use of George Orwell‘s personal journals, narrated by Damian Lewis, alongside news footage and clips from various films (including those adapted from Orwell’s work), director Raoul Peck examines the thoughts and feelings of Orwell on the subject of totalitarianism and authoritarianism during the period on which he wrote his final novel 1984. The documentary takes time to examine the author’s life, including his time as a member of the Indian Imperial Police in Burma which helped form his opinions and social criticism in its non-linear structure of examining the author’s legacy and his foresight into the modern world.
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Colin Hanks‘ documentary examines the life of John Candy through friends and family while featuring a number of clips from TV and movie performances, interviews (both archival and new), and home videos of Candy with his family. The film works as a celebration of Candy’s life and work, rather than a more critical delve into the man, while also examining into demons he struggled with before dying of a heart attack at the age of 43.
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John Candy: I Like Me Read More »
