film Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Evanston Public Library

View Ken Burns’ New Film Online

October 2, 2009

ken_burns_national_parks

Ken Burns, filmmaker and master documentarian of all things American (The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, Brooklyn Bridge, The Congress, The Statue of Liberty) has a brand new film debuting on PBS this fall. This time out, Burns has set his sights on America’s National Park Service in his film entitled The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The film is airing currently, but if you don’t have a TV, missed an episode, or just want to watch it at your leisure, you can view the entire film online at the PBS website. In addition to watching each episode in its entirety, you can also view a whole host of deleted scenes and other extras that didn’t make their way into the finished film. But act fast, as the film will only be available online until October 9th.

Attempting to Tread Lightly

July 24, 2009

burtynsky2 About two weeks ago, I watched the documentary, Manufactured Landscapes. It follows Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky around the globe and examines his beautiful photographs of the seldom seen consequences of globalization (read a full review here). At first while watching the movie I found the images of gigantic factories and mountains of industrial waste to be completely spellbinding and otherworldly. Because I was watching a movie (a medium in which we’re used to seeing completely unreal images projected before us for our amazement), I was just sort of mesmerized by these incredible, impossible seeming images as though they were merely pictures conjured up in a Hollywood studio using the latest computer generated digital imaging techniques. But slowly it began to dawn on me that these unreal images were actually completely real. And the fact that they seemed otherworldly to me was because those scenes do exist in a completely different world than the one we, as Westerners inhabit on a daily basis. But what affected me most about these images was the realization that we, that I, am in part to blame for this horrific treatment of the earth and our fellow human beings.

burtynsky6 I haven’t been able to shake off these thoughts since watching the movie. I’ve been obsessively checking the tags on all my clothing and turning everything I own upside down, looking to see where things were made. Without fail, everything was manufactured overseas: China, India, Vietnam, etc. With each new tag I read, my heart sank a little more as I wondered under what conditions these goods had been produced.

burtynsky5 This week I went shopping for a new pair of sneakers with all of these thoughts in mind. In store after store, and website upon website, I kept running up against shoes made overseas, usually in China. Even searches for small, supposedly ethically produced shoes led to manufacturing plants in China. I conducted what I consider to be a fair amount of research before buying a product, and nowhere was I able to find a sneaker whose origins I didn’t have at least some misgivings about. I finally settled on a shoe (made in China), which claims to be made from 100% recycled and sustainable materials (old car tires, plastic bottles, bamboo, hemp, etc.) and whose website alleged that all their products were manufactured according to legal (if not ethical) guidelines. I made the purchase, because I wasn’t sure what better alternatives existed, even though I questioned the trustworthiness of this (multimillion dollar) company’s claims. The sad fact of the matter was that they were the best ethical option I could find, but with each step in my new shoes I wonder: is this the best we can do?

Watch the trailer for Manufactured Landscapes below. It is a difficult film to watch, because it poses difficult questions. But ultimately, these are questions we all need to be asking in a conversation which must be had.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv23xwe0BoU]

Read the Book, See the Movie, Watch the Oscars!

February 6, 2009

oscar It’s Oscar time again. The 81st Annual Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on February 22, 2009. As usual, Hollywood once again went to the bookshelves this year for source material. Many of this year’s nominated films are adapted from books and stage plays, including four of the five films nominated for Best Picture. So as you head off to the theater, cast your ballots, and plan your Oscar parties, why not check out some of the books that started it all? Among the nominees are:

imp_curious_case_of_benjamin_button The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1921. It can be found in Fitzgerald’s short story collection. The film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

imp_doubt Doubt was a 2004 off-Broadway play by John Patrick Shanley. The film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, two Best Supporting Actress nominations, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Frost/Nixon was also a play, written in 2006 by the British dramatist and screenwriter Peter Morgan. The Film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

The Reader was a 1995 novel written in German by the writer Bernhard Schlink. It has since been translated into 39 languages, and was a bestseller in Germany and the United States. The film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

Revolutionary Road was the first novel by Richard Yates. It was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1962. The film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Supporting Actor.

Vikas Swarup is a diplomat and an author. His first novel, 2005’s Q and A was the basis for the film Slumdog Millioniaire. In addition to the film, the book has also been turned into a radio play and a stage adaptation, and has been translated into 36 languages. The film’s Oscar nominations include: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.