In the only episode of this series filmed in color (but probably broadcast only in black-and-white), legendary crooner Bing Crosby is guest star. Crosby joins Sinatra in performing many classic Christmas songs, among them Sinatra’s version of “Mistetoe and Holly” and Crosby’s famed “White Christmas”. Some of the songs are performed on a set with a backdrop of Victorian England; other songs were performed on a set that resembled a hip late-1950’s bachelor apartment.
Category: Music
Japan, 1986. At the tail end of the world tour promoting their latest album Revenge, Eurythmics tops the charts. Between concerts, pop duo Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart survey Japan’s cultural soundscape with the help of Conny Plank: A world of sounds both brutally technological and highly refined by tradition.
Nico was born in 1938 as Christa Päffgen. She was tall, blonde and slim, with a deep voice and big, strange eyes. ‘The siren of the sixties’ The Times called her at her death. It seemed that everyone who met her was enchanted by this gorgeous but bizarre woman. She associated with celebrities like Lou Reed, Jim Morrison, Jackson Browne and Andy Warhol. She played in films by Fellini and Philippe Garrel and she made records with The Velvet Underground. Filmmaker Susanne Ofteringer spoke with a lot of people who knew Nico, including her son, a boy who has the same curious eyes as his mother. The structure of the film resembles a collage of archive footage, music, photos and interviews, which gradually reveals the image of an intangible but fascinating personality.
Documentary on history and culture of the gypsy communities worldwide. Part One takes us on a search for the lost gypsy tribes of Egypt, up the Nile to the ancient town of Luxor in the shadow of the great Pharaoh’s tombs. Along the way, we meet dancing girls and acrobats, magicians, fortune-tellers and even mystics performing an exorcism. Part Two is a penetrating, provocative tour of a fabled people’s existence. It reveals the prejudice they still face daily and which they combat with the lyrics and music they have carried and adapted on their long migrations.
This television essay from 1985 was written by Leonard Bernstein to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth. Recorded in Israel, Vienna and later in London, it is punctuated by biographical interludes and illustrated by musical examples drawn from the cycle of Mahler’s works recorded by Bernstein. Bernstein talks, plays and conducts various orchestras (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker) and soloists (Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Edith Mathis, Lucia Popp, Walton Groenroos) in performances spanning 17 years.
DIFFERENT DRUMMER is a short documentary directed by Edward Gray about Jazz great Elvin Jones. In it he talks about his early days with John Coltrane (with whom he’s seen performing in a ’60s film clip) and pianist Bud Powell. He also performs drum solos and an original piece, “Three Card Molly,” with Ryo Kawasaki (guitar), Pat LaBarbera (sax) and David Williams (bass).
A look at the lives of several struggling L.A. musicians. Gwen, a singer-songwriter, is on a quest for the big-time. Working as an assistant to a film production designer, Gwen tries to steal her boss’ boyfriend, a veteran rock producer. The producer, meanwhile, is trying to orchestrate a comeback for an ’80s band.
Beatles’ “significance” pushed to the breaking point in this bizarre documentary that juxtaposes their songs (sung by a number of rock stars) with World War II newsreel footage. Helen Reddy sings “Fool On The Hill” while Hitler relaxes at Bertchtesgaden, and Rod Stewart husks “Get Back” while Nazi troops goose step.