Docs, 11/19.

The Academy's released a short list of 15 contenders for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar; Steve Rhodes and Alison Willmore have taken that list and added links to each of the film's sites.

Titicut Follies, having been made in 1967, is, of course, not on that list. But it's "both a landmark piece of journalism and a landmark work of art," writes Jesse Walker in Reason. "It is also notable for two reasons that have nothing to do with its merits. It was the first picture to be directed by Frederick Wiseman, a former law professor who at age 37 was beginning a long series of rich and challenging films. And it is the only movie in US history to be banned for reasons other than obscenity or national security." And Walker talks with Wiseman about "free speech, complexity, and the trouble with Michael Moore." Via Bookforum.

"For those who are spending a lonely Thanksgiving in New York (I don't mean to presume that all of us film buffs are socially damaged; perhaps you are simply getting away from your extremely close-knit families for a few hours), think about seeing some of the Humphrey Jennings documentaries that Anthology Film Archives has programmed this Friday through Sunday," suggests Dan Sallitt.

Kevin Kelly recommends The Heart of the Game: "The great draw of this film is the marathon span of filming."

Posted by dwhudson at November 19, 2007 1:59 PM