2016 Blind Spot Series: A Brief History of Time

Based on the book by Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time is a film about the life of Stephen Hawking and his views on the universe. Directed by Errol Morris, the film is a documentary on the man with interviews with Hawkings as well as various family members and colleagues. All of which told in a very stylistic manner in a mixture of straightforward interviews, archival photos, and recreated dramatic images to support Hawking’s theories on time and space. The result is a compelling and riveting film about the life and mind of Stephen Hawking.

The film is a documentary on the life of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking as well as his views on the subject of cosmology as he reveals many theories on the universe and the idea about time. Told through interviews as well as archival footage and some dramatic creations based on Hawking’s theories, the film also explores many of the ideas about how the universe was created and the idea about whether or not there is a God. While the film moves back and forth into aspects about Hawking’s life told by his mother Isobel and sister Mary as well as various friend and colleagues. It also features footage of Hawking talking through a voice synthesizer about himself and views on the world as it relates to his increasing study on the universe.

Errol Morris’ direction is quite straightforward when it comes to the interviews as they’re shot largely in medium shots with a few stylish angles and close-ups as it relates to the way Morris presents Hawking. The scenes where Morris creates these visual tricks using diagrams and drawings based on Hawking’s theories do have some unique visual tricks as well as the way he presents simple objects to support his theories. With the aid of cinematographer John Bailey with additional work from Stefan Czapsky, the interviews and the dramatic recreations definitely have a unique look that is also aided by production designer Ted Bafaloukos and art director David Lee in creating sets for the interviews as well as a scene of a teacup falling into the floor.

With contributions from editor Brad Fuller along with sound editors Eliza Paley and Ira Spiegel, Morris‘ usage of stock footage as well as film footage from the sci-fi film The Black Hole is intriguing as it play into the mystique of the black hole with Paley and Spiegel providing a few sound effects in those dramatic recreation sequences. The film’s music by Philip Glass is amazing for its eerie yet soothing electronic score that play into that sense of drama but also with moments that are low-key as it play into the pieces that relates to Hawking’s family life.

The 2014 Region 1/Region A dual DVD/Blu-Ray release presents the film in a newly remastered 4k digital transfer supervised by Errol Morris and cinematographer John Bailey. Presented in the 1:85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 Surround Sound with a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for the Blu-Ray. The special features include a 34-minute interview with Errol Morris who talks about the film as well as working with Stephen Hawking. Morris also talks about his approach as well as being someone who didn’t follow the rules of conventional filmmaking as it relates to the documentary. Along with tidbits on its visual presentation, Morris also talked about his time with Hawking around the time the film was made which occurred during a crucial period in Hawking’s own personal life as he was going through a separation with his first wife Jane Wilde as Morris revealed he was unsuccessful in getting Wilde to be in the film because of his poor cello playing.

The 12-minute interview with cinematographer John Bailey has the cinematographer talking about his collaboration with Morris on the film as well as his approach to lighting. Especially as he reveals how different it was in terms of shooting something for a dramatic feature and what Morris wants to say visually. Bailey also talks about some paintings that inspired him for some of the lighting in the interviews while revealed that he and Morris had to work with Hawking for a few days in shooting him for his own scenes as it’s a very fascinating piece about what a cinematographer’s role in the documentary. The dual-disc release features two additional texts that doesn’t appear in the DVD as it includes a chapter from Hawking’s 2013 memoir and an excerpt from the titular book the film was named after.

The third piece of text that appears in the dual-disc release and solely on the DVD release is an essay by film/book critic David Sterritt entitled Macrobiography. Sterritt’s essay talks about Hawking’s status as an unlikely celebrity as well as the fact that his work is seen as this guide to the ideas of the universe. On the film, Sterritt talks about how accessible the film is on a subject matter this is often very complex to the average person as well as Morris’ visual treatment of Hawking and his theories. The essay also talks about how the film relates to a lot of the work of Morris as a filmmaker as it all play into this fascination with humanity while often trying to find ways to reinvent the idea of nonfiction filmmaking as it’s a wonderful read to a great film.

A Brief History of Time is a phenomenal film from Errol Morris. Featuring dazzling visuals, a hypnotic score by Philip Glass, and fascinating interviews with colleagues and family who know Stephen Hawking as well as tidbits from the man himself. It’s a film that doesn’t just defy the idea of what a documentary is but also creates a portrait to one of the most riveting human beings on the face of the Earth. In the end, A Brief History of Time is an incredible film from Errol Morris.

Related: The Theory of Everything

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - The Thin Blue Line - (The Dark Wind) - Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure) - Tabloid (2010 film) - (The Unknown Known)

© thevoid99 2016

Life Itself

Based on the memoir Life Itself: A Memoir, Life Itself is a documentary about the life and works one of the most revered film critics of the 20th Century in Roger Ebert. Directed by Steve James, the film looks into Ebert’s career as a film critic that included his notable partnership with fellow critic Gene Siskel. The film also looks into the final months of Ebert’s life as he succumbed to the effects of thyroid cancer that eventually claimed him on April 4, 2013. Featuring appearances from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Ramin Bahrani, and many others including Ebert’s widow Chaz. The result is one of the most moving and exhilarating portraits of one of cinema’s great voices.

There is probably no film critic, aside from Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, who made a major impact for film criticism and film writing better than Roger Ebert in the second half of the 20th Century and in the early stages of the 21st Century. Yet, this film is about Ebert’s life not just a critic who championed films and filmmakers that a wide audience might’ve not known or heard of. It’s a film about the man himself who struggled with alcoholism until embracing sobriety in 1979 and the loving husband to his soul mate Chaz who would be there for him until the day he died. The film would move back and forth into Ebert’s life as a man and as a film critic but also in the final five months of his life as he was trying to recover from cancer that he had been battling for years as it would rob him of his voice and lower jaw.

Steve James’ direction is quite simple as he captures the final months of Ebert’s life as he spends that time in a hospital and rehab center while using his computer to talk and such. Chaz is a prominent figure in the film as she would comment everything as well as glimpse of Ebert’s step-children and grandchildren who were a major part of his life. Along with appearances from filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese, Gregory Nava, Ramin Bahrani (who would visit Ebert at the hospital), and Errol Morris who talked about Ebert’s importance in their work. There’s also interviews with friends and colleagues like film critics A.O. Scott and Richard Corliss as well as Gene Siskel’s widow Marlene.

Ebert’s relationship with Gene Siskel was a unique one where the two had very different personalities yet loved films as it was one of the reasons why their show At the Movies became so important to film criticism. Even as it helped expose smaller films while bring a different appeal that allowed a wide audience to see what they had to say. Martin Scorsese talks about their infamous review of The Color of Money which still hurts him to this day. There’s also the story about Richard Corliss taking criticism over Siskel and Ebert’s show as Corliss talks about that little feud. With David E. Simpson aiding James in the editing, the film showcases a lot of footage of the show including outtakes where Siskel and Ebert take jabs at each other but do it with a lot of love.

With help from cinematographer Dana Krupper, the film has a very simple yet vibrant look into the way James captures Ebert’s final months as he struggles with his rehab and regaining the ability to walk. James knows how not to infuse a lot of sentimentality to the film as there’s this mixture of humor and drama as well as the moment when Ebert dies. The film’s music by Joshua Abrams doesn’t drown things out as it is mostly low-key in its jazz music setting while the soundtrack also features some jazz music from the artists that Ebert loves as well as a poignant Leonard Cohen song that really says a lot about Ebert’s relationship with Chaz. Overall, James crafts a very delightful yet heartfelt film about a guy who loved a woman named Chaz, a guy named Gene, and cinema.

Life Itself is a magnificent film from Steve James about the life and work of Roger Ebert. The film isn’t just a very touching and engaging documentary about an influential film critic but a man who loved life no matter how hard it was in the final years of his life. Even as he gets testimonials from those he championed as well as colleagues who think of him as a brother. In the end, Life Itself is an incredibly moving and wondrous film from Steve James.

© thevoid99 2014

Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control

Directed by Errol Morris, Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control is the story of four different men whose lives are extraordinary. In this documentary about four men who have nothing in common, Morris explores these different lives and the jobs they do as Morris wonders what makes their lives so fascinating. The result is a very stylish, unconventional, and fascinating film about four different men with four different jobs.

The film is a profile on four men with not much in common due to their professions yet each do carry lives that are truly interesting to see. The first is a wild animal trainer named George Hoover who works for a circus taming lions and tigers where he reveals his inspiration to do the job as well as the dangers of that job. The second is a topiaries gardener named George Mendonca who specialize in creating dazzling plant sculptures for the Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The third a hairless mole-rat expert named Ray Mendoza who reveals a lot about the mole-rats environment and their lifestyle. The fourth and final guy is a M.I.T. scientist named Rodney Brooks who has created bug-like robots.

While there’s definitely similarities to these professions in the fact that these four men do care about the jobs and really nurture the creatures or things they study or work on. Errol Morris’ approach to the narrative is to find more of these similarities as he interviews each individual alone where they talk about what they do. In some parts of the film, he allows their voices to talk over scenes that doesn’t involve their work to find the similarities in the work of that other person. Hoover and Mendonca are elderly men who have a lot of experience in their different fields while emphasizing on the craft that they do. Notably as they’re aware that their in the latter part of their lives as Hoover is already watching over the new protégé he has.

Younger guys like Mendoza and Brooks, along with Hoover, have an understanding about the way animals behave and adapt to the environment. Though Brooks may not work with animals, the robots he create do have the sensibilities of how an insect would probably react or move in their surroundings. That is also what Mendoza does in his study of mole-rats where he tries to recreate a natural environment where he comments on how they adapt where it would also involve things that are quite disgusting. Hoover reveals a lot about how to deal with lions and tigers where he admits that every day is a new day because their behavior is unpredictable. Though Mendonca’s story doesn’t have as much coverage as the other subjects, his story is still interesting since he does treat his topiaries with great care as if they are live creatures.

Since it’s a film about these four different men, the easy idea would’ve been to interview one subject at a time and move on to a different subject for the next part of the film. That is not what Morris does as his approach is to treat all four subjects as one whole piece where he would cross-cut their voice and stories into one entire film where he would follow a subject for a few minutes and then smoothly goes into another one to see what common things they have said to the previous subject. With help from editors Shondra Merrill and Karen Schmeer, Morris maintains a tight and stylized approach to the editing and pacing so that there wouldn’t be an abrupt transition from one subject to the other.

Since Morris is also known for re-creating scenes, shooting them on actual locations, or utilize some stock footage from a movie or newsreel clip. Morris and cinematographer Robert Richardson do go head on to see what these men do where there would also delve into different film stocks ranging from Super 8 to 35mm. Richardson’s photography for the scenes in the circus, the garden, and inside these little cave the mole-rats walk into are very exquisite. Even as Richardson’s camera is inside the lion cage where there is a sense of danger that occurs in the film. For the stuff involving the robots, different film stock is required while Morris puts in some stock footage for Brooks to explain the robots behavior.

Another important part of Morris’ unconventional and stylized approach to the film is the sound editing by Magdaline Volaitis. Volaitis’ work allows the dialogue to overlap against a different scenery while creating a sense of drama to emphasize in what Morris wants to do. With the music of Caleb Sampson providing a bit of humor and drama through its haunting score that features some very upbeat pieces to more ethereal cuts to play up some of the drama.

Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control is a marvelous film from Errol Morris that showcases the lives of four different men who each share enticing professions that makes these men a whole lot more interesting. While it’s a film that isn’t easy to watch at first due to its unconventional approach to the narrative. It is a film that allows the audience to be engaged by these four men who may or may not have anything in common other than the fact that they have very fulfilling lives. In the end, Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control is an engrossing and entertaining film from Errol Morris.

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - The Thin Blue Line - A Brief History of Time - (The Dark Wind) - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure) - Tabloid - (The Unknown Known)

© thevoid99 2012

Tabloid (2010 film)

Directed by Errol Morris, Tabloid is the story of former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney who gains notoriety by kidnapping and raping a Mormon missionary as her actions triggers a war between dueling British tabloid publications. The film explores a woman’s desire to become famous at a time when these things were new as McKinney gets to tell her story more than thirty years after the incident. The result is a very entertaining yet sensational film from Errol Morris.

Joyce McKinney is a North Carolina woman who had met and fell for this man from a Mormon missionary named Kirk Anderson in Utah as the two went out and fell in love. Due the pressure of his religion and his mother, he ended the relationship and fled to England to do work with the Mormon religion. McKinney and some associates devised a plan to find Anderson as he’s eventually found where McKinney’s friend Keith May kidnaps Anderson. Taking him to a cottage in Devon where there’s claims he is imprisoned against his will, she would have sex with him and get him to stop believing in the Mormon dogma. Things seem to go fine when she and Anderson go to London and then he flees once again as news coverage emerge over what happened.

Scandal emerges as McKinney becomes a tabloid star in Britain as she gains fame while upstaging Joan Collins at her own film premiere. Whereas the Daily Mail would follow her exploits and tell her side of the story, the Daily Mirror would make claims that she was a nude model and hooker as it infuriated McKinney who had already fled the U.K. to return to the U.S. She wouldn’t be heard from until years later where she was accused of stalking Anderson and his wife only to go into seclusion for some years where she would be back in the news for very different yet strange reasons.

The film explores a famous scandal that occurred in 1977 in Britain where this former beauty queen would be infamous for kidnapping a man, raping him, and tying him up all for the sake of love. Told mostly by McKinney along with an associate of hers, a former Mormon missionary, and a couple of journalists. The film has a narrative about how McKinney met Kirk Anderson and their love life along with her confusion towards the Mormon religion as a former missionary reveals the legends about Anderson’s plight to the people. This would lead to her plan to kidnap Anderson and all sorts of things leading to her notoriety in Britain where cartoon drawings and such would add to that infamy.

Errol Morris’ direction is very lively as he strays away from his usual style of entrancing objects for something different as he is relying on newspaper clippings, photos, and old TV clips for this story. While his approach to doing interviews remains the same while he does get to speak out a bit, he does allow the people interviewed to fill in and tell the story while the focus is mainly on Joyce McKinney. McKinney is definitely an eccentric individual but she’s also quite likeable and pretty funny. What she did was wrong although love does complicate things as Morris chooses not to judge her and let her tell her story. The scenes involving newspaper clippings, photos, stock film footage, news footage, and all sorts of animated montages do give the film an idea of how big this event was.

With a couple of journalists telling the story about the media coverage, it does bring in a great mix of humor and drama that occur as McKinney claimed the nude photos she had supposedly taken were doctored. The photographer disputes those claims even though he never took those photographs. The story spans throughout McKinney’s life from her early years as a kid to recent years as she lives quietly in North Carolina. Yet, her notoriety did make her agoraphobic for a while in the 1980s while she would be in the news once again all because of a stunt as it’s told by a South Korean scientist. The overall work in the film is quite spectacular as Morris creates a truly engaging and fun documentary

Cinematographer Robert Chappell does excellent work in the film‘s cinematography to bring an understated yet naturalistic look to the interviews presented for the film. Editor Grant Surmi does a fantastic job with the editing in gathering loads of stock footage, animated sequences, and such to create montages to add humor to the film. Sound mixer David Bach does an incredible job with the mixing to create an atmosphere to the news reports that occur as well as the voices of the people interviewed for the film. The film’s score by John Kusiak is wonderful as it is very low-key in its orchestral arrangement to play up the suspense and drama along with more, melodic-tingling arrangements for the film’s humorous moments.

Tabloid is a remarkable and enjoyable documentary from Errol Morris about Joyce McKinney and her infamous scandal. The film is definitely one of Morris’ more accessible works in terms of the humor that occurs while it is also a very intriguing story about how someone can be famous by an act of notoriety. Notably as it is a film about scandal and how one woman was able to create such chaos all because of love. In the end, Tabloid is a superb and rapturous film from Errol Morris.

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - The Thin Blue Line - A Brief History of Time - (The Dark Wind) - Fast, Cheap & Out of Control - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure) - (The Unknown Known)

© thevoid99 2012

The Thin Blue Line

Written and directed by Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line is the story about the murder of a police officer back in 1976 in Vidor, Texas. When Randall Dale Adams is accused of the murder, he tries to plea his innocence as he faces a death sentence for the murder. The documentary film explores the murder as it features re-enactments of what happened as Morris tries to uncover the case and to see if Adams is really innocent. The result is an engrossing yet very stylized documentary from Errol Morris.

On November 28, 1976, a Dallas police officer named Robert W. Wood was shot to death during a traffic stop as his partner tried to shoot at the runaway car as she was unable to remember the license plate or anything else that occurred. Less than a month later, a man named Randall Dale Adams is convicted as the murderer though he claims to be innocent. While Adams has an alibi claiming he was in a motel with his brother while believing that a 16-year old kid he had met and hung out with named David Ray Harris earlier that night was the killer. Adams goes on trial as his defense believe that he hadn’t done anything at all as he had no criminal record while they also suspect Harris.

Through opportunistic witness claiming they saw Adams at the blue car that was driven at the crime scene as well as a prosecutor who wanted to maintain an undefeated streak of court wins. Adams was found guilty and given a death sentence though he was able to appeal reduce it to a life sentence though he was maintaining his innocence. Meanwhile, his defense team and various law officials continues to find out more information on Harris who has a criminal record since he was a kid as well as numerous run-in with the laws. Notably as Harris reveals some strange comments which reveal that he might’ve been the one.

The film is an exploration of a man’s innocence and the way the justice system could be abused in the hands of a few key people including the one person who could actually be the killer. Told through interviews and re-enactments, the film explores the actual crime scene and Adams’ trial where it is clear that things did go wrong to try and accuse Adams. Notably as a neighbor of the witness who testified revealed that the witness who claimed to have seen Adams were really just opportunistic people wanting money for their testimony. A defense associate for the attorney admits that she was convinced that Adams was guilty until looking his background and his alibi.

Through Errol Morris’ entrancing direction that often has people being interviewed and talking in a relaxed state. They’re able to piece their words together to reflect what might’ve happened on that night. Through these stylish re-enactments with actors playing the two cops and the supposed killer, Morris uses these scenes and later add things as if there’s more to the story about what happened. The interviews with law enforcement and attorneys reveal a lot of how things can be undone while one law officer reveals that his father was part of an early version of the FBI that had been part of the team that had captured John Dillinger.

Since the film also features clips from newsreel and other movies to reference what some of the people being interviewed were seeing or were reflecting on. It adds an element of who these people are and why they could be doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Yet, Morris prefers not to make any judgment on these individuals for their actions while wanting Adams to tell his side of the story as well as Harris character. The latter in particular as he exposes his own childhood background that could play part into his own criminal record.

Through these eerie compositions where Morris would shoot a simple object like an ash tray, a throwing fast food cup, or a police siren and make it look like there’s a lot to the story as it’s being told from various individuals through these interviews. Along with very gorgeous shots of the city of Dallas, there is something about the way Morris presents the film as a whole as he goes beyond the parameters of a documentary. Through this device of having the interviewers talk at the camera while re-creating scenes about what happened. The overall result is a truly fascinating yet chilling film from Errol Morris.

Cinematographers Robert Chappell and Stefan Czapsky do fantastic work with the film‘s entrancing yet hypnotic look for the re-enactment scenes and overhead shots of Dallas along with more simplistic work in the interviews. Editor Paul Barnes does an excellent job with the film‘s methodical approach to the pacing as well as utilizing a very stylized approach to creating montages and rhythms to capture the action of what happened in the crime scene.

Production designer Ted Bafaloukos and art director Lester Cohen do an amazing job with the set pieces created for Adams‘ original interrogation as well as the look of the car driven by the killer. The sound work of Brad Fuller is terrific for the mood set in the re-enactment scenes along with the harrowing of the gunshots that occur quite often in the film. The film’s score by Philip Glass is definitely the film’s technical highlight for its moody yet evocative electronic score to help play to the drama and dark aspects of the crime and characters present in the film.

The Thin Blue Line is a mesmerizing yet very provocative documentary from Errol Morris. The film is among one of the best examples of what a documentary can do in piece up clues to uncover a mystery or to fix something where the wrong person was tried and accused of. It is also a film that indicated why Morris is among one of the best documentary filmmakers as he doesn’t try to hammer down some ideals but rather tell a story and let the audience figure it out. In the end, The Thin Blue Line is a truly masterful film from Errol Morris.

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - A Brief History of Time - (The Dark Wind) - Fast, Cheap & Out of Control - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure) - Tabloid - (The Unknown Known)

© thevoid99 2012