Founded in 1964, the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) is a philanthropic, non-profit organization formed for the purpose of sharing information with Sound Professionals in the Motion Picture and Television Industry. The Cinema Audio Society Awards or C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring “Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing” and began doing so 1994.
The 50th Annual CAS Awards were held Saturday, February 22, 2014 in the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California and hosted by Doug McIntyre.
The ceremony also celebrated the professional contributions of Re-recording Mixer Andy Nelson by honoring him with the CAS Career Achievement Award. A two-time CAS and Academy Award® winner for Les Misérables and Saving Private Ryan, Nelson was feted by Academy Award® winning composer John Williams, Twentieth Century Fox President of Feature Post Production Ted Gagliano and CAS President, David Fluhr. “Receiving this award from the CAS is such an honor because it’s from my peers…” said Nelson, “people who love this craft as much as I do, and I am humbled by their generosity and commitment to excellence.”
Among other highlights, Academy Award® winning producer Edward Zwick (Shakespeare in Love), was presented with the CAS Filmmaker Award. Zwick and CAS Career Achievement Honoree Nelson collaborated on Zwick’s CAS and Oscar® nominated Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai, as well as, Love and Other Drugs, Defiance and Courage Under Fire. Presenting his award were Anna Behlmer and Jeffrey S. Wexler, CAS
During the evening, there was a poignant tribute to Ray Dolby, inventor and founder of Dolby Laboratories. Dolby Exec David W. Gray presented the tribute that included archival footage of Ray Dolby accepting the CAS Life Achievement Award at the 1989 CAS Awards.
2014 / The 50th Annual CAS Awards (for the year in film and television 2013) – full list of film winners:
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Live Action:
Gravity
Production Mixer --Chris Munro, CAS
Re-recording Mixer -- Skip Lievsay, CAS
Re-recording Mixer -- Niv Adiri
Re-recording Mixer -- Christopher Benstead
Scoring Mixer -- Gareth Cousins
ADR Mixer -- Thomas J. O'Connell
Foley Mixer – Adam Mendez
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Animated:
Frozen
Original Dialogue Mixer -- Gabriel Guy
Re-recording Mixer -- David E. Fluhr, CAS
Re-recording Mixer -- Gabriel Guy
Scoring Mixer -- Casey Stone
Foley Mixer -- Mary Jo Lang
Other winners this evening included:
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Movie or Mini-Series:
BEHIND THE CANDLELABRA and the Sound Mixing Team of Production Mixer Dennis Towns, Re-recording Mixer Larry Blake, Scoring Mixer Thomas Vicari and Foley Mixer Scott Curtis.
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour:
GAME OF THRONES: "The Rains of Castamere" and the Sound Mixing Team of Production Mixers Ronan Hill, CAS and Richard Dyer, Re-recording Mixers Onnalee Blank, CAS and Matthew Waters, CAS and Foley Mixer Brett Voss.
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – Half Hour:
MODERN FAMILY: "Goodnight Gracie" and the Sound Mixing Team of Production Mixer Stephen A. Tibbo, CAS and Re-recording Mixers Dean Okrand and Brian R. Harman, CAS.
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials:
HISTORY OF THE EAGLES – Part One and the Sound Mixing Team of Re-recording Mixers Tom Fleischman, CAS and Elliot Scheiner.
The winners of the 10th CAS Technical Achievement Awards:
PRODUCTION: Sound Devices, LLC - 633 Mixer/Recorder
POST-PRODUCTION: iZotope - RX 3 Advanced
http://cinemaaudiosociety.org/
------------------
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Review: "De Tweeling" (Twin Sisters) a Powerful Sister Act
De Tweeling (2002)
Twin Sisters – English title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Netherlands and Luxembourg; Language: Dutch, German and English
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for a brief sexuality and a scene of violence
DIRECTOR: Ben Sombogaart
WRITER: Marieke van der Pol (based upon the novel by Tessa de Loo)
PRODUCERS: Hanneke Niens and Anton Smit
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Piotr Kukla
EDITOR: Herman P. Koerts
COMPOSER: Fons Merkies
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA/ROMANCE/WAR
Starring: Nadja Uhl, Thekla Reuten, Gudrun Okras, Ellen Vogel, Sina Richardt, Julia Koopmans, Jeroen Spitzenberger Betty Schuurman, Jaap Spijkers, Roman Knizka, Margarita Broich, and Hans Somers
The subject of this movie review is De Tweeling (Twin Sisters), a 2002 Dutch drama, romance, and war movie from director Ben Sombogaart. The film is based on the 1993 novel, De Tweeling, by Tessa de Loo. The film received a theatrical release in the United States in May 2005.
De Tweeling or Twin Sisters earned a 2004 Academy Award nomination for “Best Foreign Language Film” (Netherlands). The film opens in 1925 and introduces us to German twin sisters, Anna (Sina Richardt) and Lotte (Julia Koopmans), who live with their well to do, widower father. When he dies of consumption in 1926, competing relatives with different agendas separate the girls. Anna remains in Germany on her uncle’s farm where he basically uses her as cheap labor. A rich aunt and uncle take Lotte to Holland, where she lives a privileged life of culture, education, and opportunity.
The bulk of the story takes place between 1936 and 1947, when the sisters, now young women find themselves on opposite sides of World War II. The young adult Anna (Nadja Uhl) marries a young Austrian soldier, Martin (Roman Knizka), who goes on to become an SS officer. The young adult Lotte (Thekla Reuten) falls in love with a Jewish musician, David (Jeroen Spitzenberger), who ends up in a concentration camp. The film later finds the sisters estranged from one another as old ladies, with Old Anne (Gudrun Okras) trying to reconcile her differences with Old Lotte (Ellen Vogel).
Twin Sisters is a compelling drama that is at its heart a bittersweet romance about two sisters who dearly love each other, but find that not only are their home countries at odds, but also their choice in lovers. Indeed, the sisters’ lives during WWII are the center of this tale with the sequences involving Anne and Lotte as old women being nothing more than TV movie-of-the-week melodrama. The opening segment with the sisters as six-year olds is sentimental and darkly sweet, while being something like a surreal and tragic fairy tale of kidnapped princes.
The film seems to jump around too much, but director Ben Sombogaart and writer Marieke van der Pol do their best work chronicling the sisters’ painfully desperate attempt to hold onto their lovers. That’s the film right there, and although this adapts a novel, the movie should have focused exclusively, except for maybe a framing sequence, on the sisters as young women. Here is the best acting both on the part of the actresses playing the sisters and the supporting cast portraying their family, friends, and acquaintances. The horror the Holocaust creeps around the edges of the film here giving it a solid dramatic impact. The tenuous relationship of the sisters at this point makes compelling drama – almost compelling enough to make you forget there aren’t enough of the best parts of Twin Sisters.
7 of 10
B+
Friday, February 03, 2006
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Netherlands)
Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
"12 Years a Slave" Wins 2014 Satellite Award as "Best Motion Picture"
by Amos Semien
The International Press Academy (IPA) is an entertainment media association with voting members worldwide who represent domestic and foreign markets via print, television, radio, blogs, and other content platforms for virtually every notable outlet.
Each year the IPA honors artistic excellence in the areas of Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, and New Media via the Satellite® Awards.
The 18th Satellite Awards ceremony was held Sunday, February 23, 2014. Nominations were announced Monday, December 2, 2013.
12 Years a Slave won the "Best Motion Picture" award. On the television side of the awards, AMC's Breaking Bad won "Television Series, Drama," and Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" won "Television Series, Comedy."
2014 / 18th Satellite Awards winners (for the year 2013) – Complete List:
MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES:
Best Motion Picture:
12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight
Director:
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight
Actress in a Motion Picture:
Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine - Sony Pictures Classics
Actor in a Motion Picture:
Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features
Actress in a Supporting Role:
June Squibb for Nebraska - Paramount
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features
Motion Picture, International Film
Belgium - The Broken Circle Breakdown
Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media:
The Wind Rises - Studio Ghibli
Motion Picture, Documentary:
Blackfish - Magnolia Pictures
Screenplay, Original:
David O. Russell, Eric Singer for American Hustle - Sony
Screenplay, Adapted:
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan for Philomena - The Weinstein Co.
Original Score:
Steven Price for Gravity - Warner Bros.
Original Song:
“Young and Beautiful” (performed by Lana Del Rey; written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels) from The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.
Cinematography:
Bruno Delbonnel for Inside Llewyn Davis CBS Films
Visual Effects:
Charles Howell, Chris Lawrence, Tim Webber for Gravity Warner Bros.
Film Editing:
Crispin Struthers, Jay Cassidy for American Hustle - Sony
Sound (Editing and Mixing):
Glenn Freemantle, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay for Gravity - Warner Bros.
Art Direction & Production Design:
Beverly Dunn, Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.
Costume Design:
Michael O’Connor for The Invisible Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
Best Ensemble, Motion Picture:
Nebraska
TELEVISION CATEGORIES:
Television.Miniseries / Motion Picture Made for Television:
Dancing on the Edge - Starz
Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Elisabeth Moss Top of the Lake - Sundance Channel
Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Michael Douglas Behind the Candelabra HBO
Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Laura Prepon Orange is the New Black Netflix
Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Aaron Paul Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series, Drama:
Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series or Miniseries, Genre:
Game Of Thrones - HBO
Actress in a Series, Drama:
Robin Wright House of Cards Netflix
Actor in a Series, Drama
Bryan Cranston Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series, Comedy or Musical
Orange is the New Black - Netflix
Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical
Taylor Schilling Orange is the New Black Netflix
Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical
John Goodman Alpha House Amazon Studios
Original Short-Format Program
#JustSaying, #SamoKažem Tuna Fish Studio
New Media
Best Overall Blu-Ray
Star Trek: Into Darkness Paramount Home Entertainment
Youth Blu-Ray
Rise Of The Guardians DreamWorks Video
Outstanding Action / Adventure Video Game
Battlefield 4 - EA Digital Illusions CE
Outstanding Mobile Game
Badland - Frogmind
Outstanding Role Playing Game
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Level 5, Studio Ghibli
Outstanding Sports / Racing Game
Need for Speed Rivals - Electronic Arts, Ghost Games
Best Ensemble, Television:
Orange is the New Black
Special Achievement Awards:
Mary Pickford Award: Mike Medavoy
Tesla Award: Garrett Brown
Auteur Award: Guillermo del Toro
Independent Producer Award: Gabrielle Tana
Honorary Satellite Award: Ryan Coogler
Breakthrough Performance Award:
Michael B. Jordan - Fruitvale Station
Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief
-----------------------------
The International Press Academy (IPA) is an entertainment media association with voting members worldwide who represent domestic and foreign markets via print, television, radio, blogs, and other content platforms for virtually every notable outlet.
Each year the IPA honors artistic excellence in the areas of Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, and New Media via the Satellite® Awards.
The 18th Satellite Awards ceremony was held Sunday, February 23, 2014. Nominations were announced Monday, December 2, 2013.
12 Years a Slave won the "Best Motion Picture" award. On the television side of the awards, AMC's Breaking Bad won "Television Series, Drama," and Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" won "Television Series, Comedy."
2014 / 18th Satellite Awards winners (for the year 2013) – Complete List:
MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES:
Best Motion Picture:
12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight
Director:
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight
Actress in a Motion Picture:
Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine - Sony Pictures Classics
Actor in a Motion Picture:
Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features
Actress in a Supporting Role:
June Squibb for Nebraska - Paramount
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features
Motion Picture, International Film
Belgium - The Broken Circle Breakdown
Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media:
The Wind Rises - Studio Ghibli
Motion Picture, Documentary:
Blackfish - Magnolia Pictures
Screenplay, Original:
David O. Russell, Eric Singer for American Hustle - Sony
Screenplay, Adapted:
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan for Philomena - The Weinstein Co.
Original Score:
Steven Price for Gravity - Warner Bros.
Original Song:
“Young and Beautiful” (performed by Lana Del Rey; written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels) from The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.
Cinematography:
Bruno Delbonnel for Inside Llewyn Davis CBS Films
Visual Effects:
Charles Howell, Chris Lawrence, Tim Webber for Gravity Warner Bros.
Film Editing:
Crispin Struthers, Jay Cassidy for American Hustle - Sony
Sound (Editing and Mixing):
Glenn Freemantle, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay for Gravity - Warner Bros.
Art Direction & Production Design:
Beverly Dunn, Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.
Costume Design:
Michael O’Connor for The Invisible Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
Best Ensemble, Motion Picture:
Nebraska
TELEVISION CATEGORIES:
Television.Miniseries / Motion Picture Made for Television:
Dancing on the Edge - Starz
Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Elisabeth Moss Top of the Lake - Sundance Channel
Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Michael Douglas Behind the Candelabra HBO
Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Laura Prepon Orange is the New Black Netflix
Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Aaron Paul Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series, Drama:
Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series or Miniseries, Genre:
Game Of Thrones - HBO
Actress in a Series, Drama:
Robin Wright House of Cards Netflix
Actor in a Series, Drama
Bryan Cranston Breaking Bad AMC
Television Series, Comedy or Musical
Orange is the New Black - Netflix
Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical
Taylor Schilling Orange is the New Black Netflix
Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical
John Goodman Alpha House Amazon Studios
Original Short-Format Program
#JustSaying, #SamoKažem Tuna Fish Studio
New Media
Best Overall Blu-Ray
Star Trek: Into Darkness Paramount Home Entertainment
Youth Blu-Ray
Rise Of The Guardians DreamWorks Video
Outstanding Action / Adventure Video Game
Battlefield 4 - EA Digital Illusions CE
Outstanding Mobile Game
Badland - Frogmind
Outstanding Role Playing Game
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Level 5, Studio Ghibli
Outstanding Sports / Racing Game
Need for Speed Rivals - Electronic Arts, Ghost Games
Best Ensemble, Television:
Orange is the New Black
Special Achievement Awards:
Mary Pickford Award: Mike Medavoy
Tesla Award: Garrett Brown
Auteur Award: Guillermo del Toro
Independent Producer Award: Gabrielle Tana
Honorary Satellite Award: Ryan Coogler
Breakthrough Performance Award:
Michael B. Jordan - Fruitvale Station
Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief
-----------------------------
Review: Andreas Wilson Makes Star Turn in "Ondskan" (Evil)
Ondskan (2003)
Evil – 2006 U.S. theatrical release
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden; Languages: Swedish and Finnish
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR: Mikael Håfström
WRITERS: Hans Gunnarsson and Mikael Håfström (from the novel by Jan Guillon)
PRODUCERS: Ingemar Leijonborg and Hans Lönnerheden
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Mokrosinski
EDITOR: Darek Hodor
COMPOSER: Francis Shaw
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA
Starring: Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén, Filip Berg, Johan Rabaeus, and Marie Richardson
The subject of this movie review Ondskan (Evil), a 2003 private school drama from director, Mikael Hafstrom. The film is based on the 1981 Swedish autobiographical novel, Ondskan (The Evil) by Jan Guillon. The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States in 2006.
After numerous fights in which he brutalized his victims, a rebellious teenager, Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson), is expelled from high school after the headmaster declares him “Evil,” while also noting what a good student Erik is. Erik also has a pitiful home life, in which his bullying Stepfather (Johan Rabaeus) beats him while his Mother (Marie Richardson) suffers in silence. Erik’s mother sells off some of her family heirlooms to send Erik to the prestigious boarding school, Stjärnsberg. This is Erik’s last chance to finish high school, which will allow him to move to the next class (called “forms”), the “Sixth Form.” However, if Stjärnsberg expels him, his chance at law school is finished.
Erik is determined to live in peace at his new school, but after having endured so many beatings from his stepfather, Erik is shocked to learn Stjärnsberg has a similar attitude of abuse. He faces a constant barrage of verbal and physical threats from the school’s senior class, in particularly a group of students (whose families are nobility) – led by a pompous bully named Otto Silverhielm (Gustaf Skarsgård). They torment the younger students mercilessly, but Erik refuses to accept a low place on the totem pole and just wants to be left alone. Although he takes some of their punishment, they want to crack him, but he won’t crack or lash out in violence. When Otto turns his anger towards Erik’s best friend and roommate, Pierre Tanguy (Henrik Lundström), Erik must face the evil within him and the evil of Otto and his gang of bullies. Erik also has a romantic entanglement with Marja (Linda Zilliacus), a member of the school’s kitchen staff, which, if discovered, will get him expelled and her fired.
Mikael Håfström’s film Ondskan – English title Evil – received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for “Best Foreign Language Film” as a representative of Sweden. Although the film may remind some U.S. viewers of Dead Poets’ Society because both share an elite boarding school the setting, Ondskan is probably closer to the 1992 prep school drama, School Ties. Based on Jan Guillon’s novel (which in turn was based upon some of his experiences as a boarding school student), Ondskan is a rumination on both the evil in people (as manifested by their actions) and the evil they accept (the actions of others that they tolerate out of habit or because of social conventions). Mikael Håfström manages to delve into the script’s, which he co-wrote, more thoughtful pursuits, while extracting the tense drama the setting – a boarding school full of conflicting ideologies, social classes, cliques, motivations, etc. – allows him.
He has a star in Andreas Wilson, the kind of young actor with the fierce charisma needed to play a screen tough like Erik. Wilson’s ability to portray quite determination and also hate, rage, and evil boiling under the surface with such subtlety both drives and carries this film. Hollywood taking notice of him would be a good thing.
8 of 10
A
Saturday, September 30, 2006
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Sweden)
Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Full List of Stars Appearing at 2014 Oscar Ceremony Released
Stars Come Out to Celebrate On Oscar® Sunday
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron today announced the complete slate of stars who will present Oscars at the ceremony. The Oscars®, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Oscar Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.
The presenters, including several past Oscar winners and nominees, will be:
Amy Adams
Kristen Bell
Jessica Biel
Jim Carrey
Glenn Close
Bradley Cooper
Penélope Cruz
Benedict Cumberbatch
Viola Davis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Robert De Niro
Zac Efron
Sally Field
Harrison Ford
Jamie Foxx
Andrew Garfield
Jennifer Garner
Whoopi Goldberg
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Anne Hathaway
Goldie Hawn
Chris Hemsworth
Kate Hudson
Samuel L. Jackson
Angelina Jolie
Michael B. Jordan
Anna Kendrick
Jennifer Lawrence
Matthew McConaughey
Ewan McGregor
Bill Murray
Kim Novak
Tyler Perry
Brad Pitt
Sidney Poitier
Gabourey Sidibe
Will Smith
Kevin Spacey
Jason Sudeikis
Channing Tatum
Charlize Theron
John Travolta
Christoph Waltz
Kerry Washington
Emma Watson
Naomi Watts
“We are very excited that the Hollywood community will be turning out in force for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony,” said Zadan and Meron. “We sought to include a tremendous diversity of stars to represent not only this year’s nominees, but the legacy of the motion picture business as well.”
For a full gallery of Oscar presenters, visit www.oscar.com.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron today announced the complete slate of stars who will present Oscars at the ceremony. The Oscars®, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Oscar Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.
The presenters, including several past Oscar winners and nominees, will be:
Amy Adams
Kristen Bell
Jessica Biel
Jim Carrey
Glenn Close
Bradley Cooper
Penélope Cruz
Benedict Cumberbatch
Viola Davis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Robert De Niro
Zac Efron
Sally Field
Harrison Ford
Jamie Foxx
Andrew Garfield
Jennifer Garner
Whoopi Goldberg
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Anne Hathaway
Goldie Hawn
Chris Hemsworth
Kate Hudson
Samuel L. Jackson
Angelina Jolie
Michael B. Jordan
Anna Kendrick
Jennifer Lawrence
Matthew McConaughey
Ewan McGregor
Bill Murray
Kim Novak
Tyler Perry
Brad Pitt
Sidney Poitier
Gabourey Sidibe
Will Smith
Kevin Spacey
Jason Sudeikis
Channing Tatum
Charlize Theron
John Travolta
Christoph Waltz
Kerry Washington
Emma Watson
Naomi Watts
“We are very excited that the Hollywood community will be turning out in force for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony,” said Zadan and Meron. “We sought to include a tremendous diversity of stars to represent not only this year’s nominees, but the legacy of the motion picture business as well.”
For a full gallery of Oscar presenters, visit www.oscar.com.
Happy Birthday, Laura
I'll be discreet and not mention age. But have a Happy Birthday and many, many, many more.
Review: "A Mighty Wind" Sounds Good
A Mighty Wind (2003)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sex-related humor
DIRECTOR: Christopher Guest
WRITERS: Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest
PRODUCER: Karen Murphy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Arlene-Donnelly Nelson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Robert Leighton
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/MUSIC
Starring: Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Fred Willard, Ed Begley, Jr., Don Lake, Deborah Theaker, Larry Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Cobbs, Parker Posey, Rachael Harris, and LeShay Tomlinson
The subject of this movie review is A Mighty Wind, a 2003 comedy-drama from director Christopher Guest. This mock documentary captures the reunion of a 1960s folk trio, as they prepare for a show to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.
Christopher Guest’s film A Mighty Wind is the third in his popular series of mock documentary films, or mockumentaries, as fans know them, which also include Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. Guest and co-stars Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were also the band in the Rob Reiner’s famous mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. This time the comedic trio comprises another movie group, the folk trio The Folksmen.
The neurotic and fussbudget son (the sublime Bob Balaban) of a folk music record company mogul, with some help from his siblings, organizes a reunion of three of his father’s biggest acts: the aforementioned The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and the very popular duo Mitch and Mickey. As the groups prepare for a nationally televised show (on public TV) staged at Town Hall in New York City, old tensions and conflicts that caused breakups or hard feelings start to arise. Will everyone have his or her act together in time to show the nation that folk music is alive and well?
Some consider this to be the least among the Guest-Levy comedies, and A Mighty Wind is often too polished and too smooth. The documentary aspect of the film is also just window dressing; the film is better when it’s more about personal relationships and less about characters being observed by a camera. The documentary makes the characters appear to be shallow when they’re obviously more interesting than just the surface appearance. In the end, the players are more interesting than the film’s conceit.
However, there are times when Guest and Levy deal their wit using only the sharpest instruments of satire and farce, but the brilliance in the writing of this film is that Guest and Levy, for all the fun they poke, actually make folk music quite appealing. The screwy, peculiar, neurotic, and sometimes wacky characters are all quite loveable. I found myself laughing good-naturedly more than in derision at the cast. Would that more movies were so endearing even when they skewering.
The film earned an Oscar® nomination for “Best Music, Original Song” for the fabulous and poignant “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,” song by Mitch and Mickey. Guest, McKean, and Levy, however, did win a Grammy® Award in the category of “Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media” for the movie’s title track, “A Mighty Wind.” These two songs and many others in combination with a musically talented and funny cast make A Mighty Wind a must see for viewers who want their comedy a notch above profanity and gross out.
6 of 10
B
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole for the song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow")
Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
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