PeterGilbert Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In honor of Memorial Day, our friends at SnagFilms are hosting a special section of films with the intention "to honor the fallen, and to reflect on our own duties of remembrance and action." The eleven documentaries cover a good range of subjects; the one that first caught my eye is Vietnam, Long Time Coming.

Directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Peter Gilbert, and Gordon Quinn, and narrated by Joe Mantegna, the film chronicles "a gathering of American and Vietnamese veterans, many of them disabled, who collectively travel on bicycles and hand cycles [on a] 1,200 mile, 16-day journey" through Vietnam, wrote Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader when naming the movie among his 10 best of 1998. Rosenbaum felt that "all sorts of issues -- from the corporate sponsorship to the music on the sound track to the status of the undertaking as a sporting event -- get in the way, despite the intelligent and purposeful narration delivered by Joe Mantegna. But I can't deny that certain moments in Vietnam: Long Time Coming brought me to tears -- especially the vets' statements as they struggle to make sense of the Vietnam war and their experience of it. As an act of witness to those struggles, the film is irreplaceable."

Blumenthal and Gilbert are long-time documentarians; Gilbert worked on Hoop Dreams and has continued to make documentaries, including last year's excellent At the Death House Door with Steve James. We've embedded the movie below for your viewing convenience. More information is available at Kartemquin Films and at SnagFilms.

On the subject of the death penalty, there are reasonable arguments to be made on both sides. But even those who support capital punishment in theory must concede that it's perilously difficult to administer it in practice. It's only defensible if there isn't the slightest doubt whatsoever that the person is unequivocally guilty -- and how many cases are that clear?

The documentary At the Death House Door doesn't take a firm stance against the death penalty altogether, but it sure makes a strong case for exercising caution. It does this through the poignant, heart-rending story of Rev. Carroll Pickett, a soft-spoken Texas man who served for 13 years as chaplain at the notoriously execution-happy Huntsville Prison. Here he counseled with 95 prisoners during their final hours, and the experience changed his life.

It seems like just a few months ago we were enjoying the sights, the sounds, the smells and the cinema of South By Southwest 2007, but guess what? Now that it's January, the festival's only about nine weeks away! Awesome! So today we caught some slightly early news on what SXSW is cooking up for this March, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what they snagged for their opening night film.

And that film is: Robert Luketic's 21, which is based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. (You may remember Mr. Luketic from flicks like Legally Blonde, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and Monster-in-Law.) Adapted by Ben Mezrich's book by screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, 21 stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess. (Check out the trailer right here.)

And if that world premiere isn't cool enough, festival chief Matt Dentler has also divulged the following titles for SXSW '08:

At the Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert) "A sobering and powerful story of the wrongful execution of Carlos DeLuna and the Death House Chaplain, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who spent the last day of DeLuna's life with him."

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (Erik Nelson) "A documentary portrait of acclaimed author Harlan Ellison, as he looks back on his fabled and influential career as one of the world's top science fiction writers."

Flawless (Michael Radford) "In 1960s London, a talented but overlooked diamond executive (Demi Moore) is convinced to participate in a jewelry heist when a veteran janitor (Michael Caine) hatches a plan."

Run Fatboy Run (David Schwimmer) "An out-of-shape divorced father (Simon Pegg) makes one last attempt to win back the respect of his son, his ex-wife (Thandie Newton), and the community around him. All he has to do is finish his first marathon."

Wild Blue Yonder (Celia Maysles) "Celia Maysles had no idea her father and his brother Albert were pioneers of verite documentary filmmaking. Determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her background, Celia sets out on a quest to rediscover her father by using his own artistic process."

Expect a few more flashy surprises before the full SXSW slate is announced on February 5! Until then, feel free to browse through the SXSW website and decide if THIS is the year you're finally going to take my advice and attend the dang festival. (You do know it's a movie AND music fest, right? Interactive, too, and I do believe I've mentioned the indigenous BBQ more than once.)