must see docus

ADAM CURTIS: how the hopes and dreams and uncertainties inside people’s minds met the decaying forces of old power

“adam curtis cancels the future” – frieze magazine

we are living through strange days. across britain, europe and america, societies have become split and polarised. there is anger at the inequality and the ever growing corruption – and a widespread distrust of the elites.

but despite the chaos, there is a paralysis – a sense that no one knows how to escape from this. “can’t get you out of my head” tells how we got to this place. and why both those in power – and we – find it so difficult to move on.

at its heart is the strange story of what happened when people’s inner feelings got mixed up with power in the age of individualism. how the hopes and dreams and uncertainties inside people’s minds met the decaying forces of old power in britain, america, russia and china. what resulted was a block not just in the society – but also inside our own heads – that stops us imagining anything else than this.

if you liked this, head >> here for part 2-8

the primary thesis in adam curtis’s film: can’t get you out of my head, seems to be that individualism has failed us. across eight hours, curtis focuses on different revolutionary figures and those proximate to power and how we have been offered and fed today:

“just another version of you had yesterday… and never a different tomorrow”.

he explores psychology theory and “the psyche of isolation that festers in the suburbs to create a dizzying picture of how we have arrived at such a narcissistic moment in time. curtis suggests that the future has been cancelled because political leaders no longer have ideas for what’s next. instead, he argues, they run campaigns of perception management – a term originated by the us military to describe the manipulation and distribution of selected information into foreign countries.

these control systems move us from states of hysteria and fear to apathy, indignance and then back again. an event back in 2012 like r/wallstreetbets – in which online reddit traders challenged wall street elites at their rigged financial system – is an example of a shock that was momentarily all-consuming then almost forgotten in our minds.

soon, the next shitstorm arrives, and the cycle repeats, but the underlying power structures remain intact. put another way: curtis claims that society today simply reinforces itself, and everything reworks the past – not least the filmmaker himself.” by bb

CATEGORIES: clips, must see docus, politricks

Interview with Roman Polanski: From Holocaust Survivor to Hollywood Scandal

bodies: carol lynley (1942–2019) was an american actress and child model. she is best remembered for her starring role as the ship’s singer in the 1972 disaster classic the poseidon adventure and for her groundbreaking performance in the controversial 1959 film blue denim.

 

nastasia kinski aka nastassja kinski born january 24, 1961 is a celebrated german actress and former model who gained international fame in the late 1970s and 1980s. the daughter of the notoriously intense actor klaus kinski, she has appeared in over 60 european and american films.

roman polanski

if link is missing try this: roman polanski dinner interview with clive james

ah yes roman was a favorite of ours…. but you had to go and fuck things up didn’t you? roman unfortunately liked them very young too. i actually think he was not as nasty as harvey weinstein and jeffrey epstein but then there are degrees in hell or so we are told. the point is you can be talented but not a good person. that was the case with harvey and roman… jeffery on the other hand was just an ass hole – he is def in the deepest dens of that hell that doesn’t exist. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, history, must see docus

Christopher Columbus can kiss our @$$: happy indigenous peoples day – here’s sugarcane the movie

rent the oscar nominated national geographics documentary by julian brave noisecat here

canon USA presents behind the scenes sugarcane movie documentary


 film review

a stunning tribute to the resilience of native people and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature documentary from julian brave noisecat and emily kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. in 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the catholic church in canada.

after years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy indigenous communities. set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, SUGARCANE illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. by ts

CATEGORIES: clips, earth related, must see docus, politricks

vice is broke: how vice went from a free street magazine to a 5 billion dollar hype and down to zero.

early vice covers when it was cool and FREE

gavin mcinnes cover perhaps? it was all in the making…

racist!… must have been gavin’ cover too

 

terry richardon before cancellation

also see the books on dos and don’t and history of sex just don’t get em on amazon

we loved vice magazine in its early days. it was hilarious and kooky. in new york city, we’d pick em up on the corner on our way to work for free… read em, then chuck em.

some issues were so good we’d photocopy articles and mail to friends who lived in less fortunate cities and countries were vice wasn’t available. the article were about sex, drugs, dos and donts, identity, travel, and just about any random thing in any given category you’d least expect. then suddenly we heard vice is bought by CNN… or that’s what i recall. it turns out it wasn’t CNN it happened to be HBO. same shit. it was one of those corporate-lame legacy outlets.

“make the cool guy feel rich, and the rich guy feel cool and you got em”

– vice is broke

a documentary on vice magazines history by eddie huang

 

for me and so many other that was the end of vice. i don’t think i followed them after that really. every once-in-a-while we’d see a video on youtube about nuclear wolves in chernobyl, or some country on the african continents civil war funded by the west. we wanted to like them but it wasnt the same. the one memorable video from the later versions of vice was with simon ostrovsky in ukraine, who seemed competent enough. atleast, because by now, vice had surely lost all its cool and without simon ostrovsky’s substance there was nothing much left aside with a bunch fart boys.

 

have a watch. thoroughly enjoyed the documentary “vice is broke” by eddie huang, granted it is first-and-foremost a dis track to shane smith, non the less its a great dive into the past and meeting some of the great people who worked on it in its earlier days. good watch, see it on mubi.com (don’t have mubi? try 7 day free trial, hey its between mubi and criterion, the rest are crap anyway). by uh

CATEGORIES: clips, history, must see docus, ny places, read

and the plot thickens: there has been many speculation on JFK assassination… but this one is french!

the kennedy brothers: john f. kennedy, robert f. kennedy, and edward m. kennedy. john f. kennedy served as the 35th u.s. president, robert f. kennedy served as attorney general and later as a u.s. senator, and edward m. kennedy served as a u.s. senator

shot by a lone gunman ––  JFKs younger brother, robert f. kennedy was assassinated on june 15 1968

shot by a lone gunman ––  JFK in dallas

seconds before JFK was assassinated on november 22 1963

LBJ sworn in hours after JFKs assassination

shot by a lone gunman ––  lee harvey oswald (an american ex US marine, whom the CIA admitted to monitoring before the act) was arrested nearly two hours after president kennedy’s assassination. he denied all allegations. he was killed by a lone gunman just 2 days after his arrest –– never testifying.

the lone gunman –– jack ruby born jacob leon rubenstein, the son of joseph rubenstein and fannie turek rutkowski (or rokowsky), both polish-born orthodox jews. ruby had ties to the criminal underworld and was very likely compromised, ruby was quoted to say that he thought about “killing oswald two nights earlier, to show the world that jews have guts.”

JFKs son salutes his dead fathers casket 1963

a pensive LBJ in deep thought

a younger “donald rumsfeld‘s” the man who became the US defense secretary and in 2023 was a key proponent behind US iraq war

donald rumsfeld’s letter to RFK back in june of 1963

robert f. kennedy (RFK) was assassinated on june 15 1968 (4 years after JFK)

the lone gunman –– sirhan sirhan (the islamic terrorist) was actually a christian palestinian who had moved to US after his parents were expelled from west jeruselum in 1948 – he was identified as the assassin just 2 hours after the assassination of RFK.

a mature JFK jr. considering running for office

NOT shot by a lone gunman ––  but unfortunately JFK jr. dies piloting his own airplane in a crash.

after decades of conspiracies about the assassinations, oliver stones film JFK finally puts all the blame squarely on the CIA, and no one else.

financier and producer of oliver stones film JFK, was arnon milchan –– an israeli billionaire businessman, film producer and former spy. see wiki.

mind bending documentary “the assassination of JFK by laurent guyenot” if video is missing try here or here on youtube.

there has been many speculation on JFK assassination but most likely a lunatic lone gunman killed JFK in 1963… and another killed RFK 1965… and another killed Oswald 1963… and another MLK 1968…

JFK jr. escapes the lone gunman scenario but unfortunately dies in plane crash in 1999. that doesn’t make this theory true, but what a string of suspicious conspiracies…. if nothing they are fun to ponder upon? no?

but who is laurent guyenot: a PHD grad from the sorbonne. after earning an engineering degree (national school of advanced technology, 1982), laurent guyénot pursued his interests in the history and anthropology of religions, earning his doctorate in medieval studies (PhD in medieval studies at paris IV-sorbonne, 2009). he has authored numerous books on the subject. his current research focuses on the religious and civilizational backgrounds of zionist geostrategy. books available on amazon. by dd

 

CATEGORIES: clips, history, must see docus, politricks

“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine” – the faces of che

rene burri photograph of ernesto che-guevara 1963 havana

lisa howard and fidel castro first meeting havana riviera hotel april 21 1963. in the early 1960s, lisa howard became ABC news’s first woman reporter, and was the first woman to have her own national network television news show (insert: mole). howard developed a relationship with cuba’s fidel castro, whom she met to interview, and was a go-between for a time between castro and the american white house.

blue bird production “the faces of che” and the cuban revolution

a very good and rare documentary (watch it before this bootleg is taken down) on cuba and its revolution with some details about the relationship of che and castro that i didn’t know. worth a watch for any history buff. by xy

CATEGORIES: clips, history, must see docus, politricks

this is the end… my beautiful friend… what happened to jim morrison on that last day in paris

jim morrison in better days

the chateau marmont on sunset frequented by morrison and where john belushi was found dead. whole nother story, but very similar, to come.

above image at the roundhouse london photo by ethan russell

jim morrison in less “better days”

stranger days… arrested at the doors concert for “lewd behavior” banned from performing for 2 years

jim morrison and girlfriend, pamela courson, who played a role in his death

paris is always a good idea

 

1- the end of jim morrison if unavailable try HERE

“1971. when jim morrison was at the height of his career, the doors seemed unstoppable. six years of intensive career, 6 albums, 200 concerts. jim morrison had become a music legend…until a tragic end. full documentary on the life of this rock icon, from the beginning… until the end.” – director: michaelle gagnet

 

2- the final 24hrs if unavailable try HERE

“july 2, 1971. jim morrison is one of the most famous rock singers in the world. but morrison is at war with his own dark demons. In 24 hours his darkness will consume him and he’ll be dead. using archive footage, dramatic reenactment and interviews with his closest companions, final 24 details the last 24 hours of morrison’s life.” – directed by mike parkinson”

2 good documentaries, i preferred the 1st one (the end of jim morrison) to some extent… but both are worth a watch. a good outline on a story, i had heard and read, but never knew the tiny details off. bit sensational, but filled with great people like french directors alain renais, and agnes varda, on top jaques demy…. all friends of jim morrison apparently. by uh

 

 

CATEGORIES: clips, music, must see docus

soundtrack to a coup d’etat: best documentary feature film 97th academy awards

also see this great new film “soundtrack to a coup d’etat”

soundtrack to a coup d’etat premiered at the sundance film festival on 22 january 2024.

it won the andré cavens award for best film from the belgian film critics association. it has been nominated for best documentary feature film at the 97th academy awards.

soundtrack to a coup d’etat is a documentary film directed by johan grimonprez about the cold war episode that led american musicians abbey lincoln and max roach to crash the un security council in protest against the murder of congolese leader patrice lumumba. one february morning in 1961, singer abbey lincoln and drummer max roach crash the un security council to protest the murder of prime minister patrice lumumba of the newly independent congo. sixty yelling protesters throw punches, slam their stilettos and provoke a skirmish with unprepared guards as diplomats look on in shock.

six months earlier, sixteen newly independent african countries are admitted to the united nations, shifting the majority vote away from the old colonial powers. soviet leader nikita khrushchev speaks in opposition to the neo-colonial power grab unfolding in the republic of the congo (léopoldville) (modern dr congo). denouncing america’s color bar and un complicity in the overthrow of lumumba, he demands immediate decolonization worldwide.

to retain control over the riches of what used to be the belgian congo, king baudouin of belgium finds an ally in the eisenhower administration, which fears losing access to one of the world’s biggest known reserves of uranium, a metal vital for the creation of atomic bombs. congo-léopoldville takes center stage to both the cold war and the scheme for control of the un. the US state department swings into action: jazz ambassador louis armstrong is dispatched to win the hearts and minds of africa. unwittingly, armstrong becomes a smokescreen to divert attention from africa’s first post-colonial coup, leading to the assassination of congo’s first democratically elected leader. malcolm x stands up in open support of lumumba and his efforts to create a united states of africa while also reframing the freedom struggle of african americans as one not for civil rights but for human rights, aiming to bring his case before the UN.

as black jazz ambassadors are performing unaware amidst covert cia operatives, the likes of armstrong, nina simone, duke ellington, dizzy gillespie and melba liston face a painful dilemma: how to represent a country where segregation is still the law of the land.

jazz and decolonization are entwined in this forgotten episode of the cold war, where the greatest musicians stepped onto the political stage, and downtrodden politicians lent their voices as inadvertent lead singers. this story of the undermining of african self-determination is told from the perspective of central african republic women’s rights activist and politician andrée blouin, irish diplomat and enfant terrible conor cruise o’brien, belgian-congolese writer in koli jean bofane, and nikita khrushchev himself. by dd

CATEGORIES: history, must see docus, politricks

finally vice magazine streams the film “israelism”

israelism is a 2023 american documentary, made before the october 7th war, about the portrayal of the israeli–palestinian conflict in american jewish institutions.

the film focuses on the perspectives of simone zimmerman and another jewish american, a former IDF soldier eitan, following them as they learn more about the treatment of palestinians and come to revise their views on israel.

winner of best feature documentary, and top audience award at the san francisco jewish film festival

winner of spirit award at brooklyn international film festival

directed by erin axelman and sam eilertsen, it has screened at various film festivals in the united states and won a brooklyn film festival spirit award. the film is critical of israel’s treatment of palestinians, and of the american jewish community’s education on the israeli–palestinian conflict.

it follows two american jews as they learn about the conflict and come to revise their views. the film also includes interviews with academics and political activists. by dd

CATEGORIES: earth related, must see docus, politricks

George Orwell’s 1984 is unfolding before our eyes: “surveilled” a documentary on how democracies fall with ronan farrow

journalist ronan farrow investigates the growing commercial spyware industry – and the ethical dilemmas of 21st century cyberespionage.

“surveilled” movie trailer

interview with journalist ronan farrow

tracking the new yorker journalist ronan farrow as he investigates the growing business of commercial spyware, following the story from new york city to tel aviv, israel, a thriving center of espionage cybertechnology (including the NSO group, and black cube). once a target of covert surveillance himself, (while investigating harvey weinstein who had hired black cube to intimidate farrow) farrow explores the multibillion-dollar industry, addressing the twofold uses and implications of phone hacking, the ability to monitor criminal activity and the attendant threats to civil liberties. most important now more than ever. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must see docus, politricks

wilmington 1898 how North Carolina’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government was illegally ousted

american coup wilmington 1898 

directed by brad lichtenstein and yoruba richen

you can watch the full film on PBS website – link in copy below

the film, which is a part of american history seldom displayed, tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in north carolina’s largest city (wilmington) in 1898 — the only successful coup d’état in the history of the united states to date. stoking fears of “negro rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy black political and economic power and overthrow wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. black residents were murdered and thousands were banished.

the story of what happened in wilmington was suppressed for decades until descendants and scholars began to investigate. today, many of those descendants — black and white — seek the truth about this intentionally buried history. the film is available on pbs website for viewing,

 

CATEGORIES: clips, history, must see docus, politricks