Facets has assembled a sturdy roster of twenty or so key cinematic souvenirs of the anti-Vietnam War movement that exploded in Chicago during the August 1968 Democratic Convention, including Haskell Wexler’s famous metafiction, “Medium Cool,” which, during a police tear gas attack has a camera operator’s words left on the soundtrack, “Look out, Haskell, it’s real!” The other reel attractions include “The Murder of Fred Hampton”; the Oscar-nominated “The War at Home”; “Berkeley in the Sixties”; two docs about Czechoslovakia’s ferment in that year; the Chicago premiere of John Frankenheimer’s half-hour official campaign film for Robert F. Kennedy; Tom Palazzolo’s “Campaign”; the potent “Winter Solider”; youth revolt satire “Wild in the Streets”; Norman Mailer’s rarely shown egomentary, “Maidstone”; and Louis Malle’s fictional “Fools in May.” Rarely shown shorts are among the attractions. It’s an ambitious, heady stew. On Saturday, I’ll moderate “Filming the Revolution,” a panel discussion with filmmakers Jill Godmilow, Gordon Quinn, Judy Hoffman, Peter Kuttner, Bill Kottle and Mike James. (Ray Pride)
“40 Years After: Filming the ’68 Revolution” plays all this week at Facets. The schedule is at www.facets.org. The panel discussion is August 23 at 10am.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
