Category Archives: TV

DVDs, TV

“American Masters: Basquiat: Rage to Riches” details the life ans creativity of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Another artistic adventure from PBS: American Masters: Basquiat: Rage to Riches.
Directed and produced by David Shulman, this program tells the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat like never before. One of the most influential American artists of the 20th century, Basquiat was a rock star of the early ’80s New York art scene. He lived fast, died young and created thousands of drawings and paintings. It took less than a decade for Basquiat, an accountant’s son from Brooklyn, to go from anonymous graffiti writer known as SAMO to an epoch-defining art star.

American Masters: Basquiat - Rage To RichesToday, Basquiat is in the top tier of the international art market along with Picasso, de Kooning, and Francis Bacon. 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of Basquiat’s untimely death from a heroin overdose. In death, he has emerged as one of the most important artists of his generation and now exhibits in museums all over the world.

The program features exclusive interviews with Basquiat’s two sisters, Lisane and Jeanine, who have never before spoken about their brother and his art for a television documentary. With striking candor, art world colleagues, including dealers Bruno Bischofberger, Larry Gagosian and Mary Boone, and Basquiat’s most intimate friends, lovers and fellow artists draw a portrait of a handsome, charismatic and fragile personality – one enmeshed in a world of cash, drugs and the pernicious racism that he encountered. The main weapon Basquiat used to fight prejudice was his art. A game changer, his painting embodied and reflected breakthroughs in music, poetry and a new type of expressionism in modern art.

DVDs, TV

“American Masters: Wyeth” chronicles the soul and talent of Andrew Wyeth

September is a few weeks ago, so what way to “fall” back than with a hot new PBS DVD?
Directed by Glenn Holsten, American Masters: Wyeth tells the story of one of America’s most popular, but least understood, artists–Andrew Wyeth. Son of the famous illustrator N.C. Wyeth, Andrew had his first exhibition at age 20, and his painting Christina’s World was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948. While Wyeth’s exhibitions routinely broke attendance records, art world critics continually assaulted his work.
Detailing the stunning drawings and powerful portraits he created in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and on the coast of Cushing, Maine, Wyeth explores his inspirations, including neighbor Christina Olsen and his hidden muse, the German model Helga Testorf, who he painted secretly for 15 years.

Through unprecedented access to Wyeth’s family members, including sons Jamie and Nicholas Wyeth, and never-before-seen archival materials from the family’s personal collection and hundreds of Wyeth’s studies, drawings and paintings, this documentary presents the most complete portrait of the artist yet —bearing witness to a legacy just at the moment it is evolving.
The documentary will be released on Digital HD on September 8 and on DVD on September 11, 2018.n modern art.

Books, TV

Kari Byron on how ‘Mythbusters’ made her a better person, a better woman

Kari Byron takes the stereotypes and stigma around being a woman on television and in science and—quite literally—blows them up. She is proof that you don’t need to wear a lab coat—or, be a guy—to geek out on science. In turning her love of art, sculpture, and special effects into a career involving explosives and hard hats, she has catapulted herself into an unexpected role as the queen of scientific stunts.

On  MythBusters, Kari and her cohorts filmed over 7,200 hours, tested over 900 myths, set off 850 explosions and used 43,500 yards of duct tape. To examine each urban legend, they applied the scientific method: question, hypothesize, experiment, analyze, and ultimately, come to conclusions. Along the way, Kari discovered that this logical process is also the perfect tool for solving everyday problems, from unsatisfying relationships to depression and debt.  In Crash Test Girl: An Unlikely Experiment in Using the Scientific Method to Answer Life’s Toughest Questions (HarperOne, $25.99), Kari reveals to readers her scientific method for investigating, growing, and making discoveries that can lead to greater wisdom, happiness and success (while having a lot of fun in the process).

Crash Test Girl: An Unlikely Experiment in Using the Scientific Method to Answer Life's Toughest QuestionsShe shares the insights and knowledge she’s gained, as well as:

  • How salary inequality at Mythbusters turned her into an advocate for equal pay
  • Why having no scientists on Mythbusters made the show better
  • How Mythbusters was a vehicle for critical thinking and how Kari uses the scientific method in her real life
  • How an inherently shy person forced herself to become a performer
  • Why to be successful, you don’t have to be right, but you do have to understand, with a scientist’s emotional detachment, why you were wrong
  • How Kari handled getting fired and what steps she took to get back on track

Crash Test Girl reminds us that science is for everyone, as long as you’re willing to strap in, put on your safety goggles, hit a few walls, and learn from the results. Using a combination of methodical experimentation and unconventional creativity, you’ll come to the most important conclusion of all: In life, sometimes you crash and burn, but you can always crash and learn.

DVDs, TV

“Spiral: Season 6” spirals into more great TV, imported from France. Oui!

We apologize to our fans, especially those fans of Spiral,  the hard-hitting Parisian cop thriller (originally released in France as Engrenages) that has became a critically acclaimed blockbuster success across Europe and Australia and won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama.

We have been spiraling out of control, catching up with all the past MHz episodes we missed.  In Spiral: Season 6, BAFTA nominee Caroline Proust returns as Captain Laure Berthaud, as she and her team begin a complex new investigation after a human torso is discovered in the 20th arrondissement in Paris.

Backed up by her team of detectives including Thierry Godard as Lt. Gilou and Fred Bianconi as Tintin, the investigation is overseen by Judge Roban, played by veteran French actor Philippe Duclos. Audrey Fleurot also returns as lawyer Joséphine Karlsson, who continues to juggle her professional ambitions with her personal demons.

DVDs, TV

Prepare for a journey like no other: “Earth’s Natural Wonders: Season 2: Life at the Extremes”

Somehow, human beings have found a way to exist alongside Mother Nature’s most breath-taking creations. What makes these Natural Wonders so extreme? What are the challenges to human survival within them? And what helps and what hinders us in that struggle?

Answer (and stunning photography) are found with PBS Distribution’s Earth’s Natural Wonders: Season 2: Life at the Extremes. This program, presented in partnership with the BBC, takes viewers to parts of the natural world that nature has carved out on such a scale that they beggar belief.

Vast mountain ranges, impenetrable rainforests and dazzling tropical islands—places where nature is visible at its most primal, most powerful, and most extraordinarily beautiful. For human beings, survival within these wonders can pose extraordinary challenges. Yet in even the most extreme and remote parts of our planet people do survive.

DVDs, TV

A pair of new MHz releases are so good, the air will only get hotter

We ask the dear gods and goddesses at MHz to forgive us. We ask because we are so engrossed in two of newest releases that we haven’t found time to brag about them. Until now.

Detective Montalbano: Episodes 31 & 32
Murder, betrayal, office politics, temptation . . . it’s all in a day’s work for Detective Salvo Montalbano. With his always loyal and sometimes effective police squad he solves crimes in Vigata, crossing paths with housewives and priests, liars, saints and Mafia dons. He also wages a personal war with his own demons, which fight against his professional ideals and personal commitment to beautiful long-distance girlfriend, Livia.
Yet there’s always time to indulge a long-standing flirtation with his ultimate temptress, Italian cuisine. The series is filmed in the ancient, sun-washed Sicilian city of Ragusa, and is based on the international best-selling mystery novels by Andrea Camilleri.

Episode31:  Merry-Go-Round
Bizarre kidnappings of young women in Vigàta are happening for incomprehensible reasons. Montalbano also investigates an arson and the disappearance of a young business owner known for being a playboy and big spender. He realizes the key to solving the cases lies in the identity of the young man’s girlfriend, a mysterious woman whose identity the man kept secret from friends and associates.

EPISODE 32: Amore
Montalbano is out of his depth when it comes to matters of the heart, so the disappearance of beautiful Michela Prestia leaves him totally stumped. She’d escaped a tragic past of abuse and prostitution and rebuilt her life with a man she loved.  It seems unthinkable she would walk away. An elderly theatrical couple helps Montalbano understand a little more about the complexities of love.

Then there’s . . .

Antarctica, a three-part documentary featuring stunning visuals captured by photographers Laurent Ballest and Vincent Munier as they explore the frozen continent, comes from Luc Jacquet, the director of March of the Penguins. Traveling aboard a French polar icebreaker in 2016, they documented the marvels of the continent, both on the ice and under it. This series showcases their work and serves as a chronicle of the effect climate change is having on the unique and diverse wildlife in this harsh environment.

The story is told in three overlapping installments: Antarctica’s Secrets and Antarctica: Living on the Edge highlight the flora and fauna of the rapidly changing continent, and the feature-length In the Footsteps of the Emperor focuses on the life cycle of the emperor penguin. The photography is unforgettable particularly the underwater sequences and the penguins are arguably even more compelling than they were in the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins.

Get ready for the expedition of a lifetime.

DVDs, TV

“Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lives” hits a home run!

PBS Distribution has hit yet another home run.

American Masters—Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lives in now on DVD and Digital HD. The new program, co-produced by Albert M. Tapper Productions, in association with Major League Baseball, David Ortiz’ Big Papi Productions and Nick Davis Productions, explores not only the Baseball Hall of Famer’s remarkable on-field accomplishments but also his complicated relationships with family, teammates, press, fans and himself.

During his remarkable career with the Boston Red Sox, Williams earned many nicknames—The Kid, The Splendid Splinter and Teddy Ballgame, but the only nickname that he wanted was “the greatest hitter who ever lived.” In that pursuit, he combined his preternatural gifts with a fierce work ethic to become widely regarded as one of the greatest ever to play the game of baseball and in the process elevated the science of hitting in ways still emulated today.

Through never-before-seen archival footage and in-depth interviews with those who knew and studied Williams, including his daughter Claudia Williams, author/journalist Ben Bradlee, Jr., veteran baseball writer Roger Angela, and award-winning broadcasters Bob Costas and the late Dick Enberg, the program demonstrates the power of the heroic myth-making culture in which Williams flourished. Lesser-known topics explored int eh film include Williams’ Mexican-American background, his experiences serving during World War II and the Korean War, and his deep rage over his mother’s virtual abandonment of him and his younger brother.

Narrated by Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor Jon Hamm,  the documentary also looks at the legendary player’s impact on the game of baseball and his relevance in the almost 60 years since his retirement, highlighted by Williams’ iconic achievement—he is the last player to hit over .400, finishing the 1941 season batting .406. Former players—including Baseball Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Wade Boggs, three-time All-Star Jim Kaat and current Cincinnati Reds first baseman and former National League MVP Joey Votto—share how Williams’ philosophy, commitment to greatness and approach to hitting influenced them in the film.

DVDs, TV

“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: The Complete Fifth Series” still works, all these years later

We still laugh, in and out.

Political correctness met its match with Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, NBC’s groundbreaking variety series that became a cultural touchstone and part of the fabric of ’60s-’70s America.Every Monday night at 8 p.m. from 1968-1973, straight man Dan Rowan and wisecracking co-host Dick Martin led a supremely talented comic ensemble through a gut-busting assault of one-liners, skits, bits and non sequiturs that left viewers in hysterics and disbelief.

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: The Complete Fifth Series (Time Life) from features all 24 episodes.  And what fun! After years of shameless name dropping, Dick finally gets his wish when bombshell Raquel Welch kicks off the new season with her first and only appearance on the show. Former Hogan’s Heroes POWs Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis escaped CBS to join the cast. And, along with alumni Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and Teresa Graves, they help to celebrate Laugh-In‘s landmark 100th episode (it aired on September 1, 1971).

Other guest stars:  Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Johnny Cash, Carol Channing, Charo, Petula Clark, Bing Crosby, Tony Curtis, Henry Gibson, Gene Hackman, Rita Hayworth, Hugh Hefner, Bob Hope, Arte Johnson, Paul Lynde, Liza Minnelli, Agnes Moorehead, Joe Namath, Carroll O’Connor, Vincent Price, Carl Reiner, Debbie Reynolds, Sugar Ray Robinson, Bill Russell, Vin Scully, Doc Severinsen, Jacqueline Susann, Tiny Tim, John Wayne and Henny Youngman.

DVDs, Movies, TV

The life and treks of Sir Edmund Hillary are chronicled in “Hillary”

Hillary is not about dear Ms. Clinton.

It is from New Zealand, a six-part mini-series based on the life of mountaineer and philanthropist Sir Edmund Hillary. Capturing Hillary’s life of incredible bravery and heartbreaking tragedy, the program lovingly and vividly brings back to life the man New Zealander’s affectionately called “Sir Ed.”

The saga is available on DVD from PBS Distribution.

Based on thousands of hours of exclusive interviews, Hillary tells the story of the first man to conquer Mt. Everest. The program recounts his beekeeping days in South Auckland, to his ascent of the world’s highest mountain with climbing partner Tenzing Norgay, to the plane crash that killed his wife and daughter.

When he summited Everest in May 1953 and, as he told it, “knocked the bastard off,” Hillary put his small home country on the map. He was so beloved in New Zealand that his likeness is featured on the five-dollar note, and he was given a state funeral after his 2008 death.

Andrew Munro stars as Hillary, while Dean O’Gorman plays George Lowe, his longtime friend and climbing partner, and Amy Usherwood plays his wife, Lady Louise Hillary.

Magnificent!

DVDs, TV

“The Outback”, a new three-part series that explores the people and animals of Australia’s Kimberley region, is great

Filmed over the course of two distinct seasons, The Outback is a new three-part series that explores the people and animals of Australia’s Kimberley region in North West Australia, a vast, rugged and remote wilderness bursting with character. As large as California, the Kimberley has a population of only about 40,000 people, living alongside animals so superbly adapted to the harsh and beautiful extremes of their habitat. It’s a spectacular adventure into the life of Australia’s unique and precious North West corner.

 Catch the adventures on the PBS Distribution on DVD, though you have to save the date: It will be released August 2.

Episodes for this program include:

The Kimberley Comes Alive
The Kimberley region in North West Australia boasts some of the most spectacular wilderness—and tough characters—in existence. As the wet season comes to an end, the humans and the creatures begin their adventures across this diverse and surprising landscape. From tiny, orphaned joeys to majestic ospreys, survival takes guts (and sometimes even the huge hearts of humans to care for them). It’s a land where humans and animals live in dangerous, and exquisite, proximity.

 The Dry Season
It might be the dry season but there’s no rest in the Outback: there are turtle eggs to be laid, saltwater crocodiles to dodge and young birds on maiden flights. Cattle must be mustered from the far corners of vast cattle properties and, when that is done, rodeos spring into action. More quietly, archaeologists are led through remote wilderness by traditional owners, revealing breathtaking galleries of ancient rock art. Out at sea, elite athletes dive the ocean depths in the name of the world’s most spectacular pearl, risking dangerous encounters with curious giants. While mother to marsupials, Mandy Watson, sets her babies free.

Return of the Wet
Inland Kimberley is now so stiflingly hot, everything and everyone moves with caution with the exception of gold diggers Honest John and Steve. The region’s remaining waterholes are packed with animals, forced dangerously close together. Windjana Gorge is a prime example–a pristine oasis where brave humans wade into crocodile-infested water in the name of science. The coast is also a place to congregate. Thousands of shorebirds arrive from the world’s longest single migration, only to be blasted with nets by crafty bird lovers. The humidity builds until the skies finally explode with thunder and rain. Nyul Nyul ranger Albert Wiggan sings a welcome to the life it brings and arrival of a new season in his ancient land.