It's a DVR Day, it seems. This probably isn't for everybody, but for a personal reason I want to mention it, and for documentary film buffs, you'll definitely want to know about it. But even if you don't want to watch it, or only want to check it out for 20 minutes or so, there is a fascinating story about it being made. I got a PBS email the other day about a documentary that will be broadcast on PBS tonight (Friday), which caught my eye for a specific reason. It’s called Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros. The documentary is about this famous family-run restaurant in France that has had three Michelin stars for 55 years. The reason it stood out for me is that Lest Troisgros was probably my parents’ favorite restaurant, and they would travel far out of their way to get there every year on trips to France for probably decades. They even became sort of “letter buddies” with the family. I absolutely know how they dearly would have loved to see this (and be thrilled it was even made). Though I then saw it’s running time. four hours! Putting aside how on earth could someone make a documentary about a restaurant that long, as much as I wanted to see it, that struck as too long for even my deep interest. But then I looked it up to see who made it. And this bowled me over even more. It's made by a man named Frederick Wiseman. That may mean nothing to most people, but it’s amazing to me for two reasons. The first is that he’s one of the most acclaimed documentary filmmakers ever. For perspective, in 2014, he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the renowned Venice Film Festival. And in 2016, he got an Oscar from the Motion Picture Academy. He’s made 54 documentaries. And always used a special style, with no narrator, letting the action and reality tell the story. The first film of his I saw was Hospital 1970. His second film, Titicut Follies (made in 1967) was selected two years ago (in 2022) for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The point is he’s legendary. But still, I thought, how could this film be possible? It must be an old movie he made long ago that I never heard of. So, I looked him up -- and that’s the second point that amazed me. I was stunned to learn that Frederick Wiseman is not only still alive, but that in fact he did make this last year…when he was 93!! So, I definitely will watch. Probably not in one sitting. But that’s the good thing about being about to record a movie on the DVR. Without having seen it, the best I can offer for those uncertain about checking it out is that, for fans of the series The Bear, this is the real thing. At a very high end. Like the episode with 'Cousin' who briefly apprentices at a high-end restaurant and learns the importance of meticulous detail and caring. It airs on PBS in Los Angeles tonight (Friday), from 9pm to 1am. My guess is that's the time it airs in the East. In Chicago, it runs from 8pm to midnight. So thems who are interested can record it and watch at your leisure. After all, you can always record it, and watch the first half-hour and see if you want to keep watching… Given that the documentary is four hours, I can't imagine that a trailer will give much of a sense of the substance of the film. But this is a nice, four-minute featurette with Frederick Wiseman talking about how the documentary came to be, intercut throughout with scenes from the film. And what the heck, here's the trailer as a bonus -- or for those who'd rather watch it instead of the featurette. Clearly there's much more to the documentary than this hors d'ouevre, but this does show the craft.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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