Showing posts with label Documentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Documentary. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER? (1984)

Straight-forward, no-frills documentary about people (of all ages) enjoying various polka festivals in the US in the early 1980’s. And…that’s about it. Lots of enjoyable shots of people dancing and a few random quick interviews with polka fans talking about different polka-related subjects. My favorite being the high schooler talking about how she fantasizes about walking into her high school with a giant boombox blaring polka. Goddamn, how awesome would that be? How is it that an imaginative filmmaker hasn’t turned that idea into a scene in a movie or an entire movie itself? And, if they have…I need to see it!

Anyway, at only 51 minutes, IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER? goes by quickly enough, but honestly it feels more like a well-made home movie than an actual hard-hitting investigative documentary. Nothing wrong with that though, that was probably the intent of the filmmakers. To simply capture the events as they happen naturally.

No smart phones or tablets, lots of happy people dancing their brains out and sweating all over the joint, a polka pool party, a polka awards banquet, awesome vintage fashions and hairstyles, early 1980’s human bodies, a male wearing female clothing without some brainwashed toughie on social media having a complete mental breakdown about it, great camerawork, people of the same sex happily dancing together and nobody giving a fuck, lots of catchy polka jams that I actually found myself tapping my handsome toes to.

Even if you’re not into polka, IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER? is still an interesting little film that left me wanting more.

Monday, July 19, 2021

WERNER HERZOG EATS HIS SHOE (1980)

The story around the campfire goes that established filmmaker Werner Herzog remarked (in a supportive way) to a young Errol Morris that if he (Errol) ever finished a film, that he (Werner) would eat his own shoe.  This film is about Werner fulfilling that promise and eating his shoe at the premiere of Errol's film GATES OF HEAVEN.

And...that's about it.  No fancy bells or whistles.  Just Werner cooking his shoes while talking to the camera and then eating them in front of an audience at a movie theater.  It's never revealed just how much of the nasty looking shoes he ate or the state of his asshole they next day, but he definitely did eat some of them and it looked gross as fuck.  At only 20 minutes long, WERNER HERZOG EATS HIS SHOE is an easy watch and a treat for Herzog fans.  (The cute shot of Werner pointing at his bare feet made me smile.)  Although, I do wish that they had gone into more detail about the event itself.  It's all very vague.  Hell, Morris doesn't even appear in the film at all!  Was he even there?

WHEHS is also notable for being the first collaboration (if that is the correct term) between Les Blank and Werner Herzog.  They would next work together on the truly fascinating BURDEN OF DREAMS were Blanks documents Herzog during the making of his psychotic FITZCARRALDO.

There's also a rumor (that I'm about to start in 3 seconds) that Werner originally told Errol that if he ever finished his film that "...he'd jack off a dog in the town square", but they settled for him eating his shoes instead.

[Insert WERNER HERZOG EATS HIS HUMAN CENTIPEDE joke here.]

Jokes aside, WERNER HERZOG EATS HIS SHOE is a fun watch. Check it out.

Monday, April 12, 2021

PROJECT GRIZZLY (1996)

Not to be confused with Werner Herzog's 2005 sad documentary GRIZZLY MAN, PROJECT GRIZZLY is the befuddling and unintentionally(?) humorous documentary about inventor Troy Hurtubise.  The film opens with Troy standing in a snowy field telling us about a wild bear encounter he had years ago.  Whether or not the bear story is actually true, I have no clue and it honestly doesn't matter.  What matters (as far as the film goes) is Troy got it in his unique brain that the world needs a "grizzly-proof" suit of armour.  A bear-proof suit in and of itself isn't a bad idea, but what makes Troy's suit so goddamn horrible and fucking awesome all at the same time, is: it's over 7 feet tall, weighs "a relatively light" 147 pounds, takes multiple people to get the user into it and once you're trapped inside this death trap...you can barely even move!  And even then, only on totally flat surfaces.  You might as well be locked inside a huge block of concrete.

At only 72 minutes, PROJECT GRIZZLY flies by quickly enough.  First, we're introduced to Troy and his suit, then some of the people in his life and the suit being tested, then finally comes to big final act where Troy and team go out into the wilderness to test out the suit on a live grizzly bear in the wild.  So, naturally, once out in the deep woods, the team talk loudly on walkie-talkies, fly a helicopter around, set off large fireworks, randomly fire off their guns, playing chess next to a large fire, light a cigarette with a burning log...you know, all the stuff that attracts wild animals.  Mysteriously enough, the insanely loud noises and cigarette smoke failed to convince any grizzly bears to attack Troy (who's not even in the suit) and the film simply ends.  It's really a perfect ending to a documentary that's pretty much about nothing.

I've seen PROJECT GRIZZLY a few times over the centuries and it always puts a smile on my handsome face.  Ridiculous premise, memorable characters (mainly Troy), shaving outside in the snow with a knife bigger than your face, the word "ay" used...a lot, forced laughing, riding around on the front of a forklift while somebody shoots sparks in your rugged face, awesome VHS footage of earlier versions of the suit being tested (hit with boards, tumbling down a steep hill, hit by a truck, etc.), good pace, dope 90's hair, singing and playing a guitar inside a fast-food joint, tons of scenes that looked staged, very unsafe driving skills.  PROJECT GRIZZLY is a fun ride and 100% worth watching for fans of quirky documentaries.  The only real complaint I have is it leaves you wanting more!

Might even make a good double-feature with the short doc THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16.

If you need me, I'll be in my workshop working on my Wookalar-proof suit of armor, ay.