| Rock Docs: A Celebration of
Rock Documentaries
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This is an Aero Theatre Exclusive!
From the 1960s through the present, a prodigious stream of
documentaries dedicated to all things rock has flowed into the public eye and ear. Join us
for this very special weekend of music documentaries that includes new works about Patti
Smith and Bob Dylan as well as classics from Scorsese (The Band in THE LAST WALTZ),
Demme (The Talking Heads in STOP MAKING SENSE), and Richard Lester (The Beatles in A
HARD DAY’S NIGHT).
Thursday, August 28 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD, 2006,
Paramount, 103 min. Academy-Award-winning director Jonathan Demme beautifully
captures Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young at work in this acclaimed
documentary. With the help of his wife, Peggi, country star Emmylou Harris,
steel guitarist Ben Keith and others, Young prepares and presents the performance
of a lifetime at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. Official Website
STOP MAKING SENSE, 1984, Palm
Pictures, 88 min. Jonathan Demme revolutionized the art of shooting rock concerts
with this innovative and lively record of the Talking Heads. The film expertly
captures the music's energy, fusing cinema with performance to create something more than
the sum of its parts. Artistically ambitious, filled with joyous but controlled energy,
this is considered by many critics to be the best concert film of all time. View trailer
Friday, August 29 - 7:30 PM
L.A. Premiere! PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE, 2008, Palm Pictures, 109 min.
Twelve years in the making, the first film directed by fashion photographer Steven
Sebring stitches together layer upon layer of human experience to paint a portrait of Patti
Smith, the artist as a tireless and dynamic worker for music, poetry, peace, family
and friends. Official
Website/Trailer.
Saturday, August 30 - 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, 1964,
Miramax, 85 min. Director Richard Lester's brilliant, carefree comedy captured the
early Beatles at their best, setting the tone for the ‘60s revolution. From
the restless, handheld camerawork and sleight-of-hand jumpcut editing, writer Alun Owen's
surreal day-in-the-life script and George Martin's sprightly score (both Oscar-nominated)
to the Beatles themselves, this is the essence of the monochromatic early ‘60s. View Trailer.
IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON, 1988,
Warner Bros., 100 min. Dir. Andrew Solt. A documentary about former Beatle John
Lennon that contains extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection as
well as interviews with Ono, Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, and sons Julian and Sean.
Narrated in Lennon's own voice, IMAGINE was taken from the 240 hours of personal film and
video from the star's private collection. A unique film that gives fans a look at the
enigmatic pop revolutionary that is unavailable anywhere else. View trailer.
Sunday, August 31 - 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
THE LAST WALTZ, 1978, MGM
Repertory, 117 min. "It Started as a Concert. It Became a Celebration. Now It's a
Legend." On Thanksgiving Day 1976, 5,000 cheering fans gathered for the historic
farewell concert of The Band. Martin Scorsese provides fascinating
interviews with Band members, but the film's real hook is the stage show: A rotation of
rock legends that includes Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Paul Butterfield, Bob Dylan,
Eric Clapton, and Neil Young join The Band in one of the greatest concert films
ever made. View Trailer.
FESTIVAL EXPRESS, 2003,
ThinkFilm, 90 min. Dir. Bob Smeaton & Frank Cvitanovich. Set in 1970, FESTIVAL
EXPRESS was a multi-band (including Janis Joplin, The Band and The Grateful Dead)
extravaganza. What made it unique was that it was portable; for five days the bands and
performers lived, slept, rehearsed and did countless unmentionable things aboard a
customized train that traveled from Toronto to Calgary to Winnipeg, with each stop
culminating in a mega-concert. FESTIVAL EXPRESS combines long-lost archival material with
contemporary interviews to document a little-known but seminal moment in rock history. Official Trailer.
Thursday, September 4 – 7:30 PM
** Please note that the date was changed from Sept. 3 to Sept. 4.
Double Feature:
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR:
BOB DYLAN LIVE AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, 2007, MLF, 83 min. This brand-new film
from Academy Award-winning director Murray Lerner documents the remarkably swift
metamorphosis of Bob Dylan from scrawny, Guthrie-inspired protest singer to
Ray-Banned rock icon in just three years. The footage has been newly transferred from the
original negative with matching audio restoration. View trailer.
BOB DYLAN '65 REVISITED,
2007, Pennebaker Films, 60 min. Dir. D.A. Pennebaker. An acclaimed new film on Bob
Dylan drawn from countless hours of DON’T LOOK BACK outtakes, it includes
ultra-rare footage of Dylan writing and rehearsing material for his 1966 masterpiece
"Blonde on Blonde." Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn describes the
new film simply: "The greatest rock movie ever - just got better." View
trailer. |
