Material Archive

Going to see this film tomorrow: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

 

Excited!

The Importance of Being Morrissey: The Documentary

 


From 2002 but still good! 

Part 2  x  Part 3  x  Part 4  x  Part 5

Part 6   x  Part 7

Tom Ford: The Documentary

 

A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt

 

 

Quite enjoyed this little documentary about Paul Liebrandt. His absolutely tireless determination and passion made me perma-smile throughout the whole film. I never tire of watching people that care so deeply about something. And unlike the recent El Bulli doc, this one is full of commentary and personal disclosure.

Read a fun article about when Paul came to cook for Jeffrey Steingarten at his home for 2 weeks here.

Modernist Cuisine – mostly no Photoshop

When I first saw this series of books, I assumed it was almost all retouching that produced the amazing cut-away photograpy – but alas, as this Ted talk shows, the majority of imagery is a result of actually sawing dishware and appliances in half! Pretty cool.

Watch several other videos on the book here.

Read a great article about Nathan Myhrvold, the book's co-author, and the former CTO of Microsoft, here.

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

Keen to see this! Might go tomorow – message me if you want to join ;-)

*** Update!

I saw it and really enjoyed it.

It's received many bad reviews criticizing it's lack of interviews or voice over, but for me it was a voyeur's delight. It's a style of filmmaking that allows you to simply observe without the lens or bias of an interviewer – you simply spend the entire time listening to the occasional exchanges Ferran Adrià has with his staff and watching them experiment tirelessly – drawing your own conclusions instead of being spoon-fed every insight.

My take-away – the man is very precise and understands that the core of what he is selling is something magical, creative and inspiring – an experience to remember.

Last night I saw: Cave of Forgotten Dreams

"Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the result of Herzog's exclusive access to the recently discovered Chauvet caves in the South of France, and their extraordinary cave paintings, dating back 32,000 years."

 

Koto Bolofo’s book "La Maison" is finally available

 

 

 After six years of detailed documentation of everything Hermès, Koto's book is finally available for purchase.

Here's more info:

Koto Bolofo’s dream came true in 2004 when he started working for Monde d’Hermès, the Hermès magazine, and when he met the Chairman: “Mr Dumas asked where I came from. I said South Africa. He asked what part. I said Lesotho. He was shocked and very excited. He explained that his great great great grandfather was a missionary in Lesotho and that the Zulus used to attack his mission, but the Sothos – my tribe – protected him. I was very happy to be a Lesothan in Mr Dumas’s office that day. He called me his cousin and said that his cousin was welcome any time and I had carte blanche to photograph what I liked in Hermès”.

Over the next six years, Koto Bolofo worked his way through all the workshops of the Maison Hermès, getting to know the craftsmen and discovering how everything is made: from handbags, perfumes, scarves, prêt-à-porter, and shoes to the original objects of the house, saddles. Nothing escaped his lens, even the most secret places, such as the museum, a treasure trove of history and all things Hermès tucked away in the midst of the Maison on rue du faubourg St Honoré.

Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Eartha Kitt and James Dean





Andy Warhol & Alfred Hitchcock





Errol Flynn and wife Nora Eddington with Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles

Michael Jackson & Steven Tyler

Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe

Karl Lagerfeld & Grace Coddington, 1974

Mick Jagger, William S. Burroughs & Andy Warhol, 1980.





Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart & Marilyn Monroe, 1953





David Bowie, Iggy Pop & Lou Reed


See more here.

One to watch: Bill Cunningham New York

A documentary about New York's original street style photographer from Zeitgeist Films.

Made in Toronto: Hoi Bo on Vimeo

 

Annie Leibovitz shoots Marie Antoinette

 

The Sartorialist Speaks

He seems like a lovely person.

Alone in the Wilderness

Without a doubt, this one of my all-time favourite documentaries.

Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes in Alaska. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. He returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years.

You can buy the videos here.

You must watch this: Herb & Dorothy...the documentary

An amazing story about two of the most unlikely art collectors you could ever meet.

Review: The September Issue

The September Issue was a fun way to spend an hour plus, but ultimately I was underwhelmed. It simply didn't give a huge amount of insight into Anna Wintour, or the enormous amount of work behind putting a magazine to press. After the umpteenth shot of Grace Cottington looking forlorn, staring off in to the distance, or marching up and down a hallway lined with clothing racks, I started to feel that the documentary's director missed an opportunity to make a real statement about the industry at large. Instead, the result was something that never moved beyond a portrait of how Grace works so hard and Anna just ruthlessly edits her work down.

There's obviously so much more to the equation and the film just barely scratches the surface, never showing the thinking behind what inspires the various editorials or how changes in the economy or societal values influence how cultures dress themselves. As someone who has art directed and produced many fashion shoots, I can attest to the amount of thought, inspiration and crazy logistical details that go in to each and every photograph in a story, and sadly so little of that behind-the-scenes magic was really touched upon.

As for Wintour, who is widely regarded as the most important and powerful person in the entire fashion industry, she surprised me by failing to give any real insight into why fashion is important to her or valuable to life in general. Her main point in the film was that many people feel intimidated by fashion because they don't feel like part of the cool group. Be that as it may, was that really the key idea I was meant to leave with? Surely we already know that Vogue doesn't exist simply to exclude people? I mean, come on, give us something to chew on Anna! You've had a whole career of defending your vocation to your disapproving family, society, and the fickle media. Surely you have something to say about how we live in the most accessible time in history, where anyone can look great at any budget and how good design has never been more democratized and available. Or what about how fashion is about beauty, individuality and the creative process, and is as noble an art form as any –  inspired by so many factors that reflect what's happening in culture and our collective value system? You could have gone on to talk about how it's about personal expression and pleasure, tribalism, belonging and can bring as much happiness to our lives as any other interest.

I know I'm getting a little heavy here but it's a subject close to my heart that I have obviously had to defend many times in my career. People that judge a love of fashion as being merely frivolous and snobby really miss the point. They deny themselves the power of using clothing as a communication medium and most importantly, as means of creative expression and pleasure. I'm disappointed that the queen bee of fashion didn't use this rare look into her world as an opportunity to say something more profound. But who knows, maybe there isn't a deeper layer for her or perhaps the elusive media persona she has cultivated over the years has rendered her mum.

Good documentaries feed your mind & soul

I watched the BBC series "Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music" this weekend and was so impressed. What an amazing documentary series – it covers the likes of Sam Cooke, Motown and the Funk Bros., Otis Redding to Stevie Wonder and George Clinton. Download it if you have time - you'll love it. It's a 6 part series.