Ragged Claws Network » Documentaries

Interlude: Barry Windsor-Smith talks about Jack Kirby…

RC — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 03:30:47 +0000

BONUS LINK:

JACK KIRBY documentary – Parts 1 to 5 — the clips of Barry Windsor-Smith talking about Jack Kirby were taken from this documentary.

BONUS IMAGES:

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

Look Here: Barry N. Malzberg’s Favorite Astoundings

RC — Sun, 16 May 2010 13:28:06 +0000

Here, courtesy of YouTube and producer Greg Moosnick, is Barry N. Malzberg’s short “extra” to the DVD release of Eric Solstein’s documentary film, John W. Campbell’s Golden Age of Science Fiction. Malzberg received the inaugural John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his distinctly un-Campbellian novel, Beyond Apollo. But don’t hold that against him…

BONUS LINKS:

Those Sexy Vintage Sleaze Books: Archive for the Barry N. Malzberg Category

The “Agony Column Podcast News Report” at Trashotron.com has a link to an MP3 file of Malzberg reading from his indispensible collection of SF criticism, Breakfast in the Ruins.

Look There: The Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman

RC — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:50:53 +0000

I’m a bit late to notice this, but back in November of 2009, MaestroMedia Productions released a two-disk DVD set of The Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman, produced, written, directed, and photographed by Fred Barney Taylor. Available for a mere US$30 plus shipping and handling (request a total if you live outside the United States), the DVD set includes the original 80-minute documentary, along with a second DVD with over two hours of raw footage of Delany in conversation and a digital transfer of Delany’s “lost” 16-mm film from 1971, The Orchid (which, comic readers may be interested to know, includes Bernie Wrightson as an extra).

From the official Facebook Web site for the film:

The iconic and larger-than life Samuel R. Delany, best known as the author of Dhalgren and Babel-17, winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, is considered a grandmaster of the sci-fi community. Born and raised in New York City, Delany began writing in the early 1960s and became famous for his provocative futuristic explorations of race and sexual identity. He was a rebellious pioneer who opened up the white male universe of science fiction to issues of race, gender and sexuality

The grandson of a slave, he has written frankly about his life and sexual adventures as a gay African-American, notably in his brilliantly reflexive memoir, The Motion of Light ~~and~~ [in] Water and in Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, a social and critical complaint about the disappearance of the area’s famous porn theatres.

Back in the day, Chip shared a stage with Bob Dylan, drank with W.H. Auden, wrote an opera, made a film, formed a theatre company, and authored several issues of Wonder Woman. He has had, by his count, over 50,000 sexual partners during the course of his lifetime.

Taylor uses visually-stunning images of water and bridges as abstract compositions; a visual correlative of the author’s multi-layered writing. By juxtaposing Delany’s flow of memories, readings and archival footage with mesmerizing imagery of the city, The Polymath expresses in vivid detail the complexities of an eclectic intellectual.

Also, if you’re a fan of Delany, watch for his new novel, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders, which, if Amazon is to be believed, will appear in early 2011.

Look There: Jeffrey Jones Documentary in the Works

RC — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:41:39 +0000

Here’s a rough-cut trailer featuring parts of Michael Kaluta’s interview for Better Things: Life + Choices of Jeffrey Jones:

Bonus Link:

Wrightson’s fascinating unpublished layouts for his section of The Studio (Dragon’s Dream, 1979) — added 03 May 2010, because it sort of relates to the conversation in the comments section of this post.

Captain Beefheart Documentary

RC — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:00:05 +0000

I recommended Beefheart and his Magic Band to the adult son of my wife’s sister, a young man who is heavily into music both as a listener and as a working muscian and songwriter, but he would have none of it. In fact, he sent me the CD he bought for himself, so now I have two copies of Clear Spot/The Spotlight Kid, a double-album CD which isn’t exactly hardcore Beefheart but which is a good entry point for people who want to ease into the oeuvre. Cool thing is, I’ve played Beefheart enough around the house and in the car that my fourteen-year-old son is a fan. Maybe that’s the trick: repeated exposure. Or maybe it’s just parental influence/approval. No matter. Whatever it is, BEEFHEART LIVES!

PART 1:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M5YE_a4B1U

PART 2:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soNg-RSv6nY

PART 3:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAGeKMn7LGU

PART 4:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9msDItyYvxo&feature=related

PART 5:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LunCzAf6Z5o&feature=related

PART 6:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Prs_W5ffs

“Rock ‘n’ roll is a fixation, that bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, momma heartbeat. I don’t like hypnotics, you see, I’m doing non-hypnotic music to break up the catatonic state. And I think there is one right now.” –Captain Beefheart