ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
Too much drama for your mama. Never a truer phrase spoken in regards to critically acclaimed, and (in)famously known director, Roman Polanski. While Polanski's life has been rife with tragedies--his father died in a Polish concentration camp, his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, brutally murdered at the hands of the Manson family--Director Marina Zenovich's film revisits the events leading up to Polanski's exile to France in 1978. Polanski fled the U.S. after charges of unlawful sexual contact with a 13-year-old, Samantha Gailey, were brought against him.
Using a combination of archival footage and new interviews, including those with Samantha Gailey (now Geimer), the film allows viewers to contemplate Polanski's culpability amidst the background of a much larger life story.
If Polanski's human drama doesn't quite satisfy your refined viewing palette, what better to watch then...
CAUGHT ON SAFARI: BATTLE AT KRUGER
Once upon a time, two unassuming, nice gents, went out to safari in South Africa's Kruger National Park. As many visitors on a safari are apt to do, they pulled out their video camera, hoping to film a grazing giraffe, perhaps even a sleeping lion. What they found instead was a cast of angry animals. Here's how the story goes:
"A water buffalo walked close to a tribe of lions, when the lions chased after them, catching a water buffalo calf. The pride of lions swarmed the calf as they tried to retrieve it from the lake in which it slipped. As they prepared to carry the calf out of the water, two crocodiles emerged from the water and attacked the calf. The lions and crocodiles began to fight over the feast, but the lions won.
As soon as the lions take the calf out of the lake, a massive herd of water buffalo returned to the plain and attempted to get their calf back.
One water buffalo itched in and tossed a lion at least 10 feet in the air, starting a stampede that eventually forced the lions away.
The calf, who was miraculously still alive, got up and walked back into the herd." (www.transworld.com)
The End.
The film went on to became a you-tube phenomenon. National Geographic is presenting a behind-the-scenes documentary on the amazing film May 11, 9 p.m. Mother's Day has never looked better!
And one final film for consideration...it could be a yawn-of-a-film, but as a wise old-woman once said: if you can't afford gas, you might as well learn about it?
GASHOLE
Narrated by Peter Gallagher, the film explores the history of oil, its role in society today (i.e. especially its overwhelming consumption and dependency in the U.S.), and the future of alternative fuels. It includes interviews with members of the U.S. Department of Energy, congressional leaders, and alternative fuel producers and consumers.
Have a great weekend!
