Documentary Archives

Who knew it was so tough being Ralph Macchio.

Any vinyl collectors out there? If you are then you already know about all the great record stores Chicago has to offer. Zoltan Vezdenyi got a chance to visit Chicago for the fist time and documented his trip as he searches record stores for rare vinyl and interviews the store owners.

Digging in Chicago from Zoltan Vezdenyi on Vimeo.

Dillon Schneider provides us a chance to meet the original Chicago Bucket Boys in this up-close and personal interview with the group that's often imitated, but never duplicated.

Chicago Bucket Boys Documentary from Dillon Schneider on Vimeo.

Christopher Bales shows us just another Bears Sunday in one of the parking lots near Solider Field and asks, "Tailgating in Chicago: What's it all about?"

Tailgating : Chicago Bears Home Opener 2009 from Christopher Bales on Vimeo.

I'll leave my Chicago baseball opinion aside for this and say this is a neat little piece about little Carter's first trip to a Cubs game at Wrigley. The (little longer than short) web documentary by John Pottenger, brings me back to the magic of the first game I went to. Those were the days when fans and players around you were nice just because you were a kid. Now that I'm older, they're just drunken beer, peanut and penny throwers (but I guess that depends on your seats).

Carter's First Cubs Game from John Pottenger on Vimeo.

As Chicagoland's oldest amusement park enters the final month of its 81 year operation, filmmaker Giancarlo Iannotta of Offscreen Productions brings us on his families final excursion to Kiddieland in Melrose Park.

Kiddieland from Offscreen Productions on Vimeo.

Kiddieland's final weekend will be September 26 & 27, 2009 from Noon until 8:00PM. If you are interested in trying to squeeze in one more visit before the park closes, please check out Kiddieland.com for more details.

Also check out Catlin Giles post on Wee Windy City Time is running out for a trip to Kiddieland for an interesting retrospective on the Chicago Landmark.

2061wc offers up some deliciously gorgeous HD shots of the 'behind-the-scenes' at one of Chicago's most extravagant restaurants, Alinea.

Alinea/Crucial Detail - Tokyo Taste Intro from 2061wc on Vimeo.

I've always been sort of half way between fascinated and vomiting when I look at the dishes at fancyfastfood.com. I mean, fast food 9/10 times is pretty nasty. Putting it in a blender, barf!

For those who have not heard of this, it's basically a chef who takes food from your local fast food eatery (McDonald's, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, Big Kahuna Burger) and makes, "up scale" dishes with it.

I ran across a quick, mini-doc today, by The Feedbag (such a good name), that hasn't really changed my view on the Fancy Fast Food but it certainly made me curious to at least smell what he's cooking.

Bon Appetit!

The Feedbag makes Chicken McConfit with FancyFastFood.com from The Feedbag on Vimeo.

Filmmaker Tom Guilmette presents us with a short documentary about abstract expressionist artist Manuel Guerrero Mora as he creates some amazing sketches of one of his favorite cities in the world, Chicago.

An Artist in Chicago from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

Summer

Chicago - 2009 (HD) from Allister Reynolds on Vimeo.

Winter

This is the part of baseball in Chicago that makes me barf in my mouth a little a lot. It's six games that brings out the absolute worst in Chicagoans. It's Cubs vs. Sox. And it's about time a Chicago filmmaker has made a documentary showing exactly how high the stupidity thermometer climbs during this time.

A Crosstown Classic Story, by Chicago-based filmmaker Bryan Bankovich, is an ethnographic comedy in cinema-verite style that has impassioned Cubs and White Sox fans speaking frankly about each other.

Violence, sex, foul language and beer, this doc captures it all. Trust me, watch it and you'll be ashamed that you share the love of your team with people like this.

A Crosstown Classic Story- Official Movie Trailer 2 from A Crosstown Classic Film on Vimeo.

Synopsis of the film:

Shot outside Wrigley and Cellular fields during the six-game series in 2008, the footage reveals that pitting one city's two teams against each other has the power to spontaneously incite camaraderie amid violence.

The sounds in this half-hour documentary are unmistakable: Street vendors hawk programs and scorecards with a Midwestern lilt. Saxophonists, drummers, car horns and foghorns are a backdrop to the put-downs in the parking lot where hot dogs and booze are consumed with the same enthusiasm they bring to the grandstand. The Cubs icon Ronnie Woo-woo punctures his traditional cheer with a cry of, "Obama! '08."

Released one year later, A Crosstown Classic Story magnifies those historic moments when disputes over power and recognition have spawned bitter rivals and sweet victories.

Here's a movie that makes no apologies for its actors' bad behavior. It celebrates defeat alongside triumph. It's the unscripted story of strange characters, hustlers and home-grown allegiances. It's six afternoons at the ballpark when the Cubs hope to nab their first title in 100 years, and Sox fans sweep it away.

As one fan says, "It's Chicago, baby. The world wishes they were here."

The full length documentary is set to debut on September 12, 2009. For more information visit: http://www.acrosstownclassicfilm.com

And when it comes down to it folks, there is something else that Cubs and Sox fans have in common, aside from The Red Line:

Sox and Cubs Fan Argue For Superiority from A Crosstown Classic Film on Vimeo.

This is one my favorite clips in the past couple of months.

Based on the videos description on Vimeo, Jeff Altman, an aspiring colorist at a local Chicago production house, inherited a bunch of 16mm from his grandparents.

While going through all of the footage, he struck gold. He found some priceless footage that his grandparents recorded at Disneyland in only its second year of the parks operation, on the retired 16mm Kodachrome film stock. Of course, the most amazing part is that Jeff unearthed some footage of his Grandmother actually meeting Walt Disney himself! How cool is that?

Beyond the story behind the footage, the transfer and coloring of the footage look fantastic! It really brings the magic of the moment to life.

Home Movies At DisneyLand - 1956 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

We had a unique opportunity to shoot, "The Ledge" experience on the Willis Tower Skydeck in Chicago (formerly Sears Tower). For those who are unfamiliar with The Ledge, it's basically a glass and steel platform that protrudes out of the tower for a unique 103 story view of the city below.

Our mission was to shoot The Ledge from all sides including some reverse shots outside, a task not for the Acrophobic.

Anything for the Perfect Shot from 3to1 Studios on Vimeo.

Willing to do anything for the perfect shot, our fearless Director of Photography, Kevin Moss of local Chicago film production company Beverly Ridge Pictures and his First A.C., Hunter Whalen strapped into the towers window washing scaffold armed with the Red Camera One to capture some of the more breathtaking views of The Ledge itself.

This in itself provided most of our crew the opportunity to view the city of Chicago from the real Skydeck, the rooftop of the Willis Tower.

This video is a short chronicle of our experience.

Whenever you think its too hot outside, just think of these guys.

A stunning documentation of an intense Chicago blaze set to very tranquil music. It creates a uniquely frightening yet, very zen-like mood.

Action In Orange / Canon 5D Mark II from AudioGuy on Vimeo.

Lakefront path / Chicago, IL
Saturday, June 20th, 2009

I went out for a good ol' rollerblade on the lakefront. When I got there I saw that the paths were absolutely packed. So I took off my skates and did some prospecting with the Panasonic GH1 (a fun and tiny DSLR I got not too long ago).

This is the footage that came out of it.

Slow day in Chicago from txcrew on Vimeo.

P.S. Apparently June 20th, 2009 was, "World Jugglin' Day." I was not aware that such a holiday existed, but I will for sure be attending next year.

Everyday I get to partake in the glorious world of public transit courtesy of our very own CTA. Words fail to truly capture how lovely commuting in Chicago can be, especially in the subway. However, this film I came across seems to capture the essence of the only bright point about the subway.

"Sound Underground," is a wonderfully executed documentary by Pavan Bapu & Zack White, that offers the audience a small glimpse into the life of Chicago's subway performers.

Sound Underground from Pavan Bapu on Vimeo.

Reader Question: Which one of these performers have you seen?