The Jeff Koons Show is an hour-long career survey of one of the late 20th century’s more controversial American artists—not so much because of the content of his work, but because of the pomposity of the man behind it. Koons really does see himself as a latter-day Michelangelo, a worthy successor to Warhol and his … Continue reading
Part one of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, the 1972 BBC documentary based on Berger’s book of the same name:
On YouTube in four parts, “Painting with Words,” a great little documentary about the writer and historian David McCullough.
Andrew O’Hagan in the London Review of Books: The bigger problems in The Pacific began in the first episode, where it became obvious you couldn’t tell the actors apart. The three main guys were all fairly handsome American dudes with dark hair. That’s fine, until you start shooting night combat in the jungle with minimal … Continue reading
In this 2006 BBC series, out now on DVD, British Historian Simon Schama looks in detail at eight important works of art ranging from the 16th century—Caravaggio’s “David with the Head of Goliath”—to the late-’50s:—Rothko’s Seagram Murals. The two most interesting entries are where art arguably altered the course of history: “The Death of Marat” … Continue reading
The first seven episodes of celebrity chef Tony Bourdain’s food-show-cum-travelogue serve as a great introduction to both the man himself and his outlook on the world and its cuisine. Bourdain, a professional chef and food writer in New York for nearly 30 years before branching out into TV, is constantly humorous and entertaining—and though he … Continue reading
Ken Burns’ new documentary explores America’s “best idea,” writes Hugh Lilly Ken Burns is a name so synonymous with documentary filmmaking that there is, semi-officially, a technique named for him: the “Ken Burns Effect” prescribes zooming in and out on and panning around a black-and-white photograph while in voiceover text written by the photograph’s subject, … Continue reading
Sarah Silverman’s show deals in the same moments of mistaken observation and social faux pas as does Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm—it’s a wonder, actually, that the two comedians haven’t yet collaborated. But where Larry’s foibles in Curb often end with people admonishing him personally (“Get the fuck outta my house, Larry!”), Silverman’s various mistakes … Continue reading
With the conclusion of its twentieth season, The Simpsons became the longest-running serialised television show of all time—overtaking Gunsmoke’s twenty seasons. It’s commonly argued—in books like Vanity Fair writer John Ortved’s recent oral history Simpsons Confidential—that the series hasn’t been funny for at least ten years, since the mid-to-late-’90s halcyon days where people like Al … Continue reading
David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s BAFTA-winning sketch comedy show continues in the same brilliantly absurdist mode in which it began, occasionally going to the very limits of taste and decency. The six half-hour episodes feature recurring skits focussed on everything from ‘Numberwang’—surely the greatest fictional game show ever imagined—to jokes about the naming of New … Continue reading
