50 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022
TWO VERY DIFFERENT,
BUT IMPORTANT
DOCUMENTARIES
The “big Jewish TV event”
of this month is U.S. and
the Holocaust (see page
43), a three-episode PBS
documentary that will air
over three nights (Sept.
18-20, 8-10 p.m.). Here is the
PBS description: “Inspired
in part by the United
States Holocaust Memorial
Museum’s ‘Americans and
the Holocaust’ exhibition and
supported by its historical
resources, the film examines
the rise of Hitler and Nazism
in Germany in the context of
global antisemitism and rac-
ism, the eugenics movement
in the United States and
race laws in the American
South. The series, written by
Geoffrey Ward, sheds light
on what the U.S. government
and American people knew
and did as the catastrophe
unfolded in Europe.”
The documentary was
co-directed by Ken Burns,
Lynn Novick, 60, and Sarah
Botstein, 46. The latter
two have long collaborated
with Burns, who is the most
famous American documen-
tary maker. The Holocaust
was more than “just men-
tioned” in previous Burns
films about WWII. He also
made Defying the Nazis: The
Sharps’ War (2016) about
an American Unitarian min-
ister who rescued, with his
wife, hundreds of European
Jewish refugees. Footnotes:
Burns’ wife is Jewish, and
Sarah Botstein is the daugh-
ter of Leon Botstein, 76, a
famous, still active music
conductor who has been the
president of Bard College
since 1975.
Brett Morgen, 53, isn’t a
household name, but, since
1996, he has directed or
co-directed a number of very
good documentaries and
his newest work, Moonage
Daydream, may attract the
biggest audiences of his
career. The film, a “sort of”
biography of David Bowie
(1947-2016), opens in the-
aters on Sept. 16.
I recently saw a film at a
big AMC theater with many
screening rooms. In the hall-
way, there was a giant poster
advertising Moonage and
proclaiming that it would be
shown on the theater’s IMAX
screen. I thought, then this
will be a “biggie.”
The “official” description
does a pretty good job in
describing the film. Here it
is: “Moonage Daydream illu-
minates the life and genius
of David Bowie, one of the
most prolific and influen-
tial artists of our time. Told
through sublime, kaleido-
scopic, never-before-seen
footage, performances and
music, Brett Morgen’s (The
Kid Stays in the Picture,
Cobain: Montage of Heck,
Jane) feature-length expe-
riential cinematic odyssey
explores David Bowie’s cre-
ative, musical and spiritual
journey. The film is guided
by David Bowie’s own narra-
tion and is the first officially
sanctioned film on the artist.”
Not noted in this descrip-
tion, but important: Morgen
first met Bowie in 2007 and
became close to him and
close to many persons who
worked with Bowie. This
explains how he gained
such incredible access to the
material Bowie saved — and
Bowie, Morgen says, saved
everything.
Morgen has helmed docu-
mentaries in widely differing
categories. The Kid in the
Picture was about the late
Robert Evans, the head
of Paramount when The
Godfather and many other
great Paramount films were
made. Kid was co-directed
by Morgen and Nanette
Burstein, now 52, who also
co-directed (with Morgen) On
the Ropes (1999), an Oscar-
nominated film about boxing.
Jane, about the famous
chimpanzee scientist Jane
Goodall, was nominated for
many Emmys. Morgen won
the best director Emmy for
Jane. Jane was produced
by Deborah Eisenstadt, 53,
as was the Cobain film. A
respected filmmaker in her
own right, Eisenstadt and
Morgen are a long-married
couple who are the parents
of three children.
Moonage got great
reviews following its opening
at the most recent Cannes
festival. It has a 93% Rotten
Tomatoes rating and the list
of top critics who praised
the film almost “to the sky” is
astonishing.
There’s even a dramatic
back-story to this film. Six
years ago, while working on
the Bowie film, Morgen had
a massive heart attack. He
flatlined for two minutes and
was in a coma for a week.
He says that just before his
heart attack, “My life was out
of balance.”
Morgen seems to have
gotten that balance now. He
says that Bowie’s “philoso-
phies” talked to him — espe-
cially Bowie’s advice on how
to be grounded. Bowie, he
remarks, got wiser and wiser
as he aged.
I long thought Morgen was
Jewish, and he confirmed
it in a May interview with
screendaily.com. What he
said isn’t exactly flattering
to Judaism, but its Morgen’s
honest position. He said, “I
wasn’t raised in a religious
house, but I try to instill a
sense of tradition and reli-
gion with my children. Bowie
spoke to me in a way that
Judaism never had … Bowie
is a guide for better living.
He’s telling us how to do it.”
By the way, the “unoffi-
cial” news is that the film will
stream on HBO next spring.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
WIKIPEDIA
Lynn Novick
IMDB
Sarah Botstein
YANRB
Brett Morgen