''These Amazing Shadows'' is a 2011

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

which tells the history and importance of the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

, a roll call of

American cinema The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...

treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself. The documentary was directed by Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton and was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in the Documentary Premieres category. ''These Amazing Shadows'' is distributed under the

Independent Film Channel IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...

(IFC) brand, Sundance Selects, and was broadcast on the American television

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series,

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...

, on December 29, 2011.

Cast

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...

, director *

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performan ...

, director *

Barbara Kopple Barbara Kopple (born July 30, 1946) is an American film director known primarily for her documentary work. She has won two Academy Awards, the first in 1977 for '' Harlan County, USA'', about a Kentucky miners' strike, /sup> and the second in ...

, director *

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

, director *

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

, critic and author *

Julie Dash Julie Ethel Dash (born October 22, 1952) is an American film director, writer and producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. The L.A. Rebellion refers ...

, director *

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

, director *

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

, actor *

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

, actor *

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author and narrator of films, theatre, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Cro ...

, actor *

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

, director *

Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions), and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America. Early life Hu ...

, producer *

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong–American director, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese-American filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollywood ...

, director * Steve James, director * Robin Blaetz, Chair of Film Studies, Mount Holyoke College * John Ptak, producer *

Nina Paley Nina Carolyn Paley (born May 3, 1968) is an American cartoonist, animator, and free culture movement, free culture activist. She was the artist and often the writer of the comic strips ''Nina's Adventures'' and ''Fluff'', after which she worked ...

, animator * Debbie Reynolds, actress * Robert Rosen, retired dean of the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

James Schamus James Allan Schamus (born September 7, 1959) is an American screenwriter, producer, business executive, film historian, professor, and director. He is a frequent collaborator of Ang Lee, the co-founder of the production company Good Machine, a ...

, producer * James H. Billington, The Librarian of Congress *

Rick Prelinger Rick Prelinger is an archivist, professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz; writer and filmmaker, and founder of the Prelinger Archives, a collection of 60,000 advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films acquired by t ...

, archivist * Patrick Loughney, Chief,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation * George Willeman, Nitrate Vault Manager,

Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation * Stephen C. Leggett, coordinator,

the Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

* Liz Stanley, archivist,

Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation * Jennifer Horne, Associate Professor,

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Caleb Deschanel Joseph Caleb Deschanel, (born September 21, 1944) is an American cinematographer and director of film and television. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography six times. He is a member of the National Film Preservat ...

, cinematographer *

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...

, actress * Kevin Yost, editor * Stephen Peck, director, USVETS *

Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...

, critic and author * Michael Smith, director, American Indian Film Festival * Jan-Christopher Horak, director,

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

* Jeff Adachi, filmmaker * Arlene Damron, daughter of filmmaker Dave Tatsuno * Jay Carr, critic and author * Anthony Slide, historian and author *

Del Reisman Del Reisman (April 13, 1924 – January 8, 2011) was an American television producer, story editor and screenwriter whose lengthy credits included ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''The Untouchables''. Del Reisman was raised in Los Angeles. He received ...

, writer * Jennifer Hagar, animator * Robert Harris, film restorer *

Allen Daviau John Allen Daviau (June 14, 1942 – April 15, 2020) was an American cinematographer known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg on ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), ''The Color Purple'' (1985), and ''Empire of the Sun'' (1987). H ...

, cinematographer * Martin Cohen, head of post-production for Paramount Studios *

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American filmmaker. An alumna of both New York University and the American Film Institute, she directed the commercially successful films ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''National Lampoon's Europ ...

, director * Antonia Lant, professor, New York University * Barry Jenkins, director * Heather Linville, preservationist, The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

* John Magary, director * Roger Mayer, retired studio executive * Eric J. Schwartz, attorney * Betsy McLane, professor and author * Farran Nehme, writer * Jennifer Phang, director * Paul Schrader, writer and director * Shelly Stamp, professor,

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

* Jan Yarbrough, colorist, Warner MPI *

Amanda Wyss Amanda Louise Wyss (born November 24, 1960) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s in teen-oriented roles such as Lisa in the coming-of-age comedy film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), Tina Gray in the slasher f ...

, actress

Production

''These Amazing Shadows'' was filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Culpeper, Virginia,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Washington, District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morga ...

. Paul Mariano, Kurt Norton and Christine O'Malley are the

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

of the documentary. Graphic design and motion graphics by Brian Oakes of New York City. Oakes was assisted by motion graphics artist Natella Kataev. Brian Oakes directed, JIM: The James Foley Story (2016). Producer Christine O'Malley (with husband Patrick Creadon) credits include the documentaries ''

Wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phon ...

'' (2006), '' I.O.U.S.A.'' (2008), '' If You Build It'' (2014), and '' All Work No Play'' (2015). Cinematographer Frazer Bradshaw director of photography credits include the documentary, ''

Babies An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

'' and ''

Informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

''. Bradshaw directed, ''Everything Strange and New'', which was nominated for a 2011 Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature and a 2009

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published o ...

for Breakthrough Director; won the 2009 CineVision Award, 2009 Marlon Riggs Award and 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

. Co-editor Doug Blush. His editing credits include the Best Documentary Oscar nominee '' The Invisible War'' (2012), Best Documentary Oscar-winning '' Twenty Feet from Stardom'' (2013), and Bes Original Song nominee ''

The Hunting Ground ''The Hunting Ground'' is a 2015 American documentary film about the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States and the reported failure of college administrations to deal with it adequately. Written and directed by K ...

'' (2015). Co-editor Alex Calleros is part owner of the film production company, Finite Films, along with Michael Tucker and Ryan McDuffie. Calleros was the lead editor on the documentary, '' Being George Clooney'' (2016). Color grading by Chris Martin of SpyPost, San Francisco, California. Post production supervisor by Matt Radecki of Different by Design, Los Angeles, California. Legal services by Michael C. Donaldson of Donaldson & Callif, Los Angeles, California. Sound re-recording by Laurence A. Ellis, C.A.S. of MaxPost, Los Angeles, California. These Amazing Shadows trailer was cut by Stephen Garrett of Kinetic Trailers of New York City.

Music

Peter Golub ('' Countdown to Zero'') scored ''These Amazing Shadows'' during the fall of 2010. The music was performed by the

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech: ''Filharmonici města Prahy'') is a classical orchestra, predominantly composed of Czech classical, jazz and guest musicians. The history of the orchestra goes back to the Film Symphony Orchestr ...

(conducted byRichard Hein) and recorded at the Smecky Studios in Prague, Czech Republic. The score was orchestrated by Peter Golub and Philip Klein, edited by Scott Johnson, contracted by Ted Hinkley, recorded by Michael Pekarek and the music preparation was done by Nicholas Greer. Mr. Golub was assisted in Prague by Czech translator, Staniaslave Vomacko.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Peter Golub.

Festival Screenings

* Official Selection 2011 Sundance Film Festival * Official Selection 2011 Boulder International Film Festival – February 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Ashland Independent Film Festival – April 2011 * Official Documentary Competition 2011 Cleveland International Film Festival – March 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival – April 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Tiburon International Film Festival – April 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Seattle International Film Festival – May 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Indianapolis International Film Festival - July 2011 * Official Selection 2011 RiverRun International Film Festival - April 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Stony Brook Film Festival - July 2011 * Official Selection 2011 White Sands International Film Festival - August 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Aspen Filmfest - September 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Port Townsend Film Festival - September 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Louisville's International Festival of Film - October 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Tacoma Film Festival - October 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Duke City DocFest - October 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Heartland Film Festival - November 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Lucerne International Film Festival - October 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Savannah Film Festival - October 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Indie Memphis Film Festival - November 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Prescott Film Festival - November 2011 * Official Selection 2011 Inverness Film Festival - November 2011 * Official Selection 2011 St. Louis International Film Festival - November 2011 * Official Selection 30th International Festival of Films on Art - March 2012 * Official Selection 2012 Mendocino Film Festival - June 2012 * Official Selection 2012 Transatlantyk - Poznan International Film and Music Festival - August 2012

Awards

* CINE Golden Eagle Award - December 2011 * Best Documentary Savannah Film Festival 2011 - December 2011 * Best Documentary Louisville's International Festival of Film 2011 - December 2011

Reception

The film holds a 75% approval rating from critics on Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 12 reviews. David Rooney of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

gave it a positive review, and wrote this "inspiring documentary makes an illuminating case for this vital institution as America’s time capsule and family album."The Hollywood Reporter Review (David Rooney) of ''These Amazing Shadows''
/ref>

References

External links

*
Official ''These Amazing Shadows'' Blog
* {{IMDb title, 1273222, These Amazing Shadows
Sundance Selects/IFC ''These Amazing Shadows'' Page

''These Amazing Shadows''
site for

Classic Movies Review (KC) of ''These Amazing Shadows''
2011 films American documentary films Documentary films about films Documentary films about the cinema of the United States Film preservation 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Cast

Production

Music

Track listing

Festival Screenings

Awards

Reception

See also

References

External links