While the title of Phil Grabsky’s latest documentary may suggest a focus on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, the focus is primarily on the music.
Author Archives: Phil Hall
Interview: Judah Thomas and the Challenge of Faith-Based Filmmaking
DVD REVIEW: The Lark Farm
DVD Review: Alice in Wonderland (1966)

The most significant aspect here is reinventing Wonderland as a warped parallel universe to Victorian England
Retro Cinema: Pink Flamingos
The problem with cult movies is that the viewer is who not part of the cult following is often left confused at what the fuss is all about.
Retro Cinema: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Vincente Minnelli’s 1970 adaptation of the Alan Jay Lerner-Burton Lane musical “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” has widely been dismissed as a failure, although the film has generated a small cult following that consider it to be an overlooked gem.
DVD Review: The Best of Match Game
DVD Review: An Englishman in New York
Review: Word Is Out
Retro Cinema: "Georgia O’Keeffe" (1977)
It is a major shame that Perry Miller Adato’s 1977 documentary “Georgia O’Keeffe” is no longer in circulation. An award magnet when it was first released – including a history-making Directors Guild of America Award for Adato, the first female filmmaker to win the honor – this production has yet to find its way onto […]
Review: "Pop Star on Ice"
In many ways, the title for David Barba and James Pellerito’s documentary profile of ice skater Johnny Weir is inappropriate. Weir is less of a pop star than a diva – after all, a pop star is a relatively benign personality who is widely loved, but a diva is a considerable talent that has been […]
DVD Review: Chevolution
DVD Review: Into the Storm
Originally broadcast on HBO, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s re-imagining of the rise and fall of Winston Churchill’s wartime government is fueled by Brendan Gleeson’s wonderfully irascible interpretation of the celebrated leader.
DVD Review: “Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh”
The extraordinary story of Hannah Senesh (1921-1944) is not very well known to most people, so there is reason to be grateful for Roberta Gossman’s wonderful documentary.The daughter of a prominent Jewish family in Budapest, Senesh fled her native country for British-mandated Palestine prior to the outbreak of World War II. In 1943, she joined […]