GASLAND – (2010) Directed by Josh Fox. Winner of Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature – Sundance 2010. Screening at Cannes 2010. It is happening all across America and now in Europe and Africa as well – rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from a multinational energy conglomerate wanting to lease their property. The Reason? In America, the company hopes to tap into a huge natural gas reservoir dubbed the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called fracking—and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower. But what comes out of the ground with that natural gas? How does it affect our air and drinking water? GASLAND is a powerful personal documentary that confronts these questions with spirit, strength, and a sense of humor. When filmmaker Josh Fox receives his cash offer in the mail, he travels across 32 states to meet other rural residents on the front lines of fracking. He discovers toxic streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock, brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that burst into flame. He learns that all water is connected and perhaps some things are more valuable than money.
Documentary about Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss. This is an episode from a series called ‘Biography’ (A&E Channel). It was first broadcast on 30 November 2003. (Thanks to imelizabeththefirst and LocoRosannuh for this information.) This is not a particularly insightful documentary, but is recommended if you want a straightforward factual account of Geisel’s life & work, and the archive material is extensive and would be of interest fo any Seuss enthusiast. In this part: – the influence of Geisel’s childhood (particularly his mother) on his later work; – anti-German sentiment in the US following the outbreak of war in 1914, which was directed particularly at German families including the Geisels; – Geisel’s time at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and his work on the college humor magazine; – where the name ‘Seuss’ came from; – his time at Oxford University, where he met his first wife, Helen; – comments and memories from Ted Geisel’s niece, agent, editor, secretary and friends. With archive footage, including early drawings and Ted Geisel’s appearance on TV program ‘To Tell the Truth’ in 1958.
Video Rating: 4 / 5