Gary Giddins

Gary Giddins

Movies for Gary Giddins...

In Full Swing
Title: In Full Swing
Character: Self
Released: June 11, 2019
Type: Movie
A documentary on the making of the 1936 film Swing Time, featuring interviews with jazz and film critic Gary Giddens, dance critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer. This is an all-encompassing feature covering the evolution of the Hollywood musical, Astaire's and Rogers' work, and the film's music, written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.
bee
Zuza Homem de Jazz
Title: Zuza Homem de Jazz
Character: Self
Released: November 30, 2018
Type: Movie
What is the influence of Jazz on Brazilian music and the influence of Brazilian music on Jazz? The documentary Zuza Homem de Jazz draws a parallel between the two universes, featuring the renowned Brazilian musicologist Zuza Homem de Mello as the protagonist. It offers an intimate look at the writer and music journalist and highlights his long connection with Jazz, that dates back to the 1950’s, when Zuza was a student at the Julliard School of Music. The film was also shot in New York, where Zuza meets old friends in the jazz circuit and revisits memorable stories.
bee
A New Dimension in Noir: Filming Inferno in 3D
Title: A New Dimension in Noir: Filming Inferno in 3D
Character: Self
Released: May 16, 2017
Type: Movie
Documentary about the use of 3-D technology in Inferno (1953) and the advent of CinemaScope, in 1953 in the film The Robe (1953).
bee
Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
Title: Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
Character: Self
Released: April 1, 2015
Type: Movie
Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.
bee
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Title: Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Character: Self
Released: December 2, 2014
Type: Movie
Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in with his intimate, laid-back voice and innate charm. Narrated by Stanley Tucci and directed by Robert Trachtenberg, this film explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a personality far more complex than the image the public had only thought they'd known.
bee
Title: Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
Character: Self
Released: November 1, 2010
Type: TV
Each installment focuses on a different era of American movie history, from the invention of the first moving pictures to the revolutionary, cutting-edge films of the 1960s.
bee
Thank Heaven! The Making of 'Gigi'
Title: Thank Heaven! The Making of 'Gigi'
Character: Himself
Released: September 16, 2008
Type: Movie
Documentary on the making of Gigi
bee
'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris
Title: 'S Wonderful: Creating An American in Paris
Released: September 16, 2008
Type: Movie
This recently produced behind-the-scenes documentary digs into Gershwin's original work, the genesis of the cinematic adaptation, casting, the shoot, and the eventual reception of the film.
bee
Killer Instincts: Richard Widmark and Ida Lupino at Twentieth Century Fox
Title: Killer Instincts: Richard Widmark and Ida Lupino at Twentieth Century Fox
Character: Self
Released: September 2, 2008
Type: Movie
Brief overview of the two actors at the Fox Studio.
bee
The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
Title: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
Character: Self
Released: August 27, 1999
Type: Movie
Louis Armstrong is one of the most recognizable figures in jazz, with his incomparable trumpet playing and beaming smile. This video profiles Armstrong from his humble beginnings in New Orleans through his career as America's Ambassador of Good Will. Film clips, vintage photographs and interviews with family, friends, fellow musicians and Armstrong himself are woven together to tell the story of this legendary personality.
bee
Saxophone Colossus
Title: Saxophone Colossus
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1998
Type: Movie
Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and still, today, he is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced Saxophone Colossus, a feature-length portrait of Rollins, named after one of his most celebrated albums.