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Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River (1999)
Director:
D.P. Carlson
Genre:
Documentary
Production Company:
Foetus Films
For more information, head to Foetus Films.
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"Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River" was shot in Pulfrich 3-D, which works when scenes move horizontally across a field of view. The DVD includes super-fun 3D glasses, which are fun to wear as a fashion accessory as well.
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Maybe it's because I've spent an inordinate amount of time working on an old sailboat in recent weeks, or perhaps it's because this fledgling online mag is always looking for something positive to talk about in the local film community, but I was thoroughly captivated by Dave Carlson's documentary "Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River," a film shot in '99, but just recently released on DVD.
Carlson is one of the Chicago film community's most active presences, having worked for over a decade producing television specials for Bravo, MSNBC, Fox SportsNet, Nike and more. The director's independent work includes "I Was There When the Blues was Red Hot," featuring Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter and Willie Dixon, and short films like "Homeless '99," "Johnny Dodgeball" and "Sailorman."
In "Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River," Carlson floats a veritable who's who of the local film scene down the river on a wild variety of watercraft, interviewing as they go. Harold Ramis, for example, who is currently filming "Ice Harvest" here in Chicago, does his interview on an oddly shaped tiki barge. Talk turns to "Caddyshack," "Ghostbusters," "Stripes" and the deep psychological impact of the Chicago waterways. Other filmmakers are interviewed in canoes, powerboats, even paddleboats.
There's something about the river that seems to relax people into uncommon candor. Case in point is John Landis, director of "The Blues Brothers," "Animal House" and "Salesman" (which just played at the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival). He seems to get a particular kick out of describing formative filmmaking experiences in Chicago (like driving a car through the Daley building while filming "The Blues Brothers") and how the city is in his words, "so goddamned cinematic."
As the filmmakers absorb the tranquil (and occasionally condom-infested) waters of the Chicago River, they end up not only talking about how, but why they bother making films here as opposed to New York or L.A. Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive," "Collateral Damage") opines about the city's "real people" and the greatness of the ethnic enclaves, for example, while acknowledging the tenuous relationship between commerce and art in the city.
Prominent local film critics like Ebert and New City scribe Ray Pride lend their voice to the film, discussing great local movies and their creators. The late Gene Siskel talks about the straightforward "Chicago School of Filmmaking," which Carlson segues nicely into an interview with Michael Mann ("The Insider," "Ali").
The list of additional local filmmakers and political figures is fairly exhaustive. Gordon Quinn and Jerry Blumenthal, Tom Palazzolo, Haskell Wexler, Rich Moskal, hell, even Da Mayor, show up to chip in their two cents.
As Louis Antonelli states in the liner notes to the DVD, Chi-town filmmakers face a constant battle to "earn every shot, earn respect from their peers and ultimately earn the belief from their peers that fine films really are made in Chicago."
"Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River" does a great job of capturing the richness and vitality of the Chicago film scene, but perhaps more importantly shines a spotlight on the people and the hard-assed, no bull shit attitude that makes it all possible.
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Written by Richard Sharp
Review Date: April 30, 2004
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