#317: NAS - TIME IS ILLMATIC

2014

Directed by One9

Music Documentary

Dogwoof seems to be churning out some of the highest quality and most fascinating documentaries of recent times, and here is another great one for music lovers to enjoy. Time Is Illmatic looks at the genesis of one of contemporary music's greatest masterpieces. Nas' 1994 debut LP "Illmatic", still praised as one of the greatest Hip Hop releases of all time. Rather than taking the route of the "Classic Albums" documentary series, Time Is Illmatic gets behind the events surrounding the creation of the album, rather than going too deep into the recording and writing process. Nas was in his late teens when he was writing and recording his masterpiece. His lyrics tell graphic descriptions of life in the Queensbridge projects, where drug dealing, gunfire, incarceration and death are all normal daily occurrences. Determined not to fall into the trap of dropping out of school and becoming a street hustler, a young Nas focused on his art and poetry instead. The true turning point was when Nas' best friend Ill Will (who is frequently referenced on the album) was shot dead, with Nas' own brother escaping wounded, right outside his block of flats. Nas had the smarts to turn his pain and tragedy into a great work of art.

I enjoyed the whole of this documentary, that focuses solely on the debut album, rather than the whole of Nas' career. It's true that Hip Hop die hard fans can easily spot a lack of depth in the making process of the album, but it does cover the basics very well, including interviews with producers Pete Rock, Large Professor, DJ Premier, Q-Tip and LES. You get to see some of his early guest spots, including fabulous footage of him performing "Live at the BBQ" with Main Source. But I think the things that stand out most in this film are the things that aren't heard on the album. A look into Nas' upbringing, his school days and his parents separation. But most importantly it gets behind how black Americans were living at the time, and life in the projects, getting under the skin of how that correlated with Nas' music. Nas himself said he was an observer rather than a participator. If "Illmatic" was a perfect snapshot of life in the projects back in 1994, then Time Is Illmatic is a great extension of this snapshot, putting images to Nas' words. 8/10.

#305: FOR ALL MANKIND

1989

Directed by Al Reinert

Documentary

For All Mankind is a spectacular film made up entirely of stock and TV footage from the actual 1969 Apollo space mission to the moon. The film uses the album "Apollo" by Brian Eno (with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno) as it's soundtrack and although the LP was released 6 years before this film, it made for a perfect choice of music to accompany it. The beauty of this film is that it manages to tell the story from mission control, to take off, to travelling, to landing, exploring the moon and coming back home again, but without having to use talking heads, reconstructions or anything over than the actual footage shot at the time. Think of it as more of a compilation of footage than a documentary, but it works very well. There is probably a lot of footage here that may not have been broadcast at the time, and of course some of the most famous footage is included, such as the astronauts walking the moon and Neil Armstrong's famous "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" speech. Despite the fact that I do not believe they actually went to the moon (in fact the footage here just reinforced that feeling even more), I still thought the footage was very beautiful and moving, and there are some spectacular shots of outer space and the earth. Whether you think it was a hoax or not is a moot point, because For All Mankind still manages to take you on a journey to outer space. 8/10.

#304: STATION TO STATION

2015

Directed by Doug Aitken

Documentary, Music Film

Station to Station is a unique documentary film that includes 62 films into one, with each short film lasting just 1 minute in length. Each of these 62 films was made on (or near) a train travelling across the whole of America. Many of the segments feature musicians and artists performing on (or near) the train. There are some very recognisable faces including Thurston Moore, Jackson Browne, Cat Power, Savages, Dan Deacon and more. If you are into your music you will probably find something to enjoy from some of these segments, but because they each run at a minute long, that enjoyment might not last. Considering it is a film about a train, there is actually not a lot to do with trains or travel in this film. Whilst the concept of Station to Station is admirable, I didn't really understand the point of it. Why did they need to get a bunch of bands performing on a train travelling across America for the purposes of a documentary? I'm not sure, other than that it's pretty cool. Imagine if more train journeys were punctuated with Thurston Moore jamming "Schizophrenia" on his guitar?! Station to Station is very well filmed, but with 62 films coming together it is a highly mixed bag that is never going to enthral its audience all of the time, and when it does, you end up wishing it was more than just for a minute long. For a film about a train travelling across the whole of America, Station to Station sure is directionless. 5/10.