Spoiler Alert Radio: Paul Rachman - Acclaimed Filmmaker and Co-Founder of the Slamdance

Paul Rachman - Acclaimed Filmmaker and Co-Founder of the Slamdance - Drive Baby Drive, Four Dogs Playing Poker, Zoe XO/Zoe Rising, American Hardcore
Spoiler Alert Radio



Paul Rachman, filmmaker and co-founder of Slamdance, began his film career making underground hardcore punk films and music videos for bands such as Bad Brains, Gang Green, Negative FX, and Mission of Burma.

Paul quickly rose to become one of the of the industry's top music video directors at Propaganda Films in Los Angeles, where he worked with such artists as: Alice in Chains, The Replacements, Pantera, Temple of the Dog, Sepultura, Roger Waters, Joan Jett, and Kiss.

Paul has directed several award-winning short films, including: Memories with Joe Frank, Drive Baby Drive, Home, and Zoe XO. Paul has also directed the narrative feature Four Dogs Playing Poker.

Paul’s seminal punk documentary American Hardcore world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was picked up and theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics.

Paul is working on a new documentary with American Hardcore writer Steven Blush, Lost Rockers, about great musiciaans over the years that have been overlooked by pop culture.

To Listen to the Episode

ENG 281 Ethics/Film: Week 4 -- Beyond the Standard Feature Film

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Wikipedia: 2011 Wisconsin Protests

"Background Materials for John Bellamy Foster's "Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital" Dialogic (September 7, 2011)

Benton, Michael. "Bill O'Reilly and FOX News: Propaganda Fails Miserably." Dialogic (March 2, 2011)

Burke, Mike and Harriet Brown Rowan. "Wisconsin’s Uprising: A Guided Tour of the 11-Day Protest Encampment Inside the State Capitol in Madison." Democracy Now (February 25, 2011)

Burke, Mike and Nicole Salazar. "Walkouts, Bank Boycotts and Recalls: Wisconsin Protests Intensify as Union-Busting Legislation Pushed through State Assembly." Democracy Now (March 11, 2011)

Dennis, Brady and Peter Wallenstein. "Wisconsin governor urging others to take stands against unions." Washington Post (February 23, 2011)

Graves, Lisa. "A CMD Special Report: Scott Walker Runs on Koch Money ." PR Watch (February 19, 2011)

Hudson, Michael and Jeffrey Sommers. "Wisconsin Death Trip: The Plan to Steal Everything and Sell the People into Slavery." Counterpunch (March 11, 2011)

"Lawmakers Flee Wisconsin Capitol, State Police Pursue; Protests Swell to 30,000." AlterNet (February 17, 2011)

Meyerson, Harold. "Workers toppled a dictator in Egypt, but might be silenced in Wisconsin." The Washington post (February 15, 2011)

Nichols, John. "Why a Wisconsin Sheriff Refuses to Serve as Governor Walker's 'Palace Guard'." The Nation (March 2, 2011)

Rickman, Peter, Chris Larson and Kelda Helen Roys. "Outrage in Wisconsin: Thousands Flood Capitol After GOP Strips Public Workers of Bargaining Rights in Surprise Senate Vote." Democracy Now (March 3, 2010)

Zirin, Dave. "Wisconsin: Solidarity Among Workers … And Football Players." Yes! (February 17, 2011)

La Jetée (1962) from Augustus Brightman on Vimeo.

Bullock, Tori. "La Jetee Film Analysis." Film and History (May 4, 2011)

Christley, Jamie N. "Great Directors: Chris Marker Senses of Cinema (July 19, 2002)

Dillon, Brian. "Fade away: Chris Marker's La Jetée, a half-hour futuristic film that explores time and memory, seems to conjure an entire century's romance with the moving image." The Guardian (March 28, 2009)

"Listening to La Jetee." The Current (June 21, 2012)

Perry, Canaan. "Time, Memory and Time Travel in Chris Marker’s La Jetée." Space Zoetrope (2007)

Rowan-Legg, Shelah M. "Chris Marker, Filmmaker Behind LA JETÉE, Dies at 91." Twitch (July 30, 2012)

Schefer, Jean-Louis. "On La Jetee." Passages of the Image (1991: hosted on Paul Smith's Website)

Sellars, Simon. "Retrospecto: La Jetee." Ballardian (October 7, 2005)

The Universal Clock - The Resistance of Peter Watkins by Geoff Bowie, National Film Board of Canada

Biographical Sites and Official Websites:

Wikipedia: Peter Watkins

Peter Watkins: Filmmaker/Media Critic (Official Site)

British Film Institute: Peter Watkins


Resources by and about Peter Watkins and his films:

Estrin, Marc. "Peter Watkins' La Commune." The Rag Blog (March 29, 2010)

Keser, Robert. "Edvard Munch." Senses of Cinema (February 7, 2006)

La Commune (Paris, 1871) (France: Peter Watkins, 2000: available on Google video in multiple parts)

"Peter Watkins: La Commune." Chtodelat (October 31, 2008)

Peter Watkins: The Media Crisis Dialogic (October 3, 2007)

Rapfogel, Jared. "The Cinema of Peter Watkins." Cineaste 32.2 (Spring 2007)

Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "The Revolution Has Been Televised [Peter Watkins’ LA COMMUNE]." Chicago Reader (May 17, 2002)

Watkins, Peter. "Notes on the Making of La Commune (Paris, 1871)." Peter Watkins: Filmmaker/Critic (2000)

---. "Notes on the Media Crisis." Barcelona, Spain: Quaderns portàtils, 2010.

Beat the Devil (USA: Tony Scott, 2002: 9 mins)

The recently departed Tony Scott directed this excellent 9 min short film called Beat the Devil and starring (no kidding) James Brown, Clive Owen, Gary Oldman, Danny Trejo and Marilyn Manson. Oh yeah, and the original concept for the story is by director David Fincher (Fight Club):