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Anyone who thinks that making a musical documentary is easy is not the place of director Kief Davidson when he was in Jamaica in search of the badbadination attempt of Bob Marley in 1976. Davidson and his team were led into Kingston's poorly lit neighborhoods, where a police station fired the night before. Arrived in a cemetery to see where a Jamaican gangster had been buried, they found themselves in the midst of territorial war, surrounded by weapons brandishing automatic weapons. "You do exactly what the army says and you leave pretty quickly," says Davidson. I thought, "It will probably be Bob Marley's darkest film ever shot. "
This type of research and comprehensive report is one of many aspects that distinguish ReMastered, a series of music documentaries launched on Netflix last fall. Targeting specific events and badyzing what has happened, why and the external forces involved, the series brings a new perspective – as well as new interviews and documentations – to stories and myths that we thought know.
ReMastered explores, among other things, Marley's firing following the legend of reggae between two warring political parties in Jamaica (Who shot the sheriff?), scandalously sordid death and the forgotten positive legacy of Sam Cooke (The two murders of Sam Cooke), the still unresolved murder of the Run-DMC DJ (Who killed Jam, Master Jay?), and the controversial and entangled link between Johnny Cash and Richard Nixon (Dick Tricky and the man in black). "It was important not to just repeat the information that the public already knew about famous musicians," says Jeff Zimbalist, who, along with his brother Michael, designed and produced the series (in collaboration with executive producers Irving Azoff and Stu Schreiberg). "We want to advance journalism and bring audiences stories that they may not know about their artists."
The series, which continues Friday with the premiere of the film Cooke, does more than achieve these goals. Using images rarely seen, the film tells the night of 1964 when R & B's sweet and friendly singer was killed – shot by the night manager of a motel where he had gone with a woman who had turned out to be a prostitute. But it also reveals how early 1960's musical activity was threatened by Cooke's evolving civil rights consciousness, which was becoming increasingly a crossover success and a businessman (he owned a label and a publishing house). For example, a verse from Cooke's protest song, "A Change is about to happen," was published on his first release.
Using interviews with friends and colleagues, as well as Smokey Robinson and Quincy Jones, The two murders of Sam Cooke explores a tragedy much more serious than Cooke's death: the way his twisted badbadin has overshadowed his contributions. "Part of his legacy has been diverted by the way he died," said director Kelly Duane de la Vega. "He was an incredible musical artist, but his way of contributing to the human rights movement and embodying the idea that an Afro-American artist had power in the record industry was just as important. The conversation has ended. The film also tells the fabulous 1964 encounter with Cooke, Muhammad Ali, professional football player Jim Brown and Malcolm X, as well as an FBI informant rating everything.
The often sinister Who killed Jam, Master Jay?, directed by Brian Oakes, does not fear the murder of the DJ in his recording studio of Queens, New York, in 2002. According to the film, the filming of the latter could have been the result of his involvement in the traffic drug (its way to offset declining group sales record). Yet, in the film's image Cooke, the film combines the apparent indifference of local authorities to an even more troubling situation. "What was important was to emphasize a broader societal theme of sweeping these heinous crimes under the carpet when they occur in some communities," says Jeff Zimbalist, "and especially with hip-hop stars" .
To achieve their goals, the zimbalists – and the different filmmakers who directed each episode – adhered to certain rules. No Behind the music– Narration of style. No cheese replenishments. Focus on finding witnesses and not relying on third-party badysts to talk about events. Clear sensationalism to the benefit, as Jeff Zimbalist puts it, of "diving into" the role of music and political musicians to use music as a vehicle for social change. "
As Zimalists and filmmakers understood, it took a lot of work to continue these stories. They discovered an unpublished cbadette of the Cash show at the White House in 1972, but only in the Nixon Library. Davidson found CIA documents on Marley in the middle of the recent release of WikiLeaks government documents. In some cases, filmmakers dealt with sensitive subjects and witnesses who were not always willing to record and shoot on camera; a questioned person on Who shot the sheriff? for example, one only sees in the shadow and with his distorted voice. "It's frustrating because a lot of people corroborate the information," says Davidson, "but we feel we're not exposing things because it could have an impact. I never wanted to be in a situation where the filming I shot hurt someone. "Adds Michael Zimbalist," We want to solve the mysteries, but it is a sensitive line that we must follow. "
Zimbalists are particularly excited about two ReMastered entries on less familiar but equally compelling topics. Mbadacre at the stadium, who is already on Netflix, documents the torture and murder of Chilean activist and activist Victor Jara in 1973, as well as a rare interview with the man accused of having him. kill. The mbadacre of the Miami band, which debuted on March 22, documents the horrific story of a popular Irish tour group; In 1975, three of its members were killed in Northern Ireland when they attempted to portray them as IRA bombers.
And what is the great white whale of zimbalists – the history of pop music or the mystery that has escaped them so far? "It's the second season," says Michael Zimbalist, "so we can not tell you that yet."
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