The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #86995   Message #1629624
Posted By: WFDU - Ron Olesko
17-Dec-05 - 04:14 PM
Thread Name: Isn't This A Time - opens in NYC
Subject: RE: Isn't This A Time - opens in NYC
Below is the original review, and a correction - from the NYTimes website.

Please point out the "negative comments" and the "nonsense she compared it with" -

"On Thanksgiving Day 2003, Harold Leventhal, the distinguished folk music manager and promoter whose career spanned a remarkable 50 years, was paid the ultimate tribute: a concert at Carnegie Hall, organized and performed by his closest colleagues and friends.

If the premise sounds familiar, it's because Christopher Guest's hilarious spoof ''A Mighty Wind'' (2003) was modeled after Leventhal and his devoted collaborators. And although a documentary involving people and events that have already been satirized could easily be a target for further ridicule, Jim Brown has managed to beat the odds.

His upbeat film cuts between onstage musical numbers and behind-the-scenes recollections from musicians in the 2003 show, including the Weavers (the blacklisted folk quartet showcased in Mr. Brown's acclaimed 1982 documentary ''Wasn't That a Time!''), Arlo Guthrie and Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as the occasional offspring eager to carry on family tradition.

Watching the aging, but still spirited, singers come together to express their gratitude for the man who started their careers is often genuinely touching. (Mr. Leventhal died in October, at 86.) Younger generations whose introduction to folk music came via Mr. Guest may deem the film of only middling interest. But for those who grew up following the featured musicians' work and their righteous causes, it will be a pleasant stroll down memory lane. LAURA KERN

Correction: December 13, 2005, Tuesday A film review in Weekend on Friday about ''Isn't This a Time,'' a documentary about a Carnegie Hall concert honoring the folk music manager and promoter Harold Leventhal, misstated the concert's date. It was Nov. 29, 2003, not Thanksgiving of that year.

The review also referred imprecisely to the organization of the concert. While many of Mr. Leventhal's closest colleagues and friends took part, it was organized primarily by Arlo Guthrie. "

NY Times review