The Portrait of Billy Joe
D: Luciana Pedraza; with Billy Joe Shaver, Brenda Shaver, Dale Watson, Jessie Taylor. (53 min., DV) The man strums guitar with the only two fingers on his right hand. He lives alone after his wife lost the battle to cancer and his son to drugs. He isn’t famous, and he doesn’t have his health. “I’ve got a four-way bypass, a pipe in my neck, three discs taken out,” he says. “I’m doin’ all right, though.” Indeed, Billy Joe Shaver is still going strong. Luciana Pedraza’s doc paints a picture of a Texas boy growing up in hard times, living even harder, and then finding himself – and Jesus – before it was too late. An Austin treasure, a Lone Star songwriting legend, and a country music institution, Shaver deserves this doc, which Pedraza aces.Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of the Big 8D: Michael McNamara; with Rosalie Trombley, Alice Cooper, Les Garland, Lee Marshall, Ted “The Bear” Richards, Dick Smyth. (72 min., 35mm) As Los Angeles’ KROQ radio was getting warmed up in the early Sixties, Windsor, Ontario’s CKLW was taking over the world one wave at a time. Across the river from the Motor City, the Big 8 was bred by deejays whose love of rock & roll far outweighed greed or fame. Michael McNamara’s edutainment escapade is just as much about the music as it is about the radio station that once was. Even though rockers like Alice Cooper and Bob Seger owed allegiance to the Big 8, CKLW was a victim of government intrusion. However, “Ladies and gentlemen, the beat goes on.”
Metallica: Some Kind of MonsterD: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky; with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Jason Newsted, Dave Mustaine, Phil Towle. (135 min., 35mm & DV) Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky met Metallica in 1996 while finishing the HBO documentary Paradise Lost, about the West Memphis Three, three boys convicted of murder. Metallica licensed the filmmakers a song, without fee – the first time the band had ever done so. Now, it’s their turn to face the camera. After bassist Jason Newsted quit, Metallica hired therapist Phil Towle to help them work through problems while recording their first studio album in six years, St. Anger. Berlinger and Sinofsky never flinched through fights and disappointment, as well as James Hetfield’s admission into rehab. Their cameras captured every conversation, every scowl, and every comment. And, yes, Lars is just as childish as we thought.
This article appears in March 12 • 2004.