| Photos (see all 33 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 7 NEW) |
| Mon. Nov. 9 | 4:30 PM | COMEDY | |||
| Tue. Nov. 10 | 10:00 AM | COMEDY |
| Jim Moret | ... | Newscaster | |
| Stuart Luce | ... | Irving Steinbloom | |
| Mary Gross | ... | Ma Klapper | |
| Marty Belafsky | ... | Ramblin' Sandy Pitnik | |
| Michael Baser | ... | Pa Klapper | |
| Jared Nelson Smith | ... | Young Chuck Wiseman | |
| Ryan Raddatz | ... | Bill Weyburn | |
| Todd Lieberman | ... | Fred Knox | |
| Matthew Joy | ... | Boy Klapper | |
| Laura Harris | ... | Girl Klapper | |
| Brian Riley | ... | Young George Menschell | |
| Harry Shearer | ... | Mark Shubb | |
| Michael McKean | ... | Jerry Palter | |
| Christopher Guest | ... | Alan Barrows | |
| Eugene Levy | ... | Mitch Cohen | |
| Catherine O'Hara | ... | Mickey Crabbe | |
| Bob Balaban | ... | Jonathan Steinbloom | |
| Rachael Harris | ... | Steinbloom's Assistant | |
| Tyler Forsberg | ... | Young Jonathan Steinbloom | |
| Paul Dooley | ... | George Menschell | |
| Jim Ortlieb | ... | David Kantor | |
| Andrew Dickler | ... | 1971 Dell Wiseman | |
| Thomas Lowry | ... | 1971 Howard Wiseman (as Thom Lowry) | |
| Keva Rosenfeld | ... | 1971 Chuck Wiseman | |
| Brian Allen | ... | 1960s Mitch & Mickey Bass | |
| Danny Merritt | ... | 1960s Mitch & Mickey Guitar | |
| Paul Benedict | ... | Martin Berg | |
| Floyd Van Buskirk | ... | Steve Lang (as Floyd Vanbuskirk) | |
| Jane Lynch | ... | Laurie Bohner | |
| John Michael Higgins | ... | Terry Bohner | |
| Parker Posey | ... | Sissy Knox | |
| Christopher Moynihan | ... | Sean Halloran | |
| David Blasucci | ... | Tony Pollono | |
| Patrick Sauber | ... | Jerald Smithers | |
| Steve Pandis | ... | Johnny Athenakis | |
| Mark Nonisa | ... | Mike Maryama | |
| Cameron Sprague | ... | Young Terry Bohner | |
| LeShay N. Tomlinson | ... | Steinbloom's Secretary (as Leshay Tomlinson) | |
| Mina Kolb | ... | Dr. Mildred Wickes | |
| Jim Piddock | ... | Leonard Crabbe | |
| Don Lake | ... | Elliott Steinbloom | |
| Deborah Theaker | ... | Naomi Steinbloom | |
| Fred Willard | ... | Mike LaFontaine | |
| Ed Begley Jr. | ... | Lars Olfen | |
| Wendel Meldrum | ... | Witch #1 | |
| Diane Delano | ... | Witch #2 | |
| Jim Jennewein | ... | Witch #3 (as James Jennewein) | |
| Richard Hicks | ... | Witch #4 | |
| Michael Hitchcock | ... | Lawrence E. Turpin | |
| Larry Miller | ... | Wally Fenton | |
| Jennifer Coolidge | ... | Amber Cole | |
| Michael Mantell | ... | Deputy Mayor | |
| Bill Cobbs | ... | Blues Musician | |
| Freda Foh Shen | ... | Melinda Barrows | |
| Darlene Kardon | ... | Shirley Steinbloom | |
| Scott Williamson | ... | PBN TV Director | |
| Joe Godfrey | ... | Mitch & Mickey Bass | |
| Bruce Gaitsch | ... | Mitch & Mickey Guitar | |
| Diane Baker | ... | Supreme Folk Defense Lawyer |
Directed by | |||
| Christopher Guest | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| Christopher Guest | (written by) & | |
| Eugene Levy | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Donna E. Bloom | .... | line producer | |
| Karen Murphy | .... | producer | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Arlene Nelson | (as Arlene Donnelly Nelson) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Robert Leighton | |||
Casting by | |||
| Richard Hicks | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Joseph T. Garrity | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Pat Tagliaferro | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Dena Roth | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Durinda Wood | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Judi Cooper-Sealy | .... | hair designer | |
| Ann Masterson | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Kate Shorter | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Terri Ewton | .... | hair stylist (uncredited) | |
| Terri Ewton | .... | makeup artist (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Donna E. Bloom | .... | unit production manager | |
| Pamela Louise Griner | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Montez A. Monroe | .... | production supervisor | |
Art Department | |||
| Scott Buckwald | .... | property master | |
| Dan Dorfer | .... | camera scenic artist | |
| L. David Gordon | .... | drapery foreman | |
| Jeanne Kukor | .... | property assistant | |
| Debi Shirk Tagliaferro | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Franco Esile | .... | set dresser (uncredited) | |
| Kon Iliov | .... | propmaker (uncredited) | |
| Dean B. Katz | .... | leadman (uncredited) | |
| Kathy Orlando | .... | buyer (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Lawrence L. Commans | .... | boom operator | |
| Alison Fisher | .... | adr editor | |
| Alison Fisher | .... | dialogue editor | |
| Todd Harris | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Matthew Iadarola | .... | supervising re-recording mixer | |
| Michael Magill | .... | sound editor | |
| Andy Peach | .... | post-production sound recordist | |
| Kira Smith | .... | utility sound technician | |
| Hamilton Sterling | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Mark Weingarten | .... | production sound mixer | |
| Gary Gegan | .... | sound re-recording mixer (uncredited) | |
| Robin Harlan | .... | foley artist (uncredited) | |
| Sarah Monat | .... | foley artist (uncredited) | |
| Chris Navarro | .... | adr recordist (uncredited) | |
| Randy Singer | .... | foley mixer (uncredited) | |
| Susumu Tokunow | .... | sound mixer: reshoots (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| David M. Dunlap | .... | director of photography: second unit, New York | |
| Doug Foote | .... | first assistant camera: second unit | |
| Jordan Lapsansky | .... | lighting technician | |
| William M. Weberg | .... | best boy grip: New York | |
| David Barker | .... | video assist operator (uncredited) | |
| Brian Bartolini | .... | electrician: re-shoots (uncredited) | |
| Barry Berona | .... | first assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Matt Blades | .... | key rigging grip: New York (uncredited) | |
| Rick Davis | .... | key grip (uncredited) | |
| Russell Griffith | .... | electrician: re-shoots (uncredited) | |
| Tim Hubbard | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
| David Lee | .... | gaffer (uncredited) | |
| Mike Shaheen | .... | video playback operator (uncredited) | |
| Ian Strang | .... | electrician (uncredited) | |
| Suzanne Tenner | .... | still photographer (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Leigh French | .... | voice casting | |
| Jimmy Jue | .... | extras casting | |
| Matthew Skrobalak | .... | casting associate | |
| Jill Warner | .... | casting intern | |
| Summer Wesson | .... | extras casting | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Gloria Fonseca | .... | costumer (uncredited) | |
| Jaimie Froemming | .... | costumer intern (uncredited) | |
| Jennifer Starzyk | .... | costumer (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Andrew Dickler | .... | additional editor | |
| Chris Wagley | .... | color timer | |
| Mark Yoshikawa | .... | first assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Fernand Bos | .... | supervising music editor | |
| Jeffrey C.J. Vanston | .... | music producer | |
| Adrian Van Velsen | .... | music editor | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Keith D. Fisher | .... | transportation captain | |
| Don Poole | .... | driver | |
| Aaron Skalka | .... | transportation coordinator | |
| Ken Farnell | .... | driver (uncredited) | |
| Michael Forte | .... | transportation coordinator: re-shoots (uncredited) | |
Thanks | |||
| Jeffrey Stott | .... | thanks | |
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| Bob Roberts | Waiting for Guffman | Cannes Man | KISS Loves You | This Is Spinal Tap |
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Christopher Guest's movies, like his performances, are generally subtle and always low-key. They are not for people who need laugh tracks to follow the humor and most of his work is so contextually-based that some knowledge of the subject he's dissecting is a definite asset. Guest, who was a performer in the very early SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, is, in many respects, the Anti-Belushi of modern American comedy.
Nevertheless, he shares with Belushi - and many of their contemporaries, who came from one or another branch of the Second City organization - a certain fondness for off-the-wall elements in his work; Guest's tend to be slipped in, quietly, while Belushi's popped out of exploding cakes.
A MIGHTY WIND is a spot-on satire of the American Folk Music movement of the early and mid-1960s. The narrative conceit is a memorial concert for a recently deceased impressario, organized by his son, which reunites three folk groups from the 60s.
The real elements of the film are the send-ups of a variety of tropes of the era, musical styles, personalities, and quite an array of music-business cliches. Remarkably, however, the songs are genuinely entertaining in themselves; both the writing and the performances. They're satirical, but so subtlely performed that it's easy to loose the thread of the lyrics and wind up mindlessly nodding heads and grooving along, which pretty neatly captures the popular music experience for the last several generations. Satire within satire.
The musical performances are excellent, recreating, almost frighteningly, the taste and texture of folk music of the era. And, bringing several real 60s folk acts to mind.
The acting is typical of Guest movies, such as SPINAL TAP and BEST IN SHOW; very quiet, restrained, low-key, with, apparently, a lot of dialogue improvised. The performers are mostly drawn from the same group Guest has used in the past: Eugene Levy (who co-wrote the script with Guest) and Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Ed Begley, Jr., and Guest, himself.
Comparisons with Guest's most popular picture, THIS IS SPINAL TAP are both interesting and tricky. Interesting because both movies were written and directed by the same man, and shared most of the same casts. Tricky, because while some seem to compare AMW unfavorably with TIST, a looking at these films, together, they have a lot in common. So much so, in fact, that it's reasonable to consider them a pair; very similar takes on two, distinct musical genres of a similar era. The writing, acting, tone, pacing of these two movies is very similar. The jokes are similar. The points of view are similar. The focus on both performers, and the behind-the-scenes people is similar. The real difference is the music.
This, in turn, tends to suggest that those who react very differently to these two films may be reacting more to the music, directly, and to the ambiance of the world around the particular musical genre more than anything else.
Guest's movies don't have many laugh-out-loud moments. Most of the humor is more the "big-smile", sometimes, the chuckle, kind. But, Ed Begley, Jr. has perhaps his best comic scene, ever, when he does a take as a Swedish-American public television producer dropping Yiddish into his conversation; one word per sentence. It's a totally dead-pan and very quiet performance which, like so much of Christopher Guest's humor, you will either get or not get. If you do, you may fall off your chair.
Eugene Levy, who co-wrote the script, with Guest, is also very good, having finally invented a second character after having spent something more than 30 years (since his Second City TV days) doing variations of one.
Who might enjoy A MIGHTY WIND? Anyone who remembers the era and the music, and anyone who enjoys show business insider takes. It's a more difficult call for those born later. And, if you have trouble keeping Janis Joplin and Joanie Mitchell distinct in your mind, you probably won't follow most of what's going on.