Jazz on a Summer's Day

BananaPudding4.0

Immaculate vibes. A fleeting snapshot of one of the most frequently inventive genres of music in a specific period of the ever-changing 50s, full of gorgeous & serene portraits of the environment surrounding the event and the populace gleefully living in the moment. Seeing the reaction of people who experienced the performances firsthand, ranging from looking slightly annoyed to getting absolutely enthralled by what's happening in front of them is a delight. Reminded me of that one time I played John Coltrane on the aux and all my friends looked at me like I'm a 67 y/o dude named Harold Jenkins. Just a lovely little doc that you can watch on youtube here!

Joe4.5

Feels very much like a concert film directed by a photographer, since Bert Stern's camera keeps drifting away from the performers and onto more interesting visual subjects, both animate and inanimate. My favorite example is probably the young woman eating a chocolate ice cream bar in such a way that makes it 100% certain she has no idea she's being photographed. But really, this movie is full of great little details like that - probably the only concert movie where the audience reaction shots are so crucial to the piece (it's a pretty banal technique most of the time, but never here). The music's OK.

Shea5.0

Felt my spirit exit my body multiple times.