Favorite Films of 2024, Part One
Documentary-Edition of my Favorite Films List from the Past Year
Happy New Year friends, and welcome to the first installment of my annual film release recommendations. 2024 was huge for movies and things of a film-ish nature, so I’ve separated them out this time into documentaries and narrative features. There was such a plethora of both released this past year, it makes the most sense to treat them as different entities. So, roughly ranked to lead up to my #1 favorite, here is the feature-length documentary list.
Jim Henson: Idea Man
Does it surprise you that this is at the bottom of my list? It surprises me, but at the same time, it doesn’t. When I heard there was a new Jim Henson documentary coming out, my ears perked up — until I found out it was being directed by Ron Howard, a bland & pompous filmmaker I’m allergic to. I’ll spare you the long rant from my first-impression Letterboxd review — unless you want to read it here. In a nutshell, I enjoyed the rare clips of early Muppets and Henson family material which I’ve never seen before — but being such a huge “Jim-seed” and devoted scholar of his life & work, I can’t help but be nit-picky about how he’s portrayed, and this film had plenty of nits to pick. It’s worth watching, but there are better retrospectives I would recommend with a fuller heart.
Music by John Williams
Without a doubt, John Williams is the greatest living film composer of so many generations, and this film taught me many things about him and the breadth of his work I didn't know. You can't deny the power and wonder of his art and what he's accomplished, and this makes me want to gorge on a marathon of movies he's scored. He's a national treasure and a kind, brilliant human being.
I enjoyed watching this, but once again, as a documentary streaming on Disney+ it brings along all the things that such a bloated production is forced to give you, wasting precious film time with clips and soundbytes of contractually-obligated people like Chris Martin (why?) and Seth MacFarlane (also why?) and Ron Howard (UGH, why?) and others gushing ad naseum about how great their subject is. I would have loved to see more archival footage of him simply working, and a lot more from him vs. other people giving him endless praise, however well-deserved it is.
The best thing in this whole film (if you watch nothing else, skip to this part) is John Williams himself explaining the spiritual meaning behind the 5-note theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It blew my mind and explained so eloquently why watching that movie is a religious experience. More of this please! More from the maestro himself! What other pieces of wisdom might he have to share?
It frustrates me that streaming platforms produce hundreds of hours of mini-series about serial killers and then only give us 100 minutes of well-made & enjoyable but glossy & shallow documentaries about artistic geniuses like Jim Henson and John Williams. I suppose he puts it best himself, "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music." This is true. Please give us more of it.
Remembering Gene Wilder
This one I enjoyed very much. It’s simple, quaint and sweet — and a loving portrait of the joys and sadness behind this extraordinary artist. I grew up loving Gene Wilder’s performances in Willy Wonka, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein in particular, so it was nice to learn more about him.
The Greatest Night in Pop
Anyone from my generation will have fond memories of We Are the World, and while I grew up with the short behind-the-scenes documentary that showed on television back then, somehow I missed the fact that the song was recorded all in one night after an awards show. This fact alone gave me chills, while revelling in the absolutely incredible voices from an era without AI, digital tampering or auto-tune — just true talent. An amazing moment in music history.
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon
At 3.5 hours, this is an investment, but it’s a fine way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. I grew up with Simon & Garfunkel’s Concert in Central Park album essentially seeped into my blood and stitched into my DNA, and through the years from Graceland to his more recent work, Paul Simon has always been someone I come back to.
Even at this length it feels incomplete for the breadth of such a career — but I love the fact that it actually lets him tell his story — warts and all — and is not simply a string of other people praising him. Goes into some deep, moving and spiritual places, and the music alone made me want to weep & swell with joy more than once. He’s one of the greatest songwriters of our modern age.
Beatles ‘64
There’s no sound quite like the voices of John, Paul and George in harmony & unison from those early shows and recordings. I think the ‘64-‘65 era is my favourite Beatles, before the drugs kicked in and made things weird — still good-weird of course, but overall different from the really early, joyful stuff.
The brilliant twist of editing in this whole thing is how it opens to set the stage: a montage of clips and uplifting speeches by John F. Kennedy, and then that one shot of him and Jackie in her pink dress coming off the plane in Dallas. It’s the perfect chilling and bittersweet prologue where you don’t need to say anything or show anything else — you just know. And this is all before my time. I can only imagine what the catharsis of Beatlemania after a national tragedy must have felt like, but I’ll never truly know. I can say I love and appreciate the Beatles, but I never will the way Boomers and the people in this film do. Luckily their voices, faces and youthful energy are still enough of a signpost to give me an idea. It’s important to have their stories.
I know and trust that music is the only thing that will get me, and you, and all of us through the coming years in one piece. It is the only thing, besides laughter, that will make the darkness bearable and keep despair & anger at bay. But especially music, because it’s still there when you don’t feel like laughing. We’re gonna need a lot of it. I don’t know if we’ll get another Beatles, but I hope someone comes close.
STEVE! (martin)
Really wonderful, melancholy and life-affirming from start to finish. The first part is “then” and focuses on his early life & career leading to his explosive stand-up period from the late ‘70s — the second part is “now” and focuses on his modern life & reflections on his movie career from The Jerk to today.
Steve Martin is a national treasure of a human being and one of my favourite people in the world. I wish I could have coffee with him, talk about art, and just thank him for the joy.
Will & Harper
Heartbreaking and heartwarming, urgent and important — a truly beautiful film, a great road movie, and the best Bon Iver needle-drop I’ve ever heard. It is so worth your time to watch this, think about it, and let it open doors of discovery inside of you.
Butterfly in the Sky
I enjoyed this one so much. It’s nice to see the Rock-afire Explosion documentary filmmaker Brett Whitcomb co-direct something that moves him up to greater heights.
I vividly remember when the TV show Reading Rainbow first premiered, and though I only watched it semi-regularly for a couple years, I always knew I loved it and the philosophy behind it. This documentary is lovingly crafted and puts a well-deserved spotlight on some amazing people who have done incredible things for this world. An absolute delight and shares similar vibes to the outstanding Mister Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Have You Got it Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
Of all the documentaries I’ve seen this year, this pleasant surprise ended up being my #1 favorite. Co-directed by the late Storm Thorgerson, the graphic artist behind many iconic album covers, this tells the in-depth story of Pink Floyd’s 1960s formation and the crazy diamond who started it all, Syd Barrett.
It’s so simply made, not over-produced or made with a big streaming-service budget, and yet it’s tight, solid and incredibly moving. It’s all at once a wondrous portrait of the zeitgeist, the people, and the stories from that time period, alluding to the mysterious Lewis Carroll-Pied Piper-like ambience of Syd’s artistry.
Most surprisingly, it’s also an interweaving exploration of the world, who we are and what we’re doing here.
I hope you seek these out and enjoy them, friends! Keep watch for my next list of narrative feature films coming soon.