Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days
Encyclopedia
Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days (1991) is a documentary
of American Western artist Frederic Remington
made for the PBS
series American Masters
and produced and directed by Tom Neff
It was written by Neff and Louise LeQuire. Actor Gregory Peck
was the narrator of the film and Ned Beatty
was the voice of Remington when reading his correspondence.
The documentary was produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, New York; NHK
Corporation (Japan); and Polaris Entertainment, Nashville, Tennessee
. It was the first documentary to be filmed in High Definition Television (HDTV), but at the time it was years away from high-definition television broadcasting.
The film was filmed on location where Remington spent time, uses archival film and photographs, and has interviews with art scholars that create a framework to understand his artwork.
, Walter Goodman, television critic for The New York Times
, liked the film, and wrote, "In these multi-cultural times, it may not come as unadulterated praise to credit someone with defining America's vision of the Old West, but Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days illuminates the artist's achievement without subjecting it to a test for political correctness. Setting Remington's paintings and sculptures against his own words, crisply delivered by Ned Beatty, the hourlong American Masters
documentary, tonight at 9 on Channel 13, shows and tells how the Easterner helped create a Western myth that has not yet lost its power...Attention is drawn especially to the way the massed figures move on both canvas and screen, from upper right to lower left. Big men in a landscape of big nature was a steady theme of both the movie maker and the painter."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
of American Western artist Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
made for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series American Masters
American Masters
American Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
and produced and directed by Tom Neff
Tom Neff
Thomas Linden Neff, known as Tom Neff, is a film executive, director and producer, born in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, he lives in Nashville, Tennessee.-Education:Neff received his Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University with a major in English...
It was written by Neff and Louise LeQuire. Actor Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
was the narrator of the film and Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
was the voice of Remington when reading his correspondence.
The documentary was produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York; NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
Corporation (Japan); and Polaris Entertainment, Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It was the first documentary to be filmed in High Definition Television (HDTV), but at the time it was years away from high-definition television broadcasting.
Synopsis
This documentary of Frederic Remington reviews how the artist popularized the myths, legends, and images we now call the "Old West."The film was filmed on location where Remington spent time, uses archival film and photographs, and has interviews with art scholars that create a framework to understand his artwork.
Interviews
- Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
as narrarator - Ned BeattyNed BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
as voice of Frederic Remington - William Howze
- Lewis Sharp
- Brian W. Dippie
- Peter Hassrick
Critical reception
When the film was shown on PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, Walter Goodman, television critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, liked the film, and wrote, "In these multi-cultural times, it may not come as unadulterated praise to credit someone with defining America's vision of the Old West, but Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days illuminates the artist's achievement without subjecting it to a test for political correctness. Setting Remington's paintings and sculptures against his own words, crisply delivered by Ned Beatty, the hourlong American Masters
American Masters
American Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
documentary, tonight at 9 on Channel 13, shows and tells how the Easterner helped create a Western myth that has not yet lost its power...Attention is drawn especially to the way the massed figures move on both canvas and screen, from upper right to lower left. Big men in a landscape of big nature was a steady theme of both the movie maker and the painter."
Awards
Wins- CINECINECINE is a consortium formulated to depict American life and thought realistically for a global audience. CINE recognizes and fosters the highest quality of non-theatrical film and video production through its semi-annual film competitions....
: CINE Golden Eagle, 1990. - WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize, 1990.
External links
- Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days at American MastersAmerican MastersAmerican Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
- Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days promotional reel at You Tube (via the DOC: The Documentary ChannelDOC: The Documentary ChannelDocumentary Channel is a specialty channel that features documentary programming. It airs independent documentary films from around the world, including those never-before-seen in the United States....
) - Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days titles and introduction of film at You Tube