130:(1957–1959). Blackwood's fly on the wall approach in this early short film marked the starting point of the observational filmmaking style he would become known for. Later he worked as a freelance producer-director for German Television to make documentary films about cultural news subjects, which would result in ongoing collaborations with them during his independent film career.
370:. His diverse array of films and subjects contain a common thread of didacticism and austerity, favoring pure reporting over the art of filmmaking. Blackwood's core belief is that in the cinema lies the power to enlighten the viewer, and thus reconcile the masses with the art of the postwar world.
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The two brothers worked side by side until 1982 when
Christian decided to go his own way and produce his own films. Michael renamed Blackwood Productions to Michael Blackwood Productions in 1982, and occasionally collaborated with Christian on films even after Christian's departure. With his new
266:, among others. The film took an honest look at the economic disparities between the rich and the poor, political struggles, and the ever-present art scene that defined New York City in the 1980s. The Blackwoods might be most well known for their two monographic cinema verité films
137:, Michael created Blackwood Productions in 1966, a production company dedicated to making films about art, music, and the cultural landscape in New York City. Blackwood's main aim was to document the New York art scene unfolding around him in the 1960s and 1970s.
191:. He also directed film surveys with dozens of participants, covering subjects such as the New York School of painting, abstract expressionism, pop art, American art in the 1960s and 70s, postmodern choreography, modern sculpture and postmodern architecture.
222:, protestors outside City Hall, old age home residents, two heroin addicts, drag pageant contestants, and many others, making it a diverse display of New York City life. In 1985, Michael completed his feature documentation of New York City, the monstrous
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Kleihues, Josef Paul and
Rathgeber, Christian. “Berlin and New York: A Personal Involvement: Michael Blackwood.” Berlin-New York: Like and Unlike, Essays on Architecture and Art from 1870 to the present, Rizzoli International Publications,
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production company also based in New York, Christian
Blackwood made a dozen films during a ten-year period before his death in 1992. Michael Blackwood Productions expanded to encompass the subject of architecture with the film
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Michael
Blackwood directed and produced over 50 films between 1983 and 1999 under Michael Blackwood Productions, and since 2000, an even greater number, largely split between the subjects of art and architecture.
202:(1959), an intimate, action-filled portrait of the city's subway system, highlighting its diverse ridership. Staying true to his observational filmmaking style, Blackwood hit the streets and made
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96:(July 15, 1934 – February 24, 2023) was a German-born American independent documentary filmmaker who founded Blackwood Productions, now known as Michael Blackwood Productions, in 1966.
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project in Little Bay, Australia in 1969, Blackwood began a series of monographic films with artists such as
433:"What to Stream: Rediscovering the Blackwood Brothers, A Pair of Great Documentarians of New York City Life"
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Special Films Unit where he worked under the editor Isaac
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Beyond Utopia: Changing
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Michael
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Blackwood died on
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591:Polish emigrants to the United States
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284:Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser
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198:was his silent short film titled
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461:. New York Times, July 25, 1992
431:Brody, Richard (27 May 2020).
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133:With the help of his brother
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252:Joseph Papp
248:Jane Jacobs
224:Empire City
216:Uwe Johnson
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100:Early years
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344:Zaha Hadid
304:Zaha Hadid
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39:1934-07-15
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