Reviews
Praise for The Good Soldier:
“Deeply moving” – Time Out
“Starkly eloquent”- New York Times
“Shocking and affecting” – Village Voice
“Skilllfully interweaving the stories of five different servicemen from four different conflicts, The Good Soldier is a surprisingly nondoctrinaire docu about anti-war veterans that marches to its own drummer.”
– Ronnie Scheib, Variety
“Five generations of battle-tried (but unbroken) men who wore the uniform as valiant patriots and suffered a painful deliverance from innocence are front and center in The Good Soldier. Their material is arresting, with troves of detailed memories pouring out for the first time.”
– Matthew Nestel, Box Office Magazine
“It’s hard to imagine watching a more affecting movie than The Good Soldier…it may be as affecting a movie as I’ve ever seen. I found it both hard to watch and hard to turn away from. Really powerful stuff.”
– Jason Albert, A.V.Club
“This is one incendiary movie. When you turn somebody into a well-trained killer, how do you turn off the killer part of their personality? That’s the question asked in this clear-eyed, heartbreaking documentary.”
– Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
“…a wonderful film…with great emotional power. It was a brilliant idea to hear veterans of the various wars – World War II, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, the Iraq War – because the net effect is to deal, not just with one odious war, but with the phenomenon of war as a universal evil.”
– Howard Zinn author of A People’s History of the United States
“Powerful and profoundly provocative…It’s a beautifully crafted and extremely important film.”
– Jennifer Merin, About.com
“An astounding film, The Good Soldier should be mandatory viewing for every President and member of Congress who is willing to make the decision to send men and women into war. The sheer humanity of such inhumane situations is astounding and riveting and heartbreaking.”
– Heather Buchanan, HipHamptons.com
Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist
Hamptons Film Festival Honors Documentaries
Praise for Riding the Rails:
“Irresistible, infinitely moving…an exemplary documentary, the kind of which has been raising the standards of the form.”
– Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“Romantic…Conveys the full weight right up to the bittersweet experience of returning home.”
– Janet Maslin, New York Times
“Haunting. This strong, sensitively edited documentary is likely to stay with the viewer.”
– Walter Goodman, New York Times
“A rare experience and a treasure”
– Dale Winogura, Box Office Magazine
“Fascinating. A hugely satisfying experience to watch. Riding the Rails succeeds on all counts.”
– Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Directors Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell sculpt together new and archival materials with an expert hand.”
– Dennis Harvey, Variety
“Four Stars (out of four). “Illuminating and utterly enthralling…offers an invaluable look at the real-life individuals whose image has become an indelible part of 20th century American folklore. Succeeds as both a powerful historical document and as terrific entertainment.”
– Ken Fox, TV Guide
“Riding the Rails offers a visionary perspective on the presumed romanticism of the road.”
– Rebecca Yeldham, Sundance Film Festival
“Exhilarating…heart-wrenching”
– Thelma Adams, New York Post
“Unforgettable… a winning documentary”
– David Hunter, Hollywood Reporter
“Moving …beautiful …poignant “
– Jack Mathews, Newsday
“100% Fresh!”
– Rotten Tomatoes
“Gorgeous and moving”
– Kevin Lally, Film Journal International
“Riding the Rails captures nothing less than the story of America – a tale of freedom, opportunity, and adventure, and of misery, poverty and loneliness.”
– Frederick Kaufman, Aperture
“Wonderfully revealing…illuminating interviews…a tender memoir and fascinating history lesson.”
– Sheila Stroup, Times-Picayune
“A fascinating documentary…The film has the feel of a family reunion that turns up amazing stories.”
– Stacey Richter, Tuscon Weekly
“Four Stars (out of four). A very handsome film.”
– Timothy Dugdale, Detroit MetroTimes
“Superb…thorough, intelligent and unwavering…engrossing and enlightening, “Rails” also earns distinction as a cultural artifact.”
– Deborah Hornblow, Hartford Courant
“So powerful that I will never forget it. Riding the Rails is a polished and moving documentary.” – Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
“Powerful, moving documentary…a valuable, sobering reminder both of our hardest times as a nation and the full humanity of people without homes.”
– John Koch, Boston Globe
“A poignant, but unsentimental chronicle. It taps, in an original way, into an underused resource, that of rememberances.”
– Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune
“An extraordinary documentary. It recreates a vanished era of naivete and hardship, loneliness and grandeur – a time when the nation seemed bigger than it is today but just as varied, thrilling and scary.”
– Matt Zoller Seitz, The Newark Star Ledger
Riding the Rails was honored as best documentary by both the Directors Guild of America and the Los Angeles Film Critics, and deservedly so. It’s a work of art.”
– Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
