No No: A Dockumentary | |
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Directed by | Jeff Radice |
Produced by | Jeff Radice Chris Cortez Jeffrey Brown Mike Blizzard |
Cinematography | John Fiege |
Edited by | Sam Wainwright Douglas |
Music by | Adam Horovitz |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
No No: A Dockumentary is a 2014 American documentary film directed and produced by Jeff Radice. [1] The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014. [2] [3]
The film details the life story of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis, his prolific career, his addictions to alcohol and amphetamines, his efforts to help other addicts until his death in 2008, and the no-hitter he threw while under the influence of LSD. [4] [5]
The film received overwhelmingly positive response from critics. Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing:
More than just a documentary focusing on one man’s life, No No: A Dockumentary is not told just between the foul lines. It rounds several story bases: It flexes as a window on the cataclysmic changes of the late 1960s and ’70s, and documents Ellis’ substance abuse." [6]
In Indiewire , Steve Greene wrote:
No No: A Dockumentary becomes a supremely successful biography in acknowledging the reason for Ellis’ fame while showing how that story is just a sliver of what defined his later years" and that "No-No exists as both a measured and vibrant portrait in equal measure, a fitting tribute to a life that encompassed both of those same qualities." [7]
Amber Wilkinson of The Daily Telegraph gave the film four out of five stars and praised the director Jeff Radice:
Radice takes an inventive approach to Ellis's story, using a terrific Seventies soundtrack, animation and manipulated still photography – frequently featuring trippy pops of colour – to maintain the momentum. He also approaches the tale with a sense of humour, even though he never plays down the havoc the pitcher's addictions wreaked on his personal life. An effortless home run." [8]
Drew Taylor, in his review for The Playlist, praised the film:
"No No is a jazzy, joyful exploration of a man that, if he wasn't able to actually change the system, was at least happy with giving it the middle finger." [9]
The 1971 World Series was the championship round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1971 season and featured the first night game in its history. The 68th edition of the Fall Classic was a best-of-seven playoff between the defending World Series and American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates won the World Series in seven games, in large part because of superstar right fielder Roberto Clemente, whose all-around brilliance was on full display on a national stage. Game 4 in Pittsburgh was the first World Series game played at night.
Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between 1970 and 1975 and won the World Series in 1971. Ellis also played for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and New York Mets. In his MLB career, Ellis accumulated a 138–119 (.537) record, a 3.46 earned run average, and 1,136 strikeouts.
Kenneth Alven Brett was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kansas City Royals from 1967 to 1981. He was the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ten teams in his 14-year MLB career.
The 1977 Oakland Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished seventh in the American League West with a record of 63 wins and 98 losses. Paid attendance for the season was 495,578, one of the worst attendance figures for the franchise during the 1970s.
Sean McAllister is a British documentary filmmaker.
The 1976 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 90th in the National League, and the 95th in franchise history. The Pirates compiled a 92–70 record during the season, as they finished in second place in the National League East, nine games behind their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. As a result, their run of five division titles in a six-year span came to an end. It was also the final season for Danny Murtaugh as the Pirates' manager.
James Hodges Ellis, who used the stage name Orion at times in his career, was an American singer. His voice was similar to Elvis Presley's, a fact which he and his record company played upon, making some believe that some of his recordings were by Presley, or even that Presley had not died in 1977. Ellis appeared with many artists, including Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tammy Wynette, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Greenwood, Gary Morris, and the Oak Ridge Boys.
Carlos Cañedo is an American rock musician, professional Argentine Tango dancer/choreographer, and documentary producer. As a musician, Cañedo performed in American punk rock and hardcore bands The PeeChees, Rice, and Beehive and the Barracudas, releasing albums on indie labels Kill Rock Stars, Lookout! Records, and Sub Pop. He is currently performing in Carlos Cañedo Is Filling Gaps with Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. As a dancer, Cañedo has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Europe and his choreographies have been performed on Broadway and Europe. Carlos was also an associate producer of No No: A Dockumentary, a film about Dock Ellis, the baseball player turned drug abuse counselor who claims to have pitched a no-hitter on LSD. The documentary premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with Whiplash directed by Damien Chazelle and closed with musical drama Rudderless directed by William H. Macy.
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