Cinematography:
Albert MayslesCast:
Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Mick Jagger, James Taylor, Brian Ray, Rusty Anderson, Billy Joel, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather (more)Plots(1)
On September 11, 2001, Paul McCartney was in New York, sitting in an airplane waiting for departure. Due to the attacks on the WTC, the pilot turned around; the passengers could see the burning towers from the plane's windows. The former Beatle describes his reaction in an interview: "Like everyone else, I thought I want to do something. But I'm not a fireman, I'm not a rescue worker, so there's no point in me going down there. I've got to think of something else." That impulse led to the Concert for New York, held in October 2001: a monumental benefit concert for the rescue workers who were still working through the rubble and an homage to their fallen brothers. Legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, who already made a film about The Beatles in 1964 when they first came to America, follows McCartney during the weeks leading up to the concert. In his customary unobtrusive style, he shows McCartney practicing with his band, giving interviews to promote the event, and backstage during the concert, where celebrities like Jim Carrey and Bill Clinton drop into his dressing room. Maysles's grainy black-and-white images are intercut with color footage of the concert. While it's unclear why the material was shelved for 10 years, its release on the 10th anniversary of the attacks is fitting: it's a testament to the hope that existed side by side with fear and anger in those first weeks after the attacks. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
(more)Cast
Paul McCartney
UK
Best movies:
Live 8 (2005) (concert)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Eric Clapton
UK
Best movies:
Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2015) (concert)
Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony – Lockdown Sessions (2021) (concert)
Tommy (1975)
Elton John
UK
Best movies:
The Freddie Mercury Tribute: Concert for AIDS Awareness (1992) (concert)
Billy Elliot the Musical (2014) (theatrical recording)
Live 8 (2005) (concert)
Mick Jagger
UK
Best movies:
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live (2015) (concert)
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) (TV movie)
The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre 2015 (2015) (concert)
James Taylor
USA
Best movies:
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002) (TV movie)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Funny People (2009)
Rusty Anderson
USA
Billy Joel
USA
Best movies:
The Concert for New York City (2001) (concert)
Oliver & Company (1988)
12-12-12 (2013) (concert)
Leonardo DiCaprio
USA
Best movies:
Inception (2010)
Django Unchained (2012)
Shutter Island (2010)
Barbara Walters
USA
Best movies:
Vice (2018) - a.f.
Dan Rather
USA
Best movies:
Live from Baghdad (2002) (TV movie) - a.f.
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) - a.f.
Big Miracle (2012) - a.f.
Howard Stern
USA
Best movies:
Private Parts (1997)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (concert)
Men in Black III (2012)
Stella McCartney
UK
Best movies:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
The Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle (2023) (concert)
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)