Kino Lorber | Release Date:April 26, 2017 | Not Rated
Summary:It's a shame no one wants to talk to them at parties, because obituary writers are a surprisingly funny bunch. Ten hours before newspapers hit neighborhood doorsteps—and these days, ten minutes before news hits the web—an obit writer is racing against deadline to sum up a long and newsworthy life in under 1000 words. The details of theseIt's a shame no one wants to talk to them at parties, because obituary writers are a surprisingly funny bunch. Ten hours before newspapers hit neighborhood doorsteps—and these days, ten minutes before news hits the web—an obit writer is racing against deadline to sum up a long and newsworthy life in under 1000 words. The details of these lives are then deposited into the cultural memory amid the daily beat of war, politics, and football scores. Obit. is the first documentary to explore the world of these writers and their subjects, focusing on the legendary team at The New York Times, who approach their daily work with journalistic rigor and narrative flair. Going beyond the byline and into the minds of those chronicling life after death on the freshly inked front lines of history, the film invites some of the most essential questions we ask ourselves about life, memory, and the inevitable passage of time. What do we choose to remember? What never dies? [Kino Lorber]…Expand
As "dead tree journalism" fades, it's interesting to think of how many people used to say, "I only keep subscribing to the paper because of the obits." Of course, that's only till they learn how to read them online for free. Still, almost everyone is a sucker for a well-written obituary, andAs "dead tree journalism" fades, it's interesting to think of how many people used to say, "I only keep subscribing to the paper because of the obits." Of course, that's only till they learn how to read them online for free. Still, almost everyone is a sucker for a well-written obituary, and this documentary is a pretty good account of how one is produced at a major paper that really cares about them. Amid the sometimes amusing anecdotes from these writers who deal with death on deadline, it's good to see how seriously they take the job of summing up a person's life. We'll miss them as the process devolves to just listing various celebrities' "memorials" to the departed on Twitter.…Expand
A documentary about the obituary writers of the New York Times. What at first might seem like an unattractive subject becomes a rather entertaining work that puts a modest emphasis on a quite fascinating and rarely recognized world.