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Maestro (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:6
Rotten:10
Average Rating:4.7/10
Theatrical Release:Mar 12, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: MAESTRO is a feature film documentary, 4 years in the making. It tells the story of how a group of people found refuge and a call for life outside the mainstream. What evolved was a scene that set... MAESTRO is a feature film documentary, 4 years in the making. It tells the story of how a group of people found refuge and a call for life outside the mainstream. What evolved was a scene that set the groundwork for what was to come in dance music culture worldwide, a rare insight into the secret world of the underground. It’s a film for the world to witness. MAESTRO takes you into the world of Larry Levan, Paradise Garage; David Mancuso, The Loft, as they formed the center piece within the underground culture as it evolved into dance music of today. This culture transcended musical genres and created magical, lasting moments, not only in clubs but also within the spiritual terrain of our hearts and psyches. These modern day maestros provided environments where our spirits, creativity, passion and diversity both thrived and flourished. They were so significant that without them, dance music today would be drastically different-worldwide. Opting for a more personal and candid approach, MAESTRO shows the true history of its individuals. Tracing the underground's dance origin, MAESTRO brings out a true, candid and tragic understanding of this intense lifestyle, and the lives they lived and died for. It is far from mere nostalgia, this film is like the music and experiences it chronicles. -- © Artrution Productions [More]
Starring: Larry Levan, David Mancuso, Frankie Knuckles, Nicky Siano
Starring: Larry Levan, David Mancuso, Frankie Knuckles, Nicky Siano
Director: Josell Ramos
Director: Josell Ramos
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Reviews for Maestro
Ramos is the most exasperating sort of scenester — the guy who keeps telling you how great something is but lacks the skills and inclination to tell you exactly why
Maestro traces the roots of today's global dance-music culture with a passion, knowledge and insight that is as infectious as the music itself.
Ramos appears not to have learned the cardinal rule of documentary filmmaking: Assume that your audience knows nothing about your subject and needs to be cajoled into caring.
Most of the screen-time is taken up with people remembering how 'amazing' this event, that place or that person was, debating who was 'the first.' But there's precious little here by way of demonstration.
Clearly, Maestro is for people already aware of this history. For everyone else, this is pretty much invitation-only.
Maps an evocative history of the underground dance music culture of the '70s and '80s.
Anybody involved in the underground scene might get a kick out of Maestro -- but others will likely be bored stiff.
A much-needed celebration of an important era in which subcultures connected and sometimes clashed, and what the DJs were spinning had the power to change lives.
A passionate but messy home movie that looks back at the multicultural, mostly gay underground dance movement in New York that coalesced in the early 1970's.
Ramos says he was after a raw, underground ambience, but the result is less authentic than amateurish.
With its stylish mix of interviews and superb vintage footage of Levan on form, Maestro is a rapturous yet inevitably tragic vision of Paradise (Garage) Lost.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| 43% 43% | The Proposal |
| 26% 26% | Land of the Lost |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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