Amarillo by Morning (film)

Amarillo by Morning is a documentary short by Spike Jonze.[further explanation needed]

Amarillo by Morning
Directed bySpike Jonze
Produced byJeff Armstrong
Andy Gulliman
David Smith
StarringSpike Jonze
Clint Barr
Charisse Fruge
Joey Stern
Bryan James 'B.J.' Bowden
Mati Schayer
John Wesley McJunkin
John Wheeler
Edited byEric Zumbrunnen
Distributed byPalm Pictures
Release date
  • 1998 (1998)
Running time
29 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

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While filming pro bullriders for a commercial at the national rodeo in the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Spike befriended two suburban teenagers who aspired to be cowboys. The documentary chronicles an afternoon in their lives.[1]

Release

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Amarillo by Morning was initially screened in 1997, his first released documentary and second film.[1] The short was re-released in 2003 by Palm Pictures as part of a collection of Jonze's "music videos, short films, documentaries, and rarities", accompanied by interviews and commentaries on the director's works.[2][3]

In 2009 Amarillo by Morning was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of a retrospective on Jonze's work.[4]

Reception

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Critical reception for the short after its initial release has been positive.[5] In the book ReFocus: The Films of Spike Jonze Laurel Westrup noted that the short "diverges substantially from the irreverent charm of his narrative ads and music videos. However, it reveals some key thematic features and an emphasis on creative collaboration that carry into the Suburbs films."[6] The Village Voice has also praised the work, calling it "a perfect, unpretentious short doc tagging a crew of suburbanite Houston teens who get together to ride a homemade mechanical bull and dream of future rodeo glory. "[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Spike Jonze". The Independent (Newspapers.com). February 16, 2003.
  2. ^ Jonze, Spike (2003), The work of director Spike Jonze: a collection of music videos, short films, documentaries, and rarities., OCLC 669698288
  3. ^ "THE WORK OF DIRECTOR SPIKE JONZE". The Village Voice (ProQuest). December 3, 2003. ProQuest 232293633.
  4. ^ "Spike Jonze at MOMA". JoBlo. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  5. ^ Morehead, Jason (2003-10-21). ""The Work of Director Spike Jonze" by Spike Jonze (Review)". Opus. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  6. ^ Westrup, Laurel (2019-07-29). "Spike Jonze's Abbreviated Art of the Suburbs". ReFocus: The Films of Spike Jonze. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-4764-5.
  7. ^ "Spike Jonze Gets His Long-Overdue MOMA Retrospective". The Village Voice. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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