2001-2010 Andrew Jarecki Documentary USA

Andrew Jarecki – Capturing the Friedmans [+Extras] (2003)

adminAugust 10, 2021

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A Sundance Grand Jury prize-winner and a true conversation starter, Capturing the Friedmans travels into one apparently ordinary Long Island family’s heart of darkness. Arnold and Elaine Friedman had a normal life with their three sons until Arnold was arrested on multiple (and increasingly lurid) charges of child abuse. Because the Friedmans had documented their own lives with copious home movies, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki is able to sift through their material looking for clues. Yet what emerges is more surreal than fiction: the youngest Friedman son went to jail; the eldest became a birthday-party clown. In the end, we can’t be sure whether Arnold Friedman is a monstrous child molester or the victim of railroading. The portrait of a disconnected family is deeply disturbing, either way, and this film is further proof that a documentary can be just as spellbinding as anything a great storyteller dreams up.

Extras:
The film itself, with director’s commentary attached as a second audio stream.
– Filmmaker interview by Tom Dawson.
– An altercation at the New York Premiere.
– The Judge Speaks Out at the Great Neck Premiere.
– Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the case/film.
– Director Andrew Jarecki interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show.
– Unseen home movies.
– A wealth of extra information regarding the investigation.
– Additional suspects.
– Reaction in Great Neck.
– Interview with a principle witness for the prosecution.
– Collection of footage of each of the family members (excluding Seth Friedman).
– Andrew Jarecki’s short film on childrens birthday party clowns.
– Recording the score in Rome, with composer Andrea Morricone.
– A collection of documents, accesible through a .exe program, such as letters, police reports and a blueprint of the Friedman house.
– Original recording of Jazzbo Mambo by Arnito Rey (Arnold Friedman) & his orchestra (wav format).