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{{Short description|American film director (1935–2021)}} |
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| name = Milton Moses Ginsberg |
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{{Infobox person |
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| image = Replace this image male.svg |
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| name = Milton Moses Ginsberg |
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| birth_date = 1943 |
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|9|22}} |
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| birth_place = [[New York]], [[United States]] |
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| birth_place = [[The Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S. |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|5|23|1935|9|22}} |
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| death_place = [[Manhattan]], New York, U.S. |
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| occupation = Director, Writer, Editor, |
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| education = [[Columbia University]] (BA) |
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| occupation = Director, Writer, Editor, |
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| spouse = Nina Posnansky |
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| spouse = Nina Posnansky |
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'''Milton Moses Ginsberg''' (September 22, 1935{{spnd}}May 23, 2021) was an American film director and editor. He was noted for writing and directing ''[[Coming Apart (film)|Coming Apart]]'', a 1969 film starring [[Rip Torn]] and [[Sally Kirkland]], and ''[[The Werewolf of Washington]]'' starring [[Dean Stockwell]]. |
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==Early life== |
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'''Milton Moses Ginsberg''' is a film director and editor most famous for writing and directing ''[[Coming Apart]]'', a 1969 film starring [[Rip Torn]] and [[Sally Kirkland]], and ''[[The Werewolf of Washington]]'' starring [[Dean Stockwell]]. Born in 1943, Ginsberg is based in New York City. He married painter Nina Posnansky in 1983. |
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Ginsberg was born in [[The Bronx]] on September 22, 1935. His father, Elias, was employed as a cutter in the garment district; his mother, Fannie (Weis), was a housewife. He attended the [[Bronx High School of Science]], before studying literature at [[Columbia University]], where he obtained a [[bachelor's degree]].<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news|title=Milton Moses Ginsberg, Unconventional Filmmaker, Dies at 85|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/12/movies/milton-moses-ginsberg-dead.html|first=Richard|last=Sandomir|date=June 12, 2021|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> |
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== |
==Career== |
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===''Coming Apart''=== |
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In 1969, Ginsberg directed his first feature film. ''Coming Apart'' starred [[Rip Torn]] as a mentally disturbed psychologist who secretly films his sexual encounters with women. [[Sally Kirkland]], who was simultaneously filming [[Futz!]] at the time, also stars<ref>Smith, Howard. "Rip Torn, Sally Kirkland, and the Sexual Revolution on Stage and Film" The Village Voice, March 13, 1969</ref>. The film was shot in a one-room, 15'x17' apartment in [[Kips Bay Plaza]], on a budget of 60,000 dollars. Shooting lasted three weeks. |
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Ginsberg directed his first feature film, ''[[Coming Apart (film)|Coming Apart]]'', in 1969. It starred [[Rip Torn]] as a mentally disturbed psychologist who secretly films his sexual encounters with women. [[Sally Kirkland]], who was simultaneously filming ''[[Futz! (film)|Futz!]]'' at the time, also stars.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Howard |title=Rip Torn, Sally Kirkland, and the Sexual Revolution on Stage and Film |work=The Village Voice |date=March 13, 1969}}</ref> The film was shot in a one-room, {{cvt|15|x|17|ft}} apartment in [[Kips Bay Plaza]], on a budget of $60,000. Shooting lasted three weeks.<ref name=Smith>{{cite news|title=After 'Coming Apart,' a Life Did Just That|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/10/movies/after-coming-apart-a-life-did-just-that.html|first=Dinitia|last=Smith|date=September 10, 1998|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Ginsberg filmed the entire movie with one static camera setup, in a manner simulating a non-constructed "fake documentary" style, influenced by [[Jim McBride]]'s ''[[David Holzman's Diary]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horwath |first1=Alexander |editor1-last=Elsaesser |editor1-first=Thomas |editor2-last=King |editor2-first=Noel |editor3-last=Horwath |editor3-first=Alexander |title=The Last Great American Picture Show: New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s |date=2004 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=90-5356-493-4 |chapter=A Walking Contradiction (Partly True and Partly Fiction)}}</ref>{{rp|86}} |
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Critical reception was mixed. ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' reviewer [[Richard Schickel]] praised Torn's performance, Ginsberg's inventive use of camera and sound, and the "illuminating" portrayal of a schizophrenic breakdown.<ref>Schickel, Richard. "Cracking Up On Camera" Life, October 17, 1969</ref> Critic [[Andrew Sarris]] gave it a less-favorable review, and the film was a commercial failure.<ref name=Smith/> The film later attained a cult following among critics and filmmakers.<ref name=Smith/> |
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Ginsberg filmed the entire movie with one static camera setup, in a manner simulating a non-constructed "fake documentary" style, influenced by [[Jim McBride|Jim McBride's]] ''[[David Holzman's Diary]]''<ref>Horwath, Alexander. (2004) "A Walking Contradiction (Partly True and Partly Fiction)" The Last Great American Picture Show: New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970's. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press ISBN 9053564934</ref>. |
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In a 1999 volume of ''[[Film Comment]]'', Ginsberg stated: |
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Critical reception was mixed. [[Life (magazine)|''Life'']] reviewer [[Richard Schickel]] praised Torn's performance, Ginsberg's inventive use of camera and sound, and the "illuminating" portrayal of a schizophrenic breakdown<ref>Schickel, Richard. "Cracking Up On Camera" Life, October 17, 1969</ref>. But critic [[Andrew Sarris]] gave it a less-favorable review, and the film was a commercial failure. |
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{{Blockquote | ... the film was about a psychiatrist encased in his own reflection, using a hidden camera to record his own disintegration. The film was also about the pleasures and price of promiscuity, and about the form and duration of cinema itself - or so I hoped. And to a degree that still embarrasses, it was about me. Appropriate, the title, ''Coming Apart''.<ref name=FilmComment1999>{{cite journal |last1=Ginsberg |first1=Milton Moses |title=How to Fall Into Oblivion and Take Your Movie With You: COMING APART |journal=[[Film Comment]] |date=1999 |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=4–6 |jstor=43454642 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43454642 |issn=0015-119X}}</ref>{{rp|4}}}} |
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===Subsequent work=== |
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The film has since attained a cult following among critics and filmmakers<ref>Smith, Dinitia. "After 'Coming Apart,' a Life Did Just That(1978). The New York Times, September 10, 1998</ref> <ref>Kawin, Bruce. “Coming Apart: The Mind as Camera.” Mindscreen: Bergman, Godard, and first-person film. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978</ref>. |
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In 1973, Ginsberg wrote and directed the satirical horror film ''[[The Werewolf of Washington]]'' starring [[Dean Stockwell]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Malcolm |first1=Derek |title=Yawning space: Derek Malcolm reviews more new films |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79466970/yawning-space-derek-malcolm-reviews/ |access-date=June 13, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=October 23, 1976}}</ref> Eschewing the minimalism of his previous feature, Ginsberg demonstrated a more technically complex film style.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Puchalski |first1=Steven |title=Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies |date=2002 |publisher=Headpress/Critical Vision |isbn=1-900486-21-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4igSDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT246|title=The Werewolf Filmography: 300+ Movies|publisher=McFarland|date=February 6, 2017|last=Senn|first=Bryan|page=238|isbn=9781476626918}}</ref> |
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After a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1975, Ginsberg became depressed and withdrew from filmmaking.<ref name="NYT obit"/> He returned to directing in 1999 and 2001, with the short films ''The City Below the Line'' and ''The Haloed Bird''.<ref name=Smith/><ref name=FilmComment1999/>{{rp|6}} |
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==Subsequent Work== |
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In 1973, Ginsberg wrote and directed the satirical horror film ''[[The Werewolf of Washington]]'' starring [[Dean Stockwell]]. Eschewing the minimalism of his previous feature, Ginsberg demonstrated a more technically complex film style<ref>Puchalski, Steven. (2002) Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies. Manchester: Headpress ISBN 1900486210</ref>. |
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After his final feature film, Ginsberg primarily made a living as a film editor,<ref name=Smith/> working on two [[Academy Award|Academy Award-winning]] documentaries, ''[[Down and Out in America]]'' and ''[[The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years|The Personals]]'', among others.<ref name="NYT obit"/> He edited both parts of the miniseries ''[[Fidel (2002 film)|Fidel]]'' (2002) for director [[David Attwood (film director)|David Attwood]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Television Review – Castro's Road, a Historical Pageant|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/26/arts/television-review-castro-s-road-a-historical-pageant.html|first=Ron|last=Wertheimer|date=January 26, 2002|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name=BFI>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9fa4c12f|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612233508/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9fa4c12f|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 12, 2021|title=Milton Moses Ginsberg|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=June 12, 2021}}</ref> |
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After a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1975, Ginsberg became depressed and withdrew from filmmaking. He returned to directing in 1999 and 2001, with the short films ''The City Below the Line'' and ''The Haloed Bird''<ref>Ginsberg, Milton Moses. “How to Fall Into Oblivion and Take Your Movie With You.” Film Comment 35.1 January-February 1999</ref> <ref>Smith, Dinitia. "After 'Coming Apart,' a Life Did Just That(1978). The New York Times, September 10, 1998</ref>. |
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==Personal life== |
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Since his last feature film, Ginsberg has primarily made a living as a film editor<ref>Smith, Dinitia. "After 'Coming Apart,' a Life Did Just That(1978). The New York Times, September 10, 1998</ref>, working on two [[Academy Award|Academy Award-winning]] documentaries, ''[[Down and Out in America]]'' and ''[[The Personals]]'', among others. More recently, he edited the miniseries [[Fidel (film)|''Fidel'']] for director [[David Attwood]]. |
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Ginsberg married Nina Posnansky, a painter, in 1983. They remained married until his death.<ref name="NYT obit"/> |
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Ginsberg died on May 23, 2021, at his apartment in [[Manhattan]]. He was 85, and suffered from cancer prior to his death.<ref name="NYT obit"/> |
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==Filmography== |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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|- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;" |
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! Year |
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! Title |
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! Notes |
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! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}} |
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|- |
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|1969 |
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|''[[Coming Apart (film)|Coming Apart]]'' |
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|Director |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|1973 |
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|''[[The Werewolf of Washington]]'' |
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|Writer and director |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|1986 |
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|''[[Down and Out in America]]'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name="NYT obit"/> |
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|- |
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|1990 |
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|''Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones movie review (1990) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/listen-up-the-lives-of-quincy-jones-1990 |access-date=June 13, 2021 |work=www.rogerebert.com |date=October 5, 1990 |language=en}}</ref> |
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|- |
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|1995 |
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|''[[Catwalk (film)|Catwalk]]'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|1997 |
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|''Pronto'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|1998 |
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|''[[The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years]]'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|2000 |
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|''Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|2002 |
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|''[[Fidel (2002 film)|Fidel]]'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|- |
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|2005 |
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|''A Father... A Son... Once upon a Time in Hollywood'' |
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|Editor |
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|<ref name=BFI/> |
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|} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==External |
==External links== |
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*{{ |
*{{IMDb name|id=0320113|name=Milton Moses Ginsberg}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ginsberg, Milton Moses}} |
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[[Category:American film directors]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1935 births]] |
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[[Category:2021 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Artists from New York City]] |
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[[Category:Film directors from New York City]] |
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[[Category:People from the Bronx]] |
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[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:32, 15 October 2023
Milton Moses Ginsberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 22, 1935 |
| Died | May 23, 2021 (aged 85) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Director, Writer, Editor, |
| Spouse | Nina Posnansky |
Milton Moses Ginsberg (September 22, 1935 – May 23, 2021) was an American film director and editor. He was noted for writing and directing Coming Apart, a 1969 film starring Rip Torn and Sally Kirkland, and The Werewolf of Washington starring Dean Stockwell.
Early life[edit]
Ginsberg was born in The Bronx on September 22, 1935. His father, Elias, was employed as a cutter in the garment district; his mother, Fannie (Weis), was a housewife. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, before studying literature at Columbia University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree.[1]
Career[edit]
Coming Apart[edit]
Ginsberg directed his first feature film, Coming Apart, in 1969. It starred Rip Torn as a mentally disturbed psychologist who secretly films his sexual encounters with women. Sally Kirkland, who was simultaneously filming Futz! at the time, also stars.[2] The film was shot in a one-room, 15 ft × 17 ft (4.6 m × 5.2 m) apartment in Kips Bay Plaza, on a budget of $60,000. Shooting lasted three weeks.[3] Ginsberg filmed the entire movie with one static camera setup, in a manner simulating a non-constructed "fake documentary" style, influenced by Jim McBride's David Holzman's Diary.[4]: 86
Critical reception was mixed. Life reviewer Richard Schickel praised Torn's performance, Ginsberg's inventive use of camera and sound, and the "illuminating" portrayal of a schizophrenic breakdown.[5] Critic Andrew Sarris gave it a less-favorable review, and the film was a commercial failure.[3] The film later attained a cult following among critics and filmmakers.[3]
In a 1999 volume of Film Comment, Ginsberg stated:
... the film was about a psychiatrist encased in his own reflection, using a hidden camera to record his own disintegration. The film was also about the pleasures and price of promiscuity, and about the form and duration of cinema itself - or so I hoped. And to a degree that still embarrasses, it was about me. Appropriate, the title, Coming Apart.[6]: 4
Subsequent work[edit]
In 1973, Ginsberg wrote and directed the satirical horror film The Werewolf of Washington starring Dean Stockwell.[7] Eschewing the minimalism of his previous feature, Ginsberg demonstrated a more technically complex film style.[8][9]
After a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1975, Ginsberg became depressed and withdrew from filmmaking.[1] He returned to directing in 1999 and 2001, with the short films The City Below the Line and The Haloed Bird.[3][6]: 6
After his final feature film, Ginsberg primarily made a living as a film editor,[3] working on two Academy Award-winning documentaries, Down and Out in America and The Personals, among others.[1] He edited both parts of the miniseries Fidel (2002) for director David Attwood.[10][11]
Personal life[edit]
Ginsberg married Nina Posnansky, a painter, in 1983. They remained married until his death.[1]
Ginsberg died on May 23, 2021, at his apartment in Manhattan. He was 85, and suffered from cancer prior to his death.[1]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Coming Apart | Director | [11] |
| 1973 | The Werewolf of Washington | Writer and director | [11] |
| 1986 | Down and Out in America | Editor | [1] |
| 1990 | Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones | Editor | [11][12] |
| 1995 | Catwalk | Editor | [11] |
| 1997 | Pronto | Editor | [11] |
| 1998 | The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years | Editor | [11] |
| 2000 | Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light | Editor | [11] |
| 2002 | Fidel | Editor | [11] |
| 2005 | A Father... A Son... Once upon a Time in Hollywood | Editor | [11] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Sandomir, Richard (June 12, 2021). "Milton Moses Ginsberg, Unconventional Filmmaker, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ Smith, Howard (March 13, 1969). "Rip Torn, Sally Kirkland, and the Sexual Revolution on Stage and Film". The Village Voice.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Dinitia (September 10, 1998). "After 'Coming Apart,' a Life Did Just That". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ Horwath, Alexander (2004). "A Walking Contradiction (Partly True and Partly Fiction)". In Elsaesser, Thomas; King, Noel; Horwath, Alexander (eds.). The Last Great American Picture Show: New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 90-5356-493-4.
- ^ Schickel, Richard. "Cracking Up On Camera" Life, October 17, 1969
- ^ a b Ginsberg, Milton Moses (1999). "How to Fall Into Oblivion and Take Your Movie With You: COMING APART". Film Comment. 35 (1): 4–6. ISSN 0015-119X. JSTOR 43454642.
- ^ Malcolm, Derek (October 23, 1976). "Yawning space: Derek Malcolm reviews more new films". The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Puchalski, Steven (2002). Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies. Headpress/Critical Vision. ISBN 1-900486-21-0.
- ^ Senn, Bryan (February 6, 2017). The Werewolf Filmography: 300+ Movies. McFarland. p. 238. ISBN 9781476626918.
- ^ Wertheimer, Ron (January 26, 2002). "Television Review – Castro's Road, a Historical Pageant". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Milton Moses Ginsberg". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 5, 1990). "Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones movie review (1990)". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
