No No: A Dockumentary
{{Infobox film
| name = No No: A Dockumentary
| image = NND poster.jpg
| caption = Sundance film poster
| director = Jeff Radice
| producer = Jeff Radice
Chris Cortez
Jeffrey Brown
Mike Blizzard
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Adam Horovitz
| cinematography = John Fiege
| editing = Sam Wainwright Douglas
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|2014|1|20|Sundance}}
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
}}
No No: A Dockumentary is a 2014 American documentary film directed and produced by Jeff Radice.{{cite web|title=2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: No No: A Dockumentary|date=31 December 2013 |url=http://whatnottodoc.com/2013/12/31/2014-sundance-docs-in-focus-no-no-a-dockumentary/|access-date=12 April 2014}} The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014.{{cite web|title=Sundance 2014: U.S. Documentary Competition|date=10 January 2014 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-2014-us-documentary-competition|access-date=12 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=Sundance 2014: What happened After Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD? -- EXCLUSIVE POSTER|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/01/15/sundance-2014-dock-ellis/|access-date=12 April 2014}}
Synopsis
The film details the life story of American professional baseball player Dock Ellis, his prolific career, his addictions to alcohol and amphetamines, his efforts to help other addicts until his death in 2008, and the no-hitter he threw while under the influence of LSD.{{cite web|title=Trailer: Sundance-Bound 'No No: A Dockumentary' (On Misunderstood Career Of Pirates Great Dock Ellis)|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/trailer-sundance-bound-no-no-a-dockumentary-on-misunderstood-career-of-pirates-great-dock-ellis|access-date=12 April 2014}}{{cite news|title='No No,' a Documentary on MLB Pitcher Dock Ellis, Who Pitched a No-Hitter While Tripping on Acid|newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=5 February 2014 |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/05/no-no-a-documentary-on-mlb-pitcher-dock-ellis-who-pitched-a-no-hitter-while-tripping-on-acid.html|access-date=12 April 2014 |last1=Stern |first1=Marlow }}
Reception
The film received overwhelmingly positive response from critics. Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing:
More than just a documentary focusing on one man’s life, No No: A Dockumentary is not told just between the foul lines. It rounds several story bases: It flexes as a window on the cataclysmic changes of the late 1960s and ’70s, and documents Ellis’ substance abuse."{{cite web|title=No No: A Dockumentary: Sundance Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=24 January 2014 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/no-no-a-dockumentary-sundance-673832|access-date=12 April 2014}}
In Indiewire, Steve Greene wrote:
No No: A Dockumentary becomes a supremely successful biography in acknowledging the reason for Ellis’ fame while showing how that story is just a sliver of what defined his later years" and that "No-No exists as both a measured and vibrant portrait in equal measure, a fitting tribute to a life that encompassed both of those same qualities."{{cite web|title=Sundance Review: 'No No: A Dockumentary' is Far More Than Simply a Look at the Day When Baseball and LSD Mixed|date=26 January 2014 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-no-no-a-dockumentary-is-far-more-than-simply-a-look-at-the-day-when-baseball-and-lsd-mixed|access-date=12 April 2014}}
Amber Wilkinson of The Daily Telegraph gave the film four out of five stars and praised the director Jeff Radice:
Radice takes an inventive approach to Ellis's story, using a terrific Seventies soundtrack, animation and manipulated still photography – frequently featuring trippy pops of colour – to maintain the momentum. He also approaches the tale with a sense of humour, even though he never plays down the havoc the pitcher's addictions wreaked on his personal life. An effortless home run."{{cite web|title=Sundance 2014, No No: A Dockumentary, review|date=22 January 2014 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10589675/Sundance-2014-No-No-A-Dockumentary-review.html|access-date=12 April 2014}}
Drew Taylor, in his review for The Playlist, praised the film:
"No No is a jazzy, joyful exploration of a man that, if he wasn't able to actually change the system, was at least happy with giving it the middle finger."{{cite web|title=Sundance Review: Dock Ellis Baseball Doc 'No No' A Delightful Trip Around The Bases|date=26 January 2014 |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sundance-review-baseball-doc-no-no-about-pitcher-dock-ellis-is-a-jazzy-delight-20140126|access-date=12 April 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.nonoadockumentary.com/ Official website]
- {{IMDb title|3399112|No No: A Dockumentary}}
- {{Rotten-tomatoes|no_no_a_dockumentary|No No: A Dockumentary}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:No No: A Dockumentary}}
Category:2014 documentary films
Category:American sports documentary films
Category:Documentary films about sportspeople
Category:Documentary films about baseball
Category:Documentary films about drug addiction
Category:Documentary films about LSD
Category:2010s English-language films