Press Reviews

Alexander Calder

A co-production of Florentine Films and American Masters

Produced, Directed & Photographed by Roger Sherman

(An) incisive documentary. This hour captures the boundless optimism and energy of its subject.

People

Director Roger Sherman removes the crust of kitsch from the artist who invented all those pretty mobiles...Sherman offers beautiful old footage of Calder showing his wire-sculpted toy circus to a group of wowed surrealists, plus an art-historical perspective from interviewees ranging from a garrulous Arthur Miller to eloquent National Gallery of Art curator Marla Prather.

Entertainment Weekly

Playwright Arthur Miller says Calder’s works are endlessly fascinating. You just feel better for having stared at it for a while. The same goes for this portrait.

New York Post

Producer-director-cinematographer Roger Sherman and writer Thomas McNamee do a wonderful job exploring and explaining the inspiration behind the artist. Very entertaining. Like Calder’s art, this American Masters special is self- assured and singularly delightful.

Daily News

(The National) Gallery show is wonderful. But in a few small ways, this hour-long documentary is even better. We get to see the man and his sculptures in motion.

The Washington Post

Only one artist could turn the National Gallery of Art into a giant playroom: Alexander Calder. What brings you closer to Calder’s real purpose, however, is a video by Roger Sherman showing work as it was meant to be seen in motion.

New York Magazine

The American Masters production does full justice to the subject and then some. Roger Sherman, the program’s director and cinematographer, captures the exuberance of the man.

Gannet News Service

* The George Foster Peabody Award

* Emmy Award, Outstanding Series, as part of American Masters

* CINE Golden Eagle

* Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

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Press Reviews

Produced and Directed by Roger Sherman

This American Masters PBS profile made a TOP 10 list. The New York Times’s Julie Salamon called it “an elegant homage. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales declared it, “One of the most edifying television events of the year.” Newsday’s Noel Holston wrote, “As memorable and moving as any musical drama you will see and hear anywhere, Broadway included.” The two hour program featured Julie Andrews, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Billy Taylor, John Lahr, Diahann Carroll, Celeste Holm, Shirley Jones, Trevor Nunn, and Mary Rodgers.

Richard Rodgers:

The Sweetest Sounds

10 BEST LIST: The Sweetest Sounds is an extraordinary achievement. [It’s] is as memorable and moving as any musical drama you will see and hear anywhere, Broadway included.

Neil Holston, Newsday

An extraordinary film biography, perhaps the best ever produced in the American Masters series.

Dorothy Rabinowitz, The Wall Street Journal

This elegant homage is affectionate but doesn't ignore the grim side of the man with the astonishing musical gift. ...The deeper pleasures of The Sweetest Sounds come from the documentary's exploration of the music: how it was created and what it has come to mean to performers, composers, choreographers and those of us who simply love listening to it. And what the music meant to Rodgers himself, a man his daughters felt to be unknowable.

Julie Salamon, The New York Times

The Sweetest Sounds accomplishes the near impossible. This biography boasts songs in satisfying abundance. It is a joyful primer of a nation's values as captured in irresistible song.

Frazier Moore, The Associated Press

Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds, one of the most edifying television events of the year, comes closest to being definitive. Compressing his astonishing life and career into two hours was a challenge for producer-director Roger Sherman, but he's done a remarkably satisfying job. His documentary isn't just a perfunctory chronological recitation of hits. He brings in guest experts like Andrew Lloyd Webber to explain the technical excellence of Rodgers's music. In addition to the invaluable insights of Rodgers's daughters, illuminating commentary comes from such authorities as critic John Lahr, musicologist Jonathan Schwartz, Julie Andrews, Maureen McGovern, conductor John Mauceri, jazzman Billy Taylor, Celeste Holm and celebrated theatrical director Trevor Nunn.

Tom Shales, The Washington Post

A number of thoughtful analyses by music historians, theater historians and critics punctuate a splendid two-hour PBS tribute to Rodgers. The program goes well beyond the kitsch and corn of the song lyrics and the praise for the melodies from some of today's leading vocalists. It ventures into the ugly underside of the composer's life to chronicle his depression, alcoholism and womanizing, and his ultimate failure to find the sort of happiness his work delivered to others.

Joanne Ostrow, The Denver Post

But it's more than just a two-hour tribute. Methodically and often brilliantly, this American Masters biography explores what conductor John Mauceri calls the "fundamental river of sadness" that ran through both the man and some of his best work.

Joanne Weintraub, The Sentinel (syndicated)

The well-edited, well-directed docu from Thirteen/WNET is an irresistible account. Producer-director Roger Sherman does an excellent job, helming a docu that flows exceedingly well.

The Hollywood Reporter

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The O.J. Simpson Trial:

Beyond Black and White

Written, Produced & Directed by Roger Sherman

The one-hour film is an investigation of the African-American perspective of the criminal justice system, using the issues arising from the celebrated trial as a springboard. A broad sample of African-Americans express their views. The motivating question of the film: why did so many blacks stand up and cheer upon hearing the verdict, while so many whites felt shock and outrage?

Intriguing. The voices in Beyond are relevant and infrequently heard. For those looking for insight on the trials lasting consequences, Beyond fits like a glove.

Village Voice

Don’t pass up the hour. A provocative and unsettling look at the trial through the eyes of African-American observers.

Entertainment Weekly

A superb look at the trial.

Orange County Register

Truly a fresh look at what I didn’t think could ever be looked at freshly again.

Richard Horwich

What comes through again and again are emphatic reminders of how different life in America is for blacks and whites.

Dallas Morning News

Produced for The Learning Channel

*CableAce nominee

*Gold Medal, New York Festivals