Sunday, March 22, 2015

Declassified Information

Orville Stave made a good name for himself with his provocative looks at the culture and counter-culture of the 1960s. From the psychedelic tragedy of his biopic Groovy Soda Jerk about James Porter the lead singer of the band of the same name, to the bleak reality of his semi-biographical Principle IV about the horrors of being a conscientious objector. Stave's work was nothing if not eye-popping and darkly patriotic.
But no film better stands for his body of work like the 1991 classic Declassified Information, based on Stave's own private investigation behind the scenes of the Kennedy administration.
Declassified Information won four MODAs including a hotly controversial Best Picture and of course a Best Screenplay for Stave and his co-writer, former blacklister, Jessica Tdinen-Finornen.