Saturday, May 9, 2009
The Alzheimer's Project: The Memory Loss Tapes on HBO
[I've yet to see this four-part documentary series on HBO, but I feel strongly enough about this subject that I wanted to post this in advance of the series beginning, and the advanced reviews have been excellent, as well as previous documentary films by these filmmakers - El]
HBO is going to unscramble its premium signal Sunday, though it may not be done in all areas, thus allowing non-subscribers to see "The Alzheimer's Project" part one, at 9-10:30pm Sunday night.
HBO says of the series "A new way of looking at the disease". Click here for the HBO Link, and all four episodes can be streamed from here as well.
My lifetime friend, Charlton McMillan, and his wife Shari Cookson were instrumental in creating The Memory Loss Tapes, the first episode of this four-part HBO series. Shari, who is a multiple Emmy nominee for Living Dolls and All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise, shares director-producer credit with Nick Doob. Charlton, an Emmy winner for Living Dolls, shares editing credit with Nick. Charlton also did some editing work on the second part of the series, Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?
Here are two print reviews for the series:
New York Times
L.A. Times
A blog review from critic James Bawden
Please either watch or record this and let people know about it. We never know when we will have to deal with this disease either within our families, friends, or within our own minds. Rather than giving money to corporate gamblers, we should be funding cures and care for humanitarian efforts and documentaries such as these.
The Alzheimer's Organization is at http://www.alz.org/
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5 comments:
I'm working with the ICARA Study, and I had a chance to see a pre-screening of The Alzheimer's Project. It really shows why clinical studies are so important for fighting Alzheimer's Disease. Current Alzheimer's therapies treat the symptoms associated with the disease, not the disease itself. There is a current study that explores if Bapineuzumab (Bapi), an investigational drug mentioned in the HBO special, can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s can visit www.icarastudy.com to see if they might be eligible to enroll.
Thanks for the information - I'll try to post this at my others blogs as well, such as stemcellstock.blogspot, nationalrage.blogspot
KUDOS! - "El"
Its a really depressing disease for everyone involved. It dehumanises everyone.
I've always been fascinated by memory process, either in autistism or in Alzeihmer. Maybe one day science would find a link between the two.
I just caught this on HBO last night. I work with residents who have alzheimers and dementia. I find that we caretakers can sometimes get so wrapped up in the day to day care that we sometimes forget that those afflicted with this disease have very rich pasts. This film will forever remind me to remember that Al is a pilot and Marg is a dairy farmer.
People have asked me where my passion comes from when working with folks with alzheimers as there is no family history of the disease in my family.
As a young girl I volunteered at a nursing home and became fast friends with "Ellie". Nobody ever explained to me that Ellie had Alzheimers and after a 2 year long friendship, Ellie accused me of stealing her money. I was baffled and my parents insisted I simply not see Ellie anymore. It was years before I understood what was going on with Ellie and was able to let go of the personal feelings I had associated with that acusation.
This was a brave, insightful film that everyone should see at least once!
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