Ornette: Made in America

  • Rated Not Rated
  • 1hr 25m

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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Shirley Clarke

Producer:

Kathelin Hoffman

Release Date:

Feb 21, 1986

Runtime:

1hr 25m

Synopsis

It captures Ornette's evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983, it chronicles his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon.

Cast

  • Ornette Coleman
  • John Giordano
  • Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
  • Prime Time
  • William S. Burroughs
  • Brion Gysin
  • Don Cherry
  • George Russell
  • Denardo Coleman

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.7
4.1K
2.9K
1.2K
RATINGS 5 FANS
3.7
  • Sep 9, 2013

    I L I KE W H E N F O R M ADA PT S TO C O N TENT BUT SOME T I M E S IT MA KES IT H A RD ER TO RE AD

    126 Likes
    laird
    laird
    Apr 18, 2023

    Transcendent, but I should note I was on acid when I watched this.

    39 Likes
    Angelica Jade Bastién🪼🌷
    Angelica Jade Bastién🪼🌷
    Feb 24, 2021

    1st Shirley Clarke My quiz research continues with a look into the world of jazz, a subject i really know very little about, especially that which is called 'Free Jazz'. Free Jazz, which Ornette Coleman was a pioneer of, is a form of music that gives me an intense…

    35 Likes
    𝔻𝕠𝕔 𝕃𝕪𝕠𝕟
    𝔻𝕠𝕔 𝕃𝕪𝕠𝕟
  •
    Dec 20, 2019

    An interesting marriage of subject and style-like Ornette Coleman's music, this is probably (possibly?) a bit of an acquired taste, shot in a stream-of-consciousness style that occasionally leans into stylistic flourishes such as wonky 80s matte lighting, slow motion, and…

    28 Likes
    Jay D 's Watching
    Jay D 's Watching
    Sep 9, 2013

    After making her name by exploring forgotten outsiders, Shirley Clarke turns her camera on an unambiguous success story. I don't use the word "success" lightly - if the movie is to be believed, Coleman spends most of his life in the early 80s surrounded by quasi-sycophantic…

    29 Likes
    Joe
    Joe
    Mar 27, 2024

    Very good when it’s more of an impressionist portrait, not so much when trying to craft a discourse around Coleman’s work. His presence and music does come through, and Clarke should get a lot of credit for that.

    27 Likes
    Filipe Furtado
    Filipe Furtado
  •
    Mar 26, 2020

    Fascinating and mostly successful attempt at absorbing an artist's style to pay tribute to him in an entirely different medium. Ornette Coleman's is an acquired taste, and to a layman (that's me, usually) it can sound completely atonal. Clarke conveys this with an…

    28 Likes
    David Weigel
    David Weigel
    Sep 7, 2020

    this is the most convinced I've been the talking heads in a documentary are not using hyperbole when they say things like "he's a very nice man, I am incredibly terrified of his music and its implications

    23 Likes
    [radio edit]
    [radio edit]
    Feb 19, 2022

    The filmmaking is three stars. The music is five stars.

    22 Likes
    SkaneNoise
    SkaneNoise
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Atom Users Reviews

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Metacritic

77
metacritic
Based on 8 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
60
Sep 1, 2012

Very much a work of its time, the documentary offers unique perspectives for fans of both the saxophonist and the pioneering filmmaker, but is unlikely to attract a broad audience beyond those camps.

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Metacritic review by John DeFore
John DeFore
The Hollywood Reporter
63
Aug 28, 2012

Shirley Clarke's portraiture eschews cohesive biography and often spirals off into lyrical dissonance.

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Metacritic review by Joseph Jon Lanthier
Joseph Jon Lanthier
Slant Magazine
80
Aug 28, 2012

Coleman's life and work are treated as a continuum, which Clarke pulls from at will.

View full review
Keith Uhlich
Time Out
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Ornette: Made in America (1986)?
The movie is 1hr 25min long.
What's Ornette: Made in America (1986) about?
It captures Ornette's evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983, it chronicles his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon.
Who's the cast of Ornette: Made in America (1986)?
  • Ornette Coleman as Self
  • John Giordano as Self - orchestra conductor
  • Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as Themselves
  • Prime Time as Themselves
  • William S. Burroughs as Self
  • Brion Gysin as Self
  • Don Cherry as Self
  • George Russell as Self - jazz pianist and composer
  • Denardo Coleman as Self
Who's the director behind Ornette: Made in America (1986)?
Shirley Clarke directed Ornette: Made in America (1986).
Who produced Ornette: Made in America (1986)?
Kathelin Hoffman produced Ornette: Made in America (1986).