The Devil and Daniel Johnston
As a teenager, Daniel Johnston was already drawing ingenious comic book-type images, making clever Super 8 films, and writing inspired music— while starting to show signs of manic depression with delusions of grandeur. His supportive Christian fundamentalist family didn’t know what to do and Daniel couldn’t help himself. He tried college, joined a carnival, and wound up busing tables at fast-food joints. He finally made the music scene in Austin, Texas, but just as things were looking up his demons reared their ugly heads. Combining home movies, concert footage, and audiotapes, Feuerzeig (best documentary director at Sundance 2005) creates a brilliant portrait of one music genius’s heartbreaking near miss. USA, 2005. 109 min.
M-30a Wed March 30 at 6pm
M-1b Fri April 1 at 8:45pm
A Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
W Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center
M Museum of Modern Art