Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

Director:

Andrew Jarecki

Release Date:

28 August 2003 (Israel)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

Who do you believe?

Plot:

Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middleclass Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Boy | Jewish | Child Pornography | Middle Class

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 21 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Arnold Friedman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Elaine Friedman	...	Herself (also archive footage)
David Friedman	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Seth Friedman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jesse Friedman	...	Himself (also archive footage)
John McDermott	...	Himself
Frances Galasso	...	Herself (as Det. Frances Galasso)
Anthony Sgeugloi	...	Himself
Chuck Scarborough	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph Onorato	...	Himself
Judd Maltin	...	Himself
Howard Friedman	...	Himself
Abbey Boklan	...	Herself (as Judge Abbey Boklan)
Ron Georgalis	...	Himself
Scott Banks	...	Himself
Larry King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Debbie Nathan	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Jerry Bernstein	...	Himself
Peter Panaro	...	Himself
Lloyd Doppman	...	Himself
Jack Fallin	...	Himself

Directed by
Andrew Jarecki

Produced by
Peter Bove	....	line producer (as Peter D. Bové)
Richard Hankin	....	co-producer
Andrew Jarecki	....	producer
Jaye Nydick	....	line producer
Jennifer Rogen	....	associate producer
Marc Smerling	....	producer

Original Music by
Andrea Morricone

Cinematography by
Adolfo Doring

Film Editing by
Richard Hankin

Art Direction by
Nava Lubelski

Production Management
Tanya Barr	....	production manager
Jose A. Barrios	....	production manager
Alex Carone	....	production manager
Rafael Estrella	....	production manager
Caroline Findlay	....	production manager
Christopher J. Grunke	....	production manager
Thom Little	....	production manager
Robert Warmflash	....	post-production supervisor

Art Department
Liz Campbell	....	swing
Nava Lubelski	....	props

Sound Department
Nathan Crooker	....	additional sound
Mariusz Glabinski	....	assistant sound editor
Piotr Glabinski	....	apprentice sound editor
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	sound editor
John Gurrin	....	sound mixer
Dustin Hudson	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	sound editor
Desiree Ortiz	....	additional sound
Ira Spiegel	....	sound editor
Peter Waggoner	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Steve Chiarello	....	visual effects
Kevin Quinlan	....	visual effects
Mark Szumski	....	visual effects
John Zawisha	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Charlie Beyer	....	additional photographer
Rebecca Brillhart	....	assistant camera
Jesse Cory	....	key grip
John Dreyer	....	gaffer
Brian Jackson	....	additional photographer
Chris Johnson	....	gaffer
Aaron Phillips	....	additional photographer
Rossana Rizzo	....	assistant camera
Roger Sherman	....	still photographer
Marc Smerling	....	additional photographer
Tim Spellman	....	gaffer
Ari Issler	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Rick Barlis	....	color corrector
John Dowdell	....	colorist: high definition (as John Dowdell III)
Peter Heady	....	on-line editor: HDTV
Danny Hogan	....	assistant on-line editor
Aaron Johnson	....	assistant editor
Allison Raskind	....	additional assistant editor
Patricia Sztaba	....	negative cutter
Stan Sztaba	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Matthew Abbott	....	music clearances (as Mathew Abbott)
Damiano Antinori	....	assistant score engineer
Jim Black	....	music clearances
Alessia De Rosa	....	music facilitator (as Alessia Patregnani)
Enrico DeMelis	....	music coordinator (as Enrico De Melis)
Andrea Morricone	....	conductor
Andrea Morricone	....	music editor
Andrea Morricone	....	orchestrator
Gianni Oddi	....	musician: saxophone soloist
Luciano Torani	....	music mixer
Fabio Venturi	....	music recording engineer
Fabio Venturi	....	score mixing engineer
Rocco Zifarelli	....	musician: guitar solos

Transportation Department
Christopher Pollard	....	genny driver

Other crew
Nancy Baker	....	creative consultant
Steve Beganyi	....	production assistant
Brian Cahill	....	production assistant
Mike Campbell	....	production assistant
John Carlucci	....	production assistant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Mark Chamlin	....	legal counsel (as Marc Chamlin)
Robert Coles	....	particularly good advice (as Dr. Robert Coles)
John Cumberland	....	production assistant
Michael Darmanin	....	title designer
John Dowdell	....	datacine operator (as John Dowdell III)
Cory Gibson	....	production assistant
David Hurlburt	....	production assistant
Victor Kovner	....	legal counsel
Albert Maysles	....	particularly good advice
Pat McNulty	....	production assistant
Gary Mennitt	....	legal counsel
Earl Nemser	....	particularly good advice
Sheila Nevins	....	particularly good advice
Mike Nichols	....	particularly good advice
Martin Obysovsky	....	production assistant
Eric Rosenthal	....	production assistant
Diane Sawyer	....	particularly good advice
Jamieson Shea	....	assistant to producer
Mark Townsend	....	production assistant
Matt Whitcher	....	location manager (as Matthew Whitcher)

Thanks
J.J. Abrams	....	special thanks
Katie Abrams	....	special thanks
André Balazs	....	special thanks
Paul Barnes	....	special thanks
Jeff Bushkin	....	special thanks
Dado Carillo	....	special thanks
Michael Chandler	....	special thanks
Gavin De Becker	....	special thanks (as Gavin DeBecker)
Griffin Dunne	....	special thanks
Alexa L. Fogel	....	special thanks (as Alexa Fogel)
Katie Ford	....	special thanks
Liz Garbus	....	special thanks
Robin Gattegno	....	special thanks
Mark Golin	....	special thanks
Mark Green	....	special thanks
Rob Gukeisen	....	special thanks
Robin Hafitz	....	special thanks
Jim Hart	....	special thanks
Lisa Heller	....	special thanks
Dawn Hershman	....	special thanks
Ellen Hovde	....	special thanks
Gloria Jarecki	....	special thanks
Nancy Jarecki	....	very special thanks
Jeong Ho Kim	....	special thanks
Greg Kinnear	....	special thanks
Barbara Kopple	....	special thanks
Helen Labdon	....	special thanks (as Helen Kinnear)
Ken Lanning	....	special thanks
Tom Lassally	....	special thanks
Ted Leonsis	....	special thanks
Bryan Lourd	....	special thanks
Michael Lynton	....	special thanks
Gary Mennitt	....	special thanks
Paul Mones	....	special thanks
Julie Moran	....	special thanks
Rob Moran	....	special thanks
Giovanni Morricone	....	special thanks
David O'Connor	....	special thanks
Sanford Panitch	....	special thanks
Hutch Parker	....	special thanks
Bob Pittman	....	special thanks
Veronique Pittman	....	special thanks
Mikal Reich	....	special thanks
Howard Rosenman	....	special thanks
Stefanie Scheer	....	special thanks
Alex Silveira	....	special thanks
Carly Simon	....	special thanks
David Spinozza	....	special thanks
Kipp Stroden	....	special thanks
James Taylor	....	special thanks
Michael Wimer	....	special thanks
Jacy Young	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• HBO Documentary
• Notorious Pictures

Distributors

• Magnolia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• 791 Cine (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2003) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2004) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tour de Force (2004) (Norway) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (video)
• Alpha Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Alpha Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Barbar Film (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Four Films (2007) (Chile) (DVD)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• HBO Documentary (USA)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Pelicanfilms (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• SnagFilms (2011) (worldwide) (video)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Charlex (visual effects) (as Charlex NY)
• Cobblestone Digital Animation (photo animation)

Other Companies

• 701 Sound  post-production sound
• Available Light Productions  lighting (as Available Lighting)
• Cable News Network (CNN)  archival footage (as CNN)
• Camera Service Center  camera equipment provided by
• Cinetic Media  sales
• Clearsongs  music clearances
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• Du Art Film and Video  film lab
• F.I.L.M. Archives  archival footage
• Forum Studio  score recorded at (as Studio Forum Music Village)
• Hand Held Films  camera
• Hello World Communications  sound equipment
• Hotlights  lighting
• Hoverviews Unlimited  helicopter (as Rover View Unlimited)
• Luna Lighting  cranes
• Luna Lighting  dolly
• Orchestra di Roma  score performed by
• Playback Systems  monitors
• Postworks New York  digital intermediate
• Sound One  sound mixing
• Storyville Post  Avid editing facility (as Storyville Films)
• Tape House Editorial  post-production services
• Technological Cinevideo Services Inc.  camera
• World Cinevision Services  negative cutting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich)

Filming Locations:

Dannemora, New York, USA

Company:

HBO Documentary

Trivia:

When videotaped in the park, Jesse is seen playing out the "Mr. Gumby Brain Specialist" sketch from episode 32 of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969).

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Act Naturally

gripping but frustrating documentary

Just one of the many outstanding documentaries of 2003, `Capturing the Friedmans' is a riveting, depressing and ultimately quite frustrating account of a pedophile and the effect he has on his community and family.

In 1984, Arnold Friedman, a highly respected husband, parent and teacher living with his wife and three sons in an affluent suburb of northern Long Island, was arrested on more than a hundred charges of child molestation, purportedly committed while he and his youngest son, Jesse, were running a computer class (for boys only apparently) out of the family's home. Jesse, 18 at the time, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sodomy as well. `Capturing the Friedmans' looks back not only at the trial and the circumstances surrounding it, but attempts to come to grips with how all of this affected each of the family members and the community at large. By combining present day interviews featuring several of the family members as well as some of the law enforcement officials involved in the case with glimpses of the family's life caught on film and videotape both before and after the arrest, director Andrew Jarecki creates a fascinating view of a family and a community torn asunder by crisis. We witness how each member of the family reacts to the situation. The older sons close ranks and remain faithful to their father while the mother attempts to distance herself from the crisis at hand. We see the denial and the enabling that are common in situations such as this one, as well as the way in which deep-seated and hitherto hidden feelings of anger and resentment can suddenly break forth and rise to the surface. Because the Friedmans' sons were obsessed with videotaping the events of their lives, the filmmakers had a plethora of highly revealing clips to choose from in weaving their grim but insightful tapestry.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of `Capturing the Friedmans' is that, even though the filmmakers acknowledge Arnold to be a pedophile, they obviously have grave doubts that the crimes for which he and his son were ultimately convicted ever really occurred. And, indeed, the scope, elaborateness and longevity of the alleged sexual abuse and the lack of prior reporting by any of the children who were the alleged victims do raise some troubling questions of credibility and plausibility in the viewer's mind. In fact, this whole case has eerie and disturbing echoes of the highly publicized McMartin Preschool trial, which was happening at roughly the same time. Even the people the filmmakers interview often contradict one another, leaving the audience not knowing who is telling the truth and who is lying – either deliberately or, perhaps, subconsciously. It is this air of inconclusiveness that accounts for the viewer's feeling of frustration at the end. Although the moviemakers' sympathies seem to lie more with the family than with the court, we can't help thinking that maybe no one is really telling the whole truth and that perhaps the reality, as is so often the case in life, lies somewhere in between.

If nothing else, `Capturing the Friedmans' serves as a reminder of just how messy and complicated an issue child molestation can be. With emotions running so high on both sides of the issue and the consequences so devastating for all the parties involved, the film at least shows that convictions in such cases must be pursued with the utmost rationality, rigor and care.

Whatever the truth in this case may be, the fact remains, though, that Arnold Friedman's actions led to the disintegration of a family and an undeniable human tragedy.