Ep #25 - Kyle Eagle's '60s Pick: Sweet Love, Bitter
Sweet Love, Bitter (1967)
Cinema60 welcomes Kyle Eagle, host of The Major Scale radio show and co-producer of the jazz documentary This Is Gary McFarland. Bart and Jenna invited Kyle to talk about Sweet Love, Bitter, one of his favorite films from the 1960s. Loosely based on the life of jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, Sweet Love, Bitter is an unforgiving portrait of a black jazz musician struggling against drug addiction and racial inequality in 1960s America. Starring an extremely young (and almost unrecognizable) Dick Gregory, along with Don Murray as his white friend, the gap between these two friends’ seemingly parallel lives quickly widens as they both try and work their way out of the gutter.
In this episode, Kyle sings the praises of what he feels is an under-watched jazz gem. From its brilliant casting to its moving Mal Waldron soundtrack, there’s a surprising amount of talent packed into this low budget oddity. Kyle also runs the gamut of everything ‘60s culture–from jazz to rock to comedy–and shares various stories about his own experiences working and observing in the music scene. Bart and Jenna just try and keep up!
The following film is discussed:
• Sweet Love, Bitter (1967)
Directed by Herbert Danska
Starring Dick Gregory, Don Murray, Diane Varsi
These additional films are mentioned:
• Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day
• The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan
• The Cool World (1963)
Directed by Shirley Clarke
Starring Rony Clanton, Carl Lee, Yolanda Rodríguez
• A Man Called Adam (1966)
Directed by Leo Penn
Starring Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Cicely Tyson
• 'Round Midnight (1986)
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier
Starring Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker
• Low Down (2014)
Directed by Jeff Preiss
Starring John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close
• Born to Be Blue (2015)
Directed by Robert Budreau
Starring Ethan Hawke, Carmen Ejogo, Callum Keith Rennie
