I bought the DVD when it came out.  I enjoyed it, I watched it once, but I dont think it's something I will watch again, not for a long time anyways.   It did give nice insight into his ideas and creative processes, which was nothing new to me since I've seen Zorn about a hundred times, read interviews, seen videos, collected bootlegs, bought the T-shirts, etc.  (Actually I dont have a Zorn T-shit.)  I really enjoyed the live clips and wish there were more included.  I spotted myself at some of those gigs, in particular one of the Masada gigs from December '95.  That was pretty cool.

It did feel more like a film about Claudia Heurmann to me, but then I looked more closely at the title on the spine:  HEUERMANN: A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky.  So it makes sense.  I do agree with others that it took alot of guts and determination for her to even finish this thing, so she deserves praise for that!

One thing in particular that stood out, and was something I didnt know before watching this: Zorn talking about why he doesnt go back to Japan anymore.  Because he was getting vibed for being a Jew ?!  I mentioned this to another famous downtown musician/Zorn friend/collaborator, who summed it up nicely:  "Zorn's out of his mind...."  (just talking about his political stances and hard core Zionism.)  Anti-semetism is everywhere.... but resenting the Japanese for it.... gimme a break.

So yeah, this movie could've been better, but seeing how Zorn wasnt all that into it, maybe not.  More live performance footage wouldve really been nice...

-Jody