Watch Gil Scott-Heron in “Black Wax”

Gil Scott-Heron, who died yesterday at the age of 62, is best known for the spoken-word single “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” His influence on black culture, political poetry and music is tremendous, but what about documentary film? Well the title of his most famous track has been borrowed for the title of one prominent non-fiction film: Kim Bartley and Donnacha O’Briain’s 2003 film on Hugo Chavez, which unintentionally/fortuitously documented the attempted coup in 2002.

And then there is Robert Mugge’s “Black Wax,” a 1983 music doc focused on Scott-Heron as he performs in and walks around D.C. and hangs out with wax figures of political and historical figures. You can’t rent it from Netflix as it appears to be out of print, with new DVDs selling for about $80 on Amazon — VHS copies are only $3, though. There are at least a few clips here and there on the web, one of which — I think it’s the beginning — you can check out after the jump.

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News: Terrence Malick, Sarah Palin, Ellen Page and “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die”

– Producer Bill Pohlad revealed to ComingSoon.net that Terrence Malick is still working on an previously announced IMAX documentary titled “Voyage of Time.” Footage for the film, which Pohlad hints will focus on something like the history of the universe, was shot during the making of Malick’s new drama, “The Tree of Life” (pictured above). No word on when the doc will be finished, and Pohlad notes that with more shooting occurring it could all change into something else entirely, hence one of many reasons for secrecy at this juncture. Also still just a rumor is the possibility that Brad Pitt will narrate. For now you should just go see “The Tree of Life” for an old-school-effects presentation of the origins of Earth. It’s kind of like a documentary.