Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I’ve seen FINAL CUT when it premiered last month on Trio, and I thought it was a beautifully detailed look at the making and unmaking of a still-controversial film. I’m very interested in TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE as well. Sounds like a cool double-feature:
Hey Harry.
Thalberg here writing from the Toronto Film Festival, where I had the extreme pleasure of seeing two great documentaries dealing with filmmaking: " Tell Them Who You Are" and "Final Cut:The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate".
"Tell Them Who You Are" is a documentary about legendary Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler, made by his son Mark Wexler, a filmmaker himself.
This film, which I found fascinating, is not so much about moviemaking as it focuses on Haskell Wexler the man. He comes across as difficult, passionate, an activist and not very nice to his son. Born into wealth, he made a name for himself as a cinematographer and (to a lesser degree) director. He was the DOP on Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf, American Grafitti, Bound For Glory, and was fired from Cuckoo's Nest. He's also an anti-war activist and makes no bones about that. Though there are interviews with some Hollywood heavyweights like George Lucas, Paul Newman, and Jane Fonda, the film really tries to centre on what makes Wexler tick. A particular touching moment is when Haskell visits his ex-wife (Mark's mother) in a nursing home, where she suffers with Alzheimer's Disease. He starts to cry and for the first time in the movie, is silent. A very tender and disquieting moment.
I can't say enough about this film. It's everything a documentary should be, interesting, engaging, humourus and sad. At it's basic core, it's a story about a son trying to reach, and come out from under the famous shadow of, his father. Harry, this doc is a must-see. Kudos to Mark Wexler for producing this fabulous film.
The next film I saw was "Final Cut-The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate" (digitally projected, terrific). For those of you who are too young, Heaven's Gate is considered the biggest movie flop of all time. It was made by Michael Cimino, who had just won an Oscar for "The Deer Hunter" (actually, the film won five Oscars) and was the "hot" director in Hollywood then. Final Cut's producer/ director, Michael Epstein, is actually very sympathetic to Heaven's Gate, considering it a flawed masterpiece. Unlike the Wexler film, Final Cut looks at the filmmaking process itself and how the studio involved, United Artists, went bankrupt from the cost overruns. The final cost of Heaven's gate was forty million dollars, which doesn't seem like much in this era of one hundred and fifty million dollar movies, but in 1979 was considered a huge sum of money. Careers were destroyed from the fallout of Heaven's Gate. In a Q and A after the film, Epstein made a good point: that films should not be judged on their cost or how much money they make. These days, if a major film doesn't crack one hundred million dollars in the first weekend, it's considered a failure. Also, Heaven's Gate is playing at the festival this week, so interested viewers can see both films. As well, Epstein mentioned that MGM does not want to release a special edition DVD of Heaven's Gate and Final Cut together, because Heaven's Gate has been released in a no frills DVD already and has not sold well. But both films will be playing in New York for one week in October on a double bill and MGM is watching to see if interest in Heaven's Gate will pick up at that point, and if it does, they will consider a special edition DVD.
Lastly Harry, I'd like to say this. As someone who works in documentaries, I am thrilled that docs are finally coming into their own. Both these films had packed houses and extremely enthusiastic audiences. The filmmakers were clearly pleased to be there. Congratulations to the filmmakers and to the Toronto Film Festival for making all this happen.
Thalberg
I think documentaries have been gaining ground in terms of commercial acceptance for the last decade steadily, Thalberg, and it’s a wonderful thing. As people realize that these films can be just as entertaining as any work of fiction, if not more so, they become more willing to take chances in the theater, and we all benefit. I hope that double-bill in October of FINAL CUT and HEAVEN’S GATE goes well. If I were in New York, I’d definitely check it out, and I would love to have that package on DVD.
"Moriarty" out.
