Nov
12
2018
169 posts categorized "DOCUMENTARIES"
(Image via Making Montgomery Clift)
Playing at NewFest, Making Montgomery Clift is an utterly absorbing recasting of the image of the trailblazing actor by his nephew, one that meticulously pares away propaganda — Hollywood and otherwise — in place for decades that would have us believe Clift was a self-loathing gay man who all but killed himself.
Monty Clift was a new kind of emotional actor, one whose style was soon embraced by contemporaries James Dean and Marlon Brando. He made only 17 films, but they included such classics as The Heiress (1949), A Place in the Sun (1951) and From Here to Eternity (1953). His gayness was an open secret in Hollywood, and fairly jumps off the screen in many of his appearances; it's shocking that Red River (1948), with its gun-comparing scene between Monty and John Ireland, wasn't banned for promoting homosexuality.
(GIF via GIPHY)
So why does everybody think Clift drank himself to death in an increasingly tiny closet of his own making?
Co-directors Robert Anderson Clift and Hillary Demmon had at their disposal an unprecedented amount of material for any subject, let alone one so private. Most compelling are the hour and hours (weeks?) worth of audio tapes made clandestinely by co-director Clift's dad, Monty's brother Brooks Clift. These pristine tapes (there is a momentary Capturing the Friedmans vibe as his son ponders why the tapes were so obsessively made) hold the private thoughts of Monty and his entire family, including his mother, a direct window into what made Clift — and the Clifts — tick.
Oct
18
2018
Lois & Scotty from the film Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (Image via Greenwich)
RIP Lois Bowers, 85. She was the put-upon, drily funny wife of Scotty Bowers, 95, the notorious pimp/hustler to Hollywood's Golden Age stars. She died this week, with no cause given. Details here.
You can check out my review of the doc Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood here, and ogle Scotty in his prime here. She was an unforgettable part of the documentary, which was one of the best docs I've seen in forever.
(Image via Kino Lorber)
I'm a sucker for a good documentary, and I'm beginning to think Matt Tyrnauer can do no wrong in the medium.
Review of Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood HERE
He follows up his outstanding, nuanced Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood doc about Golden Age pimp and hustler Scotty Bowers with Studio 54, which could be the definitive look at the legendary nightclub that defined the disco age in spite of existing for a mere 33 months.
Oct
03
2018
ABOVE: Gives new meaning to “well-hung.”
Her dad ws probably thinking he couldn't wait to film this to help his future queer daughter make a short. (Image via video Gaby Dunn)
Gaby Dunn's short film 40 is a rare combination of cheerful and mind-blowing, exploring what happened when her father hit 40 and met his birth dad for the first time, and how that monumental event informed the rest of his — and eventually Gaby's — life.
Is it Madonna, or is it Memorex? (Image via video still)
Guy Guido's docudrama about Madonna's early years — Madonna and the Breakfast Club — finally has its first full trailer ...
