Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

USA, 180 minutes (DVD), documentary
Directors: Ted Demme, Richard LaGravenese
Photography: Tony C. Jannelli, Clyde W. Smith

This pleasant journey to a mythical land where we all agree, at least in principle on the major points, manages a few surprises here and there but for the most part it's an exercise in preaching to the choir, sketching in the broad outlines of the Hollywood film industry from the late '60s—more or less beginning with Bonnie and Clyde—through the '70s. And ayup, no doubt about it, they sure knew how to make 'em back then: The Godfather, M*A*S*H, Little Big Man, The Last Picture Show, Last Tango in Paris, The Exorcist, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, Young Frankenstein, Chinatown, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Annie Hall, Apocalypse Now, on and on. Nevertheless, it's a remarkably fast three hours, peppered through with some of the greatest things you've ever forgotten (and never forgotten). I finally had to go running for a notebook and pen and make liberal use of the pause button to get down all the titles it made me think I want to see again—or for the first time, and this is supposed to be an era I know. The interviews alone are worth the price of admission: Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Julie Christie, Dennis Hopper, Clint Eastwood, William Friedkin, Robert Redford, Paul Schrader, and many more. A good time guaranteed for anyone who appreciates the period.

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