Movies are fun. They have to be. They want your money. Making one, on the other hand, can be quite more difficult. That's why it's so entertaining to find out how a crowd of unrelated people pile together to set up pretty pictures on a screen.
Pure Imagination is a genial retelling of the making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, written by director Mel Stuart. He glosses over any and all troubles and makes the whole process sound like a stressing but joyful adventure. It's filled with bright and colorful pictures and is hard to put down.
Sometimes, though, it's just not that easy. Hearts of Darkness is required fare for film buffs, an unflinching look at Francis Ford Coppola's relentless effort to make Apocalypse Now. In between horrific weather, negotiations with the Philippine army and Coppola's own megalomania, you get a strong sense of the determination it takes to make good art.
And then it goes too far. My Best Fiend is an attempt by renowned German director Werner Herzog to explain his most famous actor, Klaus Kinski. I used to like Kinski because he was a madman, and Herzog's documentary reminded me he was a madman in real life and nearly impossible to control. Long after the documentary was released, it turned out Kinski did some things which even surpassed madness, and now I don't know if I can watch him anymore.
These are the people you deal with if you want to make a movie. Watch your films and enjoy. Be happy you don't have to make them.
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