Documentaries About Directors

Who doesn't love a good documentary? Their purpose is to be both informative and engaging. Over the past few years I've found myself discovering and watching various documentaries about movie directors. They're more or less seen as the driving creative force of a movie and because of that, one is left to wonder how they got inspired to do what they do and what their creative mindset is like.

One of the more interesting ones (to say the least) that I just watched was David Lynch: The Art Life. It features Lynch himself going into great detail about his early life and how he became the artist he is. Really good stuff and recommended for those who like Lynch and want a taste of the bizarre! De Palma, which features Brian De Palma as the main subject is another good one. He goes into great detail about a lot of his work and experiences. I also enjoyed the recent Spielberg documentary that HBO put out along with Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.

What are some of your favorites?

#Documentary #Filmmaking

Orozco the Embalmer

An embalmer is a person who temporarily preserves and beautifies a corpse so that it may be ready for a funeral procession. It is a job I don't think I could ever handle. Despite my love for extreme horror, I am very aware of the differences between what is real and what is fake. I can watch a brutal horror movie without batting an eyelid, but watching a read dead corpse unsettles me. Apart from the natural squeamish reaction to the autopsies and the handling of a dead body, I think I would be overcome with sadness to see what's left of a person with no life left in them. But it is a job that needs to be done, for both hygienic purposes often cultural ones too, and much respect to those who perform this job with much care and attention.



This documentary shows the everyday life of Froilan Orozco, an embalmer working in the poor areas of Columbia. This area is filled with violence and rubbish, human life is wasted every day. Where poverty is high, there is a general feeling of hopelessness. But despite it all, Orozco worked everyday, and during his lifetime, embalmed more than 50,000 corpses for an exceptionally cheap price. He cared more about the corpses he was preparing then about his own health. Orozco was an exceptional man.

I can't imagine many jumping the gun to watch this movie. It's harsh, it's unflinching, it's depressing. It's Six Feet Under, in the most harsh and unforgiving area ever. The camera does not shy away from the practise of embalming, it shows it in full detail again and again, all the while, listening to the wisdom's of Orozco as he talks about his job, life and death. Those who struggle with the harsh realities of life will no doubt struggle watching this movie. But, it's a movie which I highly recommend. This film is not exploitative, it's honest film making. You watch this movie for Orozco. It's his compassion and care for his work that makes this very depressing movie, almost seem beautiful. An old man putting as much care as he can into death, it's really quite touching. No doubt there are many people who cut corners in this type of field, and doesn't that thought just make you sick to your stomache. The movie Aftermath shows an extreme example as such. But a man like Orozco really inspires such admiration. He is the reason to watch this documentary. He brings a certain optimism to an incredibly bleak and depressing reality.



It's hard to recommend this to anyone, but it is a flick that I recommend just the same. Cinema doesn't get more powerful than this. A man like Orozco is truly one of a kind. I hope I am treated with as much respect after death as those he cared for. I take my hat off to you, Orozco. May you forever be remembered.



#Documentary #Extreme #RealDeath

The Incredibly Strange Film Show (1988)

In 1988 British journo Jonathan Ross hosted this documentary series on Channel 4 in the UK. In it he featured films and film makers outside the mainstream - as an impressionable 11 year old, I was at once intruiged and unsure of these 'underground' masterpieces.



To be perfectly honest, more than a few of them bored me at the time - what with some of the featured films not containing Terminators, Predators, Running Men, or Commandos. Looking back now, though, this series opened my eyes to a a range of film makers I'd never have heard of otherwise. These were the days before the internet, of course.

The first series covered these chaps:
1. John Waters
2. HG Lewis
3. Ray Dennis Steckler
4. Ted V. Mickels
5. Russ Meyer
6. Sam Raimi

The second series (1989's Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show) was much more my cup of tea - concerning itself with the following:
1. Jackie Chan
2. Fred Olen Ray & Doris Wishman
3. El Santo
4. Ed Wood Jr
5. Tsui Hark & Stuart Gordon
6. George Romero & Tom Savini

The series itself is available on YouTube, and, though now quite dated, it still stands the test of time, and should be of interest to all trash lovers.

Cheers

#Documentary #JonathanRoss