As common as telesales is today, door-to-door sales was in the sixties. We follow four men trying to make a buck selling a very expensive bible. Most of the people are polite and take them in for a coffee. And that’s when the salesmen use all of their tricks and tiring techniques to sell these bibles. But most of these people are themselves, struggling to make a decent living.
It's quite an accomplishment when you can say such an old movie doesn't feel aged. In one way Salesman is a look into the morals and life of the sixties. But on the other side, it's an psychological display of what these men had to go through every day. Being on the road day after day, talking for hours and selling next to nothing. After that, you have to go into a meeting with some kind of supervisor, who tells you to put even more effort into it.
All this feels like really living in the sixties. But it's not like you're watching something that's dated. It could be an experimental movie like Steven Soderbergh's 'The Good German'. Filmed now, but like it was done back then. And if people are still talking about a documentary you made 40 years ago, you must have done a pretty good job.
In the late fifties, Burt and Linda started something that would end in ‘crazy love’. Burt wasn’t handsome, but he was a very wealthy attorney. He owned a club and was exiting to Linda. What she didn’t know is, that Burt already was married and had a disabled daughter. She broke up after she found out. But Burt’s ego couldn’t handle this and he hired a couple of lowlifes to throw lye into her face – something like acid. “If I can’t have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you, no one else will want you.” This left her disfigured and almost blind. But 16 years later.. they got married.
Would this have been a fictional movie, you would have said "yeah, right..", while shaking your head. But since it is a tale well documented by all sorts of media and even told by the two people themselves, this is a totally different story. If you ever read a weird article in the newspaper and wanted to know what was the real deal, this is the movie behind that story.
All this lye throwing and cheating happened way before I was born, so I didn't know anything about the story. Nonetheless, I was easily captivated by the way this happened and how these two people started to think. Most of the time you think, what is this woman doing? But there's this little light-bulb that kind of understands. Just for a minute, before it pops out again and gets too much. Cleverly edited and brought in a humorous way, this documentary is proving non-fiction can be better than fiction. Just because it's simply not fiction.
Also, just for the hell of it. If you saw the last episode of Lost (in the last week of February), the 'crazy' guy on the boat is Fisher Stevens, the co-director of this movie. Just wanted to share.
Time for a serious moment? For ‘The Bridge’ director Eric Steel and his crew observed the Golden Gate Bridge for 365 days. By doing this, they recorded most of the suicides on the bridge that year — and prevented several others. The footage is supplemented with interviews of friends and family. Telling a painful story about mostly mental illness and depression.
As positive as some movies on this site are, this is one on the far opposite side of the balance. To get permission to make this picture, director Eric Steel said it was "to capture the powerful, spectacular intersection of monument and nature that takes place every day at the Golden Gate Bridge." And although his motives are questionable as expected, the mix of interviews with the disturbing footage brings an honest and real picture of this dark part of life. Always staying objective, but telling a very intimate story by the people interviewed. A daring and brave choice to raise awareness for one of life's biggest taboos. But watch it at your own risk.
Cocaine Cowboys shows us the invasion of the Colombian drugs cartel in Miami. Transforming the scene with all their violence and different tactics. The story is told by the people that lived it and have or might still be paying their dues. They tell us how they changed Miami into the drugs and murder capital of the US.
Drug money, if this is a fascinating subject to you, there's no question you will like this documentary. In some ways, the story is brought in a pop cultural way, in the atmosphere of the 80's Miami. But the movie never judges. And doesn't give an opinion about the man that almost grinningly tells us how he used to cap people -- now living his glorious life in prison.
The director gives a real impression of what these times must have been like. Showing how a big part of Miami's skyline was build with drug money. And with much success, since he is getting ready to release his next film: Cocaine Cowboys II.
The battle between Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe for a world record in Donkey Kong. Doesn’t seem too interesting, right? Well, think again. This is a gripping story about one man’s quest to beat a record. But Billy Mitchell is here to do everything in his power to keep him from breaking it.
On the surface, this is the classic story about good and evil. And although we know the documentary was made primarily in the view of Steve Wiebe, the general consensus about the players do seem right. On the one side there's the anti-hero Steve Wiebe. And on the other side there's Billy Mitchell, somehow reminding me of Tom Cruise in Magnolia.
Under the surface though, we find the story of an average guy, who just never could get a break. With 100% dedication he tries to break an unimportant thing like an arcade machine record. But he is so humble in doing this, it is impossible not to root for him. The unique story is brought to an even higher level by the compelling way director Seth Gordon brings the story. This is not a story you will like because you are a gamer, but because you are human. A funny, dramatic, suspenseful and inspirational ride.
"I find Cameron Diaz to be a terrific comediene. Maybe because she is reported to be a rather 'dumb' model, who can't follow simple directions in photo [....]"
