Manfred Blank's 'Pharos of Chaos' promises more than it delivers. The idea of a full-length interview documentary focusing on the legendary Sterling Hayden is intriguing, to say the least, but the actual film is a bit tedious for at least two reasons. When it was filmed, Hayden was 65, always drunk, and clearly addled by decades of alcohol abuse. Some of his anecdotes are interesting but too often Hayden merely rambles pointlessly. So that's one problem. The other, related problem is that Blank doesn't know how to rein in Hayden. (Conversely, Tom Snyder was able to keep Hayden engaged and focused; his interviews with Hayden on his TV show are brilliant and highly entertaining.) 'Pharos of Chaos' is still worth a look-see but could have been so much more-if Blank had entered into a real dialogue with Hayden and drawn him out on his incredible life in a more focused way.
3 Reviews
Sterling Hayden in his own words
Woodyanders29 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Sterling Hayden was one of those boldly iconoclastic actors who openly admitted that the key reason he acted in a lot of movies was because it was an easy way to make a substantial amount of money so he could buy his own boat and sail all over the world on it. This documentary vividly captures the hearty restless soul and scruffy "to hell with it" nonconformist spirit of Hayden in a gloriously raw and off the cuff manner, with Hayden speaking in often profane terms about his struggles with alcoholism, the shame and guilt that he feels about rolling over and testifying before congress about being a member of the communist party, and the tremendous difficulty he encountered in playing Jack D. Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove." Naturally, we also see Hayden boozing it up and smoking hashish. By far the most poignant moment occurs when Hayden candidly discusses having a massive emotional breakdown. Full of life and earthy humor, Hayden is a real scrappy joy to watch throughout. A bit rough around the edges, but overall a fascinating and illuminating portrait of a guy who most definitely did it his way.
Pharos of Chaos
CinemaSerf8 June 2023
A fascinating opportunity to spend some intimate time learning about the life and career of Sterling Hayden as he lives - aged 67 (ish) - on his dilapidated Parisian barge. Unfortunately, the film allows the subject to randomly rabbit on - frequently about alcoholism, from which he clearly suffered. Without any constructive or even vaguely penetrative direction, this becomes little more than a video diary; sometimes engaging and lucid, other times completely in the realms of "Grey Gardens". It is frequently too much of a monologue - it's as if Manfred Blank was too unwilling and/or intimidated to subject Hayden to anything like the degree of interrogation necessary to elicit anything meaningful from this character who undoubtedly had something to say.
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