This is actually the third film about director Howard Hawkes I've seen recently. While it's not the best (the one included with "Rio Bravo" is better), it is well worth seeing--especially it doesn't so much focus on the making of "El Dorado" but really talks about the director's craft--his style, his relationship with the actors as well as a rare glimpse into how Hawkes and John Ford related to each other. This final portion was nice, as both their films with John Wayne have LOTS of similarities in style and both are responsible for Wayne's best western films.
The film consists of some archival interviews and clips of Hawkes as well as the cast of "El Dorado". In addition, it has quite a few recent interviews with film historians/perennial DVD extras interviewees Peter Bogdanovich and Richard Schickel. The only negative is that it's only about 40 minutes long--and I really was enjoying myself and wanted to see so much more! I loved all the insights and little stories about the people who made movies.
The film consists of some archival interviews and clips of Hawkes as well as the cast of "El Dorado". In addition, it has quite a few recent interviews with film historians/perennial DVD extras interviewees Peter Bogdanovich and Richard Schickel. The only negative is that it's only about 40 minutes long--and I really was enjoying myself and wanted to see so much more! I loved all the insights and little stories about the people who made movies.