Because of his access to the heavy weights of the 1970's, film maker Ted Demme gives us a very thorough look at the influences on and of film in the 1970s.
However, this ground has been covered so well before, and Demme really does not give us much more insight to that revolutionary decade of film history.
Except for some very good and touching interviews with the likes of Jon Voight and Bruce Dern, much of what is covered in this doc has been examined so much more thoroughly in docs such as "Naked Hollywood" and the PBS series "The American Cinema." Demme, however, relies on the actual film makers of the decade to tell it as it was. Though the doc's biggest strength, this lack of studio execs telling their side of the story leaves the documentary a bit unbalanced.
However, this ground has been covered so well before, and Demme really does not give us much more insight to that revolutionary decade of film history.
Except for some very good and touching interviews with the likes of Jon Voight and Bruce Dern, much of what is covered in this doc has been examined so much more thoroughly in docs such as "Naked Hollywood" and the PBS series "The American Cinema." Demme, however, relies on the actual film makers of the decade to tell it as it was. Though the doc's biggest strength, this lack of studio execs telling their side of the story leaves the documentary a bit unbalanced.