Ben Mankiewicz

  • The Cowboy (2016)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, July 2021) While the version of The Cowboy that I saw was presented as a feature-length documentary, I see that IMDB lists the film as a two-episodes series, which does make sense considering the clear change in topic midway through. The entire film is presented as a documentary homage to the western movie genre, and specifically the archetypical figure of the cowboy. It’s produced and directed by Canadian documentarian Derick Murray, which is interesting in how the result shares one common annoyance with Murray’s better-known “I Am” biographical series: it’s utterly uninterested in delivering an impartial take on its topic. If you’re looking for an incisive commentary on the cowboy archetype, go elsewhere because, while The Cowboy will gladly discuss differences between movie cowboys and real-life historical figures, it’s firmly in the “print the legend” camp: there’s no critical re-evaluation of the toxicity of the archetype, its decreasing relevance to a more complex society that values cooperation over self-reliance, or the sometime-repulsive incarnation of American racism through the cowboy. Seeing Adam Beach being present to praise the character of Tonto is… interesting. While The Cowboy is too smart a piece of filmmaking to not at least mention those issues, they’re quickly forgotten as the narrative moves to an overall loving appreciation of its subject. (This too is a characteristic of the “I am” series: they’ll fleetingly mention and minimize the flaws but then rush past it to tell us how wonderful their subject was.)  But I’m probably being a bit too harsh on what remains, in the end, a serviceable documentary. Talking heads (including the always-entertaining Ben Mankiewicz) are interspaced with movie footage to first present a short history of the western genre, and then (in the film’s second half) compare historical figures with their Hollywood adaptations. Many of the people interviewed in the film are part of western appreciation societies or are associated with horse-riding, and that probably influences the tone of the film as well, never daring to stray too far from their enthusiasm for their lifestyle. Seen five years after production, The Cowboy also has odd notes due to the topicality of some of its material. Produced close to the release of Seth MacFarlaine’s western parody A Million Ways to Die in the West (about as high-profile a western film as there has been in 2010s Hollywood), it places an emphasis on that film that seems unwarranted only a few years later. Ah well — I suppose that a play-nice documentary is a better commercial prospect than one that really prods its topic, and The Cowboy does have its moments of insight despite the upbeat tone.

  • I Am Alfred Hitchcock (2021)

    I Am Alfred Hitchcock (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, May 2021) It’s nothing short of fascinating to see the public discourse on Alfred Hitchcock shifting in real time. His place among the great cinema auteurs is unquestionable, but recent years have seen a slew of allegations (some of them admittedly disputable) about his behaviour, allegations that do appear to confirm tendencies, rumours, quotes and outright visual evidence from one film to another. Hitchcock was, to put it simply, not so admirable on set or in dealing with his leading actresses — immensely controlling, outright remaking actresses into his portrait of an ideal woman, maybe even (if we’re to believe the worst accounts) an outright sexual abuser. It adds a lot to his portrait to know about these things, especially in an era where past behaviour is finally recognized as unacceptable and not just boys-of-the-time material. This being said, don’t expect such a radical re-imagining of Hitchcock in I Am Alfred Hitchcock. As with other films in the “I Am” series of documentaries, this one is largely sympathetic to its subject during its fast-forward view of his life and career that polishes the legend. While there is some acknowledgement of his issues, much of the film is an appreciation from directors, actors, relatives, and commentators (including TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz). Hitchcock’s penchant for self-promotion gets quite a mention, but the focus is often on his best-known films. The result is very much an introduction to the character — there’s not a lot of depth here, although it’s slightly more critical than other films of the series about more recent figures where friends and family take centre-stage. Hitchcock is long dead, his relatives aren’t numerous and the historical perspective allows for more distance. Still, if you want more, you will have to look elsewhere — and if you want the dirt, you’ll have to go back to the salacious The Girl (2012) in which Hitchcock is portrayed as a stalker-movie villain.

  • Memory: The Origin of Alien (2019)

    Memory: The Origin of Alien (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2020) I’d like to think that I knew quite a bit about Alien and its making—after all, the film (in its “Quadrilogy” boxset) even comes with its own three-hour-long making-of film, challenging anyone to add to that. But that’s exactly what Alexandre O. Philippe attempts with Memory: The Origin of Alien, a 90-minute attempt to explore the roots of the film through the lenses of its first screenwriter Dan O’Bannon and his inspirations. There are critics and cultural commentators bringing their perspective on the film, sometimes flagging underappreciated aspects of Ridley Scott’s direction and sometimes tackling bigger cultural issues through the movie. Perhaps the most successful section of Memory is its short presentation of O’Bannon’s life prior to Alien (through testimony from his widow, as O’Bannon passed away in 2009) and the catalogue of possible influences on his script—including the reminder that O’Bannon suffered (and eventually died) from severe Crohn’s Disease, something fit to make any Alien viewer say, “I knew it!” Of the commentators featured in the film, the most entertaining is easily TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, who brings his usual charismatic humour to explaining aspects of Alien’s lineage in earlier Science Fiction stories. On a thematic commentary level, the documentary is most successful pointing out subtle class rivalry aboard the Nostromo, and less convincing in admiring the film’s feminist content. Memory also loses itself in self-importance once it starts discussing Alien in a wider cultural zeitgeist, almost imbuing the film with mystical importance—look, it’s a classic already, there’s no need to make it a psychic projection of the noosphere’s anxieties. I’m also not that happy about the weight placed on the filming of the chest-burster sequence: Memory spends comparatively so much time on it, even placing it as its conclusion, that it seems to trivialize other aspects of the filming and leave us wanting more. This being said, Memory is a slick documentary with some lively tricks up its sleeve to jazz up talking-head footage and clips from the film. It doesn’t duplicate much of the existing documentary material on Alien, and it should make existing fans of the movie not only happy with the result but eager to re-watch it once again.