Errol Morris finally gets some justice

I'm delighted Errol Morris was finally recognized by the Academy. I haven't seen The Fog of War yet, but I've seen all the rest (except for some episodes of First Person) and I think the man's a genius. My favorite is Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, but all of his full-length documentaries are wonderful IMO.

Any other fans on the Forum?

 

The Thin Blue Line is my fave, but his entire body of work has been excellent, and well worth checking out.

During his acceptance speech he said something to the effect that he was glad the Academy had finally recognized his work. Coming from someone else that might have sounded conceited, but he expressed it with such honest gratitude that it was actually quite charming.

I haven't seen The Fog of War yet. Meant to when it was in town, but I didn't get the chance. Oh well, that's what Netflix is for!

 

I saw the Errol Morris film:

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.

Excellent filmmaker.

 

No one but Errol could make that film. An electric-chair/gas-chamber repairman turned Holocaust denier who drinks 40 cups of coffee a day and had his honeymoon in Auschwitz.

Scariest exchange in that film (I'm quoting from memory here):

MORRIS: Hasn't it ever occurred to you that you're simply wrong?

LEUCHTER: No, I'm way past that.

 

I really like this one, too, but I like all of the Morris films I've seen. Glad he's finally getting the recognition he has deserved for quite a while. All in all, I think Oscar had a pretty good year in 2003.

 

One of the hardest working men in show business, since his features don't make him a steady living. Count me as a fan ever since he saved a man's life with The Thin Blue Line. As persuasive a case I've seen to get rid of capital punishment. Haven't seen them all, and in truth I don't know if I can take McNamara defending his behavior during Viet Nam, but I'll probably see it. Morris has been doing a speaking tour with McNamara to promote the film and talk about the 'rabbit hole' we fell into 40 years ago.

 

I've heard about his films for years, and I love gripping documentaries more than any other type of film. But I don't think I've ever found one of his films for rent.

 

I've seen THE THIN BLUE LINE for rent, as well as MR. DEATH. You might get lucky and find FAST, CHEAP out there too. His three other feature documentaries are GATES OF HEAVEN; VERNON, FLORIDA (60 minutes but "big" enough for feature status IMO); and A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME are all out of print. I certainly hope the Oscar will change that situation.

I'm not sure whether I'd want any supplements or commentary. Morris is utterly fascinating when he talks about his films, but there's something pure about the films the way they are that I wouldn't want to disturb. Maybe the feature could stand alone, but the DVD could include an interview or making of feature to go along with it. That's already more or less happened with THE THIN BLUE LINE and A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. I don't know whether it would work as well with the others, though.

I'm obviously of two minds on this topic.

(Yes, we all agree with you!)

 

I believe Roger Ebert called GATES OF HEAVEN (about people and their pets and their final resting places) not only the greatest documentary ever, but one of the greatest films ever made.

Why the heck aren't these in print any more? I suspect they will be again soon, after last night.

 

Yep, it's on his ten-best list.

They're not in print because the rights lapsed and no one's put a deal together yet. Errol's not much of a businessman, either, and rightly so: his business is making the movies, not distributing them.

 

I'm proud to say I became a "Forum Icon" by posting about Errol Morris. That was my 2000th post!