In three parts, this documentary follows the making of the film Matchstick Men. Starting with a long pre-production period where Scott and the crew, cast the picture, scout locations, pick costumes and discuss shots. We then follow the actual production of the film and the difficulties involved there before entering the post production where they struggle to get a cut where everyone is happy and the music is right so that it can be put in front of a test audience.
Many dvd's include a `making of' documentary as one of the extras, but not all of them are worth even the name. However, this film runs to over an hour and therefore shows promise - although experience has taught me that quantity doesn't always mean quality. However, this film is actually pretty good despite the lack of real fireworks or great stories. Broken into three sections, the film actually succeeds as a look at the making of any film rather than being very specifically about Matchstick Men.
The reason for this is the real lack of specific stories or sticking points in the documentary. It looks at generic issues around the shot, the costumes, the casting process and the problems of the post production process is not dealt with by including a great deal of detail that are specific to the film - there are no real stories of woe here or any dirt. Despite this, the film is still quite interesting - mainly because Ridley Scott shows us the onerous process that he goes through and we see the unglamorous side of the job and all the difficulties. Despite there not being great specific tales or such there is still enough general interest to justify watching.
Overall this is an interesting documentary that takes us through the making of a film from start to finish. It is well supported by the cast and crew and has managed to get seemingly unlimited access to the process. It may lack any really good stories or tales of splits in the camp but it is still interesting.
Many dvd's include a `making of' documentary as one of the extras, but not all of them are worth even the name. However, this film runs to over an hour and therefore shows promise - although experience has taught me that quantity doesn't always mean quality. However, this film is actually pretty good despite the lack of real fireworks or great stories. Broken into three sections, the film actually succeeds as a look at the making of any film rather than being very specifically about Matchstick Men.
The reason for this is the real lack of specific stories or sticking points in the documentary. It looks at generic issues around the shot, the costumes, the casting process and the problems of the post production process is not dealt with by including a great deal of detail that are specific to the film - there are no real stories of woe here or any dirt. Despite this, the film is still quite interesting - mainly because Ridley Scott shows us the onerous process that he goes through and we see the unglamorous side of the job and all the difficulties. Despite there not being great specific tales or such there is still enough general interest to justify watching.
Overall this is an interesting documentary that takes us through the making of a film from start to finish. It is well supported by the cast and crew and has managed to get seemingly unlimited access to the process. It may lack any really good stories or tales of splits in the camp but it is still interesting.