This retrospective is Neil Breen's masterclass on filmmaking. I shudder to imagine the person who thinks that he is the blueprint to follow when making a film, but Neil himself certainly does, and this is very obvious. If you have seen his videos on his personal Youtube channel where he waxes poetic about the process of making his films, you have an idea of what this 5 Film Retrospective will be like. It does include more editing than those: pictures, video, and clips from the films are interspersed here and there, sometimes for very long sections.
The experience of watching this is not optimal, mostly because it is quite obvious that it doesn't have to be six hours long. It would be extremely tedious for anyone who doesn't already appreciate his movies to sit through, and you may find it tedious even if you do like what he does. However, since I knew going in that it was going to be way too long, as an ardent fan, I still appreciated the glimpse into Neil's process. It perfectly portrays the duality of Neil. On the one hand, he seems like an alien trying to make movies about what he thinks the human experience is. His films are self-aggrandizing, over the top, meandering, and baffling. On the other hand, he is extremely serious about his craft, and undeniably has a passion for what he does. I'm not a filmmaker myself, but some of his advice seems like it could be genuinely helpful. It is impossible not to admire him for his determination to make his films happen. As much as people may mock him, he has now made six more films than most of us ever will, and has another one in the making as I write this. A few revelations in the film that you might find intriguing: It seems that Neil Breen used the word "Metaverse" in Twisted Pair before Mark Zuckerberg swooped in and took it. Somebody owes Neil some royalties for that one.
The hospital scene from Fateful Findings was indeed filmed in a bedroom in Neil's house. This shouldn't really come as a shock to anyone, but it's funny that he actually said it.
There is an entire section of the movie (on the second disc) where Neil shows off a selection of the props he made himself for each of the movies, which I find very wholesome and endearing. However, this part is marred slightly by the fact that he fails to mention what happened to all the laptops! You're holding out on us, Neil. I wanted to know exactly which Circuit City bargain bin they came from.
Neil openly admitted that he has never washed the denim shirt he wore in Pass Thru, even stating that it is "stiff with sweat".
He does not read reviews. I say, good for him. He has earned his audience, and I look forward to his next film, whatever it may be.
The experience of watching this is not optimal, mostly because it is quite obvious that it doesn't have to be six hours long. It would be extremely tedious for anyone who doesn't already appreciate his movies to sit through, and you may find it tedious even if you do like what he does. However, since I knew going in that it was going to be way too long, as an ardent fan, I still appreciated the glimpse into Neil's process. It perfectly portrays the duality of Neil. On the one hand, he seems like an alien trying to make movies about what he thinks the human experience is. His films are self-aggrandizing, over the top, meandering, and baffling. On the other hand, he is extremely serious about his craft, and undeniably has a passion for what he does. I'm not a filmmaker myself, but some of his advice seems like it could be genuinely helpful. It is impossible not to admire him for his determination to make his films happen. As much as people may mock him, he has now made six more films than most of us ever will, and has another one in the making as I write this. A few revelations in the film that you might find intriguing: It seems that Neil Breen used the word "Metaverse" in Twisted Pair before Mark Zuckerberg swooped in and took it. Somebody owes Neil some royalties for that one.
The hospital scene from Fateful Findings was indeed filmed in a bedroom in Neil's house. This shouldn't really come as a shock to anyone, but it's funny that he actually said it.
There is an entire section of the movie (on the second disc) where Neil shows off a selection of the props he made himself for each of the movies, which I find very wholesome and endearing. However, this part is marred slightly by the fact that he fails to mention what happened to all the laptops! You're holding out on us, Neil. I wanted to know exactly which Circuit City bargain bin they came from.
Neil openly admitted that he has never washed the denim shirt he wore in Pass Thru, even stating that it is "stiff with sweat".
He does not read reviews. I say, good for him. He has earned his audience, and I look forward to his next film, whatever it may be.