A Fuller Life (2013)

Friends and admirers of iconoclastic film director Sam Fuller read from his memoirs.

Director:

Samantha Fuller

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (autobiography A Third Face), Samantha Fuller (concept)

Stars:

James Franco, Jennifer Beals, Bill Duke

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Franco	...	Himself - Reader (segment "Copy Boy")
Jennifer Beals	...	Herself - Reader (segment "Crime Reporter")
Bill Duke	...	Himself - Reader (segment "Freelance")
James Toback	...	Himself - Reader (segment "Chaos & Bewilderment")
Kelly Ward	...	Himself - Reader (segment "The Big Red One: Johnson")
Perry Lang	...	Himself - Reader (segment "The Big Red One: Kaiser")
Robert Carradine	...	Himself - Reader (segment "The Big Red One: Zab")
Mark Hamill	...	Himself - Reader (segment "The Big Red One: Griff")
Joe Dante	...	Himself - Reader (segment "Sicily Black and Blue")
Tim Roth	...	Himself - Reader (segment "D-Day - an Invitation to Hell")
Wim Wenders	...	Himself - Reader (segment "A River of Tears")
Monte Hellman	...	Himself - Reader (segment "Vision of the Impossible")
Buck Henry	...	Himself - Reader (segment "The Pursuit of Happiness")
Constance Towers	...	Herself - Reader (segment "Grab 'Em. Slap 'Em. Shake 'Em up.")
William Friedkin	...	Himself - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")

Storyline

Friends and admirers of iconoclastic film director Sam Fuller read from his memoirs.

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Plot Keywords:

director | f rated | autobiography | soldier | screenwriter | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Crime | History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 2013 (Italy)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chrisam Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Connections

Features The Steel Helmet (1951)

User Reviews

Inventive

Samuel Fuller is one of the best. He was largely an avant-garde filmmaker, which results in the quality of his films increasing over time. White Dog, for instance, is an unmitigated masterpiece that was actually shelved when it was released. Its anti-racist message was considered "racist" before anyone actually saw the film. "A Fuller Life," a documentary about Samuel Fuller, is one of the most ingeniously crafted documentaries in a long time. The film is by Fuller's daughter Samantha, who employs the help of several people to read from his autobiography (every word of the film was written by Samuel Fuller), and utilizes footage from his films to tell the story. Samuel Fuller's overbearing presence is felt throughout the film, to the extent that when each person reads from the book, the spirit they knew leaps off the pages and their voice, and into your unsuspecting brain, which decrypts it as Fuller's voice, his words, his presence. Most of the film, maybe somewhat disappointingly, is about Fuller's time before making films. What is left is actually better than you might anticipate; it traces his sources of interest for making films. This all assists in painting a portrait of Fuller that's almost like a movie camera. But perhaps Fuller should be remembered for being a great storyteller than anything else.