Making-of

Suivez_ce_parachute

As SPECTRE is now in production, I think it could interest some to talk about Making-ofs. And not necessarily the Bond ones.

As you might guess, when a movie is out on DVD/BR, the featurettes will tell you how great everything and everyone was. The most ironic example is Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema praising themselves in the bonus of the first LOTR trilogy, while all the media were talking about their legal fights in the same time.

But with later re-issues, people start to speak more freely.

With Bond, there are the censored commentary tracks of the Criterion collection, in which some of the persons involved talked a bit too freely. But it would cause more noise than signal to talk about that here, etc...

So, I propose we list some of the most interesting Making-ofs that exists, that seems to talk a bit more freely and seriously of the movie-making process, and that are not just there for Public Relations.

A very good making-of documentary I can give to start with is "Dangerous Days", the making-of Blade Runner. With first hand testimonies from Ridley Scott to Harrison Ford, from the first scriptwriter who cried when he learnt his script had been rewritten to the producer who would not release the movie without a voice-over...

One can find it rather "easily", if you see what I mean. It's cut in several featurettes, so it's also not something too long to watch, and it seems to got straight to the matter (some other making-of are features themselves).

What other making-ofs that look honest can you think of ?

LeiterTheMan

A famous example is the making of Apocalypse Now, made by Copolla's wife if I remember correctly. I haven't gotten round to seeing it, but I believe it showcases a truly horrific process of creating a masterpiece.