Films About Films

It didn’t take cinema long to realise that the art form could be its own juiciest subject. Silent cinema’s most famous musing on itself is Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr (1924), with the star as a projectionist dreaming himself into a movie. But eight years earlier, Charlie Chaplin made this illusion-puncturing short about the humdrum realities of the movie studio. Chaplin’s antics as a stage hand reveal the industrial nature of the silent film business, while a scowling director in dark glasses and cap worn backwards – grimly supervising a pie-throwing scene - is surely the first angst-ridden auteur to be depicted on screen. Films about films usually show the filmmaking process as pitted with heartache, chaotic, destructive to the mind and soul of those wishing to fulfill their creative urges, monstrous battles of egotism and greed. Whether that falls short of the truth or not, only those who’ve trodden the lonely path and made films can say. However, watching these films will be illuminating, cathartic and inspiring for filmmakers, and with their warts and all take will no doubt make them feel less alone.

The Burden of Dreams

German director Werner Herzog begins work on his 1982 epic "Fitzcarraldo" but soon runs into serious setbacks, from casting problems to his own stubborn refusal to use special effects. After having to reshoot much of the film because the lead actor was recast, his crew must then haul an old-fashioned steamboat over a mountain using manpower alone. With a resolve bordering on insanity, Herzog struggles to realize his vision, vowing to see the film completed -- even if it leads to his undoing.

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