WILL THE RECENT debut of Sacha Gervasi’s HITCHCOCK spawn similar films that deal with singular, cinematic efforts to create a single motion picture? The field seems ripe for exploitation. Sure, there are interviews and short documentaries with directors on many DVDs and Blu-Ray disks nowadays. But maybe someone, someday will mine the minefield that was Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN’S GATE, for instance, and turn it into a major motion picture in its own right.
Here we present eight-and-a-half films about films, by no means a definitive list, and in no particular order–directorial efforts in which a director had to struggle, take a personal journey, or by sheer force of will, will them into existence:
WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART (1990; directed by Clint Eastwood) Ostensibly about an adventuring movie director named John Wilson, it’s quite obvious that the hunter with the black heart really is John Huston. The film is based upon Peter Viertel’s book about the storied filming of THE AFRICAN QUEEN, which Huston shot mainly on location, and which Huston/Wilson uses as an excuse to pursue the pleasures of life, pleasures that included ending the lives of African elephants–whether those pursuits have a negative effect on the movie production or not. 
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HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) By now, everyone knows that Francis Ford Coppola’s APOCALYPSE NOW was a troubled production, to say the least. All you need to do is add together Martin Sheen’s heart trouble, the Phillipine climate and the name Marlon Brando. This fascinating documentary follows the shooting of this terrific movie-one that captures the essence of the Vietnam war experience.
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CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989; directed by Woody Allen) This is a personal favorite of mine, among all of Allen’s films. Actually, several stories converge here, only one of which is really about Allen’s filming woes. His task is to create a documentary about his brother-in-law, the conceited character played by Alan Alda, who says to Allen, “You’re not my first choice”. During the course of the filming, Allen falls in love and grows to detest the obnoxious Alda, who delivers the classic line, “Comedy equals tragedy plus time.” 
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8-1/2 (1963; directed by Federico Fellini) A very personal movie by Fellini, and highly regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Marcell Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmia, a famed Italian director suffering from “director’s block”. Attempting a sci-fi film, Guido is distracted by dreams and fantasies.
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SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1942; directed by Preston Sturges) Joel McCrae’s character is on a mission to film his pet project, one with social significance (and “a little sex in it”): Oh Brother Where Art Thou? But before the cameras roll, he wants to experience the life of the forgotten man-the hobos and drifters and small town people who Hollywood has been shunning, and who need something to smile about. Sturges adeptly mixes laughter and sadness. Also with the always entertaining Veronica Lake.
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RKO 281 (1991; directed by Benjamin Ross) Actor Liev Schreiber makes a fair if not entirely convincing Orson Welles in this made-for-television film, portraying the mercurial director as he winds his way through the long process of making CITIZEN KANE, and angering or frustrating those in its path. 
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HITCHCOCK (2012) Anthony Hopkins nails Hitch’s demeanor and dark sense of deadpan humor. Helen Mirren delivers a sincere performance as Alma, his wife. Scarlett Johannson brings Janet Leigh’s vocal inflections and bright sexuality, and James D’Arcy is amazing as the walking, talking replica of Anthony Perkins. It’s a bakery shop full of goodies for film buffs. The main drawback is that it has the feel of a made-for-TV movie, as if it had to fit into an alloted time slot. The book it’s based on deserves a longer adaptation, as does Hitch’s entire life. HITCHCOCK, to paraphrase a line from PSYCHO, made me “a little mad sometimes” in its haste to tell its story.
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TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN (1962; directed by Vincente Minnelli) An underrated and overlooked Minnelli drama, with a great cast that includes Kirk Douglas, Cyd Charisse (her molten sexuality turned loose), Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, and a young and handsome George Hamilton. All the over-the-top qualities of a Douglas Sirk film like WRITTEN ON THE WIND, it has an amazing conclusion that will leave you, figuratively, extracting yourself from the mangled auto at the end of the ride.
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ALL THAT JAZZ (1979; directed by Bob Fosse) This is the “1/2” of our 8-1/2 movie list. This outstanding film is really more about Broadway. Even though its lead character (Roy Scheider in his best role) is attempting to edit a movie, he is multitasking in the extreme, and his attention is drawn elsewhere… elsewhere being primarily women, drink, drugs, and sex. Eventually, he unspools all over life’s cutting room floor. Darkly tragic–but at the same time uplifting in its final act. 
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Dave, besides being a graphic designer (www.dhdd.net) and movie lover, is the caretaker, so to speak, of the “3 Benny Theater” (aka, his living room). The moniker was inspired by two things: an extinct movie house–The 3 Penny Theater–and Dave’s Manx cat, Benny. Favorite films: North By Northwest, The Third Man and The Dekalog.
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