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The Kid Stays in the PictureRating:
Release Date: 19 August, 2003 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $9.97 You SAVE: $10.01! Cast: Complete Cast (18 total) |
The Kid Stays in the Picture Reviews
An entertaining exploration of a fascinating Hollywood personality
This could also have been entitled "The Comeback Kid." Though the initial purpose of this documentary on the life and career of famed producer Robert Evans was perhaps to act as a nice coda to a colorful riches to rags story, in fact it has served to put Evans back in the public eye and revive his career as a producer. Only five years ago Evans was largely a forgotten man, but today he has a number of projects underway. No doubt this is in part due to having his various legal problems behind him, but clearly his memoir, which was then made into this documentary, played a major role.
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICUTRE is not your typical documentary. For one thing, the only person who talks to the camera is the subject of the film. This is hardly a mea culpa or apologia. It is more of a warts and all self-affirmation of everything Evans has experienced in his career. Much is left out. There is surprisingly little detail on his love life excepting his romance with Ali McGraw, which was clearly the dominant relationship of his life. But there is a frank acknowledgment of many errors made combined with an attitude that could be summed up, "Well, I made a mess, but at least it was my mess."
The heart of the film concerns Evans's triumphs as a producer. Certainly few producers not named Weinstein have been involved in so many remarkable films. ROSEMARY'S BABY, LOVE STORY, THE GODFATHER, CHINATOWN, MARATHON MAN, and THE COTTON CLUB are only a few of the many films he was involved on. There are many fascinating stories about many of these, though for me the most fascinating was the behind the scenes footage taken during the filming of ROSEMARY'S BABY. Another great moment is the short film that Evans made for the corporate powers that be who wanted to pull the plug on THE GODFATHER.
Almost as important as Evans as a character in the film is his beautiful home. There is shot after shot of the grounds and the film finally ends with the only contemporary shot of Evans in the documentary, showing him sitting inside simply being Robert Evans. If the film has a nadir, it comes when Evans was forced to sell his beloved home to a wealthy foreigner. When he wanted to repurchase the home the man wouldn't agree to do so. But Evans's friend Jack Nicholson took matters in his own hands and flew to visit the man, literally getting on his knees to beg him to sell the house back to Evans. He relented and one of the most touching moments in the movie was the camera zooming in on the welcome home card that Nicholson wrote Evans.
All in all, film fans will find this to be an interesting and highly entertaining documentary. Evans has had a colorful life, making his share of mistakes, suffering his share of both really great and truly awful luck, but sticking it out. And partly because of this film, the kid did manage to stay in the picture, and his name will unquestionably appear on a few more films in the years to come.
He knows everybody
Maybe the most engaging documentary ever made. Brilliant style is used in telling the story of one of the giants of the movie industry, producer Robert Evans. Giving magical illumination and motion to still pictures in a way that I could only describe as psychedelic.
Being a film fanatic for the last 43 years I was shocked and ashamed to find that I had not heard of Robert Evans. In all my reading of credits over the years I had somehow missed his name. I had remembered seeing William Castle's name at the beginning of Rosemary's Baby but not Evan's. Then, at finding out that he was the driving force behind Love Story, The Godfather, The Godfather Pt.2, Chinatown and one of my personal favorites The President's Analyst and that he was a big reason why those movies were so good, well I was just dumdfounded. And these are just a fraction of the films he's produced.
Of course he didn't start as a producer. He had been in women's apparel with his brother and accredited their endeavours as the reason why women wear pants today. While lounging around a pool one day he was discovered by Norma Shearer, lauching his career into show biz. It seems he knows everybody and I mean everybody.
After watchng this extraordinary film I called my father to ask him if he had ever heard of this astonishing personality. I queried, "Have you ever heard of Robert Evans?" anxiously awaiting a "No" so I could tell him all about this amazing show biz entity. He replied, "You mean Bob Evans." Yes, it seems he knows EVERYBODY. My father had come across him as a buyer for Macy's. I asked, "Do you know what he does now?" "He's some sort of movie director or something now, isn't he.", Dad answered. I bought him the audiobook.
Evans narrates both the documentary and the audiobook, both which are drawn from his autobiograghy by the same name. His voice is almost as amazing as his story and probably greatly enabled his prowess. He also lent his voice to the short-lived, hysterically irreverent cartoon series Kid Notorious that still airs on Comedy Central.
All in all, whether you know Evans or not this is a fascinating, beautifully made film about a producer who's achievements are arguably greater than Thalberg's and Selznick's combined. The story of his life and loves is the stuff of legends and it goes on and on. This is a must see for anyone interested in Tinseltown. PS:I don't usually care for the added features but these are worthwhile and the credits to the main part of the documentary are alone worth the price of the disc. What a hoot and more proof that he knows everybody. Ask your dad. Who knows?
More Customer Reviews (18 total)
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