Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs & Blockbusters (2005)

Through exclusive interviews with over two dozen top names in Hollywood, as well as clips and montages assembled from dozens of notable Hollywood films - from megahits like The Godfather and Jaws to busts like The Clan of the Cave Bear and Howard the Duck - this 75-minute documentary focuses on the razor-thin line that separates memorable blockbusters from forgettable bombs. The interviewees provide illuminating insights into the moviemaking process, as well as anecdotes about some of their own movies, both good and bad. Produced and directed by Oscar?- and Emmy? Award-winner Bill Couturie, the documentary was executive produced by Peter Bart, the editor of Variety magazine, which is celebrating its 100th year in 2006, and whose headlines appear as bridges dividing sections of this film.

"When it works, it is magic"

What is the difference between a blockbuster and a flop? This entertaining documentary, directed by Bill Couturié, tries to give an answer to that very difficult question, thanks to an eclectic montage of clips and interviews.

Truth to be told, "Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs & Blockbusters" doesn't have the recipe for success in the film industry that so many would kill for, and you should know that now. I must also confess that this dvd is full of clichés, and doesn'have innovative ideas.

All the same, I liked this documentary well enough to give it 3.5 stars. The reason is simple: it is a dvd about the passion for movies, something I identify with. What is more, I enjoy watching people that feel strongly about cinema talk about something they know about, even if they don't say something new. Do you feel the same way? If that is the case, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this documentary too.

Belen Alcat, June 2007 June 5, 2007

Boffo Schmoffo - Nobody Wants to Know

There was not much substance here but a lot of sugar and glayze. If you are looking for some great insights into Hollywood, this is not it. The doco explores the idea of nobody knows and makes out that it tries to get to the heart of why some films fail and some succeed. From a research perspective, you have to question the source. Largely Hollywood actors. They are great to look at but don't really have a lot of intelligent things to say. The studio execs and producers had a few more insights. One said that yes, nobody knows, but there are some rules but none of these were actually elaborated on or explained. A lot of glitz and glamour, but not a lot of intelligence but then again, that is Hollywood and probably the reason why its so successful. Everyone wants to believe in magic and nobody really wants to know the reality. May 7, 2007

A shallow forgettable documentary

This documentary really had the potential to have been a lot more interesting and inclusive, but instead it ended up rather formulaic, shallow, easily-predictable, and forgettable. The premise is to examine just what makes a Hollywood blockbuster vs. what makes a major flop, and the often fine line between the two. I fully understand that with only about 75 minutes, there's not enough time to get into every single prime example of both of these types of movies, but the producers and writers really seemed to have left out some obvious examples of horrible failures, such as 'Gigli,' and 'Battlefield Earth,' movies that would have easily given the commentators ample material for dissection and mockery. On the whole it comes across as little more than some glorified clipshow with a bunch of talking heads, all of whom are spouting the usual clichéd lines like "There are no rules" and "There's a fine line between success and failure." Additionally, a lot of the facts mentioned are already common knowledge, such as all of the anecdotes about the making of 'Jaws.' There aren't a lot of new or groundbreaking information or insights contained in this shallow documentary, which also features a lot of big names instead of some lesser-known Hollywood players. Having some people who aren't big names would have given it a more balanced view and provided a bigger variety of insights. It's kind of ironic how Richard Dreyfuss is interviewed in his makeup for 'The Poseidon Adventure,' which ended up flopping big-time.

Based on the description of this documentary, I had also been expecting far more of a historical perspective, if not necessarily in linear format. That was probably far too much to hope for, given Hollywood and America's rampant cultural and historical amnesia. How many film clips did we even see from before the Sixties? It would have been more balanced had they started out talking about hits and flops from early movie history and then moving forward in time, instead of focusing just about entirely on the last 35 years or so. This kind of thing only further serves to reinforce the popular opinion that no one is interested in movies from that long ago anyway and that only ones from the last few decades even count.

This documentary is interesting to watch once, but overall it's nothing I'd recommend actually purchasing. It's just too devoid of substance and new or thought-provoking insights and information. October 22, 2006

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