Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1995)

Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic, egomaniacal fraud and the wold's worst director, Henry Jaglom obsessively confuses and abuses the line between life and art. Featuring scores of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, this hilarious documentary about the director of such films as Hollywood Dreams, Festival in Cannes, Eating and Babyfever has grown into an underground cult hit and is now finally available on DVD. Product Description

No hagiography

It's been a few years since I've seen this -- I even saw a little of it being shot. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I am familiar with Jaglom's body of work without being a fan. (I'm a bit more objective than the people who love to despise him.)

I particularly enjoyed the scenes from the location shoot for Last Summer in the Hamptons, with some especially revered actors (Viveca Lindfors, Ron Rifkin, Andre Gregory, Roscoe Lee Brown) working with a director famed for the performances in his films. The most quoted line from the film is Candice Bergen's epigram, "If I'd had Henry as a husband or a father, I could have taken Poland."

All by way of saying that this intelligent and witty documentary about one of THE MOST independent filmmakers working in the U.S. may have a somewhat limited audience. It helps to be at least interested in Jaglom (or perhaps Orson Welles' relationship with Jaglom), but his fans may take a dim view of the rather acerbic tone adopted by the filmmakers. I have heard (but do not agree with) the phrase "hatchet job" from a couple of them. April 7, 2008

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