10/16/06 Full Tilt Boogie

Full Tilt Boogie (1997), directed by Sarah Kelly

watched solo; DVD (personal copy) @ home & car ride (Raleigh, NC)

Stemming from one of my favorite of directors, Robert Rodriguez comes the tongue-in-cheek vampire melee "From Dusk Till Dawn" that we all know and love (I hope, or else perhaps you are not a fan of film at all). I have owned this gory and hilarious flick for some time now on DVD, but have yet to ever get around to watching its equally brilliant and enjoyable documentary upon its making entitled "Full Tilt Boogie." I figured to be enlightened somewhat into Rodriguez & buddy Tarantino's brains and how they concoct such explosive dialogue and action in their films...yes, I was. I expected to see Hollywood stars George Clooney, Juliette Lewis and Harvey Keitel waxing poetic about their roles and how meaningful their involvement in said film was...true it was also there. However, what I really did not fully appreciate with my expectations was just how informative, educational and downright behind-the-scenes-esque this doc would be. This is not your average run-of-the-mill documentary where they talk about why & how they made it, but rather it gets down & dirty pulling no punches with the actual crew. Everyone from the gaffers, best boys, writers, cameramen, stage-hands, set designers, make-up artists, and craft services folks are represented in all their drunken fraternal camaraderie. Director Sarah Kelly gets the scoop with all these folks, as well as pointed jabs at the Hollywood elite playboy Clooney. You get to see just how difficult it sometimes is to make a movie (i.e. the sandstorm that sweeps across the desert set), and often just how easy it is (i.e. practical joking with buddies and drunk guitar sessions by the motel pool with Quentin Tarantino). This is a really fun way to look at documentaries of films, and gives a whole new meaning to "behind-the-scenes." I wanted a freak show, and that's what I got...now off to the next freak show for the evening...the NC State Fair. While driving in the back seat of the car with friends on the way to the fairgrounds, I had visions of snake-dancing Mexican vampires and deep-fried Twinkies dancing in my head.

5 out of 5 stars