Edge of Outside: TCM Indie Cinema Doc (Shannon Davis, 2006)

[Gordon]

www.imdb.com/title/tt0829160

It was shown on TCM (USA) in July. Did anyone here see it? Is it good? 65 minutes seems a bit short; I'd love to see an expanded version on DVD.

[thethirdman]

I was pretty underwhelmed by the documentary. It touched on Ray, Welles, Cassavetes, Fuller, Griffith, Chaplin, Kubrick, Allen, Lee, and a few others. I did not really discover anything new from the doc. I cannot count the number of times I have heard Fuller tell the "wave the flag" anecdote. The doc touched on each of the subjects very lightly. Allen received no more than a couple of sentences of discussion. I prefer Martin Scorsese's segment on Iconoclasts on A Personal Journey Through American Movies. It covers very similar territory, but Scorsese's comments are much more insightful than someone like Ed Burns.
I wonder if this documentary will end up on one of the impending Warner Kubrick special editions or a Nicholas Ray release.

[Gordon]

Funnily enough, I watched A Personal Journey Through American Movies for the second time the other day and it really is a brilliant piece of work, a must for all young movie fans. The "Director as Iconoclast" and "Smuggler" segments are indeed wonderful.

Edge of Outside sounds like an intro for neophytes, as most film docus on TV are these days, but I'd like to see it, nevetheless; though I wouldn't like to see such a piece bundled with the Kubrick releases. I'm still quite concerned about those: when will they be released?; will the transfers be anamorphic?; will the extras be lightweight fluff or annoying, ie Schickel commentaries? will A Life in Pictures feature the Martin Short interview, previously cut from the DVD edition? and so on.

BTW: O Lucky Malcolm, Jan Harlan's 85-minute documentary on Malcolm McDowell has been completed and will premiere on August 1st at the Old Town Playhouse in Michigan. It is owned by Warner, so if this isn't on the Clockwork Orange 2-Disc or an O Lucky Man 2-Disc, I'll eat my hat.

[Matt]

It was not very good at all. Maybe as an introduction to independent film for someone only ever seen about 10 movies.

[justeleblanc]

It was not very good at all. Maybe as an introduction to independent film for someone only ever seen about 10 movies.

I agree, it's not from me. But then when I was in junior high, this type of documentary would have been a great introduction to these directors and their films. Maybe TCM is the new cigarette company, looking to market to 12 year olds to get them hooked.

Though I didn't mind the bit on Cassavetes at all. And I think their list was pretty solid.

[Ste]

There was a short section on Peckinpah, too. Nowt special, though: a new interview with Katy Haber (same old stories, same old leather-bound skin), a snippet of Sam's interview with Barry Norman, and the knife-throwing shenanigans from that documentary on Criterion's Straw Dogs DVD.

Overall, it was worth a look, but I have no regrets about not recording it, frankly; too much of nothing.