I'm a 90's kid, so it's safe to say that I'm not overly familiar with films from the '70s. Seeing Hal being screened at Rialto Cinemas, I decided to see it, not because it looked interesting, but because I could fit it into my mammoth five movies in a day plan. I had seen no trailers, and the movie poster provided no information as to what I could expect from the film. But I went anyway and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
Hal is a documentary about a film director, Hal Ashby, celebrating his life's work in Hollywood, his rise and fall at the hands of studio involvement, and his eventual death.
The film takes a rather chronological direction, following the critically-acclaimed films that made up the majority of his life in the '70s; The Landlord (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound For Glory (1976), Coming Home (1978), and Being There (1979).
Featuring interviews with cast and crew of the feature films, as well as audio recordings and memos from Hal himself, you gain a sense of respect and admiration for the man that put everything into his art. Personal stories from the likes of Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight and Beau Bridges, combine to build a four-dimensional image of a man that cared about the art that he was creating, and fought to the bitter end to try and maintain that integrity against the power and control of studio executives.
Memo's, personal letters, photos and video footage, audio recordings and interviews. The scope of research and material collected and used is immense, and it created such a vivid composition. Despite never having seen his films, to have his influence compared to that of Scorsese, and to see all of these people that genuinely cared about him, despite his flaws, it made me as a viewer care about him, and that is a rare thing for a documentary to do. Too often a documentary becomes cold and disconnected, stating facts and events. Hal goes in-depth into his life and struggles, his many marriages, and of course the making of those seven fundamentally important movies in the '70s.
Studio interference is something that the public is much more aware of now, as films are followed by fans from their inception, all the way through production until finally the release day. To learn how it was present, even in the '70s and '80s, caught me unaware, and firmly rooted Hal Asby as the antihero of his own story
An absolutely brilliant documentary. Well paced, with enough different media formats to keep you engaged throughout its entirety. This made me care about the life of a director that I didn't even know existed, and has added seven more films to the list of things to check out. An eye-opening glimpse into the inner workings of Hollywood.