One imagines that Almereyda thought he could simply act as a fly on the wall ... and have a compelling document on the creation of live theater.
Comment
04/22/04
This So-Called Disaster (2004)
90
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:26
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.3/10
Theatrical Release:Apr 21, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: After appearing as the ghost of Hamlet's father in Michael Almereyda's 2000 film version of the Bard's classic story, which also starred Ethan Hawke, Julia Stiles, and Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard... [More]
Starring: Sam Shepard, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson
Director: Michael Almereyda
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Reviews for This So-Called Disaster
Among the many skills required by a documentary maker is the ability to make reticent people blossom. Michael Almereyda has done that in This So-Called Disaster.
04/21/04
Top CriticAn engaging behind-the-scenes look at playful creativity.
04/27/04
One of the finer peeks into the creative process of staging a play.
06/18/04
Top CriticWill appeal mostly to those who love theater and relish the opportunity to see a production being built, scene by scene.
09/10/04
In its vision of the push-and-pull of rehearsal and the revelation of how a play comes to breathing, snorting life onstage, Almereyda's video brings us close to the act of creation.
06/17/04
Top CriticIt's fun to see actors doing what they do and to see them through the eyes of a director.
05/06/04
One of the most pleasurable documentaries in recent memory.
05/12/04
In the end, what takes shape is not just a significant unraveling of Shepard's taciturn mystique, but a potent sense of the pain and rigor of revealing oneself through art.
06/17/04
Top CriticNot as insightful as Topsy-Turvy or Vanya on 42nd Street about the process of putting on a show, it's nonetheless a fascinating meeting of the minds.
04/27/04
Top CriticBy the time the curtain rises on opening night, we are provided with what feels like a catharsis for not only the playwright and the actors, but for Almereyda too.
10/22/03
Both resonant and skillfully devious.
04/21/04
Top Critic'This So-Called Disaster' does well in terms of the theater's open-ended dialogue and development.
04/12/04
Offers a rare, fly- on-the-wall view of three Hollywood bad boys -- Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson -- as they rehearse for a play in San Francisco in the fall of 2000.
04/21/04
Top CriticUltimately, you leave This So-Called Disaster with renewed respect for Shepard, who comes off as a kind of quiet hero: a man of words, confronting his past with little fuss, and from it creating a legacy.
05/21/04
Consistently engrossing, with nary a dull moment, and very enlightening on what is popularly called "the actor's process."
08/08/04
An unbridled orgy of uninhibited Stanislavsky.
05/06/04
Top CriticMichael Almereyda's low-budget documentary about nothing more cataclysmic than the process of staging a play.
04/21/04
Top CriticAnyone interested in the challenges and techniques of acting -- which is really to say, anyone interested in human behavior -- should turn off E! and head down to Film Forum, where Mr. Almereyda's film opens today.
04/22/04
Top CriticPerhaps the most shocking revelation is that an artist of Shepherd's stature can still feel unsure of himself, fumbling his way to a constantly refining vision of his world.
04/08/04
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