*** This review may contain spoilers ***
*Plot and ending analyzed*
The cover is interesting, since from far away it reminds me of an Akira Kurosawa film, with Toshiro Mifune pushing a boat. But if you look at it more closely, it's a guy with a Gaelic beret hat.
A Boatload of Wild Irishmen deals with the life and films of Robert Flaherty, who was Gaelic himself. Cinema connoisseurs will know him mainly from Nanook of the North (1922). Also here, they discuss Moana (1926), set in the Samoan Seas, and Man of Aran (1934), which is the very cover of the DVD.
It's very fascinating, as they mention how Robert Flaherty was one of the first documentary filmmakers, but he also did set-ups of his shots (which is supposedly contrary to a "true" documentary style).
After Nanook of the North (1922) he got a few big offers, but he lingered on shooting too much film that commercial studios didn't like (due to expensive costs and unsuitable content). They also interview his old subjects, professors and some of the folks who were in the films. It's 124 minutes. I enjoyed it, since the subject is rarely discussed.
Includes three extras: 32 minutes - talk with filmmaker Richard Leacock (died 2011). Richard Leacock was a British filmmaker, he also was one known as a proponent of 'Cinema verite' (a style of documentary filmmaking) and Direct Cinema (a style of documentary filmmaking).
14 minutes - thoughts on Robert Flaherty 10 minutes - the kid from Louisiana Story (1948).
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