Customer Reviews

Making "The Misfits"

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The opening shot of "Making The Misfits" is charged with evocative nostalgia for a lost era in film history and stars of legendary status that haunt our collective memory. It's a simple yet telling shot of a nearly empty drive-in theater just after sunset. On it's battered shabby screen "The Misfits" is running.
The making of John Huston's misunderstood classic is presented here with artistry and integrity. It weaves present day interviews with surviving cast, crew, and photographers with shots from the film. Some of the interviews were filmed on the old set locations or in areas very near them. Through these interviews, film clips, and the wonderful photographs of such Magnum artists as Eve Arnold the story of one of the most unusual "Hollywood" film productions unfolds. For film buffs and fans of any of the principal players this is pure gold.
"Making The Misfits" is one of the best documentaries on Hollywood and how films get made. It was wonderful to see Arthur Miller being so open and candid about a painful part of his life. He is the heart and soul of this film and fills the frame with dignity and humor. Eli Wallach is charming as he spins his memories of those days in the desert with Marilyn, Gable and Monty.
This end result of seeing this documentary is that it makes the viewer want to revisit "The Misfits" and view it with a fresh prospective.
(For my review on "The Misfits" entitled 'A Lesson In Film' click on MGMboy more about me)

Making The Misfits is an insightful look at the ups and downs that the actors and film crew went through while making this much-anticipated movie that just didn't make it as a big screen event. On paper, it had everything to make it shine bright--huge stars like Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Cliff and a young Eli Wallach. Arthur Miller had molded the script for his then-wife Marilyn and with John Huston on board as director everything seemed rosy at first. Unfortunately, we learn that there was anything but roses on the set and there was considerable heartache in the personal lives of the people working on the movie.

I don't want to give away too much, but as we know Marilyn Monroe was not feeling her best at that time and her usual tardiness resulted in hours of delays and quick scrambles to determine which scenes would be shot that day or postponed for another day. It seemed as if everything that could go wrong did go wrong: even though they were out in the countryside of Nevada, planes would fly overhead making it impossible to film the actors. Eli Wallach was initially somewhat intimidated by the notion of working with the very iconic Clark Gable; and Gable wasn't too enamored of Marilyn's habitual lateness and other personality traits. In addition, Marilyn's marriage to Arthur Miller was going downhill quite noticeably during the production of the picture.

There's a good deal more of archival footage and we get relatively recent interviews with people who were young at the time and remember the making of this film. Perhaps some of the best interview footage comes from Arthur Miller and Eli Wallach themselves; they were both still living at the time this was made (Miller has since passed away) and they both tell fascinating stories about the production of The Misfits.

I recommend this film for film buffs; and of course any fan of the principal actors in this movie will want to have this, too.

Apparently made for television, it presents remaining POVs from this involuted crew, and raises more questions than it answers. Presentation and photography are good to excellent. Personal myths are interesting.

Definitely worth having if you are seriously interested in this "Nodal" film known as "The Misfits" I decided that I have to read the book. Much appreciated.

A DVD only for lovers of serious movies as The Mitfits was. I liked specially when the guest talk in the desert where the film was made.

Making "The Misfits" must have been amazing for film-buffs who happened to find themselves in Reno in the early '60's. Surprisingly, the people interviewed for this documentary aren't really fans at all, but relatives of those who were there, film-historians and folks who worked on the picture second-hand. Nobody seems very giddy about their memories, and they retell their old stories in a slightly dazed, distracted fashion. I did find it interesting that, near the end, most everyone reluctantly admits that the movie simply didn't work and is therefore one of the most legendary Hollywood flatliners of all time. I loved bits and pieces of "The Misfits", and anyone else with the same mixed reaction will end up wanting more depth and personality regarding the picture and why it all went awry. There are some fascinating photos displayed, making one wish he had been there too. B-

A DVD only for lovers of serious movies as The Mitfits was. I liked specially when the guest talk in the desert where the film was made.