Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997/First Run Features DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Documentary: C

 

 

The Henry-Alex Rubin/Jeremy Workman documentary Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997) is a harsh and ultimately one-sided portrayal of the sometimes controversial independent filmmaker.  I had heard of it, but had never seen it until now.  Anything this negative has to be slanted and one-sided, but was Jaglom a maniac or just being attacked for being particular and trying something different?

 

Well, we have looked at some of his early films and they were better than this program reminded me.  The two (on DVD) are:

 

Can She Bake A Cherry Pie?

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/598/Can+She+Bake+A+Cherry+Pie?

 

Venice Venice

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/596/Venice+Venice

 

 

Maybe he is eccentric, a deconstructionist and even possibly overrated, but we’d need to see his entire output before getting into the latter and he is still making films.  It runs only 52 minutes, but takes no prisoners and edits tightly together all the interviews and stills it can fit.  I will say that it is an effective hatchet job on the man, but its other failure that reveals something is wrong here is that there is not anywhere near enough evaluation of each film and the answer to the question of the title cannot be answered without such analysis.  Thus, you get a wreck upon arrival.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image originated on analog NTSC video and this transfer is a generation or two down, with more blur and digititis than should be here.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is harsh, barely stereo and the default highlight of the disc.  Extras include Who Isn’t Henry Jaglom? Where the director expresses 10 years later how unhappy he is with this production, his participation in it and that it was a mistake.

 

He got that one right.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo