John Landis has made a handful of capital-G Great films. Animal House, Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf In London (one of my personal favorites)... But he also has the unfortunate (though deserved?) reputation for being reckless and cavalier. He's responsible (though not solely) for one of the most horrific accidents on a film shoot in the last century. During a night shoot for a scene in the 1985 Twight Zone: The Movie there was some miscommunication between a helicopter pilot, a special effects supervisor and Landis. Three actors (including two children) died when either the explosives went off prematurely and nicked the helicopter's blade or Landis' hassling of the pilot to go "Lower! Lower!" caused the helicopter to fall out of control. It's a pretty haunting story and it's trial received quite a bit of attention. The families of the deceased eventually settled out of court and Landis went on to direct some more classic films (Three Amigos!, Coming To America, and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video).
Personally, I can't help but look for insensitive traits when I watched Slasher last night, a documentary Landis made in 2004. It's about one of the oldest and most beloved American professions, selling cars. The film follows Michael Bennett, the "Slasher", a special salesman who is brought in to struggling car dealerships across the country to help them move their inventory with a special "Slasher" sale. Bennett is a wiry and wired figure who has a reputation for being the best salesman in the country, once selling "400 cars in four days!" exclaims an employee at the used car dealership where the film takes place. But Memphis in 2004 is a tough sell and the film shows what appears to be one of the toughest weekends for the "Slasher."
Landis humanizes Bennett by showing his departure from his wife and two kids at the beginning of the film and spending time in Bennett's hotel room at night as he tries to cope with being away from them so often. But Landis also fuels the "Slasher" fire by filming him on many a drunken rave, one in particular the night before the sale in a parking structure where he yells up and down like a madman as his drunk friends and associates just sit back and watch. In fact, Bennett is drunk pretty much the moment that he steps off the lot. And there's a couple of scenes at night that seem like Landis is pushing him a little too much with the drinking and the confessing. But maybe Bennett is just happy to have someone actually listening.
This glimpse into the life of a car salesman - in particular, Bennett - is interesting, funny and at times very affecting. Landis follows a couple of the buyers off the lot and one girl who won a raffle for an $88 car gets the thing home only to have it fall apart in her driveway. We linger with her as she watches her brother and father try and figure out what's wrong with it, her face a thousand miles away from the huge shocked smile she had when her raffle number was called. And Bennett's closing monologue about how a line from Tombstone has really hit home is especially moving. But along the way, we get lied to. By Landis and his editors and by Bennett. So maybe Landis was clever to start the film off with television clips of Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II lying directly into the camera. It's part of the American experience to lie to the public. Some people just make a living doing it.
Personally, I can't help but look for insensitive traits when I watched Slasher last night, a documentary Landis made in 2004. It's about one of the oldest and most beloved American professions, selling cars. The film follows Michael Bennett, the "Slasher", a special salesman who is brought in to struggling car dealerships across the country to help them move their inventory with a special "Slasher" sale. Bennett is a wiry and wired figure who has a reputation for being the best salesman in the country, once selling "400 cars in four days!" exclaims an employee at the used car dealership where the film takes place. But Memphis in 2004 is a tough sell and the film shows what appears to be one of the toughest weekends for the "Slasher."Landis humanizes Bennett by showing his departure from his wife and two kids at the beginning of the film and spending time in Bennett's hotel room at night as he tries to cope with being away from them so often. But Landis also fuels the "Slasher" fire by filming him on many a drunken rave, one in particular the night before the sale in a parking structure where he yells up and down like a madman as his drunk friends and associates just sit back and watch. In fact, Bennett is drunk pretty much the moment that he steps off the lot. And there's a couple of scenes at night that seem like Landis is pushing him a little too much with the drinking and the confessing. But maybe Bennett is just happy to have someone actually listening.
This glimpse into the life of a car salesman - in particular, Bennett - is interesting, funny and at times very affecting. Landis follows a couple of the buyers off the lot and one girl who won a raffle for an $88 car gets the thing home only to have it fall apart in her driveway. We linger with her as she watches her brother and father try and figure out what's wrong with it, her face a thousand miles away from the huge shocked smile she had when her raffle number was called. And Bennett's closing monologue about how a line from Tombstone has really hit home is especially moving. But along the way, we get lied to. By Landis and his editors and by Bennett. So maybe Landis was clever to start the film off with television clips of Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II lying directly into the camera. It's part of the American experience to lie to the public. Some people just make a living doing it.
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