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This So-Called Disaster

EMAILPRINTIFC Films

This So-Called Disaster reviews
76
N/A User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 18 critic reviews
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Based on 0 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: Michael Almereyda

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 21, 2004
DVD: December 14, 2004

Running Time: 87 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Cheech Marin, Sheila Tousey, T-Bone Burnett, Sam Shepard, and Woody Harrelson

After appearing in Michael Almereyda's film version of Hamlet (in which he played the ghost), Sam Shepard invited the filmmaker to document the staging of his most recent play, "The Late Henry Moss," when it premiered in San Francisco in the fall of 2000. The resulting documentary is a remarkable group portrait - a vivid look at masterful performers working their way through a process of creative discovery. (IFC Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Almereyda's movie is riveting for several reasons: its inside look at Shepard in action, its vivid account of how a challenging play is brought from printed page to public stage, and its glimpses of Shepard's troubled youth.

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90

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Fascinating. Anyone 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 Mr. Almereyda's film.

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88

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Turns out to be one of the finer peeks into the creative process of staging a play. Granted, that's a tiny genre, and the film's core audience -- theater majors and the people who love them -- is narrow. The lessons, however, are big.

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80

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Fascinating and instructive throughout.

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80

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

Surprisingly compelling viewing.

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80

Slate David Edelstein

It's fun to see actors doing what they do and to see them through the eyes of a director.

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80

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

The film leaves the viewer with an increased sense of Shepard's exceptional being and talent--a prime playwright of his time who, if he had so chosen, could also have been one of its leading film stars.

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80

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Both resonant and skillfully devious.

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75

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Almereyda's fascination with creative creatures and their mysterious ways is abundantly clear. And distracting.

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75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

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 with several of the film industry's most notorious iconoclasts.

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75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

This So-Called Disaster was the father's sarcastic term for their relationship.

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75

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

As a portrait of a collaborative artist at work, the film is an invaluable document, not to be missed by anyone with more than a passing interest in theater.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Insightful but unfocused.

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70

TV Guide Ken Fox

It offers a rare opportunity to watch a world-class playwright bringing one of his own works to life; rarer still, Almereyda puts his notoriously reticent subjects so sufficiently at ease that they actually sit down and discuss their craft.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Despite the often insightful comments by the various cast members and Shepard himself -- the film doesn't dig very deeply into the artistic process of putting on a new play. But it does offer a fascinating fly-on-the-wall perspective.

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70

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

For all its high-end ambitions, This So-Called Disaster has a tabloid-TV-like appeal: We want to see if these volatile performers get on each other's nerves.

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70

Variety Scott Foundas

Not 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 -- between iconic New York indie filmmaker Michael Almereyda and laconic American cowboy and dramatist Shepard.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

The scattered insights in This So-Called Disaster aren't worth the sifting it takes to find them.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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