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This So-Called Disaster

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
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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)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Hamlet Happy Here and Now William Eggleston in the Real World
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
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...
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
It's fun to see actors doing what they do and to see them through the eyes of a director.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Almereyda's fascination with creative creatures and their mysterious ways is abundantly clear. And distracting.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This So-Called Disaster was the father's sarcastic term for their relationship.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
