Edge of Outside: Aiming for the Final Cut

Beginning tomorrow, Turner Classic Movies will showcase a series of influential movies directed by maverick independent filmmakers ranging from John Cassavetes to Martin Scorsese. A documentary, Edge of Outside, will frame this month-long film festival with the insightful ruminations of various directors, actors, writers, cinematographers, and critics. Showtime begins at 8 p.m. (E.S.T.) on July 5, 2006 on TCM. This fascinating montage of new and archival interviews and film clips will run again on July 19 at 11 p.m. (For a full festival schedule, please see my June 25, 2006 post; it is also listed on the Turner Classic Movies website).

Edge of Outside includes fascinating observations and analysis by and about Spike Lee, Arthur Penn, John Sayles, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Sam Fuller, Stanley Kubrick, Sam Peckinpah, Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray, Orson Welles, Roger Corman, David Lynch, and many other filmmakers. The common thread is independent spirit: tenacious and resilient pursuit of artistic vision; raising money to fund projects (an often exhausting and relentless process); and bids for artistic control, especially for the "final cut" of their films (here Woody Allen is noted for his consistent ability to achieve this coveted goal) -- directors understandably lament more than anything else when a studio steps in to patch a happy or sappy ending on their own version, and try anything to wriggle free from such interference. It is clear to most, of course, that ultimately movie making is a business as well as an art form: some have responded pragmatically, others defiantly.

Produced and directed by TCM's Shannon Davis, Edge of Outside is so packed with interesting points that it's worth repeated viewing. Structurally, we see influential and thoughtful people speaking specifically for this film in gorgeous apartments, flats, and bars, insterspersed with excellent footage from movies, shoots, and archival interviews of deceased directors like Orson Welles. This will appeal to anyone who likes movies and is also interested in real world creative processes. Davis has done a fine job providing a wide range of perspectives, all of which rekindle interest in these great directors.

One thing that stands out is that all of the directors are men: it is a demonstrable contrast and sign of change that this documentary was made by a woman. This inspires me to research the period when women filmmakers began emerging -- a relatively recent process that speaks volumes about cultural norms and innovations. Lina Wertmüller (1928-) leaps to mind. More will be revealed. Meanwhile, I can't wait to see John Cassavetes' Faces (1968), the first featured classic that begins tomorrow night at 9:15 p.m., immediately after Edge of Outside. And by the way, Gena Rowlands (who was married to John Cassavetes) is terrific in both Faces and Edge of Outside.



Ciao, darlings!