Biographical Films - Milk (Gus Van Sant)

Biographical Films

Biographical Films
1)Mast and Kawin mention three biographical pictures:
   a)Malcolm X,
   b)Schindler’s List, and
   c)Milk
2)That mythologize the personal lives of important historical figures
   into narratives that mimic the cause and effect thrills of action-adventure films.
3)Many Hollywood biopics Hollywood-ize historical figures so that their lives are compact.
4)Sometimes, decades of someone’s life are boiled down into 90 minutes.
5)Few people are willing to watch Claude Lanzmann’s 9 ½ hour long documentary
   on the Holocaust Shoah which consists of mostly testimony from witnesses,
   but they can watch a Hollywood narrative such as Schindler's List where a conclusion
   or resolution is given in two hours.

For example, see The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein, 1984) and compare with Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008).

Milk (2008)

Film Clip Click Here

In Milk, Sean Penn does his best Harvey Milk imitation to win the Oscar.

Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008):

Rob Epstein offers a much different documentary portrayal of the legacy of Harvey Milk in The Times of Harvey Milk.

The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein, 1984):

Film Clip Click Here