Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That

Excellent docu on matador, director and badass extraordinaire Budd Boetticher, chronicling his life and work, from his young years learning bullfighting in Mexico, being hired on Rober Mamoulian's Rita Hayworth vehicle Blood and Sand to choreograph the bullfighting sequences only ending up choreographing Hayworth's 'matador' dance with Anthony Quinn, going on from there to threaten to punch the living daylights out of Columbia's cranky boss Harry Cohn only to land a job directing b pictures for him, his next stop doing potboilers for Universal and finally, his most famous output that secured him a place in Cahiers du Cinema's venerable pantheon of auteurs, his collaborations with writer Burt Kennedy, DP Charles Lawton Jr. and Randolph Scott in the Ranown westerns. Clint Eastwood, Taylor Hackworth, Quentin Tarantino, John Wayne's daughter, Peter Bogdanovich, Paul Schrader, Robert Towne and Boetticher himself in a late 2000 interview dissect his body of work, part critical appreciation, part eulogy for an American director who influenced as many subsequent filmmakers with only five movies as people like John Ford did with twenty-five.

I was so pleased to see that my Uncle Budd had some "in front of the camera" time in the documentary entitled "A Man Can Do That" as he was the ultimate story teller and could keep anyone entranced, and did, whether he was in our house in the Canyon with one of his fabulous wives or later at his ranch in San Diego. He was always amused that his films had become classics and I joked with him often, telling him people usually have to die first to attain that status. When asked about his "motivation" for a film he usually had a brief answer that had to do with a small budget and a short amount of time. He just made movies....and that is what he did. But his narratives off camera were the best and the best of him. I miss him terribly and am so glad the final tribute was made to him....and for him. He out partied and outlived them all.

Budd Boetticher was a famous director who made films from the 1940s to the late 1960s. While he is somewhat famous today, he isn't one of the "big names" from this era and he had a very particular niche--great lower budget Westerns (many of which starred Randolph Scott). While I have seen most of these classic Scott films, I knew very little of Boetticher's career otherwise, so I really was happy I saw this documentary about him and his films.

Overall, BUDD BOETTICHER: A MAN CAN DO THAT was an interesting amalgam. Some films about great directors focus almost exclusively on the films or the style of direction, while others are more like biographies that focus on the life of the man. However, this one manages to use both approaches during the picture. For a general overview of him and his films, this is a good film. If you are looking more for the analysis of the films or a biography alone, then perhaps the film might be less than satisfying. I personally liked the focus just the way it was.

Since Boetticher died earlier this decade, there was fortunately a lot of recent footage of the man and it felt like he was talking to the audience. None of this grainy old footage like I'd seen on the life and films of John Ford, for example. Considering that Boetticher was very lucid and vibrant up until the end, this really helped the film tremendously.

In addition, the film had many clips with various stars who had worked with the man and knew him well. Again, having only died relatively recently, it is a major plus that so many who knew and worked with him are still alive. Too often, films about earlier directors (such as one I saw on Fritz Lang recently) seem so disconnected because the men died decades before.

Overall, a very nice film and I hope that the people who made this would consider doing a similar biography about Sam Fuller or some other director who is mostly recognized by "insiders" (note: among film snobs, loving Boetticher films, like Fuller's, is quite in vogue at this time).

Just watched this entry in conjunction with the Randolph Scott / Budd Boetticher films shown on TCM. A very interesting synopsis of work and commentary from the director and some guests. I learned much about Boetticher's views and techniques from both his and the guests' commentaries (excepting only that ultra goober, Quentin Tarantino, who consistently strikes me as the kind of high-school dweeb who came in 3rd in the class-president election).

Boetticher's films have a definite style, to me quite spare and unencumbered, but nonetheless complete stories and characters. He seems to have a knack for enveloping the viewer into the story. I especially appreciate his Randolph Scott film "The Tall T", during which one feels that, with Scott as the star, he's sure to come out all right - but in the situation he finds himself, it's very hard to imagine how he will manage it.

All in all a quite enjoyable examination of one of the old-line directors who pursued his vision and technique to his own, rather than corporate, satisfaction.

Quite often this sort of documentary about a director or actor can turn into a back slapping exercise with little substance. Thankfully that is not the case here. True enough there's praise aplenty, and as anyone familiar with Boetticher's work will attest, it's praise well warranted, but the doc traces his career from beginning to end without painting him as an auteur saint. It's fascinating stuff, from his adoptive beginnings to how he got into cinema, from bullfighting guru to auteur director, story unfolds with insight and enlightening passages of play. How he got to call Harry "King" Cohn by his first name, how he managed to detract from low budget restrictions to still produce a quality scene, Duke Wayne finding bullfighting a little tough! His irritation with studio cuts, the birth of the Ranown Westerns, his loves, his life and his bad ass attitude, it's all there making for a great viewing experience for the serious film fan.

It's also great to find that Randolph Scott gets much praise, some of the clips shown showcase the strengths of Scott's acting, his work for Boetticher backing up the praise coming his way. With one quote from Paul Schrader about a tuning fork quite simply the best quote I have heard attributed to Scott. Bonus, too, is that the roll call of names involved in the doc are not merely there to sell the idea of Oscar "Budd" Boetticher. Clint Eastwood, Quentin Taratino, Paul Schrader, Taylor Hackford, Peter Bogdanovich & Robert Towne, they have things to say about his craft and it's worth listening too. While there's something thrilling about observing Eastwood and Tarantino sitting together, sharing a passion and genuinely hanging on each others words.And there's the old director himself, telling it from the horses mouth, still in control and not pulling the punches.

A Man Can Do That is a fitting documentary that should be a requisite viewing for fans of Boetticher's work. 9/10