Marjoe

This is good for so many reasons. First off it's just a well done and to the point documentary, but the main reason it is good is because it exposes the truth about these faith healers out there in the world.Some would say that its true that this film shows that marjoe was a fake but that doesn't go for all the faith healers out there. Here is why i believe it outs all the faith healers as fakes. Marjoe was able to do all the big things they do.He could Touch people and have them fall over and not only that but he had people shaking on the floor and speaking in tongues. Marjoe explains how to do all this. Its no different than a magic trick. Marjoe just proved that its easy to take advantage of desperate and ignorant people.

In 1948 Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner of Long Beach, California became an ordained preacher for the pentecostal church. He was four years old. A gifted preacher, Marjoe reached some fame and notoriety in the American South and earned his parents an estimated $3,000,000 before the novelty had worn off in his teen years. It was around this time that Marjoe became part of the Hippie movement and took stock of what had happened to him, his childhood and the money he never saw. At twenty and struggling to get by, Marjoe fell back on his greatest talent and again began to preach. He wasn't a true believer, but they believed in him. They flocked to see his Jagger swaggering sermons and paid well for the privilege.

This documentary joins Marjoe in 1971 when he is 23 years old. A crisis of conscience has led him to not only give up preaching for good, but also to show us the preaching racket as it really is. We follow Marjoe for one final tour with a documentary crew under the guise of promoting the church. The film introduces the real Marjoe through a series of interviews interspersed with footage of the sermons he holds. The contrast between the two sides of his character is quite startling and to have this captured on film is quite special, some might say it's a small ironically occurring miracle. The content here was so powerful that at the time it wasn't distributed in many of the southern states. That didn't stop it taking the 1972 Best Documentary Oscar and although it did fade into obscurity for a while, in 2002 the original negative print was found and recaptured for digital release.

Marjoe is a charismatic lead, talking us through his life story and giving us a window into this world. He has an implicit understanding of preaching techniques and the lucrative business behind the scenes. What is shown here feels like full disclosure, we see Marjoe briefing the crew on how to act when in church or that they should cut their hair to fit in. We see his home life and relationships, his real life outside the church and his on stage persona. I read that he was looking to become an actor (and did, sort of) and to leave this life behind him and game some publicity this film was made. Utterly unique and as relevant as ever. Even today it embarrasses the born again crowd better than Jesus Camp and that's saying something. Of course when it comes to the religious right nothing has changed, it's only gotten bigger.

"Marjoe" is an exposee apparently orchestrated by the evangelist, Marjoe Gortner, as a way to say goodbye to this life by tossing a figurative Molotov Cocktail into the traveling evangelist profession. He had begun his ministry at age 3 and worked in it, off and on, many, many years. With this film, he is declaring his independence and walking away from that life.

I thought it was a very fascinating but ill-focused film. Instead of talking about his fascinating life (which I wish we'd heard far more about in the film), much of the documentary shows Marjoe preaching at various venues--and there is way, way too much footage of this and the apoplectic reactions of many in his audience. It was interesting (especially for someone not too familiar with the Pentecostal movement)--but so much in the film seemed repetitive and slow. Because of this aspect alone, I am a bit surprised that this documentary won the Oscar in this category.

I think there is a lot people can take out of this film. Of course, there is some great first-hand information about the hucksters in the traveling evangelism business, but I also thought it was interesting to see these Pentecostal services in action as they are FAR removed from mainstream Christianity. Some might also just see it as a broad attack on Christianity and religion--thought I didn't take that from the film. Probably in light of my background in the mental health field, I thought the film was a great portrait of a very charismatic sociopath. I noticed that although Marjoe did this film to expose the industry, they sure showed him counting a lot of money! Later, he says how it's all fake and says he is sorry for deceiving people...though he did not, I notice, refuse to take all the people's money or offer to give any of it back! As a result, I was appalled by Gortner, as he seemed to be saying he was turning over a new leaf---yet still swindling people in the process--and probably laughing at them! I would love to have heard him explain this and when someone in the film asked him if he was a con-man (which, of course, he was) he didn't actually answer the question! This is, I think, the point that the film SHOULD have focused on--but as Gortner seemed to be running the production, this angle was not explored further. I would really love to see a followup film to both see where he is today and to explore his life and the way he used others. Interestingly, although he has given up this old life, he still seemed to have a strong need to be liked and to be the center of attention in this film--so maybe there is less difference between his old life and the new! Maybe Marjoe the professional actor of the 1970s and 80s isn't that much removed from the evangelist!

Worth seeing but quite flawed in its style and lack of clear focus.

This is of the finest documentaries I've seen, and I've seen quite a few at festivals in recent years. Not only is Marjoe Gortner as intriguing as any of the great charismatics and eccentrics of documentary cinema, but the documentary technique is top notch. The cinematography in the church scenes is dynamic yet sharp and focused, and the editing keeps the momentum with a steady stream of insights and revelations, culminating in the more honest and confessional final act. It's a relatively long movie, and the goings-on inside the church take up a large proportion of the runtime, but they're shot so expertly, with brave intimacy and varying points of interest, that they never become unbearable. The music, while painfully dated, is totally authentic.

The strange interplay and connectivity between the mainstream youth counter-culture, exemplified by the film crew and Marjoe in his interviews, and the Pentecostal subculture provides most of the thematic interest. There's nothing novel about relating fervent religiosity to the kinds of drug use prevalent in the 70s, but Marjoe's embodiment of this cultural duality, and the ease with which he transitions from ecstatic evangelical to a paragon of counter-cultural values, suggests that these two polar inclinations in American culture are not as disparate as imagined. Marjoe would rather have been a money grabbing rock star like Alice Cooper, and might have been given a different upbringing, but this is as close as he can get. That he's manipulating the spiritual passions of his audience is a fact subordinate to the satisfaction of performing and connecting emotionally. And even as he spouts religious rhetoric that means nothing to him, and takes the money of those expecting miracles and salvation, is he not giving the people exactly what they want, performing the spontaneous and charismatic rites of Pentecostal Christianity in a manner that is skillful and respectful of the traditions and expectations of that faith?

I don't think I can find a single glaring flaw in the film, even as it approaches ethically questionable territory on account of its complicity in Marjoe's act and the necessity to mislead those who are being filmed or interviewed. Certainly, more interactivity with the Pentacostal churchgoers would have been welcome. One questions whether Marjoe is being completely honest in his interviews, but for someone for whom performance and chicanery are inseparable aspects of life, do the filmmakers really need to press the question? Even without a narrating voice, the point comes across with the utmost clarity.

This film actually won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1972 and profiles former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner as he re-enters the seedy world of preaching across the US for money. Gortner is very open that he is doing it for quick cash and exposes the tricks of the trade. The filmmakers make sure to hammer this point home by juxtaposing shots of dudes counting stacks of money with sermons. I would have preferred more on Marjoe the man as they barely scratch the surface. For instance, he speaks briefly about the relationship with his father (also a preacher) but the filmmakers never dig deeper. The sermons/preachings highlighted are overly drawn out as well, running 20 minutes at a time which makes them tend to get repetitive. The end has Gortner contemplating a move into acting, something he was able to do for the better part of the 70s and 80s.