With Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005-also reviewed) being my 8th favourite film of all time, I was really interested in seeing this two-part title from director Alex Gibney when it first screened on the BBC ,but I sadly missed it. After viewing the superb doc Shadow of Truth (2016-also reviewed) I was thrilled when Netflix recommended this to me,which I watched in the wee small hours.
View on the film:
Not featuring a single talking head/new on-camera interview, director Alex Gibney fills the four hour-stadium runtime with superb archive footage,bringing Sinatra's classic tunes alive with never before seen footage and photos spanning Frank's growing up in poverty, his wide-eyed dreams to become a star,and a loved-up romance with Nancy Barbato.
Bringing new context to the footage, Gibney plays Sinatra's involvement in the Civil Rights movement and the peak of Frank and The Rat Pack's with insightful voice-over interviews with family members, former record producers and partners, who reveal the man behind the star-studded image.
Despite the large runtime, Gibney leaves the impression of some subjects only being partially delved into,such as Frank's ties to the mob, and highlighting the impact that the passing of his dad had on Sinatra, but no mention of the tragic passing of his mum Dolly, (she died in a plane crash in 1977) in what is otherwise a excellent doc which proves that Ol' Blue Eyes did it his way.
View on the film:
Not featuring a single talking head/new on-camera interview, director Alex Gibney fills the four hour-stadium runtime with superb archive footage,bringing Sinatra's classic tunes alive with never before seen footage and photos spanning Frank's growing up in poverty, his wide-eyed dreams to become a star,and a loved-up romance with Nancy Barbato.
Bringing new context to the footage, Gibney plays Sinatra's involvement in the Civil Rights movement and the peak of Frank and The Rat Pack's with insightful voice-over interviews with family members, former record producers and partners, who reveal the man behind the star-studded image.
Despite the large runtime, Gibney leaves the impression of some subjects only being partially delved into,such as Frank's ties to the mob, and highlighting the impact that the passing of his dad had on Sinatra, but no mention of the tragic passing of his mum Dolly, (she died in a plane crash in 1977) in what is otherwise a excellent doc which proves that Ol' Blue Eyes did it his way.