It’s positively insane to think about the fact that legendary actor Harry Dean Stanton has never been nominated for an Oscar over the course of his 250 screen performances. It’s essentially Crimes Against Cinema, and when you look at his IMDB page, one is left gob-smacked by the names he’s worked with: Ridley Scott, Lewis Milestone, John Carpenter, Stuart Rosenberg, Harold Becker, Joss Whedon, Monte Hellman, David Lynch, Bill L. Norton, Lou Adler & Tommy Chong, Sam Peckinpah, John Milius, Arthur Penn, Ulu Grosbard, Alex Cox, Wim Wenders, Nick Cassavettes, Sean Penn, Terry Gilliam, Martin McDonagh, and Gore Verbinski. And that’s just the tip of the ice-berg! He’s been one of the most important, valuable, and versatile character actors that the acting profession has ever had, and I can think of no better salute to him as an artist than Sophie Huber’s graceful and heartfelt documentary Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction. This is a wonderful film about a passionate artist, and it goes to some surprisingly dark and soulful areas of Stanton’s life, while also celebrating his utterly extraordinary filmography. Seamus McGarvey’s stylish, silky smooth, black and white cinematography is perfectly mixed with bold color snippets and a variety of clips from Stanton’s eclectic performances, and it’s during the sequences with David Lynch and Kris Kristofferson and Sam Shepard where the film really hits some terrific notes of friendship and professional camaraderie. Huber’s direction is sensitive to her subject yet probing in all of the appropriate ways, and when you get to hear Stanton sing some renditions of classic American folk songs, you sense his disappointment that he never took his music career to the next level (he openly laments this fact), while still getting the sense that he’s a man with lots of life to live despite his youth obviously in the rear view mirror. His amusing anecdotes are great fun to listen too, as he’s always giving of the sense that he’s young at heart. And that’s the message that Huber sends with this poignant, thoroughly engaging documentary about one of cinema’s most prized possessions. This unique item was filmed at Stanton’s home and at his favorite Los Angeles watering hole, and one is left with the utmost respect for this living legend.
Podcasting Them Softly 