Fe y moneda

For a long time I was slightly disappointed with this documentary. I've had a semi-perverse fascination with Scott for many years, his degree from Stanford rather than from a bible mill, a somewhat scholarly approach to his subject on occasion which set him apart from his "peers" who merely disgusted me, and his lack of shame at appearing as a lunatic on the airwaves which set him apart much further from those who pose as the "status quo" keepers of morality and decency for average folks. This movie failed entirely to portray this essential difference. But it did capture what I now recognize as a very common underlying element to all of Herzog's movies I've seen, a character of mythic dimensions. Scott's quixotic nature to do battle with the FCC puts him on par with Aguirre or Fitzcaraldo. A living individual going all the way, taking it as far as he can, like the guy in "Grizzly Man." Herzog does something more deftly than any other director, create updated mythology for our era, and a portrait of a televangelist, even if it misses part of its subject is a very worthy part of this mythology.

This is a surprisingly short and clumsy attempt at revealing the jaded, isolated and estranged life of the late Dr. Gene Scott, who was a career pastor and televangelist before he turned over his position to his then wife, Melissa Scott. I remember in youth as early as the 5th grade, flipping through the TV channels and coming across this distinguished and White haired guy wearing a three-piece suit, sitting and pontificating in some fancy chair. Initially, this was something where most people would just switch the channel in a blink of an eye. But after a while we noticed that this guy was on TV nearly 24 hours a day it seemed. You turned on the Tube only to find this stodgy old grunt talking straight into the camera. Sometimes you would find him on more than just one channel. Dr. Scott became a somewhat figure of intrigue in Southern California media for those who bothered to notice. Known for his histrionic tirades and cantankerous rants, Dr. Scott ensued a notorious reputation in the media as a blustering tyrant who was fleecing all the unsuspecting followers. Subsequently his program, through all of its changes, lasted until his death. Werner Herzog's documentary is very low-budget and looks tawdry to the quality of documentary filmmaking today. The film's biggest weakness is treating us to five musical numbers of his program's quartet, The Statesman, a group of middle aged men wearing bad hairpieces, polyester suits who sing as if they were singing at an amateur talent contest. Subjecting us to one ear-wrenching song once would have been plenty, but this takes up at least one-third of the film to which it renders itself pointless. As the Call-in numbers for pledges flash on the screen we go back and forth to the choir and Dr. Scott. But we don't really get to see much of Dr. Scott's complete persona while performing. We don't get to see him teach the Bible or make moral references to such. All we see are his explosive tirades, hollering at guests and condemning them for not sending him enough money for God. Whoa! Televangelists are never this blatant or bold in their attempts to fleece their followers. But Scott makes no bones about it. Although his character is entertaining, I wonder if this guy was for real or if he was a conscience charlatan. Nevertheless, he was crazy and unstable. There are two poignant scenes in the film where Herzog interviews Dr. Scott up close one on one. As Scott speaks, he is more calm, articulate and intelligent than he reveals on his program. After all, he has a Phd from Stanford University! Who would have known? During these brief and intimate discussions, we see Scott as a jaded, lonely and broken figure of a man. The strength and perspicacity he expresses in his program speeches is merely a façade for his inner vulnerability and uncertainty. He expresses his woes about his life, career, his battles with the FCC and how he is being used by the congregation as a tool to further their scheme. He hasn't any assets, money or possessions of his own, so he says. Listening from across the room we see a young, beautiful and scantily clad woman reclining on a couch for a few seconds, who we assume is his lover or girlfriend. I'm not sure what Herzog was trying to accomplish from this. Knowing that Herzog himself is an atheist, I am tempted to believe this was his agnostic expression of exposing the hypocrisy and con artist elements of TV Evangelism. But I'm not so sure if this was partly his intention or if he wanted to give an intimate portrait of a troubled man who expresses his anger and control by manipulating and browbeating viewers. The guess is up to us. In retrospect, this whole piece of celluloid looks dated and tawdry from the fashion, hairstyles and crude photography. It's too late, the cat's out of the bag, and televangelism has been marred by shameless hucksters as Dr. Gene Scott, but you may gain a more intriguing and sentimental viewpoint about the man and his "Festival of Faith" after seeing this.

This is a portrait of Dr Gene Scott a televangelist who ran into problems with the FCC in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Scott was eventually shut down, briefly, by the FCC. The documentary, which consists of little more than interviews with Scott and clips from his show, doesn't really deal with the reasons why the FCC was after him, rather it tries simply to show a man on a mission trying to save people while battling his inner demons.

This is an amazing one of a kind documentary that probably could only have been made by Werner Herzog. Herzog isn't interested in showing anything other than the man. There is no judgment as to what Scott is all about, there is just Scott talking to Herzog and to his audience. The result is a portrait of a man on a mission, who is doing what he feels to be right. The result is that you walk away from the film feeling that you've just met a real person and not a manufactured man of god.

If you can track this down its worth seeing. As with all of Herzog's documentaries you get to see something, or someone in a way that is very unexpected.

This is a documentary about a reverend attempting to raise money for his church in 8+ hour long TV shows that are - to put it softly - out of the ordinary. If you've seen Herzog movies before, you know more or less what to expect: A weird atmosphere, a quite crazy character whom you'll still sympathize with, subtle strange and disturbing things happening all along, and when it all ends you find your eyes are slightly crossed and your mind very bent.

You'll see something not very unlike the insane "dancing chicken" ending of Stroszek and the interview with Grizzly Man's parents. There is also some absolutely amazing Hammond organ backed music here, live from the TV show - with some exceptionally passionate singers that will give you chills, one way or another! Herzog's choice of music is as always utterly fascinating - just like the rest of the movie.

Herzog fans can't miss this. If you don't know who the hell Herzog is, go see Grizzly Man - and return to this documentary once you're hooked.

(FYI if you decide to check this out, it's filmed in English but Herzog talks over and translates in German, not a distraction per-say but it would be interesting to see a version with it in English only, but alas this is all that's available on Tubi).

This is impactful because Herzog understands how to talk to his subject and to make someone who might usually be on his guard or just putting on another 'face' for the media as the firebrand he created for his show to be natural and therefore be... vulnerable, to an extent. It's hard to ever feel sorry for this sort of prototype of countless grifters and shysters fleecing money from the most gullible, but the entire surreal atmosphere of what this man is surrounded by in his studio, and how that contrasts (or is connected to) what he tells Herzog as his dissatisfaction with how his life has gone - sometimes in a TMI sort of way - makes one understand him completely, and you end the documentary with a far more complex portrait than would come about on any news program (even 60 Minutes, indeed).

I was engrossed in the light spectacle of those painfully white-bread Christian singers, and for all of Dr. Scott's bragadoccio and eventually rage against his supporters not sending enough money, compared to what we have today he is almost quaint. He's a classic firebrand of a demagogue, but he knows it and the self conscious understanding humanizes him (on the other hand, maybe 45 minutes is the limit to what one can fake of what he has to say, Herzog doesn't get too deep into what may be more xenophobic beliefs, and that's fine, the information about his *70* lawsuits against him is enough).

Suffice to say the F. C. C. Monkey Band set piece raised my rating a half a star. Herzog did not even have to set anything up, one of his great confoundingly surreal set pieces was someone else's unironic doing.