Ciupka: A Filmmaker in Transition

Ciupka: A Filmmaker in Transition (1983)

*** (out of 4)

This rather interesting featurette can be found on the Synapse release of the 1983 slasher CURTAINS. This featurette was shot on the set during the 1980 shooting schedule and it's basically an introduction to director Richard Ciupka. We see him on the set working with the cast and crew and we also get bits of information on how he got in the director's chair after years in the business.

What's so fascinating about this film is that it was shot by a group of people hoping that the film would be some sort of major success and they'd have this behind-the-scenes footage to show how it was done. Well, no one knew it at the time but the film turned out to be a complete and utter disaster that would be in production for years and fall into an even more troubled post-production where the director pretty much had the film taken away. It's interesting knowing the history of the film and then seeing a time during production where no one knew how much worse it was going to get. We get interviews with Ciupka throughout and you can't help but feel bad for him considering what was to come.