Documentary charting the life and career of Richard Burton.
I have never been entirely convinced as to the lofty position many have said Burton held. I had seen him at the cinema many times of course, including on several occasions, one of my favourites 'Where Eagles Dare'. He has indeed made a number of fine films giving strong performances with a record number of oscar nominations (equalled by O'Toole?). But he also made a great number of films that were either ok or plain naff - the bulk of his truly great films were made in the fifties and sixties.
This documentary therefore is a must see for anyone like me, that needed convincing that Burton was a great actor and a great star. The thing that is clear here is that Burton was first and foremost a great theatrical actor and this film demonstrates this ably with rare clips of his best stage performances as well as his best films - his range is indeed quite astonishing.
The film also provides often very amusing and occasionally touching anecdotes both by Burton and the many that loved him; and there are many. It is clear through these that he did lose his way a bit and whilst he admittedly enjoyed the riches, he spent too long away from his roots and doing things others wanted him to do. Ultimately all a bit sad really. This film does then show what a fine actor he was and what a huge star he was and interestingly for me that there are no real stars anymore - such days have passed.
