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This is an interesting story, but I have no idea why there was a need for re-enactments. Interviews with the principals were sufficient to tell the story. Putting "behind the scenes" clips within the re-enactments was an absolute failure of production.

Fortunately, there is enough of the story to make the documentary worthwhile, but this should have been a lot better.

I remember when this was happening but at that point in my life, I was not interested in the whole affair. It was a good to see this documentary but I know there was so much more that should be in the story. It would been so much better without Baldwin. They should have used the time and money on more research and story telling.

The part of this film that is actual documentary is quite good. There are plenty of interviews with people directly involved in the story, a good deal of archive footage, and some history of DeLorean's career before he founded of his own automobile company.

Then there's the reenactments. They take away from the film as a whole; they're by nature difficult to pull off effectively, and here they feel like they're interrupting an otherwise well done and interesting film. Another issue is the son, and too much of him. He doesn't add much substantial insight, just an overuse of F-bombs and whining.

There's enough good material in this film to keep you watching until the end, but it would have been better as a traditional documentary. Unfortunately the filmmakers used the format they did. It's as if they created an obstacle in the way their own film.

1. Margaret thatcher did not just "pull the plug" on DeLoreans factory in N. Ireland -- The UK taxpayers had already lost 100,000,000 Pounds (well over half a billion dollars today) and none of the built cars were selling. DeLorean was found to be siphoning off tens of millions form that factory to off-shore accounts, and then to his own personal accounts. there is evidence that he bribed Labor Party officials who had set up the original deal to massively fund the debacle. (if you want to know more google Ivan Fallon's piece "The man who fooled the world). 2. The Delorean was profoundly unsafe vehicle. It was not political machinations that produced those results but every government and independent testing group. It was also never a performance car as promised. It was mediocre in acceleration, cornering etc with a couple of bottled on "innovations" that were not really useful at all (gull wing doors). 3. DeLorean was not "framed." He was heavily involved in drugs including parties where he provided them for a very long time. He was aware of what hardcore drugs do -- his own father died from a narcotics addiction and overdose. He was attempting to profit from something he knew firsthand destroyed lives. 4. The GTO was not his invention, nor was the Firebird. They were created by teams of hundreds of engineers and marketing experts. The scene were he is seen promoting it to an incredulous and unsupportive board is part of the BS he spun. GM knew of Ford's Mustang project and wanted their own muscle car.

Excellent subject for a documentary, and in the right places, an absorbing film. That said, the reenactments are out of place and just don't mesh with the whole. Here I am, enjoying some unseen archival footage and the film grinds to a halt while the actors break the fourth wall. Alec Baldwin sits in a makeup chair and goes over how he'll play this character in a coming scene. This is actually part of the movie. I have no problem with Baldwin playing the titular character, just make it a full-on biopic.

Still, I have no regrets watching this, and I'd probably do it again. The interviews from everyone involved are worth seeing. Hey, it's an unusual approach to a mythic American drama, that's for sure. But does it work? Ehh . . . .

Greetings again from the darkness. Hollywood is known for taking a real life person or event, embellishing the details, twisting the facts, and creating a fictionalized version meant to shock ... or at least entertain. John DeLorean lived a life that made it almost too easy for Hollywood, yet numerous attempts at a biopic have stalled over the years. Co-directors Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce were there to pick up the pieces and deliver a documentary with dramatized reenactments of actual (and hypothetical) moments. Co-writers Dan Greeney and Alexandra Orton assist with a cinematic version likely to cause those who recall actual events to marvel at the full story, and those too young to remember will likely find it difficult to believe ... or perhaps, sadly, all too believable!

The film provides the backstory where John DeLorean was a talented engineer at General Motors and became a star on the rise within what at the time was the world's largest corporation. Turning around GM's flailing Pontiac division by introducing the GTO as a muscle car, DeLorean's success was a mixture of technical knowledge, marketing savvy, risk-taking, swagger, and ambition. Despite his actions leading directly to higher profits and large executive bonus checks, the stodgy old school regime forced him out in 1973. DeLorean, seen as a swashbuckling rebel, started his own company, De Lorean Motor Company, with the unusual stated goal of mass producing exotic sports cars made of stainless steel.

The dramatizations and reenactments involve Alec Baldwin as DeLorean, Morena Baccarin as his (third) wife, supermodel Cristina Ferrare, and Josh Charles as Bill Collins, the chief engineer he 'stole' from GM. We even get a behind the scenes look as Baldwin discusses the role from the makeup chair, and Ms. Baccarin is interviewed on how she viewed Ms. Ferrare. These dramatizations cover possible conversations between DeLorean and Collins, as well as home life with Ms. Ferrare and the kids, and are more distraction than help.

More effective than these "what if" segments, are the actual interviews with the real Bill Collins, as well as others who were involved at the time. Unfortunately, we only see the actual Ms. Ferrare in clips, as she understandably wouldn't want to be relive this part of her life. However, their kids, Zach and Kathryn, are interviewed on camera. Both are quite forthcoming with their thoughts, recollections, and the impact of growing up as DeLoreans' kids. Zach carries his hostility on his sleeve, while Kathryn offers a bit more reticence. Both reactions are understandable, and 'the car vs the dad' discussions are fascinating ... and these interviews are the film's high points.

Opening with FBI footage of DeLorean's lie detector test administered in 1983, possibly the most interesting aspect from an overall perspective is the contrast between his trial for drug trafficking and his later trial for embezzlement. Despite his being a truly desperate man when he agreed to the drug deal, it seems quite obvious - as the jury found - that DeLorean was a victim of FBI entrapment (possibly the first time many of us had heard the word). In the aftermath of what was a media circus not dissimilar to OJ's trial, we do hear from both defense attorney Howard Weitzman and prosecutor Robert Perry as to how each viewed the case. However, the shell company in Geneva and the aspects to his embezzlement lead us to believe DeLorean's character was truly compromised - or possibly revealed.

From a business viewpoint, it was quite interesting to learn that DMC (De Lorean Motor Company) ended up being based in Belfast, Northern Ireland (a great trivia question) due to 30% unemployment and the large government subsidies meant to stimulate an economy in the dumps. The lack of infrastructure and a workforce with no automobile experience led to quality issues that were simply too great to overcome ...especially when combined with other issues on Planet DeLorean.

John DeLorean led a flamboyant life and experienced a very public fall from grace. Screenwriter Bob Gale explains how the DeLorean car was chosen for the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy, and how a letter from DeLorean showed how much he still enjoyed the spotlight. Was DeLorean a renegade visionary or a con man? Was he a victim or a cut-throat businessman? Whatever your thoughts, he's a textbook example of how the American Dream can come true, and still be followed by one's worst nightmare. Sometimes there is no need to print the legend ... fact will do just fine.

All the actors, the interviews of people that were there for/before JD's fall, the old footage of previous interviews of JD and his family, put together beautifully. Alec Baldwin is good at his craft. I appreciate his contribution, and his candor. What I don't appreciate is the son of JD. Like one reviewer stated, it's like serving a beautiful omelette, and then pouring a bottle of salt on it.

JD's son Zachary is that bottle of salt. That's what JD's son did to the film. Every other word is an F bomb. Yeah his life sucks, but at this point in time?? 40 years past the incident? His life is his own fault. Everybody's got traumas from childhood that we should be working past, or passed already. Zachary has decided to daily live through his trauma "when my mom got that call, my life changed" Everybody's life changed! And you're not the only one to suffer!

Unbelievable! His interview should have been in edited down to a minute at the most.

4/5.

Excellent subject for a documentary, and in the right places, an absorbing film. That said, the reenactments are out of place and just don't mesh with the whole. Here I am, enjoying some unseen archival footage and the film grinds to a halt while the actors break the fourth wall. Alex Baldwin sits in a makeup chair and goes over how he'll play this character in a coming scene. This is actually part of the movie. I have no problem with Baldwin playing the titular character, just make it a full-on biopic.

Still, I have no regrets watching this, and I'd probably do it again. The interviews from everyone involved are worth seeing. Hey, it's an unusual approach to a mythic American drama, that's for sure. But does it work? Ehh . . . .

I was fortunate enough to see this before it officially premiered and absolutely loved it. It was such a fun movie. The movie and story entertain in their own right, for sure, and even better, filled the void of my childhood ignorance with the story of what all the fuss was about back then.

John DeLorean's rise to the top of GM, and what he did there, is even more intriguing than this film has time to show - read the wikipedia entry. He had a lot of success early in life, took big risks and cut corners/used loopholes and angered people off by his showiness, yet somehow he took very stupid and dodgy moves after GM - it is surprising he didn't end up like Iacocca running a major company after leaving GM. Starting a mass production car company from scratch was a huge blunder.

A few factually errors/things I would note - he was acquitted of his second set of legal problems but the film never makes it clear..As a car buff, I cringed when some film footage of what was supposedly the GTO was shown - its actually a 1959 full size Pontiac (though later commercials show the right car), and they are wrong in saying that Chrysler was the last person to successfully start a car company in the 20s - Kaiser was successful in 1945 though the 60s (Kaiser Jeeps) then was sold off/merged into AMC..

Alec Baldwin is still clearly Alec Baldwin under the makeup, but maybe the choice of his is due to an anecdote near the end.

the DeLorean car was mediocre - its V6 was not really up to it being a sports car like a Corvette or Bricklin or even a 240z which was the best 2 door 6 cylinder car of the 70s. DeLorean's marketing genius failed him or else another company would have snapped up the tooling and moved production to Japan or Germany. Even if the car had still been around when Back to the Future was big it would hardly have been a big seller or commanded a high price.

Given all that, the movie includes a lot of information I never knew about, like the involvement of Colin Chapman that I would like to double check out to see how accurate it is.

The thing that is unusual and maybe a little disconcerting is them constantly showing the backstage/back of camera view of the re-enactments... and dressing room shots. I have never seen that approach before

For some reason they felt the need to insert Alec Baldwin for dramatizations, padding out the story instead of going into any depth it felt like a promo for a movie instead of a documentary.

A tightly-edited, fast-moving documentary tracking DeLorean's rise and fall in the hyper-competitive world of auto manufacturing, this movie tells a story that resonates in today's world. How did he rise to become a rock star within GM? Why did he leave at the peak of his career? How much did he and his new company accomplish in record-setting time before the venture ended? And what were the consequences of his quest? We very much enjoyed learning the insights shared by those who were there at the time as well as those of the historians. Alec B. brings a special connection into play and it all works well! Care to compare and contrast John D. with today's mavericks/entreprenuers in the business world? And understand how such people affect everybody around them? Then you'll need to watch this movie first.

Combination of documentary and docudrama (with Alec Baldwin portraying DeLorean in the re-enactments), depicting the tumultuous life of John DeLorean.

The enigmatic and chameleon-like persona of DeLorean comes through on the screen as he moves from GM rising star, to establishing his own auto company featuring the DeLorean (forever etched in history in the classic film "Back to the Future"), which would have plans to mass produce the sports car in Northern Ireland.

We also see, when his company was under severe financial distress how DeLorean turned to raising quick cash with an illicit drug deal. However, the deal became part of an FBI sting, leading to his arrest and one of the most watched trials of the twentieth century.

The movie will also take the time to illustrate the effects of DeLorean's checkered life on his family and later the cost to himself as well. All in all, I thought the film was a well documented and interesting look a man who will forever hold a place in American history.

Baldwin's make-up, particularly those horrendous eyebrows, is so badly done that I can't take pay attention to anything else during the reenactment scenes. Those eyebrows are halfway up his forehead! The real Delorean has quite low eyebrows. Baldwin looks like a freak. His make-up artist should, obviously, be shot. I just cannot comprehend how this was ok'd all the way up the line.

From watching this there's always two sides to ever story. This film lets you decide on what side you want to take.

I watched this after watching Driven, the movie that eventually was made about this story, and I'm glad I did it to see what really happened. I liked the way this movie was made, using interviews with some of the participants and reenactments for some of the scenes, and it even goes a step further with a sort of making of of said reenactments. A strange structure that worked for me. That being said this movie also has some of the sins that plagued the movie, which is stranger in a doc, as it over glorifies some of the merits of DeLorean (the invention of the GTO, for example) and never tries to dig further than the official trials to unravel the real truth (his involvement with drugs is very sketchy to say the least). Still a solid doc on a very good real life story.

I wish this movie had not been an hour and fifty minutes long! The last fifty minutes becomes boring because it is easy for the viewer to see where the story leads.

Plus the dramatic acting adds nothing to the historical facts in this mans life. If you don't know who John DeLorean was this movie may be informative but still this movie is just too long because, as stated above, you can see the sorry end way in advance.

If you're not totally familiar w/this story from older docs, news, etc. then the doc part of this docudrama more than adequately will fill you in on this remarkable swing from creative genius? (decades ahead of his time) to criminal activities and finally how his life ended up. Good actual footage & family interviews make it real & personable. The dramatic part was OK, but to me didn't add that much. DeLorean could have used some advice from current wealthy politicians on which lawyers to hire who would know best how to hide the greed (e.g. overseas).

I love the docudrama style, mixing real life video with actors.. I thought made for a very interesting movie...

There were elements of this where I expected a lot more -- for instance the car factory barely gets a mention. The whole thing needed compressing to about a quarter of its length, it seemed to go on forever.