Erich von Stroheim

Erich von Stroheim was one of the most unusual and enigmatic filmmakers and actors in history and it's surprising more films haven't been done about the man. However, it's fortunate that "The Man You Love to Hate" was made back in 1979, as it really does a great job of presenting the guy and his very sketchy life. What I mean by sketchy is that the guy came to America long ago and completely re-created himself...giving himself a new name that spoke of an aristocratic upbringing which was certainly NOT the truth. He also created an imagine of an Austrian military man, though there's no evidence that he ever served! Overall, he was quite a liar-- something not at all unusual in the history of Hollywood! However, what is unusual is how successful he became as well as how he sabotaged his career again and again by his excessive style of filmmaking.

This film was made over two decades after von Stroheim's death...but fortunately does have some audio commentary by the man himself. In addition, there are interviews with many film industry folk--people who now have died long ago. Together, they weave an interesting look of the man and his genius and serious characterological deficits. It also looks at his career post-directing which was also very, very interesting....and offere a few surprises. Always interesting and well worth seeing for any fan of the classic era of Hollywood. The only reason I didn't give this one a 10 is the poor way it handled the man's love life. They talk about one wife and how much he adored her...and never mention that he was married 4 times...and only alluded to the fact he left her for another woman.

By the way, this documentary is included along with von Stroheim's film "Foolish Wives" and is a DVD well worth having.

Not really an accomplished documentary (its focus is blurred and it skimps on details), it does at least provide a lot of useful information on the supremely unlikely life of the fascinating writer/actor/director/persona Erich von Stroheim. Probably best known as a visionary, extremely controversial director who got his start in Hollywood under D.W. Griffith, and later on for poignant roles in the classics "The Grand Illusion" and "Sunset Boulevard" playing characters who are proud relics of an earlier time; I was amazed that the number of films he acted in dwarfed the number he directed by about 5 to 1. This film explores, though not in enough depth, how he set the standard for perfectionist, studio-battling, chronically over-budget directors who REFUSE to make any compromises for their art, and see their careers and legacy suffer because of it.

It also shows how this extraordinary man, whose origins are a total mystery, had more comebacks and ups and downs than John Travolta. He had, by my count, at least five different incarnations spanning a 40 year career in the movies. ONE, as an assistant director/bit player for Griffith. TWO, as a conveniently German bad guy ("The Man You Love to Hate") in anti-German propaganda flicks at the end of WWI. THREE, and perhaps most notably, as a prestigious and commercially successful director of ambitious silents in the 1920's (in which he also sometimes starred) - of which his severely truncated "Greed" is still regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. FOUR, as a stock villain in B Pictures in the early 30's - after Hollywood finally became exasperated with his increasingly unpredictable antics as director and decided he couldn't make the adjustment from Silents to Sound. Then FIVE, as a celebrated actor in France of all places, where he lived out his days as a beloved figure, and also found time to accept a significant supporting part in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" - enjoying one last burst of American acclaim, ironically and poignantly portraying a once great director of Silents who has been reduced to being butler to a washed up movie star.

Offers a glimpse at this remarkable subject, but really needed to be an hour or so longer to truly do him justice.

Man You Loved to Hate, The (1979)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Short but effective documentary takes a look at the career of Erich von Stroheim who early on was labeled the man who love to hate. The film follows von Stroheim's earliest days as an extra on THE BIRTH OF A NATION to appearing in Griffith's HEARTS OF THE WORLD. We then follow his directorial career, which would often deliver films that haven't been seen in their original form as the director would usually deliver items that were much too long or too controversial to release on their own. We hear how FOOLISH WIVES, GREED, THE WEDDING MARCH and QUEEN KELLY were all taken from him. We learn about his BLIND HUSBANDS remake was canceled before it could even start filming. When von Stroheim's directorial career came to an end he turned to low budget studios for acting jobs before heading to France where he'd become a star again. I think the moral of this documentary is that you could look at von Stroheim as some sort of tragic figure but everything bad about his career was brought on by himself and his actions. It's rather amazing to see how someone could be in such demand only to eventually be thrown out of every major studio. It's amazing to see him get "one more chance" and need to prove himself only to burn the studio giving him the second chance. There's no question that von Stroheim was an interesting figure and for the most part this documentary delivers the goods. At just 78-minutes we don't get a lot of details but we at least get to hear from those who worked with him and we even hear from his ex-wife and the woman who was with him at the end of his life. We also get to hear from a couple people who saw some of his complete films before they were taken away by the studio. I'm sure a more detailed documentary could be made today but considering when this thing was made it's quite excellent and gives you a terrific look at this troubled man.

Documentary about the infamous director Erich von Stroheim that was made in the 1970s, when many of those who worked with the man were still alive to give interviews. It gives a brief overview of his most famous films, and will be interesting enough for those with little knowledge of the man, but anyone looking for an in-depth analysis of Stroheim and his work will be disappointed.

One of the "viewer reviews" here suggests that this documentary's focus is "soft", without explaining why, and that it "skimps on details" about a man "whose origins are a total mystery".

In fact, the film actually shows Stroheim's birth certificate, documenting that he was a Viennese Jew without any 'von' attached to his surname. We know who his parents were and a photograph of his mother is shown in the documentary. Later, producer publicist Paul Kohner, himself Austrian, who collaborated with Stroheim and had plenty of opportunity to speak German with him, testifies that Stroheim spoke German with a low-class Viennese accent—and names the Viennese district he sounded to be from. We are also told that Erich Stroheim came to America in 1909, at age 23.

I'd say all that's plenty about his origins.

The documentary then adopts a factual, step-by-step chronicle approach to the man's life, without cute theses but plenty of interesting information contributed by a goodly number of interviewees who knew and worked with him, including his widow and the Frenchwoman who shared life with him during his last decade, in France.

Many, many clips and stills, including work that has not survived, are fascinating indeed and otherwise utterly unobtainable..

Although the KINO DVD presentation of this 1979 documentary, which accompanies their FOOLISH WIVES, has not been restored and looks somewhat faded, I can only call this a top-notch contribution on a really major figure. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.