Friday, November 4, 2011

“My name is William Shatner and I was a Starship Captain. But I wasn’t the only one.”

The Captains, minus Chris Pine from the 2011 Star Trek movie.


Last night I had a chance to sit down and watch "The Captains" which is a documentary about all of the actors that played captains in Star Trek throughout the years. My biggest complaint is that I wish that William Shatner would have just been one of the interviews, not the one conducting the interviews with each actor.

The movie is filled with excellent interviews that shows many insights into the careers and lives of the actors beyond just the shows and movies they were in. That's what I'm into, yes I love a good performance, but more than that I love the behind the scenes stuff, seeing the human side of the actors and actresses behind the facade they toss onto the screen.

My other complaint with the film, is that I would have rather seen each interview in it's entirety, not have it split up and switch back and forth in several pieces the way it was shown. It's understandable to see them like this, the pieces are longer than can be expected, in today's TV the scene normally cuts away every few seconds because no one can focus on a static shot anymore. and I'm just as guilty as the next person.

The movie would have been much better with less Shatner, I'm not dissing the man, he deserves anything he wants to do, the man is a legend, but in this format it just doesn't work. I'd rather have a professional interviewer on screen all the time asking the questions, Shatner makes this more about him than about all of the actors.

Overall I enjoyed the interviews, but it could have been oh so much better with just a few tweeks.

6 comments:

  1. Maybe he did that on purpose, kinda playing on the image of him being egocentric and self-absorbed?

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  2. I don't think that's an image, I think it really is who he is. Kind of sad when you think of it.

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  3. So, did he become the character in a way or did he impress that upon the character?

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  4. I think he impressed it on the character. As long a career as he's had, he's still just insecure, and therefore acts really smug.

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  5. A confidence bluff of sorts? No wonder he did so good on Boston Legal

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  6. He basically played himself on that show.

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