Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies


1h 42m 2008
 Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies

Brief Synopsis

Films clips and archival footage tell the story of the first great film star.

Film Details

Also Known As
Mary Pickford, The Muse of the Movies
MPAA Rating
Genre
Documentary
Biography
Drama
Historical
Release Date
2008

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 42m

Synopsis

Traces the life and work of the legendary silent film star, movie pioneer, and shrewd business woman who co-created United Artists Studios and was a major force in the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Pickford's life (1892-1979) also parallels an even larger story, the telling of the "birth of the cinema" itself. Mary, known as "America's Sweetheart" was the first actress to earn one million dollars during a single year, and the only star who has ever received a 50% profit share of her movies. Through restored vintage audio recordings, Pickford narrates much of her own story.

Film Details

Also Known As
Mary Pickford, The Muse of the Movies
MPAA Rating
Genre
Documentary
Biography
Drama
Historical
Release Date
2008

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 42m

Articles

Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies


Legendary silent film star Mary Pickford was far more than "America's Sweetheart." She was the original movie star - the first movie actor to get her name on a cinema marquee, the first to command a movie star salary, one-half of Hollywood's first royal couple together with husband Douglas Fairbanks, and at the height of her career, her fame was rivaled only by her close friend Charlie Chaplin. Pickford's legacy, however, reaches beyond mere stardom. She was a pioneering risk taker, a fine actress and an astute business woman who took control of her own career. She co-founded both the United Artists company and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and ultimately helped steer the course of the motion picture industry from its earliest inception.

Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies (2008) is a first-rate absorbing look at Pickford's fascinating life and career from her roots as a Canadian child actor in the theater to her death in 1979 at age 87. The examination of Pickford's extraordinary life becomes a lesson in the history of the movie industry itself. From the earliest filmmaking experiments with D.W. Griffith through Hollywood's development as a movie mecca and the tumultuous transition from silent to talking pictures, Pickford was front and center every step of the way.

Narrated by actor Michael York, Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies is a meticulously researched full-bodied portrait of Pickford that features illuminating film clips, home movies and rare behind the scenes footage. The film's biggest coup is that through the magic of restored vintage audio interviews, Pickford herself provides vivid voice over commentary throughout. Emmy-winning director Nicholas Eliopoulos got the idea to have Pickford narrate her own story when acclaimed film historian Kevin Brownlow gave him some audio tape interviews he did with Pickford while researching his 1968 book The Parade's Gone By. "In her latter years she did lots of TV and radio appearances," said Eliopoulos, "it was mostly a matter of locating this material, cleaning up the recordings and editing them to the images I had. I got material from the BBC, Australia, the Chaplin Foundation in Paris...and, of course, from the Pickford archives." Pickford's deeply personal insights throughout the film help bring the silent era to life with her unique wisdom, humor and clarity.

Nicholas Eliopoulos worked nearly 15 years to bring this labor of love project to life. His particular interest in Pickford began in the mid-1980s when he ran into Pickford's third (and last) husband Charles "Buddy" Rogers at an alumni event at their shared alma mater, the University of Kansas. "We hit it off," said Eliopoulos in a 2009 interview, "and Buddy and his wife, Beverly, kept inviting me to these octogenarian events. They'd get together, have a few drinks and start telling stories about old Hollywood. And when Buddy had me watch some of Mary's movies, I realized there was a great documentary here."

Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies premiered at the 35th Telluride Film Festival in 2008 to wide acclaim. "The visual quality is often vault-perfect, and the audio-only interview material with Pickford...offers a sense of her mental toughness and some shadings concerning her choices and regrets," said Variety. Leonard Maltin said, "This evocative film provides a rich and rounded portrait of Mary Pickford, whose significance in the history of film cannot be overstated. It's especially interesting to revisit key moments in Pickford's life and career through her own voice and words." IndieWire said, "Muse of the Movies is assembled with such thoroughness, respect and care you can't help but be awed by Pickford's remarkable achievements. Bursting with a plethora of clips from her films, gorgeous still photos, rare archival material...and more, for cinema history buffs, Muse of the Movies more than fits the bill as a warm look back at one of early cinema's biggest, brightest stars."



by Andrea Passafiume
Mary Pickford: The Muse Of The Movies

Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies

Legendary silent film star Mary Pickford was far more than "America's Sweetheart." She was the original movie star - the first movie actor to get her name on a cinema marquee, the first to command a movie star salary, one-half of Hollywood's first royal couple together with husband Douglas Fairbanks, and at the height of her career, her fame was rivaled only by her close friend Charlie Chaplin. Pickford's legacy, however, reaches beyond mere stardom. She was a pioneering risk taker, a fine actress and an astute business woman who took control of her own career. She co-founded both the United Artists company and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and ultimately helped steer the course of the motion picture industry from its earliest inception. Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies (2008) is a first-rate absorbing look at Pickford's fascinating life and career from her roots as a Canadian child actor in the theater to her death in 1979 at age 87. The examination of Pickford's extraordinary life becomes a lesson in the history of the movie industry itself. From the earliest filmmaking experiments with D.W. Griffith through Hollywood's development as a movie mecca and the tumultuous transition from silent to talking pictures, Pickford was front and center every step of the way. Narrated by actor Michael York, Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies is a meticulously researched full-bodied portrait of Pickford that features illuminating film clips, home movies and rare behind the scenes footage. The film's biggest coup is that through the magic of restored vintage audio interviews, Pickford herself provides vivid voice over commentary throughout. Emmy-winning director Nicholas Eliopoulos got the idea to have Pickford narrate her own story when acclaimed film historian Kevin Brownlow gave him some audio tape interviews he did with Pickford while researching his 1968 book The Parade's Gone By. "In her latter years she did lots of TV and radio appearances," said Eliopoulos, "it was mostly a matter of locating this material, cleaning up the recordings and editing them to the images I had. I got material from the BBC, Australia, the Chaplin Foundation in Paris...and, of course, from the Pickford archives." Pickford's deeply personal insights throughout the film help bring the silent era to life with her unique wisdom, humor and clarity. Nicholas Eliopoulos worked nearly 15 years to bring this labor of love project to life. His particular interest in Pickford began in the mid-1980s when he ran into Pickford's third (and last) husband Charles "Buddy" Rogers at an alumni event at their shared alma mater, the University of Kansas. "We hit it off," said Eliopoulos in a 2009 interview, "and Buddy and his wife, Beverly, kept inviting me to these octogenarian events. They'd get together, have a few drinks and start telling stories about old Hollywood. And when Buddy had me watch some of Mary's movies, I realized there was a great documentary here." Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies premiered at the 35th Telluride Film Festival in 2008 to wide acclaim. "The visual quality is often vault-perfect, and the audio-only interview material with Pickford...offers a sense of her mental toughness and some shadings concerning her choices and regrets," said Variety. Leonard Maltin said, "This evocative film provides a rich and rounded portrait of Mary Pickford, whose significance in the history of film cannot be overstated. It's especially interesting to revisit key moments in Pickford's life and career through her own voice and words." IndieWire said, "Muse of the Movies is assembled with such thoroughness, respect and care you can't help but be awed by Pickford's remarkable achievements. Bursting with a plethora of clips from her films, gorgeous still photos, rare archival material...and more, for cinema history buffs, Muse of the Movies more than fits the bill as a warm look back at one of early cinema's biggest, brightest stars." by Andrea Passafiume

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Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States on Video 2010

Released in United States on Video 2010