I was in the audience that day in May 1977 to see the opening of the first Star Wars film. I remember the build-up to it in the press, and the well-deserved hype afterwards. This film chronicles a young filmmaker's love of the craft and eventual entry into the industry - ignited by his viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
You might not have heard of Patrick Read Johnson before this film, which unfortunately is a self-indulgent puff-piece by a director with anaverage career. And while Johnson is no Spielberg, in this film he supposedly meets a young Spielberg, the latter being depicted as an annoying know-it-all.
As a director, Johnson ***should*** be aware of the importance of editing. Sure, this film took a long time to make, but Johnson is not objective enough to tightly edit his own story. At a little over 2 hours, the film really drags in the last hour. This could have been 90 minutes (tops) and still conveyed the same story and message.
Of course, there are few directors with enough fame (or vanity) to make their own biographical films. Spielberg did it in 2022 with The Fablemans, and Neil Simon and Philip Roth did it as writers (not as directors). Woody Allen does cherry-pick biographical bits to put in his films, but not a complete life story. Really, there just are not that many directors who do this - not Martin Scorsese, not John Huston, not Richard Donner, not Christopher Nolan, not Quentin Tarantino, etc. The list goes on and you can kind of see why.
First, a personal story like this does not always have wide audience appeal. Second, it may come off as a self-indulgent and vain. And third, if you aren't a household name (and sorry, Patrick Read Johnson just isn't), chances are the box office potential will be very low.
In the end, 5-25-77 isn't offensive but it does commit two cardinal sins - it is not memorable, and it is boring in parts. While some liked it, I'm glad I watched it at home and didn't pay for a ticket. I was close to Johnson's age and went through many of the same things he tried to depict in his film. But there are better and more well-known coming-of-age films already out there. His film just doesn't rise to that level. Sorry, Pat.
You might not have heard of Patrick Read Johnson before this film, which unfortunately is a self-indulgent puff-piece by a director with anaverage career. And while Johnson is no Spielberg, in this film he supposedly meets a young Spielberg, the latter being depicted as an annoying know-it-all.
As a director, Johnson ***should*** be aware of the importance of editing. Sure, this film took a long time to make, but Johnson is not objective enough to tightly edit his own story. At a little over 2 hours, the film really drags in the last hour. This could have been 90 minutes (tops) and still conveyed the same story and message.
Of course, there are few directors with enough fame (or vanity) to make their own biographical films. Spielberg did it in 2022 with The Fablemans, and Neil Simon and Philip Roth did it as writers (not as directors). Woody Allen does cherry-pick biographical bits to put in his films, but not a complete life story. Really, there just are not that many directors who do this - not Martin Scorsese, not John Huston, not Richard Donner, not Christopher Nolan, not Quentin Tarantino, etc. The list goes on and you can kind of see why.
First, a personal story like this does not always have wide audience appeal. Second, it may come off as a self-indulgent and vain. And third, if you aren't a household name (and sorry, Patrick Read Johnson just isn't), chances are the box office potential will be very low.
In the end, 5-25-77 isn't offensive but it does commit two cardinal sins - it is not memorable, and it is boring in parts. While some liked it, I'm glad I watched it at home and didn't pay for a ticket. I was close to Johnson's age and went through many of the same things he tried to depict in his film. But there are better and more well-known coming-of-age films already out there. His film just doesn't rise to that level. Sorry, Pat.