Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 12/19/2000
Dubbed: English
Distributor/Studio: First Run Features
Originally presented to an unsuspecting New Zealand public as the real deal,
Lord of the Rings director
Peter Jackson's masterful
mocumentary initially proved so convincing that unsuspecting viewers bought it hook, line, and sinker. A remarkably detailed look at the life of early filmmaker
Colin McKenzie (
Thomas Robins), the film traces the life of the young innovator as he makes incredible advances in the realm of cinema years before they are generally though to have occurred. From
McKenzie's creation of the first "talkie" in 1908 (the first true sound feature is generally considered to be 1927's
The Jazz Singer) to his creation of the first color film three short years later (which is generally considered to be 1922's
The Toll of the Sea), the discovery of the remarkable advances made by him would forever change the face of film history. With
Jackson himself providing commentary on the importance of the recent "discovery" of
McKenzie's lost
epic Salome -- which was preserved in a garden shed for nearly a century -- the significance of this "lost film" is further cemented by interviews with such notable film figures as
Miramax's
Harvey Weinstein and film critic
Leonard Maltin. As
McKenzie's rise and eventual downfall is documented through the use of newspaper articles, still images, and rare behind-the-scenes footage of
Salome, the viewer is drawn into a remarkably staged ruse that is so effectively executed that it even includes interviews with
McKenzie's "wife,"
Hannah (
Beatrice Ashton).
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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