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By
WADE GOSSETT
Ross McElwee's 1986
documentary "Sherman's March" is considered a
classic, and was a much awaited DVD release. I saw
it originally on PBS, sometime in the late '80s or
early '90s, and I remember it as being one of the
funniest things I've ever seen.
McElwee had received funds to make a documentary
about General William Tecumseh Sherman's march
toward the South during the Civil War, and the
devastation he caused -- not surprisingly, for
many in the South for whom the war has not ended
and never will, Sherman remains a figure of
intense hatred.
So, why would a documentary about Sherman be
funny? Well, because it's not really about Sherman
after all. Having been unceremoniously dumped by
his girlfriend, McElwee turns his camera on
himself as he travels the South looking for love
-- and sort of finding it. His droll narration is
part of the fun. The other part is listening to
mostly vacuous, and occasionally terrifyingly
obtuse Southern women talk about all manner of
serious things, from the fear of nuclear holocaust
to religion. And then there's a very funny subplot
about trying to interview Burt Reynolds that ends
up in a bizarre encounter on the set of "The
Cannonball Run."
While I still had fun with McElwee, I must admit
that I did not have the same reaction this time
around. Perhaps it is because the element of
surprise is no longer there. Perhaps it's because
the fear of nuclear holocaust due to a war between
the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. is now quite quaint.
Perhaps it's McElwee himself, who now strikes me
as too self-involved and ponderous instead of
refreshingly candid. I don't know. I still
recommend this as a classic documentary comedy,
but it is no longer one of the most viscerally
funny things I've ever seen.
The DVD includes an McElwee bio, a photo gallery,
a letter by Sherman to the mayor of Atlanta
explaining, politely, that he intends to burn the
city to the ground, and a more recent interview
with McElwee that updates us on his life -- he's
now married and has kids, and we find out that his
attempt to make a happy movie about finally
finding wedded bliss ended up being about personal
loss and problems. |
