1992 - DIRK BOGARDE: BY MYSELF interesting documentary on screen acting

There are plenty of lame documentaries about film directors kicking around these days, here's an interesting one about an actor who actually sounds like he has a brain in him.

The English actor Dirk Bogarde, sat down for the BBC and talked about his career as a screen actor and it's actually pretty good talk.  He looks back at his early days as an actor when he was basically a pretty boy screen personality.  His comments on what it took to maintain this screen personality are very interesting as he talks about how he needed to wear his hair and dress to maintain his public persona.

Bogarde recognized early on that he needed to understand the fundamentals of filmmaking, so he spent time with the crews on his films, learning about camera lens, lighting and editing.  Bogarde apparently got along with most of the directors he worked with and his thoughts on, Visconti, Losey, and the very crazy Fassbinder are fascinating.

Bogarde didn't seem to  have much time for the method school of acting.  To be a professional film actor meant knowing his lines, showing up on time and not pissing anyone off.

Probably one of the better documentaries I've seen on film making.