{"id":12565,"date":"2016-03-10T10:41:04","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T18:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=12565"},"modified":"2019-08-08T13:46:46","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T21:46:46","slug":"the-unmaking-of-stories-of-the-greatest-films-never-made","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/the-unmaking-of-stories-of-the-greatest-films-never-made\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unmaking of: Stories of the Greatest Films Never Made"},"content":{"rendered":"

The “making of” documentary has become a lively subgenre of nonfiction filmmaking, thanks in large part to the explosion of home video and the proliferation of cable channels in the past few decades. Once a purely promotional creation to run in theaters or on entertainment TV shows, the mix of behind-the-scene peeks, production footage, and cast and crew interviews have become standard items on DVDs and Blu-rays purchased by fans eager to devour every last detail behind their beloved films. From the five-minute puff piece to the epic three-and-a-half-hour <\/span>Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner<\/span><\/i>, it’s become part of the immersive cinema experience. (You can read more about some great Making Of docs in Scott Weinberg’s tandem piece “<\/span>Documentaries for Movie Geeks: Films About Films<\/span><\/a>,” on this very site.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Far less common but often more interesting is a relatively recent phenomenon of documentaries on<\/span> films that were never made<\/b>, an “un<\/em>making of,” if you will. Whether shut down in the heat of production due to outside forces or abandoned before even coming before cameras, these documentaries look at the creative energy that goes into the planning of a film and hint at what might have been. They also remind us just how complex making a motion picture can be, especially when passionate creators are engaged in a labor of love in the face of studio resistance, production setbacks, or financial troubles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are the stories of a few films that might have been.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Epic That Never Was<\/a><\/i><\/b> (1965)<\/b><\/p>\n

Made for British television, <\/span>The Epic That Never Was<\/span><\/i> looks at the ill-fated attempt by producer and aspiring British film mogul Alexander Korda<\/a> to turn Robert Graves’s novel <\/span>I, Claudius<\/span><\/i> into a lavish historical drama. Charles Laughton was to star in the title role as the stuttering member of the Roman ruling family who survived the reign of Caligula to became Emperor. Korda brought over American director Josef von Sternberg, a master of cinematic decadence, to suggest the culture of debauchery and excess of the period. As Korda clashed with the autocratic filmmaker over the direction and Laughton struggled to “find the man” in his portrayal, the budget spiraled out of control. When leading lady Merle Oberon was severely injured in an auto accident, Korda shut the production down to cut his losses. <\/span><\/p>\n