Fresh on the heels of the theatrical Renee Zellweger biopic of Judy Garland comes this remarkable documentary that focuses specifically on the years that she was married to businessman and producer Sid Luft. Indeed, this story is a lot more raw and unvarnished than the Zellweger affair. This is mostly due to the fact that virtually all of the documentary material comes from the archives of Luft himself.
Apparently, at some point, Luft became convinced somebody was going to sue him. As a result, he started to save correspondence and tape recorded phone conversations. All of this stuff got saved in some San Fernando valley warehouse and it was made available to the filmmakers. As a result, you get a very candid and often unnerving look at the union between Sid and Judy. Plus it's a great expose of the TV business as there are plenty of terse conversations with CBS brass over the ill-fated "Judy Garland Show" that aired in 1963.
Moreover, back in the mid 60s, Judy decided she was going to write her memoirs and she started talking into a tape recorder. That audio is also available here and frequently fascinating as Judy is often drunk during these recordings.
Most assuredly, the marriage of Luft and Garland had its peaks and valleys both creatively and personally. Out of that relationship, we got the wonderful "A Star is Born" and the aforementioned TV show. But we also see and hear the usual dramatics tied to a celebrity marriage starting to spin out of control. Indeed, there are heroes or villains. Both Sid and Judy come off well...and badly.
If you're a Garland fan...or even not, please check out this terrific documentary on Showtime. Even I learned some things I never knew. This is truly the mark of good documentary film making.
LEN'S RATING: Four stars.
Dinner last night: Ravioli.
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