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Obit. Reviews
Interesting film. In a more perfect world, where I wouldn't have to prioritize the various activities I engage in so much, I'd have been happy to watch it all. But I watched the first half hour of if and enjoyed it very much.
This is an excellent doc. It focuses on the art and craft of obit writing, which should grab the interest of anyone who admires those as they are written in The NY Times and periodicals such as The Economist. It periodically presents some of these obits, and while taking in the details of the lives of those who died, it provokes a lot of self-reflection, as good obits tends to do.
My kind of documentary -- thoughtful about a lot of different things, mostly from oblique angles. Interesting people, and a subject that I really hadn't given enough thought to before seeing this. Really enjoyable to watch.
Fascinating and thought provoking.
"Everyone is going to die." said a obit writer for the NYTimes. This entertaining documentary reports about the obit writers and the research that goes into the writing. Some obits are there just waiting for the "end" and last details. The selection of who becomes an important obit in the NYT is fascinating. The documentary follows the shaping of the obit of the man who primed JFK for the first tv debate in 1960. It was felt that his maneuvering helped JFK look so good on tv and, as JFK felt, won him the 1960 election. Fascinating movie.
Surprisingly funny and touching film - the wriers are increcibly smart and clearly dedicated to the job. We should all be so lucky as to have our obits written up by this crew!
SERIOUSLY in need of editing! Interesting material, but disorganized and sloppy all the way through.
No small task taken by these journalists: to write a person's history upon their death. At the New York Times newspaper, several writers do just this task! While this appears to be a morbid documentary film, director Vanessa Gould takes us on an entertaining journey from death notice to published obituary. We see how the lives of these newspaper writers unfold to write a worthwhile story about a person whose impact on history warranted pause and reflection. I highly recommend this smart and intriguing glimpse of how obituaries are written and lives remembered.
Brilliant documentary about newspaper journalism in the age of the internet, and (the unexpectantly interesting) work of writing obituaries. Gives a lot to think about.
On May 20, in Miami Beach, I was in the O Cinema, enjoying watching the movie, realizing it was no just about death, but about giving a second chance at life to famous obituaries and dead stars in their graves. So, it is a eulogy. It is well worth the cost of the ticket.
Way less interesting than I expected! Not funny, usually dull, occasionally summarizing an interesting person's life. Journalism is almost dead, no reason to discuss its finer points.
Certainly a niche-within-a-niche film. "Obit" and it's meditations on work, journalism, mortality and history are compelling juxtaposed against ithe uncertainty of the newspaper journalism and its own uncertain future.
The narrative never finds its grove and the pieces feel disparate. Listen to the NPR interview instead.
'Obit', provides a behind the scenes look at every aspect of what it takes to get in the NY times obituary section, and the people who make those decisions. If you are the kind of person who likes documentaries with unfettered access you'll probably enjoy this. Not for everyone, and certainly a bit morbid, 'Obit' covers the process from top to bottom and leaves few if any stone unturned. Perhaps a bit long and redundant at moments, but overall an entertaining journey into something few people know anything about. Final Score: 7.2/10
The simultaneous obsession and repulsion that people have with death and its consequences is a fascinating one. The dead themselves have a section of the newspaper, but given the celebrity status that they often share, those writing about their lives seen given much credit. The decisions of what person deserves a front page treatment, whose impacts were quantifiably greater, whose lives most people would rather read about, and the intimidating sense of agency that goes along with being one of the first to put a period on someone else's life are explored in Obit. to varying degrees of success. Although it has structural issues due to its often lacking adequate connective tissue to make difference sequences gel and flow together, it's also engaging and generally well paced, technically well made, and dryly--yet respectfully--funny. The documentary looks at obituary writers for The New York Times who have written about people including but not limited to Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Ebert, and Whitney Houston. They recount their experiences with the unpredictability and heightened stress that accompany their work, the stigmas that they face due to their profession, the flaws in their pieces and subsequent consequences, and the general process of encapsulating an entire person's life often in 500 to 800 words with just a few hours. It's a contained film, operating almost exclusively within the offices of the Times save for the locations of a few talking heads, and skillfully edited to combine archival footage and material the correspond to the material being discussed. The subjects are fascinating to listen to in their dissection of the gravity of their work and how what they do on a daily basis forces them to see others' mortality in addition to their own, and it's presented in a way that manages to highlight their humor in a digestible and consistent way. In fact, the film itself makes for a solid parallel to the writers showcased, for better and for worse. For a while, the like-clockwork filmmaking makes for a brisk viewing. It covers its bases effectively and does a good job at seeing the inherent interest of the topics at hand. However, the more it goes along, the more it starts to wobble at times, as if the structure and planning of the collected interviews were a tad rushed. There often times isn't enough material to transition from sequence to sequence and the overall film feels like a sequence of vignettes at times instead of a fully strung together documentary feature. There was one moment in which revisions in the film's structure could have been quickly made, as if the fix would be the filmmaking equivalent of copying an earlier paragraph and pasting it into a later section. Also, while the movie is consistently watchable and does command the audience's attention in a modest way, there are a few bits that seem less compelling than others, which is another consequence of structural flaws. Nonetheless, Obit. is about as oddball but accessible as it would appear to be, benefitting from great talking heads and editing that gives the movie a sense of pop without sabotaging its own credibility or tone, both of which are wholly consistent. It teems with life, even if that energy may appear to be misplaced at times. 7.3/10, pretty good, B, above average, etc.
Not as hard-hitting as Page One, but neverthless a must-see. Fascinating, soulful but also funny.
Solidly made, informative, interesting, & entertaining.