The Documentary Site

(formerly Reality Film)

Metallica: This Monster Lives

The cinema verite movement in the United States has received some academic attention through books such as Stephen Mamber's Cinema Verite in America, Dave Saunders's Observational Documentary and the Politics of the Sixties, and Jonathan B. Vogels's The Direct Cinema of David and Albert Maysles. While informative in their own ways, these books possess a critical distance from the production philosophy that drives a cinema verite documentary. With his book Metallica: This Monster Lives, Joe Berlinger bridges that gap.

Writing with Greg Milner, Berlinger reveals what went on behind the scenes in the making of Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Originally intending to make a promotional piece for the band, Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ended up chronicling Metallica as the band went through one of its most difficult periods both personally and professionally. Over the course of almost two and a half years, the band experiences James Hetfield's extended absence in rehab, conflicts with group therapy, and changes in the group's working dynamics and lineup -- all while trying to make a new album.

While Berlinger chronicles the film's production, he also reveals behind-the-scenes happenings, particularly in the group-therapy sessions and other business dealings. He offers snippets of dialogue, negotiations in editing and distribution, and relations between filmmakers and band members. He further reveals his relationship with his partner-filmmaker Sinofsky, not to mention the day-to-day business of a production as long as this one.

This book is a must for any fan of Metallica and even concert films, but it also provides some interesting insights into the philosophy of cinema verite filmmaking in practice. Berlinger discusses extensively the difficulties in remaining close to the truth of a particular situation while editing for time and coherence. The filmmakers made 1,600 hours of footage. Throughout the filming, they wondered what the footage would be used for -- the infomercial, a reality television series, or a feature film. This uncertainty raised even more questions.

Depending on the media outlet (late-night television, VH-1, or a movie theater), for example, the word "fuck" would need to be edited out. One particularly compelling scene found drummer Lars Ulrich spewing the word several times in Hetfield's face -- an important breakthrough moment in the band's therapy. Berlinger comments,

The 'fuck' scene is a perfect example of our approach to cinema verite filmmaking, which emphasizes a creative and nuanced interpretation of real life as opposed to a literal approach that emphasizes chronological accuracy. We find that a seemingly 'straightforward' presentation of facts often has the paradoxical effect of seeming less real to viewers, who can't watch all the dailies to find out the complete context of what they're viewing. In other words, strict adherence to chronology often obscures more than it reveals (158-159).

In chapter 15, titled "Madly in Anger," Berlinger provides a complete transcription of the therapy session as it happened and then highlights the moments edited together into the film. A short aside to the chapter discusses cinematographer Bob Richman's use of a wide-angle lens and how that lens allowed him to capture Ulrich and Hetfield arguing in one static frame instead of needing to pan back and forth. The aside also mentions Ulrich's thoughts on including a particular line that had been edited out of an earlier rough cut. Both the chapter transcription and these comments provide insight into cinema verite filmmaking in action. Though that chapter is the most extensive example, Berlinger offers similar insights throughout the entire book.

-- Heather McIntosh

My list for watching at least one documentary a week for an entire year