Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick

A step above A&E's biographies in terms of celebrity interviews, production values, and rare footage, Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick documents the life of legendary director William A. Wellman (The Ox-Bow Incident, A Star Is Born), whose filmography consisted of 76 movies and 32 Academy Award nominations. Narrated by Alec Baldwin and featuring interviews with Hollywood figureheads--Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, James Garner, Sidney Poiter--Wild Bill pieces together the rollercoaster life Wellman lived, focusing on his early days as a WWI fighter pilot, followed by his 35-year directing career. Wellman comes off as a mercurial sort, but that's about as revealing as the filmmakers get. The rest seems entirely too schmoozy, for while Wellman may have been a good director, the documentary puts him on a pedestal, never once taking an objective stance. It's a bit too much, even for a Hollywood maverick. Recommended, with reservations. (L. Russo)[DVD Review—June 4, 2013—Kino, 93 min., not rated, $19.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1996's Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick sports a fine transfer, with extras limited to trailers. Bottom line: a welcome arrival on DVD for this solid documentary profile of a seminal American filmmaker.]