Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story" is an American English-language documentary that premiered back in 2017 already and looking at the awards recognition writer and director Alexandra Dean received recently, this could (maybe also at the Oscars) be one of the big players from the documentary genre in months to come. It runs for 1.5 hours and as the (not too perfect) title gives away, this is a film that focuses on successful actress Hedy Lamarr. There is one secntence that describes the film fairly well in my opinion, namely that she never was as big as Garbo or Dietrich, but a legend in her own right. We find out a whole lot about her life, her struggles with husbands and how none of all these could live up to how much she adored her father. Interestingly enough, there is no real reference about her mother. Then we get a great deal of information about her career, her glory years after leaving Germany during the Nazi days for the US and how she became irrelevant quickly before having a great comeback with Cecil B. De Mille and then moving back into oblivion again, her struggles with money and the lack of connection with her adopted son. Interviewees include children and grandchildren from her as well as long time friends. But the one area that makes a difference here compared to every other mediocre biography documentary is the technical aspect, the talk about Lamarr being an extraordinary inventor and one thing she failed with, namely the Coca Cola capsule drink stayed in mind as much as her far more technical developments that did not make an impact during the years of war due to the ignorance of a few, but were groundbreaking from today's perspectiv in the communication industry. And even if I am not really interested in technologiy at all, it made me happy to see her receove the recognition eventually still before her death and when we see her son accept this invitation, it is a really special moment when the phone rings while he is on stage. Moving decades back, there is no denying what a stunning beauty Lamarr was and yes it may have had a negative impact on her intellectual work. Anyway, the highglight is probably the long quote by Lamarr at the very end that I found really touching about forgiving people their weaknesses in terms of how they treat others. Lovers of the old movie days will find a great deal of joy in here too with many references about the Lamarr film Ecstasy that was such a trail blazer for her career in a positive as well as negative way. So I think Dean did a fairly good job here overall and looking at how she is far from an experienced filmmaker, it is even more impressive what she has managed to come up with here. I also liked the many interesting Howard Hughes references. So obviously, I give this film a thumbs-up for sure and recommend checking it out. A definite contender for 2017's finest when it comes to film on film. See it.
sarahtmassoud
I am aware that this will be an unpopular opinion, but maybe someone else agrees with me:"I want to sell my life story to Ted Turner." This is one of the first quotes we hear from Hedy. I was open to learning about this woman's life because I love biographical documentaries, however the tone of this seemed very contrived.
She wanted so badly to be a famous movie star. She went about this by having risqué photos taken and putting her best dresses and jewelry on while strutting about to gain that attention. Then when her plan works out for her and she's got what she wanted, she is dissatisfied because people don't appreciate how intellectual she is... I'm sorry but she comes off as an obnoxious, unhappy brat to me. And I don't buy it that she "invented" all these groundbreaking technologies.
Puff piece
korevette
This is a wonderful documentary about the woman of the century..As an Imigrant, citizen later ( 1953 ) she contributed so much to this country, especially during the war years. Selling war bonds more than any other person at that time, invented a frequency hopping product to sink German U-boats during WW2., plus used during the '60's Cuban crisis, when we almost went to war with Russia. Because of her outstanding beauty, she was more admired for it, than her brains, so she wasn't taken seriously even with a patent on her invention. Susam Sarandon, co-producer said in an interview, that her story really should be made into a major motion picture, for what she did, and went through, while living in Europe during her younger years. In the DVD version, there are extras, with more in depth info from Mel Brooks, who was asked why he used her name as the butt of a joke in his movie, "Blazing Saddles". ..and more interviews. I was so taken by the DVD, that when it was shown for the first time on PBS's, "American Masters", I had to watch it again. Of course, you do not get to see any extra's as on the DVD. Till this day, I do not see why this woman hasn't even been put on a US postage stamp icon...but, you do see on occasions, other less accomplished celebs, and even Mickey Mouse .
solanokiedaisch
This documentary exposes the frequent problem of physical beauty obscuring talent and intellect. Ms. Lamarr was clearly a very talented person with much more to offer than something pretty to look at. Her inventive contributions should be given their due respect and appreciation. The documentary does a great job of conveying her personal dilemna in marketing what society would deem as valuable from a woman while struggling to make a lasting contribution to humanity beyond being a superficial object of physical beauty. Her later years demonstrate the deep impact that objectification has on women and society. How many great inventions and discoveries has humanity lost by shackling the potential of half its populations. Fascinating life and documentary.
