Whatever the cause, it has been a relief for the filmgoer. Robert Altman (quoted in Easy Riders Raging Bulls) says of the mid-Nineties, ‘Trying to find a picture to see, I went to the two multiplexes in Beverly Hills. Every single screen was playing Lost World, Con Air, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Face/Off. There wasn’t one picture that an intelligent person could say, “Oh, I want to see this.” It’s just become one big amusement park. It’s the death of film.’ It seems that film has risen from the dead.
Unfortunately The Sundance Kids reads as if having had the bright idea of the title, Mottram wrote his book to suit it. It makes a lifeless read — describing the genesis, the plot, the question of finance and the critical reception of each film becomes quite wearing. Especially since the days of coke-fuelled meltdowns, vodka binges and $5-hookers seem to be long gone — it’s all work work work these days. But whenever my interest flagged I was sustained by Mottram’s hilarious turn of phrase. Describing Reservoir Dogs as a film that ‘cracked the feminist movement with the butt of its gun’ was a favourite moment.
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