Discussion: Evaluating Documentary Films

Gary Garrison's Review of I am Chris Farley

Brian Tallerico's Review of Montage of Heck

Both of these articles are evaluating the same genre of film:

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record.^[1]

^Subgenre:

^{What kind of documentary films do they evaluate?}

Based on these two reviews, what types of criteria do we use to evaluate documentaries (or even more specifically, biographical documentaries about celebrities)?

In other words, what do reviewers look for in a good documentary?

What do reviewers look for in a good biographical documentary?

Gary Garrison's Review of I am Chris Farley

What value does he assign?

What is his thesis?

Clue words for critical evaluation

2 parts: what it attempts to do and what actually happens

Structure:

Paragraphs 2-4 (purpose)

Paragraph 5

Paragraph 6: further development of thesis/what do we expect in a biographical documentary?

Paragraph 7: Technical Level (what is the claim here?)

Paragraph 8 (conclusion)

In Brian Tallerico's Review of Montage of Heck, we see a different approach and a different evaluation argument.

Introduction: Why does Tallerico use narration?  How is it related to his overall purpose?

Thesis:

Paragraph 3

Tool: Classification

Typically documentaries about music icons take one of two approaches

Criteria

Paragraph 4: arrangement

Paragraph 5: content

Conclusion

Paragraph 6

     critical angle

Discuss Essay III

Preparation for film screening:

Introduction to Craigslist Joe