Milius (2013)

[ShogunRua]

Going into this documentary, I was excited because of the subject matter. John Milius is one of my favorite writers and directors, an awesome, larger-than-life, brilliant talent who was largely blackballed from Hollywood because he was conservative. His life is a fascinating subject.

At the same time, I was also expecting the filmmakers to fuck it up, making Milius into too much of a cartoon, and claiming his politics had nothing to do with it. To their credit, they didn't. And while it wasn't completely perfect, Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson made perhaps the best documentary that I've ever seen.

Early on, Milius had already passed a major litmus test I have for any documentary. It had provided more, and deeper information than one would learn in 15 minutes of scouring the Internet. Similarly, the movie avoids sentimentality, focusing on telling the tale of its subject.

But most impressively, the documentary manages to convey a real sense of Milius's character. His independence, brilliance, and identity. He reminds me a great deal of Scaramouche from Rafael Sabatini's novel of the same name, which begins with the line "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."

One way the film manages this is to concentrate on interviews with Milius, his friends, and family. People who genuinely knew the man.

While certain aspects of Milius's life are either barely mentioned (his films after Red Dawn, his work on Rome) or even omitted (any of his three marriages), the movie does an excellent job with the portions it highlights.

Milius's friendships at both USC film school and throughout life with both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are fascinating, surprising, and illuminating. I would never have guessed that such completely different directors held Milius in such high regard, even stating that he was a superior talent to themselves. I have always been indifferent to Spielberg (he made some good films and some bad ones), but his genuine love and appreciation for Milius was touching.

The interviews with Coppola and Scorsese about Milius were largely what I expected, although entertaining nonetheless.

And when they do talk to someone who doesn't know Milius personally, the footage presented is still very worthwhile. An example is Matthew Weiner from Mad Men, who, despite being a New York liberal that despises guns, has a strong appreciation and deep understanding of the man's work.

We also hear some great stories, primarily ones relating to the film industry. In one instance, a friend recalls how Milius described, in considerable detail, an idea for a story he has to a woman who is a liaison for a major studio. At the end, she gets up, and informs him that it sounds poor, they have no interest whatsoever, and that Milius should try to think of something good. She then leaves. Milius turns to his friend and says "Well, I guess some people don't like Macbeth". The woman simply had no idea about the Shakespeare work, and yet there she was. A major decision-maker for a studio.

I won't spoil the other ones, but there is a quote from one of the interviewees that sums up the incompetence and pettiness of Hollywood; "executives with little talent have long memories".

There is also a real love for movies that shines through in the documentary. Not just from Milius and the other directors, but from the documentarians themselves, who frequently show relevant clips, mention facts, pictures, and inspirations. They also closely examine many of Milius' earlier, lesser-known works, which was a treat.

Some interviews in the movie do strike me as slightly ridiculous.

For instance, when Arnold Schwarzenegger, still the Governor during his interview, mentions that he doesn't believe Milius being conservative had anything to do with him black-balled, and that the only thing Hollywood cares about it is money. It's nice to think that way, and it's a polite, politically correct response from someone who probably didn't want to piss off Democrats in his position then, but it's also complete bullshit. Milius is far from the only conservative who has been black-balled. In fact, others have suffered even worse. Michael Moriarity, for instance, or Jerry Doyle.

Yes, Arnie wasn't punished too bad. That's because he was just liberal enough, and also such an enormous mega-star that he could get away with it. Ditto for Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn, and Clint Eastwood.

But it wasn't quite enough for Charles Heston past a certain point, one of the greatest actors ever, who was even booed at the Academy Awards "In Memoriam" after his death. That's the mentality of the town, and to blame it simply on Milius being a hard case is insane.

A great many directors are difficult for studios to handle. And while Milius is at least a genial, humorous, good-natured man fond of story-telling, no Hollywood director was/is a bigger, more abusive asshole than James Cameron. Yeah, the same Cameron who is the most successful director ever, and gets $500 million to make original IP pictures. Cameron is a genius, but so is Milius. It probably helps that Cameron is an enormous liberal.

Another ridiculous moment is when Oliver Stone, who co-wrote Conan the Barbarian with Milius (and yes, the documentary does mention the insanity of left-wing zealot Stone working with uber right-winger Milius and their friendship) states that John had little grasp on reality. To his credit, Stone does then say "I know that's funny coming from me". I agree with Stone there. An anti-Semite who believes in a vast Jewish conspiracy saying someone else doesn't have a proper grip on reality is indeed hilarious.

There is a point early on where Milius's son, who works as an assistant DA in Los Angeles, essentially calls his father a contrarian. I disagree with that notion. And so did Milius himself. In fact, there is an outstanding quote which I wish they had used in the documentary, since it dispels much of the confusion regarding his political views;

I’m not a reactionary — I’m just a right-wing extremist so far beyond the Christian Identity people like that and stuff, that they can’t even imagine. I’m so far beyond that I’m a Maoist. I’m an anarchist. I’ve always been an anarchist. Any true, real right-winger if he goes far enough hates all form of government, because government should be done to cattle and not human beings.

It's a phenomenal quote that succinctly explains his position.

Overall, as great as the documentary was, I wish they had delved just a bit deeper into Milius's character, and included some of those more illuminating quotes, instead of grabbing easy soundbites about him being conservative just because he liked to oppose prevailing attitudes.

But to their credit, they also deconstruct some of the legends that have built up around Milius over the years. For instance, the idea that he pointed guns at executives in meetings. Apparently, in one meeting, Milius had brought along a gun. He didn't point it at anyone, and that was the only meeting where it occurred. However, as with many legends, especially in gun-terrified Hollywood, it became altered into increasingly ridiculous versions in later re-tellings. Not that Milius entirely minded, of course!

The final credits are also a great montage of random factoids about Milius, such as him designing the Octagon for the UFC, or being an inspiration for Walter in The Big Lebowski.

Overall, while not entirely perfect, this is a hell of a documentary about a hell of a filmmaker. Highly recommended for all, even if you're not as big of a Milius fan as I am.

78/100

[hellboy76]

Nice write up.

I enjoyed this documentary too. Obviously I don't share his political leanings, and I think his "blacklisting" was as much as that he was off putting and a bit of an asshole, as much as his politics (or the perfect combination of the two). Either way, its ridiculous to think people like Charlie Sheen, a ticking time bomb of insanity continue to get regular work, and there are admitted child rapists (albeit talented ones) who honored by many, yet Milius is shuffled off to wither and die.

Sure, he could have simply not been overbearing with his views and avoided a blacklisting, but he stuck to his principles, so you have to admire it, even if you don't agree with it.

He was obviously talented, and all fans of film are short changed when someone with his skill is not allowed to practice it.

[ShogunRua]

Nice write up.

I enjoyed this documentary too. Obviously I don't share his political leanings, and I think his "blacklisting" was as much as that he was off putting and a bit of an asshole, as much as his politics (or the perfect combination of the two). Either way, its ridiculous to think people like Charlie Sheen, a ticking time bomb of insanity continue to get regular work, and there are admitted child rapists (albeit talented ones) who honored by many, yet Milius is shuffled off to wither and die.

hellboy76, I'll preface this by saying that I like and respect you a lot, but after reading your mini-review, I believe you misinterpreted/misunderstood the documentary. In fact, several parts of my review above were intended to dispel misconceptions (Milius being blackballed because he was a supposed "asshole", or the myth about him pointing guns at anyone) I found in your write-up, and which I'm sure other viewers had, too.

I'm especially confused by the "asshole" label. (Not that it's a reason to blackball anyone anyways, as both you and I pointed out above) Everything I have seen and heard about and from Milius indicates that he is the precise opposite of that. He is genial, warm-hearted (did you miss the story of Milius paying back the creator of Deadwood for his son's law school tuition when he didn't have to?), kind, and sticks up for others.

He has also shown an ability to befriend a wide range of people with beliefs diametrically opposite of his own. That's a gift assholes don't have. So why is Milius an "asshole"?

Sure, he could have simply not been overbearing with his views and avoided a blacklisting, but he stuck to his principles, so you have to admire it, even if you don't agree with it.

How do you believe he was "overbearing"? Most conservative-minded folks in Hollywood hide their political feelings, for (rightful) fear of being blackballed. Milius did not. He expressed his political feelings the same way that 95+% of Hollywood (the liberal portion) express theirs.

But that's not Milius being "overbearing" so much as Hollywood being a sick, repressive institution that seeks conformity, and punishes anyone who dares to think differently.

He was obviously talented, and all fans of film are short changed when someone with his skill is not allowed to practice it.

Indeed. In fact, looking through Milius's unmade scripts on Wikipedia, many of them sound like potential classics.

I'm especially intrigued by Milius writing "Jeremiah Johnson", even if they only used 60% of his script, as it's based on one of the most incredible historical figures of all time (who I became aware of thanks to the second entry in the Riverworld saga by Philip Jose Farmer), John "Liver-Eating" Johnson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver-eating_Johnson

"In 1847, his wife, a member of the Flathead American Indian tribe, was killed by a young Crow brave and his fellow hunters, which prompted Johnson to embark on a vendetta against the tribe.[2] The legend says that he would cut out and eat the liver of each man killed.[2][dubious – discuss] This was an insult to Crow because the Crow believed the liver to be vital if one was to go on to the afterlife.[citation needed] This led to him being known as "Liver-Eating Johnson". The story of how he got his name was written down by a diarist at the time.[citation needed] There were three Johnsons,[citation needed] nicknames were commonplace, and with Johnson's show of eating the liver, he received his name.

One tale ascribed to Johnson[1][2] (while other sources ascribe it to Boone Helm[3]) was of being ambushed by a group of Blackfoot warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to sell whiskey to his Flathead kin, a trip that would have been over five hundred miles (805 kilometers). The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow, his mortal enemies, for a handsome price.[vague] He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with only one, very inexperienced guard. Johnson managed to break through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a kick, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs.[dubious – discuss] He made his escape into the woods, surviving by eating the Blackfoot's leg, until he reached the cabin of Del Que, his trapping partner, a journey of about two hundred miles (322 Kilometers)."

[hellboy76]

I had never heard he pointed a pistol, only that he took it out and placed it on a desk. Knowing Milius is intelligent, would you think this move was like a teddy bear? It was calculated, or he was insane. In no large, legit place of business, would setting a pistol out during an interview be considered a good move for one's career. Nor should it. One's thoughts on gun possession and control aside, I would think most people would agree they do not belong on a desk during a business meeting.

George Lucas claimed he punched a teacher, and that his macho persona is a carefully, purposefully crafted image. This to me, struck a chord, since Milius dreamed of being a Marine and washed out due to medical issues. The guns, women etc. possibly being used to make up for that ultimate "manly failure"? Who the hell knows?

That makes him a bit overbearing to me, obviously you disagree. Asshole is something I used loosely because Walter, from The Big Lebowski is based on him. Walter is overbearing and an asshole. I may need to do more research there.

All I really need to know, is he wrote well, exceptionally well at times. His life story is interesting, no matter how it got to that point.

As for his unfinished works. I would LOVE for there to be a resurgence for him, and for some of these works to be made.

I need to rewatch Jeremiah Johnson.

[ShogunRua]

I had never heard he pointed a pistol, only that he took it out and placed it on a desk. Knowing Milius is intelligent, would you think this move was like a teddy bear? It was calculated, or he was insane. In no large, legit place of business, would setting a pistol out during an interview be considered a good move for one's career. Nor should it. One's thoughts on gun possession and control aside, I would think most people would agree they do not belong on a desk during a business meeting.

Not nowadays in the US, no. But for those who aren't frightened of guns, it's not that crazy. I also disagree that movies are a "legit place of business". They aren't now, and they sure as hell weren't back then. Beyond that, do you really want me to start digging up all the stories out there about big stars doing crazy shit, solely in production meetings? Milius showing a gun is incredibly mild, in context.

Regardless, none of this has anything do with whether he is an asshole or not.

George Lucas claimed he punched a teacher,

That was straight bad-ass, in response to an unjust, fucked-up decision on the teacher's part. I wish I had done that back in the day. Alas, it's too late now.

and that his macho persona is a carefully, purposefully crafted image. This to me, struck a chord, since Milius dreamed of being a Marine and washed out due to medical issues. The guns, women etc. possibly being used to make up for that ultimate "manly failure"? Who the hell knows?

I'm sure Milius himself would not disagree. He is very open about his aborted military career and persona.

That makes him a bit overbearing to me, obviously you disagree. Asshole is something I used loosely because Walter, from The Big Lebowski is based on him. Walter is overbearing and an asshole. I may need to do more research there.

Walter is a ridiculous caricature. Not the actual John Milius.

I would LOVE for there to be a resurgence for him, and for some of these works to be made.

Sadly, I don't see any possibility of that. While his Genghis Khan script might get made in some form, Milius is simply too old (and no longer able to work as a director because of the stroke) and Hollywood's sensibilities have changed too much.