Being that I have an affinity for both documentaries and Tinseltown, it should come as no surprise that a mix of the two would get mostly a thumb's up from me. Recently, HBO aired a documentary feature on the bombs and blockbusters of Hollywood. Entitled (oddly enough) "Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters", the documentary touches on the subject of films that made it big as well as a few that didn’t fare so well. I say it gets mostly a thumb's up because it doesn’t offer as much as I would have liked about the subject. For the most part, "Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters" offers up a slew of interviews from some of Hollywood's top echelon of producers, directors and actors who all give their two cents about what having a hit (or a bomb) means to them. Plus we get to hear about some of the surprises from their resumes. In other words, films that were expected to fail but turned into gigantic hits (such as "Jaws") as well as those expected to do 'Boffo' at the box office only to fail miserably (like "Bonfire of the Vanities").

And while it is interesting to hear reminisces of such luminaries as Steven Speilberg, Richard Dreyfuss, and Morgan Freeman… I really wanted to see a documentary that gets to the heart of what makes a god or bad film. In many ways, the documentary shows us that most of the power people in Hollywood really have no idea, or in many cases the wrong idea, of what makes a film become a huge hit. And you can't count those who say it is the marketing that allows for the sale of millions of dollars worth of tickets in the first weekend, only to drop off by the next. We're talking about being in touch with the art of filmmaking in such as way as to be able to create something with longevity.

Still, even with this lack of a perspective, "Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters", still offers up some great Hollywood stories from some of Hollywood's most creative storytellers.

Directed by: Bill Couturie
Starring: Peter Bogdanovich, Charlize Theron, Steven Spielberg, Sydney Pollack, Danny Devito, George Clooney, Richard Dreyfuss, Pierce Brosnan
Extras: None
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: HBO
Release Date: 11/14/2006
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters a B-.