Movies About the Making of Movies

This Sunday’s episode of Sounds of Cinema will feature a review of Saving Mr. Banks, which dramatizes the difficult collaboration between author P.L. Travers and Walt Disney in the effort to adapt Travers’ book Mary Poppins into the 1964 motion picture.



Here is a look at other films that dramatize (and sometimes largely fictionalize) the making of famous motion pictures.

Baadasssss!
This dramatization of the making of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song stars and was written and directed by Mario Van Peebles, whose father Melvin was the writer, director, and star of the original film.


Hitchcock
A dramatization of the making of Psycho with Anthony Hopkins in the title role. The film is pretty straightforward and generally a flattering portrait of the filmmaker but it's also fun, especially for those who are already familiar with the 1960 picture. 


The Girl
Another film about a Hitchcock production, 1963’s The Birds. This film is far more intense than Hitchcock and is far less flattering about its subject. The Girl portrays Hitchcock as a cruel and obsessive bully who terrorized his lead actress, Tippi Hedren.


Shadow of the Vampire
Based on the making of the silent-era classic Nosferatu, a film crew is gradually destroyed by the star of their film who is actually a vampire.


Ed Wood
A biographical picture about legendary director Ed Wood. The film dramatizes several of his productions, most notably Plan 9 from Outer Space.


The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
This picture dramatizes the career of British actor Peter Sellers, played by Geoffrey Rush. The film mostly focuses on Sellers’ many marriages but also his many memorable characters for films like The Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove, and Being There.


RKO 281
This dramatization of the making of Citizen Kane emphasizes the struggle between filmmaker Orson Wells and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The story was also told in the excellent documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane.