The Last Movie Stars, about power couple Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, also proves a devastating portrait of an era
As it turns out, watching The Last Movie Stars is an extraordinary experience. As a documentary, it’s different in form to, the eight hours of recut studio footage from the Beatles’ 1969 recording session. The Last Movie Stars is a more conventional project, with commentary and talking heads intercut with archive footage from Newman and Woodward’s filmography. And yet the depth of the material and the sheer boldness of the show’s length invite a similar sense of immersion to Get Back.
Of course, there’s a huge added frisson that comes from stars playing stars. When Newman discusses the vicissitudes of fame, you know that Clooney, conveying the actor’s words in his own unmistakable voice, is applying all the insights to himself. The series also captures an era in which, as Vidal puts it, one saw “the end of movies as the universal art form”.