User reviews

Butterfly: The Steamy Saga of a Cult Classic (2008)

*** (out of 4)

Good, 45-minute documentary taking a look at the making of BUTTERFLY and its controversial release. Producer Meshulam Riklis, writer-director Matt Cimber and stars Pia Zadora and Stacy Keach are all interviewed about the making of the film. We start off with Riklis talking about trying to find his then wife Zadora a film project and then Cimber talks about knowing the James Cain story. From here we learn about the casting including an interesting fact that the director tried to get Marlon Brando who apparently read the screenplay but turned it down because "he couldn't fit into the truck." Keach then talks about taking on the role and the challenges that he found with it. We also get to hear stories about what it was like to work with Orson Welles and it's clear everyone loved and respected him even though he was going through some health issues due to his weight. Some of the most interesting stuff deals with the Golden Globes controversy where legend has it Riklis bought the award for Zadora but he says that wasn't the case. Hearing him and Zadora talk about this was quite interesting. Overall I found this documentary to be a lot better than the actual film but it's nice that the four main players are here to discuss the film. Fans of the movie or those just interested about the controversy surrounding it should find this documentary very much worth watching.