Babbleonia (2005)
*** (out of 4)
I can see a lot of people going into this documentary and coming out disappointed because of the topics actor Al Pacino covers. At just around sixty-minutes this film gives us a "look" into his acting styles but those expecting him to go through is movie roles will be disappointed as he basically talks about his time on the stage and how this led him into directing. This documentary was on a bonus disc in an Al Pacino Collection, which featured some of the actor's lesser known works. That's probably why it's not a conventional documentary but then again this is a subject that we really don't get to hear him discuss too much. Pacino goes into great detail about what the Actor's Studio in New York meant to him and he shows us the area where new actors would have to wait before being thrown onto the stage to give their audition. Pacino talks about some of his early roles on the stage, goes into what he doesn't like to do when working and countless other subjects. He tells a couple funny stories about various distractions that happened to him while performing on the stage and there's even a good bit about certain actors just not being able to do the stage and this is where he shares what Marlon Brando told him or said about the stage. There's a brief mention of DOG DAY AFTERNOON and LOOKING FOR RICHARD but that's pretty much it for the film work. I think BABBLEONIA is mainly going to appeal to die-hard fans of Pacino or those young actors who are trying to get into stage work. I'm sure they'll enjoy hearing some of these stories more than others.
