Chapter 6 Recording and Presenting Reality 215it centers on motion pictures that document reality, oft en presents highly
prepared and staged situations in which the documentary aspect becomes
thin to the point of disintegration.
Th ere are also fi lms that obscure the distinctions between documentary
and fi ction or play around with their typical styles and methods signifi cantly.
In contemporary motion pictures, sequences from one form will sometimes
be seen in a fi lm of its opposing type, such as with the voice-over sections
of Seabiscuit (2003, directed by Gary Ross) or scenes in which archival and
staged footage will be purposefully jumbled together, as with JFK (1991,
directed by Oliver Stone). American fi lmmaker Erroll Morris has consistently
explored issues of truth, perspective, and methodology in his documentaries,
such as Th e Th in Blue Line (1988), Standard Operating Procedure (2008), and
Academy Award-winner Th e Fog of War (2003).Invention and Re-Invention
Other fi lmmakers play with stylistic devices that tend to be seen in particular
formats. In the contemporary era, a number of feature fi lms and television
motion pictures have used documentary techniques to tell fi ctional stories.
Th is type of fi ction fi lm, now well known as the mockumentary, fi rst received
popular recognition with Th is Is Spinal Tap, directed by Rob Reiner in 1984,
and then became a vehicle for many fi lmmakers, most notably in the fi lms of
Christopher Guest, such as Best in Show (2000). For television, the format has
proven to be successful in shows like Th e Offi ce, a creation of Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant for the BBC that was later adapted for an American
context.Figure 6-6 Production
photo from Erroll Morris’s
The Thin Blue Line. In this
documentary about a man on
death row for the murder of
a policeman, director Erroll
Morris re-staged events as
part of his investigation of
the crime and its full story.
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