Milius

John Milius was one of the best-known screenwriters in Hollywood in the 1970s. He wrote Apocalypse Now, added the most famous speech in Jaws, contributed to the Dirty Harry films, and directed Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn. He described himself as an anarchist but stood on the political right, and that left him steadily more isolated in the industry. At some point nobody wanted to work with him. The documentary by Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson rests on interviews with the directors of the period: Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola and Zemeckis all speak. The narrative shows both his talent and his capacity for ending his own career. The final section deals with the stroke Milius suffered and the difficulty of speech that followed, which changes the tone of the film entirely. Who it's for: Anyone interested in 1970s American cinema, screenwriting, and stories from inside the industry. Who it's not for: The film largely presents Milius's politics as a character trait and keeps no critical distance. There are also a great many speakers.