The Men Without Fear: Creating 'Daredevil' (2003) (V)

Release Date:

2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Cast

Brian Bendis	...	Himself (as Brian Michael Bendis)
Gene Colan	...	Himself
Stan Lee	...	Himself
David Mack	...	Himself
Frank Miller	...	Himself
Joe Quesada	...	Himself
Johnny Romita	...	Himself (as John Romita)
John Romita Jr.	...	Himself
Kevin Smith	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:59 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Company:

Sparkhill Production

Starts off enjoyably... then Miller appears.

I got the DAREDEVIL DVD for Christmas last year, and this documentary was one of the features. For people who enjoy the subculture of comics and the people behind them, this is a unique documentary. It fits, as DAREDEVIL seems to have been made as something that would gratify fans and if it appealed to everyone else, that's not the worst thing that can happen (whereas most seem to try and engage non-readers).

The first three interviews are enjoyable. Stan Lee is always fun to watch and hearing him explain how gratified he was that people who work with the blind enjoyed him is cool. He also talks humorously about the costume change.

Romita and Colan are two of the greats and it's interesting to hearhow while working on DAREDEVIL, they came across new ways to present their art form. I guess you can say Colan makes sense of the more senseless aspects of modern comics.

It's when they reach the interview with Frank Miller that it takes a turn for the worse. Miller is so pedantic and ponderously pompous that it's sad. People who are just as obsessed with the whole thing will probably be enthralled by every word he says, but if you know someone like that (as I used to be) you should probably keep an eye on them to make sure they don't go nuts. Otherwise, you'll ether laugh at him or turn it off in disgust.

There are also interviews with John Romita Jr, Kevin Smith, José Quesada and others. While Miller is the only one who makes you think someone should go over to him and say, "it's all just make-believe," some of the others have a certain level of pretense.

Comic books, like film, music and everything else, are an art form to be taken seriously. Yet, some of these people take it too seriously. They're scary.