Two new documentaries reaffirm a trinity of my niche artistic beliefs.

For Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger:

Concert docs (we’re in a banner era for the form) > biographical docs (no comment). When it comes to musicians, bio-docs are like 75% the story of their careers, and 25% musical performances, while concert docs reverse the percentages. Wouldn’t you rather watch how cinema can capture and convey and deepen their musical artistry, instead of moving-image Wikipedia?  

And for Boorman and the Devil:

Documentaries about troubled movies > documentaries about hits. 

Along the same lines: art about less-famous artists > art about icons. 

While a majority of Boorman and the Devil focuses on the behind-and-in-front-of-the-scenes of (Exorcist II:) The Heretic, as the title foreshadows, the ending feels like an ode to relatable artists (and humans) like Boorman who — for whatever reasons —  never achieved the mass validation of their ambition.

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The titular “Devil” seems to refer to the boogeyman of the Exorcist franchise.

But what else might the word represent, in terms of what bedeviled Boorman? In the poster, is he trying to catch Linda Blair…or is he pushing her off the ledge?? 

Exactly.