Watch Rock Hudson's Home Movies

Rock Hudson's Home Movies is a poignant and insightful documentary film from 1992 that explores the life and legacy of the iconic Hollywood actor Rock Hudson. The film is directed by Mark Rappaport and features a cast of esteemed actors and performers, including Eric Farr, Lauren Bacall, and Cyd Charisse. At its core, Rock Hudson's Home Movies is a meditation on the intersection of celebrity, popular culture, and personal identity in the modern world. Through a combination of found footage, old photographs, film clips, and interviews with friends and colleagues of Hudson, the film offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the private life of one of America's most beloved and complicated stars.

The film is divided into several distinct sections, each of which explores a different aspect of Hudson's life and career. The opening sequence, for example, features a montage of footage from some of Hudson's most famous films, including Giant, Pillow Talk, and All That Heaven Allows. This is juxtaposed with candid home movie footage of the actor on set, interacting with cast and crew members, and engaging in off-screen hijinks that reveal a more carefree and irreverent side of his personality.

From there, the film moves into a more introspective mode, as Eric Farr - who plays a sort of surrogate for Rappaport himself - reflects on what made Hudson such an enduring and compelling figure for so many people. Farr's musings are interspersed with footage of Hudson and his various lovers and co-stars, including Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean. These sequences are often bittersweet, as the film acknowledges the tragedy of Hudson's early death from AIDS.

Along the way, Rock Hudson's Home Movies also delves into some of the more complex and controversial aspects of Hudson's life and career. For example, the film examines the ways in which Hudson's homosexuality was often hidden or suppressed by the studios and the industry at large, even as he became a powerful sex symbol and leading man. The film also explores the impact that Hudson's diagnosis and subsequent public disclosure of his illness had on the wider public conversation around AIDS and LGBTQ rights.

Throughout the film, Rappaport makes use of a variety of experimental and avant-garde techniques to convey his ideas and emotions. For example, he intersperses clips from popular films with footage shot on grainy Super 8 film, creating a sense of collage and collage-like fluidity. He also overlays sound bites and interviews with atmospheric music and sound effects, using audio as a kind of punctuation to underscore his ideas.

Overall, Rock Hudson's Home Movies is a moving and thought-provoking tribute to a Hollywood legend. It celebrates Hudson's skill as an actor, while also acknowledging the complex personal and social factors that shaped his life and career. The film is a must-see for fans of classic Hollywood and anyone interested in questions of identity, representation, and self-expression in the modern world.

Rock Hudson's Home Movies is a 1992 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 3 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.0.