Bruce David Klein had accomplished simply someday of capturing on his new documentary, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” when he had an “unnerving” encounter with the movie’s topic, Liza Minnelli.
“She called me into her bedroom, where she’s sitting on the edge of her bed, and she grabs my hand and starts petting it,” the filmmaker recalled to HuffPost. “And she looks up at me and says: ‘Bruce, don’t make me look like a phony.’”
“I know Liza fans will love anything she does, every statement she makes, every joke she cracks,” he continued. “[But] everybody, whether they’re celebrities or not, wants to control what they look like, control the narrative. So for her ― with her legendary, iconic status ― to say something like that was unbelievable.”
Klein’s unfettered entry to Minnelli pays off within the documentary, which premiered on the 2024 Tribeca Movie Competition and opened in New York final week forward of a Los Angeles debut Friday and a nationwide launch subsequent month. The movie is, by all accounts, a heartfelt testomony to the actor and singer’s era-defining profession.
Courtesy of Atlas Media Corp and Zeitgeist Movies in affiliation with Kino Lorber
Even for seasoned followers, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” is a deal with, that includes never-before-seen footage of Minnelli in her heyday together with anecdotes from collaborators and associates like Joel Gray, Mia Farrow and the late Chita Rivera.
Then, after all, there’s Minnelli herself. The 78-year-old is as jovial and quick-witted as ever in interviews with Klein, even displaying off her still-supple singing voice in a handful of scenes.
Because the documentary notes, the daughter of Hollywood icon Judy Garland and Oscar-winning director Vincente Minnelli appeared poised for superstardom at delivery. She made her big-screen debut as a toddler, showing alongside her mom in 1949’s “In the Good Old Summertime,” however would face challenges in being taken severely as a performer as she matured.
The movie hits a somber observe with Garland’s 1969 demise of a drug overdose at age 47, after which a grieving Minnelli is pushed to create an inventive persona that exists independently of her mom.
ABC Picture Archives through Getty Pictures
From there, the movie zooms in on Minnelli’s many triumphs. Having nabbed the primary of 4 Tony Awards in 1965 for “Flora the Red Menace,” her profession kicked into overdrive when she portrayed Sally Bowles within the 1972 film musical “Cabaret,” profitable an Oscar.
Within the years that adopted, she added an Emmy and a Grammy to her skilled tally and carried out to sold-out audiences world wide, however like Garland, had a tumultuous love life and skilled drug and alcohol habit behind the scenes.
“She was the ‘It Girl’ of the world ― people today don’t understand what it means to have been on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week,” Klein stated. As for the segments that contact on Minnelli’s substance abuse, 4 marriages and, most poignantly, her unfulfilled need to develop into a mom, he added: “We realized how important they were for her journey.”
The documentary additionally showcases 5 present enterprise figures ― singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour, lyricist Fred Ebb, director-choreographer Bob Fosse, designer Halston and music arranger and performer Kay Thompson ― who served as Minnelli’s mentors and honed her skills.
Bettmann through Getty Pictures
“I defy anyone to watch anything from Liza and say, ‘Oh, she’s only there as a ‘nepo baby.’ One of the biggest discoveries was how much of a double-edged sword that privilege was for her,” Klein stated. “There’s an unintentional message in the film that I’m happy came out, which is about the power mentors have to transform us if we let them.”
Minnelli has maintained a decrease profile lately, however her affect on popular culture continues to be evident, with stars like Girl Gaga and Ariana Grande equally melding the avant-garde with old school razzle-dazzle. A revival of “Cabaret” opened on Broadway final spring after a profitable run in London, starring “GLOW” actor Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles.
Nonetheless, Klein is assured that “there will never be another Liza.”
“Maybe Taylor Swift has a little edge of vulnerability and awkwardness sometimes, but there’s no one I can say who is even in the Liza realm,” he stated. “This concoction of extreme power, strength and talent, along with unbelievable vulnerability, nervousness and fear wrapped into one package … I don’t know if a publicist today would allow a star of her level to show all that.”
Watch the trailer for “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” beneath.
