6 Sensational Films That Go Behind the Scenes

By Gus Mollasis | October 2021

I love films about how movies are made. All the magic. The backstabbing. The back room deals. Stars not ready for their close up. All the mystery and twisted plots. Stars born. Stars made. And stars faded. 

Who can resist peeking backstage and seeing how magic gets made in Hollywood? Or pulling back the curtain on the lives of exceptional artistic personalities? Here are six terrific, and fascinating films that go behind the scenes to explore the deeper story.

8^½ 

The film 8½ by Federico Fellini is a perfect 10. It encompasses all the madness and style of the Italian auteur director at his best. One viewing is never enough. And the bigger the screen the better to enjoy sheer magic, madness of the man at the top of his game. Throw in Marcello Mastroianni at his most handsome dripping with charisma while Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, and Sandra Milo provide plenty of temptations for the sometimes frustrated but always fantasy-seeking film director Guido Anselmi. As he tries to finish his next masterpiece, he takes a longer journey in his mind. He deals with creative roadblocks—dipping into deep thought about his life and loves, adding up to make his film more biographical and 8½ one of the greatest and most colorful films of all time—stunningly shot in magnificent black and white. 

Sullivan’s Travels

Sullivan’s Travels follows the fictional, disillusioned Hollywood movie director, Sullivan, who goes undercover as a hobo in  bid to rejuvenate his art. Along the way, a romantic interest emerges and ultimately this film is a love letter to Hollywood and the impact that movies can have on the human condition. A journey picture. A buddy picture. And definitely a love story that heats up the screen organically and in a way that all screenwriters and filmmakers should study. Preston Sturges stakes his claim of being one of the greatest comedic writer-directors of all time, masterfully traveling the high wire and balancing hopelessness and humor. When they intersect at a place down the road, a moment of epiphany is achieved—and Sullivan finally sees the relevance of his life’s work and the importance of laughter.

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard is not only the best film about Hollywood—It’s also one of the greatest films of all time. Iconic for its sense of place and history. Stylized to the point that many of its scenes should hang in a museum to depict Hollywood at its zenith. Billy Wilder directs this haunting classic that is part Film Noir, part film history lesson and a poetic ode to the motion pictures—period. It’s both an homage and swipe at the motion picture business. When Gloria Swanson says, “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small,” the hairs on my arm stand up. A screenplay so perfect, a story so beautifully shot and directed, with actors sizzling in a place called Sunset Boulevard. That Buster Keaton and Eric von Stroheim are part of the cast adds to the gravitas and makes this 1950 film purely magical. William Holden has never been better than playing the struggling writer Joe Gillis who turns into the right—or is the wrong driveway—on Sunset Boulevard.

The Player

The Player is Robert Altman’s greatest film. And that’s saying something. It’s also a companion piece to Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard from decades earlier, as this 1992 masterpiece employs much of the cynicism that made Wilder’s classic smolder. Here, a Hollywood studio executive is being plagued by death threats from a writer whose script he rejected. The problem is—which one? He has that many enemies in Tinsel Town. The film is filled with an array Hollywood players from Whoopi Goldberg to Peter Gallagher. A line from power producer Griffin Mill, played by Tim Robbins, is worth the price of admission: “I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we’ve got something here.” This film classic can play on any screen and in any town.  A real player.

Ailey

Ailey explores the incredible, glistening genius that was Alvin Ailey—dancer, director, choreographer, and activist. In this documentary, award-winning director Jamila Wignot offers a poignant, behind-the-scenes look at Ailey’s lifelong love of dance. The triumphs and tragedies of a man who founded an iconic, barrier-breaking dance company. Ailey’s reverence for the art form and how he transformed it to become more inclusive—especially to people who looked and danced like him—an African American. We meet the company carrying on his legacy long after his tragic and too early death to AIDS. This is a breathtaking, poetic study in the determination of a legendary dancer and the new generation of artists who embody the spirit and soul of the founder.

Roadrunner

Roadrunner captures the magic of irreverent, charismatic, raconteur, and best-selling chef Anthony Bourdain. This documentary digs deep into a man often magnificent in his taste for the main dish and its story, yet unable to find an elusive missing ingredient that left him unsatisfied, unhappy, and unable to bring himself to the table with more gratitude for one last supper. Acclaimed filmmaker, Morgan Neville, (Will You Be My Neighbor; 20 Feet From Stardom) uses a balance of testimonials from those who knew and loved Anthony along with the power of the chef’s own words to foreshadow the last course that we all knew would eventually come. A picture emerges of both a confident star who could seemingly do no wrong, and the other Anthony—fragile and vulnerable and unable to get his life’s recipe just right. A mesmerizing and exhausting film experience. Fans of Anthony will be transfixed and sadly ask, “why?”