The beaver trilogy is a 2001 documentary directed by trent harris rubin and ed and focused on groovin gary, an olivia newtonjohn impersonator in beaver, utah. Groovin larry segment beaver kid 2 archive footage. Trent harriss the beaver trilogy 19801999 is a oneofakind video which, among its many treats, unburies, from the 80s, some amazingly off the charts thespian performances by young sean penn and young crispin glover. Apr, 2016 hi, my apologies for the tardiness of this post. Of all the films that have ever been or will be, nothing compares to beaver trilogy. Beaver trilogy part iv 2015 directed by brad besser. Three short films revolve around a young man with a penchant for impersonating celebrities. Samuel john sam dawson nominatedacademy award for best actor nominatedbroadcast film critics association award for best actor nominatedsatellite award for best actor motion picture drama. Directed by brad besser, narrated by bill hader available on vod april 5th. The first vignette documents groovin garys character and performance. Beaver trilogy v, the final installment in the beaver trilogy trilogy. A chance meeting in a parking lot in 1979 between filmmaker trent harris and a young man from beaver, utah inspired the creation of an underground film that is now known as beaver trilogy.
Harris wound up following him to a talent show in beaver, utah, where gary sang an olivia newtonjohn song in drag. The beaver trilogy 2001 is a documentary film directed by trent harris, featuring richard lavon griffiths sean penn, crispin glover and costarring courtney. The beaver trilogy combines three separate vignettes that were filmed at different times, in 1979, 1981, and 1985. Beaver trilogy part iv has another sundance connection. Trent harris underground film, beaver trilogy remains to this day one of my favorite movies of all time, said director besser. It also contains books, works of art, and other strange things created by harris. Beaver trilogy part iv 2015 stream and watch online. Jan 20, 2015 beaver trilogy part iv has another sundance connection. Apr, 2020 the beaver trilogy 2001, trent harris 2 comments. The beaver trilogy 2000 letterboxd social film discovery. Both the beaver kid and the beaver kid 2 were produced on color video the latter on a reported budget of only one hundred bucks, while the orkly kid was filmed in 16 mm, with the support of the american film institute.
The beaver shows that the movies cant cope with depression. Independent film and video magazine called harris one of americas premier cult directors. Bill hader to narrate cult film documentary beaver trilogy part iv sundance. My next immediate project is living in the age of airplanes, i was the films editor. The muchdelayed movie survives its lifeart parallels thanks to star gibson to deliver a hopeful portrait of mental illness that is quirky, serious and sensitive.
Beaver trilogy is a series of three pieces about the same subject, a young man from the small town of beaver, utah who is obsessed with olivia newton john. Beaver cleaver or the beaver, a character on leave it to beaver. A shaggydog documentary made on a shoestring, the ironically titled beaver trilogy part iv examines how seductive and destructive can be the desire for fame. This web site contains the most comprehensive collection of trent harris unique films and videos. A complete unknown living in the middle of nowhere aka beaver, utah groovin gary is truly a superstar at heart with big dreams of making. The first piece, the beaver kid is a docmumentary about dick griffiths groovin gary and his oliva fascination. Harris experiences with groovin gary inspired three different short subjects, and the beaver trilogy collects harris three groovin gary films. With trent harris, groovin gary, bill hader, jared hess. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the beaver trilogy near you. Any worry about ruining beaver trilogy by investigating it fades quickly here, as a look at the film s maker proves resonant with the pursuit of its obscure star.
The first, titled the beaver kid, is a short documentary about the exploits of groovin gary, a performer that filmmaker harris happened upon while filming for a salt lake city, utah news station. Harris was in the parking lot of his workplace, testing out a color. Read the the beaver trilogy movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. The second piece, beaver kid 2 is a dramatic work based on the documentary. Trent harriss the beaver trilogy 19801999 is a oneofakind video which, among its many treats, unburies, from the 80s, some amazingly offthecharts thespian performances by young sean penn and young crispin glover. The second vignette recreates the first vignette with sean penn as groovin gary. The beaver trilogy is, without a doubt, one of the most brilliant films ever made. Nov 04, 2014 this is the 10th post in a series covering the most outrageous moments in underground film history. It was probably 10 years ago or so when i saw the movie continue reading. My next immediate project is living in the age of airplanes, i was the film s editor. Over the subsequent decades the encounter would be retold in a series of fictional remakes that would culminate in the 2001 sundance film festival entry beaver trilogy but the film itself. A chance meeting in a parking lot in 1979 between filmmaker trent harris and a young man from beaver, utah, inspired the creation of an underground film that is now known as beaver trilogy.
A shaggydog documentary made on a shoestring, the ironically titled beaver trilogy part iv examines. The beaver trilogy 2001 three short films revolve around a young man with a penchant for impersonating celebrities. Like several television dramas and sitcoms of the late 1950s and early 1960s, leave it to beaver is a glimpse at middleclass, white american boyhood. The beaver trilogy 2000 the beaver trilogy 2000 user. The beaver trilogy has, to my knowledge, never been shown in the uk outside of a festival, and is only available on dvd by contacting the director personally. Yes, i realize no one was waiting for me to write this. I concede it is possible that a man in depression might be able to heal himself by projecting his personality into a hand puppet. Leave it to beaver is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a childs pointofview.
Dec 31, 2000 the beaver trilogy combines three separate vignettes that were filmed at different times, in 1979, 1981, and 1985. The beaver trilogy part iv brad bessers search for the beaver kid uncovers more than anyone wanted to know about the elusive subject of the underground short film trilogy. The first, entitled the beaver kid, is a short documentary about the exploits of groovin gary, a performer that filmmaker harris happened upon while filming for a. In the 1970s, an ambitious filmmaker visits the small town of utah to film a talent show. We go through the movie with mel gibson wearing a toothy beaver on his. I am not sure it is possible, or even advisable, to make a serious movie about that.
The beaver trilogy 2001 is a documentary film directed by trent harris, featuring richard lavon griffiths also known as the beaver kid and groovin gary, sean penn, crispin glover and costarring courtney gains and elizabeth daily. I saw a really wonderful film called the beaver trilogy part iv at the midwest independent film festival. The second piece, beaver kid 2 is a drama based on the documentary with sean penn playing the part of dick griffiths. Then, all he does is stare vacantly at the ceiling from the marital bed or. With groovin gary, sean penn, crispin glover, stefan arngrim. Mar 10, 2020 leave it to beaver is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a childs pointofview. Mar 29, 2016 trent harris underground film, beaver trilogy remains to this day one of my favorite movies of all time, said director besser. This is the 10th post in a series covering the most outrageous moments in underground film history. The first, entitled the beaver kid, is a short documentary about the exploits of groovin gary, a performer that filmmaker harris happened upon while filming for a salt lake city, utah news station. A chance meeting in the parking lot of a salt lake city, utah, news station resulted in an enormously beloved and outrageous. If it were required to sum up the plot of this movie in one.
This is from part 2 of beaver trilogy, beaver kid 2 starring sean penn. Canadas history or the beaver, the magazine of canadas national history society. Harris entertainingly questions the phenomena of originality in beaver trilogy, and also the truth and integrity of the documentary in general and the documentary of himself in particular. Sundance film festival beaver trilogy is a series of three pieces about the same subject, a young man from the small town of beaver, utah who is obsessed with olivia newton john.
The three films were reedited, compiled, and screened in 2000. Watch bill hader to narrate cult film doc beaver trilogy part iv. Watch bill hader to narrate cult film doc beaver trilogy. A chance meeting in a parking lot in 1979 between filmmaker trent harris and a young man from beaver, utah inspired the creation of an underground film that is now known as beaver trilogy but the film itself is only part of the story. The full beaver trilogy premiered in 2001 at sundance. The beaver newspaper, the newspaper of the london school of economics students union. Critics have called the films of trent harris absurd, pointless, hysterical, brilliant, and one of a kind. Butch cassidy does not make an appearance in this film. A shaggydog documentary made on a shoestring, the ironically titled beaver trilogy part iv examines how seductive and destructive the desire. Scratch behind that odd starting point, though, and what emerges is a slightly more traditional story about a middleaged man who is deeply depressed. The beaver is almost successful, despite the premise of its screenplay, which i was simply unable to accept. The beaver gets it right in its first few minutes, when mel gibsons walter has yet to place his trust in rodent therapy.
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