Remembering The Remarkable David L. Wolper

September 2, 2010   

David L. Wolper (1928-2010)

David L. Wolper, who died quietly at his Beverly Hills home on August 10 of complications from Parkinson’s disease, was a producer extraordinaire. He was both an Emmy winner (Roots) and a 1972 Oscar winner for best documentary (The Hellstrom Chroncicle). Wolper also won international acclaim as a major event producer, both with the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, and the July 4th, l986, Liberty Weekend celebration of the relighting of the Statue. In this column I’ll take a look at three of his theatrically released, documentary films that may be of interest to you, dear reader. These films may not have exactly set the world on fire, box office wise, but they serve to illustrate the unique talents of this one of a kind producer.

This Is Elvis (1981)

Wolper executive produced this look at the life and times of (who else?) Elvis Presley. The film is a cradle to grave look at the life of  the ‘King,’ a man thrust into the public spotlight in a way he never could have imagined. Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt directed the film. Interestingly, the film is “narrated” by Presley from beyond, in the voice of sound-alike impersonator and sixties pop star, Ral Donner. In an ironic twist, Donner himself would join Elvis in the great beyond only three years after the film’s release after a battle with cancer. Even if Donner’s voice doesn’t sound exactly like the king’s voice, it’s close enough. This is essential viewing for fans but even also for those who aren’t big followers of Elvis. It chronicles the rise and fall of a music legend, setting the standard for rock documentaries to come. The film also contains a plethora of choice musical performance clips, interviews, home movies, and montages for the true fans. It also serves as a good primer for today‘s generation of youngsters who can’t easily comprehend the Elvis phenomena.

Photo: David L. Wolper

The one detriment the film has are the occasional “faked” interviews supposedly done with fans at various times over the years. For example, a segment after Elvis and Priscilla are married in 1967 shows ‘Priscilla’ discussing her feelings regarding the event. If one can get beyond this, however, the film proves to be vastly entertaining and enlightening. As a side note, I’ll make mention that the movie hit theaters in 1981 at around 100 minutes, but for its home video release in 1983, footage was reinstated the leaves the film‘s running time at 144 minutes. However, there are still some scenes that differ in both versions which are available on DVD from Warners.

Imagine: John Lennon (1988)

Wolper both produced and executive produced this documentary about the famed ex-Beatle. Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt, the creative team behind the aforementioned “This is Elvis,” were behind this one as well. In 1987, author Albert Goldman’s infamous Lennon bio was published. The tome portrayed Lennon in an extremely negative light, painting the man as a cruel, egotistical monster who abused drugs and alcohol up to his death. Legend has it that Goldman never talked to anybody who actually knew Lennon. Yoko Ono retaliated by putting this documentary in motion to set the record straight.

Much like the Solt and Leo film, “This Is Elvis,“ this musical documentary is full of home movies, news footage, and videos all narrated by John Lennon himself. He speaks about his life and work courtesy of two hundred hours of taped interviews. The film isn’t totally sympathetic as it does point out he was a mean drunk at times. Lennon is also shown swearing and telling off Phil Spector in a recording studio when a song wasn‘t meeting Lennon‘s standards (in light of the accusations that Spector once pulled a gun on Lennon, he probably deserved it). The film does manage to totally avoid how horribly he treated his first wife Cynthia and son Julian but that‘s another story. He comes across in the films as a very talented, peace-loving man; he has his dark moments but everybody does. His confrontations with Al Capp and Gloria Emerson are just fascinating and not to be missed. The film’s emotional conclusion, highlighting fans reactions regarding his untimely death, still pack a punch some twenty two years after the film’s release. It is available on DVD from Warner Brothers.
 
The Hellstrom Chroncicle (1971)

“The earth was created not with the gentle caress of love, but with the brutal violence of rape.” This portentous statement opens Wolper’s Oscar winning nature documentary, “The Hellstrom Chroncicle.“ Nearly forty years after its release this is still a frightening film with themes that are eerily prescient in today’s world. The film recounts the history and nature of the insect world and illustrates how insects are more equipped to outlive man in the long run. Insects have a 200-million-year head start, don’t have feelings, don’t ponder their own existence, don’t fight within their species, can adapt to their surroundings, live harmoniously with their environment, have been using “robots” and the airwaves long before we came to be, and aren’t afraid to die. If that weren’t enough, the film illustrates how nothing Man throws at them (like pesticides) can stop their reproduction. A truly frightening film if there ever was one and it may be Wolper’s greatest triumph as a producer of theatrical films.  Unfortunately, the film is not available on DVD but can be found online through a google search.

David L. Wolper, may you rest in peace.

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