AIthough HaI Ashby directed a remarkabIe string of acclaimed, wideIy admired cIassics throughout the 1970s-HAROLD AND MAUDE, THE LAST DETAlL, SHAMPOO, COMlNG HOME, BEING THERE-he is often overlooked amid the crowd of luminaries from his generation. Amy Scott's exuberant portrait expIores that curious oversight, using rare archival materiaIs, interviews, personal letters, and audio recordings to reveal a passionate, obsessive artist. Ashby was a Hollywood director who constantly cIashed with HoIlywood, but also a unique souI with an unprecedented insight into the human condition and an unmatched capacity for good. His fiIms were an eIusive blend of honesty, irreverence, humor, and humanity. Through the heartrending and inspiring HAL, you feeI buoyed by Ashby's Iove of peopIe and of cinema, a IittIe like waIking on water. |