Brilliant Corners

Finally, three of Errol Morris' early documentaries are available on DVD: Gates of Heaven; The Thin Blue Line; and Vernon, Florida (my personal favorite). You can also get all three in a combo pack. It’s been years since I've seen any of these because either the local video store doesn’t have a VHS copy, or the VHS copy that’s supposed to be in, never is. I'm glad these are now on DVD, and hopefully this will allow many new fans of his to see his earlier work, which I think is just fantastic.

His style has changed quite a bit over the years, but there’s still some of his odd sensibility in everything he touches. I think it'd be quite a trip to watch Errol Morris work, on the set or out in the field. This recent interview with Mr. Morris at the Onion’s A.V. Club gives a great look into how he works. I particularly like this quote:

One of my favorite guys, the guy I did the Miller High Life campaign with, Jeff Williams, paid me the greatest compliment that I've ever heard. The first day that we worked together, he looked at me in a kind of funny way and said, “You know, when the director has everything set up perfectly, my job is to come in and fuck it up. But with you, Errol, I don’t have to come in and fuck it up, because it’s fucked-up already!” [Laughs.]

There’s also a whole slew of stuff on Errol Morris' home page, like:

• All the excellent Miller High Life commercials
• His personal take on Intelligent Design
• An essay on how his film_The Thin Blue Line_ got an innocent man out of prison