Who knew that there is a shampoo which is marketed for use by both human beings and horses? I had never heard of Mane 'n Tail shampoo until I viewed Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. In fact, Mane 'n Tail shampoo has been around for forty years, but it was known primarily to owners of equines until Spurlock was taken by the concept and decided to feature the product in his film. Spurlock is perhaps best known for his 2004 file, Super Size Me, a documentary which explored the predictably negative health effects of eating three "super size" meals per day at McDonalds. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold examines the impact of ubiquitous advertising, in particular "product placement" - the process by which companies pay to have their products shown and even commented upon in feature films. Spurlock and his associates came up with the idea of doing a film about product placement which is financed entirely by product placement. The story of how he mostly succeeded is both remarkable and entertaining.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Year: 2011
Rated: PG-13
Program Length: 87 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p
Languages: English DTS-HD 5.1 MA
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
The Program
Who knew that there is a shampoo which is marketed for use by both human beings and horses? I had never heard of Mane 'n Tail shampoo until I viewed Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. In fact, Mane 'n Tail shampoo has been around for forty years, but it was known primarily to owners of equines until Spurlock was taken by the concept and decided to feature the product in his film. Spurlock is perhaps best known for his 2004 file, Super Size Me, a documentary which explored the predictably negative health effects of eating three "super size" meals per day at McDonalds. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold examines the impact of ubiquitous advertising, in particular "product placement" - the process by which companies pay to have their products shown and even commented upon in feature films. Spurlock and his associates came up with the idea of doing a film about product placement which is financed entirely by product placement. The story of how he mostly succeeded is both remarkable and entertaining.
Spurlock's style clearly is influenced by Michael Moore, but he actually goes far beyond Moore in the extent to which he makes himself the center of his films. He made himself a human guinea pig in Super Size Me, and here he becomes his own salesman as he tries to convince various corporations to sponsor the film. Indeed, his efforts to utilize the services of product placement agents fail miserably, presumably because companies understandably feared that they would end up being savaged by Spurlock. However, once he begins approaching potential sponsors himself, he turns on his charm and creativity and is able to persuade a number of them to participate. The first breakthrough is with Ban deodorant, which kicks in $100,000 to have its product prominently featured in the film. What Spurlock really needs, however, is Brand X, the product which will headline the film by paying the tidy sum of $1 million for the privilege. The national breweries and soft drink companies show no interest, but Spurlock hits a home run when he makes a deal with POM Wonderful, a California company which sells pomegranate juice as its flagship product. POM becomes the official beverage of The Greatest Move Ever Sold, and Spurlock is off and running.
Interestingly, Spurlock is more interested in showing how product placement works than in mocking the advertisers. In fact, the companies which agree to participate in the film are mostly good companies which offer fine products and services and which seem to be run by nice people. The CEO of POM Wonderful is a very personable and funny woman, and other companies which come aboard include Jet Blue, Hyatt Hotels and Merrell Shoes.
Perhaps the most interesting segment of the film involves Spurlock's visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city which has banned all outdoor advertising. There are no billboards, no advertising on buildings, and no advertising on buses and taxis. One wonders if such a ban could be implemented in a United States city. After all, the Supreme Court never tires of reminding us that corporations are people, too.
Because Spurlock is constantly on camera, a viewer's response to The Greatest Movie Ever Sold will depend largely on how likeable the director comes across. I was less impressed with him in Super Size Me, which came across as very contrived. On the other hand, here I found him to be very engaging and interesting. While there are no astounding revelations in this film, it certainly sheds a considerable degree of light on advertising in general and product placement in particular. At the same time, the film is fast-paced and consistently entertaining.
The Video
The 1.85:1 1080p image is reasonably sharp and detailed, although the quality varies somewhat from scene to scene. In the extras cinematographer Daniel Marracino explains that he decided not to light many of the scenes and instead worked with whatever light was available. Consequently, there is nothing much of a visual nature in The Greatest Movie Ever Sold which is of reference quality, but overall the look works well for the subject material. As usual, Sony has done a nice job with the Blu-ray transfer, as it shows no evidence of excessive of excessive DNR, edge enhancement, or other digital anomalies.
The Audio
The lossless 5.1 DTA-HD MA audio is fine for what it has to work with. The one place where the soundtrack comes alive is with Spurlock's use of classical music pieces by composers such as Sergei Prokofiev, Edvard Grieg, Georges Bizet, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Dialogue is mostly confined to the center channel, and it is always clear and understandable.
The Supplements
This Blu-ray disc includes a fairly generous array of extras.
There is a worthwhile and informative commentary track by Morgan Spurlock, producer Jeremy Chilnick, cinematographer Daniel Marracino, and editor Thomas M. Vogt.
"At the Sundance Film Festival" is a self-explanatory Blu-ray exclusive featurette.
"Workin' Nine to Five (AM): POM Behind the Scenes" shows how Spurlock filmed a commercial for POM Wonderful in a Queens, New York supermarket after closing time.
"Shooting for Perfection" is another Blu-ray exclusive. It is a behind-the-scenes look at commercials which Spurlock's team made for Hyatt Hotels and Jet Blue.
A dozen deleted scenes include pitches made to companies which declined to get involved in the project. There are also scenes which were filmed with newsman Dan Rather, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and pollster Frank Luntz. The Blu-ray has about 15 minutes of deleted scenes which are not included in the DVD extras.
Another amusing feature is a collection of five commercials made for POM Wonderful, Hyatt Hotels and Jet Blue.
Sony also has included the feature's original theatrical trailer, as well as trailers for Salvation Boulevard; Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest; Midnight in Paris; Exporting Raymond; Live, Above All; and Super Size Me.
The Packaging
The Blu-ray disc is packaged in a standard-sized Blu-ray keep case.
The Final Analysis
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is not a great documentary, but it is an entertaining one. The problem I have with Morgan Spurlock is that while he obviously loves documentaries, his are somewhat contrived in that he creates his own narrative, so his films tend to become as much about him as about the stated subject matter. Nevertheless, this one is surprisingly good-natured and amusing, and therefore rates a mildly positive recommendation.
Equipment used for this review:
Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player
Panasonic Viera TC-P46G15 Plasma display, calibrated to THX specification by Gregg Loewen
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: August 23, 2011
