I'm Still Here
I'm Still Here was one of the most intriguing movies of 2010 as Casey Affleck filmed Joaquin Phoenix's transition from actor to rapper.
But the movie was revealed, by the director, to be a hoax after the film had hit the big screen.
So to celebrate the release of the DVD we take a look at the top five mockumentaries.
Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap is one of the most beloved and oft-quoted mockumentaries of all time. Filmmaker Marty DiBergi (played by director Rob Reiner) follows the band “Spinal Tap” as they go on tour to promote their new album “Smell The Glove” and turn the volume up to eleven.
Never afraid to confront serious issues such as the construction of Stonehenge and spontaneously combusting drummers, Spinal Tap was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress in the US, and selected for preservation – even with the fake British accents.
“We are Spinal Tap from the UK - you must be the USA!” – David St Hubbins “
The Blair Witch Project
Shot on a shoestring budget (and arguably making shoestring budgets fashionable) of $22,000 the Blair Witch Project starred three young filmmakers as they searched for elusive “Blair Witch” in the Black Hills, Maryland.
The guerrilla filming and home-movie style camera work helped add to the fear-levels, ensuring that the film terrorised an entire generation of young cinema-goers.
“I'm afraid to close my eyes, I'm afraid to open them.” – Heather Donahue
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Not for those who cringe readily, Sasha Baron Cohen’s well known character Borat somehow finds easily duped Americans to subtly (and not so subtly) mock.
From a driving instructor teaching him about girls to his search for Pamela Anderson, Baron-Cohen left a lot of red faces in his wake as he made his way across The States, somehow convincing people that he was genuine.
Borat blurred the lines between fiction and reality, with some scenes readily identifiable as scripted, and others seemingly improvised.
“He is my neighbor Nursultan Tuliagby. I get a window from a glass, he must get a window from a glass. I get a step, he must get a step. I get a clock radio, he cannot afford. Great success!” Borat Sagdiyev
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Who is Banksy? Nobody really knows, but somehow he manages to come up with piece after piece of innovative art.
Exit Through The Gift Shop is his documentary telling the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles and his rise to fame as a street artist.
Soon after its release, speculation grew regarding the authenticity of the film, though some commentators didn’t see this as a bad thing – Roger Ebert suggesting that “The widespread speculation that Exit Through the Gift Shop is a hoax only adds to its fascination."
I’m Still Here
When Joaquin Phoenix turned up on Letterman sporting a bushy beard and incoherently informing the world of his desire to be a rapper, eyebrows were understandably raised.
But even with this sudden and bizarre turn of events, nobody could be completely sure either way. Had Phoenix suffered a breakdown? Was it an elaborate ploy?
One reviewer went as far as to say “Joaquin Phoenix has fallen apart.” As it turned out, we’d been duped and Casey Affleck spilled the beans of the hoax soon before I’m Still Here was released, causing Hollywood to sigh with relief, and cementing Phoenix as one of the most dedicated (and convincing) actors in the business.
“That's you, drops of water and you're on top of the mountain of success. But one day you start sliding down the mountain and you think wait a minute; I'm a mountain top water drop.” – Joaquin Phoenix