Garbage Warrior (2007/Morningstar Entertainment DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Main Program: C
I
wondered what I was getting into when I watched the recent documentary Garbage Warrior (2007) about a man
named Michael Reynolds, who has what he considers innovative takes on how to
build structures and with often recyclable materials. This became controversial because he was
considered ignorable, his rough demeanor contributed to that and that his buildings
might collapse or the like.
The idea
was to build whole communities of these structures where people were more
self-sufficient, but between big money real estate interests and reactionary
ideas that what he was doing was somehow subversive, this is why few have heard
of him. Director Oliver Hodge tries to
correct that with this 84 minutes culmed from taping over a four-year
period. Unfortunately, it is very
uneven, does not make Reynolds look good, if he or Hodge even care and the
final result feels too much like a run-on when it could have been a 60 Minutes segment considering what we
learn. The points are worth seeing, but
expect it to drag just the same.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is very soft and this was very likely shot in low-def
digital video, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is only so good, trying to
stretch out the location sound much more often than it should. Extras include deleted scenes, director
interview and Dennis Weaver talking about his Earthship house.
- Nicholas Sheffo