soccin — 17 years ago(July 16, 2008 09:08 AM)

Capra was an enormously successful director. He had a string of hits that has not been surpassed in the decades since. Moreover, as president of the Academy, he was a very public figure in 1930s Hollywood. Finally, he enjoyed a second career as a raconteur in his retirement, showing up regularly to speak at colleges and on television talk shows. So, how is it that a documentary of his career that lasts almost two hours doesn't have a single clip that allows him to speak for himself? Why must we settle for everyone else's interpretations of what he did, what he said, how he felt, and what he meant? It seems like the real Frank Capra has been kidnapped and replaced by the mythical legend, created largely by (and for) his son, Frank Jr.