Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson
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68% Critic Match

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson

6.8 / 10 2019 1h 40mNR English
Documentary

Storyline

Brought to life through archival material and the reflections of over 40 colleagues, friends and fans, BLOOD & FLESH is much more than the story of a moviemaking life most unusual. It beautifully captures the worlds of outsider filmmaker communities that existed in California in the ’70s, and the weird ways they intersected with Hollywood mainstream and union indies. On Adamson shoots, regular Orson Welles crew and cinematographers like Gary Graver, Vilmos Szigmond and Lazlo Kovaks worked alongside Bud Cardos — and at one point, Charles Manson! Director David Gregory (founder of Severin Films, director of LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) spent years making this film, speaking to everyone down to the cops who investigated Adamson’s murder, vividly encapsulating both a bold life and tragic demise, with alien conspiracies, go-go dancers and Colonel Sanders coming in along the way. If you’ve got even a passing interest in cinema, you want to see this

Cast & Crew

Al Adamson

Al Adamson

Himself (archive footage)

Lead
Fred Olen Ray

Fred Olen Ray

Self

Marilyn Joi

Marilyn Joi

Gary Kent

Gary Kent

Robert Dix

Robert Dix

John "Bud" Cardos

John "Bud" Cardos

TF

Tim Ferrante

DK

David Konow

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. David Gregory's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker