I was stunned that the finished production of Body & Soul enjoyed such great success in Germany. One would not gather that end product from having watched this. The filming which comprises the bulk of this very, very long documentary (though it is real life and shows all the weird personalities and dynamics going on) is not in the least a work of art. It would appear that it was released without editing. He pretty much just filmed a lot of quarrels and controversy between the organizers with random camera work of behind-the-scenes gnarly dressing room banter, although there was enough footage of real rehearsals to give it some substance. It is totally raw footage, and that is somewhat interesting, but not entertaining. It projects as horrendously "low budget"--about as savvy as someone's home movie project.

The previous reviewer stated putting on a show was like herding cats. Now I'm to determine if this documentary captured this successful attempt of herding cats. It is crazy. Everyone had self interests. I didn't learn a thing about the creative process of putting on a show. I did learn the train wreck one must get up and go to everyday to film this process I somehow missed. I don't think it was that great.

If this is what it takes to put on a show, I can understand why performers, directors, and producers all have to be a little crazy. If they aren't nuts to start out, then doing this kind of thing will make them that way. So much has to come together and be brilliant, but it's like herding cats. The documentary itself was saved by the decision to shoot everything. I don't think they knew what they wanted when they began the project. They didn't have a clear vision, so the narrative meanders. However, the post production saved the day to a degree. I'm sure there are hundreds of hours of unused footage for a reason, but that's just the way of things. Finding gold in all the rock is a hard job.What we are left with is an impression of what the crucible of the creative experience is like. Nothing specific here, no clear ideas, just a jumble of creative fury mixed with ego and business. And maybe that is about as close to the reality as it gets.