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Posted: Aug 17, 2006 |
Not... Rank: the smell of leftovers gone bad
By: Slade Long - PBS Editor
PBS HQ --- Back in the 1980's there was a bootleg video rumored to have been put together by Glen McIlvain. Some of you may have seen it. It featured footage from the NFR, Super Bull in Del Rio, and other sources - notably the 1973 documentary The Great American Cowboy. Forgive me for innaccuracy - it's been years since I've seen either film - but in one or both of those films there was a powerful clip of a long bull riding hangup dubbed over with an announcer (Clem, maybe...) reciting the cowboy's prayer. In The Great American Cowboy, there was also some footage of Larry Mahan getting on Oscar with no one around - on a dollar bet.
Again, forgive me if I have the sources wrong or mixed up - it's been twenty years since I've seen them - but those two scenes spoke more about the sport of bull riding than any other film I have ever seen, although there was hardly any commentary involved in either one.
RANK, a new feature length documentary by John Hyams and Jon Greenhalgh puts me in mind of those two scenes, as it conveys the essence of what modern bull riding is about by showing rather than telling. Shot on location in Las Vegas, Oklahoma, and Texas, Rank loosely follows Justin McBride, Adriano Moraes, and Mike Lee as they progress through the 2004 PBR World Finals.
There is almost no outside narration or commentary in the film. What dialogue there is is provided by the bull riders, Dillon & H.D. Page, Rob Smets, Tandy Freeman and others. McBride's Grandmother makes a notable appearance. In my opinion, Dr. Freeman improves on his usual line... "it's not if you get hurt," etc... with the simpler and more powerful assessment: "Wimps don't make it this far."
The visual aspect of the film is what is most appealing. The camera work in Rank draws out the gritty reality of bull riding in a way that the usual film / video coverage of bull riding cannot, simply because it is "the usual." Art speaks through the unusual or the unexpected, and that is how good art is sometimes able to convey a truth better than the straight facts can. The passing scenes in this film show much by showing little and by showing detail. It is not your usual reality/journalistic/PR fare - it's much more real than that.
Truth is, Rank may be the best documentary about rodeo or bull riding in over 20 years. Our sport certainly gets more tv/film coverage than ever, but rarely has it ever gotten quality treatment like this. Rank is a must-see for fans of bull riding and rodeo, and it shows us that the "Great American Cowboy" still exists.
RANK premieres Oct. 9, 2006 on IFC TV.
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