Musivision Films

It's not often one comes face to fact with a master of a film genre and head of "Creative" of the iconic BBC. For two hours the FIFA audience was mesmerized by Alan Yentob's tales of 20th century  icons from Mel Brooks to David Bowie Laurie Anderson to Orson Welles. Today Yentob holds one of the strongest positions in television. He is the controller of BBC 1 and  BBC 2 therefore the most powerful programme controller in theUK and arguably in the world being that the BBC is well THE BBC.

An unassuming man with no pretention,Yentob screened his refreshing and hilarious film on Mel Brooks. Halfway between a classic documentary and a fictionalized self-portrait of Mel Brooks as seen by Mel Brooks, the film I Thought I Was Taller. A Short History of Mel Brooks is a tour de force illustrated with numerous film clips. It has a certain freedom that came with the 1970's. In a Hollywood studio, Brooks talks about his childhood in Brooklyn, his first big hit,The Producers, followed by others such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety. The glory days, decline and return of Mel Brooks is described by his favourite accountant and his loyal cronies Gene Wilder and Sid Caesar. Directed  by Yentob the film was one of his first and captures what I could compare to being a stand- up documentary film with a brilliant and hysterical never ending improvisation by Brooks.  Yentob went on to create a countless array of documentaries including a three part series on the surprisingly warm and humble Orson Welles. The portion in which Yentob chose to screen was where Orson says that one should  not lose the ignorance of what it takes to make a film...in other words - best not ever realize that what you are about to embark upon - making a film - is essentially out of reach but perhaps if you are ignorant to that fact, you may be able to get your film made - in essence.