The Edge of Outside on TCM

What does it mean to be an independent filmmaker? What is the advantage of remaining independent? Can there truly be independence if the money comes from a studio? These are the questions raised in The Edge of Outside, a new documentary by Shannon Davis that premiered on Turner Classic Movies on July 5th to kick off a month-long tribute to independent film on the network.

The piece explores the work, spirit, and determination of six big name directors: Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Sam Fuller, Sam Peckinpah, Nicholas Ray, and John Cassavetes, and draws connections among them and others and their influence over modern independent film. While some of these directors worked almost exclusively for studios (especially Peckinpah), they were all able to claw their way to a certain amount of independence by varied and entertaining means. The idea here is not necessarily independent money, but independent minds, and the personal statements these artists expressed as a result.

Using colleagues, family, and friends, a short oral history of independent cinema is created, starting with the formation of United Artists all the way to moderns like John Sayles, Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese. The interviews are all original for this program and, while some of the stories are well known, many bring to light the passion for individuality that defines the independents. Possibly the most interesting of these interviews is with Darren Aronofsky (director of Pi and Requiem for a Dream), not exactly for what he says, but for the fact that he has been since courted so many times for big budget blockbusters and has shirked all offers, retaining his peculiar vision despite the lucrative trappings that the studios offer; he is young, but has remained fiercely independent.

Davis made a good choice to use established names of the independent world, both for the subjects and interviews, rather than wallowing in obscurity like so many fan-mags. It makes for an accessible introduction to the independent film universe, and an easy touchstone for the films TCM will show over the month of July, films that often go unseen and deserve every second of air-time they receive. Hats off to TCM and their own independent spirit for recognizing that classic films aren’t just those that have given studios fat pockets. An encore presentation of The Edge of Outside will air on 7/19.

Daryl Loomis