Behind the Mask: The Batman Dead End Story

2015
7| 1h38m| en
Details

Director and Writer Eric Dow ("Honor in the Valley of Tears") brings us his second documentary as he goes behind the scenes of the fan fiction short film, "Batman: Dead End." In the winter of 2003 commercial director Sandy Collora and some of his friends set out to make a low-budget short film for his demo reel. What they wound up actually doing was making one of the most elaborate, most watched, most talked about and most controversial short films ever made: Batman Dead End. Considering the amount of press and admiration Batman: Dead End garnered,

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Also starring Sandy Collora

Reviews

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Waysender I've watched this multiple times and it still interests me. It's the story of a group of guys making a fan film with the intention of launching the career of their leader Sandy Collora.The whole process is really neat to see and I credit the film maker of this documentary with his story telling ability.The short film they make (Batman: Dead End) gets a tremendous amount of buzz and the assumption was that Sandy would go on to get a major study deal. What follows is an absolute train wreck. Every aspiring director should watch this documentary to learn what not to do.I think Sandy Collora is a very creative and talented guy. But if you pressed me to describe him in one sentence it would be "He's Kanye West without the hit records." He passes on movies he deems as garbage showing no respect for other people in his chosen profession while at the same time promoting his own stories and scripts which is all but impossible until you really prove yourself in the industry. For a guy who is in his mid 30s to just say, "ok I'm gonna write and direct films now" with no practical experience and expect things to get handed to him is painfully naïve.Several people in the film also allude to Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy as if they inspired him, also that Heath Ledger's Joker was directly ripped from the guy who played the Joker in this short film which is pure insanity. I mean really. lol I highly recommend watching this documentary, it's on Hulu Plus atm.
jordyjooz Who is making this documentary of Collora? This is fantastic and a miracle to receive this film! Collora is making the wonderful films and can be celebrating!! Is a documentary about films and art but really is concentrating on the human spirit and a good man who is an example for others in wanting to follow his paths. This did touch my heart very much and makes good feelings for the man with the best batman internet movie in all times!! Very sad when Collora is talking about his mother and the great man who was teaching him art. Is also very funny at times when Collora is telling stories of his life in the movies business and very entertaining man!! This documentary movie can be about batman and really the most important thing in life which I believe to be the human heart. I am very happy to see this movie. Thank you, Jordyn.
Loren Fallon I saw the Batman Dead End short when it came out but had no idea what was "Behind the Mask" of this movie and this man. This Docu is a sort of brutal look into what happens behind the scenes and what it takes to make a film. I admire Sandy Collora's honesty, artistic integrity and his talent. All things this movie clearly shows. I follow him on Facebook and his posts are always inspiring and thought provoking. he seems like a good guy. This was really good and very well made interesting Docu that I recommend a lot. It has a lot of heart and is a very moving portrait of an artist who seems to be misunderstood. I salute Sandy and his work and his decisions. He obviously cares about what he puts out there and on the screen and it shows. I hope all the projects he has developing at the end of this film are going to happen. I would go to see them.
brianrosenthal82 Batman: Dead End is a uniquely amazing fanfilm. Gorgeous production design, solid direction, wonderful cinematography, fantastic practical FX, and so many geek-out moments it's hard to even keep track. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to check it out, its still all over YouTube to this day. Sandy Collora (the director), an industry vet and director's chair hopeful, put together a serious chunk of his own change back in the early 2000s, and assembled a team of highly talented folks within the industry to carry out his vision of an unapologetically comic-book inspired Batman pitted against some of geekdom's greatest icons. This documentary explores what drove him to do it, how it was done, the highs, the lows, and the fallout/aftermath of the whole thing. As a hopeful filmmaker myself, this became my "Star Wars"... a film that inspired me and opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. All I knew was "this was done independently, it's on the internet for everyone to see, and it's freakin amazing". My own fanfilm, "Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness", owes a great debt of gratitude to Sandy and Batman: Dead End. Without his film, mine wouldn't exist, and neither would thousands of others, I suspect. Credit where credit's due, Sandy Collora is the George Lucas of fanfilms, and I mean that with the utmost respect. As the documentary reveals, he might not have catapulted into Hollywood stardom as hoped, but he pioneered the trail and inspired a generation of us. Definitely worth a watch, especially for budding filmmakers.