This Free Behind-the-Scenes 'Inherent Vice' Doc Is a Trip
The director commissioned this 12-minute doc, which wasn't included on the Blu-ray.
The world’s best living filmmaker (if you don’t agree with us we’ll only let you offer Scorsese as a legit alternative) recently turned 45-years-young. To honor him we recommend taking a look at the man himself hard at work behind the scenes on his most recent film, Inherent Vice.
The full 12-minute mini-doc, which you can watch here, is titled Chryskylodon Blues, named partially for the hippie rehab clinic from the movie and from author Thomas Pynchon’s book, which Anderson faithfully adapted to the screen.
Anderson himself commissioned the video — which looks like it was shot on Super 8 film — from writer-director Laura Colella, and features the filmmakers assembling their druggy ‘70s detective whodunit with selections from Pynchon’s book read over the hazy images. It also features tunes by The Growlers, the California-based band who appear as the burnout ensemble The Boards in the movie.
For some inconceivable reason it wasn’t included on the Inherent Vice Blu-ray that was released earlier this year, but we’re glad it surfaced in time for Anderson’s 45th.
The director has done this sort of unique spin on normal behind-the-scenes docs since Punch-Drunk Love (which, for some reason, still doesn’t have a Blu-ray release), and even has his own name for them: scopitones. When talking with Filmmaker Magazine around the release of his film The Master, Anderson said, “They were just ways to use pieces of the film that we liked but didn’t have a place for in the movie. It was just something to do when you kinda didn’t want to work on the film for an afternoon — just messing around.” Keep having those birthdays, PTA.
