Documentarian Errol Morris (The Fog Of War, Fast Cheap and Out Of Control), who himself famously blurred the lines between fiction and non-fiction film through the extensive use of recreations in his great The Thin Blue Line, has a conversation on his New York Times blog with actor/magician Ricky Jay (Boogie Nights, The Spanish Prisoner) that serves as a perfect appetizer for this week's Metro Classic, Orson Welles's documentary about fakery, forgery and film.
In Part One, they discuss PT Barnum, sleight of hand and the difference between lying and deception. In Part Two, Morris dissects some paintings, picks a fight with Immanuel Kant and tells us why we wouldn't want to live in a world without lying. It all starts with Emily Dickinson:
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind –
2 comments:
Wow, how's that for synchronicity?
I think the only reasonable conclusion is that Errol Morris is a big Metro Classics fan.
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